Health: Truth or Scare - Episode Guide

Kevin Duala explores two very vocal sides of the argument over the safety of statins, the most widely prescribed drug in the country. With one side saying they save lives and another saying the side effects mean they aren't worth taking, it can leave anyone faced with the choice of whether to take them confused about what to do.

After headlines claiming a third of people diagnosed with asthma might not actually have the condition, asthma sufferer Angela gets retested for the first time in 50 years, explores the impact of being wrongly diagnosed and asks whether we are on the cusp of an explosion in new asthma cases.

Steve Brown goes in search of the best way to stretch our brains to help fend off dementia, after contradictory headlines can't seem to decide whether brain training games work or are a waste of time.

Angela Rippon investigates claims that the technology we use every day is damaging our eyes and ears, and asks if it is really possible that headphones, smartphones and tablets could be causing an epidemic of hearing loss and blindness.

Kevin asks if desk jobs and sofa-bound lifestyles are really as bad for us as some reports suggest. And Steve Brown unpicks headlines claiming antibacterial soaps and gels might actually do more harm than good.

Wheelchair user Steve worries his hands come into such close contact with the floor (through his wheels) that his hands might be harbouring some very nasty bacteria - but there are surprising results when he pits products that like to shout about their bacteria-busting properties against plain old soap and water.

While Kevin throws a party for critics and fans of all things aloe vera, he asks if the humble plant can really live up to the hype generated by its celebrity following and headline-grabbing health claims.

Angela is in the operating theatre and on the wards of a hospital that gets through 14,000 aspirin tablets every month to find out how new uses for this 120-year-old drug are still being uncovered - and she asks if its side effects are really as dangerous as claimed.

Danny Crates has flossed his teeth every day for as long as he can remember, but Danny's bathroom routine is hanging by the thread after headlines claiming flossing is pointless - and there's no proof it works. So with the help of a choir, some swabs and a lot of floss, Danny is investigating once and for all whether he should toss the floss.

With reports that people in the UK don't spend enough time in the sun to get all the vitamin D their bodies need, Angela looks at how to balance that with the knowledge that no sun exposure is safe for our skin. She sees the serious consequences of not getting enough vitamin D and discovers some surprising news about how to get all we really need.

Kevin is deciphering the bewildering array of headlines that claim they can help you kick a cold or fend off the flu.

And Paralympic runner Danny Crates asks how much exercise we really need - because the papers find it very hard to agree on that and even on what really counts as exercise in the first place.

Angela asks whether there is any truth in the claims that stress can actually be good for us, with the help of a trio of people who have what is believed to be one of the most stressful jobs there is.

Steve Brown asks whether people really need eight hours sleep a night, and while millions can get by on a lot less, he meets one woman whose health is at risk after she has spent years sleeping for just three hours a night.

Kevin Duala explores the devastating impact exam stress can have on teens, visiting a college that is leading the way in helping students cope with the most stressful time of year.

Angela Rippon and Kevin Duala return with the series that gets to the bottom of conflicting and confusing health claims. Angela pushes herself far outside her comfort zone, taking up running for the first time to discover if reports on the risks of Britain's favourite sport can really be true. Kevin investigates whether man flu really exists, discovering how jokes about men's health could be disguising something much more serious. Steve Brown asks if it is really possible that using mouthwash every day could increase your risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease.

With allergies on the rise, Angela investigates some surprising reports of possible treatments, including the claim that a gin and tonic can cure hayfever. Meanwhile Kevin discovers if the millions of people prescribed a common heartburn medication - himself included - could be risking serious side effects. He puts his stomach through a test to discover the truth. Steve Brown spends a month being mindful, after reports that the effects of mindfulness can be life-changing - but not always in a good way.

Angela Rippon and Kevin Duala untangle more mixed-up messages about our health, this time asking if it is possible to be fat and fit. Also, Angela tries acupuncture, which some reports now claim is no better for pain than a placebo. Could a remedy that has been around for thousands of years really have no benefit? And, with the average person spending more than two hours a day on social media, Steve Brown makes sense of conflicting reports that doing so can damage your mental health - or be a force for good.

Angela Rippon discovers if it is really true that the antibiotics doctors rely on to kill infections are becoming useless, while - unpicking reports that skinny jeans and hooded tops can cause back pain - Kevin Duala finds out the best and worst things we can do to keep our backs healthy. And Steve Brown investigates if wearing glasses makes your eyesight worse.

In the last of the series investigating the truth behind the latest health reports, Angela Rippon teams up with some boxers to test some worrying claims about paracetamol - and discovers what is really the best way to knock out a headache. Meanwhile, Kevin Duala investigates the mistakes we all make in the sun to find out why skin cancer is at an all-time high, and Steve Brown finds out the truth behind terrifying warnings that the everyday products in our bathroom cabinets could be harbouring some dangerous chemicals.

Angela Rippon and Kevin Duala return with the series that goes behind the confusing headlines to sort the science from the scare stories. In our opening episode, we look at cutting-edge treatments for serious conditions, with Angela taking cannabis oil to see if it's the miracle cure that some people claim. Kevin finds out why doctors have changed their minds about crash diets and meets a man who says he has slimmed himself off the diabetes danger list. Meanwhile, Steve Brown puts on scrubs to witness a hi-tech tonsillectomy.

In today's programme they explore some of the invisible dangers that could be lurking in the air around us. Kevin takes some walkers down one of the most polluted streets in Britain to find out whether exercising in the city centre does more harm than good, Angela gets put through her paces to see if her sleeping habits are storing up problems for the future, and Steve Brown takes a look at whether radiation from mobile phones really is causing brain cancer.

As millions of us yearn for that Hollywood smile, Kevin finds out whether shop-bought teeth whiteners are safe and effective. Angela asks whether antidepressants do more harm than good, and Steve Brown meets a woman whose reliance on ibuprofen ended in a brush with death.

Today, on the hunt for the best way of looking after yourself, Angela goes to the gym to find out whether weights improve fitness more than aerobic exercise like running, walking or swimming. Kevin meets some women who have been scared off hormone replacement therapy by fears that it might cause breast cancer, and, amid media claims that it's just quackery, Steve Brown investigates the truth behind Europe's oldest complementary therapy, homeopathy.

Angela gets into the yoga studio to find out whether the fitness craze should carry a health warning, while Kevin investigates reports that tattoos cause cancer. And Steve Brown meets parents who worry about whether screens can affect their children's development.