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The colour of health
Research on human perception of skin colour sheds light on the ‘diet wars’ 31 March 2024 The post-COVID epistemic crisis: “I don’t believe anything the ‘experts’ tell me anymore” Among the many persistent after-effects of the COVID operation is that a small but significant proportion of the population has completely lost trust in all social…
Under Nature’s Influence: How viewing nature scenes alters your brain’s response to pain
24 March 2025 A couple of weeks ago, I published a post on how the brain remembers pain and inflammation, how these brain-encoded memories can be retriggered, and what you can do to rewire them. One of the most important facts about pain that I stressed in this post – and that I always discuss…
On the pursuit of happiness
17 March 2025 Recently, I came across a paper that reported the findings of several studies that concluded that people who obsess over their own level of happiness end up more depressed, more negative, and less satisfied with their lives than people who are more or less unconcerned by how happy they are. On the…
Your brain on pain: How your brain ‘remembers’ pain and inflammation, and what you can do to rewire it
10 March 2025 I’ve written a fair bit about pain and its treatment over the years (see Inflammation: why you’re fat, sick, tired, depressed and in pain… and what to do about it, The surprising – and disturbing – effects of paracetamol on your mind, The placebo paradox and Where is your emotional pain showing…
Do antidepressants accelerate cognitive decline?
3 March 2025 If you’ve been reading my work for a while, you’ll know that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of antidepressant medications. Not only do they cause profound sexual dysfunction that may persist even after patients stop taking them, birth defects and an increased risk of premature birth in offspring of mothers who…
On the futility of breast cancer screening
Breast cancer screening doesn’t save lives, doesn’t ‘catch cancer early’, and doesn’t protect women from aggressive treatment. So why are we still spending great gobs of money on it? 17 February 2025 One of the principal load-bearing myths on which the sociopolitical power of the medical-industrial complex rests, is that cancer screening programs save lives.…
Mending the broken bone business
A fascinating interview with orthopaedic surgeon Dr Nick Birch on what’s wrong with the current medical approach to bone health, and how to fix it. 10 February 2025 A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from UK orthopaedic surgeon Dr Nick Birch, who had stumbled across one of my articles on osteoporosis, The…
Lean body, healthy brain
Newly published research shows that the more muscle mass you have, the sharper your brain… and the more fat mass, the duller your wits.
Fat body, starved brain
A study of over 35 000 brain scans has found that the more body fat you carry, the less blood flow your brain receives.
Are you fit enough to save your brain?
Updated 13 January 2025 It’s that time of year again, when fitness clubs cash in on the New Year surge. About 12 per cent of gym memberships are initiated in the month of January – that’s 25-30 per cent more than any other month. Unfortunately, the bloom comes off the ‘new year, new me’ rose…