Fasting
Water Fasting: Benefits, Risks and How to Do It Safely
A plain-English guide to water fasting — what happens in your body, who should avoid it, and how to approach it without putting your health at risk.
Sam Rivera
writer
Health journalist covering fasting, detox protocols, supplements and recovery, with a bias towards saying what the evidence does not show.
NutritionSupplementsHealth journalism
Articles by Sam Rivera
News
What a New Time-Restricted Eating Study Really Shows
The best-designed trial of an eating window found it added nothing to cutting calories. Here is how to read a fasting headline against it.
Fasting
Breaking a Fast: What to Eat and Why It Matters
How you break a fast matters more than most people expect — and after a long one it is the part with genuine medical risk. Here is how to come back.
Detox
Liver Detox Myths vs What Actually Helps
Your liver detoxes itself — so what do 'liver detox' products actually do? We separate the marketing from what genuinely supports liver health.
Fasting
OMAD: One Meal a Day, and What We Actually Know
One meal a day is the most extreme common fasting pattern and the least studied. Here is what the surrounding evidence implies, and where it runs out.
Fasting
The 5:2 Diet Explained: Does Part-Time Fasting Work?
Five normal days, two restricted ones. Here is what the trials actually found when 5:2-style fasting was compared head to head with ordinary dieting.
Fasting
Common Fasting Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Fasting is simple in theory and easy to get wrong. The mistakes that trip people up most, and what the physiology says about each one.
News
Why Regulators Keep Scrutinizing Detox Supplement Claims
Detox and weight-loss supplements face regular US and UK regulatory scrutiny. What the rules require, and red flags worth knowing before you buy.
Fasting
Fasting and Exercise: What Training Fasted Actually Does
Training fasted changes your muscles more than it changes your results. Here is what a controlled trial found, and how to decide whether it suits you.
News
Supplement Recalls: How to Know if Yours Is Affected
The FDA identified 776 adulterated supplements in a decade, and weight-loss products were the second-largest category. Here is how to check yours.
Detox
The Gut Reset Guide: What Actually Changes Your Microbiome
Gut reset programmes promise to rebalance your microbiome in a week. Here is what really shifts it, and the number most people are missing.
Detox
Heavy Metal Detox: What the Evidence Actually Shows
Heavy metal detox supplements promise to pull toxins out of you. Real chelation is a hospital treatment with real risks — and that difference matters.
Supplements
Magnesium Types Explained: Which One Do You Need?
Glycinate, citrate, oxide, malate — the forms differ far less than the marketing implies, with one real exception the evidence supports.
Detox
The 7-Day Sugar Reset: A Realistic Plan
A sugar detox is not detoxification, but a week off added sugar is a genuinely useful habit reset. Here is what to expect and how much sugar actually counts.
News
Weight-Loss Drugs and Fasting: What to Know
GLP-1 medicines are prescribed alongside diet and activity, not instead of them — which is exactly where stacking a fast on top goes wrong.
Detox
Do Detox Teas and Juice Cleanses Actually Work?
We look at what detox teas, juice cleanses and 'flushing' products actually do in your body — and what the evidence says about whether they work.
Supplements
Do Probiotics Actually Work? An Honest Look
There is a real, quantified benefit for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Almost everything else on the label is a promise about a different strain.
Detox
How Your Kidneys Actually Detox Your Body
Your kidneys filter around 200 litres of fluid a day. Here is how that works, why 'kidney cleanses' miss the point, and what genuinely protects them.
Supplements
Does Activated Charcoal Actually Detox You?
Activated charcoal is a real emergency treatment with a one-hour window. Almost everything the wellness industry does with it happens outside that window.
Supplements
Vitamin D: Who Actually Needs a Supplement?
The UK advice has specific numbers behind it — 10 micrograms a day in autumn and winter, all year for some groups, and a hard ceiling of 100.
Supplements
Electrolytes and Fasting: Why They Matter
Headaches and fatigue during a fast are often an electrolyte problem, not a hunger one — and the fix carries its own risk if you get it wrong.
Detox
Lymphatic Drainage: What It Does and What It Doesn't
Lymphatic drainage massage, dry brushing and gadgets are sold as a way to flush toxins. Here is what the lymphatic system actually does, and what moves it.
Supplements
Are Greens Powders Worth It?
The evidence for vegetables is about weight of intake — up to 800 g a day. A scoop of powder weighs about eight, and that is the whole problem.
News
The Wellness Retreat Boom: What's Driving It
The boom is real by the industry's own accounting — and that accounting is the industry's. Here is what the numbers mean and what to check before booking.
Supplements
Liver Support Supplements: What the Evidence Says
Milk thistle and NAC are the two names that dominate liver supplements. One has inconclusive trials behind it; the other is a hospital antidote.
Recovery
Alcohol Withdrawal: What to Expect and When It's an Emergency
A clear, compassionate guide to alcohol withdrawal symptoms, the timeline, and the warning signs that mean you need medical help immediately.
Fasting
16:8 Intermittent Fasting: A Beginner's Guide
How 16:8 intermittent fasting works, what the research says about its benefits and risks, and a simple, safe way to start this week.