The Weekly Dose - Episode 45

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 Choice...

We live in an age where we are often presented with more options that we have ever had in our history.More choice, more freedom, more autonomy, more options. Great right?Not always. Psychologically speaking anyway, this choice overload can become a paradox on its own.A point where more actually becomes less.Imagine that you are sitting in a restaurant you have never been to before and eating a certain type of cuisine for the first time.When you look at the menu you are encountered by a dozen pages of appetizers, mains, desserts, sides...an endless choice of food items. Almost dumbfounded, you sit in front of the menu and have no idea what meal to pick. There are so many choices that you are overwhelmed.

This phenomenon is known as the paradox of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us.The paradox of choice stipulates that while we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases your satisfaction, having an abundance of options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave you feeling unsatisfied with our choice.It might lead you to a "grass is greener" mindset where you might end up more dissatisfied with the choice that we eventually make.Makes sense to see why people often spend more time scrolling to see what they want to watch on Netflix or on the TV instead of actually watching stuff.It also might explain why we often default into the comfort of re-watching old movies and TV shows that we know from memory we enjoyed for a guaranteed hit of pleasure inducing neurotransmitters.I try to limit this choice abundance in my every day life by making simple changes. I practically wear the same style of outfit whenever I go out to see friends.I give no thought to fashion trends but focus on m comfort, simplicity and remove any complex decision making that often comes with picking an outfit.As they say, less is more.

I'm In Kentucky...

I landed in Louisville, Kentucky last night.I'm staying with a friend in this quaint community that is an exact replica of those super safe suburban neighbourhoods you see in the movies where the roads are tree lined, all the neighbours are friends and it exudes safety and community.  The last slice of Americana.Exactly the sort of place I'd love my future kids to grow up.Anyway, I also tried some Waldo's chicken last night and I was surprised by two things:1) I got the "spicy" option and it wasn't very spicy. It may be unfair to use my Asian tastebuds to judge spice, however.2) Cheese biscuits are incredible. I find it fascinating also that Americans refer to muffins as biscuits because what I ate yesterday most definitely was a muffin.I'll be in Kentucky til Thursday evening and hope to sample some good Louisville-ian cuisine! (and maybe some Bourbon...(note: I haven't had any alcohol since 2019 so a whiff of whiskey might turn me into a Jekyll). 

Something You Should Read...

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho.

Maktub is an Arabic word that stands for, it is written.

I came across this first when I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.I read this book at a time when I was lamenting having to revise for my surgical exams.I don’t often read a book more than once, but with this one, in particular, I find that I always learn something new after each read.

The story is about a boy reaching adulthood in Egypt. The main character searches for a treasure he cannot find.

The main character ends up meeting many mentors that are wiser than him.Through his encounters, he realizes his mentors aren’t necessarily teaching him lessons he needs but nonetheless through his actions learns things about himself.  

The mentors do teach him about the daily opportunities and distractions that surround us on a daily basis.

The first mentor he encounters eventually tells him about a journey he must go on.

One of my favourite themes that the book exemplifies is that Challenges should be welcomed.

The true test of one’s character doesn’t come from when they succeed but, from how they react to failure.

Maktub my friends.

What You Should Watch...

All the new releases on the in flight movies were trash.So I went with a classic that I vaguely remember watching almost 2 decades ago but it intrigued me nonetheless. Contact.The movie revolves around the premise of extraterrestrial life and the philosophical question of are we truly alone in this universe.One of my favourite scenes early on was an interaction between the main protagonist (when she was a child) and her father: "Dad, do you think there are people on other planets?" Dad: The universe is a pretty big place. It's bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it's just us... seems like an awful waste of space. 

What You Should Know About "Scary" Glucose Spikes...

You may have seen countless video clips and information circulating online about the dangers of "glucose spikes".The simple truth is, if you have a normal glucose tolerance, i.e. you are NOT prediabetic or diabetic, blood glucose spikes are a normal physiological response and there is no evidence in the literature currently which suggests that this has any impact on your health.In fact, obsessing over your glucose readings (if you are not diabetic) and trying to keep this constantly low can be detrimental especially if you consider the manner in which people go about this: cutting out carbs, going ultra heavy on dietary fats with total disregard to the effect on blood lipids.If you are diabetic then yes there is benefit into regulating your glucose spikes to reduce the risk of diabetic complications. Even then you can add in simple lifestyle changes: going for a walk after your meal, swapping to zero calorie versions of the things you enjoy, eating a high protein, high fibre diet.TL;DR: if you're not diabetic you do not need to wear a continuous glucose monitor or prevent glucose spikes. If you are diabetic, you are probably far more of a glucose expert than people who peddle misinformation online whilst fear mongering you into buying the wares they try to sell you!Rant over. For now.

Jet Lag...

These days I usually deal with jet lag pretty well. Both in India when I went a few weeks ago and so far in the USA.Top tips for syncing your body clock to local time:1) sleep on the plane no matter what time it is2) the first morning you arrive in your new destination, go for a walk and take in as much morning sunlight as possible3) if your new destination's time is ahead, in the week leading up to your trip try adjusting your bed time 2-30 mins earlier each day. Similarly if your travel destination time zone is behind, adjust your bed time by 20-30 mins later each day for a week.4) Embrace the naps

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