Health

Careful, plain-English guides to the things that act on the body and mind — written for the genuinely curious, from first principles, with the benefits and the harms set side by side and nothing watered down. These are explainers, not medical advice; for anything that affects you personally, see a qualified professional.

• Alcohol, from every angle

  The complete guide: the chemistry of fermentation and distillation, how ethanol acts on the body and brain, a history from the Neolithic to Prohibition, the cultures and rituals built around it, the etymology of “spirits”, beer, wine and whisky, and an honest account of where it goes wrong — dependence, harm and recovery.

• Blood pressure, explained

  What the two numbers actually mean, the categories and targets, what high pressure quietly does to the arteries, heart, kidneys and brain over time, a short history from the first cuff to the SPRINT trial, and how it’s measured and managed today.

• Diabetes, explained

  How blood sugar and insulin work, the real difference between Type 1 and Type 2, how it’s diagnosed and monitored, the complications that matter, the discovery of insulin, and modern treatment from CGMs and pumps to metformin and the GLP-1 drugs.

• Arthritis, explained

  What the word really means, what goes wrong inside a joint, the main types from osteoarthritis to rheumatoid and gout, how it’s diagnosed and treated — from exercise and DMARDs to biologics and joint replacement — and where the research is heading.

• Sleep, explained

  The architecture of a night, the sleep cycle and REM, the body clock and sleep pressure, why we need it at all, how much by age, what goes wrong — insomnia, apnoea and the rest — and what actually helps.

• Weight, explained

  Fat and lean mass, energy balance and the body’s set point, what BMI does and doesn’t tell you, why losing weight is biologically hard, the health links without the stigma, and what actually helps — from diet to the GLP-1 drugs.

• Mental health, explained

  Mental health as a continuum rather than a binary, the common conditions, what actually causes mental ill health, a short history of psychiatry, how it’s treated today, and where to get help.