'Anti-vax' woman, 23, died after refusing chemotherapy
In previous written statements - submitted to the family division of the High Court in spring 2024 and read out at the hearing on Monday - she described the alleged violations as akin to experiments carried out at Auschwitz.Paloma, who grew up in Uckfield, East Sussex, denied even having non-Hodgkin lymphoma, calling it an "absurd fantasy, with no proof".The Cambridge graduate described the diagnosis as "suspected and unconfirmed", adding that she had a "background in natural healing".In addition, she feared that if she were to survive chemotherapy it might make her infertile. "I do not want to undergo such a harsh treatment that could even kill me when there is a possibility this is not cancer", she said.
She described her mother, who was struck off as a nurse in 2021, as "an extremely forceful advocate for natural health" who was often "misquoted".Paloma had turned to Gerson therapy - a strict organic vegetarian diet involving enemas - on the advice of her mother's ex-fiancee, Dr Patrick Villers, though Cancer Research UK said there was no scientific evidence of it being an effective treatment.The proceedings, which involve Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, were on the appropriateness of her care and heard how Paloma had said she was "delighted" with her alternative treatment and "sure" she would "make a full recovery" if left to continue it.The inquest, led by coroner Catherine Wood, continues.Additional reporting from PA Media.
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Daily Mirror
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Parents who have children with autism or ADHD can claim up to £16,157 from DWP
There are six payments worth nearly £17,000 that parents can claim if their children have autism or ADHD. Here's everything you need to know and how to get the extra support UK families with children who have autism or ADHD can claim up to £16,157 in benefits. Parents of children living with autism or ADHD can access £16,157 in benefits and additional support. Six payments totalling nearly £17,000 have been revealed, which parents can utilise if their children are living with autism or ADHD. ADHD is a disorder characterised by behavioural analysis, those with ADHD exhibit a consistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity–impulsivity that hampers daily functioning and/or development. In the UK, a research survey involving 10,438 children aged between 5 and 15 years discovered that 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls were diagnosed with ADHD. UK households who eat chips 'three times a week' given urgent warning Autistic individuals may struggle with communication and interaction with others or find it challenging to comprehend how others think or feel. They might find elements such as bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable, according to the NHS. Further information from the NHS states that they could become anxious or distressed about unfamiliar situations and social events, or may take longer to process information. They may also repeatedly do or think the same things, reports Birmingham Live. Here are the six payments, worth almost £17,000, that parents can claim if their children have autism or ADHD. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - £9,700 DLA consists of two parts, the 'care component' and the 'mobility component'. To qualify for DLA, you must be eligible for at least one of the components. The amount of DLA you receive depends on how your disability or health condition impacts you. You might be entitled to the care component of DLA if you: need help with things like washing, dressing, eating, using the toilet or communicating your needs need supervision to avoid putting yourself or others in danger need someone with you when you're on dialysis cannot prepare a cooked main meal You can claim this part if no one is actually providing the care you need, or if you live alone. Carer's Allowance - £4,331 You could receive £83.30 a week if you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and they are in receipt of certain benefits. You don't have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for. There's no additional payment if you care for more than one person. If another person also cares for the same individual as you, only one of you can claim Carer's Allowance. You can choose to be paid weekly in advance or every 4 weeks. Extra Tax-Free Childcare - £2,000 Tax-Free Childcare is a government initiative that assists with childcare costs up to a maximum of £2,000 per eligible child each year (£4,000 if your child is disabled). The scheme covers the whole of the UK, including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The scheme is available to all parents of children under 12 (or under 17 if disabled). To qualify for the Tax-free Childcare Scheme, you must be working (and if you have a partner, they must also be working), and you must not be receiving any support through Universal Credit. Most parents who are eligible for Universal Credit can save more money using the childcare elements of this benefit instead of using Tax-Free Childcare. Typically, both partners in a couple must be employed or self-employed, each earning at least £2,539 (2025/26) every three months. However, recent changes allow newly self-employed individuals to have start-up periods where this income threshold doesn't need to be met, or they can use an average over the tax year. Save a third on train travel - £126 The Disabled Persons Railcard offers a third off rail fares across Britain, allowing regular users to pocket around £126 annually. The card is priced at £14.50 a year for young persons aged five to 15. While the card doesn't slash child fares, it does permit one person accompanying the cardholder to enjoy a third off most rail fares, meaning a parent can reap the savings. Family Fund Family Fund determines your family's eligibility for a grant based on your income and the impact of disability on your child or young person. Submitting through an online application form is the fastest and simplest way to apply. Online applications are also processed quicker, so you could receive your grant decision sooner. Please be aware that access to the online application form is only possible when there is grant funding available for your country of residence. Currently, the application form is closed to new applicants in Wales. Local Grants Both the government and local charities offer financial assistance for those in need, which doesn't require repayment. Turn2Us provides an online tool that checks your eligibility for more than 1,400 grants.
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Three diets that are more effective than weight-loss drugs, according to doctors
The weight-loss jab boom is in full swing. With celebrities showing off dramatic transformations, #ozempicbody trending on TikTok, and many buying GLP-1 drugs like Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic to slim down for beach holidays, it's estimated 1.5 million Britons are now using weight-loss drugs – with 95 per cent accessing them privately, from online pharmacies or weight-loss clinics. There was good news recently for anyone hoping to try the latest weight-loss injections: the NHS announced that Mounjaro will now be available through GP surgeries in England for patients with severe obesity and the 'highest clinical need'. Over the next three years, almost a quarter of a million people are expected to benefit. GLP-1 drugs, originally designed to treat type-2 diabetes, are widely hailed as a game changer for tackling obesity. Clinical trials suggest the jabs can help users lose 15-20 per cent of their body weight. They regulate blood-sugar levels and may improve conditions linked to excess weight, including high blood pressure, fatty liver disease and sleep apnoea. However, as the Mounjaro rollout begins, concerns are mounting among doctors and public health experts that the GLP-1 gold rush is distracting from safer, more sustainable solutions for solving the UK's ailing metabolic health. Alongside the soaring demand, reports of GLP-1 side effects are growing: from nausea and constipation to gallbladder problems and, now, hundreds of cases of pancreatitis. 'There's been a rush to embrace GLP-1 drugs as a magic bullet, but we're not talking enough about the risks,' says Dr David Unwin, award-winning GP and scientific adviser to the Public Health Collaboration (PHC), a charity that champions lifestyle-based approaches to metabolic health. 'A BMJ investigation shows there have been 82 deaths associated with these medications. Yet most patients assume the drugs are safe. People are accessing them online, without proper medical supervision. It's like the Wild West.' While he acknowledges GLP-1s have a role to play, he and other doctors are concerned the drugs are being promoted as a fix-all, and are quietly proving that targeted diet and lifestyle programmes can achieve similar results – without side effects. 'You can stimulate your own GLP-1, naturally, through food and exercise,' says Dr Unwin, who is known for pioneering the low-carb diet for obesity and diabetes in the UK. 'A low-carb, high-protein diet is shown to boost GLP-1 levels. And it doesn't come with nausea or cost a fortune.' Dr Campbell Murdoch is a GP with a special interest in metabolic health who launched a Metabolic Health 28-Day Plan combining a high-protein, low-carb diet with time-restricted eating, movement, easy lifestyle changes and mindset support. Originally created for NHS patients at his practice in Somerset, the results were so positive, the programme has been made freely available online. 'The GLP-1 boom has at least put metabolic health on the radar,' says Dr Murdoch. 'Now we need to give people complete solutions, including lifestyle, not just the drugs.' Here are the three diets doctors recommend. Low-carb diet Key benefits: simple and sustainable The low-carb diet is proven to get results and can curb food cravings, reverse type 2 diabetes and deliver comparable weight loss to GLP-1s, suggests latest research. Cutting down on sugar and starchy carbs deprives the body of its primary fuel, glucose. It starts burning body fat instead, leading to weight loss. Blood-sugar levels stabilise, appetite regulates, and insulin levels fall, leading to better metabolic health and lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dr Unwin has been spearheading the low-carb approach at his NHS clinic in Southport for the past 13 years, with striking results. 'On average, patients lose 10kg (22lbs) in the first year,' he says. 'We've helped 151 people achieve drug-free diabetes remission. That's 27 per cent of our diabetic population. We've saved £370,000 on diabetes medication.' In total, 51 per cent of Dr Unwin's patients with type 2 diabetes achieve remission, another 47 per cent get better control over their condition. And over 90 per cent of patients with pre-diabetes return to normal blood-sugar levels. Dr Unwin's approach has been adopted all over the world, through The Low-Carb Program and a free NHS-approved app. The method is simple, says Dr Unwin. 'Eat a nutritionally dense diet that doesn't raise your blood sugar.' Officially, low carb means eating less than 130g of carbs a day (for context, one apple is 25g, a bowl of pasta 40g). However, Dr Unwin recommends focusing less on numbers and more on cutting out sugar and starchy carbs, like bread, cereals and potatoes, while increasing protein and green veg. A typical low-carb meal might be baked salmon with asparagus and cauliflower rice. 'When you eat in a way that doesn't spike blood sugar, and includes enough protein, you stay feeling full, partly through natural, GLP-1 production,' explains Dr Unwin. Kirsten Linaker, 48, turned to the low-carb diet after weight-loss injections failed to help her. 'Dr Unwin gave me simple diet advice and a blood-glucose monitor, so I could see how foods like chocolate spiked my blood sugar,' she says. 'Now, I've lost almost 6st and have gone from size 26 to 14. I'm off my diabetic medication, and my food cravings have gone. I used to sit in bed at night, eating biscuits, now I'm just not hungry anymore. I don't even miss sweet stuff.' If you're following a low-carb diet, be sure to include nutritious foods, rich in fibre. If you have an existing medical problem, see your GP first. Keto diet Key benefit: rapid results The ketogenic, or 'keto' diet, is a more restrictive, high-fat, even lower carbohydrate approach designed to induce a fat-burning state in the body called ketosis. Followers of the diet aim for 20-50g carbs per day (drastically less than the 130g as on the low carb diet). It's proven to offer immediate weight loss and appetite suppression, along with metabolic-health benefits. 'In my experience, the keto diet gives the same benefits as GLP-1s, such as reduced appetite and elimination of food noise, without the side effects,' says Dr Eric Westman, associate professor of medicine at Duke University and director of the Duke Keto Medicine Clinic. When carb intake is drastically restricted, the body switches into ketosis, a metabolic state in which it burns fat for fuel, by converting it to ketones. This reduces blood glucose and insulin, and lowers levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. People can lose several pounds in the first week, gradually slowing to a more sustainable rate. Dr Westman's clinical research has shown that a keto diet can put type 2 diabetes into remission. Around 98 per cent of his patients with type 2 diabetes come off insulin. 'Patients typically lose one to two pounds a week,' he says. 'I can safely de-prescribe medications for diabetes, hypertension, heartburn and arthritis.' A meta-analysis of trials, in Nutrients, found that ketogenic diets gave better weight loss and blood-sugar control than a low-carb diet. Sharon Grey, 56, was almost 18st and living with type 2 diabetes, Nash (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), high blood pressure and depression before she began Dr Westman's keto programme ( After 13 months, her weight had dropped to 12st 8lb. 'I reversed my type 2 diabetes and Nash, and my blood pressure is normal again,' she says. 'My headaches, backache and knee pain improved, my mood is better and I'm taking fewer medications.' The key to keto success is to keep carbs under 50g a day. Include plenty of protein, says Dr Westman. 'Protein is critical as it helps you feel full, and ensures you lose fat, not muscle,' he says. 'Don't overdo the dietary fat - if you eat too much of it, your body will burn that, rather than body fat.' His top five keto foods are eggs, meat or poultry, seafood, non-starchy veg (like cauliflower or broccoli) and leafy greens. So when should you choose keto, rather than a low-carb diet? 'Keto isn't always necessary, but in severe cases, it can be beneficial,' says Dr Murdoch. 'The keto diet offers rapid results and some patients feel better on it,' adds Dr Unwin. 'However, it's more complicated than a standard, low-carb diet, and not essential for reversing type 2 diabetes.' Transitioning to ketosis can trigger temporary fatigue and nausea, called 'keto flu'. If you're on medication, or have a medical condition, only try keto under medical supervision, advises Dr Westman. Intermittent fasting Key benefits: cheap and effective If you don't like calorie counting, focusing on when you eat, rather than what you eat, could be the solution. Intermittent fasting – alternating periods of eating and fasting, such as the popular 5:2 diet – can lead to an average weight loss of five to nine per cent of body weight over three to 12 months, according to research. 'When we don't eat, the body moves into fat-release mode,' explains Dr Murdoch. 'Fasting gives the body longer to use up stored sugar and burn body fat. That's why it improves blood-sugar control, too.' Among the most effective fasting methods is time-restricted eating (TRE), where you consume your food within a defined window each day, followed by an overnight fast. A study at Manchester Metropolitan University found that just three days on the 16:8 method (eating within an eight-hour window and fasting for 16 hours) significantly improved blood-sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. 'TRE offers promising benefits for weight loss, glucose regulation and metabolic health – without calorie counting,' says study lead Dr Kelly Bowden Davies. 'While average weight loss is typically less than with GLP-1 drugs, prolonged use of TRE is a cheaper, safer and more accessible alternative – especially when combined with lifestyle changes.' That's the approach taken by Dr Murdoch with his Metabolic Health 28-Day Plan. It combines time-restricted eating (11am-7pm), focusing on lower-carb (often under 70g a day), high-protein (1-2g per kilo of body weight a day) foods, daily movement (for example, squats while the kettle boils) and seven hours' sleep, presented as a tick list of 10 daily habits. 'People often lose half a stone to a stone in the first month,' says Dr Murdoch. 'Blood pressure, blood sugar, mood and energy all improve. It's as effective as GLP-1s, for a fraction of the cost, and with far better sustainability.' Donna Brewer, 48, weighed nearly 22st when she started the plan in April. 'I'd gradually gone from a size 14 to a 24. I felt sluggish, tired, anxious, and my blood pressure was dangerously high,' she says. 'After 28 days, I'd lost almost one-and-a-half stone. Now I'm down more than 2st, my waist's shrunk from 130cm to 118cm, and I'm off medication. I feel so much happier and more energetic. It's not like a diet – more a shift in mindset.' The health risks of GLP-1s Using GLP-1 drugs without nutrition advice or lifestyle support can lead to malnutrition and even accelerated ageing, caution experts. 'GLP-1s reduce appetite but if you simply eat less of a regular, poor diet, you risk becoming deficient in protein and nutrients – and this drives muscle loss,' says Dr Murdoch. 'We're already seeing muscle loss and then weight regain when people stop taking the drugs.' An Oxford University review found that most people regain the weight within 10 months of stopping GPL-1s. 'The drugs are only licensed for two years [and many patients give up earlier],' says Dr Murdoch. 'After that, if you haven't changed your habits, the weight comes back – and you've lost muscle along the way, which is hard to get back.' In a recent clinical trial, 42 per cent of over-60s lost at least 10 per cent of their muscle power – the equivalent of ageing 7.5 years – within six months of taking the GLP-1 drug semaglutide. 'You need to pair these drugs with resistance training and proper nutrition, particularly protein,' says Dr Murdoch. GLP-1s do have a role to play, say the doctors. 'For people addicted to ultra-processed food or who struggle to give up starchy carbs, GLP-1s can be a temporary tool, if combined with nutritional support,' says Dr Unwin. 'I recently had a 75-year-old patient who lost a stone and a half and came off insulin by combining a GLP-1 with a low-carb diet.' However, he and other doctors are concerned the drugs are being promoted as a fix-all. 'The way weight-loss drugs are being pushed as a default solution is worrying,' says Dr David Jehring, chairman of the PHC, chief executive of Black Pear Software and creator of Elevate, a new AI personal health coach, soon to be trialled in the NHS. ' GLP-1s are now so widely available, primary care services are being told they don't need to offer dietary interventions.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
RSV vaccine cuts hospital risk for newborn babies, research shows
Newborn babies are 80% less likely to be hospitalised with a life-threatening virus if their mother has been vaccinated in pregnancy, new research has found. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the leading causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in babies under six months old.A RSV immunisation programme was launched last year for women over 28 weeks pregnant, with around half of those eligible taking up the jab. Public Health Scotland said the programme resulted in 228 fewer babies under three months old being admitted to hospital with serious infection. RSV usually only has mild symptoms, but it can lead to breathing problems in the most vulnerable vaccine is offered to prevent babies contracting the virus in the first six months of their lives – the period when they're most at risk of severe illness. Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: "RSV can be life-threatening for newborn infants, that is why it is so positive to see this evidence of the impact of the maternal RSV vaccine."I strongly encourage all pregnant women who are offered the vaccine to take up the offer in order to protect their newborn babies."The vaccine, which is also offered to elderly people, resulted in a 62% reduction in RSV-related hospitalisations among the eligible 75-79 age group.
