Is fasting a free health fix – or is it just a fad? | Life and style | The Guardian

Restricting the amount you eat is said to fight disease, extend lifespan and improve wellbeing. As well as dieters, people with diabetes and MS could benefit

Source: Is fasting a free health fix – or is it just a fad? | Life and style | The Guardian

Most GP’s have given a Patient a Placebo Drug

Most family doctors have given a placebo to at least one of their patients, survey findings suggest.

In a poll, 97% of 783 GPs admitted that they had recommended a sugar pill or a treatment with no established efficacy for the ailment their patient came in with.

The PLOS One study authors say this may not be a bad thing – doctors are doing it to help, not to deceive patients.

The Royal College of GPs says there is a place for placebos in medicine.

Beta-Blockers don’t appear to Work

They have treated heart disease for 40 years, but it now seems that beta blockers don’t work. What went wrong?

IT IS very rare for new evidence to question or even negate the utility of a well-established class of drugs. But after four decades as a standard therapy for heart disease and high blood pressure, it looks like this fate will befall beta blockers. Two major studies published within about a week of each other suggest that the drugs do not work for these conditions. This is a big surprise, with big implications.

The first beta blocker, Inderal, was launched in 1964 by Imperial Chemical Industries for treatment of angina. This drug has been hailed as one of great medical advances of the 20th century. Its inventor, James Black, was awarded the Nobel prize in medicine in 1988.

The 20 or so beta blockers now on the market are very widely used – almost 200 million prescriptions were written for them in the US in 2010. They are standard issue for most people with heart disease or high blood pressure. This may now change.

A large study published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that beta blockers did not prolong the lives of patients – a revelation that must have left many cardiologists shaking their heads (JAMA, vol 308, p 1340).

Ben Goldacre: What Doctors don’t know about the drugs they prescribe

This Video is well worth a look.

Eating Cherries can help with Gout

Eating cherries can reduce the risk of gout attacks, a study has suggested.

US researchers found patients with gout who ate cherries over a two-day period had a 35% lower risk of attacks compared to those who did not.

The study in Arthritis & Rheumatism said cherries contain anthocyanins, antioxidants which contain anti-inflammatory properties.

UK experts said the research offered “good evidence” of the benefits of eating cherries for people with gout.

Gout is a common type of Arthritis that can cause sudden and very severe attacks of pain and swelling in the joints, particularly in the feet.

It is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream, which causes urate crystals to start to form in and around the joints and under the skin.

Why stress gets on your nerves

MOST PEOPLE would agree that certain events in their life, such as bereavement, changing jobs, examinations, or even rush-hour travel in big cities, are stressful. We try to avoid stress, but if we cannot, we must try to adapt to it. This adaptation is sometimes referred to as ‘toughening up’. Although stress is difficult to define, we know that both avoidance and toughening up are crucial ways of coping with it.

When we cannot cope, stress can lead to irritability and fatigue, and other more serious disorders, such as gastric ulcers, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression. Yet not everyone subjected to severe stress suffers from a heart attack or a bout of depression: some individuals are much more vulnerable than others. Many neuroscientists now suspect that the difference in the ability to cope may lie in biochemical changes in the brain involved in the process of adaptation to stress.

The Body Electric

HAS anyone told you lately you’re electric? Well, you are. Your every pore oozes with the stuff. Must be all those ions you’ve been pumping. And we’re not just talking about nerve impulses here: every surface of your body, from your skin to your cell membranes, is humming with electrical activity.

Biologists have known for more than 200 years that nerve impulses are transmitted electrically. But only recently have they started eavesdropping on the electrical chatter of the rest of your body, and have discovered that electricity, in the form of electric fields, plays a vital role in numerous biological processes from embryonic development to cell division, nerve regeneration and wound repair. “The phenomenon is broadly applicable and I think we have only scratched the surface of something that is evolutionarily highly conserved and widely used,” says Colin McCaig of the University of Aberdeen, UK, who has been working on the biological effects of electric fields since the 1980s.

The Body gets a Healing boost from its inner Electric Fields

THE body’s ability to heal itself partly depends on natural electric fields, it has been proved for the first time. The work could lead to the development of drugs that speed up healing by enhancing these natural fields.

Cell migration and division plays a key role in development and healing. Most research in this area is on chemical factors, but several studies have shown that applying electric fields can affect migration and division as well. After successful trials in animals, for example, a team in the US is trying to encourage the healing of spinal cord injuries by applying an external field.

Neck & Back Pain.

Neck & Back Pain

Patient: Woman 29 years
Occupation: Nurse
Pain: Can reach 6/10

Complaint: Back and Neck Pain can often occur simultaneously. This Woman works as a Nurse, and has developed left sided Neck & Back Pain over the few months. She recalls hurting her low back about 6 months ago, while lifting a heavy patient. She is unsure how neck pain has developed.

Treatment: This Woman responded well to Spinal Manipulation of her back and neck. The range of movement in her neck and low back was initially poor, but quickly improved with treatment.

She visited weekly for 4 treatments, and was pain free by this stage.

Prognosis: This Woman visits me if and when she feels the need.

She now goes to Pilates classes twice per week, and feels much stronger and able to cope with the demands of her job.

Low Back Pain & Sciatica.

Low Back Pain & Sciatica.

Patient: Man 36 years
Occupation: Joiner
Pain: 7/10

Complaint: Sudden onset of Low Back Pain and Sciatica while lifting at work 3 days earlier.

Treatment: No treatment was given at the first consultation, as the condition was too painful and inflamed – Treatment would have made the condition worse at this stage. The patient was instructed to rest at home for 3 days and take analgesics.

Treatment began 3 days later with Acupuncture and Osteopathic Spinal Manipulation.

The patient was 80% improved 2 days later, when he had a second treatment.

The patient received a third treatment 1 week later, and was almost pain free by this stage.

The patient was advised to return if he felt it necessary.

Prognosis: Good, but must take care to lift within his physical limit.