Dr Damien Downing is a former York GP who now specialises in nutrition.

Q The head of the Government's Food Standards Agency says that organic foods are a con. Is this true?

A That's not exactly right - his words were "we don't have the proof" that organic foods are better for you.This is really a well-worn scientists' way of saying "I need another grant to study this".

The fact that he came out with this statement has led several commentators to suspect that he may not be as impartial as he should be in his new job, because his words were skilfully phrased to sound as though they were saying one thing while actually saying another. The hidden message here is "pesticides are not harmful", but avoiding pesticides and other chemicals is the main reason why people buy organic foods (including me when I can), and the simple answer to your question is "no".

A few years ago, I worked in Central Asia, where the former Soviet masters had imposed the growth of cotton, with the use of vast quantities of pesticides. The effects on health were terrifying, and certainly changed my views on the subject: very high infertility, stillbirth, children with deformities, children dying in infancy; infectious diseases including diarrhoea; food allergies; cancer and heart disease; in some areas more than 90 per cent of people suffered gastritis (inflammation of the stomach), and almost everyone felt ill and depressed.

Central Asia was the test bed for the effects of pesticides on human health; what happened dramatically there is now happening to us slowly. We eat, drink and breathe a cocktail of pesticides and other poisons, and the effects are starting to show, in falling sperm counts, rising allergies and ME - even as part of the problem in HIV and AIDS. The next generation will suffer more, and the next even more. So do I believe organic foods are a con? No; they may not be perfect, but they are a way to avoid some of the poisoning to which we are all subject. Go buy them, is my advice.

Why do I forget?

QI am 65, and seem to be getting more and more absent minded lately. Could I be getting Alzheimer's disease, and if so is there anything I can do about it?

A This is one of those cases where I must tell you to go see your GP first. You do need to be properly assessed; it is possible that you have problems with furring of the blood vessels in your head, causing a lack of blood supply to certain small areas of the brain, and affecting your memory. If so, you will need different treatment to what I am about to describe.

If you do have the more common form of Alzheimer's, or even just the gradual failure of memory that we all experience as we get older, then yes, you can help yourself. There is a herb called Gingko Biloba which has been researched thoroughly, particularly in Germany, and has been shown (in many properly controlled scientific studies) to improve memory and learning, not just in the elderly but even in fit young adults. You should take a regular dose of about 60mg three times a day. Side effects are rare, and you can get it at your local health food shop. While you are there, get a multivitamin/multimineral, preferably with a good dose of the antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin E, Zinc and Selenium, and take that regularly too.

Next week, Pat Issitt answers your questions on fitness matters