18th May 2026 Newsletter Monday I am more than just my oil Hello Reader, A few people messaged me this week asking for my thoughts on the “new fish oil research.” I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Which probably tells you something about modern health news. If you take your eyes off it for 72 hours, apparently omega fish oil capsules go from “essential for longevity” to “possibly causing atrial fibrillation.” Normal service resumed. The paper people were referring to...
9 days ago • 3 min read
11th May 2026 Newsletter Monday Not available in an NHS clinic near you Hello Reader, I read an article this week by a man who nearly died from sepsis after a private varicose vein procedure. What struck me wasn’t really the complication itself. Complications happen everywhere in medicine. NHS. Private. Fancy hospitals with scented hand soap. Humans remain stubbornly biological despite premium branding. What interested me was what happened afterwards. According to the article, when things...
16 days ago • 3 min read
4th May 2026 Newsletter Monday Charging at 80% Reader Red light therapy is having a moment. Masks. Panels. Beds. All promising some version of: “skin rejuvenation” “faster healing” “joint recovery” It’s one of those trends that starts small… and then quietly expands its job description. Way back when... It reminded me of being a kid around 1987/88, I’d have been about 9 or 10. My brief quest to be a gymnast and follow in the footsteps of Nadia Comăneci (having watched the film Nadia, on a...
23 days ago • 2 min read
27th April 2026 Newsletter Monday Reader I’ve not been able to stop thinking about an article in New Scientist last week. It described a study looking at dental care in hospital patients. The results haven’t been fully published yet - they were presented at a conference - so I’m not going to get carried away with the headline. But that’s not really the point. The study itself was large. Around 8,800 patients across several hospitals. It was a randomised trial looking at whether improving oral...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
20th April 2026 Newsletter Monday When you've got to go, where do you go? Reader I’ve scrolled past a lot of headlines this week. War. Politics. The usual loud, urgent, attention-grabbing noise. And then I stopped on one about… public toilets. Which got my attention mostly because it’s so ordinary. I am more concerned with ordinary than international politics, if I’m honest. So whilst this sounds deeply unremarkable, it isn’t - if you’ve spent any time actually listening to patients. It’s...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
13th April 2026 Newsletter Monday The right tools for the right job I am going to make a prediction that a lot of people reading this newsletter have, at some point, used a steroid cream on their skin. Not because I possess any mystical powers, but because they’ve been around for decades and the conditions they’re used for are very common. If you’ve spent any time in general practice, they are part of the everyday toolkit. With that in mind, a BBC News article caught my attention this...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
6th April 2026 Newsletter Monday Tiny Tablet: Huge Opinions You know when something irks you because you keep seeing it misunderstood? That’s how I feel when I read medical records that list high cholesterol as a medical problem. High cholesterol is not a disease. And yet, I still see it written in patients’ past medical history as if it sits alongside heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, by doctors that should know this. It takes every ounce of restraint not to reach for a red pen and cross...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
30th March 2026 Newsletter Monday How did we evolve without this? Hello Reader, I have to talk about what I keep seeing. Not a single headline this week. Just a pattern that keeps repeating until you can’t unsee it. There’s a term for it: audience capture. It’s what happens when someone builds trust by being clear, sensible and evidence-based… and then slowly starts shaping their message around what that audience wants to hear — or what will sell. And it’s not just influencers. I’m seeing it...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
23rd March 2026 Newsletter Monday Winner Hello Reader, There’s an article trending this morning that I couldn’t resist clicking on. I suppose that’s exactly why it’s trending 😆 How long should you be able to stand on one leg for your age. I’ve no doubt many of you would struggle to resist that either. It’s so simple. So measurable. And we’re all quietly comparing ourselves to where we should be, even when we wish we wouldn’t. But it reminded me of a real-life test I did a few days ago. A...
2 months ago • 3 min read