Author: Dr Briffa

Why a diagnosis of celiac disease can be a blessing in disguise

Celiac disease is a condition that is characterised by intolerance to the protein gluten found in grains such as wheat, oats, rye and barley. Sensitivity to gluten can cause ‘flattening’ of the finger-like projections in the bowel, which essentially reduce its surface area. The dramatically reduced surface area caused by the condition tends to cause […]

Podcast – 1st April 2011

My (successful) intermittent fasting experiment, why carbs are bad for the brain (and cholesterol isn’t), and why it’s important to focus on health (not ‘markers’ for health) when judging the effects of medication.

Fibrates – another increasingly popular drug that doesn’t do much good

Fibrates are a class of drug used to treated ‘dyslipidaemia’ – abnormalities in blood fat levels. They can help to reduce levels of supposedly unhealthy low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. They also have the capacity to raise levels of ‘healthy’ high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol as well as reduce levels of unhealthy blood fats known as triglycerides. […]

Carbs are bad news for the brain

Alzheimer’s disease (a form of dementia) is characterized by the build-up in the brain of a protein known as ‘amyloid-beta’. Not surprisingly, amyloid-beta has been ‘targeted’ by drug companies, including Eli Lilli who produced the drug Semagacestat which did a nice job of retarding amyloid-beta synthesis. However, in trials, Semagacestat accelerated decline in brain function […]

My intermittent fasting experiment

I’m a big believer that if individuals want to eat healthily easily, it makes sense not to let the appetite run out of control. Once we get ravenously hungry the desire to eat rubbish can be overwhelming. One of the strategies I have generally advocated to achieve good appetite control is to eat the right […]

Podcast 25 March 2011

Lack of sleep makes us hungrier

My eye was caught by the report of a study presented this week at the American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta in the US. In short, what this research found is that sleep deprivation led to increased eating (in the order of about 300 calories a day). This is not the first study to link […]

Not all trans fats are created equal

‘Trans-fatty acids’ can be formed in the processing of fats. They usually start out life as a vegetable oil, which is then treated in a multi-stage process to, say, solidify it and extend its shelf life. The word ‘trans’ refers to the chemical shape of these molecules. In general terms, these fats are a different […]

Stopping smoking the easy way

Cigarette smoking is generally unhealthy, and smokers who stop are usually taking a big step forward in enhancing their health and decreasing disease risk in the long term. However, stopping smoking is not always a bed of roses. First of all, some people struggle with withdrawal symptoms. And many individuals find that stopping smoking can […]

Why high fat diets may not be fattening

Because it’s called fat, it makes sense and is intuitive to believe that fat is fattening. It’s also rich in calories compared to carbohydrate or protein. The thing is, though, the evidence does not strongly link fat-eating with obesity, and eating low-fat diets are, on the whole, spectacularly ineffective for the purposes of weight loss. […]