Medicine News

On a cold day (and we seem to have our fair share of these even in the summer), there is nothing worse than being on a diet and trying to think of something healthy to eat for lunch. We may be craving spaghetti bolognese but pasta isn't exactly the healthiest of lunches! Furthermore, sandwiches using low calorie bread just don’t seem to hit the spot and by early afternoon the stomach is invariably growling. Next time you’re stuck for inspiration why not try some healthy but hearty homemade soup? It’s easy to make a big batch and freeze some for later in the week and the variations are endless. If you prefer your soup smooth rather than chunky, a basic liquidiser or even a sieve is all you need.

You can find loads of recipes online, with the Schwartz website offering plenty of good ideas, but one of my favourites is red pepper and chilli. All you need is some chicken stock (made with stock cubes if you are in a hurry but stick to the low salt variety if you’re trying to be healthy), a couple of chopped red peppers, three or four tomatoes, a red chilli (minus the seeds if you are worried about it being too spicy) and an onion. Fry the vegetables in low fat spray oil, add the stock, cook until everything is soft and then blend. A dash of chilli sauce can be added when you serve the soup to give it an extra kick.

If you’re not keen on peppers, then tomato and basil is another easy and healthy combination. Carrots are another vegetable which lend themselves to soup making. Add the juice of an orange or coriander powder for a change.

For a real winter warmer, lentils go down a treat. There are lots of recipes on the internet for lentil soup but for one with a difference why not go Moroccan and use a little harissa paste?

All these soups, served with a chunk of bread, provide a healthy and filling lunch.

On a cold day (and we seem to have our fair share of these even in the summer), there is nothing worse than being on a diet and trying to think of something healthy to eat for lunch. We may be craving spaghetti bolognese but pasta isn't exactly the healthiest of lunches! Furthermore, sandwiches using low calorie bread just don’t seem to hit the spot and by early afternoon the stomach is invariably growling. Next time you’re stuck for inspiration why not try some healthy but hearty homemade soup? It’s easy to make a big batch and freeze some for later in the week and the variations are endless. If you prefer your soup smooth rather than chunky, a basic liquidiser or even a sieve is all you need.

You can find loads of recipes online, with the Schwartz website offering plenty of good ideas, but one of my favourites is red pepper and chilli. All you need is some chicken stock (made with stock cubes if you are in a hurry but stick to the low salt variety if you’re trying to be healthy), a couple of chopped red peppers, three or four tomatoes, a red chilli (minus the seeds if you are worried about it being too spicy) and an onion. Fry the vegetables in low fat spray oil, add the stock, cook until everything is soft and then blend. A dash of chilli sauce can be added when you serve the soup to give it an extra kick.

If you’re not keen on peppers, then tomato and basil is another easy and healthy combination. Carrots are another vegetable which lend themselves to soup making. Add the juice of an orange or coriander powder for a change.

For a real winter warmer, lentils go down a treat. There are lots of recipes on the internet for lentil soup but for one with a difference why not go Moroccan and use a little harissa paste?

All these soups, served with a chunk of bread, provide a healthy and filling lunch.

Female teenagers who indulge in a spot of binge drinking too often are putting themselves at risk of damaging the part of their brain that controls memory and spatial awareness. The dangers of drinking too much alcohol within a short space of time and at a young age have long been known, but new research from Stanford University in California has found that adolescent girls are the group most at risk of suffering damage to their brains.

The explanation for this seems to rest in the fact that women's brains develop earlier than men's. The study found that female teenage binge drinkers had less brain activity in a number of regions than non-drinking female teens, with MRI scans used to measure brain activation during a specific spatial task. Meanwhile, the male participants in the tests didn't show anything like the same abnormalities.

Although it's easy to ignore health warnings when you're young and carefree, these results should at least provide teenagers with something to think about. After all, damage to such regions of the brain can, in the future, cause problems when driving, taking part in sports, using maps, and remembering routes. Logical thinking and reasoning are two functions that may also be affected.

It's worth remembering, whether you're a female teenager or not, that alcohol is something to be enjoyed in moderation at all times, as responsible brands such as Fosters – who have recently launched a batch of videos featuring comedians reeves and Mortimer – are always keen to point out.

There are many cousec of hair loss - age, diseases, wrong eating etc.

Our hair is made of a type of protein called keratin. A single hair consists of a hair shaft (the part that shows), a root below the skin, and a follicle, from which the hair root grows. At the lower end of the follicle is the hair bulb, where the hair's color pigment, or melanin, is produced.

Most people lose about 50 to 100 head hairs a day. These hairs are replaced — they grow back in the same follicle on your head. This amount of hair loss is totally normal and no cause for worry. If you're losing more than that, though, something might be wrong.


If you have hair loss and don't know what's causing it, talk to your doctor. A doctor can determine why the hair is falling out and suggest a treatment that will correct the underlying problem, if necessary.