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.
Herbal Medicine
Despite soothing reassurances from the medical fraternity, I have had a recent rush of enquiries from women who are more that a little disconcerted to learn that taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can double the risk of breast cancer. Shocking though it may be, this recent research is just part of a pile of evidence […]
Healthy Eating
I was very pleased to see that the World Health Organisation has recently taken a dietary tack, and is urging wide-scale reductions in the amount of sugar added to fast and processed foods. A potential consequence of consuming too much sweet stuff is an excess of the sugar-regulating hormone insulin, which in turn may precipitate […]
Children's Health
The BBC is under attack, and not just over claims relating to the sexing up of dossiers either. The Food Commission – an independent watchdog body campaigning for healthier food for all – has recently complained to the Beeb about its licensing of the Tweenies good name and image to companies marketing foodstuffs directly to […]
Exercise and Activity
Many doctors will confess to feeling frustrated by occasional patients who complain about some aspect of their health, but nonetheless appear to have no hard signs of disease. Members of the medical profession generally have their hands full dealing with those regarded as genuinely sick, and therefore tend not to have too much time for […]
Healthy Eating
In a former life I was once a lowly junior doctor working in a hospital in St Albans. During one weekend while on-call, a good friend asked me if I would see her dad who was complaining of a painful toe. My unofficial patient, a charming gentleman from the Emerald Isle, turned out to be […]
Brain and Behaviour
Statistics show that our thirst for mineral water is ever growing and has swelled the bottled- water industry to a billion-pound-a-year business in the UK. Recently, however, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has gone on the offensive in an effort to persuade us that tap water is every drop as good as bottled varieties. The […]
Healthy Eating
Many of us may find that there’s nothing quite like a stiff G and T or ice-cold beer to soothe our frazzled nerves at the end of a hard day and ease us into the evening’s festivities. However, the hunger that bites after a long-ago lunch, combined with alcohol’s ability to sharpen the appetite, mean […]
Healthy Eating
Many of us will be looking forward to taking some foreign sun this summer. However, the thought of revealing our bodies on the beach or by the pool can also make us mindful of the fat we laid down during the winter. This time of year will see lots of us looking to trim our […]
Herbal Medicine
Like a lot of people who are plugged into the information superhighway, I get a sizeable quota of unsolicited emails enticing me to part with my hard-earned cash. In amongst the mortgage and loan offers, I have been receiving a growing number of emails plying a trade in Viagra and penis enlargement programmes. So great […]
Healthy Eating
My girlfriend and I recently spent a splendid long weekend with some friends in Devon. We topped off three days of dietary indulgence with a take-away curry. My mate Big Pete reminded me that curry is officially Britain’s favourite food, and suggested that this was reason enough to write a column about it. I’m an […]