MD, PhD, MAE, FMedSci, FRSB, FRCP, FRCPEd.

diet

1 2 3 9

This open-label, randomized, controlled trial was aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Vuong Hoat (VH) natural health supplement for reducing the negative impact of low back pain, improving the quality of life, and enhancing functional activities in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDD).

The study involved 60 patients suffering from low back pain caused by LDD. The participants were randomly assigned to:

  • a study group (SG) comprising 30 subjects who received VH in conjunction with the same electro-acupuncture,
  • a control group (CG) comprising 30 subjects who received treatment with electro-acupuncture.

These treatments lasted for 28 days.

The clinical progression and tolerability of both groups were compared based on seven objective measurements:

  • visual analog scale index,
  • Schober test,
  • fingertip-to-floor distance,
  • spinal flexion,
  • spinal extension,
  • spinal tilt,
  • spinal rotation.

Already after 14 days of treatment, the SG showed a significant improvement in overall outcomes compared to the CG. Specifically, 43.3% of SG patients achieved very good results, 53.3% had good results, and 3.4% had moderate results, whereas corresponding figures for the CG were 6.7%, 76.7%, and 16.6%, respectively (P < .05).

After 28 days of treatment, both groups demonstrated a shift toward very good results, with the SG continuing to show better outcomes than the CG (P < .05). In the SG, the very good results increased to 76.7%, good results decreased to 20%, and moderate results were 3.3%. On the other hand, the CG had 46.7% very good results, 43.3% good results, and 10% moderate results. Notably, no side effects were reported from the VH treatments during the study.

The authors concluded that their findings of this study indicate that VH health supplement is a safe and effective approach for managing low back pain and limited spinal movement in patients with LDD.

I have several concerns and questions, some are trivial others are not:

  • What does VH contain? I have no free access to the actual paper but even the abstract should mention this information.
  • How do the investigators know that low back pain was caused by LDD? Lots of people have LDD without pain and vice versa.
  • The A+B vs B design is known to produce false positive results due to its failure to control for placebo effects; why not use a placebo (which would have been very easy in this case)?
  • Contrary to the authors statement, the outcome measures are NOT objective.
  • It seems highly implausible that no side effects of VH occurred. Even placebos cause side-effects in ~6% of all cases.
  • Conclusions about safety are NEVER warranted based on just 30 patients.
  • Why does an allegedly respectable journal publish such rubbish?

Probiotics are live microorganisms promoted claimed to provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut microbiota. Prebiotics are compounds in food that foster growth or activity of beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Both are sold as dietary supplements, and there is hardly a human disease or symptom for which these supplements are not said to be effective.

One such claim is that the ingestion of prebiotics during pregnancy and lactation has immunomodulatory benefits for the developing fetal and infant immune system and provide a potential dietary strategy to reduce the risk of allergic diseases.

This study sought to determine whether maternal supplementation with dietary prebiotics reduces the risk of allergic outcomes in infants with hereditary risk.

A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in which pregnant women were allocated to consume prebiotics (14.2 g daily of galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides in the ratio 9:1) or placebo (8.7 g daily of maltodextrin) powder. The treatment lasted from less than 21 weeks’ gestation until 6 months postnatal during lactation. All eligible women had infants with a first-degree relative with a history of medically diagnosed allergic disease. The primary outcome was medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year, and secondary outcomes included allergen sensitization, food allergy, and recurrent wheeze by age 1 year.

A total of 652 women were randomized between June 2016 and November 2021 (329 in the prebiotics group and 323 in the placebo group). There was no significant difference between groups in the percentage of infants with medically diagnosed eczema by age 1 year (prebiotics 31.5% [103 of 327 infants] vs placebo 32.6% [105 of 322 infants]; adjusted relative risk, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.77-1.23; P = .84). Secondary outcomes and safety measures also did not significantly differ between groups.

The authors concluded that they found little evidence that maternal prebiotics supplementation during pregnancy and lactation reduces the risk of medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year in infants who are at hereditary risk of allergic disease.

It is rare that we come across a well-planned, well-conducted and well-reported study of pro/prebiotics. When we do, it often casts doubts on the numerous claims made for these products.

Here we have such a study.

I congratulate the Australian authors for conducting it.

The year 2024 brought many disappointments. But let’s not dwell on those, lets get in the mood for tonights celebrations! And what could be more fitting for that than a review of the positive cardiovascular effects of wine drinking? After all wine involves both aromatherapy as well as antioxidants, botanical medicine and naturopathy! As luck would have it, we even have some recent evidence on this very subject.

The objectives of this systematic review and meta-analysis were:

  • (i) to examine the association between wine consumption and cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and coronary heart disease (CHD),
  • (ii) to analyse whether this association could be influenced by personal and study factors, including the participants’ mean age, the percentage of female subjects, follow-up time and percentage of current smokers.

The searched several databases for longitudinal studies from their inception to March 2023.

A total of 25 studies were included in the systematic review, and 22 could be included the meta-analysis. The pooled risk ration (RR) for the association of wine consumption and the risk of CHD using the DerSimonian and Laird approach was 0.76 (95% CIs: 0.69, 0.84), for the risk of CVD was 0.83 (95% CIs: 0.70, 0.98), and for the risk of cardiovascular mortality was 0.73 (95% CIs: 0.59, 0.90).

The authors concluded that their research revealed that wine consumption has an inverse relationship to cardiovascular mortality, CVD, and CHD. Age, the proportion of women in the samples, and follow-up time did not influence this association. Interpreting these findings with prudence was necessary because increasing wine intake might be harmful to individuals who are vulnerable to alcohol because of age, medication, or their pathologies.

What, you suspect that this paper was sponsored by the wine industry?

No, you are mistaken! It was funded by FEDER funds, by a grant from the University of Castilla-La Mancha, and by a grant from the science, innovation and universities.

So, maybe just for tonight we put the worries about our livers aside and enjoy a (non-homeopathic) dose of wine.

Cheers!

More reason to worry about our royal family? Apparently, Camilla (I apologise for calling her thus, as I am never entirely sure whether she is Queen or Queen Consort: Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles, will be formally known as Queen Consort now that her husband is King12When Camilla and Charles married in a civil ceremony in 2005, it was announced Camilla would become known as Princess Consort – rather than Queen Consort – due to public sensitivity3However, Queen Elizabeth II granted her the title of Queen Consort in February last year during the Platinum Jubilee45.) has been urged to take more time to recover after a bout of pneumonia.

At the start of November it was announced that she had been diagnosed with a ‘chest infection’ and was under doctors’ supervision. The 77-year-old Camilla was forced to withdraw from her engagements so she could rest at home. She has now revealed that she was suffering from a form of pneumonia.

It is understood Camilla’s condition was viral. She seems to be suffering significantly diminished reserves of energy following her chest infection. This led to her having to pull out of a number of events over recent weeks. Even though the lung infection has now cleared, she says she is still feeling tired. She has been advised by her doctors to take more time to recover. It was confirmed yesterday on the eve of the state visit that the Queen was also reducing her role at the glam state banquet later on Dec. 3 in light of her health.

So, is there anything special that might have triggered this unfortunate turn of events? To answer this question, I refer you to my post of 31 October this year:

… King Charles arrived in Bengaluru directly from Samoa, where he attended the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from October 21-26. His visit to Bengaluru was strictly kept under wraps, and he was directly taken to Soukya International Holistic Health Centre (SIHHC), where he was also joined by his wife, Camilla.

According to sources, the couple’s day begins with a morning yoga session, followed by breakfast and rejuvenation treatment before lunch. After a brief rest, a second round of therapies follows, ending with a meditation session before dinner and lights out by 9 pm. They have been enjoying long walks around the campus, visiting the organic farm and cattle shed. Considering the high-profile secret visit, a high-security ring was thrown around SIHHC.

The health centre, founded by Dr. Issac Mathai, is located in Samethanahalli, Whitefield, on Bengaluru’s outskirts. This integrative medical facility combines traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Yoga, and Naturopathy, along with over 30 complementary therapies like reflexology, acupuncture, and dietetics.

… The royal couple has earlier taken wellness treatments, including anti-ageing, detoxification and rejuvenation. On November 14, 2019, the couple celebrated the then Prince Charles’ 71st birthday at SIHHC, an event that attracted a lot of publicity, unlike this visit.

Yes, you may well ask: isn’t Ayurvedic medicine supposed:

  • to strengthen the immune system,
  • to fortify you against infections,
  • to replenish your reserves of energy,
  • to enable you to recover swiftly from infections?

Of course, I know, correlation is not causation! Perhaps the recent Ayurvedic pampering in India and Camilla’s inability to make a timely recovery from what started merely as a ‘chest infection’ are not at all linked in any way. Yet, it does seem tempting to speculate that the stay in the SIHHC with all the Ayurvedic medicine did her not a lot of good.

Whatever might be the case, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Camilla a full recovery for her condition.

 

A journalist from the DAILY MAIL alerted me to the fact that yet another celebrity having decided to sell dietary supplements, interviewed me on the subject, and eventually published an article about it. One would not have thought that the Beckhams are short of money – so, why did David Beckham turn into a snake-oil salesman? I am far from being able to answer this question. What I now do know is that, via his firm ‘IM8’, he has started marketing two supplements (one of his slogans is ‘Built by Science, Trusted by Beckham’):

Daily Ultimate Essentials: All-in-One Supplement

This is a ‘multi-everything’ supplement. The only truly remarkable thing about it is its price tag. There are hundreds of similar products on the market. Almost all of them are much cheaper, and none is helpful for anyone who is healthy and consumes a balanced diet, as far as I can see.

Daily Ultimate Longevity: Healthy Aging

The implication here seems to be not a trivial one; the name clearly implies that we live longer, if we regularly bought this supplement. Not onlly that, we would also be healthier! I can see no evidence for either of these claims, yet a simple calculation tells me that we would be considerably poorer, if we fell for this advertising gimmick.

On the website, we learn a bit more:

At IM8, our commitment to science goes beyond innovation—it’s the foundation of everything we do. A world-class team of experts from space science, medicine, and academia has united with one goal: to revolutionize wellness. We’ve pioneered CRT8™ (Cell Rejuvenation Technology 8), designed to enhance cellular rejuvenation and push the limits of what’s possible in health.

Each of our products undergoes rigorous third-party testing and clinical trials, ensuring purity, efficacy, and results you can trust. With IM8, you’re getting scientifically driven core nutrition for optimal health and longevity.

___________________

I feel embarrassed for the ‘world-class team of experts from space science, medicine, and academia’ who give their good name to this hyped up nonsense. Moreover, I ask myself whether David Beckham’s new attempt to increase his wealth might be a case for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

 

“As a medical doctor having taken care of thousands of patients in my life, I strive to ensure the health safety and superior wellbeing of my patients. I continue to encourage, educate and inform not only my patients, but the public to stay strong and healthy any time, not just during a pandemic. Our body is our temple and what we put in it and what we don’t affects the way we feel, think and function. Essential vitamins and minerals are key component to daily functioning but thats not always possible in this day and age with our busy hectic lifestyles, so after years of educating my patients, now I made it a little easier to get all the nutrition you need to live strong and stay healthy.”

These are the words from an advertisement for “Immune System Support for your Active Life” sold by Dr. Janette Nesheiwat who was just nominated as Donald Trump’s next SURGEON GENERAL. Amongst other items, she sells 60 capsules of ‘B+C BOOST Plus D3 & Zinc‘ for US$26.99.

Her website describes the new US Surgeon General as follows:

Dr. Janette Nesheiwat is a top Family and Emergency Medicine doctor. She brings a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you- and your family- healthy at all times.

Whether caring for her patients in the ER, serving on the front lines of disaster relief with the Red Cross, or sharing need-to-know info with TV audiences, Dr. Nesheiwat’s mission is not only to save lives—but to change them, by giving real people the treatment and the expertise they need.

Her sincere and straightforward approach is a product of her background. She was one of five kids raised by a widowed mother, and also completed US Army ROTC Advanced Officer Training in Ft. Lewis, Washington prior to becoming a Family and Emergency Physician. She has led medical relief missions around the globe and today she is a medical news correspondent and the Medical Director at CityMD.

I was always telling my patients who were unwell drink some tea, take some vitamin b12 and vitamin C. I found myself repeating my all natural regimen to my patients over and over “take some B12 and C to Boost” your immune system. Thats how I came up with BC Boost. Although I am a doctor, I am not quick to prescribe drugs unless I feel necessary as we want to put into our body the most natural wholesome ingredients.

Vitamin B12 is a cofactor in DNA synthesis. It helps maintain healthy blood cells and nerve function as well as prevent anemia which causes fatigue, a common complaint in those who are sick, tired, run down. Vitamin C is needed for development of collagen and a strong immune system as well as body repair and growth.

Yes, you are quite right, Dr. Nesheiwat might have forgotten one or two not-so-unimportant details:

  1. If you eat a healthy diet, you don’t need vitamins.
  2. If you do need vitamins, you can buy them cheaper elsewhere.
  3. These vitamins do not boost your immune system.
  4. Boosting the immune system could actually do a lot of harm to the many people suffering from auto-immune diseases.

But never mind, we can nevertheless be confident that Dr. Nesheiwat will bring great joy to the US supplement industry. I am less confident, however, that she did public health a great service when, in her role as a regular ‘Fox News’ commentator, she warned that wearing face masks during the pandemic exposed consumers to toxic substances linked to seizures and cancer.

Dr. Janette spreading misinformation about vaccines, masks, and COVID on FOX News.

While medical experts across the world have expressed dismay at Trump’s appointment of Robert Kennedy, the ‘International chiropractors Association’ has just published this remarkable note:

Donald J. Trump made it official that he was nominating Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Secretary-designee Kennedy has spent his entire career championing the health of the nation through education, advocacy, research and when needed litigation.

Among his many accomplishments are protecting the environment with Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council His work at Riverkeeper succeeded in setting long-term environmental legal standards. Kennedy won legal battles against large corporate polluters. He became an adjunct professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986 and founded the Pace’s Environmental Litigation Clinic which he co-directed for a decade.

It would be in the Pace Law Review that the landmark paper, “Unanswered Questions from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: A Review of Compensated Cases of Vaccine-Induced Brain Injury” (https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1681&context=pelr) would be published in 2011.

Kennedy became laser focused on the autism epidemic while giving lectures on the dangers of mercury in fish, he was repeatedly approached by the mothers of children born healthy who regressed into autism after suffering adverse reactions from childhood vaccines, including their concern about the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, being used in vaccines including the Hepatitis B vaccine given at birth. Kennedy’s approach to the issue was the same as it always, looking at the science. He assembled a team who gathered all the science and reviewed the issues with him. This resulted in the publication of the book, Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak
The Evidence Supporting the Immediate Removal of Mercury—a Known Neurotoxin—from Vaccines.

After establishing and leading the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, last year Kennedy stepped back from the organization to throw his hat in the ring to be President. Becoming the embodiment of his uncle John F. Kennedy’s famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!”, Kennedy reached out to President Trump to form an alliance to focus on the crisis of chronic disease in the United States, and suspended his campaign to focus on the Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) Initiative.

ICA President, Dr. Selina Sigafoose Jackson, who is currently in Brazil promoting the protection of chiropractic as a separate and distinct profession stated, “Many ICA members have been supporters of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s philanthropic activities and are all in on the MAHA Initiative. The Mission, Vision, and Values of the ICA align with the stated goals of the MAHA Initiative. We stand ready to provide policy proposals and experts to serve as advisors to the incoming Administration and to Secretary Kennedy upon his swearing in.”

____________________________

 

Perhaps I am permitted to contrast this with some health-related truths about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (my apologies, if the list is incomplete – please add to it by posting further important issues):

  • Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has, since about 20 years, been a leading figure of the anti-vaccine movement.
  • During the epidemic, he pushed the conspiracy theory that “the quarantine” was used as cover to install 5G cell phone networks.
  • He claimed that “one out of every six American women has so much mercury in her womb that her children are at risk for a grim inventory of diseases, including autism, blindness, mental retardation and heart, liver and kidney disease.”
  • He wrote that, “while people were dying at the rate of 10,000 patients a week, Dr. Fauci declared that hydroxychloroquine should only be used as part of a clinical trial. For the first time in American history, a government official was overruling the medical judgment of thousands of treating physicians, and ordering doctors to stop practicing medicine as they saw fit.”
  • He pushed the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 had been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.”
  • He claimed in a 2023 podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective”.
  • In a 2021 podcast, he urged people to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.
  • He founded Children’s Health Defense’ that spreads fear and mistrust in science. One chiropractic group in California had donated $500,000 to this organisation.
  • In 2019, he visited Samoa where he became partly responsible for an outbreak of measles, which made 5,700 people sick and killed 83 of them.
  • He called mercury-containing vaccines aimed at children a holocaust. In 2015, he compared the horrors committed against Jews to the effects of vaccines on children. “They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone. This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”
  • He repeatedly alleged that exposure to chemicals — “endocrine disruptors” — is causing gender dysphoria in children and contributing to a rise in LGBTQ-youth. According to him, endocrine disruptors are “chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormones and are commonly found in pesticides and plastic.”
  • He stated “Telling people to “trust the experts” is either naive or manipulative—or both.”
  • He plans to stop water fluoridation.
  • He slammed the FDA’s “suppression” of raw milk.
  • He said that a worm ate part of his brain which led to long-lasting “brain fog.”
  • He has a 14-year-long history of abusing heroin from the age of 15. The police once arrested him for possession; he then faced up to two years in jail for the felony but was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty.
  • He stated: “WiFi radiation … does all kinds of bad things, including causing cancer…cell phone tumors behind the ear.”
  • He claimed that rates of autism have increased even though “there has been no change in diagnosis and no change in screening either.” Yet, both have changed significantly.
  • He wrote: (Fauci’s) “obsequious subservience to the Big Ag, Big Food, and pharmaceutical companies has left our children drowning in a toxic soup of pesticide residues, corn syrup, and processed foods, while also serving as pincushions for 69 mandated vaccine doses by age 18—none of them properly safety tested.”
  • He stated that cancer rates are skyrocketing in the young and the old – a statement that is evidently untrue.
  •  He authored a viral post on X: “FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma. If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
  • He has also aligned himself with special interests groups such as anti-vaccine chiropractors.
  • He stated categorically: “You cannot trust medical advice from medical professionals.”
  • He said he’s going to put a pause on infectious diseases research for 8 years.
  • He promoted the unfounded theory that the CIA killed his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.
  • He linked school shootings to the increased prescription of antidepressants.
  • An evaluation of verified Twitter accounts from 2021, found Kennedy’s personal Twitter account to be the top “superspreader” of vaccine misinformation on Twitter, responsible for 13% of all reshares of misinformation, more than three times the second most-retweeted account.

 

PS

Let me finish with a true statement: The World Health Organization has estimated that global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years.

 

 

It has been reported that a chiropractor from Boulder City, US, has lost his license to practice for five years. The sentence could be extended if he does not adhere to requirements imposed by the Chiropractic Physicians’ Board of Nevada.

During a hearing, Tenney and his attorney, Hal Reiser, appeared before the board via Zoom to discuss the 25 charges against him. These charges stemmed from him reportedly hosting seminars to provide various services, treatments, nutritive supplementation devices related to diabetes, weight loss and neuropathy.

In a unanimous vote, the board approved Tenney’s voluntary surrender of his license effective immediately. Within 30 days, he must pay $44,514 in fees, costs and fines to the Chiropractic Physicians’ Board of Nevada. He must also provide refunds to three of the complainants in the case, in the amount of nearly $25,000. His attorney said that has been done and that in all, Tenney has refunded more than $150,000 to those who paid following one of his seminars and will continue to do so.

“Dr. Tenney’s failure to comply with any term or condition of this Settlement Agreement will result (in the) Board staff changing the public information related to Dr. Tenney from voluntary surrender to revoked,” a board report states. “Thereafter, Dr. Tenney’s license will be treated as having been revoked, and Dr. Tenney may not apply for reinstatement for at least 10 years after the change of such status.” Once the five-year period is up, Tenney would have to appear before the board for reinstatement.

“Some of the reviewed contracts contain references to an entity called Boulder Wellness,” the report states. “In the course of the investigation, it was determined that Boulder Wellness is a fictitious business name for Boulder Chiropractic, Inc. registered with the Clark County Clerk’s office on July 27, 2020.”

Though the contracts indicated a set price for the goods and services to be provided, they showed that Tenney would negotiate the price of contracts with the patients, ranging from a low of $1,500 to a high of $9,000, the document states. Most of the patients in the reviewed contracts paid in cash on the day of the signing of the contracts.

The board had received a consumer complaint from Patient FH about his and his wife’s attendance at a seminar and subsequent enrollment in a wellness program sold by Tenney in September 2021 in Pahrump.

From April 16, 2022 to Aug. 22, 2022, he hosted more than 50 seminars, sometimes two a day, with a total of 895 participants over that span. These seminars were held in Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

After learning all this, you might ask who is Tad Tenney?

Tad Tenney grew up and graduated in Prescott, Arizona in 1987. After spending two years on a missionary tour of Argentina on behalf of the LDS church, he returned home fluent in Spanish. He attended Snow College where he played basketball for a year. After a successful year, he transferred to Salt Lake Community College where he obtained an Associates of Arts. It was here that he fell in love with the idea of becoming a doctor of Chiropractic care.

Tad went onto attend college in Dallas Texas and obtained his Bachelor of Science and Chiropractic care. He moved to Boulder City in 1998 where he opened his practice. Over the last twenty years as his practice has evolved to include a whole health approach for every individual he encounters through his practice. Since his practice opened, he has had more than thirty thousand patient visits and over ten thousand individual patients. The Boulder City Chiropractic Health now specializes in the treatment of diabetes, neuropathy, back and joint pain, depression, and anxiety. It is truly a passion for him as his patients continue to recover without medications or surgery.

In 2018, Tenner was asked: “What are some things that help you continue through difficult moments?” He replied as follows: “Daily I keep a few sayings in mind. The first is: “Every day is a new life to a wise man.” The second is: “no matter what your past is you have a spotless future.” My mom often shared the second with me. These remind me that no matter the shortcomings or failures, I can change it all tomorrow or in the days ahead.”

It looks to me like Tenner needs to change quite a lot to achieve a spotless future.

It has been reported that King Charles is on a secret trip to Bengaluru, his first visit to India since being coronated as king of the United Kingdom on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey, London. Charles arrived in Bengaluru on October 27 and will be at the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre (SIHHC) in Whitefield for wellness treatment till Wednesday (30/10) night, when he is expected to fly to London.

Sources privy to his secret visit said that King Charles arrived in Bengaluru directly from Samoa, where he attended the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from October 21-26. His visit to Bengaluru was strictly kept under wraps, and he was directly taken to SIHHC, where he was also joined by his wife, Queen Camilla.

According to sources, the couple’s day begins with a morning yoga session, followed by breakfast and rejuvenation treatment before lunch. After a brief rest, a second round of therapies follows, ending with a meditation session before dinner and lights out by 9 pm. They have been enjoying long walks around the campus, visiting the organic farm and cattle shed. Considering the high-profile secret visit, a high-security ring was thrown around SIHHC.

The health centre, founded by Dr. Issac Mathai, is located in Samethanahalli, Whitefield, on Bengaluru’s outskirts. This integrative medical facility combines traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Yoga, and Naturopathy, along with over 30 complementary therapies like reflexology, acupuncture, and dietetics.

Although this is his first visit as a monarch, Charles has visited the centre on nine earlier occasions and celebrated Deepavali on three occasions there. The royal couple has earlier taken wellness treatments, including anti-ageing, detoxification and rejuvenation. On November 14, 2019, the couple celebrated the then Prince Charles’ 71st birthday at SIHHC, an event that attracted a lot of publicity, unlike this visit.

_______________________

The website of the SIHHC modestly claims to be “THE WORLD’S FIRST INTEGRATIVE HEALTH DESTINATION’

As I reported in 2022, at a press conference in Goa it was claimed, that Prince Charles had been cured of COVID-19 after seeking treatment from a Bengaluru-based alternative treatment resort, SOUKYA International Holistic Health Centre’ run by a doctor Isaac Mathai. The Palace later denied that this was true.

And what about Dr. Issac Mathai? This is what he writes about himself:

A journey that began from the hills of Wayanad (northern Kerala) in 1985, started to bloom in 1998, and today is an international destination for Holistic health and wellbeing. When Dr. Issac Mathai embarked on this journey influenced by his mother, a Homeopathy practitioner who “helped people get better”, little did he know that one day he would lead a team to redefine the essence of health and wellbeing.

As a confident youngster aspiring to be an ‘exceptional Homeopathic Doctor’, Dr. Mathai encountered two key turning points in life – one, an internationally well-received research paper on integrating Yoga with Homeopathy to cure respiratory disorders, and two, learning at the Hahnemann Postgraduate Institute of Homeopathy, London.

Later he was made a Consultant Physician at the Hale Clinic in London, where he treated a number of high-profile people. This helped him establish a reputation in the holistic healing community in quick time. SOUKYA, is today, a residential holistic centre comparable to any facility in the world.

In a world that is comfortable with the conventional practice of ‘popping pills’, the world at large practices a combination of self-medication based on preconceived notions about what is wrong with individuals. In such a scenario, Dr. Issac Mathai and his team of experienced practitioners from different streams have achieved an important goal – create awareness about the possibility of prevention of adverse health conditions, rather than just addressing the symptom.

Education:

M.D. (Homeopathy),
Hahnemann Post-Graduate Institute of Homeopathy, London M.R.C.H, London
Chinese Pulse Diagnosis and Acupuncture, WHO Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
Trained (Mind-Body Medicine Programme) at Harvard Medical School, USA

Of the 3 institutions mentioned above, I could only find the last one: Harvard CME | Mind Body Medicine.

And under MD (Homeopathy), I found this: MD in Homoeopathy is a 3-year long postgraduate course in medicine including a year of house job, and remaining 2 years of research and study.

So, should we be concerned about the health of our King?

What do you think?

Nearly every time that I talk to proponents of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) I hear a lot about diet. Diet is a central theme to almost all of them, it seems. In such conversations, several issues often emerge and frequently take the form of accusations, e.g.:

  • Conventional medicine neglects the importance of diet for our health.
  • Medical students learn next to nothing about the subject.
  • In conventional medicine, hardly any research is focussed on diet.
  • By contrast, practitioners of SCAM know a lot about diet.
  • Many are experts in the subject.
  • Patients are well-advised to consult SCAM practitioners if they want to learn how to eat healthily.
  • SCAM practitioners have developed a wide range of diets that keep their patients fit and healthy.

I usually try to object to some of these points. The truth is that medical students do learn about diet, that doctors are aware of its importance, and that research into diets is highly active.

Particularly about the last point, I can get rather irritated. Sadly, this impresses the SCAM fans very little. They have their opinion and rarely budge.

After one such conversation, I decided to go on Medline and produce some figures. Here they are:

  • As of 6 October, there are 1 453 clinical trials listed on Medline as published in 2024.*
  • Between 1957 and today, around 57 000 such trials have been published.
  • Their number shows an almost exponential growth during this period.
  • The diets tested range widely and include, for instance, the Mediteranean diet, the ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, vegetarian diet, energy restricted diet, gluten-free diet.
  • There are as good as no trials on any of the SCAM diets.
  • The researchers doing the diet trials are almost exclusively conventional medics or nutritionist.
  • I did not find any SCAM practitioners in the list of authors.

So, the next time a SCAM proponent bullshits you about diet, you can tell him or her to get lost!

 

 

*Not all are, in fact, clinical trials

 

1 2 3 9
Subscribe via email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

Recent Comments

Note that comments can be edited for up to five minutes after they are first submitted but you must tick the box: “Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.”

The most recent comments from all posts can be seen here.

Archives
Categories