Is Alcohol Bad For You? It Depends On The Drink And How You Drink It

Recent headlines claim that a glass of wine or a pint of beer a day shortens your life. It’s enough to dampen any thoughts of a celebratory drink or two at Christmas. But those conclusions are based on a partial view of the alcohol debate.

At the age of 14, a young Donald Watson watched as a terrified pig was slaughtered on his family farm. In the British boy’s eyes, the screaming pig was being murdered. Watson stopped eating meat and eventually gave up dairy as well.

Boys who grow up in healthier, wealthier environments tend to have more testosterone as adults, our latest research shows.

A recent widely-reported study has reignited debate around whether omega-3 supplements reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. The study showed a particular form of omega-3 oil lowered the risk of people with heart disease experiencing a major “end point” event by 25%.

Do you drink freshly brewed coffee to start off your day? Or is a cup of English breakfast tea a better option for you?

There are suggestions that fish oil is good for a range of health conditions including arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, mental health and heart disease. It’s even been suggested that fish oil might make people smarter, so should we all be taking supplements?

Eating a low-gluten, high-fiber diet changes bacteria in the gut, decreases gastrointestinal discomfort such as bloating, and is linked to modest weight loss, according to new research.

The healthy human body is swarming with microorganisms. They inhabit every nook and cranny on the surfaces of our body. But by far the largest collection of microorganisms reside in our gastrointestinal tract – our gut.

The idea of eating a tub of ice cream to cope with being upset has become a bit cliche. Though some might not need a tub of chocolate swirl to help perk themselves up again, there do seem to be systematic differences in the way that people cope with upsetting events, with some more likely to find solace in food than others.

The midterm elections have further loosened marijuana restrictions in the United States. Voters in three of four states with ballot proposals on marijuana approved those initiatives.

Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria that cause disease. But they also cause collateral damage to the microbiome, the complex community of bacteria that live in our gut. This results in a profound, though usually temporary, depletion of the beneficial bacteria.

Many people wonder why they’re not losing weight when they follow a strict diet and exercise routine. One possible reason is that what look like healthy options aren’t what they seem.

In a modern diet, we eat many foods that are not good for us. Because of the ease of preparing processed foods, we are eating a lot of unhealthy fats and by doing this we are actually causing a lot of our own health problems. Food can be directly linked to many different diseases. Therefore, it’s essential that we watch what we eat and how we eat it.

By now you’ve probably heard that eating too much red and processed meat is bad for you. Not only is it associated with increased rates of coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, but there is also convincing evidence that red and processed meat can cause cancer.

One of the targets of the UK government’s new health strategy is salt. Your body needs salt to function normally, but an excess leads to raised blood pressure and an increase in the risk of stroke and heart disease.

Our ability to live a long life is influenced by a combination of our genes and our environment. In studies that involve identical twins, scientists have estimated that no more than 30% of this influence comes from our genes, meaning that the largest group of factors that control how long a person lives is their environment.

Scientists have discovered that hosts starve their microbial denizens of nutrients, essentially forcing the microbes in our guts to do our bidding.

Two recent studies shed light on which women are most at risk of developing dementia, and how we can prevent or delay the disease early.

When we hear the word “obesity”, the words “crisis” or “epidemic” often follow. And as being overweight, obese and eating an unhealthy diet are leading contributors to disease, evidence is mounting that “tackling obesity” should be a political priority.

In the wake of cannabis legalization in Canada, a team of scientists has delivered encouraging news for chronic pain sufferers by pinpointing the effective dose of marijuana plant extract cannabidiol for safe pain relief without the typical “high” or euphoria that THC produces.

Organic food is an over-hyped and overpriced fad, according to many people. But a recently published study which followed nearly 69,000 French people over four and a half years seems to indicate there is a link between eating organic foods and a lower cancer risk.

With suspicion surrounding staples such as eggs and the humble potato, along with the reconsideration of fats as not so bad, and the belated demonisation of the same sugars which were once marketed as beneficial – it’s no wonder consumers are becoming apprehensive about following advice on what they should, or should not put on their plates.

It’s easy to see where the claim that activated charcoal can detoxify the body comes from: it is used in emergency medicine to reduce the toxic load when someone has consumed poison or overdosed on medication. Charcoal binds to poison in the gastrointestinal tract and stops it from being absorbed into the bloodstream. The toxins are then passed out of the body in the stool. However...

The number of adults currently using e-cigarettes in the UK is close to 2.9m, many of whom will have turned to the devices to quit smoking. While certainly they may help people kick the habit, there is a big problem with e-cigarettes: we don’t actually know for certain whether they are safe or not.

New research finds an association between some popular heartburn treatments and iron deficiency. Heartburn is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux, which hydrochloric acid rising into the throat causes. This condition affects more than two million Australians. Many people take medications that suppress acid secretion to treat it.

Edible wild greens could help improve food security, boost public health and make communities more resilient to disaster. Edible wild greens are consumed globally, particularly during food shortages, and many are used medicinally in teas, poultices and supplements.

Chewing gum may be an effective delivery system for some vitamins, according the new research. Nearly 15 percent of all chewing gum varieties sold promise to provide health-enhancing supplements to users, so researchers studied whether two vitamin-supplemented products were effective at delivering vitamins to the body.

Many people believe that low-fat dairy products are healthier than high-fat dairy products. Indeed, many public health guidelines recommend low-fat dairy over high-fat dairy.

Drinking a daily glass of wine for health reasons may not be so healthy after all, a new study suggests.

Sleep has become widely recognised as playing a really important role in our overall health and wellness – alongside diet, stress management and exercise. Recently, researchers have been learning more about how poor sleep influences our dietary choices, as well as how diet influences sleep quality.

More than a quarter of commercial honey brands have potentially been watered down with sugar cane, corn syrup or other products, according to our new analysis of 95 products from local food markets and supermarket shelves.

We’ve known for a long time that certain patients in the intensive care unit recover faster and have better clinical outcomes if they receive enough nutrition.

It is well known that eating a balanced diet is of vital importance for maintaining good health and well-being. It is also one of the great social pleasures of life. Yet, far too many young people in prisons are consuming a poor diet, lacking in nutrition.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ve probably heard that crash dieting isn’t the best way to go about it. Although you may lose lots of weight initially, you won’t be able to keep the weight off and may even end up being heavier than you were before. But our latest research suggests that this isn’t always the case.

Being depressed can negatively affect your appetite and what you eat, but can bad eating habits bring your mood down? Our latest study, a systematic review of the best available evidence, found a clear link between the quality of a person’s diet and their risk of depression. And it goes beyond the effect of diet on body size or other aspects of health that can affect mental health.

It can be difficult to find reliable information online on timing and how to introduce foods – and how to balance that with breastfeeding. Here’s what the recommendations say, and the science behind them.

If you plan to try and quit eating junk food, expect to suffer similar withdrawal-type symptoms—at least during the initial week—that addicts experience when they attempt to quit using drugs, according to new research.

Ancel and Margaret Keys, an American husband-and-wife team, first reported on the Mediterranean diet’s health benefits in 1975. Since then, the diet has become particularly well known for its effect on cardiovascular health. What is less well known is whether the diet has different benefits for men and women. Our latest study sheds some light on the matter.

In our survey of yogurts sold in the UK, we found that less than 10% were low sugar – almost none of which were children’s yogurts. We also found that organic products, often viewed as healthier options, contained some of the highest levels of sugar.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, medicines shouldn’t be your first option. Exercise regularly, cut back on coffee (and other caffeinated drinks) after midday, eat less in the evening, ease up on “screen time” before, and in, bed, practise meditation and try to have a quiet, dark bedroom dedicated mostly to sleep.

Legalized cannabis is just a month away, but Ontario won’t have any cannabis stores until April. That’s due to the province’s recent decision to have cannabis outlets run by businesses rather than a government agency, although the agency will still open a retail web site Oct. 17.

When my brother and I were kids back in the ‘80s, we loved going to Long John Silver’s. But it wasn’t just for the fish. It was for the vinegar – malt vinegar. We would uncap a bottle at the table and swig that tangy, delicious nectar of the gods straight.

Researchers have developed a way to reliably predict which chronic pain patients will respond to a sugar placebo pill based on brain anatomy and psychological characteristics. Doctors may one day prescribe placebos that work as effectively as any painkiller for certain patients, the researchers’ new study suggests

Taking low-dose aspirin daily doesn’t preserve good health or delay the onset of disability or dementia in healthy older people. This was one finding from our seven-year study that included more than 19,000 older people from Australia and the US.

Researchers have discovered evidence of the earliest brewmasters to date, a finding that might stir an old debate: What came first, beer or bread? In a cave in what is now Israel, scientists found beer-brewing innovations that they believe predate the early appearance of cultivated cereals in the Near East by several millennia.

Two of every three US consumers surveyed report eating less of at least one type of meat, according to new research. “Many Americans continue to have strong preferences for meat,” says Roni Neff, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

It isn’t surprising that people are confused about nutrition when the media presents different findings as gladiatorial battles: vegetarian versus carnivore, high-fat versus low-fat diets and, more recently, low-carb diets versus high-carb. But, when you dig down into the data, many of these studies are reporting surprisingly similar things – and this is the case with the latest studies reporting on carbohydrates and health.

India has a reputation as a vegetarian nation, and Indians certainly consume far less meat than the global average. But the view of India as a predominantly vegetarian nation may not be quite accurate.

The idea that healthy food costs more than junk food is something I hear a lot. Students tell me they’d like to eat better but can’t afford to. There is a strong belief that cooking from scratch costs a fortune, and with takeaway meals priced as low as £1, they have little incentive to change their behaviour.

We all know eating “healthy” food is good for our physical health and can decrease our risk of developing diabetes, cancer, obesity and heart disease. What is not as well known is that eating healthy food is also good for our mental health and can decrease our risk of depression and anxiety.

Leftovers may be throwing off your sense of how much you’ve actually eaten and how much you need to exercise, particularly as portion sizes—and therefore leftover portions—increase, according to a new study.

Worldwide obesity has tripled since 1975, with 1.9 billion adults considered overweight. The condition now kills more people across the globe than underweight and malnutrition.

One of the NHS’s biggest cost burdens, a staggering 70% of UK adults are expected to have overweight or obesity by 2034. Obesity is a problem of energy balance.

Last week I had a shocking cold. Blocked nose, sore throat, and feeling poorly. This made me think about the countless vitamins and supplements on the market that promise to ease symptoms of a cold, help you recover faster, and reduce your chance of getting another cold. When it comes to the common cold (also called upper respiratory tract infections) there is no magic cure (I wish) but some supplements may deliver very minor improvements. Here is what the latest research evidence says.

Alcohol producers and retailers have long argued that their goal is a world where everyone drinks responsibly and heavy drinking is a thing of the past. As a result, the alcohol industry claims to be part of the solution to the UK’s drink problem rather than part of the problem. In our latest research, published in Addiction, we examine the credibility of this claim.

Timing our meals can fend off diseases caused by bad genes or bad diet. Everything in our body is programmed to run on a 24-hour or circadian time table that repeats every day. Nearly a dozen different genes work together to produce this 24-hour circadian cycle. These clocks are present in all of our organs, tissues and even in every cell. These internal clocks tell us when to sleep, eat, be physically active and fight diseases. As long as this internal timing system work well and we obey them, we stay healthy.

We are still in love with vitamins a century after they were discovered, with half the US and UK population taking a supplement. Vitamin D – the sunshine vitamin – is the favourite and is believed to have the most proven benefits. Governments, including the UK government, have said that the evidence for vitamin D’s health benefits is so overwhelming that every adult should take it as a supplement for at least six months of the year.

A solid white mass found in a broken jar in an Ancient Egyptian tomb has turned out to be the world’s oldest example of solid cheese. Probably made mostly from sheep or goats milk, the cheese was found several years ago by archaeologists in the ancient tomb of Ptahmes, who was a high-ranking Egyptian official. The substance was identified after the archaeology team carried out biomolecular identification of its proteins.

Many parts of the country have seen episodic crises due to synthetic marijuana, the largest occurring in Mississippi, where 721 adverse events were logged between April 2-3, 2015. Even with outbreaks aside, synthetic cannabinoids are 30 times more likely to harm you than regular marijuana.

Time-restricted eating (also called time-restricted feeding) is a new dietary concept that involves reducing the time between the first and last calorie consumed each day. There is strong evidence to support the health benefits of time-restricted eating (TRE) in animals, and recent small studies by our research group and others suggest possible benefits for humans, too.

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that primarily effects young people during their adolescence. While anorexia is relatively uncommon, affecting about 1 percent of the population, it can be lethal. Indeed, despite its relatively early onset, anorexia can last for several decades for more than half of those afflicted. It can lead to many associated psychiatric and medical risk factors, which in part explains why anorexia has the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder.

The news that, after 106 years, Captain Scott’s fruitcake was found by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and “smelled edible”, raises the question: are there other foods that have similar staying power? The answer is, yes, several.

Everybody knows that to lose weight you should eat less and move more. But, of course, it’s not that simple; the combination of today’s environment and human biology can make it really, really hard to shed pounds. To reduce diseases caused by being overweight or obese, society needs to change, but those changes will be slow to come. We need effective weight-loss strategies now.

When you think of sugar, you probably think of the sweet, white, crystalline table sugar that you use to make cookies or sweeten your coffee. But did you know that within our body, simple sugar molecules can be connected together to create powerful structures that have recently been found to be linked to health problems, including cancer, aging and autoimmune diseases.

If you drink alcohol, it’s likely you’re familiar with some of the effects of a hangover. Headaches, nausea and fatigue are just some of the unpleasant but common experiences of the morning after the night before. But have you ever wondered how a hangover may influence your thoughts and behaviour?

Eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and low in added sugar, sodium, and processed meats could help promote healthy cellular aging in women, according to a new study.

It’s been a busy summer for food-based biotech. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made headlines when it approved the plant-based “Impossible Burger,” which relies on an ingredient from genetically modified yeast for its meaty taste. The European Union sparked controversy by extending heavy restrictions on genetically modified organisms by classifying them as gene-edited crops.

Despite its environmental benefits, using local seaweed for food can be a tough sell. Some think the Dutch have finally cracked the code. “Is seaweed a vegetable?” a wide-eyed child asks a tall man chopping kelp at a “Taste the Nature” market in the Zuiderpark city farm in The Hague. “Well, it has lots of vitamins and minerals,” the cook, Jethro van Luijk, replies.

Almost 40 percent of Americans can expect a cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes. As the number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to 23.6 million by 2030 worldwide, people are desperate for answers, turning to alternative therapies that fall outside the typical “slash, burn, poison” treatment model. A review of the documentary “The Food Cure,” which follows patients undergoing an intensive and controversial nutritional therapy.

Caffeine is our favourite drug. But if we miss out on our fix, it can be a real headache, in more ways than one. Caffeine is a stimulant. It quickly enters our brain and blocks the (adenosine) receptors that are responsible for dulling brain activity. By blocking the dulling of our brain, we feel a sense of invigoration, focus and subtle euphoria. These feelings can also enhance our performance of certain focused tasks, like driving or staying awake through the whole lecture.

Obesity levels in Australia and around the world are high and rising. This comes at an enormous economic cost for society and individuals, not only in terms of health care and productivity, but also in lost quality and duration of life. Both behavioural economics research and weight-loss trials show that relying solely on Australians to take personal responsibility is doomed to fail, unless governments step in to create environments that promote healthy food and physical activity.

With the school year starting again, it’s time to start to think about the routine of packing school lunches. For many time-pressed parents, this is a formidable task. But it doesn’t need to be.

A recent Daily Mail article announced that: “Beer is officially good for you”. The article claimed that beer “reduces heart risk” and “improves brain health”. Even if “heart risk” sounds a bit vague, the news sounds good. But let’s take a closer look at the evidence.

After a night of heavy drinking, college students often get a case of the “drunchies”—drunk munchies—where only fatty, salty, unhealthy foods will do, a new study shows.

Diets are everywhere, but could eating “negative calorie” foods, such as celery and grapefruit, help to boost weight loss?

An increasing number of Canadians, especially those under 35, are cutting out meat from their diets – a trend that should be causing serious alarm for meat producers.

Veganism, the plant-based diet which shuns meat and dairy, is having its time in the sun. Since 2008, there has been a 350% increase in the number of self-described vegans in the UK alone. Where this motivation stems from is varied, but includes concerns about animal welfare, worries about the environment and religious reasons.

A diet developed in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy is suddenly all the rage. The ketogenic diet, or “keto diet”, has reportedly been endorsed by celebrities and even athletes are giving it a go.

Red meat is an excellent source of protein and essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fats, which are are linked to heart and brain health. But while a small quantity of lean meat may be good for us, too much red or processed meat can increase our risk of some cancers.

The level of sugar in an individual’s blood—especially in individuals who are considered healthy—fluctuates more than traditional means of monitoring, like the one-and-done finger-prick method, would have us believe, according to a new study.

Sugar improves memory in older adults—and makes them more motivated to perform difficult tasks at full capacity—according to new research.

Although ice-cold drinks and ice cream can cause sharp, shooting mouth pain and the occasional “brain freeze,” the two reactions are completely unrelated, says neurologist Roderick Spears.

Countries often propose tariffs not on the most valuable items in their trading relationships – since that would be painful to them as well – but rather products iconic of national character.

Chemicals used to cure beef jerky, salami, hot dogs, and other processed meat snacks may contribute to mania, an abnormal mood state characterized by hyperactivity, euphoria, and insomnia, according to a new study.

The Himalayan blackberry was introduced to North America as a food crop. Like a Gremlin doused with water, it escaped its confinement and rampantly spread throughout the continent.

Many people take a daily omega 3 supplement in the belief that it is good for their heart. But our latest research, a systematic review of 79 clinical trials, found no evidence for this belief.

The more you diet, the more obsessed with food you become. Unfortunately, depriving ourselves of the foods we enjoy and exercising as a form of punishment is not a sustainable, long-term solution to weight loss.

The vine Banisteriopsis caapi is one ingredient in ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew that Amazonian indigenous populations have long used for spiritual purposes.

People are living longer and healthier lives all over the world, unencumbered by pain and many of the afflictions we have come to associate with aging. These people don’t have to take pain medications, cholesterol medication, high blood pressure medication, or...

There’s only one thing better than a hot cup of coffee in the morning: a new research paper telling you your daily habit is good for your health. Headlines presented the good news from the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Knowing what makes up a healthy diet can be really confusing. New fads and fast fixes appear weekly

New research may be among the first to examine how low levels of vitamin D affect physical performance over the long term.

There is broad, scientific consensus that antibiotic use in animal agriculture is increasing the risk of the development of resistant bacteria. It’s less clear what, if any, role this plays in human health.

A visit to the supermarket these days can feel more like walking through a pharmacy, with an ever-expanding range of milks, yogurts, pills, powders and specialty foods promoting their “probiotic” prowess.

Studies have found consumption of chillies is inversely related to the risk of being overweight or obese.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style eating pattern improves heart health, with or without reducing red meat intake, as long as the meat is lean and unprocessed, according to a new study.

Restaurants are playing an increasingly important role in the food culture of North Americans.

Fighting to protect salmon habitat, however, is more than just upholding tribal rights.

Eating habits develop in early childhood. Research shows eating patterns can continue into adolescence and then through to adulthood.

Some media reports say that eating at night makes you gain weight, others say that it has no effect on body weight. So who is right?

An ingredient in toothpaste and other personal care products may be harming the microbes in our gut and leaving us vulnerable to disease. The antimicrobial chemical triclosan is in thousands of products that we use daily: hand soaps, toothpastes, body wash, kitchenware and even some toys.