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.
Children's Health
While I am enthusiastic about the potential for a healthy diet to promote vibrant health and well-being, I am also of the opinion that there are other reasons for consuming food that go way beyond its nutritional merits. Eating, after all, can be an intensely pleasurable experience, which is something even I am keen to […]
Nutrients and Supplements
I have often heard doctors accused of not make use of nutritionally-oriented therapies in their work. Actually, strictly speaking, this is not true. After all, any doctor who has advised women to take folic acid in pregnancy or suggested calcium supplements for stronger bones has, to some degree at least, engaged in the practice of […]
Herbal Medicine
Most of us will delight in the warmer weather typical of this time of year, and balmier temperatures certainly seem to lure us outside. The trouble is, we’re not the only species of animal that the heat tends to bring out in droves. The buzz that accompanies the summer months all too often comes from […]
Food and Medical Politics
This morning, like pretty much every morning for the last decade, I downed a judicious collection of nutritional supplements along with my breakfast. Recently, however, I was quite alarmed to read a report from the Government’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) which contained seemingly dire warnings about the potential for food supplements to put us at […]
Healthy Eating
Many of the people I lecture to or see in practice seem to be eternally frustrated by the ever-changing nature of the nutritional recommendations we are given. Dietary advice rarely seems to blow in a consistent direction for too long, and we can find ourselves chopping and changing nutritional tack without any real sense of […]
Healthy Eating
While acne is generally thought of as an adolescent affliction, my experience suggests otherwise. In my practice, I see a pretty regular stream of individuals who, long after the hormonal rush that comes with puberty has died down, continue to suffer from ‘bad skin’. In fact, statistics show that more than one in two women […]
Healthy Eating
A lot of the dietary advice that comes at us these days seems to ask us to forgo our favourite foods, or swallow more stuff we’re not partial to. Like most of us, I like an easy life, which is why I’m always on the lookout for good news about foods and drinks the consumption […]
Healthy Eating
While a lot of the patients I see in practice are not necessarily afflicted by serious illness, they are nonetheless bothered by niggling symptoms and conditions that can impinge quite significantly on the quality of their lives. Health complaints such as bouts of indigestion, the odd migraine, or the seasonal discomfort that comes with hay […]
Healthy Eating
While vegetables are widely acclaimed for their nourishing and wholesome characteristics, some have better reputations than others. It is often said that deeply-tinged produce such as broccoli and spinach have added nutritional value compared to more pallid vegetables varieties such as celery and cucumber, and a recent study bears testament to this fact. However, all […]
Healthy Eating
Anyone who takes more than a passing interest in the role of diet in health will inevitably become aware of inconsistencies and contradictions that crop up from time to time. One famous and oft-quoted nutritional anomaly in the so-called French Paradox: while the French consume more than their fair share of fat and tend to […]