Cycle helmets: they’re not as safe as you think

In a hurry!Bradley Wiggins has a lot to answer for. Not only has he single handedly shown the world that a man with facial hair can win cycling races, but he has also helped inspire a generation of fluorescent Lycra wearing cyclists – the likes of which now fill the UK’s roads.

In 2012 – the year of his Tour de France fame – Bradley Wiggins stirred controversy when he publicly backed a law that would make bicycle helmets compulsory for all cyclists. At the time, a London cyclist had just been killed in a bus collision – but even that wasn’t enough to stop the wheels coming off Sir Wiggins’ well intentioned campaign. Most people think, like Bradley, that wearing a bicycle helmet is a no-brainer. The truth, however, is rather more twisty-turvy. Read more

Meet ALS sufferer Jason Becker: more inspiring than a bucket of icy water

Jason BeckerYou probably haven’t heard of Jason Becker. In the late 1980s he was God’s gift to rock fans. With frizzy black hair and a shiny leather jacket, he was a virtuoso performer whose guitar solos silenced head-bangers in awe. Today he is still considered to be one of the world’s most gifted guitarists – even though he hasn’t played strummed a note in years. Read more

Alcohol warning labels won’t make us cut down. (You won’t want to know what will.)

Alcohol. by Sarah-Jane, on Flickr“Warning! Drinking this could seriously harm your health.” Now I don’t know about you, but if I saw that on a bottle then I would think twice before letting it anywhere near my lips. But if Conservative MP Tracey Crouch gets her way, then such health warnings could be appearing on cans and bottles of all alcoholic drinks. It’s not the sort of thing you want gracing your wine cellar – seeing a black and white danger sticker on a prized 2007 bottle of Rioja will somehow take the edge off it. Read more

Life with autism: it’s not what you think

Autism: a spectrumImagine a world where the clink of a coffee cup chimed louder than Big Ben. Imagine what it would be like if a muttering crowd sounded louder than a World Cup roar. Envisage a desk lamp that burned brighter than the sun; or suppose a whiff of rotten fish lingered with you all day long. This is the world of sensory overload. Welcome to the world of autism. Read more

Pester Power! Sweets at the Checkout: Supermarkets ban them. Again.

Temptation by Bryan Costin on FlickrParents, there are times when I feel for you. I pity you especially when you are queuing at the supermarket. You have coaxed a seven year old up and down a dozen aisles; successfully negotiated a wonky trolley past other similarly wonky trollies, and then are forced to anxiously wait to part plastic for a carefully chosen pile of food and toilet rolls. Anxious – not because the car parking is about to run out – but because little Isabel is about to notice to sweets.

Too late – she’s spotted them… “…oh, but pleeeaaaasssee!?…” No, darling, for the fifteenth time, you can’t have a chocolate bunny. Why, oh why, does food shopping have to be like this? Read more

Smells can help restore memories

Sniff by Smabs Sputzer, on FlickrFreshly cut grass, rain falling on sun-baked tarmac, the cologne of your first love… we all have smells that stir up special, personal memories. For me, the smell of wood smoke evokes memories of camping as a child. A close friend told me that, for him, even the faintest whiff of a burning mosquito coil reminds him of living in Africa when he was five. Smelling is the most primitive of all our abilities and is the first sense we use from the moment we are born. Yet for people whose faculties are failing with age, an aroma can be the key to unlocking memories long forgotten. Read more

What’s inside that energy drink? Sugar, acid, caffeine + ‘fairy dust’

Monster Troupe by MJmerry, on FlickrIt is 7 a.m. and I am investigating the world’s most popular mind-altering drug. Having scrutinised the latest data, it’s time for a hands-on experiment. The substance in question is a potent white powder called 1.3 7- trimethylxanthine. Its use has reached endemic levels in children – and health care professionals are concerned. You will know this drug as caffeine. And the formulation under scrutiny is called an ‘energy drink’.

Ever since highly caffeinated energy drinks charged onto the scene twenty years ago, they have been branded “dangerous” and “harmful” by the media. Today, one in ten British teenagers drink an energy drink on most days, and a frightening 25% of children under ten have drunk one in the past year. I’ve decided to discover out what’s really inside them – and find out what they taste like. Read more

‘Breastfeeding is best’ unless you’ve been drinking alcohol

Mano! by Aurimas Mikalauskas, on FlickrBeing a medically trained doctor, I have learnt to always be on my guard. Not only for those inflight medical emergencies (of which I have experienced) and people collapsing in the street, but for the less urgent “will you have a look at my rash?” questions posed by neighbours. Even at parties I must be ready to give impromptu answers to medical questions.

And so it was at one jovial celebration that a good friend, glass of red wine in hand, asked me: “When I drink alcohol, does it get stored in my breast milk?” (She had recently given birth.) It was a time of celebration and she had finally managed to get her baby tucked up in his cot. It was certainly not the time for me to be a party-pooper. Sometimes, however, people say they wish they had never asked… Read more

What is Ebola? Why is it scary? A really simple answer

Ebola in Guinea by European Commission DG ECHO, on Flickr“Ebola Virus outbreak” is a headline that produces terror. Well, it should… but I’m not sure that it does. There’s been an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea and Liberia in West Africa, but how many of us actually know what Ebola is – let alone why it is so scary? A quick poll of friends showed that they didn’t know what it was either (i.e. “flesh eating bug”).

So let us find out what Ebola is, and whether we should be scared about it: Read more

Why “7 a Day” is the new “5 a Day”

Oh-ah, Love Veggies! by Mark Magnusson, on FlickrYou probably saw the news last week that you should “Forget five a day: You need SEVEN portions a day for a long life”. Yes you read that correctly, research now tells us that should eat seven – or possibly even ten – portions of fruit and veg every day to help keep disease at bay. I’m guessing the prospect of getting that much leafy stuff every day leaves you a little green about the gills. And if not, then I dare say you are getting a little irate about yet another example of joyless ‘experts’ telling us to “eat this” and “don’t eat that”. Don’t they realise how hard it is to get the family eating more carrots and peas as it is? But I’ll let you in on a little secret… most doctors weren’t in the least bit surprised at the news. For we have long known that ‘5 a Day’ was never really enough to ward off the worst of disease. Read more