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Saturday 31 January 2015

Jack Savoretti - Home


Graham

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

Half a billion views says people love this track. Eddie

Enrique Iglesias - Hero

This is my choice. All the best Jan

Joe Cocker - Into the mystic. Saturday night is music night on this blog.

This is my choice for tonight, the great but sadly departed Joe Cocker singing a Van Morrison song. When Joe sung a song he lived it. A true original and one off. Eddie

Move over, kale - cabbage is the new rising star !

This winter, we're seeing cabbages of all kinds receiving long overdue attention, and even leading a food trend or two. Plenty of kitchenfolk are turning to cabbages to brighten up their menus, and it is centre stage in the Korean food trend, as well as playing a role in a return to traditional French cooking.

Take, for example, Islington organic pub The Duke of Cambridge, owned by the veg box company Riverford, which can call on its own Devon farm for almost any variety of the crisp and hardy leaves. Here, white cabbage is teamed with bacon for an extremity-warming winter soup, and savoy is cooked very quickly to retain its bite, then finished with butter and tossed with cumin or caraway seed.



We love cabbage a true wonder food and a low carb super star.

Read more on this story here. 

Learn more here.

Eddie

Friday 30 January 2015

Added fructose is a principal driver of type 2 diabetes

Recent studies have shown that added sugars, particularly those containing fructose, are a principal driver of diabetes and pre-diabetes, even more so than other carbohydrates. Clinical experts writing in Mayo Clinic Proceedings challenge current dietary guidelines that allow up to 25% of total daily calories as added sugars, and propose drastic reductions in the amount of added sugar, and especially added fructose, people consume.
Worldwide, approximately one in ten adults has type 2 , with the number of individuals afflicted by the disease across the globe more than doubling from 153 million in 1980 to 347 million in 2008. In the United States, 29 million adults (one in eleven) have  and another 86 million (more than one in three) have pre-diabetes.
"At current levels, added-sugar consumption, and added- consumption in particular, are fueling a worsening epidemic of type 2 diabetes," said lead author James J. DiNicolantonio, PharmD, a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO. "Approximately 40% of U.S. adults already have some degree of  with projections that nearly the same percentage will eventually develop frank diabetes."
The net result of excess consumption of added fructose is derangement of both overall metabolism and global insulin resistance say the authors. Other dietary sugars not containing fructose seem to be less detrimental in these respects. Indeed, several clinical trials have shown that compared to glucose or starch, isocaloric exchange with fructose or sucrose leads to increases in fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and the insulin/glucose responses to a sucrose load. "This suggests that sucrose (in particular the fructose component) is more harmful compared to other carbohydrates," added Dr. DiNicolantonio. Dr. DiNicolantonio and his co-authors, James H O'Keefe, MD, Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO, and Sean C. Lucan, MD, MPH, MS, a family physician at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, examined animal experiments and human studies to come to their conclusions.
Data from recent trials suggest that replacing glucose-only starch with fructose-containing table sugar (sucrose) results in significant adverse metabolic effects. Adverse effects are broader with increasing baseline insulin resistance and more profound with greater proportions of added fructose in the diet.
The totality of the evidence is compelling to suggest that added sugar, and especially added fructose (usually in the form of high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar), are a serious and growing public health problem, according to the authors.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say it is acceptable for some people to consume up to 19% of calories from added sugars, and the Institute of Medicine permits up to 25% of total calories from added sugars. In contrast, the World Health Organization recommends that added sugars should make up no more than 10% of an entire day's caloric intake, with a proposal to lower this level to 5% or less for optimal health. Such levels would be more in line with what the authors would recommend and similarly restrictive to existing American Heart Association (AHA) recommendations—to consume no more than six teaspoons (24 grams) of sugar per day for women and no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams) of sugar per day for men.
While fructose is found naturally in some whole foods like fruits and vegetables, consuming these foods poses no problem for human health. Indeed, consuming fruits and vegetables is likely protective against diabetes and broader cardiometabolic dysfunction, explained DiNicolantonio and colleagues. The authors propose that should be modified to encourage individuals to replace processed foods, laden with added sugars and fructose, with whole foods like fruits and vegetables. "Most existing guidelines fall short of this mark at the potential cost of worsening rates of diabetes and related cardiovascular and other consequences," they wrote.
The authors also think there should be incentives for industry to add less sugars, especially fructose-containing varieties, to food-and-beverage products. And they conclude that at "an individual level, limiting consumption of foods and beverages that contain added sugars, particularly added fructose, may be one of the single most effective strategies for ensuring one's robust future health."
Graham

Diabetes UK says one in five people admitted to hospital for angina, stroke, heart attack or heart failure have diabetes !

Diabetes UK the largest diabetes charity in the UK loves dishing out the doom and gloom. This I find extremely ironic, as they are responsible for much of the grim news we hear all too often regarding diabetic complications. Year after year the NHS audited stats tell us no improvements concerning HbA1c numbers are being made. Every year we hear over 90% of type one diabetics fail to get to a safe HbA1c. Every year more people join the club no one wants to join. Every year the charity pushes the carb up and shoot up diet of slow death. In a way maybe I should feel sorry for the staff at DUK, imagine working for an outfit that has failure stamped all over it. An outfit that appears to revel in doom and gloom, and is about as much use to the average diabetic, as a rubber beak on a woodpecker. Eddie

From DUK

"One in five people admitted to hospital for angina, stroke, heart attack or heart failure have diabetes, according to a new report published today.

The National Diabetes Audit report, published today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), reveals that there were 23,986 "excess" deaths in people with diabetes in England and Wales in 2013. This means that they died earlier than would have been expected if compared to people without the condition.

Those with Type 1 diabetes were 131 per cent more likely to die in 2013 than their peers of their age without the condition and those with Type 2 diabetes were 32 per cent more likely to die.

The analysis showed that people with diabetes were:

- 139 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital with angina
- 94 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital with myocardial infarction
- 126 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital with heart failure
- 63 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital with a stroke
- 400 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital for a major amputation and 817 per cent more likely to be - admitted with a minor amputation
- 272 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital for renal replacement therapy"

Those looking for more doom and gloom can find it here.

The Food Revolution has started !

For those of you new to LCHF (low carb high fat/healthy fat) and paleo, The Food Revolution is a great introductory video from Dr Andreas Eenfeldt MD, aka Diet Doctor. It is a lecture he gave at the Ancestral Health Symposium.

Here he explains what is actually causing obesity and how modern science has discovered the fault in the low fat theory. What has changed in our environment that it took millions of years for evolution to occur, yet the obesity crisis has only occurred in the last 30 years? In 1984 the campaign was lunched to encourage people to fear fat and cholesterol, yet it was an unproven theory. It was an experiment which we have all been part of. If we are told to eat less fat, we eat more carbohydrate. And what happens when we eat more carbs? Our insulin is stimulated, so less fat =more carbs = fat storage hormone = more obesity.

“Two generations of Swedes have been given bad dietary advice and have avoided fat for no reason. It’s time to rewrite dietary guidelines and base them on modern science” Göran Berglund – Professor of Internal Medicine

“It’s time to face the facts. There is no connection between saturated fats and cardiovascular disease” Peter Nilsson – Professor of Cardiovascular Research

“People have been recommending low fat diets for 30 years, and then it turns out to be completely wrong! There is no proven correlation between saturated fats and cardiovascular disease” Fredrik Nyström – Professor of Internal Medicine. Words from the fantastic Ditch The Carbs website which can be found here. Eddie


Thursday 29 January 2015

GPs to be incentivised to prescribe statins at 10% risk threshold under NICE proposals

GP practices could be rewarded for prescribing statins to patients newly diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes at the new 10% 10-year risk cardiovascular risk threshold from next year, under NICE plans unveiled today.

The proposals - outlined in a consultation on a raft of new QOF measures - include three potential new indicators on cardiovascular prevention that would introduce the 10% threshold, as recommended by NICE since last summer.

But GP leaders have warned that such a move undermines the credibility of QOF and will encourage GPs to prescribe statins without discussion around whether patients should be taking them - something that will ‘jeopardise patient choice’.

The proposals come after NICE updated its lipid modification guidelines to recommend lowering the 10-year cardiovascular risk threshold at which GPs prescribe interventions, including statin therapy, from 20% to 10% - despite opposition from GP leaders and other leading clinicians who raised concerns the proposals would lead to ‘over-medicalisation’ of healthy people and divert GPs’ time and resources away from their unwell patients.

The QOF advisory committee subsequently agreed at their December meeting not to simply update the existing indicator on statin prescribing in line with the new guidelines, but instead use the upcoming consultation period to obtain feedback on potential new indicators.

The consultation, released today, sets out a number of proposals that would introduce the 10% risk threshold into QOF. They are:


  • The introduction of QOF IND 10 - which updates the existing CVD-PP001 indicator - which rewards practices for prescribing statins in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension at the lower 10% level instead of the previous 20% risk threshold;
  • The introduction of an entirely new indicator, QOF IND 11, which would incentivise statin use at the 10% risk threshold in patients with either newly diagnosed hypertension or diabetes;
  • A third, QOF IND 12, would reward practices simply for setting up and maintaining a register of their patients with a 10-year QRISK2 score of 10% or higher.  
GP advisors on the QOF advisory board, including then-chair Dr Colin Hunter, had expressed concerns about how the lower 10% threshold could be implemented given the strength of opposition from GPs.


Some also warned that simply rewarding GPs for prescribing a statin at the 10% threshold would not allow them scope to encourage patients try lifestyle modifications first, although it was agreed that restricting this to groups with hypertension and diabetes could be acceptable as these represent ‘high-risk’ groups.

NICE is inviting feedback from all stakeholders on the proposed indicators by 23 Feburary, with a view to introducing them in the menu for negotiations for the 2016/17 GP contract.

However, GPs have warned that this could undermine the whole credibility of QOF.

Dr Andrew Green, chair of the GPC prescribing subcommittee, said: ‘There is insufficient evidence of benefit for individual patients, and too much controversy about the NICE guidance, for these indicators to be included in QOF. If QOF is to maintain its credibility then there has to be widespread agreement throughout the profession that it measures good practice, that agreement about this is a very long way off.

‘Let me illustrate with an example, one practice simply issues statin prescriptions to anyone with a 10% 10 year risk. Another sees those patients, offers lifestyle advise, then goes through with them the chances of statins producing benefit or harm, perhaps using a decision aid; having done that, it respects patients’ choices. Which practice will have higher statin prescribing, but which one is offering higher quality care?’

Dr Martin Brunet, a GP in Godalming, Surrey, said: ‘The NICE guidance says that patients should be offered stains if their risk is >10%, not that they should be treated. If this indicator is included at all it should be on the basis that the doctor has had an informed discussion about the benefits and harms of statins, rather than whether or not the patient chooses to take them. This indicator will jeopardise patient choice in its current form.’

Other potential new indicators include ones on cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with serious mental illness, BMI recordings in patients with long-term conditions and referral of patients newly diagnosed with anxiety or depression for psychological treatments.

They were released alongside a range of proposed new outcomes indicators for CCG performance management – the CCG outcomes indicator set – which has now been brought together under one committee.

Professor Gillian Leng, health and social care director at NICE, said: ‘This consultation on potential new indicators is an integral part of NICE’s process for QOF and CCG OIS. It provides the opportunity for everyone with an interest to contribute to the development of the 2016/17 indicators. We value this input highly and all feedback will help the new Indicator Advisory Committee decide which indicators will be put forward for publication on the NICE menu for the QOF and CCG OIS.’

Could be a NICE little earner for some of the panel members 

MPs probe claims of NHS drugs conflicts of interests

They warned that eight out of the 12 members of the Nice panel which produced the guidelines had “direct financial ties” to firms which manufacture statins.


Graham

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Dr. Trudi Deakin: Is The Eatwell Plate Healthy


Graham

Thought for the day.


Low Carb Pizza Bagels


If you are living the low carb high fat lifestyle, I'm sure cauliflowers may be on your menu plan? If they are how about this lovely recipe for Pizza Bagels. It's a tried and tested cauliflower recipe to add to your LCHF recipe collection. Use a mini doughnut pan (about 5cm diameter), and if you are a vegetarian you can swap to using Quorn pepperoni and just bake for about 18 minutes.

Pizza Bagels

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup Mozzarella
1 cup Cauliflower riced
25-30 slices pepperoni cut into quarters
1/2 tsp fennel seed
3/4-1 tsp Garlic powder (depending on preference)
1/2 tsp Crushed red pepper
1 large slice tomato diced

Instructions

Combine all your ingredients and mix well.
Spoon mixture into donut pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Original recipe idea is here and thanks also to 'Avocado Sevenfold' at the low carb diabetic forum


All the best Jan

Tuesday 27 January 2015

'Warn all patients of dangers of statins' says experts

LEADING heart specialists are warning doctors not to “mislead” patients over “exaggerated” benefits of controversial cholesterol busting pills, statins, and to caution them about their potentially “disabling” side effects.

The missive, by Professor Simon Capewell, Vice President of the Faculty of Public Health, and two leading heart doctors urges medics to be “transparent” about the risks and benefits of statins to patients and refrain from “scaremongering” over the “risks” of stopping the drugs if patients suffer “disabling” side effects. 

The warning, published in the latest edition of the UK’s leading drug advisory journal for  GP’s and hospital doctors, The Prescriber, comes after advice from the government drug watchdog NICE advocated the use of statins in low risk patients which would include at least one in four adults. 

Such widespread use of the drugs is challenged by the authors of the report who say statins have no effect on life expectancy for patients at low risk and instead expose healthy people to potential side effects that impair quality of life. 

Using published data the report concludes the benefit of taking a statin for this group is  only to reduce the risk of a non fatal heart attack or stroke by less than one per cent over five years. They argue this benefit is offset by a similar risk of developing a life altering side effect  of type two diabetes.

The authors highlight the drug company Pfizer’s own patient leaflet on statin side effects which admits the drug adversely affects up to one in ten patients and include muscle and joint pain, nausea, digestive problems, sore throat and increases in blood sugar levels.

Drawing on published data the article concludes even in patients with established heart disease the risk of death in stopping the drug for one day is a only 1 in 150,000.  

Klim McPhearson, 73, a Professor of public health at Oxford University stopped taking statins  after he developed side effects. 

The father of three, who was prescribed statins two years ago because of a raised cholesterol told the Sunday Express: “The side effects happened gradually over two years. I became stiffer and got pains in my legs. I thought  it was due to ageing. Eventually it got to the point that I could hardly walk downstairs because of the pain. When I stopped taking statins it got better.” 

He said: “My risk of heart disease was low, the benefit of statins was very small but the  side effects were overwhelming. People should be aware that side effects may outweight the benefits.” 

Dr Andrew Apps, a Buckinghamshire based heart specialist and co-author of the report said:  “Doctors generally have less time to treat patients and discuss their condition. It is faster to instead prescribe a medicine which may not have benefit.

"Patients are not being properly informed of the risks and benefits of these drugs and as a result doctors  are medicalising a whole subset of society who is well and may not need drugs.” 

Dr Aseem Malhotra a London based leading heart specialist and another of the report’s authors said: “Doctors have an ethical duty to give full information about the benefits and risks of this treatment which I do not believe is always happening.” 

Last year a Sunday Express investigation revealed eight out of 12 members of the Nice panel which drew up the new statin guidance are in the pay of the drug companies that manufacture them or next generation cholesterol lowering drugs. 

These include payments for speeches, lectures or to attend conferences which can reap thousands of pounds per hour. 

They also include salaries for involvement in clinical trials of new statin-style drugs,  which can amount to tens of thousands of pounds a year, payment for drug company advisory roles, and in one case a sponsorship of a work post. 

Last year leading doctors magazine PULSE revealed two-thirds of GPs are disregarding NICE  advice to offer statins to more patients.

In its survey of more than 560 GP’s two thirds said they had not started prescribing the  drugs to the lower risk groups. The chair of the General Practitioners prescribing committee said there should be: ‘no..  slavish devotion’ to guidelines, while GPs indicated they have ongoing doubts there is enough evidence the benefits of statins outweigh the harms in lower-risk people, and concerns around “medicalisation” of healthy people. 

Professor Mark Baker, Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE said: “To make  progress in the battle against heart disease and stroke, we must encourage exercise, improve our diets still further, stop smoking, and where appropriate offer statins to people at risk.

"Doctors have been giving statins to “well people” since NICE first produced guidance on this in 2006. The overwhelming body of evidence supports their use, even in  people at low risk of cardiovascular disease. The effectiveness of these medicines is now well proven, as is their safety, and their cost has fallen.”

http://www.express.co.uk/

Graham

FAT - The Birds Love It Too : RSPB Garden Watch

These past few days it's been the RSPB big garden bird watch weekend, and many from all over the country are taking part.

I love watching the birds (and occasional squirrel) in the garden.

The grandchildren get huge delight from feeding the birds and watching 'their feathered friends' as they call them. Nuts are put out as well as bacon rind and like us FAT should be a large part of their diet....... lard is great for birds.

Winter time is tough for birds, food is scarce and water may be frozen. You don't have to buy special bird food .... starlings like peanuts and the thrushes and blackbirds like over ripe apples and raisins. If you do want to buy something buy a 'fat ball' available in garden centres and some supermarkets. They are high in energy, great for the birds or how about making your own bird food:

"Bird cake and food bars

Fat balls and other fat-based food bars are excellent winter food. If they are sold in nylon mesh bags, always remove the bag before putting the fat ball out – the soft mesh can trap and injure birds. You can make your own bird cake by pouring melted fat (suet or lard) onto a mixture of ingredients such as seeds, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, cheese and cake. Use about one-third fat to two-thirds mixture. Stir well in a bowl and allow it to set in a container of your choice. An empty coconut shell, plastic cup or tit bell makes an ideal bird cake ‘feeder’. Alternatively, you can turn it out onto your birdtable when solid."

For more helpful tips and advice see
here

Enjoy nature, have a walk and listen to the great sound of bird song. 

All the best Jan

Looking to lose weight ? check out Bob Briggs.

Spanish Cauliflower Egg Tortilla Recipe. Another great idea from Christopher James Clark.



Yet another great low carb food idea from Christopher James Clark. Get the list of ingredients and full instructions here. Great low carb food that is nutritious, satisfying and very easy to make. Whole fresh foods are the way to control your type two diabetes and weight. More drugs are not the answer. Eddie

Ask Dr. Bernstein Webcast and Teleconference Call This Wednesday, January 28

Special Topics:
  • New ADA Guidelines still advocate treatment that causes most diabetic amputations
  • NY Times Op-Ed piece advocates avg BG's greater than 180mg/dl for people 16 yrs younger than me and distorts results of ACCORD study
  • A1c's in the upper non-diabetic range almost double the risk of advanced progression of coronary artery calcification in only 5 yrs
  • HRT cuts risk of Alzheimer's in women by two-thirds
  • Bone fractures in 9.4% of diabetics with moderate renal disease who take SGLT-2 inhibitors for only 2 yrs
  • Telomore shortening can cause cancer
  • Yet another study relates brain damage to elevated A1c
Listening method: Phone + Web Simulcast
Full List of Dial in Numbers: 
PIN Code: 900326# 
To attend by web, visit: http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=64007841
Skype: Go to http://instantteleseminar.com/skype/. Use the skype id "joinconference", then bring up the dial pad to enter the conference id, 900326#. Don’t forget to click on VIEW SLIDES on the website while the teleconference is on.
Put all of this year's teleseminar dates in your calendar:
February 25
March 25
April 29
May 27
June 24
July 29
August 26
September 30
October 28
November 25
December 30

Monday 26 January 2015

Effect of Intensive Diabetes Therapy on the Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes: 18 Years of Follow-up in the DCCT/EDIC

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Research Group*

Abstract

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated that a mean of 6.5 years of intensive therapy aimed at near normal glucose levels reduced the risk of development and progression of retinopathy by as much as 76% compared to conventional therapy.
The Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) observational follow-up showed that the risk of further progression of retinopathy 4 years after the DCCT ended was also greatly reduced in the former intensive group, despite nearly equivalent levels of HbA1c, a phenomenon termedmetabolic memory.
 Metabolic memory was shown to persist through 10 years of follow-up. We now describe the risk of further progression of retinopathy, progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, clinically significant macular edema and the need for intervention (photocoagulation or anti-VEGF) over 18 years of follow-up in EDIC. 
The cumulative incidence of each retinal outcome continues to be lower in the former intensive group. However, the year-to-year incidence of these outcomes is now similar, owing in large part to a reduction in risk in the former conventional treatment group.
Graham

Featured food of the day Mozzarella Cheese

Do you use mozzarella cheese often? It is a cheese Eddie and I tend to eat more often during the warmer summer months. I don’t know why, could it be it stirs memories of Italy and those warm romantic Italian Summers…………



Here is some information about Mozzarella - it’s a mild, white fresh cheese made by a special process where the curd is dipped into hot whey then stretched and kneaded to the desired consistency. At one point, mozzarella was made only from water buffalo milk. Now, it is usually made with cow's milk. There are two forms, regular and fresh. Regular mozzarella is available in low-fat and non-fat forms and has a semi-soft, elastic texture and is drier than fresh mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is made from whole milk and has a softer texture and sweet, delicate flavor and is typically packed in water or whey. Buffalo mozzarella, is the most prized of the fresh mozzarella s, and is a combination of water buffalo milk and cow's milk. Other forms of fresh mozzarella are: 

Ovolini (egg size) 4 ounce balls 

Bocconcini (bite size) 1.50 ounce balls 
Ciliegine (little cherry size) .33 ounce balls 
Manteca is mozzarella molded around a lump of butter. 

Burata is like a mozzarella truffle-- a 'skin' of mozzarella surrounding a mozzarella cream. It can be found at specialty stores. If you can't find it, you can use fresh mozzarella.



             These facts courtesy of http://www.food.com/library/mozzarella-746


Here is a wonderful simple recipe taken from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection.

Ingredients:
1 lb (450 g) tomatoes
4 oz (110 g) Mozzarella sliced
About 24 fresh basil leaves ( dried basil could be used)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin (Italian) olive oil
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method:
Put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for 1 minute, then drain and slip the skins off using a cloth to protect your hands if necessary. 
Then slice the tomatoes thinly. All you do now is arrange the slices of mozzarella and tomato in layers, either in rows or concentric circles, on a serving dish. 
Scatter the whole basil leaves over them, then, just before serving, sprinkle with plenty of salt and freshly milled black pepper and drizzle the oil all over. 

Note of caution; many may eat this with warmed ciabatta bread, but if you are living the LCHF lifestyle, or are diabetic and need to keep an eye on blood glucose numbers, I think a better suggestion would be to eat it with some wonderful thinly sliced ham. Your choice of course.

Another recommendation may be a glass of chilled Italian White Wine.

Why not enjoy a taste of summer in the middle of Winter; well it is here in the UK as this post goes live! 

              Bon Appetit or should I say Buona Salute 

              (thanks to google and Delia for the images)

All the Best Jan

Why has Carbsane aka Evelyn Kocur aka the bloated blogger blocked me on twitter LOL

You are blocked from following @CarbSane and viewing @CarbSane's Tweets.

Why has Carbsane aka Evelyn Kocur aka the bloated blogger blocked me on twitter LOL

Carbsane aka Evelyn Kocur aka the bloated blogger "Food Restriction Causes Addictive Behaviour"

Carbsane aka Evelyn Kocur aka the bloated blogger tells us  "food restriction causes addictive behaviour" Evie doesn't restrict her food intake, that is why she has stated more than once publicly, she has been obese most of her adult life. Except, when she low carbed and lost a huge amount of weight. In one sense she is right. I have restricted my sugar/carb intake drastically, because as a type two diabetic, I am addicted to wanting to keep my eye sight, limbs and kidneys. Eddie


Sunday 25 January 2015

Statins save fewer lives than exercising and eating sensibly, say scientists

Academics at the University of Liverpool said figures showed that more effort should be put into population-wide schemes to improve overall health

Statins save fewer lives than simple lifestyle changes like exercising and eating sensibly, scientists have found.

Researchers discovered that the wonder pills, taken by around seven million people in Britain, save around 750 lives a years by preventing fatal heart attacks and strokes.

But other health interventions aimed at lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, such as reductions in salt and fat consumption and upping activity levels prevent 4,600 deaths a year.

Academics at the University of Liverpool said the figures showed that more effort should be put into population-wide schemes to improve overall health.


Report author Martin O O'Flaherty said: “The success of clinical cardiology in providing cost-effective treatments that are based on scientific evidence needs to be celebrated.

“But population wide measures might offer substantially bigger health gains, relieve pressure on an already stressed health system and reduce health inequalities.

“Measures like controlling tobacco increasing physical activity, improving the contents of processed food products, restricting marketing of junk food, taxation of sugary drinks, and subsidies to make healthier foods more affordable require now renewed attention not just from academics, but crucially from people and policymakers.”

Under new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) the majority of men aged over 60 and women over 65 are now offered drugs by their GPs, even if they only have a one in 10 chance of developing cardiovascular disease within a decade.

Nice experts claim that if everyone eligible took statins it would prevent 50,000 deaths a year, but the new research suggests the figure is far lower.

The new analysis showed that between 2000 and 2007 deaths from coronary heart disease fell by 38,000, of which 20,400 lives were saved as a direct result of reductions in blood pressure and total cholesterol.

The substantial fall in blood pressure accounted for well over half of the total, the calculations indicated, with around 13,000 deaths prevented or postponed.

But only a small proportion, 1800, of these were attributable to drug treatments, with the rest accounted for by changes in risk factors at the population level.

Falls in total cholesterol accounted for some 7400 deaths prevented or postponed, of which, 5300 or 14 per cent of the total, were attributable to statins.

The researchers said that preventative approaches are a better way to achieve results rather than handing out pills.

Prof Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the Institute of Health Equity, UCL, said it was important to address the causes of heart disease rather than use drugs to treat the consequences.

“We have to address the root causes of cardiovascular disease. And these are socially determined and progressively more common the more socially disadvantaged people are.

“Therefore we need to make significant changes to the environment in which people are born, live, grow, work and age.

“Choosing healthy lifestyles is more difficult because our society promotes cheap unhealthy foods, low alcohol prices, and car use instead of walking or cycling.”

Cardiovascular disease kills around 180,000 people a year in Britain, one in three deaths. The drugs cost the NHS about 10p per patient per day, adding up to £450 million annually.

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Statins are very effective but they are probably best kept for those at high risk.

“The message from this study is clear. We know how to prevent coronary heart disease and our methods are working. We have made significant progress, preventing around 38,000 deaths from coronary heart disease, but there is still a long way to go.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Graham

Mushroom Meatballs with Easy Tomato Sauce


Succulent meatballs swimming in a sea of easy-to-make tomato sauce! This is comfort food at its finest. Frying the meatballs first will seal in the flavours, and the brightness of the fresh basil at the end ties it all together.

Meatballs
1 pound white mushrooms, finely diced
1 pound ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup Italian parsley, finely minced
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons lard, butter, or ghee, for frying the meatballs

Sauce
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method
1. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the mushrooms, beef, garlic, Italian parsley, egg yolks, salt, and pepper.
2. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs that are slightly larger than a golf ball.
3. In a large sauté pan, heat the lard, butter, or ghee over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the hot pan, and brown them on all sides.
4. Remove the browned meatballs from the pan, and set them aside.
5. Make the sauce by adding the tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and salt and pepper to taste to the same pan used for the meatballs. Cook over medium heat, and bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the meatballs to the simmering sauce, cover, and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 5-6

Colder winter months seem to make this lovely recipe taste even more delicious.
Try it and see !

Thanks to Sarah at Everyday Paleo for this recipe idea - link to her blog is here
All the best Jan

DCUK The Daily Report Anna the banner mod shoots herself in the foot !

People often ask me why are you so interested in the diabetes.co.uk forum, some have gone as far as to say "you are obsessed with the forum" Maybe, but that is a matter of opinion, but I do check into the place every day. Very often I am alerted about a thread via an email or a telephone call. So why the interest. Well the forum does like to tell us they are the largest diabetes forum in Europe and just recently the DCUK twitter account tells the world the members have a combined 900,000 years of diabetes experience, some claim eh. That sounds like a number plucked out of thin air to me, but hey ho, I expect some are fooled by the BS.

Let's talk about the 125,000 member list. Regular forum watches know most done a Cpt. Oates years ago, and way less than 1% are regular posters, even the people who have been permanently banned are still on the members list. I should know as I reckon I hold the record for times banned under various forum names. So, still with me? good, you get my drift, the forum of flog sure posts a hell of a lot of shit and shinola. 

So, back to the chase. Anna the head moderator, who is a low carb high fat anti and appears to have a very limited knowledge on good diabetes control, started a thread last night. To me it looked like a futile attempt to get some people out of the woodwork with negative views and experience re. the low carb high fat lifestyle. It backfired on her spectacularly as can be seen here. In no time at all, members comments were being deleted and edited.

I can understand Anna's situation, the forum is flooded with low carb success stories, in fact the only success being reported on the forum for years, has been by way of a low carb lifestyle. I grant you a handful of good news stories, have been posted by low carb antis, over the years. But close inspection of their claims, look very dubious at the very least. One well known anti tells us his BG numbers improved when he started eating Pot Noddles, pizza and other junk foods. Believe that if you will, and if you do, I recommend you seek urgent psychiatric counselling.

So my friends, check out the DCUK forum, there is some fantastic information to be found, from some highly knowledgeable members, even if you are fully clued up, re. diabetes control, I promise you at the very least, you will be busting a gut laughing at the antics of the antis.

A typical rant from an anti.

"But Bernstein is a quack. He claims he invented Basal/Bolus...he didn't. He claims he invented the home BG meter...he didn't. He just keeps dreaming things up to sell books. He might on occasion say something remotely relevant, but often it's utter trash to sell books, like his current line of re-branding the Atkins diet he's selling."



Eddie

Post edit. The thread was locked by the OP Anna the banner, when the thread went totally pear shaped. Better luck next time Anna.

How to reverse your type two diabetes.

Jay Wortman, MD, tells the story of how he got rid of his rampant type 2 diabetes, using a simple dietary change. Ten years later (now 12 years) he is still free from the disease and needs no medication. He just stopped eating the foods that turn to sugar in the body.


No it's not April the first yet !


When I first read this article, I thought Jeez is it April the first already, no, this monstrosity is for real. Developed in the US, where else, this Frankenstein beast is now in the UK. What next, a 100lb banana, a 1000lb pumpkin, just what we all need. Beam me up Scottie. Eddie

Link to the lunacy here. Yes you guessed it, another item from the Daily Mail.

Saturday 24 January 2015

Laura Welsh - Ghosts



Graham

Benjamin Clementine - Nemesis



Graham

Youssou N'dour - She Doesn't Need To Fall

Play this when you are driving on a great road, preferably in the Lake district on a deserted road. I took this pic a few years ago while driving up high on a single track road in a convertible with the roof down, this is living to me and Jan. Eddie 





Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé - Baby It's Cold Outside

Is it Saturday Night again? Don't the weeks whizz by?
It's been a chilly week here in the UK, temperatures the other night were -9C. For some reason I've had this song on my mind - so to start off tonight's music night, here is Michael Buble with Idina Menzel - the kids on the video are just great too, hope you enjoy it.

All the best Jan

DCUK Never a dull day at the forum of flog !

"The Diabetes Forum is not just helping people, it’s affecting scientific research and understanding. A prime example is Low carbohydrate diet to achieve weight loss and improve HbA1c in type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes: experience from one general practice where the Diabetes Forum is cited as being popular in highlighting the adoption of a low carbohydrate diet as a way of achieving weight loss and improving HbA1c in patients, despite the approach being 'generally frowned upon in the UK'. It’s taken almost a decade for low-carb to be accepted as a valid approach to diet for people with diabetes – and it is the postings, comments and threads from the Diabetes Forum that has influenced, and is continuing to influence policy. This is only possible if we’re able to openly share and engage." Forum administrator here.

Great to see the non diabetic admin promoting the many benefits of a low carb diet. The $64,000 questions? why over the years have thousands of low carb posts been deleted? why have so many low carbers been banned? why have so many low carb threads been locked? why have so many anti low carbers been made forum mods? No, I am not exaggerating, Graham and myself had around three thousand posts deleted alone.

A member posts re. forum members forum posted being posted of the forum of flogs facebook page without permission. 

"Thanks Admin. To be honest, it would have been good to know this sooner but I can understand your reasoning. Maybe some members may be a little more careful what and how much they share here in future. This is a great forum but we need to be able to trust it."

The bottom line here is, when you sign up to the flog, you sign up for the management to use the member in any way they think fit. Including regular mail shots trying to flog you stuff you do not need. It's not known as the forum of flog for nothing.

It is the members who have done all the hard work, and increased the lowcarb profile massively over the years. The DCUK management have done next to nothing, other than exploit the members at every opportunity.

Eddie

Miracle of daily diet jab: £2 drug that helps you lose 19lbs could be available on NHS in months !

The Daily Mail waxes lyrical and is almost orgasmic, about a new wonder drug for weight loss "New Saxenda" some of the benefits they tell us are.

"Liraglutide packs twice the power of rival drugs and lowers blood pressure
The 'life changing' drug raises good cholesterol and prevents diabetes
The jab even produces a feel-good factor, making dieting a pleasure
Patients inject the drug into their stomach each day, suppressing appetite
But there are fears Nice will judge too expensive for routine use on NHS"

This is not a new drug it has been around years and is marketed as Victoza and used by diabetics. In my opinion another useless and dangerous drug no one needs.

What the mail did not tell it's readers, was the numerous side effects of this drug hence the black box cancer warning on the packaging. 

Victoza can cause thyroid cancer, pancreatitis, renal failure or kidney failure, and death. So, at a cost of the thick end of £70 per month per person, we can have millions more risking very serious side effects, and at best might lose some weight, because the drug can make people feel so nauseous they don't want to eat. This ladies and gentleman is called progress. Nothing could serve as a better illustration to the recklessness, greed and skulduggery of big pharma.  

Link to grim complications and death here.

Link to Saxenda propaganda here.

Link to Daily Mail shill work here.

Eddie

Many a word said in jest !

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Friday 23 January 2015

We Lie About What We Eat, And It's Messing Up Science

One problem with self-reported food data? We tend to underestimate how much we've eaten.
How many peanuts did you snack on last week? If you don't remember, you're not alone. We humans are notoriously bad at remembering exactly what and how much we ate. And if there's one pattern to our errors, it's that we underestimate — unintentionally and otherwise.

And yet, for decades, researchers who want to amass large quantities of data about how much Americans eat and exercise have had to rely on individuals to self-report this information.

These self-reported data on diet and exercise have long been called flawed. But a paper published Tuesday in the International Journal of Obesity goes one step further. The authors, led by David Allison, director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, write, "[The data] are so poor as measures of actual [energy intake] and [physical activity energy expenditure] that they no longer have a justifiable place in scientific research."

That's some strong language, considering that these data have been used in hundreds of major studies to inform hundreds of public health policies and clinical recommendations.

The underlying message here? A lot of these policies and recommendations are wrong and are misleading people in their decisions about their health.

The big problem, the paper's authors note, is that these data may be used to make dietary recommendations for diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In particular, studies based on flawed data have led to "spurious associations and effects" — like telling patients that a certain way of eating might protect them against developing Alzheimer's disease, the authors argue.

It also makes it hard for anyone to draw any significant conclusions about national trends in obesity, they say. That became clear when studies in recent years reported a decrease in energy intake, suggesting Americans were eating less. The problem? Obesity prevalence hadn't dropped, so those findings seemed unlikely.

So what are obesity researchers to do if they follow the authors' suggestion and stop using self-reported diet and exercise data?

What's needed instead, the authors write, are new, more objective measures of energy balance. New techniques using digital photography — that's right, photographing subjects while they eat — and chewing and swallowing monitors show promise. The authors also note that short-term, though expensive, techniques of measuring energy balance in a metabolic ward also give more accurate results.



Graham

Saudi Arabia's new King Salman promises continuity !

Saudi Arabian King Salman has pledged continuity, hours after his accession to the throne following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah.
The new king moved swiftly to appoint heirs and ministers, including one prince from the ruling dynasty's third generation.
King Abdullah died overnight, weeks after being admitted to hospital with a lung infection.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in Riyadh, following Friday prayers.
His burial was conducted in line with the traditions of Wahhabism - the ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam followed by the kingdom - where funerals are austere and simple.
More on this  BBC story here.
So, public beheading, public whippings, hand amputations and torture, imprisonment without trial and suppression of Women's rights will continue. Business as usual for this despotic nation. 
Why do we and the US suck up to these barbarians living in the dark ages? Err.....I know because we make huge amounts of money from the country that supplied most of the 9 11 terrorists. That's the way this world works. The bigger the amount of money we make from despots, the more we tolerate. Then we destroy a country that had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction and 9 11, like Iraq. 
Eddie



Meanwhile over at the forum of flog, the good news keeps coming in !

Despite the low carb antis, most of them mods these days, the good news at the flog never stops coming in. As always the good news is low carb. Here is a challenge for our readers who also read the flog. Direct me to a post (other than duggie boys tomfoolery) that states I have upped my carbs and upped the meds and now hold non diabetic BG numbers. I know it's a tough one, but go for it.

PS Nobblyheads bullshit doesn't count either, ditto for Sid Bonkers.

A member posts.

"I thought I would share my good news.... I have managed to reduce my Hba1c from 103mmol when diagnosed in September right down to 44mmol! Also my cholesterol down from 4.6 to 2.9!
Now just got to lose a couple of stone!!!! Scales not showing a decrease but clothes getting looser"


A member asks

"How did you do it, without losing weight? Almost everyone who achieves those sorts of reductions loses quite a bit of weight, and there are regularly people asking how to maintain their weight, but drop the blood scores."

The OP replies

"Just listened to your good advice about low carbs!"

Above posts can be found here.

Eddie