Month: October 2013

Can you cure cancer with diet?

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Can you cure cancer by diet alone?  Could it be as simple as changing the pH of your body from acid to alkaline?  A statement flying round the Internet insists that ‘Every single person who has cancer has a pH that is too acidic.’ It’s attributed to Nobel Prize winner Dr Otto Warburg whose argument was that cancer cannot survive in an alkaline environment and so we should all seek to alkalinise our bodies. One website goes as far as to say: “What you put in your mouth can determine life or death. Starve cancer to death by removing acidic food and liquids, thereby allowing oxygen to return to the cells and the body to return to a normal pH balance.” Given people are at their most vulnerable following a diagnosis of cancer, the vehemence of the statement – and the suggestion that you are to blame for contracting cancer in the first place through your bad diet – is concerning. Alkalinity is also big business.  There are copious books out there telling you how …

Ti Sana – detoxing with a dose of science in Italy

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Ti Sana has the ambiance of a monastery: an ancient but very smart monastery. Set in the heart of a small Italian village, midway between Milan and Lake Como, the spa has been created from an eighteenth century noble’s house and is intimate, a cluster of buildings looking inwards on itself – all soft stone and thick rustic beams.  It’s on a firm mission – to bring you to awareness about your health; to encourage you to make conscious choices about your diet, exercise and general lifestyle – and they’re taking no prisoners.  The owner, Erica d’Angelo, and her team are young and highly committed – they walk their talk every step of the way.  But there’s nothing flakey about this place – everything they do is based on the firmest science they can find. First stop for any of their detox retreats is a series of tests at the medical spa, followed by a consultation with the spa doctor.  There’s no hiding, no fudging the issue – if you fib on your questionnaire about …

Kaliyoga: sociable accessible yoga in Spain (and France)

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A warm breeze is caressing my skin and I’m almost drunk on the sweet heady fragrance of orange blossom and jasmine. Lying in a hammock at Kaliyoga in the foothills of the Alpujarras in Southern Spain is so supremely relaxing that I keep reading the same page of my book over and over again. The soft hum of bees is replaced by a burst of laughter from the pool and I lift my head.  More giggles ensue and curiosity wins the day.  I slowly stir myself to wander over and, perching on the end of a sun lounger, join the fun. If I had only one word to describe Kaliyoga I’d say ‘sociable’.  Swiftly followed by ‘laughter’ and ‘warmth’.  I don’t think I have ever talked or laughed so much as during my week with a bunch of people who started off as complete strangers. Maybe we were just incredibly lucky, maybe our group just happened to gel, but I also reckon it has something to do with the spirit and soul of Kaliyoga itself. Our …