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The Weekly Dose...

... the latest from Dr Karan

  Here is your weekly dose...  

Hi all!Here is your weekly dose of the Sunday Six! A list of what I found interesting this week. If you enjoy this please feel free to forward this to friends, family and enemies alike!**You'll find more in depth analysis of some of these subjects on my social platforms in the links just below, including Dr Karan Investigates! for deep dives into interesting topics on my YouTube channel.**

What I Think More People Should Know...

Most fitness professional CANNOT answer this question correctly. The most common misconception among doctors, personal trainers and even dieticians is that when you lose fat it is converted to energy or heat. Surprisingly 80% of it is eliminated through the lungs as carbon dioxide when you exhale and goes into thin air! Say you lose 10kg of fat; 8.4kg are exhaled as CO2 and the remaining 1.6kg becomes water, which is excreted in urine, faeces, sweat, tears and other bodily fluids! 

What I Found Out About Your Ancestors

There has undoubtedly been an increase in the incidence of autoimmune disease over the last several decades and there are several hypotheses for this; environmental pollution, more processed diets, less childhood exposure to various pathogens, exposure to more "forever" chemicals like those found in plastics..the list goes on. Recently however, scientists have identified that genetic traits which allowed people to survive the Black Death over 700 years ago (ERAP2 gene variant) may increase the risk of autoimmune diseases! Genetics are a funny thing...for example those people who have sickle cell trait have protection and immunity to malaria. cystic fibrosis (chronic lung condition) offer protection against cholera etc! 

What I'm Listening To...

Stephen Fry's Seven Deadly Sins - SpotifyI don't think Stephen Fry needs any introduction but I recently came across this podcast. Essentially he talks non stop for around 30 minutes and believe me it's highly entertaining. In each episode he covers different "sins" and in this first episode he touches on the history and meaning of "Pride" in conversational style and raises some thought provoking arguments like is pride now an undesirable trait that should be labelled selfishness and arrogance instead? If you enjoy language, history or social ideologies give it a listen! 

What I Think About Herniae

I'm always to call the plural of hernia, hernias. My pedantic former boss would eat me for breakfast if he ever caught me doing that; he was a stickler for the classics. Hernia is derived from the latin verb "to rupture or protrude"; as it literally involves usually a piece of intestine or fat poking out from the inside. Some rules for herniae: 1) They won't ever get better or reduce in size on their own 2) Losing weight might reduce some symptoms to a degree and help delay surgery 3) If you have an incredibly painful hernia that is red, hot and "stuck" without going back inside; please seek urgent medical attention! 4) If you have surgery for fixing a hernia, do not engage in strenuous activity for 2-4 weeks, maybe longer depending on the size and location of your hernia

What I'm Reading For the Second Time...

The House of God - Samuel ShemThis book is a rite of passage for any considering a career in medicine. It depicts the old fashioned hierarchies present in hospitals, the idiosyncrasies of different specialties and the trials and tribulations (often macabre) that staff face every day. This book teaches you the not so gentle art of healing and what your doctor doesn't want you to know. Here are some quotes so you know what you're getting into:“Life's like a penis; When it's soft you can't beat it; When it's hard you get screwed"“There is no body cavity that cannot be reached with a number fourteen needle and a good strong arm.”"At a cardiac arrest, the first procedure is to take your own pulse"

  A Career Rout I'm Pondering (Jokingly, sort of).... 

Another week in the merry-go-round of UK politics see another episode of musical chairs and people swapping jobs faster than I used to swap pokemon cards. I genuinely despair at UK politics and in particular the health sector. It bemuses me as to why health care workers themselves (ones with decades of experience) are never considered for a role as Health Secretary. I jokingly said I would throw my hat in the ring for the job but with perhaps a kernel of truth. In all honesty, I'd have no clue what I'm doing but I'm not sure thats far from what's happening now anyway! 

As always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which of this weeks Sunday six is your favourite? Is there something you want more, or less of? I'm open to any suggestions so please let me know! Just send a  tweet to @drkaranrajan and use the hashtag #theweeklydose at the end so I can find it!

Have a wonderful week, all.

Much love,

Karan