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A Message from Dr. McMillan

Medicine that fails to consider all plausible diagnoses is not truly medicine; it becomes pattern-matching inside a restricted narrative.

Until COVID vaccine-associated myocarditis is treated as a legitimate and central consideration in post-pandemic cardiac assessment - alongside infection, autoimmunity, thrombosis, and pre-existing disease - we will continue to misunderstand disease trajectories and fail patients.

Patient advocacy now has to move beyond its comfort zone: it must demand the pathology, the data, and the diagnostic honesty that most institutions have been too slow to provide.

Dr. Philip McMillan

In this week's June 18th, 2026 update:

  • Covid-19: The question medicine refuses to ask

  • Vejon: This week’s featured Vejon video

  • Disease: Cutting all sugar from your diet may weaken the intestinal wall

  • Infographic: The Death of Princess Ba

  • News: Medical news in brief

  • Free UK Sample of Molecusan® Liquid Spectrum - Learn more

    Read time: 6 minutes

FEATURE ARTICLE

COVID-19

  • Princess Bajrakitiyabha, healthy that morning, suffered cardiac arrest hours later and died after three years unconscious.

  • Her official diagnosis, mycoplasma myocarditis, rarely causes sudden collapse in active people, critics argue.

  • A simple heart biopsy could have checked for the microscars found in other unexplained cardiac deaths.

  • That tissue examination was never done, leaving the cause of Princess Ba’s death effectively unexplored.

Why this is important: Sudden cardiac deaths in apparently healthy people are too often closed with tidy labels and never examined further. This case argues that simple tissue biopsies, rarely performed, could reveal hidden patterns of heart damage. Without that research, families get no real answers and medicine learns nothing.

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DISEASE

  • Gut bacteria rely on simple carbohydrates to produce compounds that protect the intestinal lining.

  • In mice, zero-sugar diets starved beneficial microbes and let harmful bacteria multiply.

  • The intestinal barrier deteriorated into leaky gut, even when body weight stayed stable.

  • Researchers favour balanced, varied eating over extreme elimination, noting the small six-mice sample.

Why this is important: Eliminating sugar entirely is often treated as the cleanest possible diet, yet this research suggests it can backfire. Beneficial gut microbes need simple carbohydrates to keep the intestinal wall intact. A varied diet, rather than total restriction, may better protect digestion and overall metabolic health.

INFOGRAPHIC

EDUCATION

The gut is where the immune system is decided. Roughly seventy percent of immune activity sits in and around it — and when the gut environment is inflamed or toxin-loaded, downstream recovery efforts struggle to take hold. The Reset Pathway is the structured framework built around this logic: clear, repair, reseed, maintain.

Molecusan® Liquid Spectrum is the supportive product I personally use alongside this framework. While the discount code is valid (until 30 June 2026), residents of the UK — excluding Northern Ireland — can request a free sample. The recipient covers shipping only. It is not offered as a treatment for any condition and does not replace medical care.

Commercial transparency: I may have a commercial or collaborative relationship connected with Molecusan and its educational promotion. The educational content stands independently, and you are encouraged to make your own informed decision.

MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

🚥 The Cooling Agents That Make Vapes Feel Smooth May Also Disturb the Heart's Rhythm: Vape coolants were long assumed harmless, yet emerging evidence links them to disturbed heart rhythms and damaged blood vessels. As manufacturers add new synthetic cooling compounds faster than safety can be tested, these findings raise real concern about cardiovascular risks hiding inside flavours marketed as refreshing.

🚥 A Single Case Hints That Psilocybin Briefly Restored Lucidity in a Woman With Advanced Alzheimer's: One striking patient story is not evidence of a cure, but it raises a tantalizing possibility: that some cognitive abilities survive intact beneath severe dementia, temporarily reachable. Echoing the awakenings Oliver Sacks described, the case argues for careful controlled trials rather than premature hope or dismissal.

🚥 Scientists Have Mapped the Brainstem Pathway That Lets Vagus Nerve Stimulation Turn Pain Up or Down: Vagus nerve stimulation already treats epilepsy and depression, but exactly how it eases pain stayed unclear. Mapping this brainstem pathway shows it influences both the sensation and the emotional weight of pain. That precision could guide better targeted therapies for fibromyalgia, headaches, and chronic inflammation. [SOURCE]

🚥Intermittent Fasting Protected Stressed Mice From Depression by Reshaping Their Gut Bacteria: Chronic stress quietly erodes the brain's wiring and fuels depression. These findings point to intermittent fasting as a drug-free way to defend that wiring, working through the gut-brain connection. Human trials are still needed, but the link between eating patterns and mental resilience looks increasingly real. [SOURCE]

🚥 Slow Breathing With Long Exhales Nudges the Brain Toward Reward-Seeking Decisions: Breathing techniques are often dismissed as vague wellness advice, yet this work shows slow exhalation measurably reshapes how the brain values rewards. By altering heart rhythms, conscious breathing can shift decisions. That offers a potential simple, drug-free lever for conditions like anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. [SOURCE]

🚥 Lingering on What We See Reflects Memory Forming, Not the Brain Struggling to Recognize It: Scientists long assumed a lingering gaze meant the eyes were struggling to make sense of something. This research flips that idea: we dwell on what we want to remember, not what confuses us. Understanding that link could sharpen future tests for memory impairment. [SOURCE]

BOOK NOOK

Set within a child’s nose, ‘Humming Heroes’ features a family of Lymphocytes led by a wise Mother, brave Father, determined Brother, and heroic Baby, confronting invading microorganisms. The story takes an imaginative turn, when a humming melody combines with the Lymphocytes’ song to repel the invaders and restore inner harmony.

"Disease X: Are You Prepared?" is your comprehensive guide to navigating the uncertain future of global health. Drawing from experience and the latest scientific insights, this book offers:

  • Practical strategies for personal and community preparedness.

  • Lessons learned from COVID-19 and other outbreaks.

  • Actionable steps to boost resilience against emerging health threats.

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