Behind the Headlines

Your guide to the science that makes the news

Overweight diabetics 'live longer' than slimmer diabetics

Monday May 11 2015

Overweight diabetics 'live longer' than slimmer diabetics

"Overweight diabetics are 13 per cent less likely to die prematurely than those of a normal weight or those who are obese," the Mail Online reports. Research suggests that the obesity paradox may be involved in diabetes…

Eating little and often 'no better for dieters than fewer feasts'

Friday May 8 2015

Eating little and often no better for dieters than fewer feasts

"Eating little and often – like Jennifer Aniston – could help dieters achieve a healthy weight loss," reports the Mirror. Meanwhile, the Mail Online urges us to "Forget three square meals a day – eating six smaller portions...

Probiotic yoghurts 'may help' hay fever

Thursday May 7 2015

Probiotic yoghurts may help with hay fever

New research found initial, but not definitive, evidence that probiotics may offer some relief from this common allergic condition for some people...

Appetite for apples? How fruit sugars may not suppress hunger

Wednesday May 6 2015

Fruit: delicious, but may not suppress appetite

Brains scans showed that those who had a fructose drink had more brain activity when shown pictures of high-calorie food than when they were given glucose...

Replacing sugary drinks with water may reduce diabetes risk

Friday May 1 2015

Sugary drinks increases diabetes risk, while water can cut it

"Swapping orange squash for a cup of tea cuts diabetes risk," The Daily Telegraph reports. The news is based on a major UK study, involving around 25,000 adults...

Diet swap study highlights bowel effects of Western-style diet

Wednesday Apr 29 2015

Diet swap study highlights bowel effects of western-style diet

"Diet swap experiment reveals junk food's harm to guts," BBC News reports. African-American volunteers were asked to eat an African diet, while Africans were asked to eat a typical American diet, and the effects on the bowel were striking…

Brain’s 'hunger hub' could be switched off

Tuesday Apr 28 2015

Brain’s 'hunger hub' could be switched off

“Have scientists found a way to banish hunger pangs?,” the Mail Online asks. The question is prompted by research in mice looking at the “biological pathways” that regulate appetite and hunger…

No evidence organic milk in pregnancy lowers a baby's IQ

Tuesday Apr 28 2015

Could organic milk in pregnancy lower the baby's IQ?

"Pregnant women who switch to 'healthier' organic milk may be putting the brain development of their unborn babies at risk," The Guardian reports after researchers found…

Coffee could make breast cancer drug tamoxifen more effective

Wednesday Apr 22 2015

Coffee could make breast cancer drug tamoxifen more effective

"A cancer-killing cocktail of the hormone drug tamoxifen and two coffees every day was found to reduce the risk of [breast cancer] tumours returning," the Mail Online reports. The same study also found evidence that caffeine slowed the cancer's growth…

Why you should drink (water) before you drive

Monday Apr 20 2015

Why you should drink before you drive (water, that is)

"Not drinking enough water has same effect as drink driving," The Daily Telegraph reports. A small study found participants made more mistakes on a driving simulator task when they were mildly dehydrated than when they had plenty of fluids…

What is Behind the Headlines?

What is Behind the Headlines?

We give you the facts without the fiction. Professor Sir Muir Gray, founder of Behind the Headlines, explains more...

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