Milk is heavily promoted by the Dairy industry as a source of Calcium and being good for bones but a new paper published in the British Medical Journal has found that higher intake of milk in women is not associated with a reduced fracture risk and may also be linked to increased risk of early death.  As with all medical studies though, caution is needed in making changes on the basis of this new information.

A study published in JAMA pediatrics on 29/09/2014 has found further evidence for an association between the use of antibiotics in infancy and early childhood obesity.

The study, conducted in North America showed that children who received broad-spectrum antibiotics (these kill a very wide range of bacteria) were 1.11 times more likely to be obese than those who had not been exposed to antibiotics.

A recent article in the Daily Mail Newspaper (26/09/2014) suggested that 'Eating a Curry a Day Helps Beat Dementia' which was too good a claim not to be investigated further.

Turmeric is an interesting herb.  A member of the Ginger family, it is widely used in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine and is used in many supplements.  It contains a number of compounds that are known to be bio-active and are currently under intense investigation in the hope that they will be found to be useful for health.

A new study from Auckland has suggested a possible link between taking paracetamol in pregnancy and the later development of ADHD.

This is consistent with findings in an earlier study in Denmark and has triggered a review of the status of Paracetamol in pregnancy by Medsafe, the government agency that licences medication for use in New Zealand.

The study is published in the PLOS One journal and is available free for public perusal.

A patient recently asked if Cannabis oil might be used to cure a small skin cancer.

Never having been asked this before, a thorough review of the available literature was carried out, but sadly there have been absolutely no published clinical trials to date so it is impossible to recommend this treatment.

A new study published in the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine has looked into the literature published to date and has come to the conclusion that the evidence to date does not support recommending the use of Omega 3 and 6 supplements whether as part of or in addition to a healthy diet. 

One of the key barriers to having a heart health check has always been the need to skip food for at least 6 hours before the blood test. 

New evidence suggests that this is not necessary any more so you can now have your cholesterol checked any time of day and you don't have to skip breakfast either!