Food and Medical Politics
I don’t remember too many things from my time at my medical school, but one thing that has stuck in my mind were the names ‘Hill and Doll’. The reason being that Austin Bradford Hill and Richard Doll were the scientists who discovered the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Trust me when I […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
It’s been hard to miss the dire warning we’ve had about the burgeoning rates of diabetes we’re seeing in the World. Another came this week came out of Cape Town in South Africa during the World Diabetes Congress. It was announced at a news conference that by the year 2025, 380 million people will be […]
Cholesterol and Statins
What are doctors and medicine for? To help people achieve better health, and maybe even save some lives, right? Well, over the last decade or so I’ve noticed that certain factions within the medical establishment seem to have, largely, forgotten this. We doctors, it occurs to me, are being asked to put more and more […]
Brain and Behaviour
Last week saw the publication of a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry which has found that the eating disorder bulimia nervosa is 5 times more common in cities than in more rural areas [1]. The authors of this study suggested that this difference may be due to the relative anonymity of a big […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Last week I was on the island of Malta in middle of the Mediterranean teaching a health-focused course to delegates from several European countries. At one point, I found myself having a conversation over breakfast with our course administrator – an Italian – on the topic of how to make a great espresso coffee. I […]
Brain and Behaviour
The contracted days and climatic changes that come at this time of year can us not only cold, but short on sunlight too. Getting adequate exposure to the sun’s rays is important for maintaining mood, and it’s action on the skin is also the main way the body meets its needs for vitamin D ” […]
Food and Medical Politics
On 15th November my blog was dedicated to a very poorly interpreted piece of research which purported to show a link between red meat eating and an increased risk of breast cancer [click here]. Even the most cursory look at this study revealed a piece of research hardly worth the paper it was written on. […]
Brain and Behaviour
I learned this week that life expectancy in the UK has reached an all-time high. Yet, while quantity of life is important to most of us, so is quality of life. What the life expectancy statistics don’t tell us about is health issues that can come as part and parcel of the ageing process that […]
Food and Medical Politics
Those familiar with my work will know that, generally speaking, I am a relative fan of diets that are largely bereft of starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals. A combination of a generally fast-sugar-releasing nature and the fact that they tend to be eaten in quantity gives these foods considerable […]
Children's Health
The end of last week saw some mixed news for those who believe that the television advertising of junk foods is a malign influence on our children’s lives. UK media regulator Ofcom has announced plans for a ban on such advertising during programming designed for children. This is clearly a step forward, though some had […]