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Is a Devastating New Antimicrobial Resistant Superbug the Result of Bad Farming, Food and Pharma?

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Photo by  Drew Hays  on  Unsplash By Dr Catriona Walsh A new superbug has come to town A new antimicrobial resistant superbug has suddenly appeared in multiple countries simultaneously over the past 15 years. The first report of the fungus,  Candida auris , being isolated from a person’s ear was published in 2009 . Now it is responsible for infectious outbreaks that can close intensive care wards. There is currently no known cure for many patients who are infected with it, due to its virulence, persistence and resistance to multiple antifungals. Conventional antifungals often don’t even tickle it. Many people carry it. People who are immunosuppressed and ill may have an almost 50% risk of dying when this particular organism is cultured from them. It is colonizing elderly care homes and neonatal units as well as hospitals. It is also in our communities. It makes MRSA look like child’s play, and it is on the rise. Why has this new microbe only suddenly appeared in the last 10 y
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Literally nobody told me the MRI gadolinium-based contrast I was about to have could screw up my health for years... or even permanently!

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By Dr Catriona Wals h Photo by  Ken Treloar  on  Unsplash (I couldn't find a free picture of an MRI scanner, so here's a Ct scanner instead) Wednesday 9th November 2016: That was the day my life changed. That was the day I had my first, and only gadolinium-enhanced MRI scan. I will never have another one. That was the day I realised that the conventional medical system is desperately flawed, and that unless I research every single investigation and treatment offered to me, I won't understand all of the implications of that treatment, because informed consent is just an illusion. Doctors seldom have the knowledge to advise patients about the true risks and benefits of the treatments, surgeries, and investigations they are offering. They don't have the time to search the literature, and even if they do have the time, seldom do they have the skills to critically appraise those studies, nor do they have access to unpublished trial results which are often where the ma
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Could eating meat be more cruelty-free, sustainable and environmentally friendly than eating crops? 6+ ways that conventional crop agriculture is far worse than pasturing animals

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By Dr Catriona Walsh Photo by  M. Zonderling  on  Unsplash This is an article that challenges you to think about where your food comes from, and how ethical it is. How did we farm before the agricultural revolution took a firm hold? Last autumn I was invited to write an article for the Maghera Times (a local magazine that is run by the Maghera Historical Society , a super charity that is very active, has a lot of talks and social nights, and is great at reflecting on some of our local history. Guest speakers have also come from further afield, such as when Race Amity visited form the USA). I really wanted to take an approach that honoured what the Maghera Historical Society does, but also drew on my training and experience as a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. So I decided to reflect on how our food landscapes have changed over the past several decades. I asked my mum for help in recalling what it was like for her growing up, and we got to reminiscing a lot about what it was
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No wonder we are all exhausted: our dietary guidelines are causing malnutrition

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By Dr Catriona Walsh In January 2019 the most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey for the UK was reported on. It analysed dietary intakes, and some blood and urine results for the UK population for the 9 year period from 2008 to 2017. Each year a sample of 500 adults and 500 children over the age of 1.5 years was selected to participate in the study. Assessment involved an interview, a 4 day food diary, physical measurements, and urine and blood samples. People were analysed in age groups which roughly fell under the categories of: preschoolers, primary school age children, secondary school age children and young people, working age adults and seniors/retired adults. The British Dietetics Association (BDA) were overall rather pleased with the report , because it shows that people do listen to Public Health advice and attempt to modify their diets accordingly. Summary of the main findings Energy intake fell ever so slightly, especially in primary school girls and secondary
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Can antidepressants lead to depression?

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A recent German epidemiological study (https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy694/5195184) suggests that there may be no benefit to treating people with stage 1 hypertension (systolic blood pressure between 130-139 and diastolic blood pressure of 80-89) with antihypertensives for anyone apart from the drug companies who could almost double their patient populations by having almost 2 thirds of adults diagnosed with elevated blood pressure. Not only is there no benefit, but there is a potential risk of great harm. This German study, where more than 11 000 mostly middle aged men and women were followed up over a 10 year period, revealed that cardiovascular mortality rates were pretty much identical for people told they have normal blood pressure. The study was part of the MONICA trial, and was done from 1984-1995, so rather a long time ago now. Perhaps this explains the very high prevalence in cigarette smoking of 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 people. Al
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Gadolinium Toxicity

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By Dr Catriona Walsh Gadolinium is a toxic heavy metal used in MRI contrast tests. Although it has been injected into millions of people, there are as yet no good quality trials to assess for toxicity in people with normal renal function. Concerns about gadolinium toxicity were first raised when a new, often fatal, chronic, untreatable, excruciatingly painful condition with no cure was described in patients in renal failure following the use of gadolinium contrast. Renal patients were identified to be at increased risk of this condition, called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis or NSF, because they were unable to eliminate the gadolinium contrasts in their urine. Gadolinium retention was recognized to result in mitochondrial damage, calcium channel blockade, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, multi-organ failure, connective tissue destruction, increased risk of heart attack and other problems. Since then it has been recognized that gadolinium contrast agents are also not compl
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Can I have smoked sausage?

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Image by  Matthieu Joannon By Dr Catriona Walsh This excellent question was asked in a group that I moderate. I love it because it's actually not all that straight forward to answer. Essentially, I would say it depends on a lot of variables. Anyway, here are my thoughts on it. Smoked sausage is actually a traditional food, which has a long history of consumption throughout recorded human history. Traditional cultures around the globe have found ways to grind up bits of leftover meat, herbs, spices, some filler, like rusks, oats or corn, and preserve them in casings, which were often just lengths of cleaned out intestines and bladder. Sometimes blood or offal is added as well. They may have used salt and added probiotic cultures to cure the meat as it dried, in order to reduce the risk of pathogenic microbes growing. Alternatively, smoking the sausage was another way to reduce the risk of the meat being contaminated with bacteria which would spoil it. In this way, whatever
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