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
It’s nice when something that you like turns out to be good for you. And that does seem to be the case for chocolate-lovers everywhere. Over the last few years there has been a number of studies which suggest that chocolate exerts beneficial effects on the physiology of the body that would be expected to […]
Brain and Behaviour
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which, once consumed, breaks down into three components ” aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Aspartame has been passed as fit to consume by more than 100 countries around the World, but there is evidence that each of aspartame’s chemical components can have toxic effects on health. See here and here […]
Specific conditions
Raised blood pressure is believed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. Studies show that, in a population, the higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease. This has led to some researchers suggesting that the lower the blood pressure is, the better. However, we […]
Specific conditions
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), sometimes referred to a ‘functional bowl disorder’ (FBD) is characterised by symptoms such as abdominal bloating and discomfort, and constipation and/or diarrhoea. Its cause is often said to be unknown. However, in practice I find two approaches to be generally effective in combating the symptoms of IBS. These are: 1. Identification […]
Healthy Eating
Previously on this site (for example see here) I have written about the role that certain carbohydrate foods appear to have in the development of breast cancer. Foods that are disruptive to blood sugar (high glycaemic index) foods have been implicated here. Also when high GI foods are eaten in quantity, they tend to have […]
Specific conditions
Here in the UK, until very recently, we’ve had something of a heat-wave. The sun has been shining brightly on most days and this is good news for me, as I’ve been able to take advantage of the opportunity to boost my vitamin D levels. Why is this important? Because higher vitamin D levels are […]
Healthy Eating
I saw this morning reports on a study which has found links between vegetarianism and a reduced risk of certain cancers. The study, which assess nutritional habits and cancer risk in more than 61,000 men and women in the UK found that compared to meat-eaters, vegetarians had a 53, 45 and 74 per cent reduced […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Conventional wisdom and advice regarding the dietary control of diabetes is that meals should contain a good amount of starchy carbohydrate. I am vigorously opposed to this notion of two main counts. Firstly, science shows that reducing carbohydrate intake is generally highly beneficial in the management of diabetes (see here for some more detail on […]
Healthy Eating
A key underlying factor in cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease and stroke is a process known as atherosclerosis (also known as arteriosclerosis), which is essentially a furring up of arteries with a fatty ‘plaque’. For decades now, we’ve had it instilled in us that the chief dietary factor influencing atherosclerosis is fat, which saturated […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that continues to claim significant numbers of lives around the World. Before the advent of antibiotics, many tuberculosis sufferers were shipped off to ‘sanitoriums’: often rurally-located facilities where individuals would typically spend a year or more to rest, eat well, and hopefully overcome their illness. While rest and a healthy […]