Dr John Briffa's blog, A Good Look at Good Health — writing on food, cholesterol, weight, energy and the science behind everyday health, from the drbriffa.com archive. Filter by topic, browse by category, or search the library.
Food and Medical Politics
Previously on drbriffa.com I have written about the limitations of the body mass index (BMI) as a marker of health. This measurement (calculated by dividing weight in Kg by the square of one’s height in metres) takes no account of body composition, nor where any addition fat is aggregated in the body. Nevertheless, we are […]
Children's Health
Today in the UK, the news is awash with a story about how we appear to be sleep-walking into an obesity epidemic. The recently-completed largest ever study into the obesity in the UK, compiled by 250 experts in the field, has concluded that obesity is not rooted in individual gluttony and laziness, but in our […]
Food and Medical Politics
It’s a basic nutritional belief of mine that eating healthily means, at least in part, not eating too much in the way of foods that disrupt blood sugar and insulin levels. Gluts of insulin are known to have the capacity to cause fat accumulation in the body, and likely increase the risk of chronic conditions […]
Brain and Behaviour
Very few of us will not have noticed that the last couple of decades have seen a concerted effort from health agencies and health professionals to persuade us that we should be driving our cholesterol levels to lower and lower levels. When I was at medical school the upper limit of cholesterol was 6.5 mmol/l […]
Children's Health
I’m not really one for anecdotes, but feel compelled to share one with you. In my practice on Monday I saw a small boy, whose parents were seeking nutritional advice. Less than three weeks ago their son had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which for him right now necessitates him having insulin injected 2-3 […]
Food and Medical Politics
Aspartame is a commonly used artificial sweetener. It’s also, arguably, the most controversial foodstuff in the human diet. Originally passed as ‘fit to consume’ by the FDA in the USA in 1981, its history as a food ingredient has been the subject of scientific and political intrigue. The companies that make it and ‘expert panels’ […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Recently, in an effort to clarify what healthy eating is all about, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) have launched its ‘eatwell plate’, which the FSA describes as ‘ a visual tool that illustrates the types and proportions of foods that make up a balanced diet’. You can see the eatwell plate here. When I […]
Brain and Behaviour
Here in the UK, the kids are back at school which is usually a cue for some “child-focused stories to emerge in the press. One pearl of a story that recently surfaced concerned a trial in which certain food additives (colourings, mainly) were tested in children aged 3 and 8-9. This research, undertaken in Southampton, […]
Food and Medical Politics
In an increasingly litigious World where blaming and complaining does seem increasingly common, it seems doctors are under increasing pressure to ‘practice defensively’. This means not necessarily giving the best care, but the care influenced by a desire to avoid complain or litigation. I found a good description of defensive medicine that goes like this: […]
Cholesterol and Statins
My father (a retired doctor) is not one for pronouncements, though I do remember him offering me one piece of advice about how to be a good doctor: listen to your patients. I was reminded of this simple but sagely dictum recently on the reading of a study which assessed the response doctors give to […]