Stilettos are fine for an evening out, but wearing them all day, every day could cause permanent damage

‘If you’d asked me that 15 years ago, I would have said: ‘Absolute nonsense – it’s all genetics and shoes aren’t responsible for any problem,’” says Andrew Goldberg, consultant orthopaedic foot and ankle specialist at the Wellington hospital in London. But viewing 3D scans that show how people’s feet look while standing in their shoes changed his mind completely.

He took two scans of a person’s feet – one barefoot and one in high heels – and the difference was striking. In the high heels, the toes were crowded together, the big toe showed a bunion, and the smaller toes were clawed, gripping for balance.

The vitamin has many benefits, but research shows that people who take it are just as likely to get the sniffles as those who don’t

‘Vitamin C is important for your health in lots of ways,” says Daniel M Davis, the head of life sciences at Imperial College London. It is a strong antioxidant, helping protect cells from harmful unstable compounds that arise from toxins and pollution. It helps the body absorb iron, and is also used in the production of collagen. “But the idea that taking high doses of vitamin C – or drinking lots of orange juice – will stop you catching a cold, or help you recover faster, is a myth.”

Davis, the author of Self Defence: A Myth-Busting Guide to Immune Health, explains that the popular belief in vitamin C’s cold-fighting powers has persisted for more than 50 years, “pretty much solely because of the evangelical view of one man: Linus Pauling”.