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.
Cholesterol and Statins
It is my experience that the cholesterol-reducing drugs known as ‘statins’ have been vigorously embraced by the medical profession as a largely safe and effective preventive for cardiovascular disease. Yes, the best available evidence we have is that this class of drugs have somewhat limited effectiveness. I wrote about this earlier this year. Another side […]
Brain and Behaviour
Migraines are usually severe, one-sided headaches. My experience in practice is that they can have several underlying causes, though it believed that a common theme in these headaches is spasm and then relaxation in the arteries supplying blood to the brain. The ‘rush of blood to the head’ this brings is thought to have the […]
Herbal Medicine
My experience is that when individuals hear the word ‘infertility’, they often think of the female variety of this condition. However, I remember being taught at medical school that only about a third of infertility were solely due to problems with the prospective mother. About a third of cases are a combination of female and […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterised by an uncomfortable sensation in the legs which gives rise to an overwhelming urge to move them. The symptoms of this condition typically come on when individuals are in lying down in bed. This condition overlaps with another known as ‘periodic limb movements during sleep’ (PLMS), in which involuntary […]
Brain and Behaviour
It was announced this week that a study is about to get underway in which some UK prison inmates are to be given nutritional supplements to see what effect this has on mood and behaviour. This research has been masterminded by Professor John Stein of Oxford University, and comes on the back of a smaller […]
Healthy Eating
I was interested to read about a study published recently which charted the vast number of sick days taken off in Australia due to hangovers. A study published in Medical Journal of Australia found that 2.6 million ‘sickies’ were taken in 2001 because of booze. The estimated cost to employers is some 473 million Australian […]
Brain and Behaviour
The contracted days and climatic changes that come at this time of year can us not only cold, but short on sunlight too. Getting adequate exposure to the sun’s rays is important for maintaining mood, and it’s action on the skin is also the main way the body meets its needs for vitamin D ” […]
Children's Health
Last week, one of my blogs focused on the association between cola consumption and weakened bones, and the fact that milk, contrary to popular perception, is actually not an ideal beverage for building bones click here. Further evidence for the uselessness of milk in this capacity has come from a study published in this week’s […]
Children's Health
This week I’ve been working outside Toronto, and today found my eye diverted by a story on the front cover of the Canadian Globe and Mail about the use of nutritional supplements in pregnancy. The research, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada (1) was a meta-analysis of studies in this area […]
Brain and Behaviour
Is it me, or has there been a lot of press recently about what can be done to help preserve our mental faculties as we age? Just this week, for instance, saw the publication of a study in the American Journal of Medicine which found that individuals drinking fruit or vegetable juice three or more […]