The cancer-methionine connection, or why I don’t donate to cancer charities
There, I’ve said it. I don’t donate to cancer charities. Every week I get a letter from a cancer charity, pleading for donations; or a note comes home from one of my kids’ schools asking for us to support a cancer fund-raising drive; or a cancer charity volunteer door-knocks me. But I don’t give money…
Fruit and vegies beat bad heart genes
I’ve written about the issue of genetic and epigenetic factors in several other posts, including Live long and prosper… or degenerate and die prematurely? It’s your choice!, In your genes, or in your hands? The epigenetics of cancer, and Changing your genes. Now another landmark article has been published which further reinforces this crucial point: your…
For strong bones, avoid excess calcium!
Yes, you read that right! The dairy, nutritional supplement and pharmaceutical industries, not to mention dietitians and doctors, have been urging you for years to increase your calcium intake for the sake of your bones. Yet there is not a shred of evidence that upping calcium intake above a relatively low threshold, improves bone health…
Should you get a flu vaccine this winter?
Winter is finally upon us here in the southern hemisphere, and many of my clients have been asking me about flu vaccination. Fortunately, I don’t have to sift through the scientific literature all by myself to come up with advice on this matter; I can simply quote the findings of the Cochrane Collaboration on influenza…
Flu prevention: safe, effective strategies
With winter now upon us, the annual influenza season is gathering pace. While the flu is rarely a serious illness in people who are generally well, it is dangerous for those with compromised immune systems including the elderly, pregnant women, diabetics and people on immunosuppressant drugs. And it feels absolutely lousy for those suffering it…
The big fat protein swindle
Not a week goes by, so it seems, without a new version of a high-protein diet popping up in the media. ‘Getting enough protein’ has become a national obsession. Self-styled diet gurus and personal trainers ascribe almost mythical properties to protein, describing it as a ‘body-shaping nutrient’ and ‘the key to successful weight loss’. Inevitably,…
When it comes to maintaining weight loss, all calories are not created equal!
Weight loss is simple, right? You just burn more calories, through exercise and daily activity, than you take in through food. WRONG! I’ve been explaining to my clients for years that there’s a lot more to it than that! For starters, we don’t necessarily absorb all of the calories contained in the foods we eat.…
The best Christmas gift EVER
I don’t know about you, but I’m at the stage in life where there just aren’t that many THINGS that I need. In fact, these days I find I get far more satisfaction out of decluttering my home and office than I do out of acquiring new stuff! So I don’t really want anything for…
‘Tis the season to… gain 2 kg
That’s how much weight the average Australian gains over the December-January festive season. It might not sound like a lot, but when you think about how much effort it takes to SHED that extra weight, compared to how little effort is required to gain it in the first place, the old saying ‘an ounce of…
It’s not about the food
Whenever I’m working on food cravings with either my private clients or participants in The LEAN Program, we ALWAYS reach a point where they realise it’s not about the food. They start off completely wrapped up in the desire to eat chocolate, or lollies, or hot chips, or bread and butter, or whatever their “frug”…