Food and Medical Politics
A major thrust in nutritional science over the past few years has been to dissect the chemicals contained in food to, supposedly, glean the likely health effects of that food. This approach works to a point. It might, for instance, be useful for say determining that one fruit or vegetable is more nutrient-dense than another. […]
Healthy Eating
On Wednesday my blog post focused on sugary soft drinks, and the link between their consumption with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Part of the problem with such drinks is that, particularly when drunk quickly, they can lead to considerable surges in blood sugar. As a result the body is generally compelled to secrete considerable […]
Healthy Eating
Today sees the publication of a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in which the effectiveness of four diets were assessed over a year-long period [1]. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine ascribed women to eat either the Atkins’ diet (low carb), Zone diet (carb, protein and fat in the ratio […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
One of the pieces of nutritional advice we’ve been force-fed over the last decade or three concerns the supposedly health-giving properties of wholegrains. Friday saw this message redoubled on the presentation of a study at the American Heart Association annual conference in Florida, USA, which apparently found and association between the eating of wholegrain breakfast […]
Healthy Eating
In my practice from time to time I m consulted by women who complain of excess hairiness. Many of them tell a story of finding hairs sprouting in places where they weren’t there before such as their chins and around their nipples. This condition ” the medical term for which is ‘hirsutism’ ” is often […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
In recent years there has been increasing awareness regarding a condition known a ‘metabolic syndrome’. While its precise definition varies a bit, the main feature of metabolic syndrome is excess weight around the midriff (abdominal obesity), coupled with other unwanted findings such as raised levels of sugar and/or blood fats known as triglycerides, raised blood […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Food and Medical Politics
Last week I wrote a piece challenging prevailing nutritional wisdom about the role of dietary fat in the burgeoning rates of fatness seen in many countries [click here]. Of course, obesity is not the only condition usually put down to fat in the diet ” another is heart disease. In fact, health professionals often trot […]