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Episode 6

The incredible story of the woman who can smell Parkinson's, and we discover that alcohol does not dehydrate you.

The incredible story of the woman who can smell Parkinson’s. Seventy-two-year-old Joy first recognised her superpower when she realised she could smell the disease in her own husband. She is now working with a team of medical scientists to help develop earlier detection of the illness. In the studio we meet Bobbin, a medical detection dog, who sniffs out various medical issues in people.

Also, the terrible tale of almost five and a half thousand patients who were recalled and re-evaluated after a neurologist was found to be misdiagnosing patients. Janelle started seeing Dr Michael Watt with headaches, but after six months of treatment and several invasive and unnecessary procedures, she escaped his care. Many other patients were not as lucky.

One of the latest social media trends to take hold is the idea of internal showers. According to the users who've taken part in the trend, an 'internal shower' involves mixing two tablespoons of chia seeds, the juice of half a lemon and a cup of water before leaving the mixture to sit for ten minutes until it has turned gelatinous. The next step is to drink the mixture and then wait for nature to take its course... in the belief that it will cleanse your insides. Hence the phrase, ‘internal shower’. Is it a cure, or possibly a con?

And we’re discussing the hype around hydration. Do we really need eight glasses of water a day? Do tea and coffee dehydrate you, and why does alcohol make you feel so dried out? Dr Xand has the answers.

28 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Alexander van Tulleken
Presenter Ashley John-Baptiste
Production Manager Richard Collier
Executive Producer Brendan Hughes
Series Producer Karen Donnelly
Director Angela MacMillan

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