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.
Nutrients and Supplements
There’s an old adage in medicine: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I couldn’t agree more. The problem with a lot of truly preventive medicine is this: there’s not much money in it. The real money (for, say, drug companies) is in treatment. To an extent there can be money too […]
Brain and Behaviour
What we eat and drink can have a profound influence on our health. Not just of the body, but of the brain too. For example, certain foodstuffs (e.g. the artificial sweetener aspartame) can have toxic effects on the brain. Other foodstuffs appear to ‘feed the brain’ and help optimise its function. For example, so-called omega-3 […]
Healthy Eating
While walking the dog today, my mind wandered and I found myself thinking about nutrient absorption. I’d just had lunch (leftover roast pork from yesterday) and some veggies and salad including rocket (a type of lettuce). My girlfriend dished it up and all I had to do was add a drizzle of olive oil to […]
Children's Health
Back in February I wrote a post that was largely focused on my experience of supplementing with vitamin D, and specifically the fact that I had not had a single infection (e.g. cold or flu) since starting supplementation. I still, by the way, have not had an infection. Not even a hint of one. This […]
Brain and Behaviour
Iron is an essential nutrient for the making of haemoglobin – the component in red blood cells that carries oxygen and delivers it to the tissues. If iron is deficient in the body, haemoglobin levels can fall and eventually cause anaemia (pathologically low haemoglobin). Symptoms of this can include mental and physical fatigue and low […]
Exercise and Activity
Osteoarthritis is a condition characterised by degeneration of cartilage in joints. I commonly affects joints such as the hips and knees, and when it does, it can make walking (and other movements) difficult and painful. Those with osteoarthritis are often recommended to engage in exercise which, in theory, does not put the joints as further […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Urinary tract infections are common in women, and for some women can be recurrent and require repeated doses of antibiotics or even prophylactic antibiotics. Organisms (usually E. coli) that cause UTIs generally gain access to the bladder via the urethra (the pipe connecting the bladder with the outside). Some of the strategies that may help […]
Nutrients and Supplements
On Wednesday morning I had a nice chat over coffee with Oliver Gillie, a writer and researcher with a particular interest in vitamin D. We spent much of our time talking about the role vitamin D may have in a wide range of conditions including role in a range of conditions including cancer, diabetes, multiple […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Late last December one of my posts focused on an experience a family member of mine had had with magnesium. He had suffered from long-standing intermittent epigastric pain (pain felt in the middle of the abdomen just beneath the ribs), and I wondered whether his problem may be a condition known as ‘oesophageal spasm’. Because […]
Healthy Eating
In recent years omega-3 fats (found, for instance in ‘oily’ fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and herring) have become famous for supposed health-giving properties, particularly with regard to cardiovascular system and brain. This week saw the publication of a study which links omega-3 fats with a slowing of the ageing process [1]. The study, […]