Dr Gemma Newman

Holistic Health

Plant based nutrition

Because true wellbeing lies within us all

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Dr Gemma Newman has worked in medicine for 16 years and is the Senior Partner at a family medical practice where she has worked for 10 years. She studied at the University of Wales College of Medicine and has worked in many specialities as a doctor including elderly care, endocrinology, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, general surgery, urology, vascular surgery, rehabilitation medicine and General Practice.

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Last week I broke all PPE protocols. As I stood th

Last week I broke all PPE protocols. As I stood there embracing my elderly patient, soothing her, stroking her hair and gently offering calming words, it struck me again that this lockdown has had so many adverse effects. I had needed to restrain her initially, as it was her intention to run in front of a moving car.
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Last week at work was like a masterclass in human suffering and disconnection, as each clinic brought a glimpse of my patient’s challenges in lockdown. Paranoid schizophrenia, severe depression, domestic violence, abuse of children, and in one couple, threats of homicide and suicide. No shelter homes, no escape.
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Lockdown has intensified the cracks in our relationships, brought us face to face with our shadow selves and magnified our struggles.
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I’m thinking especially of those of us with no financial security. No income. No loved ones. No hope. Much as I love the community I am part of online, it is not real life. Arguments I see breaking out on Youtube and Instagram over personalised nutrition, who quit veganism to go carnivore, ‘calling out’ and debunking of others, and perhaps more generally, the pattern of the wellness space being one of privilege and class. Sometimes it looks like an exhausting circus, especially when I see real people struggling to pay bills, using food banks and stuck in negative patterns that no glossy insta feed would fix.
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My main reflection after a difficult week in the real world is just for me, you and all of us to remember that we all need love, connection and significance. All of us. .
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When people are hurting on the inside, they lash out. When people are acting in a way that feels judgemental of you, try to imagine the harsh words they probably say to themselves. What it must feel like to walk in their shoes. Give love. Connect. Look inwards and remember your significance, your greatness. Be grateful, if you can. For the smallest of things. .
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Ah, and I for one will be hugging more too, just as soon as I can. ☺️
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#lockdown #lockdown2020 #socialdistancing #hug #compassion #connection #love #humantouch #mentalhealth #adversechildhoodexperiences

NAFLD . Bit of a mouthful! Ever heard of it? One i

NAFLD
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Bit of a mouthful! Ever heard of it? One in five young adults in the U.K. already has it. It is the medical term for fatty liver, and it is a silent condition that is on the rise.
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It is very much linked to other disorders of metabolism; diabetes, or pre-diabetes (insulin resistance), being overweight or obese, raised blood lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as high blood pressure. Although they are all linked to you do not have to have all of the conditions together.

What are the risks?
Most people do not know that they have a fatty liver as it is generally diagnosed with an ultrasound scan. If you have other metabolic syndromes then you may well have fatty liver too, though it can sometimes happen in people of normal weight. NAFLD can sometimes develop into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which involves inflammation of the liver. About 20% of those diagnosed with NASH develop cirrhosis, which is a serious problem that can lead to many complications. In fact, it is becoming a leading cause of needing a liver transplant.
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The good news is that, much like other metabolic diseases, a plant predominant diet can help you to turn your health destiny around. Last week I saw a patient with severe NAFLD who was under the care of a hepatologist. After a conversation on the benefits of plant-based nutrition, she now has normal liver enzymes for the first time in three years. She was delighted and has been discharged from follow-up. it honestly made my day! .
Is there data to back up a plant based approach to NAFLD? Yes; here is one such example. Hepatology journal published a large prospective cohort trial with >215,000 men and women aged 45-75 living in Hawaii and California who have been followed for more than 2 decades. A total of 2,974 NAFLD cases and 29,474 matched controls were included. Of the NAFLD cases, 518 had cirrhosis.
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Red meat, processed red meat, poultry, and cholesterol intake were all associated with NAFLD, while dietary fibre intake was protective.
Continued in the comments 👇👇👇

The message of plant-based eating translated into

The message of plant-based eating translated into 18 different languages! Thanks to @suprememastertv for picking up the @no_meat_may campaign alongside @plantbasedhealthprofessionals and for the special shout out and quote from me. It was a sweet surprise to imagine the message being seen by people from around the globe. 🌏 .
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Posted @withregram • @suprememastertv A group of doctors from the United Kingdom’s Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, a nonprofit organization, have joined together with the global No Meat May campaign to urge the public to help the world avoid future #pandemics. The #doctors warned, as have scientists worldwide, that future pandemics could arise from intensive livestock systems, which produce more than 90% of the meat consumed worldwide today. Well-known vegan physician Dr. Gemma Newman stated, “Our industrial scale factory farms are like a ticking time bomb – yet I can guarantee that lentils will not spark a viral pandemic anytime soon.” The doctors urged the public to participate in support programs like No Meat May, which saw a record 33,000 signatories this year compared to 10,000 in 2019. Thank you, Dr. Gemma Newman and all doctors involved, for your concerned efforts. In God’s compassion, we pray that your life-protecting advice is quickly acted upon to prevent more tragedies from befalling humankind. More constructive news on SupremeMasterTV.com .
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#SupremeMasterTV #GoVegan #Plantbased #HealthyLiving #Health #VeganDeit #HealthyDiet #wholefood #PlantBasedHealthProfessionalsUK #NoMeatMay #veganphysician #UK

Yesterday, in some parts of the world, the birthda

Yesterday, in some parts of the world, the birthday of Buddha was celebrated. A little known piece of trivia about me is that I studied religious education prior to my medical degree. The human search for meaning fascinates me just as much as the human body. In the midst of humanity experiencing a pandemic, the current spotlight of racial injustice, and all the people of our planet currently living through the sixth mass extinction event on this Earth, I would love to share with you the wisdom not of Buddha, but of his female counterpart. The goddess Quan Yin (Guan Yin). .
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Quan Yin is the Goddess of Compassion. In the first century, the Lotus Sutra was composed. Within it, Quan Yin, the “one who hears the cries of the world,” emerged as an embodiment of compassion. Sometimes she holds a willow branch, symbolizing her ability to bend in the face of the most fierce storms without being broken. At other times she is portrayed with a thousand arms and hands, each with an open eye, depicting her constant awareness of anguish and her all-embracing love. Sometimes she is a warrior, fierce in her commitment to uprooting the causes of suffering.
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How do we live like Quan Yin? Listening deeply to sorrow wherever we meet it is to take the first step on the journey of compassion. If we shield ourselves from the pain that surrounds us, or numb from the pain within, we live a life of avoidance and separation. True compassion is not forged at a distance from pain but in its fires. We do not always have a solution for suffering. We cannot always fix pain. However, we can commit to staying connected and to listening deeply.
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Our capacity to cause suffering as well as to heal suffering live side by side within us. If we can develop the capacity to listen, we will find our hearts can encompass a great deal, and we can learn to heal the things that divide us from one another. .
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#blm #blacklivesmatter #pandemic #sixthmassextinction #socialjustice #socialdistancing #quanyin #guanyin #buddha #enlightenment #compassion #love #listen #covid_19 #dao #hindu #christian #planet

Written by Dr Shireen Kassam founder of @plantbase

Written by Dr Shireen Kassam founder of @plantbasedhealthprofessionals 🌍 ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020🌍
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I am feeling sad and hopeless. We are in a global pandemic of our own making. Despite warnings we did not act. This week, Scientists, who warned us about entering the sixth mass extinction back in 2015, have published another paper showing that the rate of wildlife species loss is accelerating and we are hurtling even faster towards the sixth mass extinction. We have not acted on their initial warning and they state that without action now ‘this poses an existential threat to human life’. Humans have destroyed habitats, polluted the land, sea and air, and continue to cause immense suffering to human and non-human animals. If we continue, further pandemics are inevitable, more people will suffer from hunger and poverty, more species will be lost from this earth forever
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We had all hoped that the pandemic would make us consider our choices, values and actions. We were hopeful that we would find a more harmonious way of living on this earth as the lock down is eased. But this is not the case. We appear to be restarting ‘business as usual’ without considering a better way. For Matt Hancock (UK health secretary) to tweet that the restarting of horse racing this week was a positive sign of our recovery leaves me speechless. That the UK is in the process of trade deals that would allow poor quality foods and products associated with terrible animal welfare standards enter the food system is shocking
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On World Environment Day, lets take time to consider the state of our planet and all its inhabitants. We must act and change. We must demand those in power to find a better way. There is a small glimmer of hope. Scientists tell us ‘There is time, but the window of opportunity is almost closed. We must save what we can, or lose the opportunity to do so forever’
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Eat plant-based, consume less and recycle, travel less, do not support companies and industries that are destroying our planet, support those who are championing a better way, grow food if you can, lobby government and those in power. Inaction is no longer an option, be the change you wish to see.

INSTALIVE - JOIN US I will be sharing space with

INSTALIVE - JOIN US
I will be sharing space with the wonderful @fitnessexplorer Darryl Edwards on Thursday night, 8pm BST. Although Darryl specialises in movement coaching, as well as being an author, a former investment banking technologist and now founder of the Primal Play Method to make movement fun - we will be talking about something different during our Instalive. Darryl advises people on maintaining a healthy lifestyle—amidst the epidemic of obesity, diabetes and heart disease we all face. But this discussion will focus on the largely unseen epidemic of inequality that faces only those of colour; racism. He joins me to share his experiences and his story. .
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Healing comes in many forms. Listening to the person who is sharing a problem. Acceptance that there is a problem. Action to make changes in the face of a problem. .
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But it is hard to listen, to accept or to take action if we feel as though there is no problem. Or when we feel blamed or defensive. Sometimes it is easier not to face these things at all. What if I offend someone? What if I say the wrong thing? But let’s put all the uncertainty to one side. This is not about me, you, them. This is a discussion without burden or blame. This is a recognition of systems that have gone unseen, and deep unconscious biases that remain hidden. This conversation is here to open up hearts and minds. To bring people together. To help us all to listen to one man, and his experiences in navigating this world.
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Join us, let’s listen and learn together.
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#healthinequality #blm #blacklivesmatter #bame #covid19 #civilrights #bipoc #oppression #icantbreathe #georgefloyd #amycooper #colonialism #imperialism #colorblind #color #loveunites #listening

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