ON THE COVER Dr Sarah Jarvis
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
As a doctor, you might expect me to be all about prescribing medicines. In fact, every doctor would rather find a drug-free solution to their patients’ problems.
I’m going to start with weight – because if you’re overweight, there are a whole heap of medicines you can avoid by losing weight. For instance, losing 10kg will cut your blood pressure by about as much as a daily bloodpressure lowering tablet, lower your cholesterol, and halve your average fasting blood sugar if you have type 2 diabetes. It also cuts your risk of cancer! It’s really important to be realistic about how much you’re likely to lose – otherwise you may get demoralised – even a few pounds will reduce your risk of heart attack and diabetes.
According to Public Health England, cutting the salt in your diet is one of the most important ways to reduce blood pressure. On average as a nation we eat 8g of salt a day – we should be eating about 6g, or 1 teaspoon, from every source we get it from. Scarily, ¾ of the salt we eat comes from “hidden” sources, in foods like bacon, pickles, sauces and even bread and cereal. Try cooking from scratch and experimenting with herbs, spices, chilli and lemon juice rather than salt. Try a reduced sodium alternative such as LoSalt – it has two thirds less of the harmful sodium but the same taste. You might be able to avoid taking blood-pressure lowering tablets at all, or at least need fewer of them.
When the “new” SSRI antidepressants were introduced 20 years ago,
GOT A TENSION HEADACHE? INSTEAD OF PAINKILLERS DRINK A GLASS OF WATER THEN FIND SOMEWHERE QUIET TO SIT DOWN AND RELAX – IT’S OFTEN ALL YOU NEED
doctors started using them freely. Depression affects so many people – at least 1 in 5 of us over a lifetime – and we doctors were desperate to help, but with time, we realised antidepressant tablets aren’t a magic bullet. They don’t work for everyone, especially in mild or moderate depression, and they don’t deal with the root cause of the depression, or give you the tools you need to avoid depression in the future.
Studies have now shown talking therapy such as CBT to be as effective as medication in mild to moderate depression. It also helps you recognise and do something about the unhelpful thought patterns that can trigger or worsen depression in the future. Mindfulness – where you learn to focus on the here and now, becoming aware of your surroundings and what’s going on inside you, moment by moment in order to reconnect with your body and feelings – can be remarkably effective too.
For osteoarthritis, recommended guidance is also moving away from medicines. That includes low back pain, where paracetamol doesn’t work well and anti-inflammatory tablets can have severe side effects in the long term. Instead, regular exercise, building up steadily and gradually, can relieve symptoms as well as prevent them getting worse. Get a referral to your NHS physiotherapy team. They can show you regular exercises to do at home – or you can log on to PATIENT.CO.UK, which has a whole new series of exercise videos and leaflets on how to deal with all sorts of pain.
Menopausal hot flushes affect 4 in 5 women and can last several years. HRT is effective, but natural remedies help too. Avoid spicy food and caffeine, and up the soya (soya beans, soya milk, tofu) in your diet to reduce those pesky blushes! Next week: Endometriosis and fibroids
GET OCCASIONAL MILD HEARTBURN? EAT SUPPER EARLIER, THROW AWAY TIGHT BELTS AND CORSETS AND PROP THE HEAD OF YOUR BED UP ON A COUPLE OF BRICKS
TRY COOKING FROM SCRATCH WITH MORE HERBS, SPICES, CHILLI AND LEMON JUICE RATHER
SALT’’ THAN