Our resident artist captures myths prevalent in the media and gives us a reality check. Reference: Natural ways to bring on labour: a guide Lack of evidence: A summary (pdf) of the literature.

1. Green goodness Up first this week is a study finding that a chemical called sulforaphane, produced by broccoli, watercress, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables, can give waning white blood cells in diseased lungs a kick in the behind. Cigarette smoke deactivates vital predatory immune cells, called macrophages, that normally vacuum up bacteria and debris in the lungs, and people [...]

Imagine you’re playing Pacman, racing along and eating dots, while escaping ghosts. Well that’s kind of what an enzyme does: except the dots need to slot into its mouth exactly (that is, be triangle-shaped) and the ghosts are high temperatures that will kill it. Biological washing powders contain enzymes, which are proteins that speed up reactions in living organisms, often [...]