Dr Joe Unplugged

Dr Joe Unplugged is your home for open commentary on health, wellbeing and life in the broadest sense. We will explore diet, exercise, sleep and stress amongst other health matters as well as issues that may impact you and your wellbeing in direct or indirect ways....

It’s Christmas!

If Christmas did not exist it would need to be invented. Perfectly timed at the end of the year, it allows for many people worldwide to celebrate in some way, shape or form. This may be the formal religious celebration or simply a catch up with friends and family....

We Need Our Sleep

Human beings spend more time being asleep than anything else. It is estimated that at the turn of the twentieth century the average American slept nine hours each night. By the turn of the twenty first century this figure has dropped to under eight hours. Lack of...
Looking On The Bright Side

Looking On The Bright Side

Over the last month or so we have seen tragedies in the world. Connectivity brings them into our lives the instant they occur. Decades ago news of an event in Europe may take days to reach other parts of the world. Go back further and it was unlikely you would ever...

Choc-tastic Chocolate Banana Muffins

Choc-tastic Chocolate Banana Muffins

These muffins are free from gluten, dairy, eggs and processed sugar. They are delicious hot out of the oven or eaten when completely cool. You need: 1 cup almond meal ½ cup rice flour ½ cup buckwheat flour ¼ cup natural sweetener (I use raw granulated sugar like this...

Bump Ahead

Bump Ahead

My step-mother can teach us all a thing or two about playfulness. She embodies playfulness making time spent with her a joy. She is the one, in the toy section of the store, playing with the toys or the person that gets a lively game of Spoons going. My dad would...

Pokémon Go – Something To Celebrate

Pokémon Go – Something To Celebrate

It is fascinating to see how the world turns. A lament of many over the last decade or so has been that teenagers and children do not get outside to play and spend too much time on screens. This was initially TV and video games and more recently phones. So it is great...

Roast Tomatoes And Lycopene

Roast Tomatoes And Lycopene

The magic word you need to know is ‘Lycopene’ – an antioxidant that activates once tomatoes become cooked. Lycopene helps to mop up damaging free radicals in the body that harm our healthy cells…it’s also been reported to support your body to fight cancers of the...

Back To Basics

Back To Basics

A couple of weekends back it was raining so, instead of going for a run I used the exercise bike. One bonus (some may disagree) of this is that you can watch TV whilst exercising. Food shows are something that I find fun to watch and Rick Stein is one of my favourite...

Chimol (A Salvadoran Radish Salsa)

Chimol (A Salvadoran Radish Salsa)

Serve with fish, chicken, steak or eggs. Makes a great fish taco topping. You need: 1 cup radish, chopped fine 1 cup tomato, chopped fine ½ cup red onion, chopped fine ½ cup cilantro, chopped fine Juice of 1 lemon Sea salt to taste To prepare: 1. In a bowl combine...

Goodbye To The Signs And Symptoms

Goodbye To The Signs And Symptoms

It’s been almost two years now since I said goodbye to the symptoms of my Crohn’s Disease. I sometimes reflect on how I suffered day to day and cannot believe the changes in my life. I had constant day-to-day diarrhoea and suffered with extreme urgency. I could be...

No Non Stick Pans!

No Non Stick Pans!

There are inflection points in history when things change. After this it can be hard to remember why there was a change and what were things like before. I was thinking about this when grappling with the non-stick fry pan, which seems to “stick”. Some refuse to use...

Plant Protein Stir Fry

Plant Protein Stir Fry

The busier I get, the more I turn to meals that are fast and full of nutrients, vitamins, proteins and healthy fats. Nourish your insides and you’ll be able to work longer, harder and happier! These meals must be easy to throw together fast – no fancy chopping or...

7 Reasons To Practice Mindfulness In Nature

7 Reasons To Practice Mindfulness In Nature

Never have humans been so dislocated from nature as we are today.  For most of our existence, whether as hunter-gatherers or farmers, our lives have depended on the natural world.  Understanding the subtle signals of other animals, the cycle of the seasons and the...