Healthy Eating
When I was a small boy, I had some pretty antisocial habits. One of these was to engage in wee-up-the-wall competitions with my mates. A recent discussion over the dinner table reveals that this practice was commonplace amongst little lads of my generation. Alas, though, it appears that now we have grown up, peeing games […]
Healthy Eating
Many of us will hope that our advancing years enrich our lives with the wealth of experience and perhaps degree of wisdom they bring. However, this romantic notion of ageing is somewhat tempered by a somewhat bleaker side; that of increased susceptibility to all manner of undesirable conditions and a greater chance of us shuffling […]
Herbal Medicine
The distinct downturn in the temperature that comes at this time of year inevitably signals an upsurge in the numbers of individuals going down with a cold. On any given day, nigh on a million people in the UK will be blighted by the common cold, and each of us can expect to endure some […]
Healthy Eating
For as long as I can remember, the apple has enjoyed iconic status as a symbol of healthy eating. Many of us will have grown up familiar with apple’s fabled ability to keep doctors at bay, and believe there is much goodness to be had by sinking our teeth into a Cox’s orange pippin or […]
Healthy Eating
When my parents emigrated to England from Malta, they brought a fair slice of their home country’s culinary ways with them. Maltese cuisine has a hefty Italian influence, and during my childhood I remember my mother regularly knocking up tomato sauces to accompany bowlfuls of spaghetti. Two or three times a week, the family would […]
Healthy Eating
When I was at medical school I learnt that blue eyes are associated with an increased risk of succumbing to the blood disorder pernicious anaemia. For years, I have taken comfort from the belief that having brown eyes afforded me some degree of immunity from disease. This month, however, new research has linked brown eyes […]
Brain and Behaviour
For the most part, conventional medical practice has an image of professionalism and credibility. The medical establishment’s apparent adherence to the concept of scientific validity, coupled with plenty of white coats, stethoscopes and machines that go ‘ping’, help to foster the image that we doctors know what we are doing and are worth entrusting your […]
Nutrients and Supplements
One nutrient that has managed to firmly entrench itself in mainstream medical practice is iron. Even doctors who view the concept of nutritional supplementation with some scepticism are generally comfortable about firing off prescriptions for this blood-building mineral. Yet, while iron undoubtedly has the ability to do much good in the body, taking it is […]
Healthy Eating
Statistics show that the incidence of breast cancer has risen quite sharply over the last few decades, and the disease is now believed to affect about one in ten women at some point in their lives. Fortunately, as rates of breast cancer have grown, so has awareness of the condition: increasing numbers of women, it […]
Healthy Eating
For something as natural as the day is long, sunlight seems to get some pretty bad press. This time of year is usually accompanied by a rash of articles and news stories warning us of the perils of the sun’s rays, and experts are quick to draw out attention to the dangers of sunburn and […]