Anti-vaxxer curse is a threat to global health

When I first started to fight the anti-vaxxers who were led by Andrew Wakefield in 2001 it was a straight-forward job. The whole medical profession agreed MMR vaccination wasn’t hazardous. At the time, millions of children had been vaccinated without harm and … Read More

Liver transplants on the rise as more Brits drink up

Four pints a day? Doesn’t sound like much does it? Yet despite NHS guidelines, it’s adults who regularly drink this amount that are at risk of needing a liver transplant due to ­alcoholic cirrhosis. Experts at the Royal Free Hospital … Read More

Is being a vegan good for you and the planet?

Where did this fad for veganism come from? ­ Vegetarianism is an age-old rejection of eating meat but still eating milk and eggs. But with veganism we’re talking about the ­rejection of any food of animal origin. And yes, I … Read More

Liquid diets may be the way to cure diabetes

We all know our motivation to lose weight is high when we manage to lose weight quickly, and we can do this when we replace meals with diet drinks, shakes and soups. So could doctors use this high ­motivation in … Read More

Just seeing an X-ray can make us behave

As a smoker in my early 40s, I remember seeing a chest X-ray after I’d had a bout of bronchitis going on to ­pneumonia. It showed quite a nasty picture of lung damage. When I got back to my office … Read More

Why a lack of sleep makes us crave junk food

More and more of us are prey to ‘junk’ sleep – waking in the night and not being able to return to slumber. Could this junk sleep be responsible for, at least in part, the soaring quantities of junk food … Read More