Six years ago, my wonderful husband Gary was diagnosed with vascular dementia.

We weren’t strangers to serious health conditions, as Gary has been living with Sneddon’s Syndrome since his 40s, a rare condition that affects his blood vessels and puts him at a greater risk of strokes and developing dementia.

It was during one of his regular consultations for Sneddon’s Syndrome that he received his diagnosis.

Gary had been agitated and losing his temper more often, but we put it down to being a symptom of his condition. We went along to see a neurologist and he had a brain scan.

Afterwards, the consultant stated matter-of-factly, ‘I think we can tick the dementia box’.

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

It occurs when there are problems with blood supply to the brain, which triggers a set of symptoms that often include memory loss and difficulties with thinking and problem-solving.

In Gary’s case, it affects his cognitive thinking, meaning he has trouble with short-term memory, concentration, and tasks like getting dressed.

One of the hardest things we’ve both found following his diagnosis is how little is known about the condition – I’ve lost count of the times people have said to him ‘you don’t have dementia,’ because they see him walking and talking.

This is one of the reasons why we wanted to become involved in dementia research.

Not many people may be aware but there hasn’t been a new drug for dementia in 15 years – and 99.6% of clinical trials into drugs aimed at preventing, slowing or curing symptoms of dementia have failed.

Currently, dementia is the only one of the top 10 causes of death that we can’t cure, prevent or even slow down.

Gary hopes that by taking part in research into his type of dementia, we can learn more about its causes and ways to help manage his symptoms.

Not many people may be aware but there hasn’t been a new drug for dementia in 15 years – and 99.6% of clinical trials into drugs aimed at preventing, slowing or curing symptoms of dementia have failed.

For people like us, who are directly affected by the disease, it’s disheartening to see these pharmaceutical companies withdraw from dementia research.

Pfizer were the latest to announce that they were ending their neuroscience discovery programmes, meaning they will no longer work on finding potential treatments for dementia and other conditions such as Parkinson’s.

It’s hard to stomach.

We do all we can to support dementia research by taking part in fundraising activities, volunteering for research projects and sharing our story through the Alzheimer’s Society to help raise awareness.

While it’s true that clinical trials for dementia have been riddled with negative results, it’s not a reason to lose hope.

Just this week, the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) has been taking place with international experts presenting the latest findings from their cutting-edge research.

Though still in the early stages, it’s encouraging to see new ongoing trials that will help bring us closer to finding a cure for dementia.

But more must be done.

The Alzheimer’s Society has committed to spending at least £150m on funding dementia research directly over the next decade, and is the original funder of the UK Dementia Research Institute, bringing together the brains of six universities across the country.

This is a promising start, but for research to truly progress we need more people to take part.

Join Dementia Research is a nationwide service that allows people to register their interest in participating in dementia research, and be matched to suitable studies.

I myself am involved in a vascular dementia research project at St Thomas’s Hospital; as a carer of a person with vascular dementia, I can help provide real life insights.

Gary and I know that it might be too late for us, but we are doing all that we can to ensure that it doesn’t always have to be this way.

We have recently written our wills and Gary has taken the decision to donate his brain to science. We’ve also set aside some money to be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.

We can’t do it alone; research will beat dementia, but we need more funding to find a cure.

If you would like to make a donation to help challenge perceptions, fund research and improve care and support, visit the Alzheimer’s website.

MORE: What is vascular dementia and how can you reduce the risk of developing it?

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Beauty lovers, rejoice: MAC Cosmetics is giving away free lipsticks tomorrow.

To celebrate National Lipstick Day, which takes place tomorrow, Sunday 29 July, the beauty retailer is giving away free full size lipsticks which are usually priced at £17.50.

If you fancy getting your hands on one – and it is just one per person – you can choose from Aloof, Moxie, Florabundi, Delish, Epic, Mixed Media, Tanarama and Chintz.

MAC announced the giveaway on its Instagram page yesterday.

Alongside a photo of its lipsticks, the brand wrote: ‘We are all about a giveaway on National Lipstick Day! Pop in to your local M·A·C Store and celebrate with us!’

The post received 78,000 likes and a bunch of comments from excited beauty fanatics.

As mentioned, this giveaway is only happening tomorrow – and only while stocks last.

And, just before you head out to your local MAC, there’s only 28 MAC stores getting involved – these include Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Nottingham.

But don’t panic – if you’re desperate to get your freebie, you can order one online. However, you have to spend £20 on your order to get it.

Which kind of defeats the object, but still.

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Identical health and beauty products cost more for women than they do for men.

Tax refund specialists RIFT compared the prices of over 600 toiletry products across the UK’s major retailers, and found that women are being charged inflated prices, simply because of their gender.

Equivalent products were analysed from ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Boots, and the average prices revealed a disturbing financial disparity.

A four pack of disposable razors costs on average £3.38 for women, but just £3.18 for men, with a price difference of 6.28%.

A 250ml deodorant was found to cost an average of £2.08 for women and £1.91 for men – a disparity of 8.9%.

50ml of facial moisturiser presented the biggest price inequality, with moisturiser priced at £10.77 for women and £8.02 for men, meaning that women are spending an average of 34.28% more.

People of all genders want to keep their faces soft. You don’t have to be a particular gender to want to shave parts of your body or keep your pits smelling sweet.

So why are retailers charging higher prices for ‘women’s products’ while men are saving cash every year on equivalent toiletries?

On average, men already get paid more than women do due to the gender pay gap, so this ‘pink tax’ on women’s products feels doubly unfair.

It’s not just toiletries either. Women are charged more for clothing, and girls’ clothes and toys cost more than boys’ do.

The RIFT study also found that girls’ underwear, socks, school trousers and school shirts/polo tops are more expensive than the boys’ equivalent.

Bradley Post, Managing Director at RIFT Refunds, said: ‘We were shocked to discover the inequality in prices of essentials – especially in children’s clothing.

While we may be fighting inequality in the boardroom, it is apparent that women are still facing more subtle inequalities in society through the amount they pay for health products.’

After a cursory search of a couple of retailers’ websites, we found plenty of equivalent products that were more expensive just because they were branded as ‘for women’.

The Sure Men Invisible Plus Antibacterial Antiperspirant Deodorant (150ml) costs £1.50 at Tesco while the same retailer charges £1.80 for the Sure Women Invisible Pure Antiperspirant Deodorant (150ml).

Are the active ingredients different? Largely, no. All the major ingredients are the same, and each product should work equally well both as an antiperspirant and as a product that doesn’t leave white stains on your clothes.

At Boots, the men’s Gillette Mach3 Sensitive Shave Gel (200ml) is marked down from £2.99 to £1.49, while women’s Gillette Satin Care Women’s Shaving Gel Sensitive (200ml) costs £3.55.

This is a very substantial difference in price, even if we only take into account the pre-offer price of the men’s shaving gel.

A survey of the UK parenting site Channel Mum showed that 97% of parents want the ‘pink tax’ to be eradicated, with shops either signing up to adhere to a voluntary code of conduct or legislation coming into play to make price inequality illegal.

Perhaps the most progressive solution would be to abolish gendered packaging and drop the distinctions between ‘men’s toiletries’ and ‘women’s toiletries’ altogether.

Dropping the unnecessary gendered marketing of health and beauty products would challenge sterotyping, promote inclusivity for agender and gender fluid individuals and see products priced on their value rather than the gender they’re aimed at.

We all have skin that needs moisturising and sweaty armpits that need deodorant.

It doesn’t matter if you’re shaving your face or bikini line – you’re still going to buy a razor.

Shaving gel is shaving gel. It’s not going to work better on a woman because they’ve bought the pink version.

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In January 2015, I was due to fly to New York with my then fiancé to get married.

Everything was ready; I had my dress neatly packed, our hotel was booked, and we knew where we had to go and what we had to do in regards to the legal side of getting hitched.

The day before, I went off to get my nails done, and had an appointment for an eyelash extension afterwards, so I was wedding ready.

While I was having my manicure, I started feeling a little bit sick and dizzy.

I put it down to over-excitement and tiredness, as it had been a hectic in the run-up to our special day.

As I left with my pink nails and headed to my eyelash appointment, my nausea increased significantly.

I tested my blood sugar levels to ensure that my type one diabetes was under control. I was running a little high but it was nothing alarming, so I injected some insulin and carried on.

I managed to keep my nausea under control until my lashes were finished.

However, the second I sat up to get ready to pay, I had to grab the nearest shopping bag to be sick.

I quickly paid, rang my husband-to-be to collect me, and made a swift exit.

The rest of that day was a blur of taking naps, testing my blood sugars, and throwing up whatever I consumed, including water.

It never occurred to me to test my ketone levels; I think it was partly because I was delirious, and partly because I didn’t want it to affect what was meant to be the best experience of my life.

My husband woke me up around midnight, to test my blood, and to make sure that my stomach bug (as we were calling it) was getting better.

My sugars were very high all of a sudden, due to whatever infection I was battling, and it was time to test my ketone levels.

Too many ketones in your blood can cause poisoning, leading to your organs failing.

They occur when the body doesn’t have enough insulin, so it can’t use up your glucose; this often happens when type one diabetics are trying to fight a nasty infection or virus.

Mine were higher than I’d ever had before, and I couldn’t stop being sick even though there was nothing left. It was time to ring an ambulance.

I was rushed into A&E about an hour before we were due to leave for the airport.

I was severely dehydrated and the doctors and nurses were desperately trying to rehydrate me, fight whatever I had (later suspected to be Norovirus) with IV antibiotics, and most importantly, get my ketones down.

I now had ketoacidosis, where your blood contains too-high levels of ketones, and I was slipping in and out of consciousness for what seemed like hours.

My husband told me that he watched the clock tick as our plane would have been taking off. I vaguely remember him discussing our situation with the hospital team, and hearing a lot of sympathetic noises. I felt so out of it and ill, I didn’t have the energy to care that I was going to miss my wedding.

I was in hospital for just over a week. I didn’t eat until the last day, and even then it was just a cracker.

The virus and the ketoacidosis had caused my kidneys to start failing, and made it impossible to eat or drink anything. I had no sense of time my whole stay, but I do remember crying on the day I was meant to be saying ‘I do’.

It was my now husband who had to face the reality of sorting out our insurance claims, and contacting hotels, restaurants, and humanists to cancel all our special plans.

As soon as I was discharged and able to return home, it really hit me what had happened, and all I could think about was getting better again so that we could re-plan and re-book everything.

There were a lot of tears, but I’m a big believer in what’s meant to be will be, so I trusted that I’d still have my perfect day.

And, I did – we managed to fly out in March of the same year, and had the wedding we had dreamed of.

It actually worked out pretty well, as there had been severe snow storms back in the January, meaning that our wedding probably wouldn’t have been able to go ahead anyway, and we would have been stuck in NYC longer than expected.

Although I can never be glad of what ketoacidosis did to my body, and how it made me feel, not getting married when expected was a blessing.

I can honestly say that our wedding was perfect in the end, and I think it was even better because of what we’d been through to get there.

I always say that I gave my husband one last ‘get out of jail free card’, but he ignored it and chose to say I do on a snowy rooftop in New York.

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The Impossible Burger might have Bill Gates’ support, but PETA isn’t interested.

This week, the ‘bleeding’ vegan burger was approved by US food regulators, meaning that it can now be served in restaurants across North America.

Impossible Burgers are plant-based and use soy leghemoglobin from the roots of soy plants as its key ingredient.

The soy protein gives the burger a realistic ‘meaty’ taste because it’s similar to the proteins found in blood. It’s the first time that soy leghemoglobin will be widely consumed as a food additive.

However, the animal rights organisation PETA isn’t giving the new burger its backing.

Impossible Foods, the maker of the Impossible Burger, has admitted to conducting tests on animals.

Soy leghemoglobin, the ingredient that makes the Impossible Burger possible, was fed to 188 rats in three separate tests.

A report from Impossible Foods states that the rats were consuming every day ‘the equivalent of more than 200 times the amount of heme, in the form of leghemoglobin, that the average American consumes daily from ground beef’.

The rats’ organs then underwent a ‘meticulous examination’, which PETA maintains means that the rats were killed and dissected for.

PETA’s Director of International Programmes, Mimi Bekhechi, told Metro.co.uk: ‘ While we were delighted when the vegan Impossible Burger was introduced, we are deeply disappointed that company executives chose to harm animals, particularly as there was no legal requirement for them to do so.

‘Force-feeding tests are pointless, as well as cruel, since the results tell us only how a substance affects rats, not humans.

‘Many other wonderful vegan companies and products, such as Beyond Meat, Tofurky and others, have been developed and brought to market without harming animals.

‘Our support of those companies remains unwavering.’

Impossible Foods weren’t required by law to test their soy product on animals. They chose to do so.

So remember – just because something is plant-based, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s vegan or free from animal involvement.

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Unfortunately, most of us in the UK aren’t lucky enough to have air conditioning in our homes – which can be a bit of a worry when it comes to looking after indoor pets in a summer like the one we’re having.

While lots of cats get to go out to hunt and play in the sun and the shade, others would rather stay indoors.

If this is your cat, it’s important you keep them cool, especially during a heatwave.

Your best bet is to create a shaded space for your kitty if they end up spending too much time sunbathing in the window.

Use a cardboard box to create a cool, dark spot for your cat, line it with a towel and surround it with water bottles filled with cool water and ice cubes to make it the perfect spot for your fluffy friend to cool down.

According to My Vet, you can also create cool treats – by putting canned cat food in an ice cube tray, making it the perfect ice treat for your feline.

Of course, it’s super important that you have fresh water out for your cat all the time, making sure it’s as chilled as possible (which you can ensure by adding ice cubes).

During this heat, you might also find that your kitty isn’t eating as much.

This is because cats do not need as much energy during the summer months as they do during the winter, when they burn a lot of energy trying to keep warm.

But if you are wanting to make sure your cat keeps up its appetite, remember to store dry food in a cool, dry place, and use it as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t go stale.

Feeding wet food can also be great for a cat’s hydration due to the water used in it – which is great for cats in the heat.

It’s also really important to make sure you look out for any signs that your cat could be unwell during this heat;  these are very easy to spot, and once you do, you should head to your vet immediately.

Clare Hamilton, a practice owner and head vet at Cherry Tree Veterinary Practice, in Lane End, Buckinghamshire, says there’s no need to worry as long as they’re not unusually quiet, vomiting, or having diarrhoea after eating.

Clare adds: ‘One way to tell is by feeling the top of their ears, if they feel hot to you compared to normal, then your cat may have some form of temperature or fever.’

So, unless your cat is looking unwell – don’t panic.

If they’re enjoying the indoors, keep them cool, keep an eye, and let them have fun.

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Primark has released yet another Disney collection and it all looks wonderful.

The fashion retailer has just announced an Alice in Wonderland beauty range full of pocket watch and Queen of Hearts-themed merch.

In a recent Instagram post, Primark shared a photo of the collection, which has since gone on to be liked by 69,000 people.

The photo shows a number of items inspired by the Disney classic, including an Alice in Wonderland perfume, a floral comb, some Alice false lashes, some nude and red lip balms, some false nails covered in hearts, glitter and bows and finally, a super cute Alice themed locket – just so that you can make sure you’re never late.

The cruelty-free items are already available in Primark stores across the UK, with prices starting at just £3.

This release follows on from another recent collection inspired by Love Island. The show may nearly be over but you can now channel your favourite Islander until next year’s series.

The range features loads of pieces inspired by the most notable of Islanders – including a Dr Alex inspired tee and a #Loyal shirt inspired by Georgia, which is priced at £6.

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You’ll soon be able to find Slush Puppie pouches in supermarkets and we’re so excited.

Slush Puppie has just announced that you’ll soon be able to buy the frozen drinks in pouches.

Much like from the machine, you’ll be able to find them in blue raspberry, strawberry and sour cherry flavour.

Currently, there’s no actual date as to when the pouches will be making it to the shops – or to which ones – but the brand has said it will be some time ‘later this year’.

I mean, at least it is happening this year.

Richard Benjamin, director of Slush Puppie manufacturer Manchester Drinks, said: ‘The Slush Puppie brand has been around for decades and remains hugely popular with adults and children alike.

‘With the brand already well established in the UK in the dispenser format, we are delighted to introduce our resealable pouch which is a simple way for consumers to enjoy their favourite slush drink wherever and whenever they choose.’

If you really can’t wait all year for your on the go slushies, you could always buy yourself an actual Slush Puppie machine so that you can make your favourite iced drink whenever you fancy at home.

Actual branded Slush Puppie machines are currently selling on ASOS for £59.99 – though you can get an unbranded one, which looks just as good, from PrezzyBox for £39.95.

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If you’re travelling to Tenerife anytime soon, you may want to make some time to head to Siam Park – as it’s just been voted the best water park in Europe by TripAdvisor.

The water park made it to the number one spot of TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Awards, which isn’t surprising, given it’s got a 4.5 star rating from over 25,000 reviews.

Siam Park is a water park in Costa Adeje, a coastal suburb in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

It features a Siamese theme, and claims to be the most spectacular water attraction in Europe (which TripAdvisor has pretty much proved).

The park is perfect for people of any age, as there are three types of attractions on offer: Relax, Family and Adrenaline.

In the Relax section of the park, you can find the Mai Tai River, where you can take a break and enjoy a tropical river running through the park, taking in all the views.

There’s also a Champagne Club with dreamy views and Balinese beds.

If you’re a family, you can spend some time at the Wave Palace, a massive outside pool with the biggest artificial waves in the world, which rise up to three metres high.

But if you’re looking for something to make your heart race – you should really look at the things listed under ‘Adrenaline’.

This includes The Tower of Power – a 28 metre high slide which can reach the speed of up to 80km, finishing the ride passing through a huge aquarium full of sharks and rays.

Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

If you fancy a spooky ride, The Volcano is for you.

According to the website, you sit in a cloverleaf tube for up to four people, and ride through a ‘completely dark water slide and then fall down into the volcano where a laser light show will complete the sensation of acceleration to infinity.’

Though it sounds beyond incredible, the water park is actually really cheap, with tickets costing just £33 per person.

And according to the TripAdvisor reviews, it’s well worth it.

One person wrote: ‘Had an amazing time at Siam Park for my hen do. They have a vast selection of rides from fairly sedate river rides and wave pool to more adventurous rides….such as my personal favourite “Singha”. I highly recommend a visit.’

So, who wants to book a plane ticket to Tenerife?

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A group of penguins were given a shower party to cool off in the heat and it was the cutest thing ever.

The Humboldt penguins are native to Chile and Peru where temperatures are seriously hot – however they’ve adapted to the cold temperatures at their home in Yorkshire, and are not used to the warm weather we’re having right now

As they were looking a little red-faced staff at Sea Life Scarborough in North Yorkshire decided to throw the birds a party with sprinklers and showers.

In a super cute video, the penguins were shown waddling around as they were sprayed with water to cool down.

Head of animal care, Lyndsey Crawford-Darwell, said: ‘We’re not exactly used to all this sunshine in Scarborough and some of our penguins have been looking a little red-faced.

‘They have patches of exposed skin around their beaks which help to control temperature and these flush red when they’re warm.

‘Humboldts have got an excellent central heating system, but their air conditioning is not quite as good.

‘They maintain heat incredibly well so as we’ve had so many hot days in a row, we’ve made them a shower to wander through and help cool themselves down.’

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Over the years, Madonna has been an icon for so many people.

And in more recent times, so has Maxdonna – fashion photographer Vincent Flouret’s beautiful 6-year-old pup.

Vincent, who’s from Paris, began styling Max as the Queen of Pop after he volunteered with City Shelters in LA, where he was making portraits of dogs to help get them adopted.

He took the glamour of his usual model subjects and applied them to best bud, Max.

Since then, the pair has been recreating iconic music video scenes and album covers by Madonna – from classics like ‘True Blue’ to the more recent ‘Hung Up’ music video.

Vincent tells Bored Panda that the pictures – including all the handmade costumes and training – took him eight months to do.

‘I am a big fan of Madonna, these pictures I’m doing with Max are tributes to artists that I love and respect. It’s a break between my commercial work, that is bringing me to the simple pleasure of pure creation, love, and happiness.’

And Max enjoys doing them.

‘Everything is like a game for him so yes, for example, if he needs a hat for a picture, I buy it weeks before and we play with it like if it’s one of his pet toys.

‘And so, it’s “normal” and fun for him when we shoot for real weeks later.’

And the best thing is that Vincent’s photos aren’t just works of art in and of themselves – they have a charitable aspect to them too.

Any money made from the sold prints of Maxdonna are being donated to the actual Madonna’s charity, Raising Malawi, which helps orphans and vulnerable children in the African country.

So, what does Madonna think about being taken off by a dog?

Well, she seems to be something of fan – having actually posted the ‘Like a Virgin’ cover on her own Instagram. What more validation could a sweet doggo hope for?

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Millennials are often accused of frittering away hard-earned cash on fleeting joys like coffee and brunch.

It’s one of the reasons why, apparently, we can’t get a foot on the property ladder.

But anyone who is actually under the age of 35 knows that’s rot – and now a study has come out to confirm what we’ve all known to be true for a long time: millennials are actually pretty careful with their earnings.

The Millennial Money Survey by F&C Investments has found that we’re not averse to cutting back on spending, and that the main reason so many of us fail to save is that we’re crippled by bills.

68% of those interviewed said that they intended to save more money this year than they did in 2017, but that 59% claimed their saving efforts were being thwarted by essential bills.

60% would rather miss out on a special occasion than borrow money and 35% of millennials said they’d rather cut back on their social life than ask for a raise.

Nearly two-thirds of us aim to buy a property, get married and start a family in the future but with almost 40% saying that debt was stopping them from getting started in building up a nest egg, that might be some way down the line.

According to the survey, the average UK millennial’s salary is around £27,000 – rising to £37,000 in London.

‘UK millennials simply aspire to achieve what previous generations have enjoyed,’ says F&C’s Ross Duncton

‘While some have debt, it’s clear that the majority are far from a reckless generation. In reality, most are sensible spenders who want to take more control over their money, despite a lack of formal financial education and income.’

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If you didn’t already know, sharks are pretty great.

As the ocean’s apex predators, they regulate the food chain and keep marine ecosystems balanced.

Sharks have been around for over 400 million years and they are vital for the health of the planet’s oceans, which supply around 50% of the oxygen that we breathe.

I’m a big fan of all things shark-related and I love marine life generally, so when I was given the opportunity to snorkel in the biggest shark tank at SEA LIFE London, I jumped at it.

The VIP Snorkel with Sharks experience was 15 minutes of pure heaven.

I was so close to the majestic creatures that I could’ve reached out and touched them. (This is absolutely not allowed, DO NOT DO IT.)

It isn’t frightening (unless you have galeophobia or fear of sharks) and it’s absolutely not a test of endurance.

Wearing a wetsuit and mask and snorkel, I climbed a ladder into a small cage that always rests inside the tank. The sharks are used to it being there and it wasn’t lowered or moved for the duration the experience, so as to keep the presence of snorkellers as unintrusive as possible.

I was a guest in the sharks’ habitat and they could swim close if they wanted to or keep their distance completely.

Luckily for me, they decided to swim right next to me.

Blacktip reef sharks circled my cage, their light bodies and distinctive dark-tipped fins making them stand out against the deep blue of the tank.

A massive nurse shark basked less than a metre away from me, it’s huge form almost completely still. More of these slow, sedentary sharks crossed paths closer to the bottom.

Sand tiger sharks and grey reef sharks swam through groups of companionship fish, and two huge rays floated past like gargantuan lily pads.

The star of the show was Betty, a gigantic bowmouth guitarfish with spotted markings over her body. Bowmouth guitarfish are part of the ray family but they look like a cross between rays and sharks. Betty’s skeleton is made up of more cartilage than bone.

The water was a cool 22 degrees and very salty. I wore a weighted belt to keep me from floating to the surface, but the salty water and my wetsuit conspired to keep me buoyant. I had to hold the mesh of the cage to stay as deep as possible.

Charlotte, my guide from SEA LIFE London, told me that although some of the fish that live with the sharks in the tank are the same species that are offered as food, the sharks I saw would generally be scavengers in the wild.

They would either eat carcasses or pick off sick or injured specimens from a group.

My 15 minutes in the cage flew past, and before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to the sharks.

SEA LIFE London allows a maximum of four people in the cage at one time. In my session, it was just me and one of Metro’s videographers, Aaron.

We had plenty of space to turn and get amazing views of the whole tank.

The experience costs £130 per person, and would make a brilliant gift for a shark or marine life lover.

You can book your VIP snorkelling experience with SEA LIFE London here.

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A teenager with alopecia has shared a photo of herself online, along with her dad, who shaved all of his own hair off in support of his daughter.

17-year-old Kylee Loya first noticed clumps of her hair falling out when she was eleven, and was diagnosed with autoimmune disease alopecia by a dermatologist.

Alopecia areata is an incurable medical which affects one million people in the UK. It causes the body’s immune system to attack the hair follicles and is caused by various factors, including stress.

Over time Kylee tried prescription creams and injected a drug to stimulate growth but it was a painful process with side effects including weight gain and mood swings.

At first, the treatment was effective but Kylee said that around a year ago her hair started falling out more quickly until she couldn’t hide it any more.

The large bald spots on her head left her feeling self-conscious, especially as other kids at school started staring and asking questions.

On 13 July of this year, she was persuaded to shave her head completely to save her from the stress and worry – an idea she had been toying with for a while – after her dad, technician Jeff Loya, 44, shaved his own head in support.

Earlier this month, Kylee shared a photo of herself rocking her new look on Twitter in a post which went on to be liked over 5,000 times.

Kylee, from Fort Mohave, Arizona, USA, said: ‘When my hair was falling out it made me very insecure. I would brush it and chunks would fall out.

‘Over time I ended up having hardly any hair at all.

‘I thought I was alone in going through it and I thought I was weird for having bald areas.

‘I didn’t feel pretty. I think I saw all these girls with long, beautiful hair and I knew where it was going for me and that I would eventually have to shave my head.’

She continued: ‘I think my dad was a big influence with it.

‘He had a lot of hair – everyone in my family has long, thick, beautiful hair – and he shaved his head.

‘He tried to get me to do it every day after that. He would say, ‘Just do it, you don’t have any hair left anyway.’

‘So one day I said, “I’m going to do it”. My dad did it for me in the backyard and I cried and cried and cried.

‘Afterwards I was too scared to look in the mirror but obviously, I ended up looking in the mirror and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.’

That same day, Kylee took to Instagram to share a snap of her new look. She often wears wigs out but says she is now more comfortable with her baldness.

‘I posted these pictures and it felt really good,’ she explained.

‘A lot of people told me they look up to me for it and it was inspiring to them.

‘I want young girls to know they are beautiful with or without hair. This disease does not define you.’

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When it comes to cooking eggs, we know that not all yolks are equal.

The healthiest way to get your morning dose is to poach or boil your eggs, avoiding any added oils, salts or saturated sauces that may come with frying.

But what about the actual eggs?

There’s a plethora of different eggy options out there, from organic to cage-free and it’s not entirely obvious exactly what the different types mean for the birds’ welfare and for the nutritional content of the egg.

So, does the way a chicken has been reared affect the health-value of the egg?

Well, not necessarily.

Eggs are essentially eggs, but eggs produced by free-range chickens tend to have a slightly better nutritional profile – especially if we’re talking about chickens who genuinely spend most of their time outdoors with plenty of space to roam.

Birds who get to eat insects and plants can transfer a wider array of nutrients into the eggs, while caged birds are fed a restrictive diet of chicken feed. We know that chickens who live beak-to-beak with other birds in cramped cages experience high cortisol levels and it doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility that animals kept in those kinds of hellish conditions may well find their eggs affected by the stress.

It’s worth saying that cage-free doesn’t necessarily mean free-range; cage-free hens are simply chickens that aren’t housed in enclosures; they still might be raised in over-crowded hen houses with little-to-no time outdoors.

The colour of the yolk can be a bit of an indicator when it comes to nutritional profile.

Yolks are sources of lutein and zeaxanthin – two important antioxidants that look after the health of your eyes. The deeper the yellow of the yolk, the higher the levels of these antioxidants. Hens reared on the waste products of the grain industry (i.e. those unable to get out and eat lots of tasty grasses and bugs) tend to produce lighter yolks.

As for the question of splashing out on organic eggs, it depends how keen you are on ingesting tiny amounts of chemicals.

Toxic pollutants have shown to be present in eggs thanks to the fact that hens’ feed has been produced in fields covered in pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilisers.

Organic eggs also come from hens which not only are reared on chemical-free grasses, but they’ve also not been treated with hormones (which fatten them up).

If you’re looking for a vitamin D injection, you may be better off opting for ‘pasture-raised’ eggs, which come from hens who are kept properly out in the open. Research has shown that eggs from hens who spend more time in the sun can contain up to six times more vitamin D than regular eggs.

Oh, and you can get Omega-3 enriched eggs which come from hens who have been fed omega-3-rich feed (great for promoting healthy eyes and heart).

Bearing in mind that Omega-3 tends to come from oily fish, that’s a great option for vegetarians looking to up their load. But you can get the mineral from soybeans, nuts and seeds like walnuts, chia seeds and flaxseeds, as well as canola oil.

So it’s probably better to think about your eggs from a humane angle; happier hens = healthier eggs.

The nutritional difference is actually pretty minimal and you could get the tiny differences in vitamin and mineral content from other sources. But if you can afford to spend a little extra on eggs that come from happier hens, you could also see the nutritional content of your eggs improve a little.

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When I first thought of writing about sex after children, my initial response was, ‘Ha! What sex?’

But I was exaggerating. Of course, my husband and I still have sex, but we don’t have as much time or energy for that sort of thing since the kids.

Spontaneous quickies are rare. These days, we have to plan it and even put it in our shared calendar.

Gone are the halcyon days of all-night shag-fests, and weekend lie-ins until noon with a brief pause for a full English and a leisurely browse through the Sunday papers before going back to the woopie.

These days, it’s rare that I don’t fall asleep while putting the kids to bed at eight, but if and when I am awake there’s the distraction of TV. The quality of box-sets on Netflix has improved considerably – Billions and Gomorrah are arguably better than sex, anyway – so the problem is multifaceted.

Sex while pregnant is an interesting challenge. Personally, I was throwing up or thinking about throwing up for the whole of the first trimester.

Sex was the last thing on my mind for the first three months of both pregnancies. It was sex’s fault that I felt this s*** so, in a way, I resented it.

During the second trimester many women ‘glow’. I didn’t, I mostly slept, but this is the stage when you’re most likely to have sex because, hopefully, the woman isn’t vomiting and the baby isn’t yet so big that you feel like you’re having the wrong kind of threesome.

During the third trimester, women’s hormones do crazy things. This can often lead to the woman having a higher libido than usual.

This was great for me as I was inspired to write my bonkbuster novel, but it’s one of nature’s great ironies. You are the horniest you have ever been, but have the dexterity of a double-decker and can often feel the baby’s head pushing down in your pelvis – this is very f***ing weird.

At this late stage, men are afraid that they will poke the baby’s eye out if they enter you.

Yet one of the recommended ways to induce labour is to have sex. If, like me, your baby is ever two weeks overdue, you’ll find it is the only time in life when sex is medically prescribed and you will beg your man for a shag. He will flatly refuse.

Sex immediately after having children is a unique kind of hell.

I’ll spare you all the gory details, but suffice to say that, after the first baby, my husband referred to my vagina as ‘Ground Zero’.

I no longer had two holes, but one epic superhole, thanks to an episiotomy and third-grade tear. No sooner had I got over this – about five years later – the second baby came along and it was f***ed again.

Boobs do frightening things like leak milk. They are practical, not hot

They say that for men, watching your wife give birth is like watching your favourite pub burn down. My husband says it’s worse. The experience put him off ‘pubs’ for life and the mere mention of a pint now makes him turn pale.

But I can’t complain. I am one of the lucky ones. I can still run, laugh and sneeze without peeing myself and everything is fine down there now. Thank you for asking.

Then there are the boobs.

Boobs are unequivocally a man’s favourite toys and normally one of the stars of sex. Not so after having a baby.

They may be the biggest they’ve ever been. You may have ginormous Katie Price-sized watermelons attached to your chest, but your man will recoil from them in fear as though they belonged to an alien in a Ridley Scott movie.

They are no longer his domain, but the property of the baby. They do frightening things like leak milk. They are practical, not hot.

Still, there are reckless moments at the weekends when we try to have sex in the middle of the day.

Overcome with passion or, more likely, pushed by abstinence, and naively believing that our daughter is downstairs engrossed by Paw Patrol, we assume we have a generous window of five to ten minutes to exercise our lust.

Every single time, however, a child will barge into the bedroom just before we climax.

She’ll invariably be riding a plastic lorry and doing her own loud sound effects in the manner of a fire engine. She’ll drive the lorry onto the bed and the hastily pulled-up duvet and meet us by the pillows.

Needless to say, all shagging will cease and the sexy mood will be gone.

On the lucky occasions both kids are asleep and we do finally get down to it – silently so as not to wake them and with one eye on the bedroom door – we regularly find that one of the cats has come to cheer us on.

We’ll collapse, aglow in our private ecstasy only to discover kitty sitting on the end of the bed. She’ll be there, staring without blinking.

It wouldn’t be quite so unsettling if the cat didn’t then proceed to lick herself out in front of us. I have no idea if this is normal or if other people’s pets are also voyeurs. Perhaps our cats are uniquely perverted with an unusual taste for dogging?

The moral of this story is, if you like sex then don’t have kids. And definitely don’t get cats.

Chloe Esposito is the author of the Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know trilogy. Bad, the second in the series, is published in hardback by Michael Joseph on 26 July priced £12.99

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It’s a pretty special moment when parents are handed their baby for the first time.

They don’t usually care about the blood and all the gunk that comes with a fresh newborn if it means getting to snuggle their new child.

But some parents may take the bonding moment one step further by wanting to lick their baby.

While the idea of mopping up whatever fluids are teeming on a newborn’s head might make the rest of us feel a bit queasy, mums may feel the instinct to do just that.

Maternity photographer Ludy Siqueira, from Senhoritas Fotografia, snapped an image of one mum doing it which started the discussion on whether it’s normal to want to.

According to Flor Cruz, a doula (maternity healthcare professional), licking the child is an instinctive response that helps mothers bond with their baby for the first time.

It is also an urge that comes from the need to protect a newborn, she said.

‘Mammals are known to lick and clean their young immediately upon birth,’ she explained on Mum’s Grapevine.

‘This is done for a few reasons: to remove the scent of birth to ward off predators; to consume all the nutrients of the afterbirth; to begin the socialising of the newborn; to ingest any bacteria that can signal mummy’s breastmilk to pass on antibodies to baby through her breastmilk; to bond with the baby; and to stimulate the baby to transition to life outside the womb.

‘Humans at one point in time used to exhibit all of these same behaviours.’

We’ve evolved from that point so we don’t tend to feel the need to keep predators away in this way, she added.

But after the birth of a child, the instincts may kick in for some mums, she explained.

‘Some mothers still have the strong urge to lick their newborns. And they do just that, it’s a physiological necessity, a calling from ancestors and an instinctual act of love to ensure the survival of a young.

‘It’s thought now only two cultures, Tibetans and Inuit, still carry out the post-birth ritual.’

Other mums have also expressed a penchant for wanting to lick or sniff their child all over on parenting forums.

It seems to be totally natural.

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Cheat days can be useful for those of us who have a pretty solid, healthy relationship with food.

They’re the days when you give yourself a little slack from your regime; you might up your calorie load, indulge in a meal out, slob on the sofa eating ice cream from the pot. They’re part of the old 80:20 formula – eat right and work out 80% of the time, relax and treat yourself the other 20%.

But you know, they’re not something to be fetishised (that way lies disordered eating).

And yet…someone’s just opened a museum called Cheat Day Land in LA (where else?!), which promises to allow fitness fanatics to pretend at being into junk food.

It’s the brainchild of Rubi Rymenmy, who says that the idea came to her while experiencing interactive museums in Japan.

The event site explains that: ‘Cheat Day Land is a space where healthy lifestyle advocates can take a break from their dietary restrictions and indulge in whatever strikes their fancy for the day. Everyone’s entitled to a cheat day after all.

‘Cheat Day Land is the world’s first interactive pop-up museum dedicated to your favourite cheat foods. Imagine a donut gym complete with pastry dumbbells, or a life-size bowl of cereal where you suspend from the spoon to get that perfect Insta shot. This is a playful, fun, whimsical world where your inner child can come out to play.’

‘”I’m very excited that I could bring something fun and beautiful to the Los Angeles community,” Rubi says.

‘“Something that people can really enjoy with their loved ones; the same way I’m going to enjoy it with the people I love.”‘

There three areas, each divided into subsections like ‘chocoholic’, ‘taco bout it’ and ‘elimination’. The site doesn’t really go into what they entail but each has a little blurb to get you in the mood…

So far, so standard. There’s plenty of chat around guilt and food and the usual ‘treat yo’self’ rhetoric. Maybe it would be fun to play around with a giant bowl of cereal but it does seem kind of warped to make such a song and dance about non-harmful, normal foods. Afterall, a pastry won’t kill you or derail your fitness goals that much – there’s probably no need to make a fantasy pastry gym to help you work through the idea of not being able to eat one every morning.

But Cheat Day Land insists that it’s not just about indulgence.

‘The event will offer up sensible ideas and suggestions on balancing a healthy lifestyle with snacking and guilt-free cheating. Don’t worry though; you can still eat the donuts.’

The museum will be open from October 1-31 only, with tickets costing £29 (it’s free for kids under 4-years-old which seems problematic in itself).

It might be cheaper, more enjoyable and less…warped to simply buy the food that you want to eat rather than paying to play or be snapped with it.

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When she was a student, South African author Shubnum Khan took part in a free photoshoot because she wanted some nice headshots.

She didn’t think much of it until a friend messaged her to say she’d been spotted on an immigration poster in Canada.

Shubnum studied the picture and remembered that it was taken while she was a student.

But since that image, she’s also been spotted on a McDonald’s advert in China, various immigration posters, and advertising skin products and dating websites.

Shubnum explained on Twitter how she unknowingly gave a photographer the rights to her image and found her stock photograph used commercially across the world.

The photographer had taken photos of 100 various faces of all ages and races in Durban, South Africa.

The participants signed a release form at the start but Shubnum thought it was to give him permission to use the photos for his portfolio, she hadn’t read the small print.

‘So I contact the photographer and he said we signed away these photos (we took three – straight-faced, smiling and crazy) and they’re now stock photos that he sells. He says I might start popping up in places. So I started a reverse Google search of these images and well, it feels like I sell everything!

‘If I’m not welcoming immigrants to Canada, I’m selling carpets in New York, leading treks in Cambodia, or looking for love in France.

‘I can also take on new identities,’ she explained. ‘The most shocking of these are adverts to teach and care for kids – so who is actually with the kids? When I asked the photographer about this, he says I signed away rights to “distortion of character including false names”‘.

So far Shubnum has been Seng Bonny who leads Cambodian tours, Phoebe Lopez from San Francisco, Kelsi from San Francisco, Chandra from California, Christine from LaTrobe University, and Dina M with a baby and post pregnancy melasma.

The list goes on; numerous testimonials for different products, a poster at a bus stop in London, for McDonald’s in India, China and South Korea, banking brochures, eye clinics, makeup websites, laser eye treatments, and more.

Shubnum explained that despite not being paid for the snaps, they’ve been used all over but more importantly they’re misleading, dishonest, and falsely promoting these products, she said.

So she contacted the photographer who agreed to take it down as it could affect her work as an author.

‘Now that I’m older and more assertive and aware of power plays and manipulation I can easily see how we were all used – a whole gallery of free photographs for this photographer to sell and we haven’t made a cent for all the things we’ve advertised.

‘Also this could have gone badly – my photo could have come up in a wrong place, the right to “distort photo and character!” is scary and so if anything, I hope my story is also a cautionary tale to be careful what you sign,’ she warned.

Some pretty sound advice.

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When it comes to dietary office etiquette, there are a few obvious rules.

Microwaving fish = bad. Drinking someone’s almond milk when they’ve had to buy it themselves = very much not ok. Eating with your mouth open at your desk = borderline fireable offence.

But tea and biscuits? Well, you’d think such a simple pairing would pass without much contention.

Not so.

New research by McVitie’s has found that dunking a digestive in a cup of tea is frowned upon in the office – particularly if done during meetings.

The study claims that one in five Brits disapprove of co-workers dunking mid-meeting, despite the fact that 71% of us tea and biscuit consumers enjoy a doggy biscuit (not that kind you filthy animal).

Maybe it’s because digestives have a sneaky habit of dissolving in cups of tea – thus creating a load of mess when they do eventually plop to their soggy deaths. If so, there are other, sturdier biscuits like Bourbons that are thought to survive a dunk better thanks to the holes, which might fly better in the boardroom.

But dunking isn’t the only biscuit-based issue British workers have.

Other office habits which don’t sit well with people include colleagues who open a packet of custard creams that belong to someone else, and the biggest faux pas of all is leaving crumbs on someone’s desk – with 38% of respondents saying that leaving a crumb trail is unacceptable behaviour.

Mind you, who actively goes over to someone else’s desk to eat a biscuit? Leaving a load of crumbs in your own area is one thing but it’s an odd move to do it in someone else’s.

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