Health news

Since it first appeared on UK shelves in 1956, paracetamol has become the nation’s default painkiller – swallowed for everything from headaches and toothache to back pain and fever.

An estimated 200 million packets are sold over the counter each year. 

Cheap, widely available and generally safe when used correctly, it is a medicine cabinet essential for millions of Britons.

But despite its ubiquity, paracetamol remains one of the most misunderstood drugs we take.

Scientists still debate exactly how it works in the body. Its effectiveness for some common conditions has been questioned in recent years.

And while it is safe at recommended doses, it is also one of the leading causes of overdose-related hospital admissions in the UK.

That leaves patients with some surprisingly basic questions: Should you take it before pain strikes or wait until symptoms hit? How long is it safe to use? And is there any real benefit in paying more for branded versions over supermarket generics?

So how did this small white tablet become a household staple – and how safe is it, really?

Since it first appeared on UK shelves in 1956, paracetamol has become the nation’s default painkiller – swallowed for everything from headaches and toothache to back pain and fever

Dr Deborah Grayson, a pharmacist with 30 years of experience, tells the Daily Mail: ‘When it comes to precisely what paracetamol does and how it works, it’s a bit unclear.

‘It’s not uncommon for scientists not to fully understand how medicines work – particularly those that act on the nervous system.’

Unlike ibuprofen, which reduces inflammation at the site of injury, paracetamol works primarily in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers believe it dampens the production of chemical messengers involved in pain and temperature regulation, though the precise mechanism remains under debate.

‘It reduces the production of substances called prostaglandins, essentially inhibiting the enzymes responsible for transmitting pain signals,’ says Dr Grayson.

‘There is also some suggestion that it acts on the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathway, which plays a key role in inflammation.

‘Ibuprofen inhibits this enzyme too, though paracetamol does not appear to have the same anti-inflammatory effect.

‘Instead, paracetamol seems to work mainly by blocking pain signals in the brain.’

Here, Dr Grayson reveals exactly what you need to know about paracetamol…

Is branded paracetamol better than supermarket own-brand generics

With prices ranging from 35p for a packet of supermarket own-brand paracetamol to £2.35 for the branded equivalent, is there any real difference?

‘Standard 500mg paracetamol tablets are essentially the same,’ says Dr Grayson, dubbed the ‘Godmother of Pharmacology’.

‘There may be subtle differences in the non-active ingredients, such as fillers, colourings and binding agents, but they should work in exactly the same way.’

She adds that although the active ingredient is identical, prices can vary significantly between brands due to packaging, marketing and advertising.

‘Generic tablets usually have simpler packaging and aren’t heavily advertised,’ she says.

Do cold and flu medicines work better than plain paracetamol?

Paracetamol is often the first-line over-the-counter treatment for fever, headaches and body aches associated with colds and flu.

Many brands also sell dedicated cold and flu products formulated with a combination of active ingredients – most commonly paracetamol and a decongestant.

These typically come with a much higher price tag than plain paracetamol.

For example, a packet of 16 Lemsip Max Day & Night Cold & Flu Relief capsules costs £6.80 at Boots – 43p per capsule. By comparison, 16 Boots 500mg paracetamol tablets cost just 49p, or around 3p per tablet.

So is there any real benefit to choosing a branded cold and flu remedy over standard paracetamol?

‘While decongestants can make you feel a little better in the short term, they can actually worsen symptoms over time,’ says Dr Grayson.

‘You can end up more congested than you were before taking them. From a cold and flu perspective, you’re usually better off taking regular paracetamol two to four times a day to control fever and ease pain.’

What does ‘maximum strength’ paracetamol actually mean?

Many paracetamol products are labelled ‘maximum strength’ – a term Dr Grayson says can be misleading.

‘When a product is labelled ‘max strength’, it simply means it contains 500mg of paracetamol per tablet,’ she explains. ‘That’s the same dose as standard ‘regular’ paracetamol.’

According to the NHS, the maximum recommended dose for adults is two 500mg tablets, up to four times in 24 hours.

The phrase is often used on cold and flu remedies that combine paracetamol with other ingredients. The danger is that people may take more than one type of cold medicine at the same time, not realising they are stacking their total paracetamol intake – increasing the risk of serious liver damage.

In reality, ‘maximum strength’ usually just indicates that the product contains the highest dose permitted for over-the-counter sale in a single tablet, rather than a more potent formulation.

Does rapid-release paracetamol work faster?

According to Dr Grayson, there is some scientific evidence behind ‘rapid-release’ tablets, such as Panadol Rapid.

These formulations are designed to provide faster pain relief than standard paracetamol, with studies suggesting they can begin working within 30 minutes.

‘Typically, manufacturers add ingredients such as sodium bicarbonate to rapid-release formulas, which helps the tablet dissolve more quickly in the gastrointestinal tract,’ she explains.

‘They can also micronise the active ingredient – meaning the particle size is made much smaller – so it passes across the gut wall more easily.’

This allows the paracetamol to reach the small intestine faster, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

‘The difference in speed is often marginal, though,’ Dr Grayson adds.

While standard paracetamol can take up to an hour to take effect, rapid-release – particularly effervescent forms – may begin working in around 30 minutes.

Why is caffeine added to paracetamol – and does it help?

Paracetamol is often combined with caffeine to enhance its pain-relieving effects.

According to Dr Grayson, caffeine can accelerate the absorption of paracetamol, helping it enter the bloodstream more quickly. It also acts on adenosine receptors in the brain, reducing the perception of pain.

This is why products marketed for period pain and migraines frequently contain caffeine alongside paracetamol.

Caffeine also acts as a vasoconstrictor, narrowing blood vessels – particularly in the brain – by blocking adenosine receptors, which would normally cause them to dilate.

This temporary narrowing can raise blood pressure slightly and reduce cerebral blood flow, which may help relieve certain types of headache.

What’s the difference between paracetamol and co-codamol?

Paracetamol is also available in combination with codeine in varying strengths. Lower-dose formulations – commonly known as co-codamol – can be bought over the counter at pharmacies, while higher-strength versions require a prescription.

When taken together, paracetamol and codeine work through complementary mechanisms.

Codeine is an opioid that binds to opiate receptors in the brain and spinal cord, reducing the transmission of pain signals. Paracetamol works through a different pathway, primarily within the central nervous system.

‘It’s like an additional mode of action on top of the paracetamol,’ says Dr Grayson.

Is paracetamol safer than ibuprofen?

‘Paracetamol is gentler on the stomach than ibuprofen, but it is far more dangerous in overdose because it can cause irreversible liver damage,’ says Dr Grayson.

‘This is because ibuprofen inhibits not only COX-2, but also COX-1.

‘COX-1 is an enzyme involved in producing mucin and bicarbonate in the digestive system.

‘Mucin forms the protective mucus lining of the stomach, while bicarbonate helps neutralise stomach acid.

‘If you inhibit COX-1, that protective barrier is weakened, meaning the stomach lining can effectively be digested by acid and pepsin.

‘So if you’re taking ibuprofen over a prolonged period, blocking that mechanism increases the risk of gastric irritation or even erosion.’

Why is there a limit on how much paracetamol you can buy in the UK?

Paracetamol overdose is a leading cause of acute liver failure.

Compared with the US, where paracetamol can be purchased in large quantities, the UK tightly regulates sales to reduce the risk of overdose.

General retail outlets can sell packs of 16 tablets or fewer, while pharmacies can sell up to 32, with a maximum of 100 tablets per transaction. This legislation was introduced in 1998 to help prevent self-poisoning.

Can taking paracetamol too often cause headaches?

‘All painkillers taken regularly carry the risk of an analgesic overuse headache, with opiates being the worst,’ says Dr Grayson.

‘Taking painkillers pre-emptively on a regular basis can increase the risk. For people with chronic pain, this may be unavoidable, but if you’re taking them to prevent pain, there’s a real danger of getting caught in a perpetual loop.’

What happens if you take too much paracetamol?

While safe at the recommended dose, taking too much paracetamol can cause serious harm and requires urgent medical attention.

‘Most people are now hopefully aware of the risks, and we generally see fewer accidental overdoses,’ says Dr Grayson.

‘However, some people assume the occasional extra dose is harmless. The risk is higher if your liver isn’t functioning well or if you drink large amounts of alcohol.’

A deliberate overdose is a medical emergency, even if the person feels well.

‘Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain usually appear 24 to 72 hours after an overdose,’ explains Dr Grayson.

‘Over the following days, jaundice, confusion, extreme drowsiness, and liver or kidney damage can develop. If the overdose isn’t treated quickly, permanent liver damage – even cirrhosis – can occur.

‘That’s why restrictions on over-the-counter sales were introduced: to prevent people stockpiling large quantities of paracetamol.’

Speaking at the White House, President Trump told expectant mothers to ‘tough it out’ and ‘fight like hell’ not to take the drug, claiming it was contributing to rising rates of autism

Does paracetamol really cause autism?

In September, US health chiefs urged pregnant women to take paracetamol – known as Tylenol in America – sparingly, advising use at only ‘the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time’.

Speaking at the White House, President Trump went further, telling expectant mothers to ‘tough it out’ and ‘fight like hell’ not to take the drug, claiming it was contributing to rising rates of autism.

The remarks sparked an international furore – not least because in many countries, including the UK, paracetamol is recommended as the first-line painkiller during pregnancy. 

Around half of pregnant women in Britain are thought to take it at some point, rising to about 65 per cent in the US.

Since then, a major research paper published in The Lancet has found no evidence that paracetamol use in pregnancy causes harm when taken as directed.

Major health bodies worldwide – including the NHS, the World Health Organization and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – continue to state that paracetamol remains the safest and recommended option for pain relief during pregnancy when used appropriately.

Frightening photos of MRI images of babies in utero have once again gone viral – capturing people’s attention and reigniting the debate if undergoing an MRI while pregnant is worth the worry. 

In MRI images, a fetus’s skeleton shows up brilliantly white against the darker soft tissue, so mothers can see the entire spine, every rib, the tiny skull and even individual finger bones.

In images that some say resemble a fossil preserved inside the living body, the eyes, because they are fluid-filled, appear as large, dark, hollow sockets that sometimes seem to bulge or stare out.

For moms-to-be, the circulating images can be unsettling and raise questions about safety and potential long-term effects. 

In pregnant women, the standard of care to evaluate a baby’s abdominal organs, bone structures, heart function and development is an ultrasound, with fetal MRIs reserved for high-risk cases that require more information. 

An ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce a black-and-white snapshot of the fetus’s tissues, organs and blood flow throughout the body without using radiation. 

An ultrasound can provide doctors and expectant mothers with valuable insight about their babies, identifying cysts, tumors, infections, inflammation, blood clots and organ structural abnormalities.

MRIs for a pregnant woman may be performed if doctors are looking for signs of potentially deadly issues with the fetus, such as tumors, spinal cord injuries and structural abnormalities in the brain. It can also reveal torn ligaments, cartilage damage and joint disorders.

Unlike an ultrasound, an MRI can be uncomfortable. Pregnant women, especially in the third trimester, cannot lie flat on their backs for long periods due to the risk of compressing major blood vessels (stock image)

MRI scans of unborn babies have gained attention online for their striking clarity and slightly unsettling appearance. The skeleton stands out vividly white against softer tissue, revealing the full spine, ribs, small skull, and even individual finger bones

Fetal ultrasounds are an important part of prenatal care to ensure that fetal development is on the proper course without signs of structural abnormalities, growth restrictions or complications that could affect the health of the baby or mother 

Most pregnant women do not undergo MRIs, particularly in the first trimester, unless medically necessary – largely due to concerns about the use of gadolinium-based contrast dye used to illuminate intricate organ structures, tissues and blood vessels. 

The dye crosses the placenta and has been linked to higher risks of stillbirth and inflammatory conditions in exposed fetuses.

MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate detailed images. It does not use ionizing radiation like CT scans, meaning there is no radiation exposure to the fetus.

Most fetal MRIs are performed without contrast dye, using only the magnetic field to generate images, making the procedure itself safe for the fetus. The contrast concerns apply only to the small subset of cases where gadolinium is used to highlight blood flow or inflammation.

Whenever MRI images of babies in utero resurface, the comment sections are occupied by people in awe of the highly detailed, off-putting images.

In the comments of one recent tweet displaying the scans, one user said: ‘Terrifying or hilarious, depending on your mood.’

Another said: ‘What the hell is this gang?’

A third wrote: ‘That’s definitely not a human baby’ followed by a smiling, teary-eyed emoji.

Among nearly 3.5 million pregnancies across six US health systems between 1996 and 2016, 0.4 percent of pregnant women – about one in 240 – underwent an MRI during pregnancy. 

Rates increased significantly over time, from 0.1 percent in the late 1990s to 0.8 percent by 2011 to 2016, and no known harmful effects to the baby have been found.

A 2023 study of 156 pregnant women revealed a sharp divide: while 80 percent would undergo a doctor-prescribed MRI to diagnose a potential issue, only 24 percent were willing to participate in MRI research

Research shows there is a clear division of opinion among pregnant women about MRI during pregnancy, and this division depends heavily on why the MRI is being done.

A 2023 study of 156 pregnant women found a dramatic split. Eighty percent were willing to undergo an MRI prescribed by a doctor to diagnose a potential problem, but only 24 percent were willing to participate in an MRI for research purposes.

According to the researchers, this suggests that when women perceive a direct medical benefit, such as diagnosing a complication or evaluating their baby’s health, they are far more receptive to the procedure.

That same study revealed significant underlying concerns. About 94 percent of women wanted more information from their doctor before feeling comfortable and only 10 percent felt they had prior knowledge about MRI safety during pregnancy.

Even with rising rates, fetal MRI is still uncommon and is performed only at specialized centers with experts in reading them.

Most pregnant women receive two to three ultrasounds during their pregnancy.

Data suggests there may not be any long-term consequences of a prenatal MRI.

A 2020 study in the American Journal of Neuroradiology tracked children whose mothers underwent MRI during pregnancy to see if it affected their development. Researchers compared 131 children exposed to MRI in the womb to 771 unexposed children.

At ages two-and-a-half to six, they found no differences in communication, daily living skills or motor function. The exposed children actually scored slightly higher on socialization, leading the authors to conclude that non-contrast MRI during pregnancy poses no measurable harm to long-term neurodevelopment.

Fetal ultrasounds are an important part of prenatal care to ensure that fetal development is on the proper course without signs of structural abnormalities, growth restrictions or complications that could affect the health of the baby or mother

Unlike an ultrasound, an MRI can be uncomfortable. Pregnant women, especially in the third trimester, cannot lie flat on their backs for long periods due to the risk of compressing major blood vessels, and positioning must be carefully managed. The long, narrow tube can induce claustrophobia and anxiety.

An ultrasound, on the other hand, is far more comfortable. The procedure is typically performed with the mother lying slightly reclined or on her side while a technician glides a handheld wand over her belly.

There is no enclosed space, no loud banging noises and no requirement to lie completely still for long periods. The scan is painless, takes about 30 minutes and allows the mother to watch her baby moving in real time.

For parents, a prescribed fetal MRI rarely comes as a surprise. It usually follows an ultrasound that flagged a potential problem, making the detailed images a source of anxiety for many moms-to-be.

But for millions of moms, the advanced scan is a crucial warning sign, an introduction and time to prepare for whatever health issues in their baby they are likely to contend with in the coming months. So while they can be anxiety-inducing, they can also be illuminating and, supply vital information to make important future decisions.  

With glossy, tumbling blonde hair and an enviable figure, Destiny Deakin, 25, looks every inch the fitness devotee.

At 5ft 8in and 9st 5lb – a trim size eight – she exercises daily and follows a healthy diet. But it hasn’t always been this way – far from it. At the age of 12, Destiny tipped the scales at 14 and a half stone. She was, shockingly, an adult size 18 – and a target for relentless bullying at school, where she was cruelly labelled ‘beefburger girl’.

So what triggered this remarkable transformation?

Destiny wholly credits an intervention that has quietly fallen out of favour. Between the ages of 12 and 14 she attended two six-week residential weight-loss camps, where she learned to manage her diet and exercise, and lost a cumulative two stone.

Known as MoreLife, the Bradford-based programme was the only residential camp of its kind operating in the UK at the time, and placed an emphasis on long-term lifestyle change rather than rapid weight loss. Destiny’s time at MoreLife was captured in a BBC Three documentary, I Know What You Weighed Last Summer, which aired a decade ago.

Today, speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Destiny and other former attendees say their experiences show that supportive camps can deliver lasting change, rather than short-term weight loss alone. In the US, where so-called ‘fat camps’ are more common, critics raise concerns about stigma and potential psychological harm – criticisms that have helped push such programmes out of favour.

But Destiny says it marked a turning point, helping her rebuild her health and establish enduring habits after years of feeling defined by her size.

And the need for such intervention is clear.

Official figures show around one in ten children in England are obese when they start school, rising to about one in five by the time they move on to secondary education. Research suggests that these children are up to five times more likely to remain overweight as adults, significantly increasing their risk of life-threatening conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Destiny Deakin is 5ft 8in and 9st 5lb – a trim size eight. She exercises daily and follows a healthy diet. But it hasn’t always been this way…

… before attending her first weight-loss camp at the age of 12 she was a target for relentless bullying at school, where she was cruelly labelled ‘beefburger girl’

In response, the medical profession is increasingly turning to powerful weight-loss injections or surgery to tackle the problem.

A recent investigation found that about 400 children have been given NHS-prescribed jabs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, with the youngest aged just nine – prompting debate over whether lifestyle interventions have been sidelined too quickly.

Recalling her childhood, Destiny says: ‘The boys in my class would bully me, calling me fat or “beefburger girl”. I would put on a brave face, but go home and feel so sad.’

While Destiny, from Dudley in the West Midlands, was an active child, enjoying netball and dance, she struggled with cross country and swimming lessons.

‘We were forced to run in cross country, which I found hard because of my weight and I lagged behind my friends. I ended up making excuses each week, saying that I was on my period or that my leg hurt. Swimming was the worst, and I would make my mum write me a sick note because I didn’t want the boys to see me wearing a swimming costume.’ She admits: ‘After school, I would spend my pocket money at the corner shop on sweets, energy drinks and chocolate bars and then put the wrappers in the dustbin so my mum wouldn’t see them. If my mum asked if I’d eaten anything, I’d say no. In reality, I’d usually eaten my daily calorie allowance, and then some, before dinner.

‘Mum would send me to school with fruit, and it’d still be in my bag at the end of the day because I didn’t want it.

‘There was no way for her to track what I had eaten at school. I could have three pizzas if I fancied.

‘She would ask why I was so sad, and say things like, “Do you think you’d feel better if you lost some weight?” But to me, it just felt like she was being mean.’

Destiny often spent time at her grandmother’s house after school and during summer holidays, where she admits she was given ‘literally whatever I wanted’.

‘When the camp was first suggested to me, I said flat out that I wasn’t going,’ she says. ‘I used to stay at my nan’s during the six-week holidays, where there were treats like fizzy pop, crisps, pizza and chocolate.

‘I knew that if I went to camp, I wouldn’t be able to have any of this.’

Her experience isn’t unique. Studies have repeatedly shown that children who struggle with their weight are more likely to gain excess pounds during school holidays, when routines fall away and access to structured meals and activity is lost.

At MoreLife, children followed a portion-controlled diet alongside daily physical activity designed to improve fitness in a supportive environment.

A typical day involved swimming, team sports such as basketball and dodgeball, and running drills, balanced with classes on nutrition, lifestyle and body image. But foods often considered ‘off limits’ were not banned. Chips and pizza appeared on the menu, and the programme even included a supervised trip to McDonald’s – intended to teach moderation rather than avoidance.

‘On your first day, you get a daily calorie allowance based on your weight, height and how much you need to lose,’ Destiny says.

This approach meant some children were on more restrictive diets than others. ‘There used to be a lot of arguments over foods, because some people were hungry and wanted bigger portions,’ she adds. ‘There were times that I was hungry, but that’s the entire point of losing weight.’

Destiny, now a pharmacy dispenser, credits the programme with reshaping her habits.

‘On a typical day we’d get up, have breakfast and then do a lifestyle session. That might be a trip to Sainsbury’s to look at sugar and calorie content in cereals. And then you’d spend a lot of the day exercising.

Jordan Smithy attended the camp at the same time as Destiny, when he was 17 and weighed 19 stone. He lost just under a stone during his stay and has since shed more than three

Now 27, Jordan says: ‘If I hadn’t gone to that camp, I genuinely think I’d be in a much worse place today.‘

A typical day at the camp involved swimming, team sports such as basketball and dodgeball, and running drills, balanced with classes on nutrition, lifestyle and body image

‘Even ten years on, choices I make stem from being at camp. ‘It’s simple things – like being taught to look at the traffic-light system on food packaging. To this day, I still do that when I shop.

‘Looking at my lifestyle now, I do 60 minutes of exercise every day. I go to the gym, take my vitamins, drink my water – all things I learned there. I still have McDonald’s as a treat, but I always go for a grilled chicken wrap, and I always get zero-sugar drinks.’

Jordan Smithy, now 27, attended the camp at the same time as Destiny, when he was 17 and weighed 19 stone. He lost just under a stone during his stay and has since shed more than three.

Jordan says: ‘If I hadn’t gone to that camp, I genuinely think I’d be in a much worse place today. I’d almost certainly be a lot heavier.

‘It gave me the confidence to become a personal trainer and fitness coach, and eventually to audition for a singing competition show. I was a really shy kid who never spoke to anyone. When you lose weight, everything changes.’

He says the camp didn’t just alter his body, but fundamentally rewired his mindset. Before attending, he lived on takeaways, hated exercise and struggled to run. At camp he learned about portion sizes, calories and how to structure daily movement.

Around 120 eight- to 17-year-olds from across the UK attended MoreLife each summer, which was based at a boarding school in Bradford.

Children could stay for up to six weeks at a cost of £1,000 per week, with places largely funded by local authorities or the NHS – as was the case for Destiny.

Over the two decades it operated, around 6,000 youngsters passed through the programme. But in 2018 it closed after public funding dried up.

MoreLife founder Professor Paul Gately says that the decision to withdraw support was short-sighted. He argues that the programme was highly effective at helping children lose weight and keep it off, and insists that education around food and nutrition should come before medical intervention.

He says: ‘From a scientific perspective, weight-loss camps are still the most effective option for children with obesity.

‘This isn’t just about weight – it’s about changing the direction of a child’s life.’

Professor Gately has published a series of studies tracking the impact of his programmes.

The research shows that over six weeks, children lost an average of around 13lb, alongside significant improvements in fitness, self-esteem and body image.

Of the decision to close the camp, he adds: ‘We ran it at a loss for years because we believed in it. But it became unsustainable. As a scientist, it’s frustrating that we’re not doing what we know works.’

The NHS spends an estimated £6.5 billion a year treating obesity-related ill health in England – a figure projected to rise to £9.7 billion by 2050. But not everyone is convinced residential camps are the answer – as putting the estimated 600,000 obese children in the UK through camps could be a complex and expensive endeavour.

Dr Alex Miras, an obesity expert at Imperial College London, says: ‘If you want a large public health impact, you need to reach a lot of children – and from a practical perspective, that can be challenging.’

Professor Gately, however, points to the recent National Citizen Service – a Cameron-era Conservative initiative that ran between 2009 and 2025 – which saw one million teens put through a two to four-week personal development programme. It offered residential ‘away from home’ experiences, outdoor challenges, and community volunteering. ‘It shows these things can be done, if the political will is there,’ he says.

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a registered dietitian who worked at the MoreLife camp, adds: ‘Evidence shows that while children may lose weight in intensive short-term settings, maintaining that once they return to their normal home, school and social environments is much more challenging.

‘Today, most public health guidance supports whole-family, community-based interventions delivered over time, rather than residential camp-style models.

‘That doesn’t mean structured programmes have no place, but they must be evidence-based, multidisciplinary, psychologically safe and focused on health behaviours rather than weight alone.’

A government spokesman said: ‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life, which is why we are taking decisive action to tackle childhood obesity.

‘We are restricting junk-food advertising before 9pm and stopping fast-food outlets opening near schools. Our Ten-Year Health Plan will shift the focus from sickness to prevention, to create a healthier future for every child.’

For Destiny, that focus on prevention is deeply personal.

‘People don’t believe I was once a size 18,’ she says. ‘But I’ve worked really hard not to be that person any more. I’ve flipped everything on its head – my diet, my exercise and my lifestyle. I’m maintaining my weight, loving life and living well.’

Her experience is echoed by Jordan. When the BBC Three documentary was uploaded to YouTube in 2021, he began receiving messages from strangers who recognised him.

‘I had a message just yesterday asking what the camp was like and whether I’d recommend it,’ he says. ‘I absolutely would. If a camp like that were running today, I’d work there in a heartbeat.

‘I’d love to give back what I needed to learn as a kid, and help children now so that, in ten years’ time, they can be where I am.’

For decades, scientists and doctors believed that we were born with a certain number of brain cells, could never grow new ones and that Alzheimer’s disease was mostly genetic and certainly not preventable.

It was therefore assumed that, when the brain aged, there was no turning back the clock.

Research has recently demolished these myths – we now know that the human brain is more complex than any computer and capable of seemingly miraculous feats of rejuvenation and growth.

While it can be damaged by injury or disease, your brain can also produce new cells, rewire itself and increase in size. If you maintain and challenge it, your brain can get smarter and better at anything.

Nearly half of all cases of dementia (45 per cent) could be prevented by adopting a healthier lifestyle, according to a 2024 report in The Lancet that identified 14 modifiable factors.

And even having the ApoE4 gene variant, linked with Alzheimer’s, doesn’t mean you will inevitably end up developing the disease. In fact, regular physical exercise can significantly reduce the risk.

A 2012 study by US researchers from St Louis University examined levels of abnormal amyloid proteins associated with Alzheimer’s in people who led sedentary lives and compared them with people who were highly active, both with and without the ApoE4 variant.

They found that those with the ApoE4 variant who were very physically active had the same, low level of amyloid as those who didn’t have the ApoE4 gene.

Research has shown that the human brain is more complex than any computer and capable of seemingly miraculous feats of rejuvenation

Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.

In other words, exercise alone had negated the elevated risk, at least in terms of amyloid accumulation in the brain, underlining the power of making lifestyle changes to help keep your brain healthy well into old age whatever your family background.

But this is not simply about preventing a slide into dementia in the future. I have devised practical steps you can take to make your brain sharper and quicker right now.

As a leading neurologist and professor at the Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University in the US, I have developed a simple, science-based 12-week programme to help you improve your memory, solve problems more easily and help keep dementia at bay.

My Brain Fitness Programme forms the basis of my new book, The Invincible Brain, which I am sharing exclusively with Daily Mail readers in a three-part series starting today.

The programme, which also draws on my decades of experience with patients, is based on five key pillars – exercise, sleep, nutrition, adopting a calmer mindset and brain training techniques. And it’s backed by solid science.

In a 2016 study, involving 127 patients at my NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Centre in Washington DC, 84 per cent of patients gained remarkable improvements in their objective, validated tests and scored higher on cognitive assessments in just 12 weeks. MRI scans showed that more than half had grown the size of their hippocampus – the area involved in memory – by 3 per cent.

In effect, their brains had become about three years younger in just 12 weeks.

Similarly encouraging results came from a 2020 trial involving patients of all ages who had persistent concussion symptoms months or even years after sustaining brain injuries.

More than 80 per cent had significant improvements in attention, mood, sleep and memory as well as in objective tests of cognitive functions.

Your malleable brain is also exquisitely personalised, based on your environment, experiences and the way you’ve used it.

A good example of this adaptability – or neuroplasticity – is the Iranian artist, Zohreh Etezad Saltaneh, who was born with a congenital disability that stunted the growth of her hands.

Yet she learned to cook, weave and paint with her toes – and became an artist, whose work has been shown in 60 exhibitions worldwide. Her abilities were not located in her arms and hands, but in her brain.

As a leading neurologist and professor at the Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University, I have developed a science-based 12-week programme to help you improve your memory

The important rule to remember is: what you use grows; what you don’t shrinks. Which is why the key is to continually challenge your brain.

When you learn something new or practise something challenging, your neurons develop more connections.

This was illustrated by a Swedish study involving 14 young adults who became fluent in either Russian or Arabic after a three-month intensive course organised by the country’s armed forces. The language students were compared with a group of regular university students of the same age; before and after MRI scans were taken of both groups.

Compared with the control group of regular university students, the language course ones developed more brain connections and a significant increase in their hippocampus size in just three months – while the control group showed no change.

What’s in your head

To better understand how my advice can help you to improve your brain health, it’s helpful to take a closer look at how this mighty organ works.

Your thoughts, emotions, plans, dreams and actions all originate in your brain, beginning with neurons (brain cells) fed by oxygen and nutrients.

The intricate connecting networks, or synapses, are also vital, as are the numerous specialist ‘helper’ cells that enable the whole system to work smoothly and efficiently.

Broadly speaking, we tend to associate different areas of the brain with different functions. Your higher cognitive functions happen in the cortex – the outer layer that surrounds and communicates with all other brain regions and has an incredible ability to learn and adapt.

Meanwhile, your hippocampus plays a key role in memory and learning. You might find it helpful to think of the different parts of the brain as neighbourhoods in a bustling city. Each has its own characteristics, but they’re connected by networks – like busy Metro lines – which transfer signals and carry the constant flow of information that keeps the whole ‘city’ of your brain alive and thriving.

The principal networks are responsible for our main cognitive functions – language, the ability to focus on significant details, vision, our emotions, planning and decision-making and physical movement.

It’s also important to remember that the brain doesn’t exist in isolation: it’s intimately connected to all the other cells, organs, muscles and tissues in the body.

Under normal circumstances, your neurons and their support team work well together. Oxygen and nutrients arrive through the blood vessels, waste is cleared away via the glymphatic system during sleep, and oligodendrocytes – specialised ‘insulating’ cells in the central nervous system – ensure electrical signals race across networks.

But challenges such as obesity or uncontrolled diabetes can throw the system off balance by damaging blood vessels and limiting the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

Poor sleep interferes with the brain’s nightly cleaning system and excess stress or alcohol can disrupt its normal firing patterns, resulting in faulty operating of the brain’s networks.

For a while, specialised cells can keep things stable. But if problems persist, they can get overwhelmed, adding to inflammation that damages neurons and leading to brain fog and memory decline.

How memories are made

People often think of memory as recalling something from the past – a childhood memory or where you left your keys. But it’s more complex than that.

Memory is changeable and is constantly being reinterpreted through our understanding of the world and our emotions.

So how are memories formed? Research has identified four key stages:

• Acquisition: Your brain takes in sights, sounds and sensations from the outside world. But to record them successfully, you need to be paying attention. What you focus on becomes the foundation of your memory. This step relies on the prefrontal cortex, which registers something new and holds it in one place ready to be processed.
• Consolidation: This is a behind‑the-scenes process of organising and stabilising what’s just been gathered – a bit like sorting snapshots in an album. The hippocampus plays a key role in determining what is worth remembering and what is ‘irrelevant’, since your brain can’t store every memory.
• Storage: Once organised and encoded, each memory component is stored in a corresponding part of the cortex, which acts like a filing cabinet. A new face will be stored in the visual cortex, while a song will go in the auditory cortex.
• Retrieval: This brings memories back to life, allowing you to recall a vivid scene or how to ride a bike. During retrieval, an event’s components come together in a process involving many parts of the cortex – sights, sounds, tastes and sensations all pieced back together into one coherent story.

CREATE A ‘MIND PALACE’, AND USE IT TO MEMORISE YOUR BANK CARD NUMBER 

This memory-improving technique involves mentally placing information to be remembered in specific locations in an imagined physical space, such as a palace or building. You then mentally ‘walk’ through that space to retrieve the information when needed.

Here’s how to use a memory palace to memorise your credit card numbers:

1. Get your credit card and look at, or write down, the number, expiration date and code. Let’s say it is 5500 6602 8653 3362, expiration: 04/48, code: 629. We will place each of these groups of numbers on a familiar path you take every day.
2. Imagine a path from your bedroom to your bathroom, kitchen, front door and garage or outdoor parking space.
3. Mentally place a image of 5500 on your bedside table. Picture them as thick white blocks in your head, make sure they are firmly fixed in your memory. This should take no more than three to five minutes when you first try it.
4. Picture 6602 written in large bold red letters below your shower. It looks ridiculous but that’s the idea. Repeat this number and memorise it for three to five minutes.
5. Go back and picture seeing the number 5500 on your bedside table, then imagine walking to the bathroom and seeing the 6602 in your shower. This reinforces the memories and the order.
6. Picture walking into the kitchen and seeing 8653 in large black block numbers next to your coffee maker. Close your eyes and repeat 8653 as you envisage your kitchen counter. Repeat for three to five minutes.
7. Go back to the beginning of your route and repeat all three sets of numbers: 5500 on the bedside table, 6602 in the shower, and 8653 by the coffee maker.
8. Repeat the same process for the number 3362 — picture it in large brown blocks standing in your front doorway. Again, repeat the entire journey in your mind.
9. Now you’re in the garage or by your car outside – you see 04/48 written on your windscreen. Imagine getting upset because you must clean the windscreen. Repeat 04/48 as you clean the glass. Now repeat the entire number: 5500 6602 8653 3362, expiration: 04/48.
10. Picture opening your car door and seeing 629 carved on your seat with a knife. The more clearly you visualise this, the better you will remember it.
11. Finally, repeat the whole thing from the beginning to the end: 5500 6602 8653 3362, expiration: 04/48, code: 629.

This drill may take 30 minutes the first time you do it but, as you improve, you may easily do it in five or ten minutes.

This technique requires no exceptional skills.

Tricks to improve your memory

Many people worry about their memory, often fearing that mid-life lapses are an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. In my experience, this is rarely the case.

Yet it always amazes me that people expect their memory to work perfectly all the time, without any effort.

You wouldn’t expect to run a marathon without training – and having a stellar memory is no different.

Luckily there are numerous tricks you can practise. Here are some of my favourites. 

People worry that mid-life lapses in memory are an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease – but there are numerous tricks to improve your memory

Name recollection

Before you meet someone new, excite your brain by offering yourself a reward for remembering a name – say an imagined £10,000.

This will rev up the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that energises other areas, including the hippocampus.

Then use the acronym N.A.M.E. Notice their face in detail, the tone of their voice and guess their age.

Ask their name and repeat it loudly and clearly, saying it out loud. This is important as the brain remembers spoken material better than silently read material.

Memorise by repeating it two or three times during the conversation. Listen for other details that help fix them in your mind, such as where they live.

Ensure you have the name embedded before you end the conversation and imagine the £10,000 you are about to earn. The more emotion you invest into the memory, the more likely you are to remember.

Finding items

Always put items such as door keys or your purse in the same place every time. If you can’t, because you are in an unfamiliar place, say out loud, in a silly or exaggerated accent: ‘I’m just putting my wallet here, darling.’ Or: ‘Why, I say, I’ll set my keys right here on the desk.’

The idea is to make it funny – attaching emotion to something will make it more memorable.

Parking a car

The nightmare of losing your car in a multi-storey car park can be eased by this simple trick. Suppose you’ve parked in Zone B, level 4, north. Imagine four bears (B is for ‘bears’, 4 is the level) looking up at the North Star.

Keep that image in your head the whole way to the lift or exit. The funnier it is, the more memorable it will be.

Recalling why you are in a room

Many people forget why they entered a room.

Research shows the best way to remember is to retrace your steps to where you were before you entered.

This will often trigger the reason – whether something you see reminds you, or you recall what you were thinking about.

Hit by daily episodes of dizziness, fatigue and nausea, Tracey Condron initially thought she had caught some sort of virus.

‘I’d gone from feeling full of energy to a complete wreck,’ says Tracey, 44, a mother of three aged 21 to 29.

And soon after these symptoms began, she noticed other changes to her health.

‘I also started getting brain fog a lot of the time, both at home and at work,’ says Tracey, who at the time was a Special Educational Needs Assistant in a primary school.

‘Then I began noticing random overpowering smells – sweet, floral scents that no one else could smell.’

Her baffled colleagues kept telling her there was no smell. ‘They thought I’d lost the plot,’ says Tracey, from Rainham, Essex.

In fact, Tracey’s symptoms were due to her being slowly poisoned by carbon monoxide gas leaking from a faulty boiler in her bedroom – and were it not for the quick actions of her neighbours, she could easily have died as a result.

Because alone at home one January evening last year, four months after her symptoms began, things suddenly took a dramatic turn for the worse.

Tracey Condron was hit by daily episodes of dizziness, fatigue and nausea but thought it was from some sort of virus

Tracey’s symptoms were due to her being slowly poisoned by carbon monoxide gas leaking from a faulty boiler in her bedroom

Tracey remembers nothing beyond sitting on the sofa that evening – she can’t even recall getting into bed.

It’s only because her neighbours showed her footage from their video doorbell that she knows she staggered up their drive at around six the next morning.

‘I was so weak I looked like I was going to collapse,’ says Tracey. ‘I could barely knock. Luckily, they heard me and opened the door to find me looking like death.’ Her neighbours took her inside and called 999.

‘I started vomiting in their living room and was struggling to breathe,’ says Tracey. ‘Then apparently I went stiff as a board and started convulsing.’

By the time the ambulance arrived, Tracey was foaming at the mouth. She suffered two cardiac arrests (meaning her heart suddenly stopped beating) and had to be resuscitated twice.

In hospital, doctors were initially at a loss as to the cause of her sudden collapse. She was put into an induced coma to try to prevent the seizures she was having – fearing she might not make it, her family was called into the intensive care unit.

It was during discussions with her children, who mentioned that Tracey slept next to the boiler, that doctors at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, began to suspect carbon monoxide poisoning – and tests proved their hunch right.

Each year, over 100 people in the UK die as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning – while many others, like Tracey, survive and can be left with life-changing health problems.

The reason the gas, which is invisible and odourless, is so deadly is that it binds far more tightly to haemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells) than oxygen does, meaning it takes its place and so ‘reduces oxygen delivery to the brain and other organs,’ explains Dr Faye Begeti, a neurology specialist at Oxford University Hospitals.

‘The brain is especially vulnerable as it normally receives around a quarter of the heart’s blood flow to meet its high oxygen needs – without adequate oxygen the tell-tale symptoms of poisoning, such as fatigue, brain fog and nausea begin.’

(The phantom smells Tracey noticed might have been a sign of mini-seizures in the area of the brain that processes smells, but is not characteristic of carbon monoxide poisoning.)

‘Chronic low-level exposure can be particularly harmful, as symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, dizziness and cognitive fog can easily be mistaken for stress, viral illness or infection,’ adds Dr Begeti.

Neurology specialist Dr Faye Begeti explains that the gas is dangerous because carbon monoxide ‘reduces oxygen delivery to the brain and other organs’

As levels of the gas build up in the home, it can cause severe acute carbon monoxide poisoning and seizures due to profound hypoxia (lack of oxygen reaching the brain).

There can be long-term consequences, too.

Dr Begeti warns of delayed encephalopathy – a form of brain injury that can emerge days or weeks later – caused by ongoing inflammation in brain tissue and damage to the brain’s white matter (the wiring that allows different parts of the brain to communicate).

‘People may experience cognitive decline, personality change, gait problems, seizures or psychiatric symptoms long after the exposure has ended,’ she says.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced when there is insufficient oxygen when the fuel, typically gas, is burned by flame, or when fumes that should be safely vented outside leak back into the home due to faulty, blocked or poorly maintained heating systems.

According to the charity CO-Gas Safety, faulty heating and cooking appliances are most often implicated in leaks – but generators, boats and petrol-powered strimmers can all emit the gas.

But because the symptoms of poisoning often mimic viral illnesses ‘GPs may not suspect carbon monoxide’, says Stephanie Trotter, president and director of CO-Gas Safety.

‘Also blood tests – which measure carbon monoxide in the bloodstream – and, less commonly, breath tests, often give false negatives because the gas leaves the body very quickly.

‘Sadly, just because CO leaves the body quickly, it does not mean the person exposed will completely recover. Many go on to suffer lasting damage to the brain and nervous system,’ she adds.

‘If someone was exposed to a high level, or exposed for a long time, it can trigger ongoing damage in the body. This means a person might seem fine at first, then feel much worse hours, days, or even weeks later.’

As Dr Begeti explains, carbon monoxide has a half-life in the body of about four or five hours, ‘meaning roughly 75 per cent would be cleared in eight to ten hours’.

She adds: ‘In situations where someone is being exposed repeatedly, the gas may not be fully cleared before the next exposure begins, hence chronically building up.’

December is the deadliest month for carbon monoxide deaths because people tend to spend more time indoors and there’s an increased use of heating along with less ventilation due to windows being closed.

But there is a year-round risk with barbecues or camping stoves used in tents, caravans or enclosed spaces, posing a serious risk in the summer too, according to CO-Gas Safety.

Tracey now warns people on social media about the dangers of faulty boilers and the importance of having carbon monoxide alarms 

Research by University College London and Liverpool John Moores University in 2012 suggested that more than three million people in the UK are regularly exposed to carbon monoxide levels of 50 parts per million or higher which, while below the levels that cause immediate collapse, can still be dangerous over time.

‘Less than 2 per cent of carbon monoxide in the air can kill or maim in between one and three minutes – some survivors tell me their injuries are so bad they wish they’d died,’ says Stephanie Trotter.

After her symptoms began, Tracey had gone to her GP who gave her repeated blood tests to check whether she might be anaemic, for example, but each came back clear.

All the time the levels of carbon monoxide gas in her home were building.

By the time she got to hospital the lack of oxygen to her brain was so acute she was having one seizure after another and had a fractured spine and hip as a result.

She spent five days in a coma, during which she continued to have seizures – meaning doctors had to delay fitting a back brace to limit the movement of her spine and help it heal. Tracey was discharged two weeks later, a changed woman.

‘I could barely walk,’ she recalls. ‘I had to stay with my older daughter, who lives nearby, for a few weeks because I couldn’t manage on my own. Everything became difficult, lifting, dressing, shopping, even playing with my grandchildren [then aged four, two and seven months].’

Despite now taking takes anti-epileptic drugs, over a year on Tracey still suffers from regular seizures, some requiring urgent hospital treatment.

‘The last serious set of seizures was in September last year,’ she says.

‘I don’t recall it, but my daughter was on the phone and said I wasn’t making sense. I had multiple seizures and woke up a day later not knowing what had happened.’

The fractures in her spine and hip healed, but have left her with daily pain. And despite taking painkillers, her mobility is now so poor she has had to give up work and depends on others for everyday tasks such as making meals, cleaning the house and food shopping.

The damage to her heart – caused by the lack of oxygen – has now healed, but Tracey has panic attacks and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her ordeal. She is undergoing talking therapy.

‘Life is not easy and I hate not being able to play with my four grandchildren [now five, three, 17 months and five months] – but I’m so grateful to still be here and to have survived it,’ says Tracey.

Her gas supplier later confirmed her boiler was faulty; and a carbon monoxide detector installed by her landlord was also found to be not working.

‘It was wired in and showed a green light, so it looked like it was working,’ she says.

‘There were never any safety checks in the five years I’ve been here – if there had, I wouldn’t have suffered prolonged poisoning that nearly killed me.’

Tracey is so scared it will happen again that she now has carbon monoxide detectors in every room and warns people on social media about the dangers of faulty boilers and the importance of having alarms.

‘I sleep with the windows and doors open when my grandson stays over,’ she says.

‘He had actually stayed in my room on many weekends before I was hospitalised but thankfully, I’d always kept my bedroom door open when he was there. I dread to think what could have happened to him if I hadn’t.’

Tracey has an important message for others: ‘If I could tell people one thing, it’s to make sure you have a working carbon monoxide alarm that meets the official EN 50291 safety standard. It could save your life.’