How to get away with murdering children !

In all established and moral societies, the worst crime a man can commit is the murdering of children. The punishment is life imprisonment, and that often means all of natural life ! in some countries the death penalty. It occurs to me, it’s how you kill children that separates crime from the big earner. Obviously if weapons are used or strangulation, it’s a clear cut case. But what about poisoning ! What if you are a multi-national food company such as Nestle or Unilever, and you spend hundreds of millions of pounds per year, on advertising and public relations and lobbying corrupt politicians ? selling poison to children via their poorly informed parents. Poison that will lead to obesity, heart disease and an early death.


I have just watched a program on channel 4 called The Myths Of The Five A Day. Basically the same information illustrated in the series of programs called The Men Who Made Us Fat. Yet another expose on how multi-national food companies lie, misconstrue and will use any trick in the book to convince you their adulated junk is healthy food. Some examples of real five a day food below. If the big food outfits have been near it, it’s probably poison and not food. I look forward to hearing from Nestle et al.


Eddie

Jon Lord RIP

Many people know Jon Lord as a member of the stellar rock band Deep Purple. He was a man of varied and diverse musical talent. He died today from pancreatic cancer. A great loss to his family, friends and all who appreciate great music. I feel this is fitting music for this sad day. Jon at his best, a truly great musician and composer. Eddie

The Men Who Made Us Fat Episode 3

Graham

Drug company survey suggests statin side-effects are common and the most common reason for people stopping their medication.

From the excellent Dr.John Briffa Blog.


The hazards of statins is not something that the pharmaceutical industry likes to shout about, of course. In fact, industry sponsored studies sometimes look as though they’ve been designed to ensure the real risks of statins remain unseen. One tactic, for instance, is to screen out those most susceptible to side-effects before the study even begins. Another is to detect and log damage to organs only once blood test results are several times the upper limit of normal.


It turns out that off all of the reasons individuals might stop their statin medication, ‘side effects’ was the most commonly cited reason. According to the survey, a full 62 per cent of respondents cited side effects as the reason for stopping their medication. The two next most common reasons cited were ‘cost’ and ‘lack of effectiveness’ at 17 and 12 per cent respectively. You can see from these statistics that problems with side effects was the standout ‘winner’.

It seems to me that Lilly is keen to grab a bigger slice of the statin market. However, in so doing, it has revealed to us evidence which supports the idea that, in the real World (rather than the more manipulated and controllable environment of clinical studies), statin side effects are a much bigger problem then some would have us believe.

http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/07/13/drug-company-survey-suggests-statin-side-effects-are-common-and-the-most-common-reason-for-people-stopping-their-medication/

Wild and Exotic “Sagri” Barbecues at The Ambrette.

I have too many email addresses and blogs etc. I get a lot of spam from Viagra to pay day loans, and that's the clean stuff. I received this today and it touched a chord, Rye is one of our favorite towns, my Wife and I love the place hence posting it up here. The menu as you can see is interesting to say the least.  Please note ! we have not tried this restaurant but next time we are in Rye, who knows. 


The Ambrette at Rye Restaurant which has taken the town’s dining scene
by storm since opening in December, has installed an outside Tandoor

oven and Indian charcoal barbecue, to offer fine out door dining
Indian style during fine weather.

The “Magnolia Garden” at the White Vine House, named after its tree
which was spectacular in late spring.i Opening times are weather
dependent, so no advance bookings will be taken.

The Ambrette’s location on Rye’s high street in the 5 AA starred White
Vine House is drawing considerable numbers overnight guests to the
historic Cinque Port.  Whilst locals and gastro tourist from London
and beyond, have flocked to the East Sussex town to sample chef-patron
Dev Biswal’s unique style of “culinary art”, the introduction of a
special “Wild & Exotic” menu featuring meats such as zebra and
kangaroo, as well as more traditional fare such as salmon, brochettes
of spiced lamb, a grazing menu and a vegetarian platter, is expected
to is expected to further expand the restaurant’s growing fan base.

Depending on local availability the exotic menu may also feature
bison, water buffalo, ostrich, python and crocodile.

Indian barbecues or “sagris” are a common feature at weddings and
functions and integral part of the country’s street food scene.

The barbeque is available on The White Vine House’s terrace garden,
which seats up to 16 guests, weather permitting, on a
first-come-first-served basis, Tuesday to Sunday.

As long as the habitat is protected and hunting is sustainable, Biswal
says there are many advantages in eating wild animals over those that
are farmed.

“To top it all the exotic meats taste amazing – like everything else
in life you don’t know it until you have experienced it,” he said.

Those making the journey are likely to find some unusual dishes on the
daily-changing menu that are likely to include:

Ideal as a starter, the tender South West African Ostrich Brochette is
smoked with cloves then char-grilled on a low flame.
Tender boneless Fillet of Python from Vietnam is flamed with Indian
dark rum then slow cooked in an Indian-style rich tomato and onion
sauce for five hours.

The Fillet of Crocodile from Southern Africa slow is cooked for
several hours in an aromatic coastal Indian-style sauce of coconut,
tamarind and spices.

The tender, succulent Zebra Steak pan-grilled is served with a complex
sauce of plums, ginger and black pepper.
“Sometimes people laugh at me for admiring a specific vegetable, a
species of fish or a piece of meat - “he rarer an ingredient, the more
it fires me up, admits The Ambrette’s executive chef Dev Biswal, who
is well-known locally for his passion for ingredients and food in
general. “It’s naturally exciting when there is an opportunity to cook
exotic meats such as python, a water buffalo and fillets of crocodile
tail.”

Diners wish to ensure any specific dish is available for their visit,
may pre order their meal a few days in advance.



Editors’ Notes: The Georgian Room seats 26, the Elizabethan Room 16,
the and the Club Room 14 and the outside terrace a further 20 diners.
Head chef: Deepak Surman.

Dev Biswal grew up in Calcutta.  He trained at the Dubai Sheraton,
before moving to London, aged 26 in 2003 for spells at Mangoes and
Eriki.   He became a partner in The Indian Princess in Margate in
December 2006, becoming patron and rebranding it as The Ambrette in
2010.

The White Vine House accommodates 14 guests in 5 double rooms (one
4-poster), and a family room (sleeping four).  Room rates from £130 to
£190 a night including breakfast.

The original building was destroyed during one of the many French
raids on the town during the 100 Years War.  The Elizabethan Dining
Room named for its exquisite and unique French oak panelling, which
probably cost more than the original building, with each panel
individually formed to fit the timber frame.  The room is “signed”
with a carpenter's mark visible just above the fireplace.

Set on Rye's High Street, the Georgian frontage of the White Vine
House belies its medieval heritage. Beneath the dining room lies a
C13th cellar, complete with stone spiral staircase. Refurbished in
2005, the once grand home is now one of the country’s premier bed and
breakfast venues. Each of the 6 guest rooms includes period furniture,
contemporary en suites stocked with locally made organic toiletries,
the latest in home entertainment technology.

Weddings: Specialising in small intimate weddings the White Vine House
is licensed for civil ceremonies.

The Ambrette Restaurant at Rye
T: 01797 222 043  E: info@theambrette-rye.co.uk W: www.theambrette.co.uk

I hear his sautéed pterodactyl with roast walnuts is sublime. Who says lowcarbing is boring.

Eddie

The John Terry guide on how to wind up forum lowcarbers.

Diabetes.co.uk All quiet on the Western Front.

The forum diabetes.co.uk has been a place of calm and tranquillity over the last few days, how long will it last ? According to the jungle drums, Jopar, (you  type two’s brought it on yourselves and you’re all liars)  has been issued with an exit visa. The slippery one Phoenix, appears to be taking some R and R. The barmy brothers Bonkers and Nobhead are all sweetness and light, so why am I nervous. 


It would seem changes are taking place and hopefully for the better, but in the past changes have often proved to be a disaster. Relative newcomers may find it hard to believe, that the management thought making Jopar a mod was a good idea ! Yes, I know it’s hard to believe even in the crazy world of diabetes, anyone could have thought that would restore order. Tubolard aka Carbo was once a mod, together with his long term lowcarb anti sidekick SarahQ aka SueM aka CarbsRock. What kind of reasoning was behind Kens promotion to the moderators position ? What drugs was someone on ? Maybe you can see why I’m feeling nervous. Change does not always bring progress, especially when you think Fergus, Dennis and Timo, all great and knowledgeable mods called it a day.


More than once, we have seen the lunatics taking over the asylum regarding moderation. If changes are being made, I hope more thought is applied by the management of diabetes.co.uk than when they had their last night of the long knives. As we have seen, hell hath no fury like that of the fired forum mod. Kenny boy with his crypt like forum (they seem to be muzzling him more these days) Carbo (has he called it a day) with his cess pit blog ? Who can say, no doubt time will tell. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment with the betus.


Eddie

Comparison with ancestral diets suggests dense acellular carbohydrates promote an inflammatory microbiota, and may be the primary dietary cause of leptin resistance and obesity

Ian Spreadbury

Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: A novel hypothesis of obesity is suggested by consideration of diet-related inflammation and evolutionary medicine. The obese homeostatically guard their elevated weight. In rodent models of high-fat diet-induced obesity, leptin resistance is seen initially at vagal afferents, blunting the actions of satiety mediators, then centrally, with gastrointestinal bacterial-triggered SOCS3 signaling implicated. In humans, dietary fat and fructose elevate systemic lipopolysaccharide, while dietary glucose also strongly activates SOCS3 signaling. Crucially however, in humans, low-carbohydrate diets spontaneously decrease weight in a way that low-fat diets do not. Furthermore, nutrition transition patterns and the health of those still eating diverse ancestral diets with abundant food suggest that neither glycemic index, altered fat, nor carbohydrate intake can be intrinsic causes of obesity, and that human energy homeostasis functions well without Westernized foods containing flours, sugar, and refined fats. Due to being made up of cells, virtually all "ancestral foods" have markedly lower carbohydrate densities than flour- and sugar-containing foods, a property quite independent of glycemic index. Thus the "forgotten organ" of the gastrointestinal microbiota is a prime candidate to be influenced by evolutionarily unprecedented postprandial luminal carbohydrate concentrations. The present hypothesis suggests that in parallel with the bacterial effects of sugars on dental and periodontal health, acellular flours, sugars, and processed foods produce an inflammatory microbiota via the upper gastrointestinal tract, with fat able to effect a "double hit" by increasing systemic absorption of lipopolysaccharide. This model is consistent with a broad spectrum of reported dietary phenomena. A diet of grain-free whole foods with carbohydrate from cellular tubers, leaves, and fruits may produce a gastrointestinal microbiota consistent with our evolutionary condition, potentially explaining the exceptional macronutrient-independent metabolic health of non-Westernized populations, and the apparent efficacy of the modern "Paleolithic" diet on satiety and metabolism.

http://www.dovepress.com/comparison-with-ancestral-diets-suggests-dense-acellular-carbohydrates-peer-reviewed-article-DMSO

Graham

Thanks to Dr Jay Wortman for the link.

http://www.drjaywortman.com/blog/wordpress/

A very good reason to give up lowcarbing !

Tony and Yvonne were 85 years old and had been married for sixty years, both diabetics  Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because Tony watched their pennies. 



Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to Yvonne's insistence on healthy foods, a lowcarb diet and exercise. 

One day, their good health didn't help when they went on yet another holiday and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven. 


They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside.  He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath.  A maid could be seen hanging their favourite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said, 'Welcome to Heaven.  This will be your home now.' 



Tony asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.  'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven.' 
Tony looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth.. 
'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled Tony.. 
'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied.  'You can play for free, every day.' 
  
  

          
Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages. 
'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to Tony.  This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.' 
Tony looked around and glanced nervously at Yvonne. 
'Well, where are the low carb and high fat foods he asked. 
That's the best part,' St. Peter replied.  'You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like and you will never get fat or sick or suffer diabetic complications   
This is Heaven!' 


'No gym to work out at?' said Tony
'Not unless you want to,' was the answer. 
'No testing my blood sugar or blood pressure or...' 
'Never again.  All you do here is enjoy yourself and eat whatever you like. 
  

                                       

Tony glared at Yvonne and said, 'You and your f***ing lowcarb diet.  We could have been here ten years ago !  


Eddie

7-year-olds diagnosed with T2 diabetes !

Children as young as seven are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is usually associated with the middle-aged and elderly, because of increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, specialists warn today.

Too many have hardly heard of the disease, or believe it is just a “mild” condition, according to a panel convened by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to provide new advice on preventing it.

Type 2 diabetes, in which the body gradually loses its ability to produce insulin and tolerate high glucose levels, used to be called ‘mature onset’ diabetes.

But panel members said that label could no longer be used due to growing numbers of youngsters being diagnosed with it.

Christine Coltrell, a diabetes nurse specialist from Warwick, said: “We are even getting children as young as seven with Type 2 diabetes, and that can have devastating long term health consequences.

“These children end up having heart attacks, or losing a limb, or their sight, in their 30s and 40s.”

All these children were seriously obese, she said, but the lifestyle problem which caused them were endemic.

“When we look at the way we are living our lives now, there’s lots of fast and processed foods on offer,” she said.

“People don’t walk their children to school any longer, they drive them.”

Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care at Leicester University and a GP, said a study of secondary school children in the city showed 40 per cent were spending four hours or more every evening, sitting down.

At the moment the number of under 16s diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in Britain is low: only about 300 a year.

But he warned: “Unless we do something about it, it’s going to get worse. In the US, something like 40 per cent of referrals to paediatric clinics are for Type 2 diabetes.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9392114/7-year-olds-diagnosed-with-T2-diabetes.html

The Men Who Made Us Fat Episode 3: View now on BBC i player.

Episode 3 of 3

DURATION: 1 HOUR

Jacques Peretti examines assumptions about what is and is not healthy. He also looks at how product marketing can seduce consumers into buying supposed 'healthy foods' such as muesli and juices, both of which can be high in sugar.

He speaks with Simon Wright, an 'organic consultant' for Sainsbury's in the 1990s, who explains how the food industry cashed in on the public's concerns around salmonella, BSE and GM crops. By 1999 the organic industry was worth over £605M, a rise of 232% within two years.

How did the mainstream food producers compete? Peretti speaks with Kath Dalmeny, former policy director at the Food Commission, who explains some of the marketing strategies used by mainstream food producers to keep our custom.

The programme also explores the impact of successive government initiatives and health campaigns, such as the proposal of 'traffic light labelling', the introduction of which the food industry lobbied hard against.

But in 2012, when we have an Olympic Games sponsored by McDonalds and Coca Cola, has anything changed?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kd06l


Now showing on BBC i Player

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01kd06l/The_Men_Who_Made_Us_Fat_Episode_3/

Graham

Dr. Malcolm Kendrick blog.

Malcolm Kendrick one of the small, but increasing band of healthcare professionals, brave enough to stick their heads above the parapet of zombie and out of date medical science, has started his own blog. He writes about many subjects, and has the knack of making highly technical information, assessable to the none medically trained. He also has a fantastic sense of humour. He believes the lowcarb diet is the way forward for diabetics and saturated fat does not cause heart disease, in short, our kind of fella. Check out his blog, a short post copied below.

Preventative medicine has gone completely mad and it is only going to get worse. One of the most depressing articles I have read recently (and there was plenty of competition for this particular accolade) was in the Journal of Palliative medicine. It was entitled:

‘Statins in the last six months of life: A recognizable, life-limiting condition does not decrease their use.’

Statins, as you probably know, are used to reduce the risk of dying of heart disease, strokes and suchlike. Now, I am not exactly a fan of these drugs, to put it (very) mildly. But I thought that even the most fanatical ‘statinator’ might feel that if a patient is dying of terminal cancer, then there is little point in continuing with a drug designed to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Wrong. It seems that patients with terminal cancer are prescribed statins up until they draw their final breath on this Earth. What exactly are their doctors trying to prevent here? Well, at least they didn’t die of a heart attack first? Thank God for that.

I have had personal experience with this particular madness. I was visiting a lady of one hundred and one years old in a nursing home. The nursing staff asked me if I could change her statin from a tablet to a liquid form, as she was no longer able to swallow tablets. This lady was so severely demented that she could not speak, was unable to remotely recognise any of her relatives, and was lying immobile in her bed – doubly incontinent.

I felt that, in the circumstances, it was probably best just to stop the statin, especially as they are one hundred times more expensive in liquid than tablet form. So it all seemed like an expensive action in futility. For this action I was severely criticised by the nursing home, and another doctor involved in her care. I believe I was, at one point, accused of being ‘ageist.’ Well, I didn’t really know how to respond. I wondered where we drew the line with preventative medicine, and it appears we no longer draw the line, anywhere.

We carry on forever. We give drugs to the terminally ill, the extremely old and severely demented. Once started we never, ever, stop, no matter what, until the patient is dead. Perhaps at that point I should scatter statins on their ashes, just to make absolutely and completely certain that I am not missing a trick. After all, I would hate be thought of as ‘deadist’.

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/about/

Eddie

Barclays Bank to rebrand !

Phoenix and Noblehead: A Cry for Help

NICE currently recommends an HbA1c of ≤ 7.5 per cent. For the period 2009-2010, the following results (from the National Diabetes Audit) were achieved in England.

HbA1c   % of Registered Type 1 Diabetics

>7.5        71.8

>10.0     17.0

These results are very similar to those found in the 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 audits. I don’t believe anyone seeing these results would state that they represent satisfactory outcomes with almost 72% of registered diabetics having out of control blood glucose levels and many must be crying out for help! Surely there must be some ‘in control’ Type 1 diabetics willing to spend some time to advise and help their fellow Type 1 diabetics. Two individuals immediately spring to mind with seemingly the time to commit to forum posts. It would be nice to read Phoenix and Noblehead of diabetes.co.uk making some contribution to reducing the awful statistics for Type 1 diabetics.

Clique Finder General

The Ken Boson

The existence of the Higgs boson and the associated Higgs field was postulated as the simplest of several methods to explain why some other elementary particles have mass. The success of scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in claiming the discovery of Higgs boson has led to a group of dieticians from the Ally555 Institute of Dietary Research to apply for a research funding for the Ken boson project.

A spokesperson explained “Analogous to Higgs boson in explaining why some other elementary particles have mass, the Ken boson would help in explaining why some individuals on a low carb, low fat diet have mass. The funding required would be low since the number of individuals on such a diet is very small. The major methodological tool would be observational studies (it is already known from first principles that the low carb, low fat diet is non-sustainable in the long run). The observational studies would seek to determine the actual amount of fat eaten by the individual and the amount claimed to have been eaten by the individual. If such a diet is empirically found to be sustainable in the long run it will have profound implications for dietary research”.

Reviewing the grant application, a member of Research Funding Committee warned that the members of the observational group should not be of a ‘nervous’ or a ‘delicate’ disposition since it well known that one outcome of the low carb low fat diet is an increasing intolerance to questioning. Again, analogous to the Higgs boson, the Ken Boson is also known the ‘God particle’.

From our Science Correspondent

Rumours of Kens demise have proved to be exaggerated

I am delighted to report, rumours of Kens demise have proved to be exaggerated. My money was on he was competing in the Highland games, well, he is into all sorts of physical activity these days. Whatever the truth, he is back tossing his caber with a vengeance. Say what you like about Ken, but he is one arch tosser. When not indulging in self abuse, he is chucking out abuse, as always the forum **** is getting it in the neck. The forum **** is diabetes.co.uk. Why Ken always refers these days to diabetes.co.uk as **** is unknown to me, although he did use the abbreviation DCUK in this post extract today “Exactly...... So what is 'GREAT' about that is beyond me......? Just some sycophantic members who want to keep well in with their 'mole' on DCUK, oops sorry **** ! I always wondered how the idiot always knew so much about what is going on at ****”


Many who know Ken and remember his helmsmanship at **** consider him to a be a total ****, who am I to argue. One thing is beyond debate, his forum DiabolicalABC has proved to be a total failure, not even Bonkers and Nobhead will go near the place. They are members, but even these two despots have their limits. They joined and left Dodge as fast as their spindly legs would carry them, 


After having his armchair successfully amputated from his butt, it’s the outdoor life for Ken. Never slow in blowing his own bag pipe, stated yesterday.  “Anyway, this is not a 'rant' (as some will no doubt describe it).....just some helpful (I think) advice, from an experienced Admin/Moderator..…” Today he stated “You really couldn't make this up, the most vocal troublemakers are the ones dishing out weasel words to Benedict and the chump is falling for them.....…” 


Say what you like about Benedict, he has forgotten more about safe diabetes control than Ken will ever know, it did not take Benedict ten years to understand carb control is essential for good diabetes management. Ken was in the diabetes wilderness for over ten years, before lowcarbers put him straight, then he turned on most of them. Kenny boys muse, the once great but disgraced diabetes.co.uk forum mod Sue said this afternoon  “A sure sign that a forum is going to pot is when members start questioning the Administrator on the board and arguing with him ! Worse still is the fact that he is not telling them not to argue and standing by his words but rather trying to explain and justify them. Where is the respect there then ?”  Has she gone barmy too ?


Last word goes to a **** member who posted this today on ****.


“A while ago, when I was in a very vulnerable state mentally, I made the mistake of joining 'Another un-named Diabetes forum', since then I have regretted my actions, even more so after seeing the forum owner/s in their true light, namely the nasty comments and insults they make towards members of this forum, including myself. Now, after many days of logging into this 'Certain forum' and messaging "Admin" many times for my name to be removed as I DO NOT wish to be associated with such a 'Forum', I have just been ridiculed and laughed at by said "Admin" who believe it's funny to keep my name as an active member(I've tried to get banned too in desperation, but with no avail).I know I can just choose to not log in there but out of principle I do not want my name associated with there AT ALL!”


Welcome to the Hotel Caledonia, you can check in any time you like, but you can never leave !


Eddie

A blog dedicated to Ken http://crustywhite.blogspot.co.uk/

Diabetes.co.uk lowcarb antis. Stupid, mental or just plain evil ?

For years people such as Jopar, Sid Bonkers, Phoenix and Noblehead have spent a great deal of time and effort rubbishing lowcarb as a method of controlling high blood glucose for diabetics. Between them, many thousands of hours, what have they achieved ? How many are following their methods of control ? OK a bit difficult to assess as they do not promote any way of control. Sorry Sid’s portion control of cornflakes etc. and very low calorie diet does not qualify as a viable alternative for the majority of members. Sid is semi disabled and appears to operate a diet that would not satisfy a four year old healthy and active child. The former moderators Ken and Sue used a very low calorie diet to control weight and BG numbers, indeed it was their run in with Dr.Jay Wortman, who stated that type of diet was not sustainable in the long term, that lead to their exit from the diabetes.co.uk forum. Very low calorie or semi-starvation diets do not work in the long term, this has been proved many times.


Jopar, Phoenix and Noblehead are insulin users, the majority of active members are type two non insulin users. As insulin users these people have far more leeway in their choice of foods and carb intake. As with Sid, they offer no real alternative to a viable method of blood glucose control for non insulin users, in fact they do not offer any viable method of control. These three individuals have choices. They can use more carbs and adjust medication to suit the information their BG meters tell them. All state they have good control, insulin, skilled diabetes specialist healthcare professionals. Two have insulin pumps, and all have adequate test strips to check BG. What has the average type two have in the fight against diabetic complications ?


The majority of diabetics are type two. Typically at diagnosis they are told BG testing is a waste of time and will lead to anxiety. They are told to eat starchy carbs with every meal. It’s hard to imagine a worse way to treat a person with a chronic disease. A disease left uncontrolled, will lead to life changing or life threatening diabetic complications. Remember, the typical diabetic and forum member does not have a pump, does not have insulin, most do not get free test strips ! What choices do these people have ? 


Well, they can accept the advice from the NHS, ADA and DUK regarding diet. They can choose to believe the NICE guideline of HbA1c of 7.5 is safe. They can become a victim of out of date information, the greed of big pharma and multi-national food companies. Never forget, these companies spend billions of pounds per year promoting their products, many of which no one needs. Misinformation is their main weapon, together with lying, falsifying drug trial data, and bribery and corruption. This week we have seen GlaxoSmithKline  pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to disclose important safety information. All is not lost, there is a way forward. 


And that way is lowcarbing, for so many diabetics there is no other way to control diabetes. Check out the forum and you will see on a daily basis great news regarding lowcarbing. Lowcarbers are reporting safe weight reduction, non diabetic HbA1c numbers, improved lipid counts, and some require no diabetes medication. Think about that, a safe and natural way to control a chronic illness. These people realise what foods raise BG to dangerous levels. They have replaced carbs with other more satisfying and better nutritional  foods, they have reversed the main symptom and danger of type two diabetes, elevated blood glucose. Surely no one other than a fool, or a corrupt drug rep, or a seller of high carb food would argue with that. This brings me to the post title. Diabetes.co.uk lowcarb antis. Stupid, mental or just plain evil ?


The lowcarb antis have seen all the success people have had with the lowcarb life style. Some antis dismiss these  posters as liars ! Other more subtle attacks, demonise the foods lowcarbers have replaced carbs with, i.e. saturated fats man has ate since the beginning of time. The fact is these lowcarb antis will do anything to disrupt, antagonise and spread misinformation. They cannot deny the good news other than call people liars, they cannot inform people how they can control their diabetes, weight and lipids with minimal or no medication. Their main tool is creating thread locking, editing of posts and ridicule. When that fails, they accuse people of bullying, rather ironic when you think in Kens days as a moderator, they backed him to the hilt and bullied so many people away. Let’s make no mistake, these antis know so many have no choice other than lowcarb, so the question, are these antis stupid, mental or just plain evil ? is valid in my opinion. Make up you own mind. As always, anyone is free to come here and argue their case, we look forward to your comments and argument.


Eddie



Post edit and update. Some of the comments from the lowcarb antis today.


From Noblehead.


“Your reply to Phoenix is bang out of order and was made with intent to cause trouble on the forum, Pheonix or any other type 1's/type 1.5 tell type 2's what dietary path they should choose and that is for the individual to decide”


This from a man that accused a member a short while ago of supplying us with confidential information about forum members. When asked to apologise, he run screaming to the mods for protection. Result thread locked.


From Sid Bonkers.


“This is exactly the sort of garbage that should be moderated as it just scaremongering rubbish. We know that over 60% of T2 diabetics are within NICE guidelines, thats over a million diabetics. They are not being sent blind and they are not having their feet amputated, what they are doing is eating a sensible healthy balanced diet having lost weight where necessary.”


The NICE guidelines are HbA1c of 7.5%. This equates to average BG around twice a non diabetic. Sid has a published HbA1c of mid fives. He stated today.  “my sister and my mother in law of whom I have spoken before, both have HbA1c's in the 5% range neither are overweight and neither low carb” So he is in a safe place and so are his family members. Why does he feel NICE guidelines should be promoted as safe ? The facts.


Percentage of Registered Diabetics in England with HbA1c > 7.5 %   2010/2011 Type one 71.30%  Type two 32.60%     


From Phoenix.


“Finally, which is why I like to point out alternatives, I don't like to see facts turned on their heads. Blaming carbohydrates, from whatever source, for the incidence of obesity, calling them poison or suggesting that they are killers ( along with some really mangled science) is crazy” 


Mangled science, check out the Ancel Keys lipid hypothesis if you want to know all about mangled science. Phoenix is an aficionado of Hope Warshaw, who is the US drug shill who states lowcarb is the old dogma, use the wonderful drugs that are available. Avandia, Actos, thanks but no thanks.


Jopar.


Having a very rare day off. I wait with bated breath for her insightful contribution to the debate.


Update number two.


Thread locked, last post Noblehead. Business as usual at the forum ! The same four get every thread locked that illustrates their lack of sound dietary information and safe type two diabetes control. Type one's also report less medication and better control using lowcarb. We will never forget Fergus and Timo, both type one's who led the way at the start of the diabetes.co.uk forum.

Monsanto another vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity ?

Brazil, the second-largest producer of genetically modified (GM) crops (after the U.S.), is the latest country to take a stand against biotech giant Monsanto, which could end up handing over at least $2 billion as a result.

A war has been waging against Monsanto in Brazil for nearly a decade, virtually ever since the country legalized farming of GM crops in 2005.

Since then, Monsanto has been charging Brazilian farmers double – once for their seeds, and again when they sell their crops.

In case you’re wondering how Monsanto has risen to the ranks of a superpower, a major reason is their patent on GM seeds, like the GM soya seeds in Brazil, which account for nearly 85 percent of the country’s total soybean crop. Each GM seed is patented and sold under exclusive rights.

Therefore, farmers must purchase the GM seeds every year, because saving seeds (which has long been the traditional way) is considered to be patent infringement. Anyone who does save GM seeds must pay a license fee to actually re-sow them.

But that’s not all.

In Brazil, Monsanto has charged farmers a 2 percent royalty fee on all of their Roundup Ready sales since 2005! And, they test all of the soy seeds marketed as “non-GM” to be sure they don’t contain any Monsanto seeds. If they are found to contain the patented seeds, the farmer is penalized close to 3 percent of his sales!

The issue with the latter penalty is that GM soy is very hard to contain, and often contaminates nearby fields. So farmers are forced to pay a penalty for having their fields contaminated with GM crops, through no fault of their own – and likely against their wishes entirely!

For years now, farmers have been taking Monsanto to court over their excessive fees and taxes, and in 2009, a group of farmers sued the company, claiming the Monsanto tax was illegal because it was impossible to keep the GM seeds away from the non-GM varieties.

A judge ruled that the tax was illegal, especially since the patents on Roundup Ready seeds in Brazil already expired. Monsanto was ordered to stop collecting all royalties … and to return all the royalties collected since 2004 – an amount that could add up to a minimum of $2 billion!

Monsanto appealed, but in June 2012 the Supreme Court dismissed it, so it looks like Monsanto is going to be getting their just deserts.

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/07/monsanto-tax-over-brazil.aspx?e_cid=20120707_DNL_artNew_2

Sugar Free: Alec Baldwin Interviews Dr Robert Lustig

Transcript here:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/heresthething/2012/jul/02/transcript/

Graham

Jopar takes stupidity, hate and bigotry to a new high !

Long regarded as the nastiest and most twisted person ever to post on a diabetes forum, Jopar has posted her magnum opus.


“Some interesting comments, but 99% of them have one thing in common!


Blame everything else except the individual!


It's the food industry and their profiteering to blame!
It's time
It's cost
It's Education...
It's fats
It's carbs


Guess what, you can blame who you like..


At the end of the day, it's the individual who made the choice!


Attempting to lay blame somewhere else, is nothing more than using an excuse to do nothing!


If greed doesn't play a part in obesity then surely then Gullibility must be the cause, or perhaps stupidity because sorry you can't avoid noticing you're girth is getting bigger, so there's got to be a reason why?


And attempting to lay the blame elsewhere, just means you making excuses for not tackling the situation”


Bear in mind this person stated four years ago “If I followed Fergus’ or Eddie’s diet I would be dead” and done her best to convince the members that an  HbA1c of 5% was only two percent better that an HbA1c of 7% and not worth bothering about. This is a woman that made the national press when her husband, a type one diabetic was saved by a hypo sensing dog.  This is a woman that posted on the wacko Carbo’s failed diabetes forum, police had to help medics control her violent husbands morning hypo. In short, she knows all the answers, but cannot get by without a pump, that workers (her last job years ago was a part time dog walker) many who are the type two’s, and still working, pay for. She clearly cannot keep her husband safe.


In recent months she has stated lowcarbers are liars, they cannot count, are fools and are trouble makers. One thing is for sure, they can control their diabetes far better than the Jopar’s of this world, and they are not sponging on the “ brought it on themselves” ex fat people that are still working, and paying for her pump, test strips and diabetes experts, while she spends 18 hours a day, 7 days a week logged into the forum, looking to cause fear and confusion. 


Let’s hope she keeps up her posts of hate, while she posts, others will destroy her ludicrous comments and highlight the stupidity of the NHS and DUK dietary information.


Eddie


http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30518&start=75

Common diabetes drug (Metformin) promotes development of brain stem cells

Full story here;

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/diabetes-drug-triggers-neuron-growth-potential-to-regenerate-brain-cells-study-161446395.html

Graham

Simple is always best !

In a former working life, Dr. Jay Wortman was an engineer. Dr Richard Bernstein was an engineer. Bob Krause was an engineer too. Is this just a coincidence? Perhaps not. This is purely anecdotal, but I have found that many of the most creative-thinkers in the area of health and nutrition have a background in engineering. One of the sharpest minds in the blogosphere is Dr. Michael R. Eades. I’m sure you’re aware of his site, and would agree with him on most things regarding diet and health. He too began his career as an engineer. I was an engineer for over twenty years. Engineers are problem solvers and are usually very logical people. So often when something looks right, it is right. Simple is always best and engineers have a sixth sense when something is wrong.


What’s all this got to do with type two diabetes you may be asking yourself. Well, for me controlling type two diabetes is all down to logical thinking. What causes diabetic complications ? High BG. What causes high BG ? carbs, reduce carbs, reduce BG, diabetes sorted. What about the loss of carbs re nutrients ? Carbs such as spuds, rice, pasta and bread etc. low in nutrients, replace with high nutrient foods, problem solved. How logical could that be ? Far too logical for most Doctors and Dietitions etc. it appears. 


These posts were posted on the diabetes.co.uk forum and make a lot of sense to me. Indeed  are highly logical.



“What about IF lots of people are actually malnourished here? all the processing of food and artificial fats, sugars etc MAY be making us deprived of nutrients.


Now, we know that some animals will continually graze in their search for nutrients. Regardless of the amount they eat, until that nutritional requirement is fill, they remain hungry


PERHAPS this is another reason why people continue to eat - because they may have consumed the right amount of calories, but their nutritional requirements are not being fulfilled?


And that isnt greed, its starvation caused by "food" which does not nourish. And we wouldnt consider a starving person who then eats and eats to be a bad person, would we? we would understand the mechanism of malnourishment they are trying to combat.


The problem is, we are taught that these low-fat, over sugared foods are healthy and nourishing, so we add the stress of our bodies knowing we are starving of nourishment coming into conflict with what we are being told, to the problem.”


Another post on the same thread linked below.


 "Wow. What a brilliant insight. That's exactly what Paul Jaminet proposes in his Perfect Health Diet book. 


Five reasons why modern people are malnourished (compared to our Paleolithic ancestors)


Modern life is sedentary, we don't expend as much energy so we don't eat as much food, therefore our nutrient intake is decreased.


Modern foods are nutrient poor compared with Paleolithic foods (sugar, wheat, rice and corn have very few nutrients per calorie)


Agricultural food production and water treatment diminish the mineral content of our food and drink.


Modern cooking methods leave too many nutrients behind (you need to eat all the fat and all the broth from your cooking)


Modern foods contain anti-nutirents that lock up nutrients and toxins and impair intenstinal absorbtion of nutrients (Mmmmm Healthy Wholegrains)


He has some data that suggests that the effects of malnutrition not only damages one owns health, but is magnified in your offspring (so that after 3 or 4 generations some pretty horrible things happen). Google "Pottenger's cats". Malnourished mother's produce children who are prone to obesity and a range of other metabolic weaknesses." 


Last word goes to Sir Heneage Ogilvie, former vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, England. 


"There are three kinds of foods--fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. All of these provide calories. But the carbohydrates provide calories and nothing else. They have none of the essential elements to build up or to repair the tissues of the body. A man, given carbohydrates alone, however liberally, would starve to death on calories. The body must have proteins and animal fats. It has no need for carbohydrates, and, given the two essential foodstuffs, it can get all the calories it needs from them."


http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30518&p=291653#p291653




Eddie

Another Study Links Diabetes Drug Actos to Bladder Cancer !

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 3 (HealthDay News) -- There's more evidence that people with type 2 diabetes may have an increased risk of bladder cancer, and taking the diabetes drug Actos may raise that risk even higher.

Taking pioglitazone (brand name Actos) raised the risk of bladder cancer by about one-fifth, according to a new analysis of previously completed studies. However, the individual risk of getting bladder cancer still remained quite low.

"The evidence suggests that this drug is associated with about a 22 percent increased risk of bladder cancer," said study senior author Jeffrey A. Johnson, the Canada Research Chair in Diabetes Health Outcomes at the University of Alberta School of Public Health, in Canada.

This isn't the first time the drug has been associated with heightened odds for bladder cancer: A study published May 31 in BMJ found that taking Actos for two years can double the risk.

Johnson said it's not clear yet how Actos might raise the risk of bladder cancer, but he said some animal studies suggested that the drug could cause crystals to form that irritate the bladder, which could potentially play a role in the development of bladder cancer.

Johnson added that it's important to keep in mind that bladder cancer is a relatively rare cancer, and even with the increased risk, any one person's risk of bladder cancer "is pretty small."

Results of the new study are published July 3 in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal).

People with type 2 diabetes have a 40 percent increased risk of developing bladder cancer, according to background information in the current analysis. This increased risk is believed to be associated with high levels of insulin found in people with type 2 diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body turn carbohydrates from food into sugar (glucose) that can be used for fuel. Insulin is also a growth hormone, and cancer cells have insulin receptors on them, which means they can use insulin to grow, according to Johnson.

A number of studies have found that taking certain diabetes medications from a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones appears to increase that risk even more. Actos is a thiazolidinedione, as is the drug known as Avandia (rosiglitazone). These medications are used in type 2 diabetes because they make the body more sensitive to insulin, which reduces the level of insulin the body needs. Because these drugs reduce the amount of available insulin, Johnson said he suspects the link between Actos and bladder cancer would have to be the result of a direct effect of the medication.

In the current analysis, Johnson and his colleagues reviewed the available data on thiazolidinediones and bladder cancer in type 2 diabetes. They included 10 studies in their analysis that had more than 2.6 million people. From that group, 3,643 people were newly diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Not all of the studies found a link between Actos and bladder cancer. One randomized controlled trial, which is the type of study considered the "gold standard" for such research, found no association. However, the other studies combined found a 15 percent increase in the risk of bladder cancer with the use of thiazolidinediones, which the authors attribute to the use of Actos. Overall, they found a 22 percent increased risk of bladder cancer with the use of Actos.

None of the studies in their analysis showed an association between bladder cancer and the use of Avandia. However, the use of Avandia isn't without risks. This medication has been linked to serious heart problems, and use of this drug has been restricted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"The bladder cancer risk appears to be real, but is pretty small. If you're not at risk of bladder cancer in the first place, the benefits of pioglitazone [Actos] may outweigh the potential risk," Johnson said.

Commenting on the study findings, Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the clinical diabetes center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said: "Complications of diabetes can be very bad, and some patients do very well on Actos."

He added that he sometimes uses this medication in combination with other diabetes drugs. "Bladder cancer tends to be rare, but it's much more common in men and it's also more common in smokers, so I don't put elderly male smokers on Actos. But, for other patients who have a low risk of bladder cancer, I may use Actos. We just have to be vigilant when we prescribe medications."

Zonszein said it's also important to remember that people with type 2 diabetes already have an elevated risk of bladder cancer, and they often don't start diabetes medications until they are much older, often obese and have had the disease for awhile, so "there may be a population bias" in the studies.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/07/03/another-study-links-diabetes-drug-actos-to-bladder-cancer

Sid Bonkers goes completely err………Bonkers !

Old Sid has had a quiet week or so lately but came back with a vengeance today. A poster posted this on the big one. “Many thanks Viv, and all other posters (except Sid) on here, you have given credence to a diet I have advocated for 7-8 years” Bonkers followed with this.


“MODERATORS, HOW LONG IS THIS FORUM GOING TO CONTINUE TO RUN UNMODERATED!!!


Why not just scrap the Diabetes.co.uk name, call it lowcarbing is the only way.com and have done with it.


Superchip its not big and its not clever so dont do it, grow up and get a life”


Regular watchers and members of diabetes.co.uk forum know Sid is arguably the rudest and most self opinionated man on the forum. Equally matched by the rudest woman Jopar, what a charming couple these two make. Sid is probably too thick to realise, he has given the mods more work than the rest of the members combined. Sid cannot see the irony when he bellows for mod intervention. He has caused more post deletion and thread locks than anyone ! The arch King of derailing and closing threads, in short a menace.


Never slow in snide remarks, and never slow in pushing his low fat diet of cornflakes and other high carb junk, he is shot away. The mods have been extremely lenient with Sid, and many far better people than him were banned in Caligula’s Cugila’s days. 


How about making Sid a mod, Ok I was only winding you up, but stranger things have been known, honest !


Eddie


http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18803&start=150

Edit: Sid got his wish, editing has taken place.


From another member.


"Viv's modified Atkins diet is a brilliant way of controlling diabetes. It is one of a number of low carb regimes that forum members have shown to be very successful. Using it and similar regimes many newly diagnosed T2's have been able to effectively put their condition "in remission" as my own GP describes it. If other non low carb ways were as successful then I'm sure most members would be very open to hearing about them. The question does arise why oppose something like Viv's diet that has such a brilliant track record? I owe a great deal of gratitude to people like Viv and other low carb advocates who allowed me to get my life back."


How many following Sid's diet ? Answers on a postcard.


Eddie

DH plans to bundle diabetes QOF indicators worth over £5,000 !

Exclusive: GPs will be forced to conduct nine separate checks in each patient with diabetes under Department of Health plans to create a single diabetes QOF indicator worth over £5,000, Pulse can reveal.

The DH is also pushing for a change in thresholds along with the ‘composite indicator', which would include HbA₁c, cholesterol, blood pressure and foot checks, in an attempt to boost achievement in the routine assessment of patients with diabetes.

The move comes after a national audit suggested only half of patients with diabetes were receiving all nine checks – a result described as ‘appalling' by patient groups.

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/main-content/-/article_display_list/14224104/revealed-dh-plans-to-bundle-diabetes-qof-indicators-worth-over-5-000