Brain and Behaviour
Recent years have seen medical journal editors become increasingly critical of certain goings-on in the world of pharmaceutical research. One dubious practice that has received some attention of late is the tendency for drug companies to publish and publicise positive studies on their products, while at the same time ‘burying’ less encouraging data. An example […]
Nutrients and Supplements
I can tell we have emerged from the depths of winter by the cheery presence of daffodils and the fact that PR companies have started sending me sunscreen samples along with gloomy statistics about the rising rates of skin cancer in the UK. However, while sunscreen use seems like an obvious way to protect against […]
Brain and Behaviour
This month has seen a flurry of jabs and jibes aimed at Dr Andrew Wakefield – the lead author of the study published in 1998 that first suggested a link between MMR vaccination and autism. An alleged conflict of interest has instigated a call for Dr Wakefield’s work to be disregarded, on the back of […]
Brain and Behaviour
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) here in the UK recently published a report which stressed the role of psychological therapies in the treatment of eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa. However, while conventional wisdom has been that these conditions are essentially mental disorders for which a head-first approach should prevail, mounting […]
Healthy Eating
According to official statistics, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men are set to feel the ageing process in their bones as a result of the skeleton-thinning condition known as osteoporosis. The bone-weakening effect of osteoporosis is estimated to responsible for 200,000 fractures in the UK each year, and is a cause of […]
Herbal Medicine
Nutritional science seems to churn out a perennial crop of research demonstrating the health benefits to be had by consuming a decent daily quota of vegetables. Certain vegetables on which particular praise has been heaped by researchers are those of the brassica class, such as broccoli and cabbage. Research suggests that one specific constituent of […]
Healthy Eating
In my last column a couple of weeks ago I gave some attention to the notion that it’s not just our size, but also our shape, that determines the likely health effects of any excess body baggage we happen to be carrying. Increasing evidence suggests that individuals with an overflow of fat around the midriff […]
Observer Archive
Many of us will have ushered in the New Year with the best of intentions, and may well be reigning back on our intake of food or upping our exercise output in an effort to lighten our load. Those whose focus is on shedding surplus weight are quite likely to be monitoring their progress with […]
Healthy Eating
New Year’s Eve looms, and many of us will be brewing up for the bout of heavy drinking this night of celebration traditionally entails. Such intoxicating pleasures tend to come with some pain too, however, usually in the form of the hangover from hell the morning after the night before. Alcohol in excess has a […]
Herbal Medicine
England’s triumphant World Cup campaign, though glorious, brought back a few painful memories of my own endeavours on the rugby pitch. Playing out on the wing, I was generally spared any bone-crushing and blood-spilling injuries, but do recall spending many a winter’s afternoon perishing with cold while waiting for play to come my way. I […]