Don't believe everything you read in the press

I feel so sorry for anyone trying to be conscientious and sensible about weight loss and sorting their health out. You are repeatedly mis-informed, and I'd go so far as to say lied to in the press regarding the best way to go about all these. Am I going to cite any in particular? No - but what I want to encourage is a) some personal responsibility towards educating yourself properly on all things health related and b) well - taking anything in a short article (as you never get a proper dissertation), seen on TV or talked about by friends or relatives with a pinch of salt.

So instead of going off on my usual lecture I am going to issue you with two bits of homework:

1). Research your body's dependence on fats and carbohydrates and tell me which one is harder for your body to regulate it's response to and therefore more 'dangerous' in terms of weight gain and general health (hint it's not fats - but you need to be able to tell me why)

2). Is the swine flu vaccine a good idea?

- suggested areas to look at: Trial groups - how big were they, how long did the trials last, did they actually test it on any specialist groups such as pregnant women - the answer may surprise you?

: when were the vaccines developed - after swine flu was discovered?... you might want to check that!

: is swine flu more or less serious than the common flu?

: who is really most at risk? and what does it have to do with your levels of Vitamin D?

Think you're well informed by the media? - think again. Mostly they simply can't get anything other than rhetoric over in their short columns, but ultimately these things are never as black and white as we are led to believe and a lot of people stand to make or lose a lot of money on the decisions that are made. So if you want to make an informed decision - not blindly put money into the pockets of pharmaceuticals and fall for weight loss gimmicks and fad diets do some research. BUT take everything you read with a pinch of salt and a proper, critical, analytical eye. I am by no means saying all medication/advice is bad - I'm saying you should be able to tell the rhetoric from the facts and understand why you are being advised/given what you are - all the pros and cons weighed up.