Losing weight is way more complicated than going to the gym and giving up chocolate. Millions of failed dieters attest to that. Despite our best efforts, one in four British adults are obese. Obesity levels in the UK have more than trebled in … Read More
Shock of cold water can be good for you
Pictures of stalwarts facing the freezing weather and perishing water to take a dip in the sea impressed me last week. Are they mad or what? Knowing what it feels like to immerse yourself in freezing water is only a … Read More
We need to pull the plug on the new trend for ‘raw water’
Are you part of the water consciousness movement? The what? OK, I’ll put it another way: do you follow the health trend of drinking “raw water”, believing mains water is toxic? If so, be careful. Because while the demand for untreated, … Read More
The power of information – sex education helps cut teen pregnancy
Who says sex education doesn’t work? At last, what I’ve been saying all along – teens are having less sex as risky behaviours such as smoking, using cannabis and drinking decline. In particular, sex among black teens is down. And … Read More
Unhealthy junk food costs more than a balanced, nutritious diet
Eating healthy food is too expensive for most families – so goes the received wisdom. But is it? Is it really cheaper to live off takeaways and processed food than to eat a balanced, nutritious diet? According to a report, Cheap … Read More
Fasting presses the body’s reset switch and gets rid of damaged cells
Fasting is something I’m a big fan of. Not going on hunger strike you understand, but building a shortish fast into each day. Or, put another way, incorporating a long period between meals once a day. Another way of thinking … Read More
Never mind saturates it’s sugar we need to worry about as it’s revealed to be more dangerous than people feared
For decades, in terms of heart health, we’ve concentrated on the harm that could be inflicted by saturated animal fat. Sugar wasn’t even considered. We were wrong. When sugar did eventually get a mention it was because it contributed to obesity … Read More
Matchbox that can tell a virus from a bacterial infection and help avoid misdiagnoses
Almost everyone knows if you go along to your doctor with a virus infection you’re not going to come away with antibiotics. We don’t treat viruses with antibiotics because they’re ineffective. Antibiotics are reserved for bacterial infections. But if your … Read More
Genetic testing could save tens of thousands of women from cancer
If every woman over 30 was offered a test for cancer-causing genes, tens of thousands of ovarian and breast cancer cases could be prevented. London researchers have calculated that if less than three-quarters of women took up the £175 test, up to 17,000 … Read More
Why putting on just a few pounds is a real risk to your health
I don’t mean to be alarmist but some new research has revealed the harm that can be done by gaining even a modest amount of weight – say three kilos over your summer holiday or a blow-out over Christmas. I … Read More