Protect yourself
Ask your doctor the right questions and don't leave before you have the answers.Bryan Hubbard | June 2003 issue * How long has this drug been on the market? As we have seen, many of the problems of drugs and their side effects are with the newer drugs that have been recently licensed, and that are Read More...
Sick practices
The exposure of the true face of the pharmaceutical industry. Bryan Hubbard | June 2003 issue It was the end of another busy week at the offices of What Doctors Don’t Tell You, and everyone was keen to get their coats on and head for home for the weekend. Just then the phone rang, and each person Read More...
Can soap operas save lives?
Steamy tales of sex, betrayal and suspense can carry important social messagesKim Ridley | April 2006 issue Young and poor, Fikirte is in many ways Ethiopia’s Everywoman. Her life takes a turn for the worse when she meets Damtew, who is so obsessed with revenge against Fikirte’s innocent Read More...
At our fingertips
Want to make the most of preventive medicine? Supplement your annual physical with the ancient Chinese technique of pulse diagnosis. Tijn Touber | September 2008 issue "Good news. We didn’t find anything." The doctor delivered her verdict from the doorway of my room in the emergency ward of a Read More...
Fancy butter
Rediscover our old spreadable friend. Elbrich Fennema | September 2008 issue Photo: Pieter De Swart Fat was once considered evil. Then we learned there were good fats and bad fats. Shortly thereafter, we heard the news that cholesterol was a menace. Now we know there’s good and bad Read More...
Toilets can change our lives
While scientists may regard penicillin or vaccinations as the greatest medical breakthroughs of all, Jack Sim claims toilets have done more for our health. Sim, founder of the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization, wants everyone to have access to a clean and safe toilet. Marco Visscher | Read More...
Quiet, please!
Noise pollution can damage your health and shatter your peace of mind. Here’s how to turn it down. Mary Desmond Pinkowish | July 2008 issue A leaf blower, snow blower, lawn mower and two huge dogs—Peter D’Epiro can describe in excruciating detail how his neighbour’s lawn equipment and pets Read More...
Cancer's Achilles' heel
An old, once-abandoned theory about cancer is revived, offering hope for a raft of new non-toxic treatments. Tony Edwards| June 2008 issue Medical progress is invariably considered futuristic, but one bit of buzz in the world of cancer research surrounds a man who did most of his work in the 1930s. Read More...
Prescription for peace
Bernard Lown invented the defibrillator, saving the lives of countless heart attack victims. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his ongoing campaign against nuclear weapons. And at 86, he’s still delivering shocks to the system. Marco Visscher | June 2008 issue The décor of Bernard Lown's home in Read More...
Small can be healthy
Toxins like radon and even DDT may have beneficial effects at very low doses. Ursula Sautter | May 2008 issue A glass of red wine after dinner a couple of times a week can help prevent heart disease; a nightly magnum of the stuff will corrode your liver. This is pretty much accepted wisdom. But Read More...