BBC Science Focus - The Scientific Guide To a Healthier You - 2019

BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTION 3

A healthy, varied diet with plent y of fresh fruit and veg , regular

exercise and six to eight hours’ sleep each night. When all’s

said and done, the secret to good health is get ting those three

things. It’s not complicated and, truth be told, it’s nothing we

don’t already know. We also know what happens when we

don’t eat right, exercise well or sleep enough. Our bodyweight

goes up, our ment al well-being goes down and, if we forego any one of them

for long enough, we get ill.

What few of us know, however, are the reasons why a good diet, exercise

and sleep are so important to our health. What exactly are those three

things doing to our bodies to help us st ay healthy and happy? Par t of the

rea son for that is because so many of the websites, T V shows, maga zines,

newspapers and book s we turn to for advice seem to of fer conf lic ting

information. Which is why we’ve put together this Special Edition. We’ve

turned to the experts to help us cut through the confusion around staying

healthy and reveal the science behind exactly what works and why.

Over the following 100 pages, you’ll discover whether it ’s wor th forking

out for superfoods (page 20), why a bit of dark chocolate actually does you

quite a lot of good (page 28) and exactly what benefits you can expect to get

from staying off the booze for a month (page 30). You’ll also find out about

the benefits that exercise can deliver besides bigger, stronger muscles

(page 50) and the best ways to beat insomnia (page 80).

A lot of the advice you’ll f ind in here probably won’t be new but it ’s backed

by research and, perhaps best of all, proves that staying healthy doesn’t

have to be hard work... And since you don’t have to cut out all the things

you enjoy, it can even be a lot of fun.

Daniel Bennett, Editor

EDITORIAL

Editor Daniel Bennett

Managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell

Production editor Robert Banino

Commissioning editor Jason Goodyer

Staff writer James Lloyd

Editorial assistant Amy Barrett

Online editor Alexander McNamara

Online assistant Sara Rigby

ART & PICTURES

Art editor Joe Eden

Deputy art editor Steve Boswell

Designer Jenny Price

Picture editor James Cutmore

PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Press officer Carolyn Wray

[email protected]

PRODUCTION

Production director Sarah Powell

Production co-ordinator Katty Skardon

Reprographics Tony Hunt, Chris Sutch

PUBLISHING

Commercial director Jemima Dixon

Content director Dave Musgrove

Publishing director Andy Healy

Managing director Andy Marshall

BBC STUDIOS, UK PUBLISHING

Chair, editorial review boards Nicholas Brett

Director of consumer products and publishing

Andrew Moultrie

Head of publishing Mandy Thwaites

UK Publishing coordinator Eva Abramik

Contact [email protected]

http://www.bbcstudios.com

CIRCULATION / ADVERTISING

Circulation manager Rob Brock

© Immediate Media Co Bristol Ltd 2019. All rights reserved. No part

of The Scientific Guide to a Healthier You may be reproduced in

any form or by any means either wholly or in part, without prior

written permission of the publisher. Not to be resold, lent, hired

out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than the

recommended retail price or in mutilated condition. Printed in

the UK by William Gibbons Ltd. The publisher, editor and authors

accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or

services which may be advertised or referred to in this issue or

for any errors, omissions, mis-statements or mistakes in any such

advertisements or references.

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the content of

The Scientific Guide to a Healthier You was as accurate as possible

at time of press, we acknowledge that some information contained

herein may have since become out of date. Also, the content of

certain sections is occasionally subject to interpretation; in these

cases, we have favoured the most respected source.

Like what you’ve read?

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UK’s best-selling science and tech

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COVER: ANDY POTTS, THIS PAGE: ALAMY

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