Last month one of my posts was devoted to some research which found a link between weight accumulation around the mid-riff (abdominal obesity) and an increased risk of dementia. In this post, I also explored some of the mechanisms which might explain this association. At the heart of these suggested mechanisms is the hormone insulin. […]
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More evidence that insulin plays a role in the development of dementia
By Dr John Briffa on 11 April 2008 in Brain and Behaviour, Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Healthy Eating, Low-Carbohydrate
Why big bellies could mean big trouble for brain function in later life
By Dr John Briffa on 28 March 2008 in Brain and Behaviour, Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Healthy Eating, Low-Carbohydrate
Previously on this site I have presented evidence that the traditional way of assessing body weight ” the body mass index (BMI) ” is pretty useless as a marker for health. Part of the explanation for this lies in the fact that the BMI tells us nothing about the composition of the body. Neither does […]
Combination of chromium and biotin found to benefit individuals with type 2 diabetes
When it comes to blood sugar control, it makes sense to avoiding eating too much in the way of foods that tend to disrupt blood sugar levels. This is particularly true for diabetics whose bodies tend not to handle sugar at all well. However, in addition to eating a ‘carbohydrate-controlled’ diet, it can also help […]
Green tea extract again found to help the body burn fat
By Dr John Briffa on 17 March 2008 in Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrients and Supplements, Weight Loss
Back in December I reported on a study which found that supplementing men with an extract of green tea led to a significant reduction in their weight, waist size and ‘fat mass’. The extract in question, which goes by the name of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), is believed to boost metabolism by stimulating the burning of fat […]
Does vitamin D help protect against type 1 diabetes?
By Dr John Briffa on 14 March 2008 in Children's Health, Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrients and Supplements
I love being out in the sun. And not just because I like it, but also because of the abundant evidence linking sunlight exposure with a reduced risk of conditions such as cancer and multiple sclerosis as well as improved physical and psychological functioning. And it’s free. And I like sporting a tan. I recently […]
New evidence links high-carb diets with increased risk of diabetes and other ills
Variously on this site I, and quite a few commentators, have expressed concern for the conventional vogue of advising a diet rich in carbohydrate. Excesses of carbohydrate can cause gluts of the hormone insulin which in turn can predispose us to all sorts of problems including weight gain, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular […]
Study finds those eating low-fat diets with high insulin levels are most prone to weight gain
By Dr John Briffa on 20 February 2008 in Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Healthy Eating, Low-Carbohydrate, Weight Loss
It’s difficult to avoid the doom-laden statistics concerning rates of overweight and obesity. And at the same time we’ll no doubt be aware of the standard advice for those wanting to lose weight: ‘eat less and exercise more.’ The problem is, the evidence suggests that neither of these approaches is particularly effective for the purposes […]
Why carbs can turn your liver into foie gras
By Dr John Briffa on 15 February 2008 in Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome, Low-Carbohydrate, Unhealthy Eating!
It’s funny how things seem to come in threes, and this week was an example of this maxim in that I saw three patients all of whom had deranged liver function tests. All of them had raised levels of at least two liver ‘enzymes’. This, in medicine, is generally taken as a sign of damage […]
More evidence (should you require it) that supports the notion that fat doesn’t induce diabetes, but carbs can
Variously on the site in the past I have attempted to highlight the science (never mind the common sense) that if you have diabetes and want to control it (or don’t want to get this condition in the first place), the part of the diet that generally needs reigning in comes in the form of […]
Study of aggressive drug treatment of diabetics halted due to enhanced risk of death
When it comes to cholesterol and blood sugar levels and blood pressure, the general principle in medicine is ‘the lower the better’. The idea here is that the more suppressed these parameters are, the lower (supposedly) the risk of complications such as heart disease and stroke. However, as with everything in life, it’s not necessarily […]
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