Not enough sleep

I'm tempted to write something course-related and academic, because let's face it I haven't been doing much else of note to write about. But what to choose? It's been a bit of a slog, cramming facts into my head that don't add up to much of a story, and a string of facts on a blog isn't very appealing to read.

The last few days have included a run through material about cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, nutritional aspects of diseases of the pancreas and liver, inflammatory bowel diseases (notably Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), coeliac disease and 'lifestyle diseases' (coronary heart disease, heart failure, hypertension and obesity). All very interesting, but nothing much jumps out at me as being bloggable. Maybe the fact that a liquid-only diet (containing all essential nutrients) taken under supervision for 4 weeks can induce remission during a flare-up of Crohn's disease?

Yesterday was set aside for working on the last piece of coursework for the time being, which is a presentation in a group of four (next week) and an individual essay about the combination of St John's Wort and Prozac. I had only allocated myself a day for the whole thing, including meeting my group and deciding how to do the presentation. I didn't quite manage it all yesterday, but I woke up early this morning and finished my essay.

This assignment is part of the Clinical Pharmacology module, in which we learn about all sorts of drugs relating to conditions that have a dietary component. The coursework subjects were allocated at random to the class. It's a pity that ours doesn't really touch on issues that relate to dietetics. Of course depression and its treatment will feature among dietetic patients, but there are no food-related issues in the treatment of depression either with Prozac or St John's Wort, other than depressed people probably having a reduced appetite and less interest in food.

Having started much too early this morning, I took some time out to do some therapeutic cooking. You can see the results at the top of this post - salmon and leek tartlets. Now I'm supposed to get going with revising Nutrition in the Community, which doesn't get me excited even on a good day. I think it will be wise to have a nap and start afresh this afternoon.