health | Cork Skeptics

November 2, 2017
by Cork Skeptics Leave a comment

You Are What You Tweet with Niamh O’Connor

Niamh O’Connor, a.k.a. the Nutri-Babble Slayer, Puts Online Health & Nutrition Claims Under The Microscope

8:00pm • Friday 24th November • Blackrock Castle Observatory

Having immersed herself in Twitter for the past 7 years, dietitian & consultant nutritionist Niamh O’Connor has seen first-hand the power of social media in healthcare. In that time, Niamh has become a leading voice on social media for Irish dietitians, as an unwavering nutribabble-slaying thorn in the side of opportunistic quacks, celebrities and charlatans, who post misleading, false and incorrect health and nutrition information online!

In this talk, Niamh will chronicle her online odyssey through the world of bogus health and nutrition claims and those that peddle them, as well as providing practical advice on what to look out for and how best to assess these claims.

About The Speaker: Niamh O’Connor qualified with BSc (Hons) in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from TCD & a Diploma in Dietetics from DIT in 1993.

In 1999 she founded Cork Nutrition Consultancy, which was the very first of its kind in Cork, and in 2012 she went on to launch NutriCount® Ireland, which provides professional nutritional analysis, allergen labelling, staff training & mentoring on health and nutrition claims for the hospitality sector.

Niamh is an active member of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute (INDI), the professional body for dietitians and clinical nutritionists in Ireland. She advocates for her patients and for her profession, and is a regular contributor to local and national radio, television, print media and social media on all things nutrition.

Niamh can be found on Twitter @CorkNutrition

This talk takes place at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork at 8:00pm on Friday 24th November. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend!

August 15, 2016
by Colm Leave a comment

Here we go again.

Another outbreak of measles in Cork.

In a small number of cases, measles can cause permanent health complications. In extreme cases, it can kill.

Very small babies and immunocompromised children depend on the rest of us being vaccinated in order to avoid contracting the disease.

People who don’t vaccinate their kids put their kids and other children at unnecessary risk.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/warning-over-adult-measles-outbreak-in-co-cork-1.2757125

October 10, 2012
by Alan B. Leave a comment

The Nocebo Effect: A Talk by Keir Liddle of Edinburgh Skeptics

Our next meeting will take place on Saturday 20th October, at Blackrock Castle Observatory, starting at 8.00pm. The talk is by Keir Liddle of Edinburgh Skeptics, who will take a close look at the Nocebo Effect. Keir will join us from Scotland, via the sufficiently advanced technology* of Skype.

On the night, we will also have a short (live!) presentation from the editor of Walton Magazine, a new quarterly STEM publication based in Cork.

Most people are familiar with the placebo effect—where an inert substance appears to cause an improvement in a patient’s symptoms (or at least makes them believe things are getting better). But we may be less aware of it’s corollary, the nocebo effect.

In medicine, a nocebo reaction or response refers to harmful, unpleasant, or undesirable effects a subject manifests after receiving an inert dummy drug or placebo. Nocebo responses are not chemically generated and are due only to the subject’s pessimistic belief and expectation that the inert drug will produce negative consequences. In these cases, there is no “real” drug involved, but the actual negative consequences of the administration of the inert drug, which may be physiological, behavioural, emotional, and/or cognitive, are nonetheless real.

In this talk placebo and nocebo are explained and pitted against each other. Are they both real? How can we study nocebo effects? And what implications do nocebos have for modern clinical practice?

Keir Liddle is a PhD student at the University of Stirling, and on the Edinburgh Skeptics committee. He founded the longest free skeptical festival in the world (Skeptics On The Fringe) and has a longstanding interest in placebos, nocebos and their implications. In this talk he draws on recent and past research into nocebo effects to argue that they are really a lot more important than anyone seems to give them credit for.

This talk is open to the public, and is free to attend. Directions to Blackrock Castle Observatory can be found on our information page. We hope to see you there!

July 6, 2012
by Alan B. 1 Comment

Where’s The Harm: Dr. Stephen Makin & Ben Makin of Edinburgh Skeptics Discuss Alternative Medicine

On Saturday 14th July, Dr. Stephen Makin and Ben Makin of the Edinburgh Skeptics will deliver what promises to be a fascinating talk on the anecdotes and evidence surrounding alternative medicine. This talk will begin at 8.00pm at CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Ben Makin has tried a complete alphabet of traditional, complimentary and New Age treatments and practices. She will take us on a rapid tour of alternative and complimentary medicine, from Applied Kinesiology to Zen Buddhism, and ask “Where’s the harm?”

Dr Stephen Makin will reply, looking at the evidence and discussing cases where real harm has been done by alternative practices, and explaining why skeptics should continue to fight against quackery and cons.

Ben Makin was raised on goats’ milk and home-made wholemeal bread and started her working life at Culpepper’s the Herbalist; she now maintains the Edinburgh Skeptics website.

Stephen Makin was raised on soya milk and meditation, and ran away to Medical School to become a doctor. He is a Clinical Research Fellow in Stroke Medicine at Edinburgh University who spends too much time arguing with proponents of woo on the internet.

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This talk is open to the public, and is free to attend. Directions to Blackrock Castle Observatory can be found on our information page. We hope to see you there!

June 9, 2012
by Alan B. Leave a comment

So You Think You Own Your Body?: A Talk by Dr. Muireann Quigley

On Friday June 15th, we will be hosting Dr Muireann Quigley from the University of Manchester. The talk will begin at 8.00pm at CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Muireann is a lecturer in Bioethics, with a particular interest in property law regarding the human body. Prior to taking up the lectureship, Muireann worked as a Research Fellow in Bioethics and Law. In a previous life she was a medical doctor where she worked in General Medicine and A&E. She has also worked as a Screening Physician for a phase I clinical trials company.

Muireann’s talk, entitled So You Think You Own Your Body? will look at the changing role of the body and human biomaterials in a rapidly developing biotechnological world. She will show how the uses and misuses of persons and their tissues and cells by medicine, scientists, pharmaceutical companies and industry have risen and expanded exponentially.

In so doing, Muireann will argue that advancing biotechnology has fundamentally altered the way we view the human body and its parts and products. During the talk we will see that the fact that each of us is a potential provider of material for research has placed the human body and biomaterials in the realm of property. Using some relevant stories and cases, the talk will highlight the conflicts that can arise over the use of human tissue for research in the ’tissue economy’; thereby, illustrating that the body (and its parts) can be viewed as being in flux, scientifically, legally, and ethically though.

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This talk is open to the public, and is free to attend. Directions to Blackrock Castle Observatory can be found on our information page. We hope to see you there!

March 23, 2012
by Colm 1 Comment

How effective are health food supplements?

At her talk last week, Rebecca O’Neill mentioned a number of websites that might be of assistance if you are interested in the effectiveness of food supplements.

The first website, an infographic from the Information Is Beautiful site, is particularly eye-catching. Above the “worth it” line is a relatively small list of the supplements that have been shown to be effective in particular defined cases. Below the line is a longer list of supplements where the jury is out on their effectiveness. Some of the same supplements appear in multiple places: so, while garlic can be helpful with blood pressure conditions, it has no proven link with the treatment of cancer. Clicking on any bubble brings you to a related study where you can get more information.

It should be mentioned that this is a starting point only. It goes without saying that if you suspect you have a medical condition, it is worth seeking assistance from a qualified medical professional before embarking on a course of supplements.

Donal O’Mahuna’s site, Bioethics Ireland, provides information on a large number of herbal remedies and alternative treatments. It’s a very useful source of information if you are looking for more facts on a particular supplement or remedy.

Mention should also be given to Edzard Ernst’s and Simon Singh’s bestselling book “Trick or Treatment” (Eason / Amazon / Waterstones) where alternative remedies are put under the microscope.

Finally, here is the audio of Rebecca’s talk to Cork Skeptics. It’s well worth a listen.

[MP3]