It is now widely accepted that mothers’ milk is best for babies. Breastfed infants have fewer infections and are likely to have a higher intelligence than those fed artificial formula. But a difficulty…
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The fight over how to label our food has never been more intense. On one side of the argument we have public health associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and consumer groups looking for effective…
More than 200,000 Australian women give birth in hospital every year, but very few give much thought to the room in which they will do it. Imagine a woman’s surprise when they walk in to discover that…
Chiropractic, one of the several popular so-called complementary and alternative medicines(1), should never be applied to children. It simply isn’t based on credible scientific evidence. A practitioner…
Vitamin D is all the rage at the moment. Everyone is measuring it and no one, it seems, is getting enough of it. Of course, Vitamin D is not really a vitamin because dietary intake is usually not required…
Over 3.5 billion cans of Red Bull are sold every year in over 120 countries, claiming the drink leads to “improved performance, concentration, vigilance and emotional status” (RedBull website). Other energy…
Most of us don’t really understand climate change, and for some of us that means we can’t accept it. Sure, the evidence is compelling, but sadly humans aren’t always interested in evidence when it comes…
Psychosurgery’s troubled history of lobotomies and unregulated procedures has left modern psychiatry with strict regulations. But now, legislation designed to protect patients is actually denying those…
In the past, women have often been told they should eat for two during pregnancy. This old adage is not true anymore, especially if women are overweight or obese when starting their pregnancy. Restricting…
In 2002 when I visited Santa Barbara, I went to a grocery store called Trader Joe’s. It had its own line in milk. Trader Joe’s Vitamin D Milk (Grade A, pasteurized, homogenized) had some ‘nutrition facts…
Over the past century most generations have grown a little taller than the last. Believing this growth was a result of improved nutrition and better health care, we have been proud of this greater stature…
Climate change is affecting rates of illness, disease, injury and death in Australia and elsewhere, and the risk it poses will only escalate in future. As Australians argue about carbon pricing and its…
Since the introduction of the seatbelt into motor vehicles over 40 years ago, there have been major gains in protection to occupants in automotive crashes. This progress has not been observed in the rear…
The debate about health in the lead-up to the Saturday March 26 NSW election has been unusually civilised and intelligent. The main contestants – the current minister, Carmel Tebbutt, and shadow minister…
With epidemics of diabetes and obesity threatening to bankrupt state health budgets, governments need to broaden their strategies to encourage physical activity. Allowing cyclists to ride without a helmet…
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and complicating nuclear crisis throw into sharp focus concerns about exposure to ionising radiation. What is it, how is it harmful, how much is too much? Inside…