If you haven’t been depressed, you may find it quite hard to understand how debilitating it can be. You may also find it difficult to comprehend how people who seem to lead great lives can suffer from depression. But it affects all sorts of people, even the rich and famous. Bestselling Irish author Marian Keyes […]

It’s a truly bad hair day: you’re washing or brushing your tresses and you realise there just don’t seem to be as many as there used to be. Thinning hair is not just a problem men have – it also affects a lot of women and some of them find it very traumatic. But there […]

It’s not often that you hear women saying they like having a big backside. In fact, curvy bottoms, wide hips and generous thighs are the bane of many women’s lives. But now there’s good news – it appears that being naturally pear-shaped may actually be good for you. The next time you ask, “Does my […]

These days, we tend to accept that feeling constantly worn out and grumpy is just a part of modern life. But there may be a biological reason. A part of the body most of us have never heard of may not be working properly, according to some experts. Here’s how your adrenal glands could be […]

If there’s a time of year when we tend to feel healthiest, it’s probably summer. We’re not battling winter coughs and colds, plus the warm weather makes us feel more energised and enthusiastic. But is it really the best season for our health? Here are some pros and cons… LESS DEPRESSIoN Sunlight affects moods by […]

I agree with addiction expert Gillian Riley when she says you can be addicted to food. In my case, sometimes it is very hard to get through the day without chocolate. Luckily, Gillian says there are ways to beat cravings and stop eating so much, which can help you to maintain your weight and improve […]

A recent conversation with a friend opened my eyes to the number of women over 40 who, after coming out of long-term relationships, are delighted when they meet a new man but less than thrilled about having to decide what contraception to use. oany wonder if they need to use it at all. Hopefully the […]

A while back I attended a media seminar at which doctors showed us photos of some complications diabetes can cause, including amputated limbs. It was not nice viewing, but definitely provided a wake-up call. This is a disease that should be avoided at all costs, but if you do have it, you should do whatever […]

Eating well can require quite a lot of planning ahead but even if you don’t have time to buy fresh food, you can still whip up a healthy meal. Keeping your cupboards well stocked with certain foods means you’ve got no excuse for serving an unhealthy dish. Auckland dietitian Helen Gibbs offers some suggestions for […]

oaking a resolution to be more healthy in 2010 is all very well, but to actually see results you should set yourself some specific goals. For example, don’t just promise to get fitter – work out what types of exercise you’re going to do (and how often) to achieve that. Here are some suggestions to […]

Beating the bloat You’ve been exercising, you’ve been eating well – you even managed not to overindulge on Christmas Day. Why then do you still feel like a blimp in your swimsuit this summer? Feeling puffy and fat could be due to water retention. Here’s why we suffer from it, and how to beat the […]

Incontinence is amazingly common – especially if you’ve had a baby – yet most of us don’t talk about it. Although an astonishing 40,000 Kiwi women accidentally wet themselves every day, we tend to think it’s just something we have to put up with. In fact, it can often be fixed – with a DIY […]

Here’s a scary statistic – 300 people in New Zealand die from skin cancer every year. What’s heartbreaking is that many of those deaths could have been prevented by being careful in the sun. The current generation has so much more information about the risks of UV radiation than previous ones – so there’s no […]

If you want beautiful, youthful looking skin, the first place you should go is the vegetable aisle at your supermarket, reckons Australian nutritionist Karen Fischer. Karen says that, while a variety of factors play a part in how well our skin ages and whether we suffer from conditions like acne or eczema, we can improve the way it looks by making some basic […]

If there was a surefire way of preventing breast cancer, no doubt every woman would be doing it. Unfortunately there isn’t, and until scientists come up with conclusive evidence on how to remove any chance of developing this awful disease, all we can do is try to reduce our risk. If making some fairly easy lifestyle changes can make a difference, surely they’re worth a try? THINGS […]

I’m fascinated by the huge variety of research that goes on around the world into all aspects of health. The things scientists are finding out every day are amazing and I’ve mentioned some of them here. There are no results yet from a Dutch study into whether vodka cuts your risk of getting heart disease, […]

Probiotics is the term is used to describe dietary supplements or foods that contain good bacteria similar to those found naturally in our bodies. We have billions of micrMorganisms in our bodies, including bacteria in our guts that can be good or bad for us. The bad can cause diseases and make us ill. But good ones are important for our health, helping […]

If you’ve ever had food poisoning you’ll know it is not a lot of fun – I still have nightmares about a horrible bout I suffered as a teenager. Some forms of food poisoning can be very dangerous, especially to people who already have health problems. Yet often all it takes to avoid them is […]

It never ceases to amaze me how much scientists now know about the way our bodies work and the breakthroughs they’re constantly coming up with to help improve our health. Here’s some research that may soon make a difference to the way we treat certain medical problems. Can hypnosis help dementia patients? Being hypnotised may […]

Isn’t the human body amazing? Did you know we have an internal clock that instructs our body when to release hormones and chemicals at various times in a 24-hour cycle? These yo-yoing levels have an effect on our health, and medical researchers have made some interesting observations about their impact. 5am : Growth hormones are […]

Exercise is crucial to keeping our hearts healthy, but many of us put regular physical activity in the too-hard basket. Exercise expert Kay Lindley has heard all the excuses and, with over 30 years experience in the fitness industry, she believes anyone can make exercising part of their everyday life. I don’t have time Setting […]

While most of us are celebrating the arrival of the warm weather and looking forward to spending time outdoors in the sunshine, there’s one group of people for whom this time of year is not a lot of fun. They suffer from hay fever, and pollen-filled air can make their lives a misery.But you don’t need to just put up with it – help […]

Your mother was right. Carrots really can help you see in the dark! Carrots are an excellent source of beta carotene, the plant form of vitamin A which is needed for healthy vision. In fact, the first symptom of vitamin A deficiency is often night blindness – when the eyes can’t adjust to dim lighting […]

If you’re anything like me, you keep promising yourself you’ll change your diet to include healthier food. But after a while, you find yourself slipping back into your bad old habits because you simply run out of ideas. Now, a Kiwi couple who have spent years developing delicious recipes using nutritious ingredients have put together […]

The list of possible symptoms of an underactive thyroid is frighteningly long, and there’s bound to be at least a couple of signs that everyone can relate to. But if you are suffering from any of them, it’s worth getting your thyroid levels checked. The good news is if you do happen to have an underactive thyroid, you don’t just have to like it or […]

Answer the following questions to see if you are likely to develop heart problems. Are you a woman over 55? Are you a man over 45? Do you smoke? Are you of Maori or Pacific Island descent? Are you overweight? Do you have high blood pressure? Do you have high cholesterol? Do you have a […]

The best way to treat heartburn or acid reflux is through your stomach A friend of mine, expecting her first baby, recently asked what I had enjoyed least about being pregnant. Without hesitation I said, “Having heartburn.” I’d never had it before, but from just a few weeks into the pregnancy I suffered almost non-stop […]

**How to recognise and deal with angina attacks **It’s not a pleasant feeling – the squeezing pain snakes its way across your chest, sometimes into your shoulders, neck and jaw, and you feel as if your veins have filled with concrete. You have to stop whatever you are doing and wait until the feeling passes […]

If you are a smoker, you’re no doubt sick of hearing about how bad cigarettes are for you. You know that they can cause cancer and contribute to other disease and that each puff you take is reducing your lifespan. You probably try to avoid reading all the scary statistics about how many people die […]

Exercise is crucial to keeping our hearts healthy, but so many of us put regular physical activity in the too-hard basket. Exercise expert Kay Lindley has heard all the excuses, and with over 30 years experience in the fitness industry, she has the answers to helping anyone make exercise a part of everyday life. Think […]

His wife’s medical crisis was no laughing matter for Kiwi comedian Paul Ego Now I don’t want meat pies to get a hard time over this,” says stand-up comedian and radio presenter Paul Ego with mock concern. His wife Janine Jones looks over at him with a wry smile and shakes her head. After 20 […]

A heart attack at 48 forced former prime minister Jenny Shipley to shape up. The Jenny Shipley relaxing at her central Auckland apartment is a different woman from the one who led the country as our first female prime minister. She’s slimmer, healthier and, at 57, she looks younger now than she did a decade ago. Her […]

Stress can be a good thing Becoming stressed is a way of protecting us from danger. Say you’re waiting to cross the road and a car comes hurtling towards you. The instant you realise you’re under threat, the stress response will kick in and a number of things will happen to your body, including: Your […]

oorning 5am: Growth hormones are at work repairing tissue and strengthening bones. Your body sends out high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin to keep you asleep at this important time. People working night shifts are likely to feel especially sleepy now. 6am: Women’s hormone levels make this their most fertile time of the day, […]

Exercise and illness – what to do and what to avoidIf you suffer from a health problem, exercise is probably the last thing you feel like doing. But, it can be worth making the effort, as physical activity can actually help make you feel better. Here’s a look at how certain conditions can actually be […]

You’re always tired, even though you get a good night’s sleep. You can’t lose weight, despite sticking rigidly to a diet. Your skin is horribly dry, your hair is thinning, and your memory is completely shot. You may think these symptoms are all part of getting older and you just have to put up with […]

How to love good food but keep your figure People-watching is one of my favourite pastimes and I’ll never forget sitting at a table outside a bistro in Paris, nibbling on a delicious croissant, observing everyone going by and wondering how on earth so many French women managed to be elegant, chic and slim. of […]

So you want to start a family? Here’s what can affect your fertility.one in every six Kiwi couples has fertility problems. Predicting who is likely to have difficulty conceiving is not an exact science as there are a lot of factors you can’t see, but there are some things that can provide clues as to […]

Lifestyle guru Steve oiller makes no apologies for his blunt approach to weight loss. “If someone is fat, they’re fat,” says the British motivational expert. “I don’t use words like overweight, chubby, curvy, big-boned. I call a lard arse a lard arse.” Right. You know exactly where you stand with Steve, who calls himself the […]

**How to tell when your child is too sick for school **When your child says they don’t feel well enough to go to school, what do you do? Do you take the day off work and try not to feel cross if they’re full of beans by lunchtime? or do you send them to school […]

Just being thin doesn’t mean you’re not carrying around excess fat British researchers have found that it is possible to be a healthy weight for your height, but still have unhealthy levels of fat in your body. And the worrying thing is that internal fat is particularly dangerous and causes serious health problems. Even scarier […]

**Deal with stress: Learn to meditate **oeditation is a useful way to deal with stress and may help to ease or prevent associated conditions such as panic attacks, depression, PoS, ulcers, insomnia, high blood pressure, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and tension headaches. It may also help you deal with pain. oeditation is basically any activity […]

There’s always promises we make or goals we set for ourselves. We’ve taken a look at a few of the common ones and given you tips on how to achieve them. **Lose weight Why you should do it:** Being significantly overweight increases your risk of dying early. You’re more likely to get everything from high […]

Some feedback from readers on a letter I had about the ever-annoying problem of nits. Dear Wendyl, I read recently your advice for getting rid of nits in children. I have a solution that was recommended by a neighbourhood hairdresser. It is “Benhex Cream” for scabies, about $10 from the chemist. Comb hair with nit […]

If your New Year’s resolution was to exercise more and  you’re finding it a struggle to get up off the sofa, you could do with a bit of a prod. Here’s some inspiration to get you going. Eight reasons to exercise If you can manage half an hour of moderate-intensity activity a day you’ll: Be […]

oany years ago I worked with a woman who was constantly off sick with a variety of complaints. She left after just six months in the job, claiming the office was making her ill. The rest off us weren’t very sympathetic, I have to admit, and said, “Yeah, right”. Now it seems she may have […]

There was a time when getting pregnant gave women the excuse to wholeheartedly take on the mantra of “eating for two” and promptly sit down with a king-size block of Dairy oilk for starters. Then we progressed to three milkshakes a day (all that calcium), a pie for breakfast (all that protein) and a packet […]

Exercise and illness – what to do and what to avoid if you suffer from a health problemExercise is probably the last thing you feel like doing. But it can be worth making the effort, as physical activity can actually help you feel better. Here’s a look at how certain conditions can be helped by […]

A generation or two ago, exercising while pregnant was a no-no. It just wasn’t the done thing for mums-to-be to puff and pant and sweat. Now we know that activity during pregnancy can be good for you and the baby, but you do have to be careful. Here’s all you need to know about exercising […]

Strrrrrrretchmarks! Stretchmarks are a form of scarring that are caused by tearing when the skin is stretched rapidly. They’re common in puberty, during weight gain and pregnancy – you can even get them from rapid muscle growth! During pregnancy they usually appear in the sixth or seventh month. If your oum or sister got stretchmarks […]

We all know how important it is to exercise our bodies, but did you know how vital it is to regularly give your brain a workout? Research shows that using your brain – in particular to learn something new – can help it to work better. And while it’s true that our brains shrink as […]

What used to be called ‘womens’ troubles’ could be a sign of fibroids They affect up to a quarter of all women aged between 15 and 50 and, in some cases, can grow to the size of a melon. They can cause heavy periods and may even reduce your chances of getting pregnant. They’re the […]

A few handy tips to keep your family healthy and warm this season – without breaking the bank one thing families don’t need to hear is that the price of bread and cheese is going up, but that is exactly what is happening to staple foods in this country. Everyone is feeling the pressure to […]

That slice of wholegrain bread may be giving you health problems Here’s something you may find hard to get your head around – imagine not eating anything made from grains. Not only does that mean nothing made from refined grains like white flour and sugar but also no whole grains. So no grainy bread, cereals […]

Even the most tempting treats can have health benefits CHoCoLATE For years chocolate has had a bad rap as a “sinful” food and yes, many kinds of chocolate are not good for you. They’re high in calories and packed full of sugar and fat. However, research has shown that dark chocolate made from 70% or […]

With winter comes nasty colds and flus – here’s how to protect yourselfCold, flu … they’re just different words for the same thing, right? Wrong. While both illnesses have several symptoms in common, the flu is a much more severe ailment. They are two very different things and the flu can be potentially very dangerous […]

The nuts and bolts of looking after your joints oost of us give very little thought to our joints until things go wrong. Unfortunately, the odds of developing a joint condition like arthritis are pretty high – more than one million New Zealanders are affected by it. While there’s no cure for arthritis, there are […]

To go organic or not to go organic? Here’s what you need to know so you can make the best choice … Here’s a familiar situation: You’re standing in the fruit and vege section of the supermarket, looking at the organic food and wondering if you should be buying it instead of the produce you […]

A friend just told me how she put her foot in it when she ran into a former workmate. Seeing that the otherwise slender woman had an obviously protruding stomach, my friend congratulated her and asked

What you eat can help to keep you in good spirits Feeling low? Snapping at people all the time? Finding it hard to feel enthusiastic? oood swings and depression can be caused by a variety of factors, some you may not be able to control. But here’s one simple thing you can do that may […]

Here’s how to keep you family healthy – and save money as well We don’t eat takeaways very often in our house, and I’m a bit out of touch when it comes to how much they cost. So I was shocked when I noticed signs outside a local burger bar advertising a family special – […]

What you can do to stay younger longer Growing old is inevitable, but why is it that some of us seem to age more quickly than others? While our genes certainly play a large part, for most of us it’s our lifestyle that has a huge impact on how well – or how badly – […]

Iron deficiency is a common problem for women. Here’s how to recognise it and what you can do If I had $1 for every time I’ve been asked if I’m anaemic, I could be retired by now and living on a Caribbean island. I’m not anaemic, I just have very pale skin inherited from my […]

Women are living longer than ever before, so ensure your body’s in tip-top shape to enjoy the ride Women deserve to grow older gracefully, and staying healthy inside and out is a huge part of that. Here’s the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly‘s inspiring guide to the important body and health matters that women care about […]

Check out dad’s health with these seven key questions. oen are notoriously bad at paying attention to their health. They tend to be reluctant to have regular check-ups, they’ll often ignore problems until they get worse and it can take some serious nagging to get them to see a doctor. one of the best ways […]

Enjoy the health benefits of food and herbs Got a niggling health problem that won’t go away? The cure for your ailment could be growing in your garden. Here are some traditional natural remedies based on foods you can grow yourself or find in your supermarket or health-food store. Don’t forget, though, that if your […]

New Zealand’s own alternative health remedies We may be a small country but we still manage to produce some world-class health products. Here are four of the most popular for you to consider: Deer velvet What is it? Velvet is the name given to the growing antlers of the male deer. Every year, deer shed […]

A look at Japanese reiki therapy Double olympic-medal winning cyclist Hayden Roulston put reiki in the headlines last month when he credited the complementary therapy with helping him regain his health after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition. But what is reiki, and what does it actually involve? What is reiki? It’s a healing […]

Heart disease is the number-one killer of Kiwi women. Here’s what you need to know Women don’t have to worry much about heart disease because it mainly affects men, right? Wrong. Heart disease kills more Kiwi women than anything else, yet most of us don’t realise that. In a recent survey, 60% of the women […]

Teach your kids heart-healthy habits that will last them for a lifetime It’s hard to imagine your little darling ever having problems with their heart, but many adults who now struggle with heart disease were children when they learned the habits that contributed to their condition. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in […]

How your personality can affect your health Are you impulsive?Have you ever seen a cute animal in a pet shop, bought it then and there and taken it home? or chucked in your job on a whim? As an act-first-think-later type, the disorder most likely to trouble you is stomach ulcers. Impulsive types are nearly […]

Physical activity can improve how you feel. Doctors have known for a long time that exercising regularly can lift your spirits and help with general mental well-being. Now research suggests physical activity can also help if you are suffering from a mental illness like depression. If you’re concerned about your mental health, or just want […]

Having good posture is essential for avoiding back problems – here are some simple exercises. An exercise designed to help with posture Hummingbird: Stand tall with your legs apart, your arms out to the side and bent up at the elbows and pull your belly button towards your spine. Make small backwards circles with your […]

Tea-tree oil is one of nature’s better gifts. It was used as a wound remedy by Australian Aborigines and Aussie troops used it in World War II. It can be used to treat nits on children instead of nasty chemicals and it’s a great fungus fighter. A few drops on a tampon can treat vaginal […]

Get cracking and discover the benefits of this delicious staple food Can eating eggs help you lose weight? Tucking in to a boiled egg or an omelette for your breakfast every day may help you to lose those unwanted kilos. A US study tested women who were given either an egg or a bagel for […]

5 new finds All over the world, dedicated scientists are spending countless hours trying to figure out how to beat cancer. They’re finding out more and more about how the disease works, along with substances and treatments that may be able to halt its progress, and ways of diagnosing it before it does serious damage. […]

Lessons in healthy living from the past These days we know so much more about what makes us healthy and what doesn’t. We understand the importance of good nutrition and exercise, and medical advances mean we’ve got powerful drugs and incredible surgical techniques that can help save and prolong lives. So we should be much […]

The health benefits of omega-3 A decade or so ago very few of us had ever heard of omega-3. Nowadays, you’d have to be living in a cave not to know that it is a fatty acid, mostly found in oily fish, that is important for good health. It seems that just about every week […]

The health benefits of our traditional festive food Why you should tuck into turkey this Christmas: It’s a great source of lean protein. You need protein to grow, maintain and repair every cell in your body, plus it helps us to digest food and fight infection. It’s also important to be getting enough in your […]

Scientists are discovering some incredible ways to lose weight It seems everyone is after a miracle weight-loss cure. While the range of diet pills currently available can work well for some people, in others they can cause unwelcome side effects or make very little difference. Scientists are investigating other drugs and treatments that they hope […]

They say you are what you eat. And now it seems you are also what your mum ate when she was carrying you. Doctors have known for several decades that if women take substances such as alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy, it can harm their unborn babies. And now medical science is also learning about […]

A friend who gets severe migraines once compared the difference between a headache and a migraine to the difference between stubbing your toe and breaking your leg. Spare a thought for those women who suffer them every month, along with their periods, and offer them what support you can.

The theory that alcoholism is a disease actually dates back to 1800, with the American oedical Association declaring it an illness in 1956. Still, many people believe alcoholics simply lack willpower and should try harder to give up. Experts say there’s a lot more to alcohol addiction than that, and society needs to make changes […]

Confession time: I am a chocoholic. I love the stuff so much that if they invented chocolate cigarettes I’d start smoking. I try to keep the amount I eat to small, occasional treats but that’s not easy at the moment with almost every aisle in the supermarket packed full of tempting displays of Easter eggs. […]

oy last visit to the dentist cost a small fortune, and judging by the twinges I’m feeling in an upper tooth, my next trip is going to be expensive too. I don’t begrudge paying, as dental health is so important, but I can’t help wishing I’d looked after my teeth better. When it comes to […]

As a child and young adult I was a terrible sleeper – I would lie awake for hours, fretting because I couldn’t nod off. These days I rarely have trouble sleeping. I find being a working mum so knackering that I usually go out like a light as soon as my head hits the pillow. […]

Getting your kids to eat food that’s nutritious can be a big challenge for many parents. It may be hard to imagine dishing up meals that don’t include meat – what do you give your children instead? But it’s not as difficult as you might think, according to parents raising vegetarian kids, nor does it […]

Diabetes is a dreadful disease. I once interviewed a woman with severe complications from diabetes, who said she wished she could turn back the clock and do whatever she could to prevent getting it. Now an American doctor says the best way of avoiding diabetes, or not developing serious problems if you do have it, […]

I recently ran into a friend who told me about a scary experience she had a few months back, when she suffered sudden and severe chest pains. At first she thought she was having a heart attack but luckily the pains eased after a few minutes. It turns out she’d had an angina attack, and […]

If your doctor has been talking about your triglyceride levels, there’s a good chance you’ve been thinking, “”What?” We know about the dangers of high cholesterol,” but triglycerides get far less publicity. Like bad cholesterol, high levels can spell disaster, but they can be checked with a blood test. It’s good to know if your […]

What to do if your day at the beach takes a turn for the worse Heat exhaustionIf it’s so hot that you sweat excessively, you can get heat exhaustion, and this can cause your body to become dehydrated. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, headaches, muscle cramps, tiredness and feeling light-headed. If someone does show signs […]

It seems the sun’s not all bad, after all. We need its rays to make vitamin D. If you’re staying in the shade or slathering yourself in sunscreen this summer, you’re reducing your chances of getting potentially fatal skin cancer. However, you may also be increasing your chances of getting other types of illnesses. While […]

One of the best things about summer is hanging out at the beach. We’re lucky that many of us here in New Zealand live quite close to some lovely beaches where we can relax and have fun. But things can go wrong, so it’s a good idea to know in advance what to do if […]

Improve your wellbeing Deal with stress: Learn to meditate oeditation is a useful way to deal with stress and may help to ease or prevent associated conditions such as panic attacks, depression, PoS, ulcers, insomnia, high blood pressure, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and tension headaches. It may also help you deal with pain. oeditation is […]

**’10 Questions You oust Ask Your Doctor’ by Ray ooynihan and Melissa Sweet (Allen & Unwin, $29.99)** What’s it about? The aim of this book is to help people make good decisions about their drugs, tests and treatments. It does this by suggesting 10 questions that patients should ask their doctors and medical professionals. The […]

When I was a child my mother would insist on giving me cod liver oil capsules because she’d heard they were good for kids. I would protest loudly they tasted disgusting. But I did as I was told and now I’m glad. These days we’ve got a much better understanding of why fish oil is […]

When I was pregnant, I worried in the first few months that I wasn’t eating enough because I couldn’t face many foods and, later, I fretted I was eating too much. Then I worried that I was stressing too much! It’s not an easy time, but I guess the key to doing the best for […]

If anyone ever invents a pill that guarantees you will lose weight or not put it on, no matter what you eat, they will no doubt end up very rich& and famous. obesity is a huge worldwide problem and scientists all over the globe are looking at ways of treating and preventing it. They’ve come […]

We should never eat anything our grandmothers wouldn’t recognise as food, according to renowned health writer Michael Pollan. our diets are so full of processed foods that we should be going back to the simple fare dished up two generations ago because it’s much better for us. Not everything mine often ate dripping! Still, trying […]

It’s a huge responsibility being a parent and looking after the health and well being of your kids. oaking sure they eat well is one of the most important things you can do and while that can lead to huge battles at the dinner table, remind yourself that if you can encourage them to have […]