The range not only includes skin and haircare products for women, men, and babies, but also a medicinal range which is second to none. No chemical nasties, just loving care and the benefits of Lynn's extensive knowledge as a mother and herbalist have gone into each and every one of these products.

Finally... top end products that are priced so that we can all afford to share in the luxury.

Visit www.herbfarm.co.nz for information and ordering.

After a decade of reporting on Natural Health for lots of UK magazines and newspapers, Susan decided to take a new direction and re-train as a garden designer. She’s now just finishing a post graduate diploma course at the Oxford College of Garden Design and has launched The Garden Agency, which is one stop not only for the garden of your dreams, but anything and everything to do with gardens and plants.

“My real passion when I was reporting on natural health was plants which led me into my own garden and a better understanding of just how much plants give to us,” she says. “I’m quite experimental and realised more and more people were asking me to help with their gardens so I decided to re-train at the best course I could find so I would at least know where the drains were and how to build a pergola.

“It’s one thing to experiment in your own space but another to take on someone else’s but I absolutely love the challenge of creating a beautiful and meaningful outdoor space for someone else. People get real pleasure from talking about their gardens and their plans for them so that’s also a great joy.”

One of Susan’s passions is working with sacred space and symbols in gardens - check out the illustrations of her Spiral Garden design where the brief for a large Oxfordshire garden included the fact this was a memorial garden for a recently deceased relative.

“The spiral” says Susan, “is the signal most ancient symbol in all human civilisations for the life-death-rebith cycle and, since half of this garden was agricultural land which you cannot hard landscape, it seemed the perfect solution to design a spiral journey with planting and a drifting stones sculpture down to the wildlife pond.”

Susan is now working on a design brief for the film-maker Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham and her new film, Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging, a quirky teen flick just out) and a brief that includes a large roof terrace, a Japanese-style adult courtyard and a kids’ play garden at Gurinder’s new London home.

“Again, I’ll be working to incorporate symbols that mean something to this family and connect anyone using this space back to what’s important in life,” she says.

*If you are planning to rework your outdoor space or want to talk to Susan about symbolic design, you can contact her at www.thegardenagency.uk.com.

Dr Jeremy Spencer, from the department of food biosciences at the university, said:

'Scientists have known of the potential health benefits of diets rich in fresh fruits for a long time. Our research provides scientific evidence to show that blueberries are good for you and supports the idea that a diet-based approach could potentially be used to increase memory capacity. We will be taking these findings to the next level by investigating the effects of diets rich in flavonoids on individuals suffering from cognitive impairment and possibly Alzheimer's disease.'

The research has been published in the Free Radical Biology and Medicine journal.

Source: BBC News online

'We used to think air pollution was a problem that primarily affects the lungs. We now know it is also bad for the heart,' Dr. Robert A. Kloner, director of research at the Heart Institute of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, said in a journal news release.

Ultrafine air pollutants, such as those from car exhaust, may pass into the bloodstream and damage the heart and blood vessels directly, recent research has suggested. Studies conducted at the Heart Institute found that ultrafine air pollutants can cause an immediate drop in coronary blood flow and the heart's pumping function, and tend to cause arrhythmias to develop.

Researchers have also found increased levels of air pollution are tied to emergency hospital admissions for heart attack, chest pain and congestive heart failure, and even to death from heart disease, arrhythmias, heart failure and cardiac arrest.

'Air pollution can be dangerous at levels that are within the accepted air quality standards,' said Dr. Boris Z. Simkhovich, a senior research associate at the Heart Institute of the Good Samaritan Hospital.

'Patients with cardiovascular disease shouldn't exercise outside on days with increased air pollution levels. On very polluted days, they should consider staying inside, and, during the winter, they should limit exposure to fireplace smoke,' Kloner said. 'Of course, the real solution is to reduce air pollution.'

The noodles themselves contain 5 different types of mushroom extract, each one claiming their own specific health properties:

Maitake - famed for their taste and health benefits, maitake is also known as the “dancing mushroom” . Legend says that those who found the rare mushroom began dancing with joy. Their dancing appears justified as research has indicated that whole maitake has the ability to regulate blood pressure, glucose and insulin and reduce cholesterol.

Kiirotake – a nutritious mushroom, with a deep aroma and crunchy texture.

Shitake – also thought to have a range of health benefits shitake is seen as a symbol of longevity in Asia. Research has indicated that, amongst other benefits, shitake may have the ability to help lower cholesterol and have anti-viral properties.

Fukurotake  – known as the straw mushroom, this fragrant fungi is used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisines and research has indicated these mushrooms may have anti-tumour properties.

Reishi – known as ‘God’s Herb’ , reishi has been shown to have a large range of possible health benefits and is rated as the highest ranking herb in Chinese medicine. With claimed benefits ranging from boosting the immune system to reducing stomach ulcers, experts believe reishi could possibly be the best alternative remedy known to man.

The noodle sauce also contains further unusual and healthy ingredients. A typical Japanese soya based sauce, it also contains healthy additions such as seaweed essence, Chitake and Chakitake mushroom essence, sardine extract and mackerel flakes.

With such an incredible combination of healthy ingredients it would be easy to think the noodles would fall down on the taste front, but this is far from the truth. A real delicacy, Mikei Premium Udon Noodles can be enjoyed hot or cold and are best when dipped into the Chitake Sauce - if you’re a fan of Eastern foods you’ll find them irresistible.

Mikei Premium Udon Noodles are now available online at www.haeon.com. If you still want the benefits of medicinal mushrooms without eating noodles, you can always try the recently launched Mikei Red Reishi capsules, which are now available in leading health stores.