Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2020 i Top Sante

Lockdown has been a challenging time for us all in various ways, but one of the positives to come out of this strange, difficult and uneasy time is the fact more of us are looking closely at our purchasing habits, both in terms of the quantity and also quality and durability of what we buy. There’s been a heightened desire to seek products with minimal effect on the environment, which is why in this issue we’re championing fitness, food, beauty and health brands leading the way in sustainability and recyclability. You’ll find features dotted throughout the mag with our ‘Eco Issue’ logo, including My week going plastic free (p16). There have also been some amazing fitness transformations during lockdown, including our lady who dropped 4st through diet and exercise (p42),…

CASETiFY (£35, casetify.com) protects your phone and the planet. It’s bamboo-based, biodegradable and can be personalised, plus a tree is planted for every one purchased. Wild natural deodorants (from £12, wearewild.com) come with a reusable, refillable cartridge, meaning no plastic waste. They’re delivered in 100 per cent recyclable packaging, too – neat! Maison Sybarite fine fragrances (£160, bloomperfume.co.uk) are water-based, vegan and free from ethyl alcohol and chemical solvents. Packaging is minimal and recyclable. My fave from the range is No. 720. Frederic Fekkai Haircare (from £10, feelunique.com) contains no sulphates, parabens or silicones and comes in recyclable packaging, which is made from 95 per cent recycled materials fished out of the ocean. Duvet Hog vegan duvets (from £50, duvethog.co.uk) are not only made from recycled plastic water bottles but…

According to Giki Zero (zero.giki.earth), the new interactive website to help you understand, track and lighten your carbon footprint, we’ve all changed our habits during lockdown, in the following ways… 36%... are recycling more. 35%... are using bags for life when shopping. 29%... are trying to conserve more electricity. 29%... are walking locally rather than driving elsewhere to walk. 28%... are reducing their food waste. 27%... are reducing plastic usage over all. 24%... are shopping more from local suppliers and businesses. 17%... are either walking or cycling when making essential journeys.…

ALTHOUGH IT’S HEALTHY AND necessary to set boundaries in life, the very word can sometimes set us off on the wrong foot. Yes, certain situations need healthy boundaries but the word conjures up the image of fixed, rigid rules, doesn’t it? An inability to be flexible. We think of a boundary as a line that should not be crossed, and yet in today’s reality, it’s more likely our boundaries will be or have been crossed. The phrase “work-life balance” isn’t much better either, as it implies that if one goes up, the other must go down, like a seesaw. It’s not always easy to balance things perfectly, but it’s about figuring out what’s important to you and finding a way for work and life to complement each other. ‘We needn’t…

Bicycling your legs in the air for 30 secs can also provide a good cardio element to your workout. LEGS If your garden or doorway has a step, use this to do repeated step ups, working your quads and glute muscles. LEGS Make squats and lunges extra tough by adding something weighted – a small bag of compost, a potted plant or a spade – held at chest-height as you move. BALANCE Grab a hose and walk the length of it to challenge your balance. ARMS Sturdy garden chairs or benches are great for tricep dips, while weighty tools are handy for shoulder presses and bicep curls. CORE ‘Bodyweight crawls are a must as they combine core, cardio and conditioning all in one. Think about having to get down low…

WINNER Weleda (weleda.co.uk) Founded in 1921, Weleda is one of the original natural beauty brands, growing its own ingredients using biodynamic methods and being free from mineral oils, silicones, micro beads and liquid plastics. Weleda is the first beauty brand in Europe to obtain new UEBT certification for biodiversity, sustainable ingredients, and fair pay for partners. Top buy: Almond Sensitive Skin Body Wash (£7.95). HIGHLY COMMENDED Tropic (tropicskincare.com) Tropic Skincare is 100 per cent natural, vegan and cruelty-free. Products are freshly made in the UK. Top buy: Signature Hand Lotion (£20). ALSO SHORTLISTED • Dr Hauschka (drhauschka. co.uk). Regenerating Body Cream (£36.50). • Made for Life Organics (madeforlifeorganics.com). Skin Solve Balm (£38). • Evolve Beauty (evolvebeauty. co.uk). Skin Saviour Body Oil (£22).TS…

Each recipe in my book is baked in just one tin, a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) cake tin (commonly used for brownies). This means you won’t end up with bakeware falling out of every cupboard and hidden under your bed, it is just one-tin bakes. The obvious question is why this tin, why not a sheet pan, a set of round cake tins or even a loaf pan? I believe this sized tin is the most flexible, the most multipurpose, the most useful tin there is. It is a mainstay of any baker’s arsenal as in it you can make cookies, cakes, desserts, brownies, pies and tarts. In fact, if you can bake it, you can probably bake it in one of these tins. I also chose the…

PSYCHOLOGY EXPERT Rachel Kelly is a mental health campaigner and author of Singing In The Rain: 52 Practical Steps to Happiness (rachel-kelly.net). Q I’m worried about the long-term consequences of lockdown on my niece. She’s 13 and showing signs of severe anxiety. What could help her? A Typically, when a teenager is anxious, they tend to: • Produce more adrenaline • Feel more alert • Focus on the threat and stop thinking about other things • Breathe more quickly, to get more oxygen to their muscles so they can run faster. Afterwards they usually calm down and feel better. The mental health condition of severe anxiety is different. It is feeling these stressful, panicky feelings much of the time. If this is the case for your niece, she needs to…

FITNESS COPYCATS DO BEST We grow up being told not to copy our friends but new research suggests it might actually hold the key to success when it comes to fitness. Research from the University of Chicago proved that when people mimic their friend’s exercise strategies, they spend more time overall working out. Paying attention to the routines of friends and family, and asking for tips, all had an impact on motivation to exercise – not to mention being cheaper than a personal trainer! STAY FOCUSED Want to avoid the afternoon slump and stay focused on your work? New research from Ohio State University has shown that eating a meal high in bad saturated fat can affect your ability to concentrate. So, if you want to stay productive, opt for…

YOU HAVE AROUND 60-80,000 thoughts per day, according to neuroscientific research. Some of the research indicates that as much as 60 and 70 per cent of thought content can be negative in nature. It’s important to understand that most of your thoughts are automated processes and link closely with your life experiences, culture, rules, beliefs and predisposition – this is how your neurological pathways develop thought patterns. Considering the complexity of the human mind, changing your thought patterns might seem like a mammoth task. But you can do it, using a few simple techniques. I have developed a method to change your thought patterns, which I will guide you through. To start with, this will feel unusual, as the brain will likely want to revert to old patterns. The trick…

THE BRAND WITH A PLAN! BAM, the creator of soft bamboo activewear, has announced its radical goal to become impact positive by 2030 – the first established British clothing brand to do so. By 2030, BAM has set goals for zero carbon, zero waste to landfill, zero pollution and zero wasted water, among many other eco-positive goals. Find out more about their mission at bambooclothing.co.uk. 25% of Brits are more active now than before lockdown restrictions were introduced!* WE’LL DRINK TO THAT! Love coffee? Now you can wear it! The latest Helly Hansen Solen Activewear Collection (from £25, hellyhansen.com) is super stylish, comfortable and is made from recycled coffee beans. It also offers a sun protection level of UPF 50+. DANCE YOUR SOCKS OFF! Singer songwriter Fleur East has collaborated…

NEW HAIR & SKIN HERO Live in a hard water area? Then this new beauty buy is a must – especially if you have dry skin and/or frizzy hair. The HELLO KLEAN Shower Filter (Euro 65, helloklean.com) removes minerals that lead to soap scum, which causes hair to feel dry and weighed down. It also takes out chlorine that can strip hair and skin of their natural oils, making it ideal for those with eczema. Plus it only takes minutes to fit – no plumber required! SUPER POWERED! Arbonne Concentrated Shower Gel (£9, arbonne.com) is highly concentrated meaning you don’t have to use as much. Half the packaging for the same number of washes! TopSanté PROMOTION ORGANii SPF15 Anti-Ageing Facial Sun Cream Ideal for daily moisturising, ORGANii SPF15 Facial Sun…

RETINOL IS ONE OF the products I’m most frequently asked about, and potentially one of the most confusing. All you need to know is that it’s all vitamin A. In the same way that white sugar, brown sugar and maple syrup are all sugar, retinoid is the family name for any vitamin A product. Other ways you might see this ingredient listed on packaging are: retinol, retinal, retinyl palmitate, tretinoin, retinaldehyde, retinyl retinoate, hydroxypincolone retinoate or adapalene. Originally discovered as having beneficial side effects when treating acne, vitamin A is widely considered to be the gold standard of skincare because it is scientifically proven not only to reverse the signs of ageing but also shown to prevent them. A lot of people contact me because they’re scared to try a…

THE STILL-ONGOING pandemic has got us all thinking about our immune systems: how would our bodies cope with infection? Would we shrug it off with just a cough and a fever? Or would we succumb to the full force of the virus? Of course, we want to do everything we can to support our immune systems, so can what we eat really make a difference? The immune system is extremely complex and to function optimally it relies on us being in overall good health. Diet is an important aspect, so too is regular exercise, good sleep and keeping stress at bay. The best nutritional advice is to stick to a balanced diet with a good variety of plant-based foods: fruit and veg, legumes, nuts and seeds. However, there are certain…

I do 20 minutes of yoga each morning. Next I’ll have an oat matcha latte and an almond and blueberry mini muffin that I bake without sugar. I then put on a Organic Pharmacy Enzyme Peel Mask, brush my teeth and do dry skin brushing. This really sets me up for the day. I try to exercise every day and do a mix of cycling, yoga, Pilates and/or walking. My favourite healthy food is a medley of steamed vegetables. These would be drizzled with a garlic olive oil, turmeric, tahini, and lemon dressing. It alkalises the body and an alkaline body is less susceptible to inflammation and disease. Self-care is really important. For years I used to feel guilty about it and neglect myself – it happens often when you…

My advice is always to work on the relationship and not give up. However, there are times when you need to be brave and face the fact that it isn’t working. If you are with a partner who doesn’t love you it will be damaging to your confidence and self-esteem. If they don’t want to be with you anymore, forcing them to stay is never going to make you happy. And staying with someone you no longer love is also damaging to both parties. But divorce is never the easy option: it is an emotional rollercoaster with practical challenges and financial stresses thrown in. My new book The Split: 30 days from Breakup to Breakthrough (Amazon) gives you a step-by-step plan to cope with your break up and ensure you…

Creating an obstacle course in your back garden can give you a simple and effective workout. And it needn’t cost you anything! WHILE lockdown has seen various fundraisers undertaking marathons around their gardens, covering miles in tiny chunks isn’t exactly fun. Happily, there’s a much more interesting way to turn even the smallest yard into your very own home gym – by creating an obstacle course. Once you’ve gotten into the mind-set of devising new challenges, the possibilities are almost endless – and your fitness levels will thank you. ‘Your body thrives on physical variety. Changing your routine also stops mental boredom and can help prevent a fitness plateau,’ says Alistair Crew, product head at David Lloyd Gyms. ‘Include a blend of running, strength and skill obstacles to challenge your…

Welcome to the first ever Top Santé Bodycare Awards! Last year we decided to split the awards into three: facial skincare, haircare and bodycare. This month we’re featuring all the winners and highly commended products of our body categories. All the products have been trialed by a panel of women, who tested them for at least four weeks to determine which ones were the most pleasant to use and, most importantly, achieved the best results... BEST FOOT SCRUB Treat your feet this summer with these gorgeous foot scrubs and creams for soft, pampered soles! WINNER Tropic Polishing Foot Pebble (£9, tropicbodycare.com) This foaming cleansing pebble is made of white sands and volcanic ash to gently but thoroughly buff away dead skin, plus it contains peppermint and eucalyptus to invigorate. Claire,…

LAMINATED NECTARINE AND RASPBERRY BUCKWHEAT SCONES MAKES 6 Don’t let the word laminated put you off making this recipe. Lamination is the way a croissant dough is made, taking hours of effort and a high degree of skill, but this is a much simpler recipe that just uses that idea to add in the flavourings – namely nectarine and raspberry – in layers, creating a tender and flaky scone. ■ Plain flour 230g, plus extra for dusting ■ Buckwheat flour 180g ■ Baking powder 1 tbsp ■ Caster sugar 50g ■ Sea salt ½tsp, fine ■ Butter 140g, unsalted, chilled and diced ■ Sour cream 120ml ■ Eggs 3, large ■ Vanilla extract 2tsps ■ Raspberry jam 120ml ■ Nectarines 3, ripe but still a little firm, stoned and diced…

GUAVAS These are rich in vitamin C and are something a bit different to add to your fruit bowl. Try making a salsa with ripe guavas, tomato, spring onion, coriander, green chilli, olive oil and lemon juice – it goes brilliantly with grilled fish. MACKEREL This fish is cheap and sustainable, and also a great source of vitamin D. Mash smoked mackerel fillets with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, spring onion and chopped dill for a tasty toast topper. CRAB This shellfish is bursting with zinc and perfect for a summer picnic. Mix fresh crabmeat with chopped avocado for a delicious and nutritious sandwich filler.…