The low carb food pyramid.

Contrary to what some people will tell you, us low carbers do not base our food on saturated fat. We start with vegetables (non starchy) then add proteins, then healthy fats, nuts, seeds and some low carb fruit. Check out the food pyramid, it is the very opposite to the food pyramid that has led to the epidemics of obesity, heart disease and type two diabetes.

Eddie

Home made lowcarb Guacamole.

So low in carbs, not worth worrying about, serves two, and the taste blows away factory produced food. Avocados are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. We could live on this sort of grub, actually, we do !

Ingredients

2 medium sized avocados scrape out the flesh and chop.

I medium sized tomato finely chopped remove seeds

I heaped tablespoon of finely chopped green Jalapeno peppers 

I tablespoon of finely chopped white onion

One teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

The juice from a medium sized lime

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a pyrex jug or bowl and serve, how easy is that.

Eddie and Jan

Absurd Lies Told By McDonald's CEO !

A related article³ pointed out the many lies spouted by McDonald’s CEO during this shareholder’s meeting, including but not limited to:

• Claiming “chicken nugget Happy Meals and fat-free milk” are healthy...
Chicken McNuggets contain roughly 30 ingredients, including: sodium phosphates, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate and calcium lactate. The “fat-free milk” Thompson touted numerous times is actually chocolate milk, containing 10 grams of added sugar...

• “We provide high-quality food, we always have. It’s real beef, it’s real chicken, it’s real tomatoes, real lettuce, real fruit, real smoothies, real dairy, real eggs.”
Really? The “real eggs” in an Egg McMuffin are “ prepared with” the following: Liquid Margarine: Liquid Soybean Oil and Hydrogenated Cottonseed and Soybean Oils, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (Preservatives), Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color).

• “Globally, we follow guidelines on responsible marketing to children.”
... Just last month, McDonald’s was fined $1.6 million by the consumer protection agency in Sao Paulo [Brazil] for violating local laws on targeting children... A report from Yale University found that... “Although McDonald's pledged to improve food marketing to children, they increased their volume of TV advertising from 2007 to 2009.” Preschoolers saw 21 percent more McDonald's ads and older children viewed 26 percent more ads in 2009 compared to 2007...

• “And we are not marketing food to kids.”
Two words: Happy Meals.

More on this story here

Rise in child obesity-related hospital admissions.

There has been a four-fold increase in the number of children and teenagers admitted to hospital for obesity-related conditions in the last decade, doctors in England and Wales warn.
In 2009, nearly 4,000 young people needed hospital treatment for problems complicated by being overweight compared with just 872 in 2000.

Rates of obesity surgery also went up, especially for teenage girls.

Doctors say the UK has the highest rate of child obesity in Western Europe. Obesity has been linked with serious illnesses during childhood and an increased risk of developing conditions, such as type-2 diabetes, asthma and breathing difficulties during sleep.National surveys in England suggest about three in 10 two-to-15-year-olds are overweight, while 14-20% are obese.

More here.

Women are more interested in good health than Men !

When it comes to health, Women are in a different world compared to Men. The Women I know have regular breast x-rays and cervical smear tests. Not something they look forward to, but they are trying to stay healthy, and are far more mature than most Men. Contrast the average Man and a prostrate test. Most Men would rather do ten rounds with Mike Tyson or wrestle a grizzly bear than drop their  kegs and have a rubber glove inserted up his butt. OK, if he is kinky and his Doctor is a good looking women,  you get my point. The same applies to diet. Checking out our recipe site and many of the commenters on our blogs, Women out-number the Men. Is it any wonder Women on average out-live Men ?

So Men, if your Woman is kicking your butt and nagging you to lose some weight and reduce the booze, take heed, they might just put a few good years on your life.

Eddie

Mediterranean diet shown to improve brain aging and help prevent vascular dementia !

A significant number of people believe that memory loss, inability to learn new concepts and the risk for vascular dementia (mini strokes leading to cognitive impairment) are a natural part of aging. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a society we are so conditioned to witness aging adults succumb to 'senior moments' where they appear to forget where they are or exhibit poor control over normal daily functions, including driving a motor vehicle.

For the better part of the last two decades, medical professionals have been advising people to follow a low-fat diet to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, yet death from heart attacks and vascular-related conditions has continued to explode during that period, making heart disease the leading killer of Americans. Researchers publishing in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry have found that eating a Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power of older people better than advising them to follow a low-fat diet.

Scientists from the University of Navarra in Spain analyzed 522 men and women between the ages of 55 and 80 with no history of cardiovascular disease, but considered at-risk based on metabolic profile or family history. Participants were randomly allocated to a Mediterranean diet with added olive oil or mixed nuts or a control group receiving advice to follow the low-fat diet typically recommended to prevent heart attack and stroke.

The study group underwent regular physical exams and quarterly reviews to determine compliance with dietary requirements. After a period of six-and-a-half years, the participants were tested for signs of cognitive decline using a Mini Mental State Exam to assess higher brain functions, including orientation, memory, language, and executive functions such as working memory, attention span, and abstract thinking. Sixty individuals developed mild cognitive impairment, including 18 on the olive oil supplemented Mediterranean diet; 19 on the diet with added mixed nuts; and 23 in the control group.

Additionally, 35 participants developed advanced dementia, broken down to include 23 on the added olive oil diet; six on the added nut diet; and 17 on the low fat diet. Researchers concluded that the average scores were significantly higher for those following the Mediterranean style diet including olive oil and nuts as compared to the control group. Though the sampling size in this study was small, it does demonstrate that simply including olive oil (extra virgin, cold-pressed) and nuts (raw, not roasted), while avoiding low-fat dietary strategies may result in a nearly 20 percent decline in the risk of developing mild to advanced cognitive impairment and dementia.

Source of information here.

 

Healthy fats

Ground almonds, extra virgin olive oil, cream, flax seeds, cheese, butter, avocado, macadamia nuts.

Eddie

Low carb diets and heart disease – What are we afraid of?

I find it extraordinary how carbohydrate restriction is repeatedly rejected by the medical community as an alternative approach for obesity, the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in many countries around the world. Diabetes and other obesity related disorders have become increasingly common. Public health organizations and medical societies usually advocate a low-fat, high-carbohydrate, energy-deficient diet to manage weight. Nonetheless, clinical experience and scientific studies indicate that other approaches may be more effective.

The main argument against carbohydrate-restricted, high-fat diets are concerns regarding their long-term safety. Most such diets encourage increased consumption of animal products and therefore they often contain high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. It has been suggested that this may cause unfavorable changes in blood lipids and thereby increase the risk of heart disease. Therefore, several professional organizations have cautioned against the use of low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets.

According to a statement from the American Heart Association AHA, updated january 2012, “eating large amounts of high-fat foods for a sustained period raises the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer”. An older statement from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada claims that ” low carbohydrate diets often lack vitamins and are low in fibre. A low fibre diet can result in constipation and can increase your risk of colon cancer. Low carbohydrate diets tend to replace carbohydrate with fat and protein. High intake of protein can result in large amounts of calcium in the urine, and loss of bone mass. High intake of fat, particularly saturated and trans fat, can lead to atherosclerosis, heart disease or stroke”.

These statements are based on observational data at best. Randomized clinical trials generally don´t support these conclusions. Indeed, low carbohydrate diets have demonstrated their therapeutic value in numerous studies, and often outperform other diets when comparisons are made. Nonetheless, they are still ignored by governments and medical societies. Keep in mind though, that carbohydrate restriction is a matter of definition. Some diabetic associations have accepted moderate carbohydrate restriction as an alternative approach for weight loss in type 2 diabetes.

Doctors, cardiologists included, commonly recommend low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets to patients with heart disease, as well as for cardiovascular prevention. Limitation of saturated fats and cholesterol is advocated. This is what doctors are urged to do by clinical guidelines. The guidelines are written by specially selected experts and published by professional organizations. Interestingly, there is often no mention of individual differences between patients. The low-fat, low saturated fat, low cholesterol, high-carbohydrate approach is recommended for all. It doesn´t matter whether you have high blood pressure, whether you are obese or overweight, have the metabolic syndrome, or whether you have diabetes.

I have nothing against low fat diets. Look at the DASH diet for example. Extensive research indicates that this diet lowers lood pressure and cholesterol, and is associated with lower risk of several diseases, including heart disease. Furthermore, it was recently suggested that the DASH diet may be used for weight loss as well. I would be very satisfied if may patients would stick to the DASH diet. I usually urge them to do so. I am sure it benefits their health. The same thing can be said about a vegetarian diet. I consider such a diet to be a very heart healthy diet. Furthermore, I very often recommend a Mediterranean type diet to my patients. There is a lot of scientific date supporting the use of this diet for cardiovascular prevention as well as for patients with heart disease.

The role of diets takes on a different perspective when it comes to obese patients, and those with the metabolic syndrome, where weight loss is a priority. For years I have struggled with the low-fat, high-carbohydrate, energy-deficient dietary approach to manage these conditions. Simply put, the results have been disappointing. Often weight loss is limited and not sustained, and there are very limited improvements in metabolic function. However, I might admit the lack of result is more often due to lack of compliance than something else. Maybe we provide instructions and recommendations that patients are unable to comply with, no matter how hard they try.

Read more here: http://primaldocs.com/opinion/low-carb-diets-and-heart-disease-what-are-we-afraid-of/

Graham

High Sugar Intake Linked to Low Dopamine Release in Insulin Resistant Patients.

Using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain, researchers have identified a sweet spot that operates in a disorderly way when simple sugars are introduced to people with insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. For those who have the metabolic syndrome, a sugar drink resulted in a lower-than-normal release of the chemical dopamine in a major pleasure center of the brain. This chemical response may be indicative of a deficient reward system, which could potentially be setting the stage for insulin resistance. This research could revolutionize the medical community's understanding of how food-reward signaling contributes to obesity, according to a study presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.

More here.

Flora forced to U-turn on new £29m recipe !

In a case showing the true power of the British consumer, Flora has been forced to U-turn on its new recipe after complaints about taste.

Shoppers complained that the lower fat version of the popular margarine brand was "disgusting," according to the Daily Mail.

It's a very costly and embarrassing mistake, brand owner Unilever is bringing back the old flavour 17 months after spending £29 million on a reformulation aimed improving the taste and health benefits of the spread.
Yet public reaction to the new formula was widely negative, with people taking to online forums like Digital Spy and Mumsnet to protest about the change to their favourite spread. Complaints prevail of an oily consistency, artificial taste and "rancid" smell, with many saying they threw full tubs away and will not be buying it again.


More on this story here.

"an oily consistency, artificial taste and "rancid" smell"


Same as the old recipe LOL. We use butter and wouldn't dream of using anything else. Margarine is chemical goo whatever they do to flavour it.


All the best Jan

Diabetes drug, pancreatitis may be linked

Experts are reviewing the safety of a widely used drug to treat type 2 diabetes after it was linked to pancreatic cancer.

Medical experts are reviewing the safety of a widely used drug to treat diabetes after experts linked it to pancreatic cancer.

Researchers have suggested that there could be a link between incretin mimetics, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar, and the disease.

Earlier this year, experts in Europe and America launched a review into the safety of the drugs.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) said that US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency are meeting to discuss the matter later this month.

The review was launched after independent analysis of health insurance data found that people taking such drugs could be twice as likely to be admitted to hospital with pancreatitis compared with people taking other anti-diabetic drugs, the BMJ said.

And separate research from the US, published in April, suggested that there was an increase in reports of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in people taking the drugs.

In America, hundreds of people are suing manufacturers alleging that the drugs caused pancreatitis and in some cases cancer, according to an article in the journal.

The piece states: "The FDA and EMA have both confirmed to the BMJ that their own analyses also show increased reporting or signals of pancreatic cancer with incretin mimetics.

"But they emphasise that this does not mean the relation is causal.

"Both agencies announced in March that they will review data from a study just published showing pre-cancerous and dysplastic changes to the pancreas in organ donors exposed to incretin mimetics."

Following a joint investigation with Channel 4's Dispatches, the journal's experts state that the safety concerns are "fiercely contested" by the manufacturers.

They claim that the companies have not done "critical safety studies".

They were also critical about being denied access to raw data from the manufacturers own research which "would have helped resolve doubts about the safety of these drugs", and have called on pharmaceutical companies to be "more transparent" with their data.

"On their own the individual pieces of unpublished evidence may seem inconclusive, but when considered alongside other emerging and long standing evidence, a worrying picture emerges, posing serious questions about the safety of this class of drug," said the BMJ's investigation editor Dr Deborah Cohen.

The journal's editor in chief Dr Fiona Godlee added: "All drug licensing is about balancing benefits and risks.

"But instead of engaging in open debate about legitimate and important scientific questions, the manufacturers have been unwilling to share their data. Meanwhile patients and doctors have not been kept properly informed about the uncertainties surrounding these drugs.

"The debate would be much easier to resolve if all the information was placed in the public domain so scientists, doctors and ultimately patients could make up their own minds."

But charity Diabetes UK said that patients should not stop taking their medication unless advised by their doctor.

Simon O'Neill, Diabetes UK director of health intelligence, said: "The European Medicines Agency is currently investigating findings from an independent study that has suggested there may be a link between use of GLP-1 and DPP-4 based therapies for type 2 diabetes and pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

"Diabetes UK does not currently advocate any change in the use of GLP-1s and DPP-4 based treatments for patients with type 2 diabetes and will await the findings of the European Medicines Agency research. In particular, patients should not stop their medication, unless advised by their doctor."

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1776625/Diabetes-drug-pancreatitis-may-be-linked

Channel 4 tonight 8pm Dispatches: Diets, Drugs and Diabetes

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/home 

Edit to add link to BMJ article:

EDITORIAL

Incretin therapy: should adverse consequences have been anticipated?

http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f3617

Graham

'Artificial pancreas' promises to transform treatment of diabetes.

An "artificial pancreas" that could one day vastly improve the lives of millions of people with diabetes has been successfully tested in a home environment for the first time.The device monitors blood glucose levels and uses an infrared data link to relay information to an insulin pump attached to the patient's body, which adjusts insulin levels accordingly. It had previously been tested in hospitals, but five people in the UK with Type 1 diabetes have now successfully used it at home, in a world first for such an invention.

The successful home trial offers people with Type 1 diabetes – where the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin – the tantalising prospect of no longer having to worry about the balance of blood glucose and insulin in their bodies, and could also save thousands from limb amputations, kidney failure, eye problems, strokes and early deaths.


Full story here.

The Lake District, Heaven On Earth !

Back after a great five day break, seriously chilling out. After a couple of days with my partner in crime Graham, we headed off to the lakes for a few days. Jan and myself are getting very boring in our old age, and unless we win the lottery, and can afford to hire a private jet, we are staying in the UK. The thought of commercial plane travel and hanging around at airports makes us go cold. As usual we got very lucky with the weather, as you can see it was glorious, not too hot and perfect for walking around, and sitting in outside cafes and bars people watching and relaxing. We are back up in the lakes in around eight weeks time, how boring is that ? We have got to that age where we don’t need much, each others company, a warm day, and minimal aggravation. Yes, I’m going low profile from now on, I’ve taken on more than my share of internet nutters of late, (more on that subject another day) jeez I need a break from them.

Eddie

Lake Windermere over 10 miles long, 1 mile wide at it's widest and 225 feet at it's deepest. Englands largest lake.

 

The Swan

 

Morecambe Bay Pier first built 1853

Yours truly

Jan at Lakeside

When Words Aren't Enough -- Say It With Bacon

Saturday night is music night !

Spent a couple  nights with Eddie and Jan before they headed off to the lakes, he asked to post this song which seems appropriate considering the copious amounts of wine consumed.
Graham

Tesco joins war on diabetes with drive to raise £10m funds

A CHARITY and leading supermarket have linked up to launch a campaign – the ­biggest ever – to highlight the growing risks of diabetes.

Just one in five sufferers of Type 2 diabetes has it under proper control, according to the latest annual statistics.

This is leading to high instances of complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputations.

Diabetes UK is joining forces with Tesco to launch an awareness drive for sufferers.

The joint initiative is part of a partnership that aims to raise £10million for sufferers and those at risk.

For the first time, free information packs will be available in stores throughout the UK to give advice to people with Type 2 diabetes, especially those newly diagnosed.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin to control blood sugar levels. Less common Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce any insulin at all.

Type 2 usually affects people over the age of 40, although more younger people are being affected due to increasing cases of obesity.

The information packs cover care, diet, food labelling, alcohol, eating out, weight management, exercise, pregnancy, travel and coping at work. A leaflet will detail the 15 essential healthcare checks everyone should expect to receive.

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “A huge number of people now have Type 2 diabetes but many of them are not given the information they need to keep it under control. This is fuelling high rates of diabetes-related complications and ultimately leading to thousands of people dying before their time.”

Claire Lorains, Tesco healthcare director, said: “Managing Type 2 diabetes can be difficult and life-changing.”

More than three million peoples in the UK have diabetes and 850,000 more may have Type 2 without knowing it.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/405114/Tesco-joins-war-on-diabetes-with-drive-to-raise-10m-funds

I expect the diet advice will be same as the DUK Healthy balance:

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Food_and_recipes/Eating-well-with-Type-2-diabetes/A-healthy-balance/Getting-the-balance-right/

Graham

Anti-cholesterol drugs may do more harm than good for older people

The side effects of Australia’s most commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs may outweigh the benefits in older people, a new clinical review has found.

More than 40% of Australians over 65 take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, which include atorvastatin (marketed as Lipitor), simvastatin (marketed as Zocor) and rosuvastatin (marketed as Crestor).

Common side effects from statins include abdominal pain, nausea, muscle pain and weakness and liver damage.

University of Sydney and Royal North Shore Hospital researchers Associate Professor Sarah Hilmer and Dr Danijela Gnjidic reviewed randomised trials that included older people, as well as published observational studies.

They found that the benefits of statins were unclear in older people who had never experienced heart attack or stroke, while the adverse effects may be more common and have greater impact in older people.

“If you have already had a heart attack, there is good evidence that statins can reduce risk of an early death even in the very old. But if you haven’t had a heart attack before, then we don’t have evidence that statins help older people,” Dr Hilmer said.

“Almost everyone would know someone who has had an adverse effect from a statin. Up to 10% of people in clinical trials get some sort of muscle pain, and if you are an older person without much reserve, that may stop you from walking and functioning independently.”

Dr Hilmer said there were also concerns about the association between statins and increased risk of diabetes and cognitive impairment.

“One trial looked at people with Alzheimer’s and found that those who stopped taking statins had an improvement in their cognitive function,” she said.

Patients with severe physical or cognitive impairments, or those in their last year of life, may want to consider reducing statin use, the authors said.

People with extreme fatigue, liver problems, myalgia (muscle pain) or those who take other drugs that interact with statins may consider discussing withdrawal of statins with their doctor, the researchers said.

People with more severe adverse effects such as rhabdomyolysis (skeletal muscle breakdown) should discuss immediate withdrawal of statins with their doctor.

Benefit-risk ratio

Dr Ken Harvey, Adjunct Associate Professor at LaTrobe University’s School of Public Health welcomed the study.

“It’s always useful to remind practitioners that the benefit-risk ratio of pharmacological interventions should be regularly reviewed, especially in the elderly where poly-pharmacy and drug interactions are more common,” said Dr Harvey, who was not involved in the study.

“It’s important to consider the possibility of adverse drug reactions (and report those suspected), especially in the elderly, because clinical trial experience in this age group is limited.”

Dr Harvey said reports of adverse drug reactions can be sent to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which produces a searchable Database of Adverse Event Notifications.

“Important non-drug advice, such as encouraging people to stop smoking, eat a nutritious diet, moderate their alcohol composition, keep active and maintain an appropriate body weight should always be promoted, regardless of age,” he said.

http://theconversation.com/anti-cholesterol-drugs-may-do-more-harm-than-good-for-older-people-14889
Graham

50 Industry Groups Form a New Alliance to Manipulate Public Opinion About Junk Food.

By Dr. Mercola

If you think it’s tough sorting truth from industry propaganda and lies, get ready for even tougher times ahead. More than 50 front groups, working on behalf of food and biotechnology trade groups―Monsanto being the most prominent―have formed a new coalition called Alliance to Feed the Future.

The alliance, which is being coordinated by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), was created to "balance the public dialogue” on modern agriculture and large-scale food production and technology, i.e. this group will aim to become the go-to source for “real” information about the junk being sold as “food.”

The groups comprising this new alliance represent multi-national food companies, biotech industry, and chemical companies that generate hundreds of billions of dollars worth of revenue from food related sales every year.

On the upside, this alliance and many other industry-sponsored front groups masquerading as non-profits and consumer protection organizations are becoming increasingly exposed for what they really are, and I will point out several of them in this article.Michele Simon, JD, MPH, policy consultant with Center for Food Safety recently published a report titled: Best Public Relations Money Can Buy: A Guide to Food Industry Front Groups¹ also reveals how the food and agricultural industry hide behind friendly-sounding organizations aimed at fooling the public, policymakers and media alike.

For the full story check out Dr. Mercola's great site here.

Eddie

Blow your brains out with this lowcarb cake !

 Lowcarb Kiwi fruit and Blackberry clotted cream cake.

  

 Ingredients

100 grams of ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon of melted butter

2 tablespoons of double cream

One Kiwi fruit

100 grams of blackberries

125 grams of clotted cream

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream, then add the dry ingredients and mix.Pour mix into a 6" x 3" micro-wave safe glass dish. Microwave in a 700watt for 4 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on extra thick clotted cream add the sliced kiwi fruit. Place top on cake and cover with clotted cream and add the blackberries. Tastes fantastic serves four to six. 

 Please check out our lowcarb recipe blog here.

Eddie

Treatment with statins raises the risk of musculoskeletal diseases by a fifth !

Treatment with statins raises the risk of musculoskeletal diseases by a fifth and is associated with an increased risk of injuries such as dislocations and sprains, concludes a new analysis.
The large study of 7,000 patients taking statins found they had a 13% increased risk of injury-related conditions such as dislocation, sprain and strain compared with those not taking statins.
Published in JAMA Internal Medicine yesterday, the study also found a 9% increased risk of muscular aches and pains and a significant 19% higher risk of any musculoskeletal disease in those taking statins, compared with similar individuals who never used a statin.

But some UK experts criticised the study, warning it could put patients off adhering to statin treatment and that the absolute increase in musculoskeletal conditions was very small. The researchers used medical records to identify patients prescribed a statin for a cumulative period of at least 90 days at baseline between 2004 and 2005.  They then used propensity score matching to compare the outcomes of 6,967 patients who used statins with an equal number of similar patients who never used statins during the study, over a follow-up period lasting from 2005 to 2010. The number needed to treat (NNT) for one additional person to have a musculoskeletal disease diagnosis was 47, while 37 patients would need to be treated for an additional person to have a musculoskeletal injury and 58 for an additional case of musculoskeletal pain.

The authors concluded a ‘more comprehensive’ risk benefit profile was needed for statins. They said: ‘Statin use was associated with an increased likelihood of musculoskeletal condition diagnoses, including injuries and pain. Soft-tissue injuries are a lesser known adverse event of statins and warrant additional research.’

More on this story here.

Eddie

In praise of Barry Groves.

We don’t often start a thread based on a comment received, but could not let this one pass just as a comment. We agree 100% with the comment and believe our ongoing good health and the dietary control of our diabetes follows the diet Barry promoted so well. Barry was a star in our eyes and we believe his books will be of immense value for people looking to control their weight and diabetes.

Eddie

The comment.

"RIP Barry after a long, active and fruitful life. What a star!
I am sure he saved my life and I would certainly be happy with 77 years if I do make it!
Having seen numerous school friends and colleagues pass away before reaching 60, (many on meds) and one or two really young ones (in their 30s) despite adhering to modern health advice, Barry's way looks just fine. My condolences to Monica and the family."

Christina Sarich ~ Statins A Joke, Less Than Beneficial According To Swedish Study

A recent population-based study in Sweden evidenced that the massive utilization of statins has provided no benefit to Swedish people. In fact, three times as many statins were being taken by Swedes in the year 2000 than in 1998, yet the number of people dying from heart attacks were unchanged by the increase!

Statins have been used in the U.S. since 1987, when they were approved by the FDA as a pharmaceutical means to lower cholesterol through inhibiting an enzyme in the liver and other organs. Statins are one of the most widely prescribed medicines in the industrialized world, and are extremely profitable.

Statins account for billions in dollars a year in profits to companies like Merck and Pfizer. In recent years, Lipitor was one of the top-selling pharmaceutical drugs in the country, bringing in a whopping $7.5 billion to Pfizer, even as they crowded out generic drugs also classified as statins. Pfizer’s patent has run out on Lipitor, but millions of people are still taking statins despite their ineffectiveness. And worse, statins have been shown to cause Diabetes Type II, and memory loss along with other cognitive disorders.

The Lack of Necessity and Danger of Statins

Many doctors are finding that their patients are suffering from side effects ranging from mild to debilitating, and growing evidence even links statins to Lou Gehrig’s, a debilitating neuromuscular disease.

Big Pharma has definitely convinced both doctors and their patients, however, that statins are the Holy Grail, and many patients that start on them are afraid to stop. They assume they’ll have an immediate heart attack. The truth of the matter is that high cholesterol is less likely to cause a heart attack than factors like a smoking habit, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes.

Furthermore, many healthy people are put on statins as a precautionary measure. While most of the studies conducted on statins were done on people who took them for short periods, and often were very elderly or already had failing livers, few were conducted on healthy people, nor people who stayed on statins for life, essentially. Those studies were never done because they would result in a disparaging story for statins.

Lastly, there are numerous healthy natural alternatives to statins which don’t cause any side effects at all. Olive oil, rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, is able to reduce morbidity in the Mediterranean drastically, specifically by reducing cardiovascular disease. Since this lifestyle is high in plant-based foods, as well as olive oil, seafood (full of Omega 3s and 6s) and very little meat, heart health soars.

Curcumin found in turmeric is also wonderful for lowering cholesterol and benefiting heart health, along with removing plaque’s from the brain as well. Additionally, if you juice beets and their roots, you feed the body betaine, which helps to lower homocysteine levels.

Statins may be great for the pockets of Pfizer, but they probably aren’t helping your heart. At the end of the day, it’s best to re-evaluate statins’ place in your life.

http://shiftfrequency.com/christina-sarich-statins-a-joke-less-than-beneficial-according-to-swedish-study/

Graham

A must watch video from Dr. Jay Wortman

If you have any doubts, about the long term viability, to control your weight or diabetes using a lowcarb diet, this is a must watch video. Eddie

DIRE STRAITS private investigations. live at wembley, 1985

My favourite Dire Straits track enjoy! Graham

Saturday night is music night !

Diabetes Poses Greatest Kidney Risk

Diabetes is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide, though herbal and environmental toxins are also to blame, especially in developing countries, researchers found.

Diabetes is behind at least a third of chronic kidney disease cases in countries such as the U.S., Australia, and Japan, Vivekanand Jha, MD, of the George Institute for Global Health in New Delhi in India, and colleagues wrote online May 31 in The Lancet.

But in countries such as Taiwan and China, many cases appear to be tied to aristolochic acid, a compound used to promote weight loss, they wrote in an article published as part of the journal's global series on kidney disease.

"Aristolochic-acid nephropathy is a progressive interstitial nephritis that leads to end-stage kidney disease and urothelial malignant disease," they wrote. "It was first reported in 1993, in young women who received a regimen containing an herb later identified as Aristolochia fangchi in Belgian slimming clinics. Epidemiological data from Taiwan and China show an association between use of herbs containing aristolochic acid and chronic kidney disease."

Other herbal supplements in Asia and Africa are also thought to be the cause of many chronic kidney disease cases, they added: "In Asian countries, traditional medicines are very popular and pharmaceutical medicines are frequently substituted or supplemented by botanical products that include herbs containing aristolochic acid."

In the report, the researchers found that Taiwan has the highest prevalence of end-stage kidney disease, at about 2,500 cases per million population, followed by Japan at about 2,300 cases and the U.S. at just under 2,000 cases per million population.

Chronic kidney disease is also quickly working its way up the global cause of death league table, moving from number 27 in 1990 to 18 in 2010, the researchers reported.

In a second study in the series, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, MD, of the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany, and colleagues noted that the global population prevalence of chronic kidney disease exceeds 10% in most countries, and is more than 50% in certain high-risk subpopulations.

That prevalence increases with age, they wrote, exceeding 20% in patients over age 60 and topping 35% in those over 70.

However, they noted that one in 25 patients age 20 to 39 also has chronic kidney disease, and black patients are twice as likely as white patients to develop it.

Also, the highest prevalence of chronic kidney disease is in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, reaching 50% or higher, they wrote

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