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 came across this story today. It’s based on an article written by Professor David Bender – a nutritional biochemist. His article, which appeared in the journal The Biologist, apparently debunks detoxification regimes. They’re worthless and unscientific, apparently. The body, we’re assured, already has efficient detox systems (including the liver) that efficiently eliminates toxins and [...]
I got a press release today from the consumer advocacy group Which? informing me that “Misleading health claims to be banned at last”. Apparently, European Union Member States today voted to adopt a list of scientifically proven health claims that can be made about food and drink products. Claims for green tea and glucosamine (regarding [...]
Aspirin is perhaps best known for its painkilling properties. But another of its actions in the body is to inhibit the ability of blood components called ‘platelets’ to stick together. It’s when platelets clump together that clots are formed. In other words, aspirin partially inhibits clot formation. Small blood clots called ‘trombi’ are essentially responsible [...]
How often should we eat, one way to prevent flu is to catch flu, FDA swallows drug company hype without thinking. For RSS feeds, click on http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/8966 and then the ‘RSS feeds’ button to the right. For help regarding the playing, downloading and subscribing of the podcasts, click here.
Vytorin is a drug which combines the statin simvastatin with ezetimibe – a drug which blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut. To date, there has been no good evidence that ezetimibe reduces the risk of, say, heart attacks and strokes, but that has not stopped doctors feverishly penning prescriptions for this drug. The fact is, [...]
Water does not prevent dehydration (according to the EU), why a diet that does not cause weight gain is not necessarily healthy, mammography very unlikely to save a woman’s life. For RSS feeds, click on http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/8966 and then the ‘RSS feeds’ button to the right. For help regarding the playing, downloading and subscribing of the [...]
I came across this story this morning. In short, it tells us that EU bureaucrats have forbidden companies that sell bottled water from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. I’ve not read the ruling, just the report I link to. But it seems, on the surface, to be a decision which has taken considerable time [...]
Many years ago (more than I care to remember), I was giving a lecture about health, and more in passing that anything else, mentioned just how ineffective many conventional medical approaches are, including cancer screening. After the lecture I was approached by a woman who took at least some exception to my claim that cancer [...]
Statins appear to do about as much harm as good, more exercise unlikely to help tackle childhood obesity, flu vaccines and Tamiflu still not very effective (despite what some doctors may think). For RSS feeds, click on http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/8966 and then the ‘RSS feeds’ button to the right. For help regarding the playing, downloading and subscribing [...]
I saw this story yesterday on the BBC’s website. It concerns a consultant chest physician, Dr Peter Hockey, who gives himself a slap on the wrist for not getting a flu jab. He ended up being hospitalised and couldn’t work for five months. He’s kicking himself for contracting a condition which he describes in the [...]
