Healthy Eating
The prospect of stripping off and revealing our true selves on the beach or by the pool this summer will inevitably have some of us taking steps to shed some excess weight. I notice that one tabloid newspaper is spearheading a resurgence of the Atkins diet in the form of a plan specifically targeting those […]
Healthy Eating
I welcome the opportunity the summer weather occasionally to let the caveman out in me through the stoking up of the barbecue for the cooking of flesh-based foods. I believe this particular form of alfresco eating appeals to my most basic instincts, but am also aware that it is not without risk: it is well […]
Healthy Eating
Red meat has almost certainly featured in the human diet for a large portion of our evolution, and its primal nature is one reason why I believe this food can assume some place within a ‘healthy’ diet of today. However, I am well aware that red meat is usually viewed as distinctly unhealthy fare, and […]
Healthy Eating
While my career path veered away from orthodoxy more than a decade ago, I remain a regular reader of the British Medical Journal. One thing I like about this particular publication is it’s ability to email-alert me to any nutritionally-related content. Recently, the BMJ published an editorial on the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) […]
Food and Medical Politics
As a result of increased awareness about the impact our diet has on health and concern about the some of the constituents of processed food, the Government has committed itself to more transparent food labelling. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) – the government body chiefly responsible for setting food policy in the UK – has […]
Children's Health
I recently had Radio 4 on for a bit of oral wallpaper, and found my ears pricking up during an item on quangos. According to a recent report published by the Efficiency in Government Unit (EGU), the UK now has more than 500 of these ‘quasi-autonomous, non-governmental organisations’ which soak up billions of taxpayers pounds […]
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 […]
Healthy Eating
Listening to the radio a few days ago, I caught a report which warned of a mince pie shortage this Christmas, as a result of the growing demand for British lard by Eastern European food manufacturers. Given animal fat’s deathly reputation, some may believe that the siphoning off of suet to other parts of the […]
Healthy Eating
With its emphasis on fresh fruits and veggies, fish and olive oil, the Mediterranean diet is generally regarded as an altogether healthy feeding regime, and one that seems to be particularly effective in the warding off heart disease. While I am generally enthusiastic about this is way of eating, I am not so keen on […]
Healthy Eating
The colossal problems we seem to be having with overweight and obesity in the UK are never far from my mind. As a general rule, I encourage those seeking to attain or maintain a healthy weight to put their focus on enhancing the quality of the diet, rather than reducing its quantity. However, it is […]