Dr Xand's Con or Cure

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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.

Series 2

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Alexander van Tulleken

Ashley John-Baptiste

Richard Collier

Brendan Hughes

Karen Donnelly

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Dr Xand's Con or Cure: Series 2: Episode 3

Episode 3

BBC One - Dr Xand's Con or Cure, Series 2, Episode 3

Do detoxing gadgets work? Tips on helping us with our sleep. A revolutionary scientific advance that might spell the end of mammograms. And the dangers of weight loss surgery abroad.

Having weight loss surgery on the NHS can see patients sitting on waiting lists for years. Many look abroad for quicker solutions. But health tourism is fraught with risks. One woman from the Wirral was told by her consultant that she needed a gastric sleeve operation to help her lose weight. With the costs starting at around £10,000, she couldn’t afford to do it in the UK, so she looked further afield. However, when her surgery in Turkey went horribly wrong, she was left unable to eat or drink without the aid of a tube. 

Blue light glasses have clocked up over 140 million views on the internet. They are supposed to be the key to having a restful night’s sleep, but are they just another way to get us to part with our cash? Sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski joins us in studio to talk about whether they work or not, and she gives us some useful tips on how we can improve our sleep.

Detoxing has become a popular buzzword in the world of diets. Some of the claims made in relation to detox diets include magical weight loss, improved digestion and better hair quality. Dr Xand and Ashley discuss the merits and risks of detoxing and look at whether any detox gadgets are worth the money. 

Thanks to continuing research, advancements in the treatment of cancer are improving year on year. But there are still around 55,000 women and 400 men diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. However, pioneering new research in the early detection of breast cancer could now be literally at our fingertips. Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have discovered that sweat on our fingertips may give us an early warning of breast cancer. Ashley goes along to investigate.

Drinking tart cherry juice daily has become a new sensation on social media, with many people claiming that it can help with sleep. But can it really? There is some research suggesting that it can. Dr Xand outlines why that work may be flawed but is then surprised by an anecdotal tale from one member of the team.

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