Shakespeare may have said that music has charms to soothe the savage breast, but this savage breast is not soothed by the enormous amount of misinformation about, especially regarding the efficacy of conventional medical treatment for serious conditions such as osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.

There is a clichéd and outmoded notion that as we grow older we get more rigid in our beliefs and ways of viewing the world. As a teenager I enthusiastically embraced the slogan that you couldn't trust anyone over the age of 30. Now, I am more certain about the importance of moderation and healthy lifestyle, yet less certain about many practises and beliefs – nutritional and spiritual – I used to take on board. However, as I get older I have started to realise that the strength of my beliefs is often more down to cycles or phases I am going through, rather than a strictly linear chronological progression.