I had been meaning to mention Dipex for ages, but I was recently told that it had just changed its name to Healthtalkonline , which seems a good opportunity to write about it. It’s a compilation of interviews with people describing their experiences with illness. I think it’s a fabulous resource for patients, and for also friends and relatives. No […]
Continue Reading →Second Opinion: Rehabilitation through exercise
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a blight on British health, estimated to cause 20 per cent of medical hospital admissions. Primarily caused by cigarette smoking, it is a condition that damages the airways and obstructs the flow of air from the lungs, leading to breathlessness, a chronic cough and wheezing. The symptoms are distressing and, […]
Continue Reading →Walk while you work
There is pressure being placed on employers to make their workplaces “healthier”. NICE released documents on this earlier this year, and this week the Scottish Executive have published their take on matters. What is the good employer to do? The recommendations focus on employers increasing the amount of exercise that employees take in the course of their […]
Continue Reading →Screening complications
Regular readers will know that I have concerns about many tests used in the UK for screening. Screening tests are used when people are well, with no symptoms of disease. The aim of screening is to pick up a disease process at an early, pre-symptomatic stage such that an effective intervention can be used to prevent complications. […]
Continue Reading →Is being vegetarian good for you?
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, wants us to eat less meat. Pachauri is an economist (and a vegetarian) who believes that reducing meat consumption could also cut greenhouse gas emissions. The idea seems to make sense, since about one-fifth of global emissions are produced by the meat industry. […]
Continue Reading →The quiet claims of fruit and veg
There are yogurts with cholesterol-reducing properties and other dairy products which can supposedly produce “optimal” bowel health. Then there are baked beans with “added omega threes” and drinks that profess to reduce blood pressure. The European Food Safety Authority is now providing “opinions” on the science behind such claims. However a lot of the claims […]
Continue Reading →Inequality kills
The World Health Organisation are presenting their findings of a three year investigation into the ‘social determinants of health’ today. The report is available here. We are all used to hearing that the latest health news is ‘shocking’ and ‘appalling’, but this report is a rare exception – it does actually deserve these descriptions. Life expectancy in one […]
Continue Reading →