Growing out of anorexia

The biggest mistake I ever made was making a connection between achievement and being underweight.
Two days ago, I celebrated my 26th birthday. Not a biggie, but on such occasions I often reflect on past events, memories and chunks of time spent or misspent and I’m often faced with difficulty when I think about how much of my life so far has been tarnished by Anorexia and Bulimia.

By Ilona Burton | Health, Notebook | Saturday, 19 May 2012 at 12:00 am

Are you Mom Enough? Putting parenting choices under the microscope

Much ink has already been spilled on the recent, controversial, TIME magazine cover which features a photograph of a 26-year-old woman breastfeeding her three-year-old son. Some advocates have said that this is brilliant for the promotion of Attachment Parenting, with others saying that this sensationalizes the issue. But what does the cover – and the reactions to it – tell us about parenting culture more broadly?

By Dr. Charlotte Faircloth | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Friday, 18 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Every mother with their own named midwife? Sounds like an empty promise

Andrew Lansley’s announcement that pregnant women being cared for under the NHS will be provided with a ‘named’ midwife, seems thoroughly unrealistic.

By Grace Jacobson | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 17 May 2012 at 5:30 pm

Why doesn’t Iain Duncan Smith trust a doctor’s decision?

I am one of the 70% of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) recipients with a lifetime award that Iain Duncan Smith set his sights on this week. He intends to introduce more rigorous, regular assessments for the replacement PIP benefit and abolish lifetime entitlements such as mine.

By Laurence Clark | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 17 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Vegetarians: We’re not just feckless hippies

I love meat. I love nothing better than sinking my teeth into a big juicy steak or burger or sausage or just about anything meaty for that matter. In fact, now that I come to think of it, eating a big piece of flesh would be right up there in the top five things I’d like to be doing at this moment.

But I can’t. Because I’m vegetarian.

By Lee Williams | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Monday, 14 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Female Genital Mutilation might be illegal, but it still takes place in the UK

Last week, two men were arrested after undercover investigators from the Sunday Times filmed medical professionals in the UK offering to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on girls as young as ten. They have denied any wrongdoing, but it is estimated that 100,000 women living in the UK have survived FGM, with a further 22,000 girls under 16 at risk. I spoke to Nimco Ali from the Bristol-based organisation Daughters of Eve about her work to eradicate this harmful practice and support survivors of FGM.

By Natalie Dzerins | Notebook, Opinion | Monday, 14 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Facing modern-day stress with time-tested tools

Stress is not a new concept, but we live in an age which is constantly creating fresh varieties of angst to add to our mental in-tray. Technology can be a prime trigger of modern stress, but could a more traditional approach to dealing with symptoms offer a cure?

By Tony Lobl | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 11:06 am

Ban images of emaciation, not airbrushing

In the Eating Disorder Unit, as we sat around in the lounge, cushions held tight over our swollen, protruding tummies, we were supervised post-meal to make sure we didn’t throw up, exercise or make a bid for freedom. The blaring TV would be immediately switched over at the slightest mention of dieting or weightloss, certain staff would rip pages from magazines and websites (even my own blog) were blocked from view.

By Ilona Burton | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Wednesday, 9 May 2012 at 4:08 pm

Blood for money? We need more of an incentive to donate

Questions have been raised in the past as to how ethical the practice of offering money for blood is. Is it commercialising what should be a charitable cause?

By Josh Barrie | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Monday, 7 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Diabetes sufferers are not necessarily to blame

According to recent research about to be published, Type 2 diabetes treatment will use £16.9bn of the NHS budget as the number of diabetics rises from 3.8 million to 6.25 million by 2035. This has fueled scaremongering media reports with talk of “diabetes bankrupting the NHS within a generation”.

By Dr Ben Daniels | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Friday, 4 May 2012 at 4:00 am