Recent headlines claim that a glass of wine or a pint of beer a day shortens your life. It’s enough to dampen any thoughts of a celebratory drink or two at Christmas. But those conclusions are based on a partial view of the alcohol debate.
At the age of 14, a young Donald Watson watched as a terrified pig was slaughtered on his family farm. In the British boy’s eyes, the screaming pig was being murdered. Watson stopped eating meat and eventually gave up dairy as well.
- By Kesson Magid
Boys who grow up in healthier, wealthier environments tend to have more testosterone as adults, our latest research shows.
A recent widely-reported study has reignited debate around whether omega-3 supplements reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. The study showed a particular form of omega-3 oil lowered the risk of people with heart disease experiencing a major “end point” event by 25%.
Do you drink freshly brewed coffee to start off your day? Or is a cup of English breakfast tea a better option for you?
There are suggestions that fish oil is good for a range of health conditions including arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, mental health and heart disease. It’s even been suggested that fish oil might make people smarter, so should we all be taking supplements?
Eating a low-gluten, high-fiber diet changes bacteria in the gut, decreases gastrointestinal discomfort such as bloating, and is linked to modest weight loss, according to new research.
- By Robert Moore
The healthy human body is swarming with microorganisms. They inhabit every nook and cranny on the surfaces of our body. But by far the largest collection of microorganisms reside in our gastrointestinal tract – our gut.
The idea of eating a tub of ice cream to cope with being upset has become a bit cliche. Though some might not need a tub of chocolate swirl to help perk themselves up again, there do seem to be systematic differences in the way that people cope with upsetting events, with some more likely to find solace in food than others.
The midterm elections have further loosened marijuana restrictions in the United States. Voters in three of four states with ballot proposals on marijuana approved those initiatives.
Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria that cause disease. But they also cause collateral damage to the microbiome, the complex community of bacteria that live in our gut. This results in a profound, though usually temporary, depletion of the beneficial bacteria.
Many people wonder why they’re not losing weight when they follow a strict diet and exercise routine. One possible reason is that what look like healthy options aren’t what they seem.
- By Elisa Lottor
In a modern diet, we eat many foods that are not good for us. Because of the ease of preparing processed foods, we are eating a lot of unhealthy fats and by doing this we are actually causing a lot of our own health problems. Food can be directly linked to many different diseases. Therefore, it’s essential that we watch what we eat and how we eat it.
By now you’ve probably heard that eating too much red and processed meat is bad for you. Not only is it associated with increased rates of coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, but there is also convincing evidence that red and processed meat can cause cancer.
- By Jane Parker
One of the targets of the UK government’s new health strategy is salt. Your body needs salt to function normally, but an excess leads to raised blood pressure and an increase in the risk of stroke and heart disease.
- By James Brown
Our ability to live a long life is influenced by a combination of our genes and our environment. In studies that involve identical twins, scientists have estimated that no more than 30% of this influence comes from our genes, meaning that the largest group of factors that control how long a person lives is their environment.
Scientists have discovered that hosts starve their microbial denizens of nutrients, essentially forcing the microbes in our guts to do our bidding.
- By Catriona May
Two recent studies shed light on which women are most at risk of developing dementia, and how we can prevent or delay the disease early.
When we hear the word “obesity”, the words “crisis” or “epidemic” often follow. And as being overweight, obese and eating an unhealthy diet are leading contributors to disease, evidence is mounting that “tackling obesity” should be a political priority.
In the wake of cannabis legalization in Canada, a team of scientists has delivered encouraging news for chronic pain sufferers by pinpointing the effective dose of marijuana plant extract cannabidiol for safe pain relief without the typical “high” or euphoria that THC produces.
- By Tim Spector
Organic food is an over-hyped and overpriced fad, according to many people. But a recently published study which followed nearly 69,000 French people over four and a half years seems to indicate there is a link between eating organic foods and a lower cancer risk.
- By James Cronin
With suspicion surrounding staples such as eggs and the humble potato, along with the reconsideration of fats as not so bad, and the belated demonisation of the same sugars which were once marketed as beneficial – it’s no wonder consumers are becoming apprehensive about following advice on what they should, or should not put on their plates.
It’s easy to see where the claim that activated charcoal can detoxify the body comes from: it is used in emergency medicine to reduce the toxic load when someone has consumed poison or overdosed on medication. Charcoal binds to poison in the gastrointestinal tract and stops it from being absorbed into the bloodstream. The toxins are then passed out of the body in the stool. However...