Exercise and Activity
Earlier this month one of my blogs focused on the benefits of sunlight exposure, and in particular the seeming ability of higher vitamin D levels to protect us from a wide range of cancer. Vitamin D is believed to have other roles within the body, including some ability to help ensure normal muscular function. In […]
Healthy Eating
Moderate drinking is often advocated for its health ‘benefits’, specifically with regard to its apparent ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart attacks and stroke. However, whatever benefits alcohol may have with respect to cardiovascular disease can be diluted through its ability to increase the risk of other conditions such as […]
Brain and Behaviour
Migraines are usually severe, one-sided headaches. My experience in practice is that they can have several underlying causes, though it believed that a common theme in these headaches is spasm and then relaxation in the arteries supplying blood to the brain. The ‘rush of blood to the head’ this brings is thought to have the […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
One condition that we are warned is on dramatic rise is type 2 diabetes. This condition, is characterised by raised levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, and is usually caused by a failure of the body to make adequate amounts of insulin and/or impaired insulin function (insulin resistance). Type 2 diabetes is believed to […]
Healthy Eating
Today sees the publication of a study which appears to show that reducing salt consumption can save lives. The research, conducted at Harvard medical school in the USA has found that individuals who reduced their salt intake from about 10 g to about 7 gram per day (a 30 per cent reduction) see a 25 […]
Brain and Behaviour
One of the most significant dietary changes we have seen in the modern-day diet is an increase in our consumption of what are referred to as ‘omega-6’ fats such as something known as ‘linoleic acid’ found in many vegetable oils including corn, safflower and sunflower oil. Within the body, such fats tend to encourage inflammation, […]
Herbal Medicine
My experience is that when individuals hear the word ‘infertility’, they often think of the female variety of this condition. However, I remember being taught at medical school that only about a third of infertility were solely due to problems with the prospective mother. About a third of cases are a combination of female and […]
Healthy Eating
You may well be aware at just how often nutritional advice seems to blow in the wind. And this week brought an example of this in the form of a study which, it is claimed, found a link between the eating of oily fish and an increased risk of diabetes. Not surprisingly, this has led […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterised by an uncomfortable sensation in the legs which gives rise to an overwhelming urge to move them. The symptoms of this condition typically come on when individuals are in lying down in bed. This condition overlaps with another known as ‘periodic limb movements during sleep’ (PLMS), in which involuntary […]
Food and Medical Politics
I make no secret of my general scepticism about the food industry, and it seemingly endless ability to serve up supposedly ‘healthy’ foods and foodstuffs that, I reckon, are best avoided by those that value their health and well-being. Compounds that I feel fits into this category include artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet, […]