As you tuck into your Christmas stocking chocolates, be aware that chocolate is said to be a contributory factor to nasty heartburn. Chemicals in chocolate apparently cause the cells in the intestines to produce large amounts of serotonin – a muscle relaxant which causes the lower oesophageal sphincter to open, permitting acid from the stomach […]
Smell is a wonderful sense. It is intimately linked to our taste and our appreciation of foods and drinks. It is also an important sense for our safety, allowing us to detect gas, smoke, rotten food and other toxic chemicals. Reduced sense of smell is called hyposmia. Complete loss of smell is called anosmia. All […]
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Sperm counts in men worldwide have declined by half over the past 50 years and are continuing to fall. ‘It does seem that sperm counts are falling, but it is hard to say exactly why that is happening,’ says Dr Jane Stewart, a consultant in reproductive medicine at Newcastle Fertility Centre. ‘The studies are conflicting. […]
Childhood obesity is increasing rapidly as is childhood anxiety, depression, severe allergies, asthma, diabetes, the list goes on. It would make sense therefore that children should have easy access to health care – both physical and mental – at the place where they spend much of their time, at their school. However the lack of […]
The Chancellor’s Budget announcement of a tax levy on soft drink manufacturers was welcomed by most political parties, many health professionals and one widely-smiling celebrity chef. But I have serious reservations. Delivered as a smoke screen to deflect attention from a failing economy, according to the Independent newspaper, it could be viewed as a cynical […]
We know that a ‘soda tax’ on sweetened soft drinks works – other countries including Chile, Hungary, France, Latvia, and Berkeley California have already tried it with good results. Mexico saw a 12 per cent drop in fizzy drinks sales within a year of imposing a sugar tax. Taxing soda is simple and easy to […]
Breakfasting on half a grapefruit has long been seen as one of the healthiest ways to start the day, but the idea it could help you lose weight was dismissed as a fad decades ago. The old miracle grapefruit diet popular in the 1980s has been superseded by more ‘scientific’ weight loss diets, including low-carb diets, high GI diets and […]
Over my career I have spent many thousands of hours in A&E departments working on shift to care for sick or hurt children. I, along with the medical team, do my best to care for the physical wellbeing of each and every patient that comes through the door. I find it hard to believe, therefore, […]
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Most people know that I am a vociferous campaigner against added sugar in our diet. I have been arguing for a sugar tax to be levied on food and beverage companies that lavish their products with refined sugar, and put our health at risk. I strongly believe that added sugar is a leading cause of […]
Read More… from Why I want to drop dead healthy – and I probably will
Can you tell me a little about your own background? I was first introduced to the Eye Hospital of St John by my grandfather in 1985, who was a colleague and friend of the Hospitaller at the time, Sir Steven Miller. The Order accepted my student elective application and I spent a month in Jerusalem […]
Read More… from The St John Eye Hospital Group – History, aims and ambitions