When you’re in the depths of worry or anxiety, it can be hard to focus on anything but your racing thoughts. You can feel stuck inside your head, inside a situation that won’t let up … on a loop with no end in sight.

So how do you break the cycle of worrying thoughts? With mindfulness and meditation? With stress-relieving or relaxation techniques? [Read more…]

Before we get started, here are a few handy facts:

• The Pap test (also called the Pap smear test) is a simple test that checks for changes to the cells of the cervix that may lead to cervical cancer
• The cervix is a part of the female reproductive system that connects the top of the vagina with the base of the uterus (womb)
• Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by a virus called HPV, which is short for human papillomavirus and also known as the ‘wart virus’.

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We all have 24 hours in the day – no more, no less. Life can get pretty busy, so how do you find the time to take care of your health? And how do you ensure you get the best return on that time you invest?

We asked Jean Hailes naturopath Sandra Villella for some time-saving ways you can invest in your health. It turns out that healthy choices, even a quick two minutes in the kitchen, can give you some big rewards. [Read more…]

When you’re going through menopause, it’s not just your hormones that are changing – your heart health can change as well. You may be surprised to know that heart disease is the number-one cause of death for women over 50 years of age. In fact, women are four times more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer. [Read more…]