Vitamin D is always in the news. Nearly one in three Brits is deficient in vitamin D mainly due to diet, our weather and the fact that as a nation we prefer to stay indoors rather than go out. During … Read More
Hope for thousands of anorexia sufferers as scientists find a way of ‘re-wiring’ the brain
A few years back I did a TV documentary about a treatment for anorexia which was trying to alter a person’s relationship to food and weight with psychology. Now researchers have taken a further step forward to help the 75,000 … Read More
Your post-baby weight gain is down to lifestyle changes
There’s an old wives’ tale that a woman naturally puts on weight with each baby, maybe as much as one or two stones. So after a few children, women may have gained four or five stones. Every woman puts the … Read More
Eating too much sugar is putting our brains under attack and at risk of dementia
We know that most obese people are candidates for type 2 diabetes – that’s if they haven’t already got it. What they all have in common is a higher than normal blood sugar and that’s one aspect of diabetes that … Read More
There could be a new cure for obesity and diabetes – but it might make you squeamish
Yes, I know the idea of faecal, (stool) transplants makes you feel squeamish. But while a few years ago only a handful doctors were carrying them out – and then only as a last resort – research has proved they’re … Read More
Rebel medic who sparked MMR panic is leading figure in American ‘anti-vax’ campaign
I never thought I’d return to the scandal of Mr Andrew Wakefield who was struck off the Medical Register for falsifying results claiming the MMR vaccine causes autism. His results were proved false, and his paper in The Lancet was … Read More
Post-natal depression afflicts new fathers as well as mothers
One of my sons is an expectant father and he is in the throes of the nesting syndrome. It’s as though he is the first man to be having a baby, so new-fangled is he with his new role. So … Read More
Scientists have discovered that an obsession with toys could be key to autism treatment
One of my friends has an autistic grandson, and she asked me what was going on in his head when he refused to make eye contact or was so obsessed with a particular toy he couldn’t be distracted from it. … Read More
There’s no need for the elderly to suffer so much pain
Research has shown that older people are less likely to complain about pain than younger patients. Many opt to suffer in silence even though the pain can ruin their quality of life. It’s true that we tend to cope better … Read More
Fear of pregnancy and birth on the rise as more expectant mums experience ‘Tocophobia’
For most women having a baby is an exciting prospect, full of joy and happiness. But for some mothers-to-be it’s the opposite. They’re filled with mortal dread of pregnancy and birth. They’re suffering from a true phobia called tocophobia. Such … Read More