The vitamin D-ilemma
Part 4: Reverse causation – cart before horse? 9 September 2024 In Part 3 of this miniseries, I discussed the disconnect between the outcomes of observational studies which found an association between low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and a dizzying array of diseases, and clinical trials which found that supplementation with vitamin D did not prevent…
The vitamin D-ilemma
Part 3: What is a ‘normal’ vitamin D level? 2 September 2024 In Part 1 of this vitamin D miniseries, I laid out the basics – vitamin D is not a true vitamin but a sequence of three metabolites that culminates in a secosteroid hormone called calcitriol, and is synthesised when ultraviolet B radiation from…
The vitamin D-ilemma
Part 2: The many faces of vitamin D… or, what doesn’t vitamin D do? As you’ll (hopefully) recall from Part 1 of this miniseries, the substance that we call “vitamin D” is not in fact a vitamin, but a hormone – specifically, a sequence of three metabolites that culminates in a secosteroid hormone called calcitriol…
The vitamin D-ilemma
Part 1: Origin story 19 August 2024 Back in February, I asked my paid subscribers to suggest topics for me to investigate. I’ve been gradually working my way through the excellent list of questions I received, and it’s now time to tackle the thorny issue of vitamin D supplementation. To set the stage for this…
Dr Dog will see you now
12 August 2024 After the last two posts which discussed serious concerns with the framing of depression-as-mental-illness, and the psychiatrisation of everyday suffering and distress as ‘mental illness’, I thought you might appreciate a somewhat lighter topic relating to human psychology. It just so happens that this one is very close to my heart, as…
Stop talking about your ‘mental health’
It’s making you – and everyone else – crazy 5 August 2024 I published last week’s post, The depression misconception, with some trepidation. In a society that has been steeped in the narrative of ‘depression-as-mental-illness’, labelling depression as ‘failure feedback’, and raising the possibility that it is actually a functional, adaptive response to significant failure,…
The depression misconception
29 July 2024 One of the best things about publishing my articles on Substack is the Comments section! I’ve been fortunate to attract some highly intelligent subscribers, who post thought-provoking comments in response to my articles. The following comment was left by one such subscriber, and as you’ll see, it was so on-point that I…
Drugging ourselves to health?
Why doesn’t orthodox medicine make people well? 22 July 2024 In last week’s post, Ozempic linked with blinding eye condition, I discussed a recently-published study reporting a link between the use of the antidiabetic/antiobesity medication semaglutide (marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy), and a four-to-almost-eight-fold increase in risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), the…
Ozempic linked with blinding eye condition
Who could have seen that coming… and what does it have in common with other drug side-effects? 15 July 2024 Just under two weeks ago, researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear at Harvard Medical School, Boston published a study which found an association between the use of semaglutide (marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy), and increased…
The ‘write’ way to learn and remember
8 July 2024 My dear reader, I know this blog isn’t the place for me to process my trauma, but I have a big ol’ sob story to tell you before I launch into the subject matter for this post: I was the only girl in the remedial handwriting class in primary school (that’s elementary…