The Weekly Dose - Episode 35

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 few things I found interesting this week. If you enjoy this please feel free to forward this to friends. families 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.**

The Greatest Vampire Series I've Ever Watched...

I'm a sucker (pun unintentionally created) for a good vampyr (no this is NOT a spelling error) or zombie show. True blood, The Walking Dead, The Last Of Us, I am Legend etc etc there is plenty out there to satisfy your unearthly cravings.But this one. Oh yes. This one combines my love of science and sci-fi so perfectly that I've been binge watching it incessantly for 3 weeks now.The Strain.It sticks fastidiously to legitimate science to explain this sudden vampyr outbreak that plagues the show. It leans heavily on disease transmission epidemiology, health politics and basic virology and parasitology to drive its narrative. If that wasn't enough, the main character is Filch from Harry Potter. Enough said.Go watch this whether you like science, science fiction or just a really bloody good show,

An Uptick In Bum Grapes... 

I've seen a huge surge in haemorrhoid referrals to my clinics. What is going on? Is it the post christmas deluge of piles secondary to the low fibre festive period? Regardless of the mechanism or underling cause heres a few things you can do at home so I don't have to see you (meant in the nicest way possible because hospital parking is really expensive for patients!)1. Try raising your feet on a small stool to relax the puborectalis muscle and to minimise straining2. Eat more fibre; both soluble and insoluble types. A quick google search will reveal food types within each category.3. Make sure you maintain hydration levels. Fibre is great but it needs water to function optimally otherwise it can end up like concrete in your intestines and make matters worse4. Don't spend longer than 5-10 minutes on the toilet and if it's not coming, don't force it!Most haemorrhoids respond to one or a combination of the measures above, assuming they're not severe fully prolapsed haemorrhoids!Happy grape picking!

What You Should Read...

"You Talking To Me?" - Sam LeithYou know what a rhetorical question is right?P.S That was rhetoricalI've had this book for over a decade just collecting dust on my bookshelf. Again, another impulsive airport purchase that was consigned to the back realms of my library but it called out to me and in a week of boredom I finished it.I'm glad I did. Whether you want to be a better speaker in general, in conversation or in public. A better negotiator, have more confidence in your life or just learn some funny and cool things - this book will give you opportunity for all that. It goes over famous orators and public speakers from history - Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Obama and even Aristotle and analyses the art of speaking and rhetoric using witty case examples. 

  You Should Listen To This... 

Surfer Rosa - Pixies Another nostalgic punch this week.This week's offering transports me back to 2003, first year of boarding school, where my American room-mate Austin and another American friend Gabriel (who is now a movie director!) introduced me to the world of iconic movies and their stellar sound tracks.After being fed several classics; Donnie Darko, Reservoir Dogs...I was finally given the Fight Club DVD to watch.Ever since, "Where is my mind", an incredible song by The Pixies has etched itself into my mind.If you've never heard of the Pixies and this is your first time listening to them, I'm jealous. If you have heard of them and this album - go on, fire it up again.  

Social Media Authority Bias...

I'm in awe of the confidence of some "scientists" and "doctors" on social media and how freely they disseminate absolute betty swallocks worth of information. A vast majority of them lean into their credibility afforded to them by their status as a researcher, doctor or scientists. Some times this false authority bias leads them and you astray,From quoting terrible studies with 12 participants to make sweeping claims about the life affirming powers of the sauna to hawking you discount codes on their supplement sponsors it is quite a sight to witness.The bottom line is very simple. There may be a role for certain supplements once you have optimised and perfected every aspect of your core habits.If you're watching 2 hours of netflix before bed everynight, no amount of supplementation will improve your sleep. It will just paper over the cracks.If your diet lacks variety, fibre or whole foods then drinking green slime claiming to be fortified with all the vitamins you need from a "wellness" company will not suffice. You'll end up with expensive pee and poo.It is more than likely you can do FREE things to augment your current habits without buying things your favourite influencers suggests. Maybe drop the temperature of your room and keep a consistent sleep wake time to better your sleep first before reaching for that magnesium supplement a Twitter influencer suggested. Maybe up your fibre count before plugging in the influencer discount code to buy a pharmacy worth of probiotic pills and shakes.If someone online is selling you discount codes for supplements, they don't care about your health, just their bank balance. Rant over, for now.   

Important Updates...

I've got a meeting in London tomorrow about something exciting which I hope to share with you very, very soon. I've informed a handful of friends so far and it's been hard keeping it under wraps but the time of revealing the news beckons...patience my padawans!I've more than likely mentioned that I'm also in the midst of setting up my own podcast which I'm hoping will be launching sometime at the end of April/early May all things being well. I was hoping to call it "Hacking Health" but sadly there is a similarly titled podcast out there....If you, the hive mind, can come up with some great suggestions - that is to the point, short, funny, PUN-ny I would be grateful for suggestions!Keep an eye out for my news! 

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