More data from the Women’s Health Initiative study that shows restricting fat is a fat lot of good
At the end of last year I reported on the findings of the mammoth Women’s Health Initiative trial. The trial was initiated in 1993, and recruited a total of almost 50,000 post-menopausal women and followed them for an average of about 8 years. About 60 per cent of these women were allowed to continue on [...]
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Middle-aged and elderly men with urinary symptoms may not have a prostate problem, but a nutrient deficiency
When men middle-aged or elderly men have some difficulty with urination, their doctor’s attention will usually focus on their prostate ” the gland that encircles the pipe that takes urine from the bladder to the outside (the urethra). An enlarged prostate can impinge on the outflow of urine from the bladder and therefore cause symptoms [...]
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Does exercise really explain how those eating a high-animal fat diet can be at low risk of heart disease?
I noticed an interesting article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) recently. It sought to determine the explanation for the ‘paradox’ seen in Masai tribesmen in Kenya can consume relatively large quantities of animal fat (especially in the form of milk, meat and blood), and have stunningly low rates of heart disease. We [...]
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Cholesterol-lowering combination found to have limited benefit (again) and now is linked with increased risk of cancer
Back in January I wrote about the long-awaited results of the so-called ENHANCE trial in which two cholesterol reducing drugs (ezetimibe and simvastatin) were pitted against just one (simvastatin) in terms of their ability to slow the progression of the gumming up of the arteries known as atherosclerosis. Even though the dual-therapy was more effective [...]
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UK osteoporosis charity advises us to get more sun
The summer weather in the UK has been a bit stop-start, though personally I am delighted that the last couple of days at least have been very much ‘start’ as far as sunshine is concerned. So, perhaps with perfect timing, the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) here in the UK has just highlighted the value of [...]
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Study finds low-carb diet outperforms low-fat diet in terms of weight and blood fat levels
It’s perhaps one of the most contentious issues in nutrition: should individuals who want to control their weight eat a diet low in fat, or low in carbohydrate? The ‘conventional’ view is that fat is ‘calorific’ and fattening, so low-fat is the way to go. However, some (e.g. Gary Taubes and the late Robert Atkins) [...]
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Higher omega-3 fat intake associated with enhanced satisfaction from food
One key to successful weight control is to eat foods that, calorie for calorie, are most satisfying. Two factors that have identified as having some importance here are the glycaemic index of a food and its protein content. Basically low glycaemic index (GI) foods (those that release sugar relatively slowly into the bloodstream) are more [...]
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Research finds strong men are at a reduced risk of death
As someone who is passionately interested in health, it perhaps is not too much of a surprise that I generally advocate regular activity, and engage in some in my own life too. My core exercise is brisk walking, though I’ve traditionally supplemented this with some swimming. This sort of activity I believe keeps my fitness [...]
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BMJ highlights the problem of drugs residues in drinking water
Back in February of this year, one of my blogposts focused on the fact that the UK Health Secretary was making noises about expanding water fluoridation, despite the fact that the evidence suggests that this practice is far from ‘evidence-based’. The title of this post was: UK health minister calls for mass medication through water [...]
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Man dies from water intoxication, and advice on how to stop this happening to you
I am a supporter of the notion that maintaining hydration in the body is important for wellbeing and health, and recommend that the prime fluid for this should be water. However, as with most things in life, drinking water is not entirely without risk. Drink too much of it and it can lower sodium levels [...]
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