Dr Xand's Con or Cure

Original version

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

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Factual: Health & Wellbeing

The facts, not the fakes, about your health.

The facts, not the fakes, about your health with Dr Xand van Tulleken and Ashley John-Baptiste. From social media scams to health scares, they'll shine a light on bad medicine.

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Alexander van Tulleken

Ashley John-Baptiste

Richard Collier

Brendan Hughes

Karen Donnelly

Tern Television Productions

Dr Xand's Con or Cure: Series 2: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC One - Dr Xand's Con or Cure, Series 2, Episode 1

A look at a revolutionary treatment for depression available on the high street. What gadgets can help treat seasonal affective disorder? Is neck cracking dangerous? And can cheese cause nightmares?

From cons to cures, scams to scares and fakes from facts. 

Health consumer show Dr Xand’s Con or Cure is dedicated to righting the wrongs of ‘bad medicine’. Dr Xand van Tulleken and journalist Ashley John-Baptiste scour the country to expose medical quacks, explode false news, explain topical health and showcase extraordinary cases. In a world of social media and information at our fingertips, they help you sift the right advice from the downright dangerous and shine a light on medical malpractice and criminal behaviour, helping you to take your health in your own hands. 

We live in a world where scammers will try just about anything to part us from our cash – often using sophisticated means. So, it’s especially cruel when an illness like dementia makes that even easier for them. We meet one woman who lost £5,000 of her savings when a scammer posed as an employee of her bank. And in the studio, we get useful tips from the Alzheimer’s Society on things we can all do to help prevent this happening to people we care about.

Medical myths and notions tend to linger. Across literature over centuries, people have been talking about the effects eating cheese can have on sleep. Charles Dickens had Ebenezer Scrooge attributing his ghostly visions to the fact that he had had some cheese. So, we ask the question: does eating cheese at night give you bad dreams? And we have an answer. 

In the UK, we’re all a bit prone to complaining about the cold and dark winter nights – it's just what we do! Shorter days bring less sunshine. Seasonal affective disorder, also known as ‘winter depression’, is a very real problem for many people. But there are gadgets on the market that promise to bring some sunshine back. Are they worth the money, or are they just conning you out of your cash? Psychologist Kimberley Wilson joins us to provide some answers and helpful advice.

We visit a clinic in Somerset where they are using a revolutionary new technique to help people who suffer from depression. Doctors are using magnets to help stimulate the brain, and they are seeing incredible results in patients where nothing else has worked. Professor Alex O’Neill-Kerr, a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, joins us in the studio with a portable headset approved by the NHS that you can buy yourself and use at home.

We look at the dangers associated with one of the latest trends on social media – neck cracking. Dr Xand looks at why people do it and explains why it’s a really dangerous thing to do.

In each episode, Dr Xand answers a question sent in directly by viewers. In this programme, a viewer asks, ‘Dear Dr Xand, can you tell me if the Low Fodmap diet really helps?'

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