Most people have heard of the placebo effect but is it real and why does it occur?
In this episode I look at how placebos may exert their effects and some examples of where they have worked. 
Is the placebo something that can be used to our advantage? And why do some people experience a nocebo?
Links:
Ted Kaptchuk and his work on placebo:  https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/the-placebo-phenomenon

 Mechanisms of the placebo effect: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513296/

 Knee surgery (placebo as good as surgery): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa013259

 Placebo and treatment resistant depression: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784479

 Nocebo: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/harmful-placebos
Balint and the doctor as a drug: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-power-rest/201103/the-doctor-is-drug?amp

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The Placebo Effect

Dr Ayan Panja has been putting health into context as a doctor for over 25 years. He shares his expert generalist perspective on important themes around health &amp; wellbeing, pondering what impacts our health journeys, societal attitudes and meaning in our lives. SAVING LIVES IN SLOW MOTION is a bite-sized, enriching and mind-expanding podcast. Powerful messages, science, medicine and storytelling with a professional but informal tone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Health & Fitness

Mental Health

Perfectionism has risen in the workplace in recent years. It can be a huge positive in terms of work standards but also predisposes people to stress, anxiety and burnout.
In this episode I look at ways to capitalise on its strengths and mitigate any negatives. Not sure if you are one? Take the quiz below.

 Links: 
Take the quiz - are you a perfectionist?: https://www.livewellwithsharonmartin.com/qsm_quiz/perfectionist-quiz/
Perfectionism in younger generations: https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/unreasonable-demands-lead-to-substantial-rise-in-perfectionism-among-young-people/
Downsides of perfectionism: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180219-toxic-perfectionism-is-on-the-rise
DSM-V - classification of perfectionism: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886914001354
Mindfulness: https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/

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Perfectionism - strength or weakness?

This is an argument that rages on in the world of nutrition and medicine. In this episode I look at what food is, what it does to us in terms of our health and the mechanisms behind it and give you my verdict on whether I consider it to be medicine or not.
Ultra processed foods - review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10899807/
Protein benefits: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-to-eat-more-protein
Blue Zones diets: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-is-the-blue-zones-diet
Herbs and spices with health benefits: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-healthy-herbs-and-spices
Akkermansia mucinophilia in IBD: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1089600/full
T Reg cells - what are they? :https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.878382/full
Apples and their in vitro benefits: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5490512/
The all important Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (now a therapeutic target for big pharmaceutical companies): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221323172300023X
Short chain fatty acids and heart disease: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24388214/# Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Food as Medicine

High blood pressure is the biggest modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is still the leading cause of death worldwide.
It’s often called a silent killer because it has usually has no symptoms.
This episode give you the lowdown on high blood pressure (also known as essential hypertension).

 Links:
WHO page: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension
NICE guideline for hypertension: https://www.england.nhs.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2019/11/NICE-NG136-Visual-Summary.pdf
A summary of high blood pressure: https://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension
Vitamin D and blood pressure in African-Americans: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3775458/
Salt and potassium: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7697211/
Low carb diets and blood pressure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6695889/
Potassium enriched salt and blood pressure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10863666/
Salt substitutes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9532913/
Measuring blood pressure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfwBpBXUYHs
Why blood pressure matters: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-combating-high-blood-pressure/health-matters-combating-high-blood-pressure#
Resperate - the evidence is mixed, the effects small and it is not a substitute for any medication:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/resperate/faq-20057998#
https://northyorkshireccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NYCCG-Resp-Devices-Hypertension_v1.0_01.07.2021.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High Blood Pressure - the biggest silent killer?

Mind Body Medicine is fascinating but has been poorly understood over the years. I believe it is more important to try to understand better now more than ever as we are surrounded by medically unexplained symptoms and non-communicable symptoms and diseases. 
In this episode I look at the origins and theories behind it as well as link to the evidence in the show notes.
Links:
The Holmes-Rahe Stress scale: https://www.mindtools.com/avn893g/the-holmes-and-rahe-stress-scale
The effectiveness of mind-body medicine (narrative): https://journals.lww.com/mjhs/fulltext/2023/11020/effectiveness_of_mind_body_medicine.2.aspx
Somatising: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/somatic-symptom-disorder/what-is-somatic-symptom-disorder
Opinion piece - a new ear of mind body medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7486127/#
Views on Dr Sarno’s work: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/10/2/16338094/dr-john-sarno-healing-back-pain
Mind Body Medicine in Crohn’s Disease: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnint.2022.960301/full
Mindfulness and meditation - effects on stress: https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness/meditation
Repressed emotions and physical health: https://www.healthline.com/health/repressed-emotions
Heart rate variability and stress: https://www.webmd.com/heart/what-is-heart-rate-variability
Mechanisms on how writing can help: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7957853/
Journaling and heart failure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927423/
Psychoneuroimmunology during COVID-19: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9075982/
THE HEALTH FIX: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Health-Fix-Dr-Ayan-Panja/dp/1914239326/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid;=&sr;= Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mind Body Medicine - a new and old frontier

This is a super hot topic in health care in some parts of the world at the moment. In this episode I look at how these drugs work and the pros and cons of taking them for weight loss purposes. 
Obesity, in some instances, is in essence a form of ‘malnutrition’ because of the nature of food consumed and how rates have increased rapidly over the last 40 years. 
Body Mass Index definition: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-21264134
Heart disease risk reduced by weight loss jab: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd188m73vn1o
Ultra processed food and your brain:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/junk_food_brain
Supersize Me: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me
Obesity health risks: https://www.healthline.com/health/obesity/how-obesity-affects-body
The genetics of obesity: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-021-00414-z
The story behind semaglutide: https://www.vox.com/22553793/gila-monster-lizard-venom-inspired-obesity-drug-semaglutide
Weight loss stats on semaglutide: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9486455/
Semaglutide can stop working and even if it works it may need to be taken forever:  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/why-weight-loss-drugs-stop-working-how-to-break-past-ozempic-plateau#Hitting-a-weight-loss-plateau-after-a-year

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The Placebo Effect

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