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
Overeating is something that many of us will have experienced at one time or another. This phenomenon can, of course, be down to plentiful supply of appetising food, but it can also have a physiological and/or biochemical root too. One cause of overeating is ‘hypoglycaemic’ or low blood sugar. When blood sugar levels drop to […]
Healthy Eating
For a long time I’ve been an advocate of tree nuts (e.g. cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, almonds) and peanuts in the diet. One reason for this is that they are a highly nutritious food, and their consumption has been consistently linked in the scientific literature with a reduced risk of heart disease and […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
One basic nutritional tenet I subscribe to is the idea that the diet should be based on foods that give relatively slow sustained release of sugar into the blood stream. Some of the reason for this thinking comes from the fact that fast sugar-releasing (high glycaemic index) foods will tend to cause surges in the […]
Healthy Eating
The omega-3 fats found in oily fish such as mackerel, herring, sardine and salmon appear to have broad-ranging benefits, particularly with regard to the health of the cardiovascular system and brain. Omega-3 fats in fish come in two principle forms: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). While these fats can be found abundantly in […]
Healthy Eating
I read today that we Britons are failing to eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each according. According marketing organisation TNS just 12 percent of people in the UK are getting their recommended quota. Plus, another 12 percent, apparently, eats no fruit and veg at all. On average, we’re only getting half […]
Healthy Eating
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a food ingredient which is used to enhance flavour and palatability. It is the glutamate ” an amino acid – part of the MSG molecule that does the job in this respect. MSG (and/or other sources of glutamate) can be found in a wide range of processed foods with the blessing […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Back in July, one of my blog posts focused on an article in the British Medical Journal which highlighted the problem of drug residues turning up in municipal water supplies. A new study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that other dangers may lurk in drinking water in the form […]
Healthy Eating
In the World of nutrition, not everyone shares the same opinion (obviously). And perhaps the most stark and common example of this concerns the relative amounts of carbohydrate and fat we should have in our diets. The conventional view is that the diet should be, generally speaking, low in fat and high in carb. Fat, […]
Healthy Eating
My blog last Friday focused on a recent meta-analysis which demonstrates that garlic has real potential to reduce blood pressure. What is more, in individuals with high blood pressure (hypertension), the levels of reduction achieved with garlic supplementation seemed meaningful, and are likely to translate into real reduction in the risk of problems associated with […]
Healthy Eating
Garlic is an oft-touted natural remedy, particularly with regard to affairs of the heart: regular garlic consumption has been said to improve cardiovascular health. In the past, one mechanism that has been said through which garlic can exert a heart-healthy effect is by some ability to reduce blood pressure. A previous review of the evidence […]