Sunday Mirror

For healthy joints

- BY NIGEL THOMPSON

Taking regular exercise can help prevent joint pain.

“Try walking, swimming and yoga to keep joints and the supporting muscles strong and supple,” says Dr Rod Hughes, consultant rheumatolo­gist for GOPO Joint Health.

“It’s important to maintain your ideal weight too as increased weight puts more stress on weight-bearing joints.

“Eat fresh fruit and veg, wholegrain­s, nuts and seeds and two portions of oily fish a week. Fresh foods and nuts can reduce inflammati­on and fish oils can help prevent arthritis.”

Rapid cut-price coronaviru­s tests for use abroad will be available to British Airways passengers flying back to the UK when internatio­nal travel restarts.

Government-approved 20 minute lateral flow antigen tests will cost £33 each – normally priced from £39 – and can be used to get confirmati­on of being negative for Covid-19 before jetting home. The kit from testing provider Qured can be easily carried and used anywhere in the world with access to wi-fi or a mobile signal.

Test results are available after a device video consultati­on with a profession­al health advisor – who offers guidance through taking a nose and throat swab and processing the sample – and the traveller can then download a ‘fit to fly’ certificat­e if the result is negative. Passengers can also upload their status to the flag carrier’s VeriFLY digital health smartphone app on selected journeys. BA chief Sean Doyle, said the Qured option would ‘’remove uncertaint­y and unnecessar­y expense for customers who may be concerned about sourcing a pre-departure test while away from home”. ba.com qured.com

Birling Gap is a sand and shingle beach set below the backdrop of sheer chalk cliffs known as the Seven Sisters.

Here, a vast wave-cut platform – the result of the eroding cliffs – is revealed at low tide.

The wild forces of the sea have carved deep gullies in the soft chalk and flint rock that forms the platform.

The ebbing tide leaves behind deep pools, each teeming with marine wildlife.

There are two reasons to explore Formby’s aptly named Squirrel Wood – first to see its resident red squirrels and then to relax.

To do the latter, tune in your senses to the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the woodland.

In Japan they call it shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing. Studies have shown the health benefits of spending time surrounded by trees – from lowering your heart rate and blood pressure to boosting your mood and immune system.

While it may be a while until we can travel, now’s the time to prepare for that long-awaited getaway. This pillow has a gorgeous velvety fabric covering super-supportive memory foam.

It also has a tapered rear and adjustable front closure so you can get comfortabl­e wherever you are.

■■Memory Dreamer pillow £19.99. go.travel

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■■Extracted by Vicky Lissaman. Slow Adventures by Tor McIntosh is out now, RRP £12.99, published by National Trust Books, shop.nationaltr­ust.org.uk
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