News
Getting Older – Osteoporosis: Fact or Fiction?
Osteoporosis is one of those disorders which some think is simply an invention of the pharmaceutical industry. Try telling the 65-year-old woman with height loss and a bent back (kyphosis – Fig 1) that it is a problem dreamed up in the Board Rooms of our major drug companies! Osteoporosis is not a manufactured disorder […]
Healthy Anti-ageing Strategies
Have you thought about how you would like to spend the last few decades of your life? Until the arrival of Anti-ageing Medicine, the fate of the ageing was mysterious, uncertain, and often bleak. The future seemed to lie in the hands of unknown forces such as fate, God, environmental factors, and genetics. When questioned, […]
Meningitis Vaccination Update
What is Meningitis Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Bacteria or a virus usually causes it, but bacterial meningitis is the most serious type. In the UK and Ireland, meningococcal bacteria (Neisseria Meningitidis) are the commonest cause of meningitis. There are 13 different strains of this bacterium and […]
Prostate Cancer Screening
Since 1999, men around the world have been growing their moustaches in November as part of the annual ‘Movember ‘ charity event to raise awareness of men’s health issues. What is the prostate? The prostate is a walnut shaped gland that sits beneath the bladder and produces semen. The urethra is the tube that carries […]
Breast Cancer Screening
October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month in UK. With increasingly more women enquiring about breast cancer screening, where do doctors stand? Should we or should we not offer early breast cancer screening? Is evidence and assessing the pros and cons of an early mammogram enough to deter a younger woman who wishes to ensure […]
Lactose Intolerance versus Cow’s Milk Allergy in babies
Lactose Intolerance and Cow’s Milk Allergy are often confused, however they are very separate illnesses. Lactose intolerance This is when your baby has difficulty digesting lactose, the natural sugar found in cow’s milk. It is caused by low levels (or complete lack) of the enzyme lactase, which is needed to break down and digest lactose. […]
The Buzz of Mindfulness
The term mindfulness seems to be being mentioned everywhere for the past few years. There is a buzz about this that seems to have taken on an ‘of the moment’ feel. Yet its roots have been around for centuries. While it is in the fashion, as with all ‘fad’ therapies, I think it’s important to […]
Bloating and your diet
Are You Bloating More Than Average? When the feeling of bloating strikes, it can become painful and a nuisance. Most people are likely to have experienced bloating at least once in their lifetime. For a large majority of us, it occurs randomly, perhaps after an indulgent weekend or during the festive season. But bloating is […]
HIV Today
Advances in HIV treatment with HAART (Highly Active AntiRetroviral Treatment) have transformed an HIV diagnosis from a death-sentence to a chronic manageable condition. People diagnosed with HIV can expect to live a normal lifespan,(Tong: 2012:1) and in some instance a greater than normal lifespan (Cairns, 2014). Stigma Despite this an HIV diagnosis remains highly stigmatised. […]
The Menopause: Getting Your Nutrition Right!
Menopause is characterised by the reduction of oestrogen production in the body, which leads to the ending of the menstrual cycle in women. Some women rejoice at the thought of finally never having a period again, whereas others dread menopause, as the sign of the end of their fertility. In different countries, menopause is perceived […]
