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.
Healthy Eating
I came across this story today, which talks about the device that counts the number of bites of food individuals take over the course of the day. The idea appears to be there being aware of this can help individuals to keep within some sort of recommended calorie limit for the day. However, as someone […]
Healthy Eating
Elderly people tend to be less physically able than younger ones. Walking speed, for instance, and the speed with which they rise from a chair, tend to decline in later life. There can be many reasons for this, including loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia). But the strength of functionality of muscles (irrespective of their size) […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Type 2 diabetes is a condition characterised by generally elevated levels of blood sugar (glucose), usually as a result of ‘insulin resistance’ (insulin not doing its blood sugar-lowering job very well). Between a state of health and type 2 diabetes, the medical profession has defined a state known as ‘impaired glucose tolerance’ (IGT). Here, insulin […]
Healthy Eating
At the tail end of 2012, I wrote a blog post about the impact of emphasising fruit and vegetables in the diet. ‘Filling up of fruit and veg’ is often recommended as a weight loss tactic. But, as I explained in the blog post, I’m not sure this is good advice at all. I argued […]
Food and Medical Politics
In February, I wrote a blog post which aimed to draw attention to, in my view, the bias and lack of balance in an article on the NHS Choices website entitled ‘The Truth About Carbs’. I complained about this article, and had filled out the requisite form here. You’ll see that any complaint can be […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Britain’s biggest diabetes charity, Diabetes UK, this week accused the NHS (the state run and funded medical care system in the UK) of “failing to learn from clear evidence that interventions to improve diabetes care can save the NHS money as well as give people with diabetes longer and healthier lives…” In its statement, Diabetes […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
I read an interesting study this week that examined the relationship between changes in coffee and tea consumption and risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a 4-year period [1]. The authors found no association between tea consumption and diabetes risk, but it was a different story for coffee: increasing coffee consumption was associated with […]
Cholesterol and Statins
While we are frequently warned about the perils of cholesterol, there exists quite a bit of evidence which links higher cholesterol levels with improved health outcomes and/or longevity in the elderly. These studies do not prove that cholesterol is conferringbenefit here (only that higher cholesterol is associated with improved outcomes). Nevertheless, it’s perhaps worth at […]
Brain and Behaviour
Back in 2011 I wrote a blog post that focused on a case of alleged domestic violence. In short, a judge had come home after work, but his wife was busy giving support to a visitor. The judge took himself off upstairs as dinner was clearly going to be delayed. Later that evening, it was […]
Food and Medical Politics
NHS Choices website purports to give the general public information and advice about a wide range of health matters. My impression is that many see the NHS Choices website as a portal for honest, trustworthy and balanced health advice. A couple of weeks back, I noticed that Paul Nuki, Editor of NHS Choices, had tweeted […]