The Weekly Dose - Episode 40

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!If you've enjoyed any of my content over the years, I know you will enjoy my new book "This Book May Save Your Life", available to pre-order here: My First Ever Book!**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.**

I'm Leaving The UK...

The pandemic restrictions, hectic shifts in the hospital and "life stuff" meant no proper time away for over 3 years. As you read this I will be somewhere over the Arabian Sea en route to Mumbai, India.If you didn't know already, I was actually born in Mumbai and only arrived in the UK in 1995 (after a year in Hong Kong and a year in Nairobi). Pre-pandemic I would visit India once a year so the 3 year hiatus feels particularly long.I will still be making & posting videos because I don't quite see this as work! I will have plenty of time to activate my parasympathetic nervous system with plenty of resting and especially digesting!Keep an eye on my stories on Instagram and content across social media for something *slightly* different... 

What You Should Watch...

I really like Matthew McConaughey is one of the actors who essentially plays the same character in every single movie but it just works - Vinnie Jones, Samuel L Jackson, Dwayne Johnson...Aside from fan boying over Matthew, this movie is an easy watch. Admittedly I watched this immediately after an Interstellar / Hans Zimmer Binge. 

The Holy Grail Of Cancer Screening...

I recently spoke about a new type of blood test that can supposedly screen and "predict" cancers a year before they physically form. A test which looks as stem cells for specific cancer biomarkers.Clearly this is the future of cancer diagnostics, this and various types of blood tests which can identify an abnormal cell or group of cells at the earliest possible stage to avoid major surgeries or brutal therapies like radiotherapy or chemotherapy.Admittedly we need more large scale trials, more follow up and more data before this can be hailed as a game changer but the future looks bright.Playing devil's advocate here, if you took this cancer blood test and you were told you have stem cells which will develop into a bowel cancer but didn't know when this would occur...would you take this test knowing that your future will consist of very frequently colonoscopies, CT scans, biopsies, hospital appointments and all the associated anxiety that comes with those things?I suspect the answer for *most* people will be yes. Cancer is awful but in addition to a diagnostic test the next evolution would be to create something to eradicate cancer when picked up at those early stages.  

  Do You Need Magnesium For Sleep?... 

Full disclosure: I tried Magnesium supplements for a month and anecdotally I felt it perhaps *slightly* improved my sleep depth but equally this could be marked up as a placebo effect knowing I was taking some sort of pill that claims to do something.Magnesium Glycinate is heralded as a great agent to help you get better, deeper sleep. Just don't mix it up with Magnesium citrate which will have the effect of power cleaning your intestines. Not conducive to restful sleep!The evidence in the literature linking magnesium to sleep is limited. Any evidence that does exist is weak or drawn from very small, poorly conducted studies.In summary: Don't reply on a pill to fix your sleep as your first port of call. Do the boring basics: 1) keep your room dark & cool 2) keep a sleep schedule 3) get exposure to morning light 4) don't binge TV before bed 5) no large meals before bed.  

What You Should Listen To...

Tony Robinson's Cunningcast My childhood was heavily infused with Blackadder and I always saw a lot of myself in Baldrick..in a good way. Sort of.Baldrick aka Tony Robinson seems to be as big a history geek as me and this podcast meanders through all sorts of weird and wonderful detours through history. I've just finished Episode 1 "Why Pies Were Invented" and I'll be tuning into a couple more to satiate my weird history appetite! 

What's In My Travel Bag?...

I travel light!India is a cheap destination for clothing so I am planning on getting a few shirts tailored out there so I am taking the very basics in terms of clothing. Anything I lack can be purchased out there and dumped in my relatives house in India (they don't know this yet).Supplements: Vitamin D, I previously had Magnesium here but see above...Medication: I used to take some simple non-steroidal pain relief & anti sickness medication on holidays as a just in case but India has an abundance of pharmacies so if in need i can stop in there. Occasionally useful if going off on the beaten track to take antibiotics & anti diarrhoea agents (loperamide) but not for the average person going on a relaxing holiday!Additional: Sunscreen, Foaming cleanser - gotta keep that skin young! When in India I usually take some sort of bandana/mask because in the urban areas like Mumbai the pollution is horrific especially in peak traffic times!Electronics: Travel adaptors, chargers, Ipad, Iphone &...headphones.Books: Unfortunately no recommendation for you but I'm taking my Trauma Course manual. Every 4 years Surgeons have to do their Trauma Course for re-verification purpose so I've got a nice 200 page read to look forward to! 

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