How to cut through the latest nutritional fads
Loading up your plate has never seemed more complicated. Alongside appeals to avoid ultra-processed foods and “bad” fats, we are being bombarded by a growing array of sometimes conflicting dietary advice. Not only is it confusing, but it is hard to tell what difference these choices will really make in the long term. Social media […]
How to Manage Small-Bowel and Perianal Conditions: Expert Pearls
This transcript has been edited for clarity. Hello. I’m Dr David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Welcome back to GI Common Concerns and my series on gastrointestinal (GI) pearls. This series is a built upon a conversation I had with Dr Alvin Zfass, from […]
How to eat ham without it damaging your health
Ham sandwiches are a favourite for a reason. They’re simple, cheap and a crowd-pleaser. But they may pose a risk for our health. A study from Cambridge University this week found that eating 50g of processed meat per day – the equivalent of two thick slices of ham – raises the risk of developing Type 2 […]
The health benefits of seeds and how to add them to your diet
Few would argue with the oft-repeated health advice to eat more nuts and seeds, and while grabbing a handful of nuts is an easy snack, seeds are often overlooked. Even science is guilty of this. A 2022 review called for more nutritional research to be focused on seeds to understand their unique health benefits, because […]
How to reboot your gut health in 30 days
Research from the American Gut Project found the single best thing you can do for your gut health is to eat 30 different plant foods a week. Leading UK gut experts such as Prof Tim Spector and Dr Megan Rossi, support this advice. It might seem a tall order but the term “plant foods” includes […]
The 9 most common food allergies and how to deal with them
Being allergic to certain food can be debilitating at the best of times and deadly at the worst. According to a new report from the Food Standards Agency, around 30 per cent of adults report having adverse reactions when eating some foods. However, only around six per cent (around 2.4 million people in the UK) […]
How to make sure your tap water’s safe to drink
Being able to drink tap water wherever you are in the UK is a point of national pride and a far cry from the alternative we’re often faced with on holiday – lugging around large bottles of water and relying on them to even brush our teeth. But Britain’s gleaming drinking water record became tarnished […]
How to eat out when you want to lose weight
The verdict Ultimately, going out will always be more indulgent than eating at home. Hope is right to point out that if we’re doing it frequently, it’s worth paying attention. “If you think about it objectively, a three course meal is a lot of food and way more than you would eat if you were […]
How to get the right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in your diet
Linda Steward/Getty Images Wherever you look, the advice is the same: if you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, obesity, cancer and all manner of other health problems, you should cut down on “bad” saturated fats, such as those found in butter and red and processed meats. Instead, you should be gobbling “good” […]
How to identify ultra-processed foods – and the surprising ones hiding in your cupboard
It’s probably the most straightforward test of all: check the ingredients list and if it contains at least one item you don’t recognise as something found in standard kitchens, it’s more than likely UPF. These unrecognisable substances often appear at the beginning or the middle of the ingredients list. “If it looks like you couldn’t […]