The Men Who Made Us Fat , a brilliant BBC 2 documentary that went out last night, should be forcibly played to dieticians and other experts who for decades have urged the low fat diet as the solution to weight loss and heart protection, not to mention being comfortable with a hefty intake of sugar as […]
Five reasons not to take statins
May 23, 2012 by 4 Comments
If you are over fifty-something you will soon have to make a decision about whether or not to take a statin to bring down your cholesterol and cut your chance of having a heart attack. You will certainly be offered them. Now according to the latest “evidence” the decision is a no-brainer. These drugs have […]
Do anecdotes of side-effects count as evidence?
May 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
I can sympathise with the frustration felt by Professor Edzard Ernst, dedicated promoter of the principles of evidence based medicine, when faced with under-reporting of side-effects. But I’m surprised at his readiness to abandon them when going into print. His latest attack on Chiropractic just doesn’t follow the rules of evidence based medicine, at least […]
Doctors need not fear credibility gap
May 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Clinical trials paid for by drug companies are widely seen as being untrustworthy because of the hiding of data, spinning of results and all the other dark arts described in books such as Pharmageddon. So much so, that there is now something of a PR offensive underway to reassure everyone that all is well. But […]
Whose job is it to get medics to follow the evidence?
May 9, 2012 by 2 Comments
One of the reasons for gathering evidence in trials is to use it to better treat patients. But what happens if doctors know what should be done in theory but then don’t or can’t do it? This is a far from a theoretical issue for kids diagnosed as ADHD on Ritalin or someone getting one […]
Lifestyle alters ageing marker
May 6, 2012 by 2 Comments
Telomeres are the exciting new kids on the ageing block. We all have them and they play a crucial role in protecting our DNA when cells divide. They are linked with ageing because the older you get the shorter your telomeres become. So one big question about ageing is: If I keep my telomeres from getting too […]
Serious doubts on value of clinical trials
May 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It’s a no brainer that evidence based medicine is a good idea. Who doesn’t want to know that there is is some form of testing going on to find out if your treatment is likely to work? The medical profession, or most of it, confidently asserts that this is the way medicine is done these […]
Trial data unreliable and uninformative
May 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
When your doctor diagnoses a problem and recommends one or more drugs that advice is based on guidelines, which in turn depend on results from randomised clinical trials. This, in theory, ensures that your treatment will be safe and effective. Unfortunately several studies just published suggest that the evidence can be far from watertight. One […]
How drugs can mess with your vitamins
May 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
You’ve probably seen warnings that herbs or supplements of one sort or another might interfere with any drugs that you are taking so you should always tell your doctor about them. Sound advice. What you are less likely to know about is that some of the drugs you are taking can reduce the production or […]
10 Secrets – another view
May 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Another view on my book with Patrick Holford “The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing” Monty Python’s brilliant ‘Life of Brian’ memorably ended with a row crucified Galileans singing “Always look on the bright side of life”. Being upbeat about getting old seems only marginally less absurd. Literary giants have given it pretty uniformly bad press, […]
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