About

The advances in medicine, should mean that every person is in the peak of health, but lets face it,  most people are getting by with a little pharmacological help.  It is more-or-less a matter of time, before you are hit with one of the big modern day afflictions  i.e. heart disease, diabetes, cancer or Alzeihemer’s.

Health gurus love to tell you what to do (not do), but not why

But many people find the advice difficult to follow and still get into trouble from a health perspective, despite trying their best to stick to the so called healthy lifestyle. 

I believe it is time to apply a little science to the “living healthy” dilemma.  We are all different, what works for one person, might not work at all or be harmful to the next.  You need to figure out what is right for you – the 7 Big Spoons™ provides an overarching guideline. 

Everyone needs to manage these BIG spoons

Managing the 7 big spoons™ is the key to health and wellbeing.

Are there other spoons ?  Most definitely, there are lots of little spoons which can be tweaked to maximize health,  but the 7 big spoons™ are the ones that  are typically disturbed.   

 The how to is the dilemma.

The how to do this depends on your genes, your lifestyle and your current health condition. For some people handling one or more of the spoons will be a huge challenge, while others will wonder what the fuss is about.  

So how is this different from the hundreds of health blogs

Is 7 Big Spoons™ just churning out the same old health advice about watching what you eat, moving a lot, not sleeping with everything that moves and laying off the booze, coffee and cigarettes.

Yes and no.  The standard advice actually tweaks the spoons, that is why is works.

But few people make the connection.  My philosophy is simple.  I believe if you understand the why, it is a lot easier to apply it to your own life and you are a lot less likely to end up wasting time and money on lotions and potions that serve little to no purpose, but to make other people rich.

Is the health blog about “all natural”

 Definitely not.  I am trained as a pharmacologist……

If you go to a surgeon, he will want to cut you up to fix you, 

if you go to a dietician, she will want to fix you by changing your diet, 

a psychologist will want to talk about it. 

A pharmacologist wants to shove a chemical in you. 

I am a slightly evolved pharmacologist, so I’m happy for the chemical to be produced by big pharma, a plant, the sun,  a genetically modified  bacteria  or your own body. 

 But chemicals rule !

Of course, you have to get the right chemical for the job, and most importantly the right amount.  Missing either of these “rights” can end up with a big wrong ! The main reason why chemicals sometimes get such bad press.

PS.  Mother nature is responsible for some of the most toxic chemicals known to man so natural is not always “safer”.

 

Will it be “scientific”

Yes and no.  Nothing I publish will not be based on good science i.e. stuff that has been published in real medical journals and checked out by other scientists (not that this is always a pre-requisite for good science, but it is a good start).  At the bottom of posts, I usually include a link to the actual journal article, allowing  you to read it yourself. 

But it will always be in plain English (well I will try to put it in plain English if I miss it, just let me know and I’ll try again).  Stories will usually be accompanied by a cartoon, since I think in pictures.

NOTE:

I actually cannot draw to save my life and have on numerous occasions found, that my beautifully crafted chalkboard drawing, has been the subject of public ridicule.  The drawings are produced by one of my ex-students a combination of his tooning  talents and my imagination.  Check him out  if you need a cartoon of someone – it makes a great gift and will help him pay for his studies.

 The objective of this blog is

• to introduce you to the “Big spoons” as well as a few little spoons
• to explore the role of the “spoons” in health
• to assess which “spoons” you might be missing
• to equip you with tools to load up the ”spoons” you need
• to keep you up to date with the latest science

Will I sell you stuff ?

Yes, just like you, I have to put food on the table etc.    Blog cannot be a charity.

My main way of making money is through speaking and consulting.  I have several “speeches”.   I will never endorse any lotion or potion directly – you might see an advert or two for products and services  in the health space.  I hope to write a few books – my first big project will dispel some of the myths about caffeine. 

Knowledge is power !  

I have watched family members and friends make poor health choices and costly decisions, based on information that is mostly fluff.  

 I have studied and taught pharmacology for the past 20 years, but the information based on good science, that  I give my students is not packaged in such a way as to be easily accessible to the ordinary person.   The reason I set up this blog is  to make sure ordinary people have access to the best possible information on health topics, so they can be empowered to make informed health decisions.

 Check out my background by linking to  Dr Sandy’s bio.

What now ?

Read the stories.   Leave a comment – agree, disagree just don’t spam me.  Ask a question.  Whatever.

If you like what you see, then subscribe to E-spoons (it is a once a month compilation of stories which appeared on the blog plus a few extras – view the March 2011 edition) which will be delivered directly to your in box on 1st Wednesday of the month  or do the RSS feed thing.