Healthy Eating
I was interested to read recently of a recently developed diagnostic tool for doctors – the artificial nose. Scientists at Strathclyde University have come up with a device that has the ability to detect odours characteristic of a variety of medical conditions. Learning of this new-fangled gadget reminded me of a story my mother once […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Last week I focused on how reactions to specific foods can precipitate the undesirable gut feelings collectively known as ‘irritable bowel syndrome’ (IBS). While IBS is commonly triggered by food sensitivity, this condition can also be related to other internal issues. One other frequent underlying factor in IBS concerns the microbes that reside within the […]
Nutrients and Supplements
A recent report from Surrey University informs us that British women get significantly less sleep than their male counterparts. This may not come as too much of a surprise bearing in mind that it is usually mums, rather than dads, who provide the bulk of child-care duties during the night. However, it turns out that […]
Healthy Eating
My attention was recently caught by research carried out in Kenya which shows that supplementing children’s diets with meat assisted their growth, and also led to improvements in their performance in problem-solving and intelligence tests. As a result of this and other research, the lead researcher of this study has described brining up children as […]
Brain and Behaviour
Reports of exponential growth in the rates of obesity in UK children have led to renewed calls for more activity and exercise to be worked into their lives. However, while some children may be appear to be immobilised by an inherent inertia, others may have an altogether different problem: children suffering with attention deficit hyperactivity […]
Children's Health
1. Base your child’s diet on natural, unadulterated foods A healthy diet is one based on whole, unprocessed foods such as meat, fish, seafood, eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils. These ‘primal’ foods have been part of the human diet for extended periods during our evolution, and are therefore the foods to which, […]
Healthy Eating
It is well known that taking folic acid around the time of pregnancy helps to defend against developmental disorders known as ‘neural tube defects’ (such as spina bifida). However, the wisdom of this established nutritional practice was recently called into question on the publication of a study which appeared to link folic acid supplementation with […]
Healthy Eating
For the last few decades, cancer rates in the UK have seen a sharp rise, and it is predicted that by the year 2020, one in two of us will be affected by this condition at some point in our lives. One theory about what might be fuelling these scary statistics is that we are […]
Healthy Eating
Back in September, the drug company Merck pulled its painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib) from the market after research revealed it more than doubled risk of heart attack. However, what at first appeared to be a big pharma acting with a degree of corporate responsibility turned sour when evidence came to light which suggests that Merck was […]
Nutrients and Supplements
If the adverts at the back of mens’ magazines are anything to go by, we male folk are quite commonly concerned about the reduced turgidity of our erections and a fall in the amount of hair on our heads. While women are spared the former issue, they are not entirely immune to the latter: I […]