What will happen in Medicine in 2019

What will happen in medicine in 2019?

I believe this is a time of great change, where the cost of many treatments will be beyond the reach of both patients and governments, and a lot more "back to basics" therapies, which are probably just as effective, will return.

Cancer – our understanding of cancer, and the enormous expenditure on finding specific treatments for specific forms of cancer have lead to an explosion of new drugs. These are incredibly successful compared to previous therapies, but how are we going to pay for them? Supplements and herbs such as turmeric, garlic, mistletoe, and others are becoming accepted by oncologists, and I believe that the ketogenic diet which starves the cancer cells of sugars will become 1st line treatment.

Heart disease – over recent years there has been an explosion of angioplasty and stents for all forms of angina, but many studies have shown that only in cases of unstable or uncontrolled angina are these any better than medical treatment. Many predict that the number of stents being inserted will drop dramatically. High doses of fish oils (greater than 2 to 3 g a day) have been proven to be beneficial, as well as regular gentle exercise, and Coenzyme Q10. Interestingly around the world the incidence of heart attacks appears to be dropping.

Diabetes – drug treatments and diets have all been unsuccessful in reducing the incidence of the horrible side-effects of this disease. The ketogenic diet with or without intermittent fasting can virtually cure type 2 diabetes, and with great care can also be helpful in type I. (I'm writing a booklet on this which will be available in the next few months).   Gastric bypass surgery will also become more available.

Alzheimer's disease – the incidence of this continues to rise, and we really don't know why. The ketotic diet, or taking ketone supplements does seem to improve the symptoms, and some have suggested that intermittent fasting might help clear the nerve cells of the buildup of amyloid tissue which seems to cause the condition.

With drugs are becoming increasingly expensive, health professionals are beginning to look back towards the benefits of lifestyle, diet and supplemental treatment, leaving the introducing drug treatment as late as possible.

Why coconut oil is so good

Why coconut oil is so good

Slowly the conventional medical attitude to fats is changing. For many years we have been telling our patients not to eat saturated fats, eat a few polyunsaturated fats and mostly monounsaturated (olive oil canola oil). In reducing the fats we have encouraged people to eat sugars and this is one of the major reasons for the obesity epidemic worldwide. All of this was on very flawed data starting from the 7 country studies of Ancel Keys who claimed to show the incidence of heart disease related to the Unfortunately there were 22 countries studied by Dr Keys but only 7 were used, when all 22 were included there was still a very slight association but much less clear (see graphs). Following this the really has been virtually no information confirming that the intake of saturated fats leads to coronary artery disease. However for many years dairy fats and any other saturated fats have been excluded from the diet of people with heart disease. We are now realising we got this totally wrong!

Coconut oil is a saturated fat, and the evidence is that eating,drinking and cooking with it does nothing but good. It contains medium chain triglycerides in addition to the saturated fats. Studies have shown that consuming coconut oil has a number of beneficial effects including:

1 It has an antioxidant effect, oxidative stress is one of the major causes of many of today's health conditions.
2. It reduces inflammation and thus can be used for inflammatory conditions such as aches, pains, fevers and even stomach ulcers.
3. It seems to have an antiseptic affect, and has been used topically to treat viral bacterial and even fungal conditions.   Many people use it instead of toothpaste.
4. Probably the most exciting but sadly so far least researched is its potential effect on the brain. The brain can only use sugar or medium chain triglycerides as its source of energy (it cannot use fat). In Alzheimer's disease the brain cannot use sugar properly, and there are many anecdotal reports that coconut oil may well improve the mental function of patients with this terrible disease.
5. There have been some reports that it helps in thyroid function, and can help in weight loss and even reduction in cholesterol (click here.)

Coconut oil can be drunk as a very refreshing cool drink, it can be added to salads and other dishes, it can be used as a cooking oil, and can also be eaten straight from the spoon.

I'm quite certain that in the coming years this very safe and natural product will become part of our staple diet.