The Weekly Dose - Episode 59

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.**

Growing Up...

Summer of 2001, I was 11 years old and I went to Italy with my parents. We had a few nights in Rome and then Florence. My parents booked the itinerary and it was packed full of trips to museums, art galleries, the Vatican, the leaning tower of Pisa, the Colosseum...incredible sites of significance and culture.11 year old me was an ungrateful kid that had laser focus on eating as much pizza and gelato as he possible could and despised being dragged to see these things.Summer of 2003, 13 year old Karan went on a school trip to the Lake District, a really beautiful part of the UK.We spent 2 days there hiking & camping.I absolutely hated all the walking, the rain, the cold and would rather have spent my time holed up in front of a computer screen playing Halo.20 years later, looking back at those innocent memories…I now crave the same things I once hated.I can go to Italy with my parents again I guess but it won't ever be the same. The world in 2001 was different and seemingly better viewing it through a historical lens that is ever so slightly rose tinted. I've been increasingly aware that I should stop taking time and memories for granted...even if whatever I'm doing at that moment is uncomfortable. I tell myself that one day it'll probably make a great memory.Short of time travelling and re-living my childhood with the mind I had now, those moments of boredom, annoyance and frustration in my youth still provide me with great memories. There's no deep regret I didn't engage with it all...I was just a kid and acted how kids do. Different priorities.I'm just now a kid that's interested in that boring cultural stuff AND gelato AND pizza.

Should You Walk 10K Steps Or Is There A Better Number?...

The world's largest study has shown the more you walk, the lower your risk of death (obviously..I guess), even if you walker fewer than 5,000 steps!

The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology , found that walking at least 3967 steps a day started to reduce the risk of dying from any cause, and 2337 steps a day reduced the risk of dying from diseases of the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease).

However, the new analysis of 226,889 people from 17 different studies around the world has shown that the risk of dying from any cause or from cardiovascular disease decreases significantly with every 500 to 1000 extra steps you walk.An increase of 1000 steps a day was associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of dying from any cause, and an increase of 500 steps a day was associated with a 7% reduction in dying from cardiovascular disease.Additionally it was noted that even if people walked as many as 20,000 steps a day, the health benefits continued to increase. They have not found an upper limit yet.Clearly as an "observational" study (not randomised), limitations include that it cannot prove that increased step counts cause the reduction in the risk of death, only that it is associated with it.10k steps is a great arbitrary number to aim for...sure but don't let the failure of hitting this number discourage you from movement altogether.There is a human tendency to disregard the whole after a failure of a component. E.g you eat some "junk" food and break your diet, it is tempting to throw your diet out for the entire day and consume whatever you want.TL;DR - walk as much as you can, as often as you can even if it's shy of the magical "10K target". There is likely no harm and only things to gain from a health perspective.

You Have Plastic Inside Your Heart...

We know microplastics are everywhere. In the air, the food you eat, the oceans, the placenta of unborn babies...but now for the first time microplastics have been discovered in the depths of the human heart.We have some theories of how microplastics can affect our health - possibly carcinogenic, more than likely endocrine disruptors and could contribute to infertility and alterations in our microbiome but we don't quite have any true idea of the scale and breadth of it's health consequences.This new revelation is yet another bleak reminder of how pervasive the world’s plastic problem has become within just a few decades.

In a new study, scientists at Beijing Anzhen Hospital in China collected cardiac tissue samples from 15 patients undergoing heart surgery, as well as well blood samples taken both pre- and post-operation.

The team detected tens to thousands of individual microplastic pieces in most tissue samples. While it’s clear that the surgery itself introduced microplastics, there was also evidence that the foreign plastics were embedded in the tissues before the patients were laid on the operation table.

The team identified microscopic particles of poly(methyl methacrylate) – a plastic commonly used as a shatter-resistant alternative to glass – in the left atrial appendage, epicardial adipose tissue, and pericardial adipose tissue, which the researcher say “cannot be attributed to accidental exposure during surgery.”

Other types of plastic found in the sample included polyethylene terephthalate – widely used in clothing and food containers – and polyvinyl chloride – which is pervasive in building and construction.

Who Were The Other 8 Human Species?...

We like to think we are special..and we are to a degree. What other species can say it can travel space, develop thousands of languages, change a planet's climate and build a Colosseum...and invent cat memes.But we weren't the first humans...Around 6 million years ago, a branch of apes evolved to become the first species of the genus Homo. By the time Homo sapiens arrived on the scene some 300,000 years ago (us!), we were the ninth Homo species in the mix after habilis, erectus, rudolfensis, heidelbergensis, floresiensis, neanderthalensis, naledi, and luzonensis. In fact the species homo erectus lived for much longer periods of time than we have, yet we get all the attention. Campfires and hearths near the remains of H. erectus archaeology sites suggest they were the first humans to cook with heat — a uniquely human act that gives us digestible food, free from germs that can allow the brain and body to thrive. H. erectus was a very successful species and walked the Earth for a period lasting nearly nine times as long as our current age!Even though It is more than likely that most of these other human species went extinct before we appeared on the map...we did make some of these species our lovers...DNA extracted from Neanderthal specimens demonstrated that H. sapiens and H. neanderthalis mated; in fact, the genomes of modern humans include 1% to 8% Neanderthal DNA! You could say we carry the ghosts of some of these extinct human species in our genetic make up! We are walking historical archives of our world's history. Treat with care!

What You Should Watch...

"Untold: Johnny Football"I may have mentioned that I'm really enjoying Netflix's "Untold" collection which their deep dive into random sporting debacles, events or scandals littered throughout history.This one caught my attention.A kid called Johnny Manziel, a typical frat boy/farm boy from the heart of Texas, becomes a household name in the world of American Football seemingly overnight. A teenager becomes a national celebrity.His rapid rise and even gargantuan fall makes this an interesting watch to see how success can turn ugly and how talent isn't enough to guarantee success.

What You Should Read...

"A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again" - David Foster WallaceThis book is made up of a collection of the author's essays...but forget the notion boring school essays...these are genuinely enjoyable to read and incredibly funny. It's a unique story and tackles topics and subjects you may have never considered. Although the themes are random, it's highly engaging and provides a unique perspective on life.

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