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.
Healthy Eating
This week, I saw a story reporting some American research in which an extract of a pine nut from Korea was found to increase the level of the appetite suppressing substances cholecystokinin and glycagons-like peptides. No doubt, some company or other will attempt to exploit this finding with a wonder-pill based on this extract (actually […]
Healthy Eating
OK, so the summer is on its way out, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to report on a recent study which supports the idea that there is real nourishment to be had from salad-munching. Research conducted at UCLA and Louisiana State University on more than 17,500 men and women has found that consumption of […]
Men's Health
The need to get up at night to have a pee is not only inconvenient ” by disrupting sleep it can seriously impair energy levels and general well-being. Usually, this symptom is taken to be a sign that the prostate gland (which sits underneath the bladder and encircles the ‘water pipe’ or urethra) has enlarged. […]
Children's Health
Jamie Oliver is on the rampage again, and is putting his all into improving the nutritional status of our young. Yesterday, Jamie took his ire out on typical items to be found in school lunchboxes, including crisps and soft drinks (including Red Bull) and described the parents that provide such foodstuffs as ‘tossers’. Even for […]
Brain and Behaviour
In the news this week a story has been just circulating about the fact that men aged 40 ” 49 (that includes me) are many times more likely to father autistic children than younger men. We’re unlikely to know what the mechanism is here, but what is good about this story is that it at […]
Unhealthy Eating!
It may perhaps come as no surprise that food companies that sell what I regard as utter crap to the masses spend a lot of time and money on giving their products a ‘healthy’ sheen and befuddling governments and journalists with inaccurate and misleading PR schmooze. This morning, for instance, Coca-Cola launched a PR offensive […]
Healthy Eating
I’m a coffee drinker myself, but have been a long-time fan of tea as a beverage that may bring benefits for the body. Tea is rich in substances called polyphenols that have ‘antioxidant’ activity (which means they have the capacity to neutralise the effects of damaging, destructive molecules called ‘free radicals’). Previous research has linked […]
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 […]
Healthy Eating
Take a straw poll in the street on whether margarine or butter is better for your health, and I bet the vast majority of people would opt for margarine every time. One of margarine’s supposed virtues is that it can help reduce cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, and thereby afford some protection from ‘cardiovascular’ conditions […]