Blog
I write a weekly blog for members, on a wide range of topics around health and the heart. Non-members can explore the topics below to see what I write on a week by week basis. If you'd like to join, click here to find out more.
When Good Medicine Becomes Too Much Medicine
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Read more »Hundreds are made from ones
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Read more »What Do You Want Your Body to Be Able to Do? The Importance of Strength for Healthy Ageing
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Read more »Loneliness and Heart Health: Why Social Connection Matters
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Read more »🔒 Heart Attack, Cardiac Arrest and SADS: Why the Difference Matters
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Read more »🔒 What Two Colds Reminded Me About Health
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Read more »🔒 Do statins really work in women? Looking beyond the headlines
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Read more »🔒 Natural doesn’t always mean harmless
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Read more »🔒 Six Weeks of Prevention: What Really Matters for Long-Term Health?
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Read more »🔒 The Silent Conditions: Blood Pressure, Kidneys and Long-Term Risk
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Read more »🔒 A new approach to staying healthy for longer
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Read more »🔒 Heart Disease: The Missed Opportunity
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Read more »🔒 Metabolic Health: The Quiet Driver of Modern Disease
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Read more »🔒 What Is Good for the Heart Is Good for the Brain
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Read more »🔒 Cancer Screening, Politics and the Limits of Prevention
As with last week, I’m writing this in advance and scheduling it to go out on Sunday, as I will be in London with my son for the Arsenal Premier League victory parade. I dearly hope it will be a double celebration with the Champions League too, but one trophy is enough for me. I […]
Read more »🔒 Joy, Grief and the Case for Prevention
I’m writing this on Sunday morning, but will schedule it to go out as usual this evening, round about the first time in over 20 years that Arsenal will be crowned premier league champions. Now you may or may not follow football, and you may or may not like Arsenal, but please indulge me with […]
Read more »🔒 From Segways to Shunts: Lessons From Barcelona
I had a great time in Barcelona last week at the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure conference. There were over 6000 delegates, so a huge meeting and very well attended. My talk was well received, and it was great to catch up with colleagues from other heart centres that I don’t see regularly. In […]
Read more »Can checking your DNA help prevent a heart attack?
It’s conference time again, and I’m lucky enough to be in Barcelona at the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure annual meeting. Much as I love cardiology, having a conference that starts at 08:00 on a Saturday isn’t necessarily my cup of tea. Why these conferences are always organised on a weekend is beyond me! […]
Read more »Women Are Not Small Men: Why Midlife Health Advice Often Fails
Quick answer: Much of mainstream diet and exercise advice was developed on studies of men and simply applied to women — but female physiology changes across puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and perimenopause in ways that affect sleep, mood, metabolism and cardiovascular risk. For many women in their 40s and 50s, the fix for ‘what […]
Read more »The Power — and Limits — of Testing
One of the things we are taught early in medical school is that most diagnoses are made by taking a careful history. The exact figure varies depending on which study you quote, but the classic teaching is that around 80% of diagnoses can be reached from the patient’s story alone. I still think that is […]
Read more »Cholesterol-Lowering Foods: Helpful, Hype, or Heart Protection?
Quick answer: Foods like Benecol that carry ‘helps lower cholesterol’ claims genuinely can reduce LDL by around 7–12%, thanks to added plant stanols and sterols — but lowering a blood test result is not the same as proving fewer heart attacks and strokes, which is a much higher bar that these products haven’t cleared. They’re […]
Read more »Why I Built This App for My Dad
Today’s blog is going to be a little different from my usual material, and the reason for that will probably become obvious quite quickly. Regular readers will know that one of the main drivers behind my own interest in optimising health and longevity — whether that is exercise, diet, supplements, blood pressure, cholesterol, or anything […]
Read more »Beyond Carbs: Understanding Individual Metabolic Responses
Hello from the Alps. The mountains are one of my favourite places, with or without snow, but especially with. The amount of snow this late in the season is amazing, and in fact too much today and visibility was poor, but didn’t stop us having a fabulous day skiing. After last week’s blog, I received […]
Read more »Insulin Resistance in Slim, Fit People: What Normal Weight Doesn’t Tell You
Quick answer: No — being a normal weight doesn’t mean you’re metabolically healthy. A significant number of slim, active people are insulin resistant without knowing it, often because they do plenty of cardio but little to no strength training — muscle is one of the body’s main sites for glucose disposal. The good news: it’s […]
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