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.
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
The primary problem sufferers of diabetes have is that their bodies don’t handle sugar (glucose) well. Part of the problem here is that ‘excess’ sugar in the body can attach itself to tissues, which damages them. As a result, diabetics are at an increased risk of a variety of conditions including nerve damage, blood vessel […]
Food and Medical Politics
For almost as long as I can remember, we have been cautioned about the need to avoid excess sunlight exposure lest it trigger potentially lethal skin cancer, particularly what is known as ‘malignant melanoma’. Yet, there as for some time been amassing evidence that sunlight exposure is also associated with a decreased risk of several […]
Food and Medical Politics
Stomach ‘acidity’ and acid reflux are common problems, and the mainstay treatments for these ailments are medications that suppress acid secretion. Back in the olden days of when I was a junior doctor, these came in the form of so-called ‘H2 receptor antagonists’ such as cimetidine (Tagamet) and ranitidine (Zantac). Subsequently, a whole new type […]
Food and Medical Politics
It’s the New Year so I’m in philosophical mood. No, not really. But my blog today has been triggered by a piece a I read yesterday about the use of placebos in medicine, which got me thinking in a somewhat philosophical vein. In a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers at […]
Sleep
As it’s the New Year, some of us health-conscious souls might be turning their attention to making positive changes in our lifestyles. For some, that might mean being more active, while other may see this as a time to redouble their efforts with regard to healthy eating. However, positive lifestyle habits can sometimes be easy […]
Food and Medical Politics
With the New Year beckoning and a general feeling that this time of year brings with it a tendency to ‘tox out’ on food and drink, I suspect some of you may be contemplating a bit of an internal spring clean in the form of a detox programme. However, I note that Andrew Wadge, the […]
Children's Health
The cold winter months (many of us will be experiencing these right now�) bring with them a risk of vitamin D deficiency ” something which I have written about before (see article from 29th November 2006 pasted below). Low levels of vitamin D may predispose to a variety of conditions including seasonal affective disorder (winter […]
Healthy Eating
On 14 December my blog highlighted some research linking higher insulin levels (or, more specifically, higher levels of related a substance known as C-reactive protein) and an increased risk of breast cancer. The lead investigator of this study had recommended that women wanting to temper their insulin levels should eat a diet low in fat, […]
Food and Medical Politics
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is a publication full to the brim with learned and generally quite turgid scientific research and reports. Except, that is, for the Christmas edition, when the editors attempt to ‘lighten up’ this publication a bit with the inclusion of more quirky and seasonal items that would not necessarily make it […]
Healthy Eating
My blog on Wednesday focused on why, if we don’t want to find ourselves unduly stuffed with food at this time of year, it can make sense to start the day with a sustaining breakfast. Apart from solid stuff, alcoholic drinks are the other major potential cause of over-indulgence at this time. As Christmas is […]