There is a classic principle of logic and problem solving that says something like “the simplest explanation is usually the correct one”. It is known as Occam’s razor. This week a news story showed this in it’s most graphic form after Dominic Cummings released Whatsapp messages between him and Boris Johnson regards the competence (or perceived lack thereof) of Matt Hancock. There has been the issue…
“It such a relief to finally get some answers….” I am stood in the car park at clinic and a patient I saw for several years before lockdown last year has been back in and seeing a colleague (my waiting list is around 4 weeks at the moment). She is telling me all about a recent consult with a Rheumatolgist. “the consultant says I have rheumatoid,…
This week I have been taking a well earned break from clinic for half term with my wife and kids. We have been climbing, playing in fords, body boarding in massive sand dunes, jumping off sand dunes, swimming and chilling. All of course while soaking up some delicious and joyful UV rays, producing a truck load of vitamin D. In as little as 30 minutes…
Did you know…. Folic acid supplements are associated with an increased risk of cancers? And increased risk of cognitive decline in older people? What many don’t realise is that folic acid and folate are different things. Folic acid is a synthetic, inactive product not found in nature. It must be converted into the active form to make new cells, neurotransmitters and much more, check out the…
Tony Blair has quite the legacy. Leaving aside his penchant for starting illegal wars, one of his biggest changes was to flood GP’s surgery with money (1 billion to be exact). Around 2004 he introduced “payment by performance” via the quality and outcomes framework (QOF), a method for monitoring the quality and outcomes of medical intervention. This resulted in a 50% pay rise for GPs (with less…
When I am doing full functional medicine one to ones with clients, one common issue they report is being confused about diet advice. And who can blame them, one minute you are reading an article saying red meat is going to kill you with heart disease, the next article says the opposite. The challenge is all these researchers have a vested interests and need to…
If you are anything like me then you are appalled at the state of the weather currently. Having been locked down on and off for the past 12 months, especially with the terrible weather in the first part of the 2021, I feel (and we all know these days feeling something makes you “right” even if the evidence says the opposite) I deserve and have earned around 4…
In August last year I sent out a newsletter about how older patients I was seeing post lockdown after 3-4 months away from care, were looking positively fragile. Well this week I had a study delivered to my inbox that discusses a key part of fragility, sarcopenia. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7528158/pdf/11357_2020_Article_272.pdf One of the key things about sarcopenia is the increased risk of falls and guess what the…
Last week we talked about why some researchers just do not understand the biology of what they are studying and/or simply use unreliable methods & collect data that is garbage. As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. Well, look what popped into my inbox this week….. https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2021/04/20/bmjnph-2021-000250 Firstly notice the title…they are already telling us the outcome is poor, and some people will only…
If you read any NICE guidance they always trot out the same lines about “patient centred care” and then review the evidence that is deemed high quality (RCT’s and systematic reviews/meta analysis) and then produce recommendations from that. The issue in my opinion is that: – They are missing out of lots of good evidence because it is not deemed of a high enough standard (not an…