The Weekly Dose - Episode 42

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.**

The Paradox Of Contentment...

Everybody craves contentment.But when you are content with something, do you risk being too comfortable and thus put a pause on your ambition?Or is constantly seeking more, better, bigger, detrimental to contentment and peace of mind?Ultimately there is no right answer but here's a few lived examples from my life which can prove problematic:1. When I started out on social media and gained 1 million followers. The joy I felt was soon eclipsed by the desire to hit the next milestone. Which is slightly absurd, but not an uncommon sensation we feel when we hit a goal in our lives and our brains quickly usurp the euphoria and give us our next target.2. In my 3rd year of surgery training I was operating with my boss on a major emergency case. We almost finished the case but I noticed an area of scar tissue and asked "Is it worth removing this area of scar tissue as well so the patient has less chance of developing a bowel obstruction?"...He looked at me wistfully and said "Better is the enemy of good". What he meant by this was that sometimes striving to do even more can sometimes cause harm; in this case, we had sorted the main problem and if we chased this other less relevant issue we could have caused unintended harm to another piece of anatomy..all for wanting to do MORE.Sometimes less is more, really. And sometimes good enough, is enough.This doesn't mean however you shouldn't have ambition. Ambition is how we progress - as humans, in the world of sport, science, music...everything.But take a moment to enjoy your successes before moving on to the next task..you might regret not celebrating your wins more. Also recognise that you don't have to constantly achieve things and outdo yourself every time. 

What You Should Watch...

LivingMy usual routine for long haul flights goes like this:1. Play a mobile game for half an hour2. Read a book for an hour3. Watch an in-flight movie (90 mins - 2 hours)4. Sleep for the rest of the journeyOn today's 9 hour flight back from India...I watched an absolute gem of a movie. An unexpected one too.I'm a huge Bill Nighy fan. The premise of this movie is about a boring bureaucratic government employee who lives a zombie like lifestyle until he receives some life changing news.I won't say much else but the biggest take home from this movie was - Don't live life like you're immortal. If you're lucky enough from the day your born til the day you pass you'll have around 80 summers, 80 winters etc...when put like that it doesn't seem so long. 

How To Insulate Your Gut From Delhi Belly...

I always wondered where this idiom came from. Supposedly it originated from the WW2 days when British soldiers stationed in Delhi were struck down with accursed diarrhoea after eating the local food.Alternatives include "The Karachi Crouch" (for Pakistani gastronomical incidents) and "Montezuma's revenge" (if greeted with the runs in Mexico).I can happily say I've never experienced any toilet related incidents in India - why? I can't say.Is there something in my microbiome which protects me from the potentially pathogenic microbes in street food? Unlikely.Is it because I'm safe with what I choose to eat - more likely but if you see what I eat in India, you'll think twice!In any case here are 2 things you must do when travelling and eating food in tropical climates:1. Your microbiome is maximally influenced by diet & geography. Even the same foods you eat in different countries will contain unique bacterial strains native to that country. So when eating abroad, don't over indulge from day 1. Slowly expose your gut to local foods.2. To ensure the war between good and bad bacteria in your gut is a good outcome for you, make sure you supply the "good guys" with plenty of ammo in the form of prebiotics (fibre rich foods). This ensures the preferential colonisation of "good" bugs thus minimising the colonising ability of the potentially pathogenic strains.P.S You could do both of the above and still be struck down with the runs but nothing in medicine is a guarantee but more a risk reducing procedure. 

I Need Your Advice...

I've been talking about this for a while and have been busy behind the scenes plotting away and...my podcast is very nearly out there!I'll do a proper intro and launch for this when its 100% ready BUT I am recording the first couple of episodes in a couple of weeks time with some cool guests!There will be plenty of opportunity for you guys to ask questions which I can hopefully answer on the podcast too.Which guests would you want me to bring onto my podcast to have a chat?  

Back To Business...

My 2 week holiday is over. Reality has welcomed me. My dog has returned and is back to his old shenanigans. I've got an all day operating list tomorrow and I've just responded to about 78 work emails.It feels strange going back to work given the junior doctor strikes has dominated the headlines over the past week. The NHS is in free fall. It is not crumbling because we are well past that point now.I'm not going to talk about junior doctor pay. I will be honest with you, would pay restoration be good? Yes..BUT..even if you kept me at the same pay but scrapped the toxic work culture, the bullying, the infantilisation that occurs and all the awful admin I need to do (because of poor management decisions and shockingly ancient IT systems and heaps of bureaucracy) and just let me operate all day every day..I'd be pretty happy.I love surgery and seeing patients but everything else is noise. In all likelihood I'll probably still be a doctor in 10 years time but I've never ben as disillusioned with the state of the healthcare system in the UK as I am right now. 

What You Should Listen To...

Thinking Again - TrampoleneThis beauty popped up during my hotel workout in a very tiny, non-air conditioned hotel gym in Sri Lanka. Kept the weights swinging. Also the music video is a funny watch

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