Power to the people
Gary Taubes is a name probably familiar to you. If not, he’s a writer and author of Good Calories, Bad Calories (The Diet Delusion in the UK) and Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It. While we’re clearly not twins separated at birth, I have traditionally had a lot of time for [...]
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Another reason to avoid sunscreens
One of my last posts pointed to the hazards associated with the use of sunscreens, including some propensity to increased skin cancer risk. Some people have commented that chemicals found in sunscreens might have a direct toxic and cancer-inducing effect in the body. I don’t disagree with this idea at all – it’s certainly plausible. [...]
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Study suggests that insulin may drive weight gain after stopping smoking
I am away at the moment and have limited time and internet access. So this post, as well as anything else I write this week is going to be short and sweet. I saw this story today which is concerned with the weight gain that often comes after stopping smoking. In this particular study, 3 [...]
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Getting more sleep could make it easier to control our weight
One could argue that our health is the product of factors that can be genetic (inherited) or environmental (including diet and activity). Body weight, for instance, will usually ultimately determined by these two major factors. There is no doubt that some people inherit more of a tendency to be heavier than others. Some people do [...]
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Prominent cardiologist reveals some of the the flaws in conventional cholesterol wisdom
Harlan Krumholz is a professor of medicine and cardiologist at the at Yale University School of Medicine. He recently co-authored an open letter which appeared in the journal circulation (pdf here). The letter was written to the Adult Treatment Panel – a group of ‘experts’ charged with setting cholesterol guidelines for the American public. The [...]
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The dark side of sunscreens
Here in London, UK, the weather today has been quite summery. And it’s this time of year where we generally begin to see a rash of articles in the press warning us about the perils of sunlight and the need to slather on our sunscreen. People generally use sunscreen to prevent burning. But public health [...]
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Declaration of conflicts of interest may make bias worse, not better
The way doctors categorise illness and manage it is usually highly influenced by panels of doctors. One problem here, though, is that these doctors can have financial ties to companies that can gain from those doctors’ recommendations. These ties can come in a variety of forms but include consultancy fees, speaking fees and stock/shareholdings in [...]
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The natural remedy that’s often effective for calming an ‘irritable bladder’
Recently, the British Medical Journal published an article about the management of ‘overactive bladder syndrome’. Symptoms of this can include the sensation of needing to pass urine urgently, frequent urination and the need to get up at night to pass water. Men with these symptoms are often investigated for an enlarged prostate. Women don’t have [...]
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More ‘aggressive’ thyroid management may help reduce risk of heart disease
The thyroid is a gland in the neck that regulates metabolism. Low thyroid function (hypothyroidism) can lead to diverse symptoms including weight gain, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, dry skin, dry hair, hair loss and constipation. In conventional medicine, the diagnosis of low thyroid function is usually made with a blood test. Here’s the classic picture: [...]
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Higher protein diets proven better for a range of health measures
For some time now there has been debate in some nutritional circles about the relative merits of different ‘diets’. Certainly, there has been at least two factions here. One argues for a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet which usually includes plenty of starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potato, rice, breakfast cereals and pasta. Others (including me) argue [...]
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