Post Archive by Month

Oh, I know people are sick of doctors and health experts changing their minds: first you should avoid eating foods high in cholesterol and suddenly they’re OK. Then you’re told butter is bad for you in the battle against obesity, then … Read More

Anything that does you good without doing you harm is good medicine. That’s a saying I’ve always stood by. However, no treatment that’s effective can escape some side effects. Professor Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University, … Read More

We never seem to escape the clutches of dieting, especially the yo-yoing kind where the body has a habit of fighting back to regain lost weight. Dieting even affects the weight you gain in oregnancy. Women who have a history … Read More

Thank heavens the Liverpool Care Pathway has been abandoned. It was designed to transfer the standards of care for the dying from hospices to hospitals but it has failed abysmally. Many relatives discovered that all treatment had been stopped without warning, … Read More

The frightening truth is that sudden cardiac death claims thousands of lives each year. Furthermore, it’s most likely to strike people with no symptoms and no history of heart disease. And the scary stats from a US study are that one in … Read More

A certain amount of fear of childbirth is normal. Even as a doctor I was anxious about the outcome of my labour, especially the well-being of my babies. Plus, until you’ve done it once it’s a journey into the unknown. Even … Read More

When I was a practising ­dermatologist, I worked on a research project looking at the common skin condition nettle rash or hives, known in its chronic form as chronic urticaria. Classically nettle rash, the kind you get after being stung … Read More

There’s lots of evidence that fasting for short periods (no longer than 24 hours) is good for you. If you fast regularly you have less chance of a heart attack, stroke or cancer. What’s going on here is that fasting gives … Read More

There are a lot of people like me who would not want any heroic measures from doctors as death draws near. We prefer nature to take its course. But so great is pressure from families to keep their loved one … Read More

How can a chemical as simple as aspirin have so many medical uses? Beats me, but here’s another. Anyone taking a baby aspirin (75mg tablet) can feel smug because it won’t just keep your blood healthily thin, it will protect you … Read More