Sugar. It's been labelled "deadly", "addictive", "toxic", "sweet poison" and blamed for the rise in global obesity in recent years." Get rid of the white toxin from your diet and you'll free up your body to drop those excess kilos" (or so say anti-sugar campaigners Sarah Wilson, David Gillespie and Robert Lustig). Here are the three real reasons why I believe quitting sugar helps you lose weight.

Our bodies need iron. Not the sort used in barbells, weights and stream trains but the essential mineral we get from our food. And especially so if you're a teen, an athlete or a woman — even more so if you are pregnant. Read on for my outline of what iron does in the body, how much you need and where can you get it.

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.

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. 

Having a child with a weight problem needs perseverance and patience. An overweight child will typically not achieve their healthy weight range in anything less than six months and an obese child may be looking at several years before they get there.

Less than 10 calories per serve? Fewer calories than a slice of bread? Fat-free, low-carb, low GI, high-fibre AND gluten-free? Ticking all the boxes, it sounds too good to be true. When the people at Chang’s handed me a packet of their new Lo-Cal Wok-Ready noodles to try telling me how fast sales were growing, I realised this was a new trend. Then when I spotted a similar noodle called Slim Pasta at the supermarket, I knew I had to investigate.

I started my career in nutrition way back in the 1970s. Over the last 40 years I’ve seen hundreds of fads come and go and then, like a tired old rock star, make a come back. When I began my career the current fads were:

• The Atkins No-carb Diet. Dietitians were horrified. Now it’s back, this time better received though it’s still not a long term weight loss solution.
• Grapefruit for breakfast was supposed to melt away stubborn fat and make you slim (it didn’t but it’s still a super-healthy fruit to eat).
• Many women, popped little white tablets of saccharin into their coffee, as sugar was considered THE source of weight gain.
• Apricot chicken made with a packet of French onion soup mix was the ‘in’ 70s dinner party recipe.

Chocolate, with its comforting velvety smoothness, is everyone's favourite indulgence. We love each new study on its alleged health benefits which give us the green light to indulge. But what's the truth: can we now say that it's a guiltless super food packed with antioxidants or just an indulgence with great marketing?