Snoring – are you a perpetrator or a victim? VERNE MAREE confesses to having been both, and offers some solutions.
Snoring is no joke… it’s a serious hazard to your health, and possibly to your relationship, too.
True Snoring Story, UK Summer 2005
Snorers often don’t like to admit they snore, and Roy was one of them. But his cover was irrevocably blown one summer, when he rented a lovely converted barn in Warwickshire – close to his mother’s home – to accommodate the whole family.
Are you gluten intolerant? Gluten intolerance is more widespread than previously thought, and gluten may be harming people in ways they never dreamt of. VERNE MAREE spills the beans on what going gluten-free did for her.
A few days ago, I did a gazillion squats and lunges in a Les Mills Bodypump class at Craigie Leisure Centre, followed by a yoga session. The next day, I jogged 8km along our hilly coastal path. The morning after that, I walked for miles along Burns Beach, basking in the perfection of the day.
So what? Well, just a couple of years ago, that little lot would have seen me limping around, moaning about sore hips and possibly swallowing a bunch of anti-inflammatories.
What’s changed since then? Read on to find out!
What is grounding, anyway? Getting and staying grounded is becoming increasingly important for mental, physical and emotional health… and can be difficult to achieve in these ever-crazier times. Verne Maree thinks that walking barefoot on Mother Earth is a good place to start.
Getting back on track ASAP after the festive season is a jolly good idea for health and longevity. Fortunately, while you’re still feeling utterly stuffed, it may not be so hard to do.
Have you recently been derailed by mince pies? – or Prosecco, or pavlova, or whatever your seasonal poison may be? I know I have. It doesn’t take long to go off the rails. Fortunately, there’s nothing to stop us getting right back on track – and in the case of Roy and me, that means back on to the Low Carb, No Crap TM eating plan that helped him lose 35kg… and keep it off.
The pics below, taken a year apart, are presented as evidence. (It’s a shame I couldn’t afford a new dress.)
How to live to 100? Keep moving, says 96-year-old Peter Eaton – just one of VERNE MAREE’s inspirational older friends in Perth WA. Apart from the advantage of making you feel young by comparison, there’s a lot to be learnt from people who are fit, active and thriving well into their 70s, 80s and 90s.
Down on Burns Beach the other day – 23 December, to be precise – I bumped into Peter and Peta, two of my local Burns Beach friends. That wasn’t unusual, but this was a special occasion. It was Peter’s 96th birthday – and he was celebrating it by doing his favourite thing in the world: swimming in the ocean.
“Just 1,460 days to go to my 100th!” he announced. Peter doesn’t think in terms of years. He lives day by day, and having a sea swim – or at least a walk on the beach – is what makes a day a great one.
What is yoga massage? Verne Maree meets remedial massage therapist Kirsty Stone and discovers its magical benefits.
Of course I am deeply fond of my husband, and I appreciate his sterling qualities and myriad skills. But alas – and this may come as a shock – he isn’t perfect.
Now that we’ve safely celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, I must reveal that he does not do massage. Never has, never will. He won’t even give me a backrub. (Not a proper one, anyway. He says it hurts his hands.)
How much fat we need depends on other things – how many carbs we can tolerate, for example, and what sort of fat we choose. Saturated fats from sustainably pastured animals is a pretty good start.
Note: The droolworthy featured image (above) is from the cover of The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz
I’ve always liked this old 16th-century English rhyme, mainly because it sounded just like my parents – my tall, skinny, carrot-crunching father and my plump, butter-loving mother. Luckily, though I inherited her penchant for pork crackling, fatty lamb chops and anything sautéed in butter, I also inherited a tendency to Dad’s lanky frame – as long as I curb my cursed sweet tooth!
A good night’s sleep includes plenty of dream sleep and – if possible – avoiding nightmares. Why do we dream? Dreaming helps keep us sane!
(Featured photo: In case you’re wondering, the Corpse Bride above is granddaughter Mia, Halloween 2021.)
In the wee small hours, Roy’s hairy arm reached out to prod me awake. According to him – though it’s hard to imagine from such a sweet thing as I am – his wife was snoring like a dervish.
Here’s my Christmas wish list! All I want for Christmas* is a countertop water flosser, a new cover for my MacBook Air, an ozone generator with oxygen tank, the new Gen. 3 Oūra ring sleep tracker, a couple of mood-enhancing wearables like Hapbee and Apollo Neuro, an infrared sauna and a continuous glucose monitor.
“What do you want for Christmas?”, 11-year-old Mia asked me a few days ago. Only in retrospect did I realise my granddaughter was probably hoping I’d ask the same question in return – but she’d given me the idea for this blog post, and not being much of a multi-tasker, my mind wandered and I dropped the ball.
My husband didn’t ask what I wanted, so I told him anyway: an ozone generator plus an oxygen tank. Not only might this be the weirdest ever Santa request, it didn’t help my case that I thought it was the kind of tank that scuba divers use.
Blood donation benefits go way, way beyond saving the lives of others. Wondering why I’m donating blood? If you guessed it was for selfish motives, you’d be right. Though I do like the idea of helping my fellow citizens – and it’s estimated that each 470ml donation can save up to three lives – I mainly do it because it’s good for my own health and longevity.
By donating blood I’m burning calories, reducing my risk of cancer and protecting myself from liver disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other signs of heart disease – plus, the fact of helping others has been shown to increase our happiness and improve our mood.
Donating Down Under
Last week, I finally succeeded in donating blood here in Australia. I’d registered as a donor around three years earlier, but was deemed unsafe because of having visited South Africa, a malarial region, within the previous six months. (Odd thing, that: they happily took and used my blood in Durban!)
