Anca Vereen Integrative Dietitian, Counsellor, Nutrigenomics Lecturer

01/03/2026

22/02/2026

09/02/2026

In 1973, eight perfectly healthy people walked into psychiatric hospitals across the United States.
None of them were ill.
No one inside realized it. 🧠
This was not an accident.
It was an experiment designed by psychologist David Rosenhan to answer a disturbing question.
Can professionals reliably tell the difference between mental health and mental illness?
To find out, Rosenhan recruited eight ordinary people. A painter. A housewife. A pediatrician. A graduate student.
They lied about only one thing. They said they heard voices. Just three words. “Empty.” “Hollow.” “Thud.”
That was enough.
All eight were admitted.
The moment they entered the hospitals, they stopped pretending. They behaved normally. They cooperated. They asked to be discharged. 🚪
It never worked.
Every normal action was reinterpreted as a symptom.
Writing notes became obsessive behavior.
Waiting quietly became pathological attention seeking.
Politeness became controlled behavior consistent with illness.
Seven were diagnosed with schizophrenia.
One with manic depression.
Not a single staff member identified them as healthy.
But the patients did.
Real patients approached them and whispered, “You’re not like the others. You don’t belong here.”
Those considered ill saw what trained professionals could not.
The average stay was 19 days.
One person remained hospitalized for 52 days. ⏳
Each day reinforced the same truth. Once labeled, reality stopped mattering.
When Rosenhan published On Being Sane in Insane Places, the psychiatric world erupted. One hospital challenged him to send new pseudopatients, confident they would catch them.
Rosenhan agreed.
Over the next months, that hospital identified 41 supposed impostors.
Rosenhan had sent no one. Not a single person.
The conclusion was unavoidable.
Diagnosis was not always based on facts. It was shaped by context and expectation.
This experiment shattered blind trust in clinical labels and forced major changes in how mental illness is diagnosed and treated. But its deeper lesson still unsettles today.
Perception can distort reality more than madness itself.
And sometimes, the most dangerous illusion belongs to those who believe they cannot be wrong.

09/02/2026

🚨 Mounjaro Adverse Reactions Explode Over 300% in 2025—71 Deaths Linked—While GLP-1 Drugs Generate Tens of Billions for Pharma

New numbers released by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) through the Yellow Card Scheme show a sharp and troubling rise in problems tied to Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and similar GLP-1 drugs.

In 2025 alone:

• 40,245 reported adverse reactions—more than 300% higher than the year before

• 6,755 classified as serious

• 71 linked to deaths

For comparison, 2024 had roughly 9,153 reports and 13 fatalities.

People are reporting brutal side effects:

• intense, stabbing abdominal pain that won’t let up,

• relentless vomiting and diarrhea,
acute pancreatitis,

• gastrointestinal perforations,
blood clots,

• and in some cases a terrifying slide into septic shock and multiple organ failure.

One case that stands out: a 58-year-old nurse died from acute pancreatitis, septic shock, and multi-organ failure after receiving only two low-dose injections.

The death certificate directly pointed to Mounjaro as a contributing cause.

Drugs like Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, and the rest of the GLP-1 class are being sold hard as game-changing solutions for weight loss and diabetes.

Behind the before-and-after photos and influencer posts, the manufacturers are pulling in tens of billions each year—turning obesity into one of the most profitable medical markets ever created.

Officials still say the benefits outweigh the risks when used as approved.

But with reports climbing this fast and people dying, that line is getting harder to accept at face value.

These injections are powerful.

They change how the body works at a fundamental level, and the serious complications seem to be showing up far more often than most patients are warned about.

People deserve to know the full picture before they sign up for something this strong.

🔗 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15523195/amp/Adverse-reactions-Mounjaro-increased-300-cent-2025-fat-jab-linked-71-deaths.html

24/01/2026

24/01/2026

“We know more about space than the underground,” says Dr Toby Kiers.

Through her research on fungal networks in soil, she’s working to change that.

Kiers, an evolutionary biologist at Amsterdam’s Vrije University, has been awarded the 2026 Tyler Prize – the so-called Nobel Prize for the environment.

The organizers say Kiers has been honored for her “transformative research on the importance of mycorrhizal fungi in underground carbon flows, biodiversity, and climate resilience”.

Kiers’ work has shed light on the role these underground networks play in sustaining life on Earth, and has helped create an “underground atlas” of this much overlooked world.

Not only are fungi at the heart of healthy ecosystems, they also help our soil to absorb huge amounts of carbon – about a third of global fossil fuel emissions – that would otherwise pollute the air and drive climate change.

But if left unprotected, we risk losing these networks, which could lead to the collapse of ecosystems and even more intense changes to our climate.

Through her nonprofit organization, Kiers is now focusing on giving scientists the tools and practical knowledge to influence policy and use the legal system to better protect fungi.

As a winner of the $250,000 Tyler Prize, Kiers joins the likes of chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall, Argentine biodiversity expert Sandra Díaz, and Sweden’s Johan Rockström, who pioneered the concept of planetary boundaries.

The prize is administered by the University of Southern California.

Photo: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

24/01/2026

Recent study raising concern about cosmetic safety has found that cadmium was present in all lipstick brands and colors tested. Cadmium is a heavy metal that the body does not need and cannot easily eliminate. Even small, repeated exposures can build up over time and place stress on vital organs. Because lipstick is applied close to the mouth, trace amounts can be unintentionally ingested, making long-term exposure a serious consideration.

Cadmium has been linked to kidney and lung damage, as these organs work hardest to filter and process toxins. It can weaken bones by interfering with calcium metabolism, increasing the risk of fractures and loss of bone density. Hormone disruption is another major concern, as cadmium can mimic or block natural hormones, potentially affecting reproductive health and overall balance in the body.

The nervous system is also vulnerable. Prolonged exposure may interfere with nerve signaling, leading to cognitive, sensory, or motor issues over time. Perhaps most alarming is cadmium’s association with cancer, as it has been shown to damage DNA and promote cellular changes that increase cancer risk.

This does not mean lipstick must be avoided entirely, but it highlights the importance of being selective. Choosing brands that conduct independent testing, use cleaner formulations, and avoid heavy metal contamination can reduce potential exposure. Awareness empowers safer choices.

08/01/2026

06/01/2026

28/09/2025

Sunday chill with my neighbours