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Nov 20, 2024 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
Your body is equipped with a natural defense system designed to fight off perceived threats or injury. The irritant might be a bacterial or viral infection or it could be a foreign object, such as a splinter in your finger, or a bee sting. Inflammation is a vital part of this process. When inflammation occurs, compounds in the body cause small blood vessels to dilate, allowing more blood to reach injured tissue – and this is why inflamed areas turn red and feel hot.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
veganfoodandliving.com | Molly Pickering |Veronika Charvatova |Justine Butler
We used to think that old-age dementia just happens to some people, but now we know there’s a lot we can do to reduce the risk. Join us as we examine the impact of eating a vegan diet on our risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Our brains are dynamic, busy and demanding and use more than a fifth of our daily energy intake. But does the food you eat matter? And can it affect your risk of dementia?
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Jan 31, 2024 | 
veganfoodandliving.com | Helen M. Greaves |Justine Butler
Whether you enjoy them in coleslaw, with your roast dinner, or in hearty soups and stews – carrots are a versatile veg staple. But they’re not just tasty, the nutritional benefits of carrots go far deeper than the stories we were told as children…These tasty root vegetables have been around for 5,000 years and were first cultivated in what is now Iran and Afghanistan.
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Jan 8, 2024 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
Around 360 million tonnes of meat are consumed globally each year – a figure it’s hard to get your head around. So, Dr Max Roser, director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Global Development at the University of Oxford, and founder and editor of the research publication Our World in Data, has turned it into numbers of animals.
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Dec 4, 2023 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
Plant-based diets are associated with significant improvements in people who have – or are at risk of developing – cardiovascular disease, according to a comprehensive review of 29 randomised control trials. They found that cholesterol, blood sugar and body weight all improved more on vegetarian/vegan diets than they did simply by following standard medication and lifestyle therapy for cardiovascular disease. Wang T, Kroeger CM, Cassidy S et al. 2023.
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Oct 20, 2023 | 
veganfoodandliving.com | Justine Butler
Dr Justine Butler, Viva!Health’s Senior Researcher, guides you through the essential B vitamin sources for vegans. The B vitamins are a collection of eight, water-soluble vitamins essential for a range of important functions in the body. They help release energy from food and are essential for our immune and nervous systems. They are not stored in the body, so we need to eat foods that contain them. Why are they so important and which foods contain them? How much do you need?
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Jun 1, 2023 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
minute reading timeI was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis 20 years ago. It’s an autoimmune disease that causes joints to become swollen and painful and can become progressively worse. I had a strong family history of rheumatoid arthritis, affecting my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Furthermore, my mother suffered from psoriasis. I had to leave my teaching job as I was in so much pain I could hardly move.
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May 30, 2023 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
minute reading timeThe UN is warning of an approaching global water crisis because of pollution, climate change and over-consumption. Their report, published ahead of the first dedicated water summit in more than 40 years, says that around 10 per cent of the world’s population lives under ‘water stress’ – when demand exceeds availability. More than one in four people in the world lack access to safe drinking water while 3.6 billion lack sanitation services.
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May 30, 2023 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
minute reading timePeople who eat a small handful of nuts a day (around 28 grams) have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, according to this review. Results show that regular nut-eaters were 24 per cent less likely to suffer from heart disease and 27 per cent less likely to die from it, compared to those who ate the least. Nut-eaters were also 18 per cent less likely to die from stroke and 15 per cent less likely to have atrial fibrillation.
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May 30, 2023 | 
viva.org.uk | Justine Butler
minute reading timeIn March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the fourth and final instalment of their Sixth Assessment Report. Compiled by the world’s leading climate scientists, it gathers together all the knowledge and research on the climate crisis and has one overarching message: drastic action is needed now. It is the last big report from the IPCC until 2030 and will play a pivotal role in informing COP28.
