Many of you will remember Gill from the horse riding centre opposite the International School in Porches. She gave so much to her students by helping them not only on the horse but off it. She concentrated on each child to give them confidence and to make them feel special.

Whilst doing a favour for a friend, she suffered a tragic car accident. This left 54-year-old Gill with a severed spine. She is now a tetraplegic without feeling in most of her body. Through concentrated physiotherapy she has regained partial use of her left arm.

I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen recently with fermented foods. Many of you will have heard of the fantastic health benefits of consuming live cultures in food such as yoghurt, sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha – but let’s recap anyway.

Not all forms of heating are created equally. Some contribute to the home in a healthy way when others don't. Keeping your house warm is important, but protecting the health of your family has to be the priority. Fireplaces are basically just pollutant machines. Gas fueled forms of heating can contribute to carbon monoxide poisoning.

There are many different types of heating, but not all of these will provide the same benefits as infrared heaters. Adding a heater that uses infrared tech to heat the home provides many healthful benefits that other secondary heat sources simply don't. But just how healthy are they? And how exactly do they work?

The new Physical Therapy clinic specialising in painful joints and muscular issues.

Neuromuscular Physical Therapist David Murphy has decided to up and leave cold and rainy Ireland and set up here in the Algarve after running a very successful clinic for 10 years there.

He specialises in treating very painful conditions that most people believe they are stuck with like Sciatica, Osteoarthritis, Frozen shoulder to name a few.

“Most people have to take painkillers or anti-inflammatories just to make it through the day says David, “but recent press reports have shown they don’t always work and have other side effects such as stomach upset etc. I have used the latest techniques in soft tissue release and pain management to restore some, if not all range of movement to the affected joint/muscle but most importantly the reduction of pain is immediate”.

A New Year means a fresh start, and an extra helping of motivation to get fit, eat better, start a new hobby or give up a bad habit.

However long our good intentions may last, here are six herbal ideas to get you started:

Hot Tub Spas (Jacuzzis®) have long been associated with the ultimate Playboy/girl lifestyle and whilst they can be the focus of attention for party gatherings there’s much more to the modern offerings available today.

The austerity imposed in Portugal had a very negative impact on the overall capacity of the healthcare system.

Devastating austerity measures slashed out years of progress in the Portuguese National Health System (NHS) with the arrival of the troika of international lenders – European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The increasing population of Portuguese elderly and retired northern Europeans prefer natural foods.

The book 'Plantas para Curar e Comer’ (Plants for Healing and Eating,) has plenty of tips for this group of two million people, focusing on quality rather than price.