Always tired? Dragging yourself around? Always got a sniffle or a cold? Poor concentration? The reason could be that you’re low on iron. Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common nutrition deficiency problem in the world and is a significant health issue for many women today, especially busy women on the go.

The theory behind detox diets is that we can 'cleanse' and 'purify' our body by removing 'wastes' and eliminating 'toxins' (which are never defined). This will supposedly get the bowel working efficiently and rejuvenate the liver, based on the underlying naturopathic concept that your health will improve once your digestive tract is working correctly. How true it all this?

Detox diets and detox 'cleansing' kits are big sellers. They promise lots of things - to purify the body, remove 'wastes' and eliminate 'toxins' (which are never really defined) and rejuvenate the liver. They say they can improve a sluggish digestion, revitalise the skin and boost your energy. Detox has become so accepted in our time-poor, instant world that many people embark on one whenever they've overdone the excesses of life and feel the need to refresh and revitalise. After Christmas is a classic time.

A.  In most cases, no special diet is needed. Your gall bladder is usually removed if it contains gall stones that can block the bile tube leading from the gall bladder to the small intestine.

If you have high cholesterol, then you've probably heard of things called plant sterols. But you may be wondering what the heck are plant sterols and what do they do? And should you be consuming them? Read on.

I reviewed the diet book Eat Right for Your Type by US naturopathic physician Peter D'Adamo in 2009. It was part of the premium, paid content of the Foodwatch site at the time. Since then, the book has become a bestseller with its promise of helping you avoid infections, lose weight, fight life-threatening diseases and slow ageing. So I've decided to make my review available to all Foodwatch readers. 

This post has been sponsored by Heart Active

Milk. It’s one of those basic foods that’s been in our lives ever since our toddler days. Like all full-fat dairy foods, milk contains saturated fat and is often avoided if your doctor suddenly announces that you have to lower your cholesterol and you’re a sitting duck if you don’t do something FAST.

Fortunately, there are many good-tasting no-fat, low-fat and skim milks on offer but if you’re out to lower your cholesterol then why not drink a milk that will actively help? Having put my husband on it as part of his cholesterol-lowering diet, I thought it was time to take a closer look at HeartActive.

The Fast Diet by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer

I recently happened to watch dietitian Matt O’Neill comment on the new Fast Diet (aka the 5:2 Diet) on morning TV. It caught my attention not only for Matt’s usual easy-to-grasp explanation but also for the book’s simplicity and lack of a set ‘diet formula’. So when I received a copy in the post, I thought it was time for a review.