There is a very old maxim in medicine, which is first, do no harm. Once upon a time this was fairly easy to comply with, as there was little doctors could actually do. Today many tests and treatments can cause or lead to considerable harm. This does not mean they...
The G20 met on the weekend. As usual the topic of sustainability of health systems gets discussed. It is a problem facing all countries. The demographics of aging populations coupled with increasingly expensive healthcare makes for a government economist’s nightmare....
Regular readers will know my views on the fat versus sugar debate. The biggest nutritional component to illness is the excess consumption of sugar. The key word here is excess. It was demonstrated last year that it is excess sugar consumption, not obesity that is the...
As the year draws to a close it is time to reflect on major events of this year and look to what might happen next year. There have been some major myths exploded this year and I predict there will more to come. It is also fascinating to see the fury with which health...
This video shows graphically how many people are helped by taking certain medications for “risk reduction” . This figure called “the number needed to treat ” is rarely quoted because it would make more people question the need for...
A fortnight ago I wrote about how the role of cholesterol in heart disease was being challenged. There was also a challenge to the widespread prescribing of statin medications. And to cap it off we saw a near hysterical reaction of some health authorities to this. The...
