the diet doctors: inside & out(8/8)
Tonight sees the conclusion of the third series of the health and lifestyle show. Dr Samina Showghi, nutritionist Pam Stepney and chiropractor Dr Ben King take on some truly shocking habits as they battle bad diets and unhealthy lifestyles. Tonight’s subject is 27-year-old Mark Skorupa, who is underweight and suffers from arthritis.
Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of nine, Mark Skorupa has been on painkillers to ease the discomfort of his swollen joints ever since. His condition has recently worsened, so Mark is looking for all the help he can get and is aware that a change of diet can go some way towards easing his symptoms. He has also suffered with diarrhoea for the past year, which he attributes to his poor diet; and suffers from colitis, a digestive problem characterised by an inflamed colon. Mark also exhibits visible signs of poor health, including dark circles under his eyes, a white film on the tongue and thinning hair.
Mark thinks he eats a normal amount, but his diet is actually far from nutritious. Regularly skipping breakfast, Mark usually has a sandwich, crisps and a chocolate bar for lunch and a ready meal for dinner. He admits that he does not have a big appetite, which may mean that he is not consuming enough calories for weight gain.
At only eight stone, the 5-foot-11 Mark is nearly two stone underweight. His chest measures 30.5 inches, while his waist is 27 inches and arms 7.5. Outgoing and sociable, Mark nevertheless admits to feeling awkward and self-conscious about his weight, upon which people frequently comment, and desperately wants to gain the pounds that he feels will make him look more masculine.
The Diet Doctors set to work overhauling Mark’s diet, outlawing curries and missed meals in favour of vitamin-rich snacks and foods rich in essential fatty acids, including salmon and tuna. To ease his arthritis, the Diet Doctors advise against high levels of saturated fat, as well as excess alcohol, caffeine and spicy food, and encourage Mark to eat foods rich in vitamin E, sulphur and antioxidants. They also recommend pineapple, which contains a natural anti-inflammatory called bromelain. After three months, how will Mark have fared?
David
This was one of the worst most biased programs I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. To think that you can virtually cure Rheumatoid Arthritis and Colitis (even mild colitis) buy changing your diet is just fraudulent. While the beutiful Hollywood Diet Doctors sat their in their modern plush clinic telling Mark to eat pineapple what they forgot to mention (or at the very least glossed over) was that Mark seemed to have also recently started a set of infusions with a drug called Infliximab. Infliximab is pretty new and its a bit of a wonder drug for anything autoimune, showing great results on Rheumatoid Arthritus and Colitis within 12 weeks in about 40% of patients. So what was working here - Pineapple or Infliximab ? I will let you decide. I also LOVED the way they gave him a physical makeover as well, nice new cardigan, hairstyle, did they whiten his teeth. Now I have no doubt eating healthily helps keep you feeling well. But it DOESNT cure autoimune disease. Maybe next week the team can feed someone with terminal cancer tomatoes and see if they recover...... Utter rubbish.Post new comment