Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
At the end of last year I reported on the findings of the mammoth Women’s Health Initiative trial. The trial was initiated in 1993, and recruited a total of almost 50,000 post-menopausal women and followed them for an average of about 8 years. About 60 per cent of these women were allowed to continue on […]
Exercise and Activity
I noticed an interesting article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) recently. It sought to determine the explanation for the ‘paradox’ seen in Masai tribesmen in Kenya can consume relatively large quantities of animal fat (especially in the form of milk, meat and blood), and have stunningly low rates of heart disease. We […]
Healthy Eating
It’s perhaps one of the most contentious issues in nutrition: should individuals who want to control their weight eat a diet low in fat, or low in carbohydrate? The ‘conventional’ view is that fat is ‘calorific’ and fattening, so low-fat is the way to go. However, some (e.g. Gary Taubes and the late Robert Atkins) […]
Brain and Behaviour
I am a supporter of the notion that maintaining hydration in the body is important for wellbeing and health, and recommend that the prime fluid for this should be water. However, as with most things in life, drinking water is not entirely without risk. Drink too much of it and it can lower sodium levels […]
Healthy Eating
Last month, one of my blog posts featured recent research which has linked the consumption of coffee with a reduced risk of death in women. The improved survival seen here appeared to essentially be down to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (of which heart attacks and strokes are the most common forms). This research […]
Healthy Eating
I don’t drink tea myself (don’t like it) but I do think that the evidence shows that it is actually quite a healthy beverage. Tea is rich in plant substances known as polyphenols which have been particularly linked with a reduced risk of heart disease. Not only that, but tea-drinking has also been associated in […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
The body mass index (BMI) is the standard and most commonly-used method for assessing body weight by health professionals. It is calculated by dividing an individual’s weight in kg by the square of their height in metres. The fact that some arithmetic is required to ascertain the BMI makes it look quite scientific and robust. […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Diabetes UK is the UK’s largest and most prominent diabetes charity. Have a look here and you will se the charity proudly proclaiming that: We stand up for the interests of people with diabetes by campaigning for better standards of care. However, I’m doubtful that Diabetes UK is fulfilling its brief in this respect, seeing […]
Healthy Eating
Generally, people tend to have quite firmly established ideas about weather a food is healthy or not. And they may even have some idea about which conditions a food is supposed to protect against or promote. So, for instance, when asked to comment on red meat, most people will express the view that this food […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
The body likes to keep its internal environment quite stable, and this includes the amount of sugar circulating in the bloodstream. The chief blood sugar lowering hormone is insulin. In diabetes, there can be a problem here leading for blood sugar levels to be higher than is healthy. Diabetics either don’t have enough insulin, or […]