Dr Briffa's Blog - A Good Look at Good Health
A health-focused blog that makes sense of science, and offers accurate, trustworthy and practical advice about all aspects of healthy living.
I saw a patient this week who occasionally feels light-headed, particularly when he stands up quickly. This symptom – referred to as ‘postural hypotension’ in medicine – usually signals that someone’s blood pressure is on the low side, and drops even lower on standing. Sure enough, his blood pressure was low (100/70 mmHg). Most doctors [...]
Higher levels of vitamin D are associated with a reduced risk of a variety of health issues including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several forms of cancer. This research may be of some interest, but its nature (so-called ‘epidemiological’ studies) can’t tell us whether or not vitamin D actually protects against these conditions. It [...]
Last month one of my blogs focused on a rash of stories bigging up the supposed nutritional properties of bread. It turns out that this ‘news’ had been based on ‘research’ published in the Nutrition Bulletin – a publication of the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). I challenged the notion that bread provides some essential role [...]
It’s early October, and here in the UK there’s a distinct sense that the days are becoming ever-shorter and the nights are drawing in. This change in lighting condition can, for some, spell a distinct downturn in general levels or energy and wellbeing. Others can be prone to food cravings in the winter. Still others [...]
There’s a widespread view in the scientific and medical communities that saturated fat is bad for the heart. In particular, this form of fat (found in, among other things, meat, eggs, dairy products, coconut and palm oil) is said to raise levels of cholesterol, which in turns increases our risk of heart disease by promoting [...]
There’s an interesting study published in the British Medical Journal this week which concerns the relationship between use of drugs known as benzodiazepines and risk of dementia in elderly individuals [1]. Benzodiazepines are drugs which are usually used to treat anxiety and/or insomnia (diazepam – trade name Valium – is an example). In this study, [...]
Last week one of my blog posts focused on a widely reported ‘news’ story which concerned the supposed value of bread in the diet. These reports appear to have followed the publication of an article in the Nutrition Bulletin, the ‘journal’ of an organisation called the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). I admitted at the time [...]
I was away for most of this week and, as a result, this on-line article (and several similar ones) passed me by. It focuses on the ‘research’ conducted by Dr Aine O’Connor of the British Nutrition Foundation and published in its ‘journal’ – the Nutrition Bulletin [1]. I’ve not read the article itself, but here’s [...]
