Diet & Fitness
Sound science backs fasting. Calorie counting can’t compete
Fasting is no longer merely the domain of religion — more and more people are fasting for the sake of…
Were all the horror stories about dairy products and heart disease wrong after all?
Consuming full-fat cheese, milk and yoghurt does not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a new…
Sorry, but drinking tequila probably won’t help your bones, after all
At Spectator Health we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but tequila probably isn’t good for your bones,…
How drugs make us fat: why alcohol, caffeine and chocolate are a menace to your waistline
We know that calorie-dense, seductive foods like chips, ice cream, and cookies tend to push us to eat too much…
Vegetarians may live longer — but not because they are vegetarian
Vegetarians may live longer, but not necessarily because they have given up meat, according to a study in Preventive Medicine.…
Each hour of running ‘adds seven hours to your life’
For every hour spent running, your lifespan increases by an average of seven hours, up to a maximum of about…
Just one minute of intense exercise is enough to improve your health
An exercise regime known as the ‘one-minute workout’ has recently caught the attention of the media. The claim, which sounds…
‘Broccoli cuts sugar cravings’: why fruit and vegetables need more hype
They don’t hold back, those scientists, do they? One minute it’s five a day and then, instead of a small…
Small study suggests marathons can damage your kidneys
The physical stress of running a marathon can cause short-term kidney injury, according to research published in the American Journal…
If we want to benefit from Brexit, the first thing we should do is make snus legal
In Sweden, the smoking rate has fallen to a mere nine per cent, as the New Scientist reports… Sweden is…
Salt is not the enemy. It’s time authorities stopped demonising it
Forty years ago, the United States senate undertook the near-impossible task of reviewing all existing evidence on nutrition in order…
Exercise wards off heart disease whatever your weight
Overweight or obese people with low levels of physical activity are a third more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, according…
You can eat a healthy diet for next to nothing. Here’s the proof
It is a common belief in some circles that a healthy diet is unaffordable. Last year, the chair of the…
Ten a day of fruit and veg: how good is the evidence?
Eating more than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day greatly reduces the chance of heart attack, stroke, cancer…
Stub out the fags, pour away the booze. Britain has succumbed to the nanny state
The nanny state has spoken and we, the people, have listened. Worse still, we’ve obeyed. Figures released by the Office…
Why eating breakfast is bad for your health
Breakfast is a dangerous meal. This might sound provocative, so let me explain. It’s dangerous because it’s eaten soon after…
Exercise may protect against depression, but this study doesn’t show it
Children who get enough exercise aren’t just more physically fit, but also have better mental health in adulthood, according to…