Why calorie counting can be so inaccurate

You’ll be glad to hear calorie counting is outdated. So why do we continue to use it as a guide to healthy eating? Well, it’s simple. A number is very easy to assess, count and act on. Also, it’s ­entrenched. … Read More

Stem cells can repair injured hearts

Before my granddaughter was born, when her embryo was six weeks old, her mum had an ­ultrasound scan. The ­obstetrician offered us a close-up of her embryonic heart. Yes, please, we said. And she focused in on what no one … Read More

Stress causes the body to put on more weight

It would appear, if mice are anything to go on, that you’re more likely to gain weight if you eat when you’re stressed. Researchers have discovered a high-calorie diet consumed when under stress results in more weight gain than when the … Read More

Sperm’s fight to fertilise could help IVF

Most of us are aware that a sperm has to race against millions of rivals to reach the egg, ­penetrate it, ­fertilise it and conceive a baby. The sperm’s journey is fraught with obstacles, meaning the weaklings fall by the … Read More

What is triggering your ‘nettle rash’

I was surprised to hear of a woman who was labelled infectious and avoided by everyone because each day her face, lips and eyes swelled up due to a condition that turned out to be chronic idiopathic urticaria, which isn’t … Read More

Benefits of transplanting good bacteria into the gut

A friend of mine came home from the US having had a – faecal transplant – which was something of a conversation stopper when talking about her trip. Apparently they’re quite well accepted Stateside, especially in complementary medical circles. She’d had one … Read More