The surprising health questions we're asking online - answered by experts

Expert answers from:

Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep physiologist and author of Think Less, Sleep More
Michaella Mazzoni, registered nutritionist
Carla Pozner, registered osteopath
Jemma Joel, registered nutritionist
Dr Sam Jethwa, dentist and founder of Bespoke Smile
Zara Hiridjee, registered nutritionist
Beth Johnson, founder of Lift Club Harrogate
Dr Semiya Aziz, GP and founder of Say GP
Umar Razzaq, pharmacist and co-founder of Pharmacy Online

Check out more questions that gut health dietitians are frequently asked, what you need to know about adaptogenic mushrooms and why you’re feeling tired all the time.

There’s a particular type of late-night panic most of us know well. You’re lying in the dark and something feels slightly off – an unfamiliar ache, a weird colour in the toilet bowl you can’t stop thinking about – and you find yourself down a search engine rabbit hole reading forum posts from 2009 written by people who are definitely not medical professionals.

We are, by every measurable metric, a generation of health googlers. In the UK, the NHS website receives over 50 million visits every month. In the US, studies suggest that roughly 7% of all daily search engine queries are health-related; that's around 70,000 health queries a minute.

What these queries share is a very human desire to understand our own bodies and find the answers to questions we are perhaps too embarrassed to ask our GP (you never should be). So, in the spirit of giving the internet what it wants, but with actual experts attached, here are the answers.

Q. How can I fall asleep quickly?

A. Roughly 1 in 5 adults in the UK don’t get enough sleep, with 79% of us struggling to switch off at bedtime according to Mental Health UK. “Most people get into bed and there’s a bit of ‘I need to fall asleep now’ pressure,” says Stephanie Romiszewski, a leading sleep physiologist and author of Think Less, Sleep More. “That’s when the sleep anxiety gremlins turn up, telling you that if you don’t go to sleep right now, you will get fired when the meeting goes wrong – and, by the way, there’s something really wrong with you because the rest of the world is sleeping.”

The trick, counterintuitively, is to stop trying. “Waking in the night is normal. Taking a while to drift off is normal,” Romiszewski stresses. “In the moment, I wouldn’t try to do anything. Just notice the thoughts, and don’t treat being awake like an emergency, it usually passes quicker.”

If it becomes a pattern, focus on your day rather than your night: getting up at a similar time, making sure you’ve been awake long enough, and getting some light in the morning.

Q. How many calories should I eat a day?

A. NHS guidelines suggest around 2,000kcal per day for women, and 2,500kcal for men, but registered nutritionist Michaella Mazzoni is more interested in what those calories actually contain. “You can technically eat the ‘right’ amount of calories but still be really low in macro and micronutrients,” she says.

Her approach moves away from counting altogether. “Breakfast is about protein, lunch is about variety – different fruits and vegetables, a portion of carbs, some healthy fats and protein, and dinner follows a similar pattern,” she says. What concerns her most is people cutting calories drastically for quick results – research shows that very low-calorie diets can negatively impact hormonal balance and sleep, particularly for women.

Q. What causes poor posture?

A. As a generation hunching over phones and laptops, it’s unsurprising that this ranks among the most searched questions online. But as registered osteopath Carla Pozner points out, there’s no such thing as one universally 'bad' posture. “The body is designed to move and adapt, so posture is less about sitting bolt upright all day and more about how long we stay in one position without variation,” she explains.

“Core strength can play a part too,” she adds. “Your core isn’t just about visible abs, it includes deeper muscles around the trunk, diaphragm, pelvic floor and back that help support the spine and transfer load efficiently. When these areas are underused or not functioning well, people may feel more tense or unsupported.”

The goal isn’t a rigid 'perfect' position, but building strength, mobility and awareness. Pozner recommends moving often, building general strength, taking screen breaks, positioning devices higher where possible, walking daily and breathing deeply to notice tension.

Q. Is cinnamon good for you?

A. It is, though perhaps not quite in the way the wellness industry would have you believe. Some research supports cinnamon’s potential to help with post-meal blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity and even cholesterol, though registered nutritionist Jemma Joel notes the effects are “fairly modest”. “It’s not exactly going to transform a doughnut into a superfood,” she says.

Think of it instead as a helpful sidekick rather than the main character, reliable and pleasant, but not single-handedly revolutionising your metabolic health.

Q. How long until a tooth infection kills you?

A. Dramatic? Yes. Understandable? Absolutely – says Dr Sam Jethwa, dentist and founder of Bespoke Smile. After all, toothache is uniquely miserable, and because dental pain seems to often arrive at 11pm on a Sunday, Google tends to be the first port of call.

The reassuring news is that a tooth infection is only likely to become dangerous if it’s left completely untreated. “When caught early, dental infections are usually straightforward to treat,” says Dr Jethwa. “This might involve antibiotics, draining an abscess, procedures such as root canal, or in some cases, removing the tooth.” Symptoms – such as a persistent toothache, sensitivity to hot or cold, discomfort when chewing, a bad taste in the mouth or swelling in the gums or face – usually appear early enough to give you time to act.

Dr Jethwa stresses the importance of good oral hygiene: “brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, flossing once a day and regular dental check-ups are all important.”

Q. Does green tea have caffeine?

A. Short answer: yes, but often less than coffee. A cup of green tea contains around 20-45mg of caffeine, compared to roughly 80-100mg in coffee. “The amount isn’t fixed,” says registered nutritionist Zara Hiridjee. “It can vary quite a bit depending on how its prepared. The longer you steep tea, or the hotter the water, the more caffeine is extracted.” Matcha tends to be higher still, since you’re consuming the whole powdered leaf.

“One thing worth knowing is that green tea contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which can influence how caffeine feels in the body,” adds Hiridjee. “It’s thought to promote a calmer, more focused state, which is why the caffeine in green tea often feels smoother than caffeine in coffee.”

Q. When should I take creatine?

A. Creatine has had quite the glow-up. Once the preserve of bodybuilders and rugby players, it’s now recommended for everything from strength training to cognitive function. But the noise around it, says Beth Johnson, founder of Lift Club Harrogate, has made something genuinely simple feel bewilderingly complicated.

“At its core, it’s just a naturally occurring compound that helps your muscles produce energy during short, intense efforts,” she says. It’s also unusually well evidenced, consistently effective and relatively cheap. A daily dose of 3-5g of creatine monohydrate is all you need. Initial weight gain is water in the muscle, not fat, and no, it won’t make you bulky. “Creatine isn’t magic,” Johnson adds. “But it’s one of the simplest ways to give yourself a small but meaningful cherry on top.”

Q. How much weight can you lose in a month?

A. This is one of the most searched questions in existence, and registered nutritionist Zara Hiridjee has a theory why. “We’re used to things happening quickly and with very little effort,” she says. “Over time it shapes how we think, and we carry that same expectation into weight loss.”

Weight loss in a month depends on several factors, including starting weight, energy intake, dieting history, activity levels, sleep and overall health. A sustainable rate of fat loss tends to be around 0.5 to 1% of body weight per week, roughly 2-4% a month. Push harder than that, and the body begins to adapt, hunger hormones rise, satiety hormones fall and resting metabolism can slow through a process called adaptive thermogenesis. “Just because the body can be pushed to lose weight quickly, doesn’t mean it should be,” Hiridjee warns. “The goal isn’t simply to reduce the number on the scale in the short term, but to do so in a way that preserves health and can realistically be maintained beyond that initial period.”

Q. Why is my poop green?

A. Well done for looking, says GP Dr Semiya Aziz, founder of Say GP – this kind of self-awareness will delight your doctor. Most of us are, she notes, either too squeamish to check or too embarrassed to report what they’ve seen, which means potential warning signs go unnoticed for longer than they should.

The good news? Green poop is, in the vast majority of cases, completely harmless. “It’s usually about as dangerous as wearing socks with sandals,” she says. “Poop gets its classic brown colour from digestive fluid called bile, produced in your liver. As it transits through the gut, the colour changes from green to yellow and then classically brown.”

Green usually means that things have moved too fast, or you’ve eaten something suspiciously green. “Those culprits include leafy green vegetables, green smoothies and matcha,” adds Dr Aziz. “Alternatively, the transit time was too quick, due to conditions such as diarrhoea, food poisoning, IBD or the use of antibiotics.”

See your GP if it’s lasted more than a few days, is accompanied by stomach pain, fever or vomiting, if you notice blood or have tar-like, black stools, if you’re losing weight unexpectedly, or if you have a family history of bowel cancer.

Q. Can you cure a stomach ulcer?

A. Stomach ulcers aren’t rare – 5-10% of the general population are thought to develop them at some point, usually due to a bacterial infection called Helicobacter pylori, or long-term use of NSAIDs, like ibuprofen. Smoking, heavy drinking and chronic stress can all make things worse too. The good news is that ulcers are very treatable with the right medication, says pharmacist Umar Razzaq, co-founder of Pharmacy Online.

“The classic sign of an ulcer is a burning or gnawing pain in the upper abdomen, often worse at night or between meals when the stomach is empty. You might also notice bloating, nausea or feeling of fullness after only small amounts of food,” he says. Your GP will usually confirm whether bacterial infection is behind it with a stool or breath test, or sometimes an endoscopy, and treat accordingly.

“Alongside medication, a few lifestyle changes can speed up healing,” Razzaq adds. “Cutting back on alcohol, stopping smoking and finding ways to manage stress can all make a difference.” See your GP if you’ve had ongoing stomach pain or indigestion for more than two weeks, and don’t ignore vomiting blood, unexplained weight loss, trouble swallowing or black, tarry stools.”

We may joke about the strange corners of the internet we end up in at 3am, but no search engine or AI chatbot, however sophisticated, is a substitute for an actual medical professional. If something is worrying you, please speak to your GP. The questions we’ve covered here might feel silly or embarrassing to raise in a clinical setting, but they really aren’t. GPs have heard it all. Every last bit of it. Green poop included.

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