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
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a condition characterized by the presence of cysts in the ovaries. It can lead to problems with infertility as well as higher-than-normal levels of ‘male’ hormones called ‘androgens’ including testosterone. One other common feature in individuals with PCOS is ‘insulin resistance’ – impaired ability for insulin to do its job […]
Cholesterol and Statins
I got a press release today from the consumer advocacy group Which? informing me that “Misleading health claims to be banned at last”. Apparently, European Union Member States today voted to adopt a list of scientifically proven health claims that can be made about food and drink products. Claims for green tea and glucosamine (regarding […]
Exercise and Activity
A few months ago I was chatting with a gentleman who was having difficulty losing weight despite doing ‘all the right things’. Almost every morning he would start the day with a vigorous and quite lengthy exercise session. He would ‘fuel’ this session with a bowl of cornflakes. I suggested he pull back a bit […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Low-carb diets seem to be good for cancer, aspirin largely ineffective for heart disease prevention (just like statins), questions raised over role of HDL-cholesterol in cardiovascular disease. For RSS feeds, click on http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/8966 and then the ‘RSS feeds’ button to the right. For help regarding the playing, downloading and subscribing of the podcasts, click here.
Cholesterol and Statins
Cholesterol in the bloodstream is transported in two main forms: ‘low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol’ (LDL-cholesterol) and ‘high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol’ (HDL-cholesterol). Conventional wisdom tells us that LDL-cholesterol is responsible for the fatty build-up on the inside of arteries known as ‘atherosclerotic plaque’, but that HDL-cholesterol clears this plaque. Because of this, HDL- and LDL-cholesterols are dubbed ‘good’ and ‘bad’ […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Aspirin is perhaps best known for its painkilling properties. But another of its actions in the body is to inhibit the ability of blood components called ‘platelets’ to stick together. It’s when platelets clump together that clots are formed. In other words, aspirin partially inhibits clot formation. Small blood clots called ‘trombi’ are essentially responsible […]
Healthy Eating
In general terms, I recommend a diet lower in carbohydrate than conventional guidelines say is healthy. At least part of my thinking is based on abundant evidence linking a relatively carbohydrate controlled diet with benefits in terms of body weight and disease markers for conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. However, I […]
Cholesterol and Statins
How often should we eat, one way to prevent flu is to catch flu, FDA swallows drug company hype without thinking. For RSS feeds, click on http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/8966 and then the ‘RSS feeds’ button to the right. For help regarding the playing, downloading and subscribing of the podcasts, click here.
Cholesterol and Statins
Vytorin is a drug which combines the statin simvastatin with ezetimibe – a drug which blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut. To date, there has been no good evidence that ezetimibe reduces the risk of, say, heart attacks and strokes, but that has not stopped doctors feverishly penning prescriptions for this drug. The fact is, […]
Healthy Eating
I came across an interesting study recently, which assessed the frequency of eating in individuals of ‘normal weight’, or who had lost weight and were maintaining that weight loss, or were ‘overweight’. The number of meals eaten in the day was essentially the same across the groups. However, for snacks it was different: Overall, those […]