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The Weekly Dose - Episode 52

The Weekly Dose - Episode 52

Missing Submersibles, Menopause & Collagen Supplements

June 25, 2023

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 !If you enjoy interesting conversations and podcast, check out my brand new podcast "The Referral With Dr Karan"!**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 Truth About Collagen Supplements...

Is there any scientific evidence for the claim that collagen supplement will “promote a youthful appearance”?Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the body and plays a role in building cells for skin, hair and nails as well as connective tissue in cartilage, muscle, and tendons. Technically, collagen supplements – when taken as pills, powders or consumed as a hydrogel shot – contain a slightly different form of collagen to that made in our bodies. This is because pure collagen would be hard for us to digest. To put collagen into a supplement, it is broken down in a process called hydrolysis. The result, hydrolysed collagen, can be consumed and digested safely.But...does it actually work? A review of 19 studies including a combined total of more than 1,000 participants, found that hydrolysed collagen supplements subjectively appeared to reduce the *appearance* of skin ageing if taken for at least 90 days.

However, the very same review cautioned that the individual studies included in the review were limited by their small numbers of participants and that these studies are often funded by the companies that manufacture the supplements. A clear conflict of interest.The bottom line is that we still need to establish our knowledge of the effects and physiologic mechanism of collagen supplementation. Many of the claims that companies and influencers online are grossly over-hyped and unsubstantiated.To maintain your youthful appearance, keep it simple (and cheaper!) by sticking with moisturises, a cleanser and sunscreen. The latter is particularly helpful as the main cells that synthesise collagen for the skin are called fibroblasts and they're highly sensitive to damage rom sunlight.TL;DR - skip the collagen supplements and stick with evidence based skincare.

**The Two MOST Important Factors In Any Diet...**

Let me simplify food for you.Avoid overly restrictive diets (unless you have a specific medical condition of course) and focus on these two components.1. High proteinFor every 100 calories of protein we consume, we are only ever able to use 70 calories, with the other 30 calories needed to handle the protein. Thus the "thermic effect" of protein is high.Incidentally, diets high in protein are favourable for those looking to loose weight because from a chemical perspective, protein takes longer to digest and takes more energy to metabolise and is more satiating than fat or carbs. You feel fuller and you tend to eat less. The high protein content of your diet also means a more optimised muscle protein synthesis. 2. High fibre Fibre is actually a type of plant-based carbohydrate and if you've ever watched my videos, you will know how vitally important it is for our gut health. The average adult in the western world consumes around 16g of fibre a day and ideally we need to be at almost double that figure - 30gFibre slows down the rate of digestion resulting in the release of nutrients over a longer period of time and a reduction in the amount of calories absorbed. For the former reason, it is also highly satiating.

Hostages In A Hospital?...

The words hospital and hostage are related....Both words come from the Latin word "hospes" meaning guest. A hospital was originally a guest house and a hostage was an involuntary guest...The word hotel and hostel were both shortened versions of hospital back when it still meant guesthouse..You might be wondering why the word hotel doesn't have an "s" but there is an "s" in Hospital & hostel.That's because hotel came to English from it's modern French route whilst hostel & hospital came to English through old French. Around the time of the Norman invasion, modern French started losing much of their "S" sounds before hard consonants: Chateau doesn't have an S while castle does (Chateau is modern French, castle is old French). There's also Pate and paste, crepe and crisp and many more!

What You Need To Watch...

"Breaking Point" - NetflixThe latest season of this sports documentary is out and it keeps getting better.I'm not a huge tennis fan but for some reason I can't stop watching this behind the scenes look at different tennis player's lives in the run up and in the midst of major tournaments. The ups, downs, physical & mental barriers they go through.One particular moment resonated with me and it's about Ons Jabeur's journey. A woman from Tunisia breaking the mould and becoming the face of African/Arab women in tennis and defying the odds with her team which includes her husband and a little-known Tunisian coach.

What You Need To Listen To...

The podcast episode I have in store for you this Tuesday is truly mind blowing. I talk about all things peri-menopause and menopause with my guest and everyone needs to know this. This isn't just information for women..it's essential listening and will likely change your perspective on a number of things.It's not just a topic that is unfairly seen as taboo but it's got far too much stigma attached to it. When something is stigmatised, it receives less attention, less research and less awareness and downstream to all this the people who are affected by it, suffer.This Tuesday - you can listen on all the usual podcast platforms or wait til 6pm UK time to watch it on my youtube channel!

The Fear Of The Deep...

We may be evolutionary hardwired to be cautious of deep bodies of water. In some, this caution may extend to a fear of large, deep bodies of water...this is then known as thalassophobia. I'd suspect most people suffer a mild form of this phobia.It may well be because much of humanity has some aversion to deep bodies of water, the news that a deep sea submersible going missing hit headlines - I mean being trapped in a claustrophobic tube at the bottom of the dark, watery depths is a nightmare come true. Perhaps our over-riding mild thalassophobia dampens public interest in deep sea research even though the depths play a crucial role in the global ecosystem.Some may even call this fear irrational if thought about from a different perspective. For example, the Mariana Trench (the deepest part of the ocean) is at 11km deep. The same 11km above land is only half the length of Manhattan.Even our language of the deep is shrouded in fear. A depth of 3000-6000m is known as abyssal, which literally means a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm. Over 6000m as hadal, derived from Hades, the Lord of the underworld where souls go after death!