Diagnosed By A Supercomputer?

It is one of the great dreams of science fiction -- a computer that can speak, a computer that can simulate human thinking. Sometimes in our imaginings, it is friendly like the talking computer on Star Trek, and sometimes it is not like the Terminators from the movies. In any case, for good or evil, they now seem to be here, in the real world. We have Siri on the iPhone and, more notably, an IBM supercomputer that not only speaks, but also, performs advanced medical diagnosis and suggests treatment plans.

The computer, named 'Watson,' burst onto the scene in 2011 as a contestant in the game show Jeopardy, where it beat the pants off two of the best human contestants in the history of the show. Watson made a huge splash in part because it processes inquiries spoken to it in normal language and answers in a pleasant voice. The computer takes its name from IBM founder Thomas Watson -- not from Sherlock Holmes' sidekick. Watson looks something like a normal laptop (at least the part you see) but has a larger screen. All of the massive memory and processing power are stored elsewhere -- out of sight. And it's definitely the fast kid on the block, able to process 200 million pages of data in three seconds flat. In other words, it can perform extremely complex analyses and functions way faster than humans can.

Watson can potentially be used in many ways, but the first industry to seize on its capabilities for commercial application has been the medical field. Wellpoint Insurance has paired up with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York to use the computer to help physicians working with cancer patients. The computer is being fed enormous amounts of data regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment, including obscure literature that might otherwise have eluded physicians, practitioner experiences worldwide, individual medical records of millions of patients (sans all identifying information), and anecdotal, plain language information about patient reactions to various courses of treatment. It will take about a year to finish gathering and programming all the data.

Watson is expected to function as a bedside tool, allowing physicians to diagnose and treat cancer more quickly and effectively. Eventually, its database will be stored in the cloud so that physicians everywhere will be able to access it.

Experts say that it typically takes up to 15 years for medical breakthroughs to become known throughout the medical community. According to IBM's chief medical science officer, Dr. Martin Cohn, "What Watson can do is read and understand huge volumes of information. There is so much information being developed in health care in general, and oncology in particular, that the ability to understand all the information out there is becoming progressively more challenging. What Watson does is bring information to the doctor."

Watson will work by allowing physicians to enter all the quirky information relevant to a particular patient, including information about a patient's psychological and social circumstances as well as that patient's individual treatment preferences. For instance, if a patient doesn't want a treatment that would result in hair loss, that would go into the system, as would the fact that a patient has little support from others and so can't undertake risky at-home treatments. Then Watson would go to work, crunching the patient symptoms, personal preferences, and history against its vast storehouse of information, and in a matter of seconds, suggests a diagnosis and a first-choice treatment plan, with several back-up options ranked in order of preference. Ostensibly, the physician and patient can then choose whether to honor or disregard the recommendations. Then again, insurance companies might have something to say about that -- especially if cost factors are programmed in. Remember: Wellpoint Insurance is one of the partners in this project.

According to Lori Beer, WellPoint's executive vice president of Enterprise Business Services, "The implications for healthcare are extraordinary. We believe new solutions built on the IBM Watson technology will be valuable for our provider partners, and more importantly, give us new tools to help ensure our members are receiving the best possible care."

Certainly, that's the hope, but some fear that insurers will use the technology to impose medical solutions on patients and to justify refusing to pay for less conventional treatment. If the medical establishment views a diagnosis and prescription from Watson as inviolable, then very soon the poor patient will have even less voice in determining what type of treatment he or she prefers than now. What Watson says will go. And the scary thing is that Watson can make mistakes, and in fact did make mistakes on Jeopardy. Plus, Watson relies on numbers, facts, and probabilities -- in other words, "evidence-based medicine," discounting the possibility of the rare exception to the rule that some who opt for alternative medicine might hope for. Keep in mind: "unexplained," spontaneous remissions do happen! Plus, it isn't clear just how much information about alternative courses of treatment Watson will be fed. Will the computer consider treatments based on nutraceuticals, acupuncture, energy healing, and so on? Watson can only make recommendations according the data in its information banks. If its programmers decided not to include information about a promising new experimental therapy, Watson can't evaluate it -- or respond to it. Given that insurers don't often reimburse for these sorts of treatment, the outlook is cloudy.

On the other hand, at least we can count on Watson to be sober as it dispenses treatment plans, unlike so many real-life doctors. That, combined with its huge storehouse of data, may actually work to improve the current state of medicine. Watson can never forget or let slip an important treatment option... as long as the option was fed to it in the first place.

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My success story

Below is an email that I received from a lady called Trudie who is one of our many valued readers of our blog and newsletter. She wanted to share her story with others. So here it is in her own words.....

"Well a few months ago I was over weight and not very comfy with myself. I was a 110% couch potato. The only thing that I did was eat, watch Television, and sleep - and that was a very bad thing for my health! I was even too scared to go to a Restaurant with my husband because who knows, the people may laugh at me because I am so over weight so I never did go. Instead I'd rather stay at home in front of the television. My communication with other people was also bad. I never wanted to speak to strangers at a supermarket or anywhere. My confidence was at it's lowest point.

Then one day I told myself that's it! I must stop with this unhealthy body of mine and try to get it to a better point where I can walk with my head held.

I went on many diets and nothing worked because I was still too lazy to do exercises and I cheated on my diets. So I told myself it's just a waste of my time and went back to my old habits.

Then one day I just went on Twitter to see if I had any mail, and there was one from a person that I didn't even know. The message said "click this link for your free eBooks" so I thought there must be a catch nothing is for free.. Anyway, I took the chance and gave my email address and got a link to download the free eBooks.

There was the answer! My road to a healthy life. I started straight away with my diet and exercises. Now I can't wait to go to the gym in the mornings - its like a playground for adults.

I've lost a total of 16.6kg and 2 dress sizes so far and I'm still on a roll. So if you are sitting and reading this and don't know where to start, just sit and think, your Heart and Health is important!

I never had thought I would be here. I'm healthy, walking around happy full of energy and love every moment of my life. Now I am able to walk in to any place and chat with people any time. For this to happen you must follow a healthy diet and exercise at least 4 times a week. I go to the gym 4 times a week and walk 7km home every time I finished my exercises at the gym.

This wouldn't be possible without the three people that helped me. First Colin & Mark for the free eBooks, advice and tips that I receive every week, and last but by no means least my fantastic supportive husband Theuns for helping me and continuing to stand by me.

Thanks Guy's you're Awesome!"

If you would like access to the same eBooks that Trudie is using to help her, simply enter your name and email into the form on the top right side of the blog.

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Spring panzanella

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Serves: 2

Silvana Franco makes a quick and simple Italian bread salad with asparagus – a perfect light lunch dish for spring

Ingredients

• 1 bunches asparagus, woody ends snapped off
• 1 thick slices sourdough bread
• olive oil
• 400 g canned cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 pinches light muscovado sugar
• 2 sprigs soft thyme, leaves only
• 1 large bunches flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped

Method

1. Cook the asparagus in a pan of salted boiling water for 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan. Drizzle the bread with some olive oil and cook on the griddle pan for a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.

3. Drain the asparagus, toss in a little oil and sea salt and cook on the hot griddle for a few minutes until charred in places.

4. Toss the beans and onion in a bowl. Halve the tomatoes and squeeze the juice and seeds onto the beans and onion, then tear the flesh into pieces and add. Dress with some olive oil (about 3-4 tablespoons), balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar.

5. Sprinkle the thyme leaves into the bowl along with the parsley. Cut the asparagus spears into 3 and add those too. Tear the toast into chunks and place in the serving dish.

6. Toss everything together well to coat with the dressing. Serve at room temperature. 

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Beetroot and St Tola cheese salad

Prep time: 5 min

Serves: 2

The creamy Irish goats' cheese, St. Tola, is perfectly complemented by earthy beetroot and fresh herbs in Matthew Fort's quick recipe

Ingredients

• 500 g young baby beetroot, cooked
• 250 g fresh St. Tola cheese
• 1 sprigs savory
• 1 sprigs parsley
• 1 sprigs chervil
• 1 sprigs marjoram
• few leaves baby sorrel
• 50 g pine kernels
• olive oil
• saba or balsamic cream
• 1/2 lemon, juice only

Method

1. Peel the cooked beetroot and chop into small squares.

3. Slice the cheese into rounds.

4. Strip the leaves off the stalks of the herbs and mix together.

5. Put a hummock of the herb leaves of each plate, scatter the beetroot cubes and pine nuts between them and arrange the cheese slices daintily on the top.

6. Drizzle the plate with some olive oil, saba and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, then serve.

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Shredded lamb with mint and pomegranate

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 5 hrs, or overnight if possible

Serves: 4-6

Warm, succulent, slow cooked lamb mingles with sweet pomegranate in this fabulous recipe from Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

• 1 lamb shoulder, (approx 2.5 kilograms)
• 4 shallots, halved but not peeled
• 6 clove garlic, left whole
• 1 carrots, peeled and halved
• 2 pinches sea salt
• 500 ml boiling water
• 1 handfuls mint, freshly chopped
• 1 pomegranate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/gas 1. 

2. On the hob, brown the lamb, fat side down, in a large roasting tin. Remove when nicely browned in the middle (you won't get much more than this) and set aside while you fry the vegetables briefly. Just tip them into the pan - you won't need to add any more fat - and cook them, sprinkled with salt, gently for a couple of minutes. 

3. Pour the water over and then replace the lamb, this time fat side up. Let the liquid in the pan come to a bubble, then tent with foil and put in the preheated oven. 

4. Now just leave it there while you sleep. I find that if I put the lamb in before I go to bed, it's perfect by lunchtime the next day. But the point is, at this temp

erature, nothing's going to go wrong with the lamb if you cook it for a little less or a little more.
5. If you want to cook the lamb the day you're going to eat it, heat the oven to 170°C/gas 3 and give it 5 hours or so. The point is to find a way of cooking that suits you: you know what sort of pottering relaxes you and what makes you feel constrained; how much time you've got, and how you want to use it. Don't let the food, the kitchen or the imagined expectations of other people bully you.
6. With that homily over, about an hour before you want to eat, remove the lamb from the tin to a large plate or carving board; not that it needs carving: the deal here is that it's unfashionably overcooked, falling to tender shreds at the touch of a fork. This is the best way to deal with shoulder of lamb: it's cheaper than leg, and the flavour is deeper, better, truer, but even good carvers, which I most definitely am not, can get unstuck trying to slice it. 

7. To finish the lamb salad, simply pull it to pieces with a couple forks on a large plate. Sprinkle with more Malden salt and some freshly chopped mint. 

8. Cut the pomegranate in half and dot with the seeds from one of the halves. This is easily done; there's a simple trick, which means you never have to think of winkling out the jewelled pips with a safety pin ever again. Simply hold the pomegranate half above the plate, take a wooden spoon and start bashing the curved skin side with it. Nothing will happen for a few seconds, but have faith. In a short while the red glassy, juicy beads will start raining down. 

9. Take the other half and squeeze the preposterously pink juices over the warm shredded meat. Take to the table and serve.

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Fig and orange salad with melting shropshire blue

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 5 min

Serves: 4

Creamy and full of flavour, Shropshire Blue makes a great dressing in this winter salad from the British Cheese Board

Ingredients

• 3 oranges
• 4 fresh figs
• 150 g toasted walnuts
• 150 g red cabbage, shredded finely
• 175 g rocket

For the dressing

• 150 g Shropshire Blue cheese
• 200 ml crème fraîche

Method

1. Slice the top and bottom off each orange and peel down the sides with a sharp knife. Cut between each membrane to remove the orange segments. Put into a bowl with any juices.

2. Wipe and quarter the figs and add to the orange segments with the toasted pecans, shredded red cabbage and rocket leaves. Toss together well and divide between 4 serving plates.

3. For the dressing: crumble the Shropshire Blue into a small heavy-based pan and cook, stirring, over a gentle heat until cheese melts. Whisk in the crème fraîche and heat gently (don't allow mixture to bubble) until you have a smooth creamy dressing.

4. Drizzle over each plate of salad and season with freshly ground black pepper. 

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Mustard salmon, avocado and watercress salad

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 5 min

Serves: 4

Ainsley Harriott's salad combines salmon fillet with a honey and mustard dressing, mashed avocado and peppery watercress to magnificent effect

Ingredients

• 350 g salmon, skinned and trimmed (from a middle cut, if possible)
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 ripe and firm avocado
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 150 g watercress, well picked over
• black pepper

Method

1. Cut down the middle of the salmon lengthways to give you two strips, then slice these into 1cm slices. Place the honey in a bowl and add the mustard, half the lemon juice and the sesame oil. Season to taste and mix until well combined, fold in the salmon pieces and set aside for about 5 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

2. Heat a small frying-pan. Add the sesame seeds and toast for a couple of minutes, tossing occasionally - you won't need any oil as the sesame seeds create enough of their own. Heat a wok or large frying-pan until searing hot. Add a thin film of olive oil, swirling it up the sides, then lay down half of the salmon slices and sear for about 30 seconds.

3. Carefully, turn the salmon slices over, sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds and cook for another 20 seconds or so until tender, tossing so that each piece becomes well coated in the sesame seeds. Tip on to a plate, then wipe out the pan and repeat with the remaining slices of salmon.

4. Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone, then spoon out the flesh into a large bowl. Add the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and then squash with a fork until the avocado is roughly broken down but still has some texture. Season generously, then gently stir in the watercress. To serve, place the avocado and watercress salad in the centre of the plates and top with the slices of sesame salmon. 

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Vietnamese chicken salad

Prep time: 20 min, plus cooling and marinating

Cook time: 5 min

Serves: 4

This summery salad recipe from Pho packs a punch with chilli and ginger dressing

Ingredients

Mooli and carrot salad

• 230 g carrots
• 230 g daikon radish
• ½ tsp salt
• 60 ml rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar

For the ginger sauce

• 10 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 Thai red chillies, seeds removed, chopped
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• Pinch sugar

For the salad

• 1 small cooked chicken breast
• 1 large handful of mixed herbs, such as Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), perilla (tia to), coriander, Thai basil
• 40 g celery, finely shredded
• 190 g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 20 g red onions, finely shredded
• 30 g red peppers, finely shredded
• 30 g yellow peppers, finely shredded

To garnish

• 2 tbsp fried garlic
• 2 tbsp fried shallots

Method

1. For the mooli and carrot salad: Place the rice vinegar, sugar and 330ml water into a pan and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils allow to cool to room temperature.

2. Julienne the carrot and the mooli to matchstick thickness. Place together in a sieve and mix.

3. Sprinkle with salt and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes. This will draw some of the liquid out of the vegetables. Place the sieve over a bowl to catch and drips.

4. Rinse the vegetables under cold water to remove the salt and squeeze dry in a clean towel.

5. Place in a clean bowl and pour over the vinegar solution and allow to stand for at least one hour before serving.

6. To serve remove the pickled vegetables from the vinegar. Any extra can be left in the liquid and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for around 3 days.

7. For the dressing: blend the ginger, chilli and garlic together. Add the fish sauce and vinegar a little at a time to make a fairly thick paste. Season with a little salt and sugar.

8. For the salad: mix the chicken and herbs with a little of the ginger dressing. Strain the carrot and mooli pickle and add this along with the celery, cabbage, red onion and peppers. Turn about 3 times with a large spoon to coat all the ingredients in dressing. Do not over turn the salad.

9. Serve immediately with the rest of the ginger dressing on the side and the fried garlic and shallot on top. 

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Glass noodles with salmon, lime and mint

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 10 min

Serves: 4

Jill Dupleix puts some of those Asian store-cupboard ingredients to use in her summery Thai noodle salad

Ingredients

• 500 g fillets of salmon, skinned
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 200 g glass noodles, or rice vermicelli
• 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 avocado, stone removed, roughly chopped
• 3 small red shallots, finely sliced
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced (do not remove seeds if you like it hot)
• 1 handfuls mint
• 1 handfuls basil or Thai basil
• 1 handfuls coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp peanuts, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp tamarind paste or lime juice
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp caster sugar

Method

1. Coat the salmon in the sweet chilli sauce. Heat a large frying pan, add the oil, and sear the salmon for 2-3 minutes on each side, leaving it a little pink in the middle. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

2. Place the noodles in a bowl, pour on boiling water to cover, and leave for 4 minutes. Drain well. (To make them easier to eat, you can snip the soaked and drained noodles in half with scissors - and to stop them sticking together, place them briefly under running hot water and drain again).

3. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, avocado, shallots and chilli and gently toss. Add the noodles, mint, basil and coriander and lightly toss. Be as generous with the herbs as you can - they don't need cutting or snipping as they will wilt into the salad.

4. Divide among 4 plates. Break up the salmon with your fingers and gently tuck into the noodles. Scatter with peanuts and serve with lime wedges for squeezing. 

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Bang bang chicken salad

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 20 min

Serves: 4

Fancy a quick and healthy chicken salad for lunch? Lime juice, chilli, rice noodles and fresh coriander make this Freedom Foods recipe one of our favourites.

Ingredients

• 100 ml chicken stock
• 2.5 cm fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• A pinch of dried red chilli flakes
• Juice of half a limes
• 350 g grilled or steamed chicken, preferably Freedom Food labelled, shredded
• Half a cucumber, cut into ribbons
• 1-2 carrot, cut into ribbons
• 4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
• 200 g rice noodles, cooked as per pack instructions
• coriander, to garnish 

Method

1. Pour the chicken stock into a saucepan, add the ginger and bring to the boil. Leave to cool for 15 minutes so the ginger infuses the stock.

2. Place the peanut butter, honey, sesame oil and chilli flakes in a mini processor or a screw topped jar with the infused chicken stock and process or shake well to mix together. Add the lime juice to taste.

3. Combine the chicken, cucumber, carrots, spring onions and rice noodles in a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss gently, then serve sprinkled with a few leaves of fresh coriander. 

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Chicken caesar salad

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 15 min

Serves: 1

A welcome break from boring old sandwiches that guarantees an empty lunch box every time.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 thick slices white bread, crusts trimmed and cut into small cubes
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 baby gem lettuce, or half a Cos or Romaine lettuce, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2small clove garlic, crushed
• 1/8 tsp Dijon mustard
• few drops Worcestershire sauce
• few drops tabasco 

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a small non-stick frying pan and add the cubes of bread. Fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes until cooked through and leave to cool.
3. To make the dressing combine the mayonnaise, parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and tabasco.
4. Mix the lettuce and the chicken and toss with most of the dressing.
5. Scatter over the grated Parmesan cheese, the croutons and drizzle with the remaining dressing. 

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Top 10 Superfoods

TOP 10 SUPERFOODS

Superfoods don't have to be super hard to find - there are lots of every day ingredients which have superfood levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Here is our top 10 list of superfoods:

Berries

What? blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, goji berries

Why? High levels of vitamin C, fibre and antioxidants. Research suggests they may improve memory, reduce risk of heart disease and even have anti-aging properties. 

Nuts and seeds

What? walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, flax seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds

Why? Rich source of minerals, omega-3, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

Whole grains

What? oats, buckwheat, rye, brown rice, wholemeal flour, quinoa

Why? Great source of minerals, vitamins B and E, antioxidants and soluble fibre. Important in the fight against heart disease and cancer. 

Alliums

What? onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives

Why? Packed with flavonoids that help the body eliminate toxins and carcinogens.

Oily fish

What? salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring

Why? Good source of protein and omega-3 which studies shows could combat heart disease, improve brain power, reduce inflammation and fight depression. 

Pulses

What? lentils and beans

Why? Powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, vitamin-rich, low glycemic index and high in protein and fibre. 

Brassicas

What? broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, spring greens, pak choi, turnips, cauliflower

Why? Packed with vitamins, minerals and detoxifying elements which can help reduce the risk of cancer.

Tomatoes

What? tomatoes, peppers, chillies

Why? A great source of vitamin C, fibre, and rich in lycopene - one of the most potent carotenoid antioxidants linked with reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Unusually, this is enhanced in processed tomato products. 

Oils

What? olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocado oil, flax oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, hemp oil

Why? Rich in omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids essential for bodily functions, including reducing cholesterol and maintaining a healthy heart. 

Soy products

What? soya beans, soy milk, tofu

Why? High in protein, low in fat, with antioxidant and cholesterol-reducing properties.

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Ok so we know children shouldn't play with their food... or should they?

Ok so we know children shouldn't play with their food... or should they?

We know that many (ok most) children will do everything in their power to avoid so much as looking at fruit and vegetables, never mind eating them. So why not try out experimenting and being creative with their food instead?

Young children love to get creative and if you involve this creativity into preparing food in a playful way, they are much more likely to want to taste their very own creations and see fruit and vegetables less of a chore and more of something interesting to them. Let us know what your thoughts in the comment box below.

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