Children's Health
With all the media coverage it received, I suspect most parents will be only too aware of the discovery of a cancer-causing chemical called semicarbazide (SEM) in jars of baby food. This recent food scare will almost certainly have many mums and dads wanting to put more emphasis on home-prepared fare for their little ones. […]
Healthy Eating
As a small boy, I distinctly remember relishing meals of which baked beans were a part. Like a lot of people, I enjoyed their taste and texture. However, small boys being what they are, I also used to relish their after effects too. Baked beans at tea-time would mean an evening of great fun to […]
Children's Health
Many parents recognise that one time in the waking day that offers some respite from the demands of child-rearing is when their kids are sat in front of the TV. The television has considerable powers in terms of grabbing and holding a child’s attention, and can even exert an almost-magical calming influence on small children […]
Healthy Eating
A few months ago, I was asked to appear with Nigel Slater on a radio programme to discuss the virtues of juices and smoothies. Nigel whipped up a concoction of his own, and added ginger to this. He described it as the wake-up spice. I had been a fan of vegetable juicing myself, and but […]
Healthy Eating
One of the spin-off benefits of my line of work is occasional invites to give a talk in some far-flung place or other. I have, as it happens, just returned from a short stint of lecturing in Vancouver. On my way over there it occurred to me how much I relish long-haul flying, specficlly how […]
Healthy Eating
While many believe the practice of nutritional supplementation to be a strictly contemporary phenomenon, this is actually far from the truth. Cod liver oil, for instance, has been advocated for its bone-building and joint-feeding effects for more than a hundred years, and some of us may even remember being plied with a daily spoonful of […]
Healthy Eating
I was very pleased to see that the World Health Organisation has recently taken a dietary tack, and is urging wide-scale reductions in the amount of sugar added to fast and processed foods. A potential consequence of consuming too much sweet stuff is an excess of the sugar-regulating hormone insulin, which in turn may precipitate […]
Children's Health
The BBC is under attack, and not just over claims relating to the sexing up of dossiers either. The Food Commission – an independent watchdog body campaigning for healthier food for all – has recently complained to the Beeb about its licensing of the Tweenies good name and image to companies marketing foodstuffs directly to […]
Exercise and Activity
Many doctors will confess to feeling frustrated by occasional patients who complain about some aspect of their health, but nonetheless appear to have no hard signs of disease. Members of the medical profession generally have their hands full dealing with those regarded as genuinely sick, and therefore tend not to have too much time for […]
Healthy Eating
In a former life I was once a lowly junior doctor working in a hospital in St Albans. During one weekend while on-call, a good friend asked me if I would see her dad who was complaining of a painful toe. My unofficial patient, a charming gentleman from the Emerald Isle, turned out to be […]