The Department of Health urges us to eat “5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day”. And that perhaps should even be 9 a day! But what exactly is a portion? It’s rarely documented, but in fact a portion is 80 grams. Here is a table to help you. Fresh, dried, frozen or canned in … Read more

Dr Paul Clayton 2007 Prunes are the latest in a long line of foods linked to health benefits, in this case maintaining healthy bones after the menopause. At Florida State University, Professor Bahram Arjmandi and his team have been looking at the effects of prunes in ovariectomised rats, a well-established model of post-menopausal bone loss. … Read more

Dr Paul Clayton 2008 Apples and fruits are generally considered to be healthy; but these complex chemical factories contain many hundreds of different compounds, and not all of them are good for you. Take furan, for example; tiny amounts of this suspected carcinogen are produced in apple cider (and probably apple juice) if the beverage … Read more

Dr Paul Clayton 2004 A compound identified in blueberries called pterostilbene has been shown to lower cholesterol levels just as effectively as do the statins. It does this by activating cells in the liver, encouraging them to remove more cholesterol from the blood stream. Following this report(1), a number of food companies announced the pending … Read more