If common sense was a drug, would it be a placebo?

Have you read the Placebo Effect Study which was recently subject to much animated discussion?

Placebo Use in the United Kingdom: Results from a National Survey of Primary Care Practitioners

In the survey, the doctors were asked if they used "pure" and "impure" placebos. 

"Pure" placebos were defined as interventions such as sugar pills or saline injections without direct pharmacologically active ingredients for the condition being treated.

"Impure" placebos were defined as substances, interventions or ‘therapeutic’ methods which have known pharmacological, clinical or physical value for some ailments but lack specific therapeutic effects or value for the condition for which they have been prescribed.

These may include:

• Positive suggestions
• Nutritional supplements for conditions unlikely to benefit from this therapy (such as vitamin C for cancer)
• Probiotics for diarrhoea
• Peppermint pills for pharyngitis
• Antibiotics for suspected viral infections 
• Sub-clinical doses of otherwise effective therapies 
• Off-label uses of potentially effective therapies
• Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) whose effectiveness is not evidence-based 
• Conventional medicine whose effectiveness is not evidence-based 
• Diagnostic practices based on the patient's request or to calm the patient such as non-essential physical examinations or non-essential technical examinations of the patient (blood tests, X-rays)

Here is the result: 

12% of family doctors used pure placebos while 97% family doctors used impure placebos at least once in their career. 1% of respondents used pure placebos, and 77% used impure placebos at least once per week. Most respondents stated placebos were ethical in some circumstances.

So 97 out of 100 general practitioners believe that sometimes remedies work because they just do; that different remedies may work for different people in different situations, and that positive suggestion can help healing.

That's the good news. The bad news is that, apparently, the doctors could be breaking regulations if they were "caught". 

If common sense was a drug, it probably would be a placebo too. 

Time to change the regulations?  

Antibiotics and threat to gut immunity

UK Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dave Sally Davies stated that antibiotic resistance presents a threat which is as serious as that of terrorism.

We are exposed to antibiotics through different channels:

• they are widely prescribed for a bacterial infection;
• they are not removed from our drinking water during water treatment;
• they are fed to farm animals (chickens, cows, sheep, goats) and  we consume them with meat; 
• they are found in crops treated with animal fertilizers (so vegetarians are in just as much danger).

A recent study of the effects of antibiotics on bowel flora conducted by the scientists of the University of Valencia  demonstrated that "gut bacteria presents a lower capacity to produce proteins, as well as deficiencies in key activities, during and after the treatment,....Specifically, the study suggests that the gut microbiota shows less capacity to absorb iron, digest certain foods and produce essential molecules for the organism."

So what can you do, on a daily basis, to support your gut flora? 

Your diet is very important. The following foods support gut flora: 

• Fresh fruit and vegetables; 
• Fermented milk products cheeses, kefir and yoghurts; 
• Fermented fruit and vegetables, such as home-made sauerkraut. 
• Take a probiotic supplement, especially if you have been taking antibiotics. 

Your body hygiene and exercise are important too. The following are crucial in supporting your immune systems: 

• Dry skin brushing
• Hot and cold showers
• Salt baths
• Vibration exercise (gentle rebounding, Powerplate and so on). 

And finally, hydration - sipping warm water with a bit of lemon in it throughout the day helps cleanse and rehydrate the cells.  

Support your gut immunity!

Prunes, porridge and poo is the way to go, says +Stephen Fry

Happy International Women's Day! (but his is by the by...)

Today, just like every day, we should have a poo. You eat, you drink... you pee, you poo. Part of life.

If you don't you are in trouble.

Stephen Fry, the wise man, agrees. With well over 100 retweets, many more people seem to agree too.

Prunes + Porridge = Poo, for most people at least. 

Let's start with prunes, or dry plums.

There are three reasons why prunes help bowel regularity.

• they have a high content of insoluble and soluble fibre. Fibre helps bulk up the poo and facilitates its journey towards the exit. 
• they are sweet, with a high content of fructose and sucrose. Fructose and sucrose are broken down in lower sections of the digestive tract including the large bowel.  They attract water throughout their long journey. So, in addition to a high fibre content that bulks up the stools, prunes also retain water in the stools making them heavier and easier to push down.
• And finally, prunes also contain a rare chemical compound that facilitates peristalsis, or bowel contractions.

Now, good old porridge made with oats: 

These are the reasons why porridge helps open the bowels:

• When oats are boiled, mucilage is created. Mucilage is gelatinous substance that contains protein and polysaccharides and is a healing agent for the gut tissue. It is also ideal home for good bowel bacteria. It is also slippery, does not break down in the small intestine, and helps the stools to glide along the large intestine in a smooth, happy ride. 
• Porridge is high in fibre, like prunes.
• Porridge also contains low-glycaemic sugars that take a while to break down and attract water in the process, making stools heavier and easier to pass. 

SO A BOWL OF PORRIDGE WITH FIVE PRE-SOAKED PRUNES THREE TO FIVE TIMES A WEEK IS DEFINITELY THE WAY FORWARD!

Gastroenteritis 101

Her Majesty the Queen has just been released from hospital where she spent the week-end suffering from  gastroenteritis.

My husband, I, and half a dozen of my close friends I have seen in the last week or so are also at home, very ill, struggling with this rotten affliction, also known as "a tummy bug", "stomach flu" or "gastric flu". The symptoms are:

- loose stools;
- feeling sick;
- bloating and cramping which are not relieved by a bowel movement;
- heavy chest;
- lung and nasal congestion;
- joint pain;
- earache;
- itchy eyes;
- heavy head, feeling that a bird has scratched your head;
- pain in the ribs....

...and everything in between.

You may have some or all of the symptoms.... The condition must be pretty drastic to require hospitalization. Most of us will just feel abysmal for 3-4 days, and then suffer from lack of energy for another couple of weeks or so.

The reason why we feel so poorly is the inflammation of the lining of the stomach, the small and the large intestine caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites. Wikipedia has a good article on gastroenteritis. 

And because the gut is at least 5-6 meters long, you do the maths. Imagine a very sore throat which is 15 feet long... 15 feet of painful swallowing, 15 feet of not being able to absorb nutrients. Not nice.

So what can you do, realistically, to speed up the healing process?

First of all, if you have blood in your stools, please make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. 

Second of all, if you have heavy chest pain that radiates in your arms, please go to the doctor immediately. 

If you have checked yourself out and this condition is indeed gastroenteritis, nothing more serious than that, then here are the simple steps that you can take:

• see if you can stay at home as long as you possibly can. Cancel all non-essential meetings. Work remotely. Hit the sack. The more you can rest, the easier it will be for the body to fight the disease. 
• the most essential reason why people feel rotten for longer than they have to is DEHYDRATION. Stay hydrated. Sip room temperature water with a tiny pinch of salt in it (not enough to taste it but enough to create an electrolyte solution) all day long. 
• "warm, wet, boring diet": chicken soup with noodles, boiled rice,rice congee, steamed veggies and warm fruit compote. Nothing cold, raw, spicy or heavy. Small portions. You don't need to eat loads to survive while you stay in bed. 
• slippery elm and marshmallow. When we (+Shoela Detsios who is our super-professional  product formulator, +Ian McDougall of Practitioner Supplies, the manufacturer, and me, +Galina Imrie, the crazy inventor) created this product, it was mainly for people suffering from IBS. But we are being told that it is amazing in fighting gut infections!
• a good high-quality probiotic supplement. My favourite brands are Optibac, Lamberts and Higher Nature. 
• watch funny movies. Laughter is a great healer, it produces endorphins that increase pain resistance  and hence reduces the need for painkillers. 

Slippery Elm and Marshmallow

More useful information on recovering from gastroenteritis:

5 things you need to know about gastroenteritis

How to treat gasrtroenteritis