4 things I am going to do to try and save the environment.

Climate change is upon us and after having recently watched 'Before the Flood', the Leonardo Di Caprio super documentary on it, I am starting to feel a little bit guilty about it all. We are all to blame, we can't point the finger at any one single cause, there are so many factors contributing to the accumulation of noxious gases in the atmosphere. HOWEVER we can do our little bit, and 2017 I think I am going to try and be more environmentally conscious. Here are the four things YOU can do to lesson your environmental impact:

1) Use less plastic, a product mostly derived from crude oil. I mean have you heard of the Great pacific garbage patch!!

Source

2) Stay away from 'Fast Fashion', invest in clothes that will last or are easily repairable, buy what is needed. Fast fashion is literally drowning the world, It has the biggest environmental impact after crude oil! check out the facts. 

3) Cycle to work more and use public transport whenever necessary. Simples 

4) Last but not least, eat vegan... well at least try. I'm not going to completely write off beef just yet and the whole vegan argument is complex (another post another day) but one can't deny the huge environmental impact the meat and dairy industry has.

What Did I Learn Today 2

Thursday morning in sunny Brighton, I'm getting ready for the SJT exam tomorrow and getting a little sidetracked:

• Vegans and vegetarians have been in outrage in UK against the new five pound note as it contains tallow, an animal product. However, All the new five pound notes in circulation together contain the same amount of Tallow thats in only half a cow. 
• Paramedics in the UK are struggling with the number of calls, triple the number ten years ago, with increasing calls for things like needing a glass of water, a cold or cat bite. Check out a day with ambulance crews and BBC
• How to create simple and beautiful books using this website Blurb, my cousin recently documented his travels around Japan, the book is beautiful. 
• How to be a master when inserting chest drains
• Its WORLD AIDS DAY! a quick video summary by the NEJM of the ring study and ASPIRE studies. Here is the executive director of UNAIDS video message for today

The perfect diet

"The perfect diet does not exist because you wont be happy on the perfect diet"

Said my flatmate this evening after a long discussion on diet.

I was trying to tell him about the benefits of a plant based diet, Having watched all Dr Gregers talks I posted previously. The problem is, having been a regular meat eater all my life and probably iced donuts number one fan in the world (so tasty), suddenly converting to near veganism is downright miserable. Nothing against my culinary skills, I'm becoming quite the stirfry and cauliflower rice expert actually. I just really miss bacon sandwiches and poached egg breakfasts. 

The benefits of a plant based diet are incredibly clear, almost to the point of a miracle cure. Reversing diabetes and reducing athersclerotic plaques to name a couple. Patients all over the western world would benefit hugely from this incredibly non-invasive and 'simple' change (its really not that simple though is it).

How can i expect my future patients to adopt the diet if i continue to munch on burgers and kebabs. Doctors are meant to role models, much like the smoking doctors of the 60's and 70's, how can you expect patients to stop smoking if you are puffing on one in front of them or posing for cigarette ads (see picture below). 

So anyway to the point, I'm all torn up about plant based diets and their medical applications. Huge numbers of patients could benefit, millions of pounds could be saved and the environment would benefit a huge amount as well. Shouldnt every patient have a plant based diet subscribed? 

Doctors own reluctance to try them themselves and lack of exposure to the evidence may be some of the reasons.