Tomatoes have long been known to possess many health benefits. Whether eaten raw in salads and sandwiches, or cooked and processed into soups, purees, pastes and sauces, the good news just keeps on coming.

We’ve heard about their effect in preventing various types of cancer, of prostate and the skin, and the humble fruit’s use against heart disease and stroke. Now it’s a great cosmetic too.

The benefits are credited to lycopene, the pigment behind the distinctive red skin and a powerful antioxidant.

Professor Birch-Machin, of Newcastle University believes tomatoes are a cheap and simple way of improving health and looking good.

After a joint study by Manchester and Newcastle universities, he said, “I went into the study as a sceptic, but I was quite surprised with the significance of the findings.”

The British Society for Investigative Dermatology’s annual conference was told that tests using ultra-violet lamps showed that tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start. Other tests suggested a tomato-based diet boosted production of collagen, the protein that keeps skin supple.

Tomatoes also protect the mitochondria, the parts of cells that turn food we eat into energy. “Being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-ageing effect,” Professor Birch-Machin said.

The researchers now recommend two tomato-based meals a day for optimum health.

If you often feel a bit down or even truly depressed, you are almost certainly suffering from a deficiency of serotonin — the “Happiness Hormone”.

A basket of fruit with tryptophan in mind

Now a new ebook that tackles this problem in a Sideways manner is available by download. Caroline Longmore, a French doctor has created a programme for everyone, based on a natural diet.

Serotonin is derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which the body cannot make itself.

So for many of us, unless we take enough tryptophan through our diets, we may suffer a deficiency.

… The best way is through diet: eat foods rich in trypotophan and avoid sugar and processed carbohyrates which artificially raise blood-sugar levels, leaving you feeling temorarily better before even wilder mood swings. … you will also need enough vitamins B3 and B6, magnesium and zinc.

Typical foods recommended are, bananas, turkey, spinach, beans and seeds, cottage cheese, plums, lobster and pineapple.

You can download The Serotonin Secret, By Dr. Caroline Longmore and Katrin Hempel as an ebook, from www.galennaturopathic.com for £5.95, or dollar equivalent.

Hiccups, or hiccoughs as it was once spelt, is an annoying condition, especially if you are at a social occasion or in a business meeting.

It is caused when the band of muscle below the ribs, the diaphragm, contracts suddenly in a spasm.

Here’s a sideways cure that requires nothing but a glass of water and a drinking straw.

1. Put one-third of a pint of water in a glass, together with the straw.
2. Press the tips of your index fingers into the hollows behind the earlobes where the neck meets the jawbone.
3. Keep the pressure on while drinking as much of the water as you can through the straw.
4. It is claimed that when the glass is empty the hiccups will be gone.

Owners of small businesses are notorious for neglecting their health. Most either work at home or in small offices with a tiny support staff. Phone messages and the need to make telephone calls tend to pile up through the day, adding to stress and the sedentary lifestyle.

Here’s a tip for turning the phone call list into a real exercise session.

Mobile phones are pretty sophisticated these days. You can easily program all the numbers you need to call into a special folder.

When those calls you need to make start piling up, simply delay them until you can get out of the office on a long walk of around an hour, and go through them one by one while on the move.

The fact that you are obviously calling while on the hoof will make the calls shorter — and, you’ll be getting a great workout while you chunter through them.

I do this all the time and it 1) reduces the tedium of walking a well-known route, and 2) ensures I get my break from the office and a good stretch of the legs some time during the day.

Oh, and make sure the battery is fully charged before you go.