Healthy Eating
The prospect of stripping off and revealing our true selves on the beach or by the pool this summer will inevitably have some of us taking steps to shed some excess weight. I notice that one tabloid newspaper is spearheading a resurgence of the Atkins diet in the form of a plan specifically targeting those […]
Brain and Behaviour
It seems that not a week goes by without scientists identifying some gene or other that is believed to play a critical role in our susceptibility to a specific illness or condition. Recently, for instance, researchers in Italy announced that they had found a gene that is involved in the normal production of serotonin – […]
Healthy Eating
While nutritional medicine has enjoyed growing acceptance amongst doctors over the last decade or so, certain factions within the medical establishment remain somewhat sceptical about the health benefits naturally-oriented approaches may offer. An example of this appeared in last month’s edition of the title Food Technology, in the form of an article entitled ‘Detox Diets […]
Brain and Behaviour
While pregnancy and the life it creates is a wonderful thing, it can also be a significant nutritional drain on the mother. One nutrient that pregnancy can leave a woman short on is iron, and I was interested to read a report recently regarding the impact of this mineral has on the bonding of new […]
Healthy Eating
While a good evening meal can send us to bed in a satisfied and contented state, it can also be that our last supper may make it’s presence felt later in the form of acid indigestion and heartburn. A recent study in the American medical journal Chest has revealed that one factor that appears to […]
Healthy Eating
I was interested to read recently of a recently developed diagnostic tool for doctors – the artificial nose. Scientists at Strathclyde University have come up with a device that has the ability to detect odours characteristic of a variety of medical conditions. Learning of this new-fangled gadget reminded me of a story my mother once […]
Healthy Eating
Red meat has almost certainly featured in the human diet for a large portion of our evolution, and its primal nature is one reason why I believe this food can assume some place within a ‘healthy’ diet of today. However, I am well aware that red meat is usually viewed as distinctly unhealthy fare, and […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Last week I focused on how reactions to specific foods can precipitate the undesirable gut feelings collectively known as ‘irritable bowel syndrome’ (IBS). While IBS is commonly triggered by food sensitivity, this condition can also be related to other internal issues. One other frequent underlying factor in IBS concerns the microbes that reside within the […]
Healthy Eating
While my career path veered away from orthodoxy more than a decade ago, I remain a regular reader of the British Medical Journal. One thing I like about this particular publication is it’s ability to email-alert me to any nutritionally-related content. Recently, the BMJ published an editorial on the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) […]
Nutrients and Supplements
A recent report from Surrey University informs us that British women get significantly less sleep than their male counterparts. This may not come as too much of a surprise bearing in mind that it is usually mums, rather than dads, who provide the bulk of child-care duties during the night. However, it turns out that […]