Are berries good for the brain?
Dementia is an issue many of us would rather avoid as we age, and in recent years there has been considerable interest in specific dietary strategies that might help here. Seeing as about 70 per cent of the dry weight of the brain is fat (much of it saturated), I’m inclined to think a diet [...]
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Can low cholesterol cause cancer?
While cholesterol remain possibly the most vilified natural and essential body constituent, and we are encouraged to put constant downward pressure on our cholesterol levels, it should perhaps not be forgotten that low levels of cholesterol are associated with enhanced risk of death. Low cholesterol is associated with an enhanced risk of specific health issues [...]
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Claims made for new flu vaccine are based more on rhetoric than good research
I came across this report today, which concerns childhood vaccination against influenza. Normally, vaccines contain three strains of flu virus (trivalent vaccine). In theory, a quadrivalent (four-strain) vaccine might provide better protection again flu. In the study referred to in the report, children and adolescents were randomised to receive either a quadrivalent vaccine or one [...]
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Does flu vaccination prevent death in the elderly? Apparently not
Influenza vaccination is widely promoted, particularly the elderly. One argument for flu vaccination in the elderly is that it is said to reduce their risk of dying – primarily through its ability to prevent flu (which can be deadly) or a potentially deadly complication of flu such as pneumonia. Some evidence appears to show flu [...]
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Why the new ‘cholesterol-busting’ drug is nothing to get excited about
Earlier this week saw the holding of the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Chicago. Quite a lot of media interest in this scientific meeting centred on the drug currently going by the name of REGN727. It’s an injectable drug, and it lowers levels of supposedly unhealthy ‘LDL’ cholesterol. It does this, apparently, by [...]
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The placebo response. Who cares?
The ‘gold standard’ method for testing the effectiveness of a treatment is the ‘randomised, placebo-controlled’ trial. Here, a group of individuals are randomly allocated to received an active treatment (e.g. a drug) or placebo (inactive pill). If the drug leads to benefits that are statistically more significant than any achieved with the placebo, the drug [...]
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If your vitamin D levels are low, what’s a useful starting dose?
I was talking with someone yesterday about his vitamin D levels. He had these tested recently and found these came in at 15 ng/ml (about 38 nmol/l). Personally, I like vitamin D levels to be maintained in the region of 50 ng/ml. So, I suggested he take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 for three months [...]
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Got acne? Go primal
Acne is unheard of in populations eating a ‘primal’ or ‘paleolithic’ diet. This has caused some researchers, for example Loren Cordain (author of The Paleo Diet), to question what factors might be at play here. One prominent theory concerns the impact of eating carbohydrates that tend to be disruptive for blood sugar levels. These foods [...]
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Tom Naughton owns the nutritional establishment and give us hope for the future in just 20 minutes
Tom Naughton used to be a full time stand-up comedian but, although he’s still funny, he’s spending more time these days spreading the word about what truly healthy eating is. He also produced the movie Fat Head (a revealing and entertaining watch if you haven’t seen it yet). Tom has a blog here. It’s one [...]
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Yet another study shows the superiority of lower-carb eating over low-fat
I came across this report yesterday. It concerns a study presented at the American Heart Association meeting in San Diego this week. From the report it appears that overweight individuals were randomised to one of two diets for 6 months (along with moderate exercise). ‘low-carb’: 30, 40, 30 per cent of calories from carbohydrate, fat [...]
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