I founded my website 11 years ago to write about theatre, food and wine, ballroom dance and travel. When I started  blogging, theatre reviews were mainly in print form, and few people were taking pictures of their restaurant dishes. How times have changed. When I retired from medical practice to focus on reviewfromthehouse, my writing and the arts, I certainly had no thought that I would ever be writing about medical and scientific research into living and aging well.

Whether we are inhaling the aromas of curry with spices like cardamom, cumin and coriander, or tasting a pasta sauce rich with rosemary, basil and oregano,  generally we simply enjoy the taste and smell food sensations. But although the word spice evokes the concept of piquant flavors and aromas of foods or drinks,  most of us don’t think of the ways in which these different herbs and spices may be altering our metabolism or have a medicinal effect.