Medical News

For those trying to lose weight or stay healthy, the words 'Low Glycaemic Index', or 'High GI' are all too familiar. The body's slow absorption of Low GI foods is said to give sustained energy and even result in weight loss. Carte Blanche Medical brings you the low-down on Low GI.

South African Eric Way is couturier to some of the world's most glamorous folk. He has gone all out to try to make the likes of Cheri Blair, Ivana Trump and the stars of 'Sex and the City' look gorgeous in his gowns. But not managing the stress of his high-profile lifestyle, coupled with a poor diet, had Eric looking not so gorgeous and ballooning to a flabby 150kg. He spoke to Carte Blanche Medical about his new health regime and how he managed to halve his weight in seven months.

What is the key to curing a hangover? Is it what you eat or maybe a pill you take after a night of heavy drinking? Carte Blanche Medical's viewers part with their tried-and-tested hangover cures while the experts tell us how best to deal with the morning-after blues.

The use of embryonic stem cells has caused heated debate for years. Moral objections aside, there's the biological problem of one person's stem cells being rejected when transplanted into someone else. But could adult stem cells - which come from most tissues and organs - be taken from one's own body and returned to the embryonic state to be used to treat chronic disease? In 2006, a Japanese researcher turned the world of stem cell science on its head by announcing to his astonished peers that he had found a way to do just that - with ordinary adult mouse cells. Just what are stem cells and do they have the potential to deliver the health benefits long promised?

When Dr Cival Mills crossed the finish line of a four-day ride on a quad bike, there wasn't a dry eye in sight. This man shouldn't even have been alive - let alone be first to finish a 500km long off-road trip. Ten years ago, a car accident and a resulting stroke left him with Locked-In Syndrome - a condition in which people are fully conscious, but literally trapped in their own bodies, unable to move any muscles, except the eyelids. Carte Blanche first met him when he was undergoing stem cell treatment in Germany in 2006. Now, able to move his head and two fingers on one hand, Cival is an author, motivational speaker and has astonished all by his refusal to give up.

It's a phrase used to cast a disapproving light on women who opt for an elective caesarean, rather than pushing, grunting and screaming through hours of natural labour. But in actual fact, many obstetricians favour C-Section because it's considered to be safer - both medically and legally - and perhaps more convenient for a doctor with a busy practice. But natural birth doesn't always mean prolonged pain and suffering, nor is it always riskier for mom and baby. Carte Blanche Medical looks at birthing choices in a fast-paced world where Caesars are as popular as picnics.

Three years ago, Angela Ferguson lost her best friend to a silent killer. So-called because cancer of the cervix slowly moves through normal cervical tissue until it becomes an invasive cancer that can spread throughout the body. Angela's best friend - Sharon Humphrey - was a dancer, in peak fitness, but succumbed to cervical cancer before news of a major breakthrough in the form of a vaccine rocked the medical world. Now Sharon's friends are dancing to raise money for this expensive vaccine to reach as many girls and women as possible. Carte Blanche Medical helps break the silence.