Do you produce excess ear wax? Do you crave butter?
UK health Web site launches online diagnosis

LONDON (Reuters) - A Web site launched on Tuesday will allow people to read their bodies for clues as to their health and to consider possible help for any ailments.
Users of the online diagnostic tool -- www.mybodylanguage.co.uk -- face a range of questions such as "are you forgetful?," "do you crave butter?" and "have you lost your sense of humor?" from the cyber doctor.
Depending on the answer, patients are told the probable vitamin or mineral deficiency they may be suffering from, and what they should do to get rid of the symptoms.
"Body Language empowers the general public to have greater control over their own health and puts the emphasis on prevention rather than cure," one of the creators, biochemist Graham Cope, said in a statement.
Cope and co-creator Jim Campbell set up the free-to-users Web site to help people take steps to improve their health.
"We have developed the Body Language concept so that people can identify deficiencies and replenish them with healthy foodstuffs," said Cope.
Campbell, a forensic scientist, said many doctors use the same kind of thinking in their medical diagnosis as used by the Web site which gives detailed explanations as to causes and effects of health problems.

I had been hoping for a website like this! However, I hope this one will be refined and updated.

The basic idea is that the body gives little warning signs of nutrient deficiencies, which, if left uncorrected, could lead to serious problems. It has been my opinion for a growing number of months that my body has been giving me warning signs, but to my frustration I didn't know how to read them. Based on this website, I guess I need more Magnesium, Iron and Zinc and possibly B vitamins. Interestingly, I bought and started taking a multivitamin a few days ago, before I heard about this website. It would be a good idea to chart whether I see any changes in my "warning signs" after days and weeks of taking the vitamin, but I probably won't get around to it.

I have a couple of caveats about the Body Language website: 1. Although they are good about citing their sources, you might want to check out what the sources are. In some cases they are articles from peer-reviewed journals, but in other cases they are websites. 2. Some of the articles do not contain all the information you might like to find, such as how the "warning sign" relates to the nutrient and what foods contain the nutrient (though usually if you navigate the website or follow links you can find the latter information). In a few (maybe 2 of the 10 I read) cases the articles were complete enough to satisfy me. The other thing I think would be helpful (and fun!) is a quiz/questionnaire format, where you answer "yes/no" to each of the warning signs, and at the end your score informs you of your possible nutrient deficiencies, with links to more information. That way you could see trends more easily.

Again, the guys running this are a biochemist and a forensic scientist; they're not doctors, but then again they're not goat farmers.
- posted by k @ 10:22 AM