Healthy Eating
Coffee, despite its not-so-healthy reputation, has been quite consistently linked in the scientific literature with benefits for health including a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. See here, here, here, and here. While the research regarding the effects of coffee on health is voluminous, the great majority of it comes in the form […]
Healthy Eating
While walking the dog today, my mind wandered and I found myself thinking about nutrient absorption. I’d just had lunch (leftover roast pork from yesterday) and some veggies and salad including rocket (a type of lettuce). My girlfriend dished it up and all I had to do was add a drizzle of olive oil to […]
Exercise and Activity
I have since last June been undertaking a bit of a personal experiment. Over couple of years I’d found I’d somehow managed to accumulate some added fat to my midriff. At 43, I suppose ‘middle-aged’ spread might have had something to do with it. But also when I looked at my diet with as much […]
Exercise and Activity
I eat a relatively low-carb diet, and as a result, eat very little bread indeed. I literally cannot remember the last time I ate a sandwich, for instance. And when I do eat bread, I tend to opt for a thin slice or two of dark rye bread. I prefer rye to wheat bread partly […]
Healthy Eating
Over the weekend the radio was on and I caught an item about the apparent hazards of popcorn. The Food Standards Agency in the UK has, it seems, launched a bit of a blitz against the snack foods and drink available in cinema foyers (see here for a report regarding this) and popcorn is firmly […]
Food and Medical Politics
On Tuesday I was giving a presentation, and part of my advice was for individuals to avoid eating much in the way of processed food, including those emblazoned with health-related claims. Terms such as ‘low fat’, ‘low cholesterol’, and ‘high in fibre’ are misleading, to begin with, because these qualities have dubious health benefits (if […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Where weight and fat loss is concerned, I favour a relatively low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet on the basis that such diets generally outperform low-fat, carb-rich diets traditionally advocated for weight loss. A lower-carb diet I think may have particular advantages for diabetics because, well, they have difficulty handling carbohydrate as a result of impaired insulin function […]
Healthy Eating
Like a lot of people working in the nutritional field, I believe maintaining hydration is important for peak wellbeing and health. Water makes up about two-thirds of the body, and therefore has the potential to play a critical role in just about any bodily process one cares to mention. Like what? Well, now the benefits […]
Brain and Behaviour
I was talking to a son of a friend of mine over the weekend. Mark (not his real name) is 18 and has been finding his energy and motivation can flag at times. Some of the time he can be energised and motivated. Other times he feels lethargic and “can’t be bothered with life”. Naturally, […]
Brain and Behaviour
Omega-3 fats generally get good press, on the basis of research linking them with benefits for the body and brain. As far as the brain is concerned, much has been made of the apparent ability omega-3 fats have to exert a natural anti-depressant action. Omega-3 fats are a key component in brain cells. They also […]