If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ll know what it’s like to be bombarded with mixed messages from well-meaning friends and family about what you should eat and avoid to protect your growing baby. It can…
Trans fats – they’re in our chips, bakery goods, popcorn and cakes. We know we should avoid them, but what exactly are they, and why are they so bad for us? First, let’s take a step back and look at how…
When you’re sick with a cold, you’re likely to be told to rest and drink plenty of fluids – water, juice, tea and the old favourite, chicken soup. This has been the prevailing advice for generations and…
For most people, successful weight loss comes down to two things: eating less and exercising more. But new research shows we may have been underestimating the role protein plays in losing weight and building…
How much can you believe about claims made on food packaging? For any mention of the word “light” or “lite”, feel free to add your own definition – that will have about as much credibility as any claim…
For the first time ever, the number of overweight people on Earth outweighs the number that are undernourished. From the obesity crisis flows a cascade of health and social problems: it burdens healthcare…
Living near fast food outlets leads to higher consumption of junk foods but living close to supermarkets stocked with fruit and vegetables doesn’t mean a healthier diet, a U.S. study has found. However…
The myth that the four common tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter are located at different regions of the tongue has existed for more than a century. It arose from studies in the late 19th and early…
Of all the homemade winter cure-alls, chicken soup is the best known and most loved. In fact the term “chicken soup” has become idiomatic for all things restorative; benefiting every possible problem from…
It’s time to ignore any advice you’ve heard about your sweat and hard work in the gym sabotaging your weight loss efforts by causing you to eat more. Every little bit of exercise can help shift unwanted…
If only a cure to world hunger was as easy as dishing out late-night sandwiches to the starving masses, and seeing them gain weight by eating at night. The reality is that it’s not when you eat, but how…
More than 550 international health professionals and organisations have signed a letter to McDonald’s calling for the Ronald McDonald icon to be shelved. What’s made Ronald McDonald such a successful marketing…
Any parent would tell you that seeing children fuelling up on sugar-laden cake, lollies and soft drinks at a birthday party is a sure-fire recipe for a bunch of rampaging hyperactive kids. The connection…
A recent article has questioned received wisdom regarding the adverse impact of salt on health. Unfortunately, naïve researchers and journal editors looking to stir up a controversy are confusing this…
Junk food is one of the mainstays of food advertising to children, who form the key market for junk food advertisers. Some of the more concerning marketing tactics are the ones that play on children’s…