Articles

“It was 20 years ago today…” as the song goes – and in many ways the sparkly side-show that is genetically modified food is as lacking in substance as the eternal showmen of Sgt Pepper’s band. On this day in 1996 the first GM product – a tomato puree made from the Flavr Savr tomato […]

As a society we absolutely eat too much added sugar. There’s no doubt, also, that for some drinking the requisite 1½ litres of water a day necessary for health can be challenging. So a study showing that artificially sweetened sodas can actually work just as well, and in some cases better than water in aiding […]

Just when you thought the news had hit a slow patch a new ‘report’ has got everyone in turmoil about the household death traps that are scented candles. Talk about first world problems! Many of us use candles, scented or otherwise to improve the ambiance of our homes. It seems like harmless pleasure and for […]

For many the experience of depression is nothing more than yesterday’s bad mood. For others it is a debilitating, chronic illness which affects them and those around them. A “bad” mood becomes a major health problem when it is severe enough and persistent enough to interfere with work, friendships, family life and even physical health. […]

“Get ready, cousin, because problems are coming your way…” That was the message from a relative in Colorado, who has been a vocal and active opponent of ‘fracking’, on hearing that the UK will soon begin drilling for shale gas in this way. In January 2015 Britain imposed a ban on fracking inside national parks […]

Let’s face it, when it comes to kids, it’s usually the mother who gets the blame when things go wrong. There is a wealth of information to show that a woman’s health before conception and during pregnancy is influential to both the short- and long-term health of her children. Moreover, we now know more about potential […]

Sometimes scientific research is used in a way that seems to deliberately obscure the truth of things. This may not come as a surprise to some of our readers. But a recent study on dietary diversity caught my eye as a good example of this. A diverse diet means that we eat a greater variety […]

You know the old joke. When a doctor doesn’t know what to do he or she says “take two aspirin and call me in the morning”. The very act of prescribing something simple is thought to be, at the very least, benign and at best may produce a placebo effect that makes the patient’s problem […]

The global food system is a dominant force in shaping our planet and its ecosystems. But it’s a system based faulty foundations, and with every passing year it becomes clearer that conversations about sustainability and biocapacity must begin with how we feed ourselves. Modern agriculture is built on exploitation – the notion that we can […]

If anyone ever doubted that our world is changing – and with it the risks that we face as individuals and as a society – then a recent global study on causes of death provides a sober reminder. In 1990, the things most likely to kill us were child and maternal malnutrition and unsafe water, […]