Healthy Eating
A lot of people find they can lose excess weight reasonably effectively. However, maintaining that weight loss can be another matter. It’s not uncommon for the pounds that have been shed to slowly return, often with a bit of additional interest too. The reasons for failure in this respect are varied and are perhaps the […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
When carbohydrate is eaten, blood sugar (glucose) levels usually rise. The speed and extent to which blood sugar releases into the bloodstream has important implications for health. For example, the greater the level of blood sugar disruption, the more insulin will tend to be secreted by a functioning pancreas in response. High levels of this […]
Children's Health
Last month one of my blogs focused on the evidence which shows that exercise is, generally speaking, really quite ineffective for the purposes of weight loss. That is not to say that there’s nothing to be said for exercise. It is, for example, linked with a reduced risk of chronic and potentially fatal conditions such […]
Weight Loss
There’s a general view that overweight and obesity are the result of eating too much and/or not exercising enough. Essentially, the idea here is that obesity is the result of greed and/or laziness. I am sure these this may be true for some people. I am also sure that this thinking is over-simplistic and does […]
Healthy Eating
A mere 10 days ago one of my posts highlighted a study which had, apparently, found that a low carb diet was found to induce increased amounts of atherosclerosis (a key underlying process in the development of cardiovascular conditions such as heart attacks and strokes) in mice. I was sceptical of this study, partly on […]
Healthy Eating
Artificial sweeteners enhance the palatability of foods but, unlike sugar, are virtually devoid of calories. The implicit promise here is consuming them, rather than sugar, is a better option for those seeking to control their weight. Now while the idea that artificial sweeteners offer advantages in weight control makes sense, you might be surprised to […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
I’ve said before that while I don’t believe any one diet is ideal for everyone, I favour diets lower in carb and higher in protein (and also fat) than the diets traditionally recommended as ‘healthy’. Such diets generally give better results for weight loss than, say, low fat diets. They also tend to be extremely […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
I recently mentioned in a blog that I’d tidied up my diet a bit (in conjunction with some mindful eating). Part of the ‘tidying up a bit’ meant taking out ALL foods with added sugar from my diet. I don’t consume much added sugar habitually, but I am generally no angel either. So, I won’t […]
Healthy Eating
I’m currently in Portugal, and practically all of my main meals have come in the form of meat or fish plus salad. The salads have come dressed with olive oil, and I’ve noticed here this is used quite sparingly. Part of the reason for that is that there is a common perception here that olive […]
Exercise and Activity
On Monday, a friend sent me this link to an article about the role of exercise is weight loss. Basically, the article says it doesn’t work. I agree. I’m sure it may work for the odd individual, but overall, it’s a pretty hopeless. I mentioned this to a patient yesterday who was seeking to shed […]