I know we covered this last year, but this late spring seems to have affected hayfever sufferers really badly and all of a sudden, so just a recap.

Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, is a common allergic condition caused when the immune system overreacts to airborne allergens such as pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds. 

If you still think strength training is only for gym fanatics who enjoy lifting heavy objects for fun, it may be time for a rethink. Research from Harvard University, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, followed more than 147,000 adults over 30 years and found that just 90 to 120 minutes of strength training a week was linked to a 13 per cent lower risk of premature death, a 19 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease and a 27 per cent lower risk of death from neurological conditions.

If you have spent hours waiting for motivation to arrive like a glamorous celebrity running fashionably late, neuroscience has some slightly rude news for you. Researchers increasingly believe that motivation is not what gets you moving in the first place. In many cases, movement itself creates motivation.

Your grey hair may be doing a little more than making you search for the good lighting. New research suggests that when hair pigment stem cells are exposed to DNA damaging stress such as UV radiation, they may shut themselves down through cellular senescence, which stops them from dividing and leaves hair grey. That sounds less like a malfunction and more like your body quietly deciding that a silver streak is a fair price for keeping trouble at bay.

You do not need to overhaul your whole life or start eating like a particularly earnest rabbit to support healthier ageing. Research suggests that foods rich in polyphenols, including olive oil, coffee, berries and cocoa, may help protect the body’s cells and slow some of the biological changes linked with ageing.

Your body is quietly brilliant at repairing itself, but it turns out stress can seriously slow the process down. Scientists have found that chronic stress raises levels of cortisol, a hormone that can interfere with inflammation control and tissue repair.

That is where intimacy enters the conversation wearing a lab coat and a smug expression.

This week I am looking at a subject that might seem unrelated to overall health, and that is oral health or the health of our mouths, gums and teeth.

Oral health plays a significant role in overall health because the mouth serves as a gateway to the rest of the body. Poor oral hygiene can lead to gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, which is caused by bacterial infection and inflammation of the gums. 

You probably never expected your doctor to recommend sitting in a wooden room wearing a towel and quietly sweating beside strangers, yet science is edging surprisingly close to exactly that. 

Your gut is doing far more work than you probably realise. It helps manage digestion, supports immunity, influences mood and even plays a role in skin health. Scientists now know that the gut microbiome, which is the trillions of bacteria living in your digestive system, thrives when you feed it the right foods. 

Today Dr Virdi answers questions on the cardiovascular side of peri- menopause and menopause. Send in your questions for the next edition. All personal details remain confidential. We will only publish your question.

If you have been cancelling plans in favour of sitting at home scrolling your phone while claiming you are “recharging”, science has some mildly judgemental news for you. Researchers from University of Oxford found that men who regularly spend time with close friends enjoy better mental and physical health.

If dates have only ever appeared in your life inside a forgotten holiday gift box, it may be time to give them another chance. These naturally sweet fruits are packed with nutrients that support everything from heart health to digestion and energy levels. 

I have started to get in to the habit of going for a walk later in the evening around Commonwealth Park before bed which helps me unwind from the day, cool down a bit and sleep better.

Popcorn has long been filed under fun snack rather than functional food, but science suggests it may deserve a promotion. A major study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that men who ate popcorn regularly had a lower risk of diverticulitis, a painful condition where small pouches in the colon become inflamed. I

Sharing one blanket sounds cosy in theory, but in practice it can become an Olympic event involving tugging, twisting, and silent resentment at 2 a.m. Sleep researchers say separate blankets can reduce common nighttime disturbances such as cover stealing, movement, and different temperature needs. The Sleep Foundationhighlights the Scandinavian sleep method, where couples share a bed but use separate duvets so each person can stay comfortable. It is romance with boundaries, which frankly works in many areas of life. 

Today, Dr Virdi will be answering questions on Mood, Sleep and Cognitive Changes during pero-menopause and menopause.

You probably already suspect that some packaged foods are less about nourishment and more about persuasion, and that suspicion is not as dramatic as it sounds. Researchers from Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and Duke University have argued that many ultra processed foods are engineered to encourage overconsumption in ways that resemble tobacco products, which is a mildly unsettling thought the next time you face a shiny packet of crisps. Their report says these foods are purposefully designed, highly manufactured, and built to be hard to resist, which is why they say they deserve tougher regulation than the average dinner plate.

You already know exercise can help your heart, waistline, and mood, but now it may have another trick up its sweaty sleeve. Researchers at Edith Cowan University found that a single session of resistance training or high intensity interval training (HIIT) could increase anti cancer proteins released by muscles, known as myokines. In laboratory testing, those changes were linked with a 20 to 30 percent reduction in cancer cell growth. Suddenly that workout you nearly skipped looks very smug indeed!

This week I wanted to focus on something really interesting which I am sure most of us have heard of and now seems to be more and more in the media with claims of amazing benefits, and that is Testosterone therapy.

There’s always that triumphant post workout moment, the glow and the sense of virtue, followed closely by a knee that seems rather less impressed. Post exercise knee pain is often the result of overdoing things rather than anything seriously wrong.