Huddling inside with other people to avoid the winter chill is a surefire way of catching a cold or flu. With a single sneeze throwing out more than 100,000 infected droplets, which can live for up to two days, it’s little wonder infection rates rise at this time of year. Yet are colds and flu an inevitable part of winter or is there anything you can do to stay healthy? Lots of products claim to protect you, but which work best?

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The stars swear by it: By mixing up exercises, sets and reps, muscle confusion will get you a ripped bod in no time. The fitness experts, however, remain skeptical.

It’s hard to argue with the success of the werewolf workout. The shirtless stars of Twilight: New Moon have the kind of ripped physiques that make even the most dedicated gym rats howl at the moon with envy. And they owe their buffed bods to a controversial fitness fad called “muscle confusion.”

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The girl dubbed ‘Britain’s fattest teenager’ now regrets having the surgery that led her to lose 22 stone.

Malissa Jones was just 17 years old and weighed in at 34 stone when she became the youngest Briton to have a gastric bypass.

Two years on and Malissa now claims the weight loss has left her miserable and she now wishes she never had the £10,000 NHS operation.

‘I know it sounds ungrateful, but I preferred my body when I was fat,’ the 19-year-old said.

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Almost 80,000 patients diagnosed with cancer each year could have avoided the disease by adopting a healthier lifestyle, figures show.

They reveal that 39 per cent of cases of the 12 major cancers are preventable through better diet, drinking and exercise habits.

Record levels of drinking – which have risen more sharply in the UK than in any other developed country – and obesity mean the UK has one of the highest levels of preventable cancers.

But less than half of people realise that a lack of exercise can cause the disease, and a third are unaware of the dangers of diet or body fat.

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An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown.

The chemical – curcumin – has long been thought to have healing powers and is already being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.

Now tests by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre show it can destroy gullet cancer cells in the lab.

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The latest diet craze is nothing like the usual offerings. You don’t have to count calories or even cut your food intake drastically. There’s also no promise of instant weight loss, though you probably will become more trim.

What this diet will do is help prevent illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and possibly cancer, and significantly ease the pain of chronic conditions such as arthritis.

The ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet is based on the principle that many health problems are linked to chronic inflammation caused by an over-active immune system.

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The simple act of doing some exercise convinces people they look better – even if it has actually made no difference.

Researchers discovered we believe we look healthier after working out despite the fact it may not have been enough to make us any fitter.

And we don’t necessarily feel any better about ourselves when we do more exercise and do look fitter, say psychologists.

Professor Heather Hausenblas, who carried out the research, reveals that ‘the simple act of exercise and not fitness itself can convince you that you look better’.

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Rubbing sugar into wounds could cure painful infections including bedsores, research shows.

The traditional African remedy is being trialled in British hospitals after a study led by a senior nurse raised in Zimbabwe.

As a child, Moses Murandu watched his father put crushed sugar cane on villagers’ wounds and grew up thinking it was a widely used treatment.

When he moved to England he was surprised to find doctors did not use it.

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Stevia has a no-calorie zip that’s popping up in natural health products, but the risks have left a bitter taste.

Forget sugar. And aspartame. And sucralose. Although it’s not yet authorized for use as an additive in food, a low-calorie, all-natural sweetener is making its way into Canadian products, with environmentally-themed marketing strategies that could change the way consumers view alternatives to sugar.

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A period of careful eating and regular exercise can stave off diabetes for a decade, a study suggests.

US researchers followed up nearly 3,000 overweight people who had taken part in a three year diabetes prevention programme.

The group had initially been divided into three – assigned either to a diet and exercise programme, the diabetes drug metformin or a placebo.

The Lancet report notes it was the dieters who reaped the most benefit.

All three groups were given access to ongoing lifestyle coaching once the initial three year trial had ended.

That trial, carried out by the US-based Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, had shown a diet aimed at achieving 7% weight loss, combined with half an hour of exercise five days a week, reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58% compared with the placebo group.

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