Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Infertility is estimated to affect up to 15 per cent of couples. And while the underlying issue here can be with either the woman or the man (or both), one relatively common cause of infertility relates to a problem with ovulation (the normal release of an egg from the ovary about every month). Sometimes, problems […]
Brain and Behaviour
Post-natal depression (depression after the birth of a child) is something that has broad recognition within the medical profession and even many parts of the community. In recent times, there has been growing awareness too that depression can commonly come on during the pregnancy itself. Depression that comes on during or up to 12 months […]
Pregnancy and Fertility
Pre-eclampsia is a condition that can develop in the 2nd half of pregnancy. It is characterised by high blood pressure in the mother, along with protein in the urine. Late in pregnancy the condition can cause fitting, which can have serious (and even fatal) consequences for the mother and her baby. I was interested to […]
Brain and Behaviour
Many of you will have noticed that nutritional information and advice can sometimes be widely contradictory and therefore very confusing. I usually mention this at the start of any talk I may give. One of examples I often cite is the general recommendation to eat a low-fat, high-carb diet, though on the other hand some […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Here in the UK we are told that, generally speaking, women are electing to have children later and later in life. One obvious potential problem with this is that fertility generally falls off from about their mid 30s. So, by the time a woman decides she wants to have children, there is the risk that […]
Healthy Eating
Earlier this month I focused one of my blogs on the apparently beneficial role of fish/omega-3 consumption during pregnancy [1]. The omega-3 fats found abundantly in certain fish have been linked with a variety of potential benefits including better neurological development of the foetus and reduced risk of post-natal depression. Other research has linked inadequate […]
Brain and Behaviour
One of the burgeoning fields in nutrition concerns the influence that maternal diet can have on the health and development of her unborn child. Every baby starts out as an egg and a sperm, and ends up, say, 6 or 7 pounds in weight. The vast majority of a baby is composed of what the […]
Children's Health
Today I was reading about a study presented this week at the American Thoracic Society conference which has found an association between eating apples in pregnancy and relative protection from asthma in childhood. This research found that women eating four or more apples a week were about half as likely to have an asthmatic child […]
Children's Health
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the role that specific nutrients may play in helping ensure a healthy pregnancy. In addition to folic acid, another specific nutrient that has been the focus of attention are the so-called ‘omega-3’ fats found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardine. These fats appear […]
Brain and Behaviour
The home page of drbriffa.com asks: Ever noticed how health advice, especially natural health advice, can seem to flick-flack from one extreme to another? Well, another example of the way health advice can seemingly blow in the wind came about this week when pregnant women were advised to be on ‘oily fish alert’. For some […]