Why human, not mice, studies are the most appropriate for judging the effects of diet on human health
I’ve said before that while I don’t believe any one diet is ideal for everyone, I favour diets lower in carb and higher in protein (and also fat) than the diets traditionally recommended as ‘healthy’. Such diets generally give better results for weight loss than, say, low fat diets. They also tend to be extremely [...]
Continue Reading →
American Heart Association highlights hazards of consuming sugar, including fructose
I recently mentioned in a blog that I’d tidied up my diet a bit (in conjunction with some mindful eating). Part of the ‘tidying up a bit’ meant taking out ALL foods with added sugar from my diet. I don’t consume much added sugar habitually, but I am generally no angel either. So, I won’t [...]
Continue Reading →
Could consumption of olive oil help protect against obesity?
I’m currently in Portugal, and practically all of my main meals have come in the form of meat or fish plus salad. The salads have come dressed with olive oil, and I’ve noticed here this is used quite sparingly. Part of the reason for that is that there is a common perception here that olive [...]
Continue Reading →
Sunlight exposure linked with improved brain function
I’m a huge advocate of sunlight exposure, on the basis that this mostly pleasurable endeavour is associated with wide-ranging benefits for the body. It also appears to benefit the brain. Lack of sunlight in the winter months can lead to lowering of mood and even depression that has been termed ‘seasonal affective disorder’. There is [...]
Continue Reading →
Decaf coffee drinking found to benefit arterial function
I’ve been a coffee drinker since childhood. At one point (when I was a student) I was drinking 10 or more mugs of instant coffee a day (each with two teaspoons of sugar in, I might add). As I got older, my tastes became more refined. I was persuaded by my older brother Joe to [...]
Continue Reading →
Probiotics reduce risk and duration of cold and flu symptoms in children
Probiotic supplements contain gut bacterial organisms believed to exert beneficial effects. As expected, much of the focus to date has been on the effects such supplements can have within the gut. For example, probiotics have been test in and been found to be useful for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). See here for more about this. [...]
Continue Reading →
Chocolate-eating associated with benefits for heart attack survivors
It’s nice when something that you like turns out to be good for you. And that does seem to be the case for chocolate-lovers everywhere. Over the last few years there has been a number of studies which suggest that chocolate exerts beneficial effects on the physiology of the body that would be expected to [...]
Continue Reading →
Does exercise promote weight loss? (No)
On Monday, a friend sent me this link to an article about the role of exercise is weight loss. Basically, the article says it doesn’t work. I agree. I’m sure it may work for the odd individual, but overall, it’s a pretty hopeless. I mentioned this to a patient yesterday who was seeking to shed [...]
Continue Reading →
Salt linked with stubborn blood pressure problems
Last Wednesday I wrote about ‘mindful eating’, and mentioned I was in the process of reducing my own weight. Actually, I don’t really care about my weight, it’s fat I’m attempting to lose. My aim is to improve my body composition, and to this end weight is relatively irrelevant. However, I confess that I have [...]
Continue Reading →
Is aspartame about to be banned? (I hope so)
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which, once consumed, breaks down into three components ” aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Aspartame has been passed as fit to consume by more than 100 countries around the World, but there is evidence that each of aspartame’s chemical components can have toxic effects on health. See here and here [...]
Continue Reading →