Outcomes Matter More Than Intentions

In sport, you can tell how you or in a team sport, your team is traveling by the scoreboard. It's not to say that winning is everything, and you can certainly enjoy playing sport for the enjoyment of playing sport. That's a good thing. But if you want to know whether...

Observations on Black Friday

Is the season of Black Friday sales. It's interesting. Black Friday hails from the USA, the day after Thanksgiving, which we've had very recently. And like a lot of American trends, if you like, they do tend to spread around the world. It is interesting. Australians...

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Laughter is the best medicine. Fairly old adage. Probably still has some real relevance. Um, interesting work out of the Netherlands. A single inhalation of nitrous oxide was associated with significant, rapid, and sustained improvement of treatment-resistant...
Type Two Diabetes Now A Reversible Condition

Type Two Diabetes Now A Reversible Condition

Health and being healthy are made more complicated than they need to be, and often it is always doom and gloom about health. Really, there is a lot of good news. Well, here’s some great news from work out of Glasgow, and this is from Medscape UK (Source). Type 2...

Hands off Toasties

Hands off Toasties

The relentless march of the nanny state into the minutiae of people's lives continues unabated. A quote: WA will ban ham and cheese sandwiches from school to hand teens with the lunch meal classed as red under new dietary rules. This is on a traffic light system of...

Dr Joe Unplugged

Dr Joe Unplugged

Dr Joe Unplugged is your home for open commentary on health, wellbeing, and life in the broadest sense. We will explore diet, exercise, sleep, and stress amongst other health matters as well as issues that may impact you and your well-being in direct or indirect ways....

It’s Christmas!

It’s Christmas!

If Christmas did not exist it would need to be invented. Perfectly timed at the end of the year, it allows many people worldwide to celebrate in some way, shape or form. This may be a formal religious celebration or simply a catch-up with friends and family. Given...

We Need Our Sleep

We Need Our Sleep

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated, as human beings spend more time sleeping than engaging in any other activity, yet many still neglect its crucial role in overall health. Human beings spend more time being asleep than anything else. It is estimated that at...

Do Not Despair

Do Not Despair

Let us start with the part we can all agree on – the average weight in most countries has increased over the last 40 years, albeit the number of those with serious weight issues is much less than the numbers quoted. This is because although the Body Mass Index (BMI)...

Reigning in the Medical Industrial Complex

Reigning in the Medical Industrial Complex

That medical science has advanced over the last century and that it has provided benefits for many is a statement of fact and the obvious. It is also possible to have too much of a good thing. More to the point, as with most industries, and yes healthcare is an...

Moving On Whilst Learning

Moving On Whilst Learning

Pandemic recovery has led the vast majority of people to move on from Covid and resume their lives. This is evidenced by data on travel, the low uptake of additional boosters, and the fact that masks are now a rare sight. Some have chosen not to move on, and they are...

Hitting 100

Hitting 100

There is a lot of doom and gloom in health. Whilst the media report on the occasional “breakthrough” or “game changer” medication, which usually isn’t, most of the commentary is downcast. We have epidemics of everything from viruses to obesity to vaping. Each of these...

Who Will Think Of The Children?

Who Will Think Of The Children?

All actions have consequences. Sometimes these are immediate and sometimes the effects are not seen for a period of time. For example, you can plant an apple seed today and it will take years before there are apples on the tree that you can eat. Similarly, childcare...

An Unnecessary Lose-Lose

An Unnecessary Lose-Lose

It is the nature of life that mistakes happen. Smart teachers in life will frame error as inevitable and a valuable learning experience. Others can become so fearful of 'getting it wrong' that they get almost paralyzed by indecision. This principle also applies in...

Purpose – The Eighth Pillar of Health

Purpose – The Eighth Pillar of Health

Human behavior and society have evolved significantly over the last 2000 years, yet it is interesting to reflect on how little humans have actually changed. On the surface, we have modern accommodation, transport, and communication technology far beyond what could...