If you’re looking for ways to fend off colds and flu this winter, consider stocking your vegetable crisper with broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

According to new research findings published this month in the journal Cell, these healthy vegetables – known as cruciferous vegetables – can bolster the immune system.

The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues and organs and defends the body every day from bacteria, viruses and other invaders. Special immune cells in the skin and gut – intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) – serve as the body’s first line of defence, producing substances harmful to microbes.

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A McDonald’s muffin marketed as a healthier option contains more salt than one of its burgers.

The fast-food chain’s low-fat blueberry muffin has 1.7g of salt – more than in three packets of ready-salted crisps.

The figures come from health campaigners who claim that simple coffee-break snacks are part of the reason the nation is overdosing on salt every day.

Hidden salt in processed foods is said to be fuelling high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks, leading to thousands of premature deaths.

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From the Dukan Diet to the Caveman Plan, weight-loss regimes instructing us what to eat and what to avoid are big business.

But a number of recent studies have revealed how making several small lifestyle changes could help you lose weight without feeling deprived of the food you love.

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This week marks the start of my new weekly column in Weekend magazine. I’ve been doing bits and pieces for the Mail over the last 12 years but I’ve never been a formal member of staff before, so this is really exciting.

A lot has happened during those 12 years. We’re in a weird climate at the moment, the recession has definitely taken the sparkle off stuff and
Britain has become quite polarised.

On one hand there’s a massive chunk of people that haven’t got a clue where their food comes from, hardly ever cook from scratch and eat prepacked meals or takeaways every night of the week.

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Vitamins and other food supplements taken by millions of women may actually put them at more risk, according to a major study.

Scientists say there is little evidence the pills do any good – and in fact some could be causing serious harm.

A study involving nearly 39,000 women has found multivitamins, vitamin B, folic acid, iron, magnesium and copper all increased the statistical risk of premature death.

Nearly a third of adults in Britain take some form of dietary supplement most days and the industry is worth £675million a year.

Some of the most popular pills include multivitamins, vitamin A, C and E, iron, folic acid and calcium – which are all thought to improve long-term health and ward off illnesses.

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In a case of life imitating art, Sex and the City star Kristin Davis has adopted a little girl.

The 46-year-old actress just revealed she took her new baby, Gemma Rose Davis, home a few months ago.

In a picture released by the star, she is seen tenderly cradling the new arrival in her arms.

‘This is something I have wanted for a very long time,’ Kristin told America’s People Magazine.

‘Having this wish come true is even more gratifying than I ever had imagined. I feel so blessed,’ Kristin added.

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It’s a surprising, subversive and very, very popular idea.

Over the past few years, several studies – including a 2009 analysis of Statistics Canada data – have suggested that being a bit chubby as you get older, far from being a health risk, may actually help you live longer. The extra weight, the thinking goes, could help cushion you from the inevitable slings, arrows and hip fractures of old age.

But the newly published results of a three-decade-long study of clean-living Seventh-Day Adventists in California suggest that you might want to go easy on those early-bird specials after all. When confounding factors such as skinny smokers were removed, the effects of extra weight were clear – and bad – even for those older than 75.

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Many of us know that legumes – lentils, split peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans – are good for us. They’re rich in protein, fibre, B vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting phytochemicals.

But you may not know that Canada – Saskatchewan to be specific – is one of the world’s largest growers and exporters of these incredibly healthy foods, most notably lentils, chickpeas and dried peas.

More than 90 per cent of legumes grown on the Canadian prairies make their way to India, the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, Europe and South America, where they end up in dishes such as daal, Greek fava, zuppa di lenticchie and Mujadara.

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In Denmark over the weekend, lovers of fatty foods including butter and pizza paid more to indulge.

The government debuted a new tax on foods containing more than 2.3-per-cent saturated fat – affecting the cost of everything from milk to oils and packaged foods. Customers will pay about $3 per kilogram of saturated fat in a product.

The tax revenue will fund obesity-fighting measures, according to the Guardian.

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You might have thought resisting that piece of chocolate cake or extra biscuit was simply a matter of exerting a little will power.

But for some of us it’s much more difficult than that – because of the way our brains are wired.

Scientists have found that a key part of the brain which stops the body from acting on impulse – and gorging – does not function as well in those who are overweight or obese.

A study by scientists from Yale University has shown that falling glucose levels lead to a loss of self-control in the brain which subsequently lead to parts of the brain craving high-calorie food such as cakes, biscuits or crisps.

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