The current coronavirus (officially called the COVID-19 virus) alarm has focused our attention on the best ways to deal with a new viral infection. The obvious priority is preventing spread, by isolation and increased hygiene. However, we can also look…
Practising yoga regularly can be almost as effective in treating anxiety as seeing a talking therapist, new US research has found. The study, carried out by New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, asked 226 people who have generalised anxiety…
GPs treating people suffering with chronic primary pain shouldn’t prescribe painkillers including paracetamol and ibuprofen, new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises. A draft report by a NICE committee suggests that exercise, cognitive therapy,…
Cutting back on alcohol, exercising more and not smoking are among 12 lifestyle changes that could help reduce a person’s risk of developing dementia, a major new study has found. A global team of 28 dementia experts conducted the comprehensive…
Researchers at the University of Warwick have found naturally occurring anti-microbials, which could be used to help tackle antibiotic-resistant infections, in a 1,000-year-old eye salve. Scientists examined natural remedies used in early medieval history in its research investigating alternatives to…
The continued spread of COVID-19 continues to challenge countries all over the world, halting daily life as we know it and placing huge pressure on communities, testing our physical and mental resilience. The College of Medicine, pioneers in social prescribing…
A leading voice in social prescribing has called obesity levels among young people ‘shocking’, saying more needs to be done to address future health and prevent the rise of long-term conditions including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The government announced…
The College of Medicine’s patron, HRH the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall have praised a social prescribing team at a GP practice in Cornwall, after a flying visit there this week. His Royal Highness visited St Austell…
Katherine Tate, aka The Food Teacher, has a head start when it comes to getting 30 youngsters to engage with healthy eating. Tate is a qualified primary school teacher, who retrained in 2014 as a nutritional therapist, ensuring she knows…
The UK’s deputy Chief Medical Officer has urged people to lose weight and get fit to equip themselves against a potential second wave of COVID-19. Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, Dr Jenny Harries said it was now proven that being…
Retirement remains one of the biggest life transitions we face, where one can go from a fast-paced career to a much quieter existence in a matter of days. And while many employers are very happy to throw a farewell party…
‘I’ve been eating fresh strawberries every day for a month now’, keen amateur gardener Piers Day, a Neuro Linguistic Programming trainer and College of Medicine member, tells us. On a sizeable patch of gravel outside his front door, Piers has…
Heather Richards, the College of Medicine’s lead on nutrition and Director Of Nutrition at Sano School of Culinary Medicine, tells us how to cook up an immune-supporting chicken stir fry (easily made veggie) in just 15 minutes… In a recent…
A social prescribing programme designed to encourage older people to dance could help reduce falls by around 58 per cent, a new study has found. Community-led project Dance to Health combines evidence-based falls prevention principles with the creativity, expression and energy…
From ancient times humans have eaten natural herbs and spices. Traditional medicine knew how to use them to act as catalysts in enhancing or reducing the power of foods. Food really can be medicine. In June, Harmony in Health held…
DARK HOURS BEFORE DAWN Floating to the surface of sleep, I felt my tears, heavy, wet, unstoppable. Yet they were easing the heaviness that lay between my heart and my throat, filling the dark empty well where my heart had once…
A new UK study has found that broccoli and tea can be helpful in the prevention of cancer. Research by Bedfordshire Hospitals Consultant Professor Robert Thomas, who co-led a national scientific study, suggests that consuming broccoli and drinking tea can…
It may now be national policy and championed by both the NHS and the Government… but social prescribing still isn’t on the radar of many practitioners, both in the UK and globally. Here, College of Medicine Chair, Dr Michael Dixon,…
Unthinkable as it might seem now to congregate in large groups, the last few times the College of Medicine held its Foundation Courses on Integrated Medicine, we asked our attendees for some reading tips. And we gleaned almost a hundred…
Practicing yoga on a regular basis can help alleviate the symptoms of mental health disorders, according to new research. The World Health Organisation says around 264 million people suffer from depression globally. The study’s lead author Jacinta Brinsley, from the…
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust doctors – both just qualified and experienced – into extraordinary circumstances. In this article, we speak to two hospital doctors currently working in hospitals in the UK about what it’s been like to treat patients…
New research from scientists at three UK universities has concluded that vitamin D could be useful in the fight against COVID-19. The study, ‘The role of vitamin D in the prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 infection and mortality’, is currently…
The College of Medicine is proud to be a partner in the Pre-Medicus Campaign, a new online resource that aims to help doctors of the future access vital information during lock-down. Alongside the NHS Social Prescribing Champion Scheme and the Unofficial…
A concoction of natural remedies could be the key to staving off a hangover, new research has found. Published online in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, the study focused on how antioxidant compounds, vitamins, minerals and specific plant extracts could ease…
The College of Medicine has teamed up with Pukka Herbs to offer an everything-you-need-to-know guide to herbs that have established benefits for health and well-being. Below, we’ve listed links to Pukka’s hugely informative ‘Wild About Herb‘ resources on some of…
Anne Pitman, director of the School of Embodied Yoga Therapy in Ottawa and a yogatherapist at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Center explores the sense of grief that we’re all experiencing during the pandemic and how to deal with it… In…
