Why Asclepius?
Asclepius was the ancient Greek god of medicine, healing, and doctors, revered for his ability to cure the sick and even to restore the dead to life. He was the son of the god Apollo and the mortal princess Coronis, and did lots of stuff in Ancient Greek times. Today, he is known for his symbolism, particularly his serpent-entwined staff - the Rod of Asclepius - which now a commonly used symbol for medicine.
Why this publication? Back in the middle 2000s, there was a program on television called “House, M.D.”. It followed an exceptional physician who was given the most difficult cases to solve. As a doctor, I found it interesting to try to beat House to the diagnosis (I sometimes won), though I wondered about a diagnostic approach that would only call for a full blood count when all other investigations and procedures had been exhausted.
After the first couple of series, the cases and plot of the episodes became less than impressive, so I stopped watching. However, during Covid, I decided to watch every episode of every series. I found many errors, but the one that particularly stood out was a diagnosis of Refsum Disease in a vegan, successfully treated by prescribing a meat diet. This absolute rubbish might have been broadcast to appease some form of meat-marketing organisation. These pages represent my attempt to try to counter that, and similar, disinformation and to hopefully help educate anyone interest in health - of the individual, of the environment, and of the planet.