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.
Food and Medical Politics
I was interested to read the column of Dr Des Spence (a British general practitioner/family physician) in this week’s British Medical Journal [1]. He has chosen this week to lament the fact that modern medical practice has become more “tyrannical, hierarchical, controlled, intolerant, and dogmatic.” There is pressure on doctors to ‘follow the evidence’ even […]
Food and Medical Politics
I’m a bit cynical about the food industry’s attempts to help us lower our weight and trim our waistlines through tactics such as giving us smaller portion sizes or taking some fat out of a highly processed foods to replace it with sugar or something else of dubious value. I recently wrote about this here after […]
Brain and Behaviour
Vitamin D is less a vitamin and more a hormone, and higher levels of this substance are linked with a reduced risk of many conditions including multiple sclerosis, heart disease and several forms of cancer. In some studies, vitamin D has been tested as a treatment, and at least some evidence points to it having […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Statins reduce cholesterol, and this is said to be the primary mechanism through which they reduce the risk of ‘cardiovascular’ events such as heart attacks and strokes. When used in clinical practice, statins can be given to people with or without prior history of cardiovascular disease. Giving statins to people with a history of cardiovascular […]
Diabetes/Metabolic Syndrome
A fundamental problem with diabetes is the usually-elevated levels of blood sugar (glucose) that go with it. These glucose molecules can react with proteins in the body, damaging them. This process – known as ‘glycation’ – is at the heart of diabetic complications such as cataracts, nerve damage, kidney disease and circulatory problems. There is […]
Exercise and Activity
Why do doctors insist of checking cholesterol levels and blood pressure in their patients? At least part of the rationale is that these measurements will help identify individuals at heightened risk of things like heart disease and death, and appropriate steps might then be taken to reduce their risk. The value of ‘traditional risk factors’ […]
Healthy Eating
Last Friday I was invited on to the BBC Radio 4 consumer programme You and Yours to discuss the UK Government’s scheme to shave off 5 billion calories from our daily intake (about 83 calories a person, apparently), and the role the food industry has here. You can listen to the broadcast here (starts at […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Statin drugs reduce cholesterol by inhibiting the an enzyme in the liver (HMG-CoA reductase) which plays a role in the production of cholesterol in the liver. Unfortunately, this enzyme also plays a part in the production of a substance known as Coenzyme Q10, which itself is important for energy production within the body’s cells. Statins […]
Exercise and Activity
I want to preface this post by saying I am a huge advocate of exercise, preferably outside if weather conditions allow. I believe there are physical and psychological benefits to being active, and I even ‘walk the talk’: although I do not run any more, I am a notorious walker and swim regularly. I also […]
Food and Medical Politics
Over the last few years there has been something of a diet revolution going on in Sweden. It appears that increasing numbers of Swedes are eschewing the conventional advice to eat a low fat, high carbohydrate diet, and instead are opting for something altogether lower in carb and higher in fat – the so-called ‘low-carb/high-fat […]