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.
Exercise and Activity
Last Friday I was having breakfast with colleagues in hotel in the southwest of England. We were half way through teaching a wellness and work-life balance course to some delegates from Central and Eastern Europe. A newspaper was in evidence, and its front page warned us that, according to new recommendations, we need to exercise […]
Healthy Eating
With all the talk about the supposed benefits of the ‘Mediterranean’ diet we’ve had over the last decade or so, there’s inevitably been some focus on the healthy properties of olive oil. In particular, olive oil is rich in so-called ‘monounsaturated’ fat that is believed to have benefits for the heart and circulation. The presence […]
Food and Medical Politics
At the end of April, I wrote about research which assessed the relationship between vitamin D status and physical function in a group of elderly individuals [1]. Briefly, the results of this study found that lower vitamin D levels were found to associated with lower muscular strength and physical function in both men and women. […]
Children's Health
I don’t know for how long parents have been advised not to feed their kids too much fat. ‘Eating fat makes them fat’ is the usual message here, and therefore eating less of this particular foodstuff is the way to put a break on the burgeoning rates of overweight and obesity we’re seeing in our […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
The body mass index (weight in kg divided by the square of height in metres) remains the standard way of assessing weight by the medical profession. The problem is, as I’ve pointed out previously, (for example, here and here) it is a generally useless measure as a marker for health. In previous pieces, I have […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Acetyl-L-carnitine is a naturally-occurring substance in the body which is made up, unsurprisingly, of carnitine and what is known as a acetyl group. Carnitine facilitates the transport of fat in the body’s cells into the miniature ‘powerhouses’ called the ‘mitochondria’ where fat is converted into energy. The ‘acetyl’ part of acetyl-L-carnitine may participate in the […]
Cholesterol and Statins
In previous posts I’ve expressed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for cholesterol-reducing statin drugs. These medicaments are very much in vogue as a result of their much-touted ability to reduce the risk of ‘cardiovascular’ conditions such as heart disease and stroke. However, a better measure of the effectiveness of a ‘preventive’ treatment such as statin […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Diabetes is a condition characterised by generally raised levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. One of the problems here is that glucose can react (through a biochemical process known as ‘glycation’) to tissues in the body, which can damage those tissues and lead to complications in the long term. Not surprisingly, glycation has been […]
Children's Health
On Saturday night I was on a plane winging me back to the UK from Kenya where I’ve been for the last week. I was perusing the in-flight magazine and came across an ‘advertising promotion’ for a company making soft and ‘sports’ drinks. The promotion featured some Q and A’s with a UK GP on […]
Healthy Eating
This week, I’ve been lucky enough to have been on trip (part work, part pleasure) in Kenya. In fact, one of the reasons this blog is being posted a little later than usual relates to the fact that I’m in the wilds, and finding internet access has not been straightforward. Earlier this week, I was […]