Author: MD. MOSLIM UDDIN

As summer comes and our gardens, parks and woodlands burst into life, many of us are heading outdoors.Scientific evidence shows how vitally important greenery and the natural world are for our mental and physical wellbeing.But access to outdoor space is limited for many who need it most, including a significant proportion of young people.We would like to hear from people about why they love being outside in nature. Do you have a favourite memory of being in the great outdoors from your childhood, or more recently, to share? Why do you think it is so important for people to spend…

Think balance, diversity and routine“Our gut is a complex machine,” says Dr Ajay Verma, a consultant gastroenterologist at Kettering general hospital in Northamptonshire. “It is constantly providing us with the nutrition we need, initially to grow and develop, and then for us to survive, thrive and repair from injury and illness.” How can we keep it functioning well? Put simply: “Make sure what you put into it is balanced, and that you clear out its waste products adequately,” says Verma.“In a general gastroenterology clinic, the most common conditions we see are irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease, inflammatory bowel…

On 21 February 1986, I was diagnosed HIV positive. I was 22. It was the day of my sister’s 21st birthday. That solemn Friday afternoon, my life changed for ever. We had planned a surprise party later that night. My sister was already seven months pregnant with my eldest niece, and I had gone to central London to find a card featuring a Black mother and child. Failing to find anything culturally appropriate, I decided to pop into the STD clinic in Chelsea to pick up my test results. I knew nothing about HIV or Aids; I’d never even heard…

People who are the least fit need to do 30-50 minutes more exercise a week than the fittest to get the same reduction in cardiovascular risk, according to research.Researchers examined data from more than 17,000 British adults taking part in the UK Biobank study. They completed a cycle test to measure their baseline cardiorespiratory fitness (estimated VO2 max) and wore a fitness tracker for a week to record typical exercise levels.The adults, aged 40-69 were tracked for an average of eight years, during which there were more than 1,200 cardiovascular incidents, including heart attack, atrial fibrillation stroke and heart failure.The…

To celebrate my 60th birthday, we used an inheritance to book flights from Glasgow to Mexico City via Heathrow, where our son was to join us.We worried that the transfer time of 90 minutes at Heathrow would be tight, given that there had been storms that week, so in the end, my husband, daughter and I instead took a train from Glasgow the night before.But when we showed our boarding passes at security, we were informed that, as three of us had not taken the Glasgow flight, our tickets were now invalid, including the return leg. Since our son’s flight…

I was recently beset by a plague of clothes moths. After hours of research, I discovered the miracle that is the parasitic wasp, or Trichogramma evanescens – near-microscopic beasts that you can order online (in sachets of 2,000 wasps!), the life’s calling of which is to destroy clothes moth eggs.It made me wonder: is there anything else in our daily lives that is so beneficial to us, but which few of us have heard of – or realise is there? John Forward, BrixtonSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com.Readers replyOur gut bacteria. Without them, there would be no helping us, as we’d…

For years, it has fallen to me and my sister to take my mother on holiday. Now, she has a big birthday coming up and wants me to arrange a trip abroad. I have three other siblings, who have never taken her on holiday, so to prod them into action I spoke with one of my brothers, who expressed disbelief at my mum’s request and told me I was a fool for going along with it.I can’t decide if he’s being mean (our father died a few years ago and she doesn’t have friends to go with) or if I am…

You wake up later than planned, so it’s a rush to get everything sorted out ahead of the school run. While you’re waiting for the toaster, idiotically, you check your phone. Something has happened, and your timeline is a scalding-hot mess of the worst takes imaginable. One of your children has left their shoes somewhere unfathomable, and there’s an envelope on your doormat scolding you for driving in a bus lane.You’re undeniably stressed, and your body’s likely to respond by ramping up the same biological systems that evolved to deal with inter-tribe disputes and mammoth attacks. But is there a…

More than a third of Britons say they have changed social class, with upper-middle and upper-class people most likely to identify as belonging to more than one class, according to a survey.Working-class people were the least likely to say they had changed class or identified with more than one, with 70% saying they were in the same social category they were born into, the study by research firm Attest found.Researchers coined the term “polyclass” to describe the equivalent of 6 million British people who identified as belonging to more than one class at once.The survey of 2,000 people also found…

Some people think we are odd for swimming in the Thames. “Isn’t it cold?” they ask with a shiver, like they are the ones who just took the plunge. Er, yes, that’s the whole point. Cold water ignites the central nervous system and reboots the mind.“Isn’t it dirty?” they ask. Yes, sometimes, particularly when it’s rained. Then we don’t get in the Thames, we get in a rage instead, taking contamination measurements and signing petitions challenging the behaviour of the water company that spews sewage into the river.The truth is there are plenty of days when the water acquires a…