Heart Disease: Understanding and Preventing It

9th July 2019

Author: Anna Kucirkova The human heart is an intriguing organ. It is the first working organ to develop in an embryo, where it begins to pump blood at about three weeks. The heart is a muscle that continuously distributes blood throughout the body for an entire lifetime. Every day your heart will beat about 115,000 times and will pump ...

Sausages and Other ‘Ultra Processed’ Food Could Increase the Risk of Early Death by 60%

31st May 2019

Eating sausages and other “ultra processed foods” could increase the risk of early death by 60 per cent, research suggests.  Two studies, published in the BMJ, link ready meals and other foods containing high levels of added fat and sugar to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The research found that those eating four portions a day of such foods ...

The Dreaded Rectal Exam! (A Doctors Perspective)

29th May 2019

Unlike the glamorous doctors portrayed in the likes of Scrubs or Grey’s Anatomy, being a doctor in the NHS if far from what you see on TV. I too was naive, distinctly picturing myself as one of those super-humans cast by Hollywood to save lives & charm nurses. Instead, the reality is that I’m more likely to be found ...

Centre for Appearance Research – Please Help With This Online Survey!

14th February 2019

Caterina Gentili, a PhD researcher from the Centre for Appearance Research (University of the West of England, Bristol), is currently conducting an online survey investigating the psychological and physical challenges that patients diagnosed with prostate cancer experience. The survey only takes 20 to 30 minutes. If you would like to participate, please follow this link: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0JslW06Gn73ZaGV As ...

Volunteer Your Way To Better Health

31st January 2019

Giving up your time to help others has a range of unexpected benefits. More than 21 million people in the UK volunteer at least once a year, throwing their time and energy into helping others. Moreover, while these dedicated volunteers help the isolated and sick, drive community groups and transform wild spaces, there is growing evidence that ...

Male Breast Cancer – “I Tried To Cut Off My Breast”

9th January 2019

Breast cancer is a disease that overwhelmingly affects women, but men get it too. Peter Bagnall is one of them.  Peter, 56, who is from Birmingham, got in touch with BBC Radio 5 Live during a discussion about women choosing to “go flat” instead of having reconstruction after breast cancer. Here, in this own words, is ...

Men at risk of prostate cancer will be spared needless biopsies and surgery under new guidance for the NHS.

12th December 2018

Men at risk of prostate cancer will be spared needless biopsies and surgery under new guidance for the NHS.  Instead, those with suspected disease will be asked to undergo MRI scans, which could allow one quarter of cases to be given the all-clear without further tests. Research suggests that the technique could be twice as effective ...

Migraines – The Sixth Most Disabling Condition In The World!

13th November 2018

What are Migraines?  A migraine is a primary headache disorder that causes symptoms such as a headache, sickness and photophobia (an aversion to light).  According to the Migraine Trust, experts don’t yet know why people develop the condition but they do know that it has a genetic component, so someone with migraines is likely to ...

10 Good Reasons To See your Doctor Number 10 – Back Pain

23rd October 2018

Back pain is the bane of so many people and is the number one cause of absence from work.  The human back seems to be ill-equipped to cope with 21st century life and backaches are rarely caused by anything serious.  Aches and pains usually get better with time and are helped by stretching, staying active ...

Highly Processed Food is “Cancer Risk”

23rd October 2018

Consuming foods such as chicken nuggets, ready meals and mass-produced bakery goods may significantly increase the risk of developing cancer, according to new French research. Following the eating habits of people over the last five years, their study (reported in the British Medical Journal) stated that a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in ...