Prince Charles was made patron of the Faculty of Homeopathy last week. It is worrying someone so influential is backing this pseudoscience
Prince Charles was made patron of the Faculty of Homeopathy last week. It is worrying someone so influential is backing this pseudoscience.
Homeopathy is not only a waste of money – thankfully it’s no longer available on the NHS – it can be dangerous.
Taking these medicines instead of conventional remedies puts you at huge risk, as you avoid treatment that may be life-saving.
I have had patients who opted for homeopathic ‘vaccinations’, leaving their children susceptible to fatal illness.
And a friend opted for homeopathic treatment for an infected wound on her finger.
When she finally saw a doctor, she was close to getting gangrene and sepsis. She was saved at the last moment.
How did GP miss my gut problems?
I am always bloated and feel constantly tired.
My GP carried out blood tests and said there was nothing wrong with me, but a breath test conducted by a nutritionist showed bacterial overgrowth in my gut.
Why didn’t my doctor find this?
Bloating should never be ignored by doctors. In women, it can be a sign of ovarian cancer.
However, thankfully, this is not common and bloating is far more likely to be the result of common conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, constipation or coeliac disease.
Eating a lot of pulses, such as beans and lentils, as well as vegetables such as cauliflower, can also cause bloating. And, combined with tiredness, bloating can be a normal symptom of the menopause.
Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine can also cause bloating, as well as tiredness, gas, discomfort and sometimes diarrhoea. Doctors refer to it as SIBO – small intestine bacterial overgrowth.
Usually, bacteria is confined to our large intestine (also called the colon). With SIBO, bacteria found in the small intestine react with the sugars in digested food. This reaction causes gas and bloating. It is these gases that are identified on a diagnostic breath test. However, these breath tests are not often performed by a GP because they remain controversial within the medical community. Different practitioners use different tests and their accuracy varies hugely depending on which one is used.
Some people have more gut bacteria than
