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
Last week I wrote about the Unilever-funded Fat Information Service and the claim on its website that “The evidence shows clearly that the risk of developing heart disease is reduced when saturated fats are replaced with unsaturated fats.” The claim was made by dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton, and to support her claim she referenced a […]
Cholesterol and Statins
I had a press release recently alerting me to the presence of the Fat Information Service. On the face of it, this ‘service’ seeks to provide us with balanced and accurate information and advice about the sorts of fat we should be eating in our diets. It claims, among other things, to provide “Access [to] […]
Healthy Eating
Every so often, a piece of health news will make a splash and trigger a mini-deluge of emails in my inbox. This was certainly the case last week, when a study linking certain omega-3 fats (‘fish oils’) with an increased risk of prostate cancer. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, […]
Cholesterol and Statins
I caught a television advert in the last week for a drink which, purportedly, has the ability to reduce cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. The advert also told us that two-thirds of UK adults have raised cholesterol. The underlying message is clear: regular imbibing of this drink will help lots of people stave off heart […]
Exercise and Activity
My eye was caught yesterday by this report of a study into the effects of exercise on fat tissue. In the study, 23 overweight and healthy men engaged in a 6-month programme of exercise. The recommendation was for three, 1-hours sessions per week (1 cycling/spinning and 2 aerobics sessions). In the final analysis, the individuals […]
Children's Health
I read this week about concerns that, in the UK, conditions such as scurvy and rickets are on the way back as a result of dietary deficiencies. A shift in the diet away from nutritious fare towards ‘junk’ and fast foods is said to be to blame. My experience is that many parents are keen […]
Food and Medical Politics
I was interested to read this week a news piece in the British Medical Journal concerning the senior paediatric consultant Dr Hilary Cass [1]. Dr Cass used to work at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London. In 2007, she objected to planned cuts in the number of junior doctors at the hospital. She subsequently […]
Healthy Eating
I was away for the weekend on a walking trip with a couple of good friends. The proprietor of one of the guesthouses where we stayed knew that two of us were doctors, and at breakfast asked for some friendly medical advice. It was about the medication he was taking for his quite-severe hay fever. […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Here in the UK, pharmaceutical companies are not permitted to advertise directly to the consumer, but this is allowed in the US. I was interested to read recently a study which assessed the relationship between direct-to-consumer TV advertising for statins, and the diagnosis of ‘high’ cholesterol and statin use [1]. Ad exposure was associated with […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
Type 2 diabetes is a condition characterised by generally raised levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. One of the issues here is the ability of glucose to bind to and damage proteins in the body (glycation), which can increase the risk of a range of complications including nerve damage, eye damage, kidney disease and […]