MILEY CYRUS steers clear of lactose and gluten. Zooey Deschanel has cut out eggs, dairy and wheat. Tennis star Serena Williams can’t eat peanuts.

Sunscreens help to prevent burning and skin cancer, but they also block our main source of vitamin D, which protects us from a range of diseases, says Helen O’Callaghan.

THE key to good health is to be a food-label detective. Knowing how to decode the hidden sugars and the fat content of foods will lead to a longer, healthier life.

January may seem the perfect time for a detox, but is there any scientific basis behind the concept of washing away our calorific sins, asks Sharon Ní Chonchúir.

HOLD on to your hat. The festive roller-coaster is about to whisk you away on a bone-rattling ride through a calorific minefield spiked with more random acts of over-indulgence than you can shake a stick at.

THERE is no shame in being lazy in the kitchen.

IT’S easy to blame hormones for our widening waistbands during the menopause — while eating an extra biscuit to console ourselves.

ONCE it was enough to see them on our screens or to admire them in the fashion pages of our favourite magazine.

Some experts say the claims that omega-3 can halt memory loss are unsubstantiated but that doesn’t mean we should avoid getting our allowance.

Sharon Ni Chonchuir has some top tips for parents worried that their children will get dehydrated from playing in the sunshine.

Faced with health warnings about obesity and diabetes, mother of two young boys Esther N McCarthy goes on a month-long crusade to cut down her family’s sugar intake.

MINE’S a flat white. Plus a couple of squares of dark chocolate and a few cups of Earl Grey tea.

As ubiquitous tummy remedy Milk of Magnesia falls foul of EU laws, Áilín Quinlan hears from a number of people who swear by the familiar blue bottle’s healing properties

It’s the final week of our challenge — ‘drop a dress size for Christmas’.

It’s week five of our six-week programme — Drop a Dress Size for Christmas.

Why not get ready for Christmas in the best possible way and try our LBD diet and fitness programme and drop a dress size in just six weeks.

CONSUMPTION of high caffeine and high calorie energy drinks has more than doubled in the past seven years, leading to growing calls for a ban on selling the drinks to under-16s.

THE McDonald’s fast food chain is combating claims of super-sizing the nation by letting Irish mothers help change its menu.

BRITISH scientists have identified genes which could lead to obesity in 70% of the population.

Claire O’Sullivan is told children, dieters and vegetarians should watch what they eat.