What your food label really means.

Added vitamins One-dimensional factory versions of natural vitamins found in whole foods: ascorbic acid (man-made vitamin C) is usually synthesised from the fermentation of GM corn, while artificial vitamin E is commonly derived from petrol.
Soluble fibre A healthier-sounding term for modified starch, which is widely used to reduce the quantity of more nutritious ingredients in processed foods, and keep down manufacturers’ costs.
‘Natural’ colourings The only difference between these and artificial ones is that they start with pigments that occur in nature. Otherwise, they are made using the same highly chemical industrial processes, including extraction using harsh solvents.
Artificial ‘diet” sweeteners Several large-scale studies have found a correlation between artificial sweetener consumption and weight gain. Accumulating evidence suggests that they may also increase our risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Enzymes Used to make bread stay soft longer; injected into low-value livestock before slaughter, to tenderise their meat; and used in fruit juice processing to create a cloudier, more natural appearance.
‘Packaged in a protective atmosphere’ Food that has been “gassed” in modified air to extend its shelf life. It delays what food manufacturers call “warmed over flavour”, an off-taste that occurs in factory food.
Beef/pork/poultry protein Collagen extracted from butchered carcasses, processed into a powder and added to low-grade meats. It adds bounce, increases the protein content on the nutrition label and, combined with water, is a substitute for meat.
Washed and ready-to-eat salads “Cleaned” by sloshing around in tap water dosed with chlorine, often with powdered or liquid fruit acids to inhibit bacterial growth. The same tank of treated water is often used for 8 hours at a time.
‘Pure’ vegetable oil Industrially refined, bleached, deodorised oils. Food processors often add chemicals to extend their “fry life”.
‘Natural’ flavourings Even the flavour industry concedes that “there isn’t much difference in the chemical compositions of natural and artificial flavourings”. They are made using the same physical, enzymatic, and microbiological processes.

Full story and more horror here.

Eddie

Thought for the day.

Liver - Perhaps we should eat it more often !

Great tasting liver and bacon casserole 

"Humans have been eating other animals for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of years. For this reason, we have been genetically adapted to eating such foods throughout evolution.

However, our hunter gatherer ancestors didn't just eat the muscles of the animals, like most of us do.

No, they ate the organs too. Brain, kidneys, heart, bone marrow, liver and even testicles.

Organs are actually the most nutritious parts of the animal and the most nutritious of them all is the liver.

The liver is a remarkable organ that has hundreds of functions. It also concentrates many key nutrients like iron, B12 and some others. Liver is so nutritious that some people have called it nature’s multivitamin.

A 100 gram (3.5 oz) portion of beef liver contains

6.3 times the RDA for Vitamin A.
2 times the RDA for Riboflavin (B2).
12 times the RDA for Vitamin B12.
7 times the RDA for copper.
It also contains massive amounts of other nutrients like Folate, B3, B5, B6 and others.

If you want to eat like a true hunter-gatherer, then you should eat some organ meats. Just one meal per week with liver will dramatically boost your average intake of many key nutrients.

The fact is us humans adapted to eating plenty of animals, and that includes organ meats like liver. Eating liver once per week will dramatically boost your intake of key nutrients."

Words taken from the excellent Authority Nutrition Blog here

For that tasty liver and bacon casserole recipe look here

All the best Jan

Junk science: the badly flawed research with lab rats that seems to support eating low fat.

Do you think it basically makes more sense to keep your carbohydrates pretty low, rather than going the familiar low fat route, to lose weight and stay healthy? If so you are in good company and the evidence is building up that it’s a better way to go.

 But there is one source of supposedly scientific information that keeps pointing in opposite direction. What happens to rats and mice in the laboratory, where results are supposedly more precise and controlled, is quite different. Feeding them on a high fat diet makes them put on weight while their blood glucose soars.

So what, you might say. Rats and mice are very different to humans, which is a perfectly sensible point. However we “sacrifice” literally millions of these unfortunate animals every year in experiments designed to find out more about the likes of cancer, heart disease, wound healing, pain and genes.

That’s because the way their bones and muscles and proteins work are similar enough to what happens inside humans to provide useful clues about the mechanisms at work in us and whether possible new treatments will be effective and safe.

So I've been wondering why the lab research suggests one of two things:

**We are so unlike rats and mice that we handle fat in a totally different way – in which case why keep on doing the studies? Even more, why keep writing about them as if they told us something useful? A recent report about a study that involved feeding a high fat diet to pregnant mice was headed:
‘Mother’s high fat diet alters metabolism in offspring leading to higher obesity risk’. Nothing in the copy about: ‘it’s only mice so don’t worry’. In fact the authors specifically calculated that the danger zone for human mums-to-be was the third trimester.

 **We are quite similar to lab rats so the way rodents respond tells us something useful about how we should be eating. But if that is true, then why are there now dozens of studies showing that high fat isn’t a problem for humans and it is low fat with all the added sugar and carbohydrates that inevitably come with it that makes us fat and sick?

I’ve been finding out about what’s actually in a mouse high fat diet and investigating the breeding history of these rodents and I think I have found an answer. You can read about it at HealthInsightUK .

It probably won’t come as a great surprise to find that it involves hiding some key facts from the public that make the trials look relevant to humans when they really aren't.

http://jeromeburne.com/

Graham

Worlds Largest LCHF Conference - Cape Town February 2015

It's certainly all happening out in Cape Town - courtesy of 'Diet Doctor' Andreas Eenfeldt and organiser Karen Thomson here is a picture of some well known LCHF faces. How many do you recognise?

Andreas has given us a few snippets of the event so far, so if you'd like to read more do go over to his blog here

All the best Jan

Diabetes UK charity drumming up more medication sales !

Crock Pot Cauliflower Chicken Chile

As a lover of Cauliflower this great tasting meal caught my eye, so thanks to Lisa for this Crock Pot recipe idea - her blog is linked below.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6

Chili: 

½ head of cauliflower, diced
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can organic tomato puree
½ cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chili powder
¼ - ½ teaspoon chipotle chile flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in large chunks

Toppings:

1 avocado
1 lime
fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all chili ingredients to crock pot and stir to combine.
Cook on low for 8 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Cube avocado, cut lime into wedges and chop fresh cilantro.
Serve chili topped with avocado, a squeeze of lime juice, and cilantro to taste.

Original recipe idea can be found here 

Bon Appetit

All the best Jan 

Health and Happiness To All

Wishing Graham, Eddie and Jan and all the readers - Health and Happiness - and hopefully some Prosperity during the Year of the Goat.

It is nearly 7 years since diagnosis and the low carb lifestyle has meant 7 years of HbA1c below 5.5%. Tonight is one of the nights I relax a little.

The dinner will start with Champagne and the tossing of the Lo Hei salad. The family gathers round the dinner table and tosses the salad ingredients while loudly expressing well wishes to usher in good luck.

Then on to dinner which is definitely not traditional and consists of the family’s favourite Singapore dishes:

Black Tiger Prawns with Sambal Belacan
Calamari with Spicy Sauce
Teochew Braised Duck
Egg Tau Foo with Minced Pork
Spring Rolls
Crab Meat rolled in Spring Roll sheets (I don’t know the name of this dish!) and of course rice with a choice of green tea or Tiger Beer.

Julie is busy preparing the dinner but I will open the champagne, wash the dishes and hand out the “Ang Pow” - little red packets with money enclosed - which since the boys are bringing girlfriends is going to be expensive!

John

Steve Cooksey: Victory for ‘Caveman’ Blogger in Free Speech Fight

• N.C. Board of Dietetics/Nutrition settles lawsuit, adopts new guidelines for advice-givers.
• Stanley, N.C.-based blogger is free to provide advice on the low-carb “Paleolithic” diet.
• Government censorship of online advice still remains a nationwide problem

Cary, N.C.—Last week, the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition voted to adopt new guidelines allowing people to give ordinary diet advice without a government license, thus settling a May 2012 First Amendment lawsuitt filed by diabetic blogger Steve Cooksey of Stanley, N.C. The board had previously told Cooksey that his blog offering personalized advice on how to follow the low-carbohydrate “Paleolithic” diet required a government license.

“Last week’s board vote recognizes that North Carolinians do not need the government’s permission to give someone ordinary advice,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes, who represented Cooksey in his lawsuit. “North Carolina cannot require someone like Steve to be a state-licensed dietitian any more than it could require Dear Abby to be a state-licensed psychologist.”

                 

                         [WATCH A BRIEF VIDEO CLIP ON THE CASE]

In December 2011, Steve Cooksey started an advice column on his blog to answer reader questions about his struggle with Type II diabetes. Cooksey had lost 78 pounds, freed himself of drugs and doctors, and normalized his blood sugar after adopting a low-carb “Paleo” diet, modeled on the diet of our Stone Age ancestors. He wanted to use his blog to share his experience with others.

However, in January 2012, the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition informed Cooksey that he could not give readers personalized advice on diet, whether for free or for compensation, because doing so constituted the unlicensed practice of dietetics. The board deemed Cooksey’s advice the unlicensed practice of nutritional counseling, sent him a 19-page print-up of his website indicating in red pen what he was and was not allowed to say, and threatened him with legal action if he did not comply.

“All I wanted to do was give adults advice on what they should buy at the grocery store,” said Steve Cooksey. “I was astonished that the government thought it had the power to regulate that sort of ordinary advice. These new guidelines make clear that I can provide that advice to anyone who wants to hear it, and they will provide important protection for all North Carolinians who want to talk with others about diet.”

Cooksey’s situation is not unique—the Institute for Justice is currently litigating two similar cases based out of Texas and Kentucky. In Texas, the Texas Veterinary Board wants to use its licensing power to shut down a retired veterinarian who uses the Internet to give veterinary advice to pet owners who often live in remote areas of the world without access to veterinarians. In Kentucky, John Rosemond—America’s longest running newspaper advice columnist—was ordered by the state’s Psychology Board to cease publishing his parenting column because the Board believes John’s column constitutes the “unlicensed practice of psychology.”

“Cases like Steve’s raise one of the most important unanswered questions in constitutional law: Do occupational licensing laws trump the First Amendment?” said IJ Senior Attorney Paul Sherman. “The Institute for Justice is committed to protecting occupational speech throughout the country. This settlement is an important victory in that fight.”

For more on the lawsuit, visit www.ij.org/PaleoSpeech.  Founded in 1991, the Virginia-based Institute for Justice is a national public interest law firm that fights for free speech and economic liberty nationwide.

http://ij.org/north-carolina-free-speech-release-2-18-2015

Graham

Chinese New Year 2015 - The Year Of The Goat

Chinese New Year 2015 begins on Thursday 19 February, and end on 5 March. 

Spring Festival, widely known as Chinese New Year in the West, is the most important traditional festival, and the most important celebration for families in China. It is an official public holiday, during which most Chinese have 8 days off work.

It is day one, month one of the Chinese lunar calendar, and its date in January or February varies from year to year (always somewhere in the period January 21 to February 20).

The Chinese lunar calendar is associated with the Chinese Zodiac, which has 12 animal signs: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, Rooster, dog, and pig. Each animal represents a year in a 12-year cycle, beginning on Chinese New Year's Day.

2015 is a year of the “Goat” according to the Chinese 12-year animal zodiac (Heavenly Stem) cycle. If you were born in a Goat year, according to Chinese astrology, you should be particularly careful in 2015. Furthermore 2015 is a year of the “Wood Goat”, according to Chinese Five Element (Earthly Branch) Theory. A “Wood Goat” year occurs every 60 years. 

It is custom to have lucky decorations everywhere. Every street, building, and house is decorated with red. “Red” is the main colour for the festival, as it is believed to be an auspicious colour. Red lanterns hang in streets; red couplets are pasted on doors; banks and official buildings are decorated with red New Year pictures depicting images of prosperity. As 2015 is the year of goat, decorations related to goats will be commonly seen. There are red goat dolls for children and New Year paintings with goats on.

It is custom to eat certain foods during the 'New Year' festival because of their symbolic meanings, based on their names or appearance.

Fish is a must for Chinese New Year as the Chinese word for fish (鱼 yú /yoo/) sounds like the word for surplus (余 yú). Eating fish is believed to bring a surplus of money and good luck in the coming year.

So to conclude … wherever you are … whatever nationality … at this time I would join in the Chinese custom and wish everyone peace and prosperity in the coming year. Maybe we should add good health too.

With special mention to our friends John (low carb team member), Julie and family.

More can be read here about Chinese New Year

All the best Jan

Poached salmon, watercress mayonnaise with a hint of dijon mustard

This is a wonderful recipe but of course you do not have to buy a whole salmon, you can always adapt this recipe and buy ready filleted salmon pieces - the choice is yours. You may also like to enjoy this meal with a chilled glass of white wine - how about a Chablis?

Ingredients:

Serves 10 - a truly wonderful and low carb family get together meal.

2.5kg (5lb) whole salmon, scaled and gutted, your fishmonger will do this

oil for greasing
1 onion, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 bay leaves
100ml (3 1/2fl.oz) dry white wine
sliced cucumber, to serve
sliced lemons, to serve

For the mayonnaise:

85g bag watercress
2 egg yolks
1tsp Dijon mustard
300ml (1/2pint) sunflower oil
1tbsp white wine vinegar
squeeze lemon juice

Method: 

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2/170°C/Fan 150°C.

Place the salmon on a large sheet of greased tin foil. Set this in a large baking tray. Place the onion, lemon and bay leaves inside the cavity, scattering any extras around the fish, and season. Then drizzle over the white wine.

Bring the foil up and over the salmon to loosely seal (you may have to use another sheet of foil). Cook in the oven for 1 hr. Then leave to cool.

Meanwhile place the watercress in a sieve and pour over a kettle-full of boiling water. Squeeze away excess water and leave to cool completely.

Place the egg yolks in a food processor with the mustard and whiz together. Then slowly start to mix in the oil, just 1 drop at a time to start with, gradually adding a little more.

Add the watercress and vinegar and whiz until smooth. Then season and add the lemon juice to taste.

To serve, carefully lift the fish onto a serving platter. Remove the head. Then carefully peel away the skin from the serving side of the fish and ease away the dark flesh running along the backbone with a teaspoon.

Arrange the lemon and cucumber around along with the mayonnaise in a bowl.

To serve, cut away chunky portions of the top side of fish. Then remove the flavourings from the cavity along with the bones. Portion out the bottom side of fish, easing it away from the skin which can be left behind.

Make sure all the family are gathered and enjoy good company and great low carb food.

Original recipe idea here.

All the best Jan

Half of women fear hidden sugar in their food and drink.

Half of women are worried about hidden sugar in food and drink, putting it just behind price in terms of concerns about the nation’s diet.

Price was the number one issue at 54 per cent, ahead of sugar at 52 per cent and food waste at 51 per cent, according to a study by the government’s Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The findings suggest warnings by health campaigners about sugar and its links to obesity and ill health are making an impact.

For decades, families have been warned about the dangers of eating high fat foods, such as butter, milk and cheese, amid claims that these were fuelling a national obesity epidemic.

However, this advice has been turned on its head by recent studies, which argue these full fat foods were demonised on the basis of flawed evidence.

Attention has now shifted to sugar with some doctors and health campaigners describing it as the ‘new tobacco’.

Earlier this week, health experts launched a campaign claiming that drinking one can of a sugary drink a day over a lifetime increases the risk of dying from heart disease by a third.

They also suggested this level of consumption could lead to weight gain of 6kg – over a stone – in a year, creating a risk of diabetes and other conditions.

More on this story here.

Eddie

The effect of a high-egg diet on cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes

The Diabetes and Egg (DIABEGG) study—a 3-mo randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Previously published research that examined the effects of high egg consumption in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) produced conflicting results leading to recommendations to limit egg intake. However, people with T2D may benefit from egg consumption because eggs are a nutritious and convenient way of improving protein and micronutrient contents of the diet, which have importance for satiety and weight management.

Objective: In this randomized controlled study, we aimed to determine whether a high-egg diet (2 eggs/d for 6 d/wk) compared with a low-egg diet (<2 eggs/wk) affected circulating lipid profiles, in particular high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, in overweight or obese people with prediabetes or T2D.

Design: A total of 140 participants were randomly assigned to one of the 2 diets as part of a 3-mo weight maintenance study. Participants attended the clinic monthly and were instructed on the specific types of foods and quantities to be consumed.

Results: There was no significant difference in the change in HDL cholesterol from screening to 3 mo between groups; the mean difference (95% CI) between high- and low-egg groups was +0.02 mmol/L (−0.03, 0.08 mmol/L; P = 0.38). No between-group differences were shown for total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or glycemic control. Both groups were matched for protein intake, but the high-egg group reported less hunger and greater satiety postbreakfast. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) intakes significantly increased from baseline in both groups.

Conclusions: High egg consumption did not have an adverse effect on the lipid profile of people with T2D in the context of increased MUFA and PUFA consumption. This study suggests that a high-egg diet can be included safely as part of the dietary management of T2D, and it may provide greater satiety. This trial was registered at the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (http://www.anzctr.org.au/) as ACTRN12612001266853.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/

Graham

Tea - Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?

Do you prefer loose tea to tea bags?

Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?

Questions .....Questions and if you prefer coffee these questions may not matter to you. However, to tea lovers they are very important.

The words below are taken from an article in 'The Huffington Post' and may just answer some of your tea related questions.

Why not put the kettle on and have a refreshing cuppa before you read on.

"It's a question that's divided the nation for decades: Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?

But we may have had an answer to this conundrum right at our fingertips all along.

The British Standard's Institution has released a guide called "preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests" which was developed in 1980 to help professional tea testers.

It offers a set of guidelines to making the perfect cup of tea.

According to the extensive six-page guide, there should be 2g of tea for every 100ml of water. The water should not be heated to more than 85°C or you risk scalding the milk (and presumably having a sub-standard cuppa).

Having said that, the tea should always be above 60°C when served for "optimum flavour and sensation".

The tea must be brewed in a pot made of porcelain, but not just any old porcelain - "white porcelain or glazed earthenware, with its edge partly serrated” is required.

Milk should be added to cups while the tea is left to infuse in the pot for six minutes.

But it's not the end of the world if you add the milk afterwards, you just have to make sure it's the right temperature.

“If the milk is added afterwards, experience has shown that the best results are obtained when the temperature of the liquor is in the range 65 to 80°C when the milk is added," the guidelines state.

Organisations including the British Tea Producers’ Association, Tea Trade Committee and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food helped to create the standards.

A previous survey found 35% of Brits are happy to skip the teapot stage and use a mug to make their tea.

It turns out many of us may be missing out on optimum tea, but unfortunately bringing a porcelain tea pot to the office isn't all that convenient."

Link to article here - in the meantime I must go and pour myself another cuppa ...... now milk first or not?

Take Care and ........

All the best Jan

Spicy Tuna Bakes - Definitely Tasty

"Here’s what to gather to make 12 cakes:

3 tablespoons melted ghee divided
10 ounces canned albacore tuna packed in water, drained
3 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced (about ⅓ cup)
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh cilantro
1⅓ cup mashed baked sweet potato
finely grated zest from ½ medium lemon
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
(Kosher) Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 medium lemons, cut into wedges (optional)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and use a brush to grease a 12 cup regular sized muffin tin with one tablespoon of melted ghee.

In a large bowl, mix together the tuna, scallions, and cilantro. Add the mashed sweet potato to the tuna mixture, and gently combine.

Then, mix in the lemon zest, jalapeño, the remaining two tablespoons of ghee, eggs, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

(Not sure if you’ve added enough S&P? Take a small portion and fry up a little pancake to see if the seasoning is right!)

I use my hands to mix everything together because that way I can make sure that the fish chunks aren’t overly broken up.

Scoop a quarter cup of the mixture into each greased muffin tin cup……and flatten with the back of a spoon.

Bake the tuna cakes for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.

Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool. The easiest way I’ve found to get them out is to put the wire rack on top of the muffin tin……flip everything upside-down, and tap them gently on the counter. Voilà!

Grab a lemon wedge and squeeze some juice on your tuna cake before your pop it in your mouth. They’re fantastic right out of the oven. Alternatively, store them in the fridge in a air-tight container for up to four days, and when you’re ready to eat, skillet-fry the cakes in some melted fat over medium heat. Crisp the edges, and you’re good to go."

Thanks to Michelle at Nom Nom Paleo here for this recipe idea . She has a step by step guide which is very useful too. If you are a diabetic and not sure how sweet potato affects your blood sugar levels, may I just say "test is best," if in doubt please use your meter.

All the best Jan

Steve's Cooksey's Story - One that Many Diabetics who have discovered the LCHF lifestyle can fully appreciate

These words are Steve Cooksey's, he wrote them on Valentine's Day, February 14th 2015 - you can read more by using the link below.

"Six years ago today I was a diabetes cash cow. Six years ago today was the eve of my diabetes diagnosis or diabetes eve… :) I wouldn’t know that I was diabetic until the next day…

Six years ago today, February 14th 2009 … I was laying on the couch, coughing, wheezing, sucking down Gatorade. Gatorade and sodas were the only thing I could drink. Water tasted strange to me, and seemed to make my lips and mouth swollen (they were not). I was told to keep hydrated … so I continued to drink these sugary substances.

As it would turn out, Gatorade and sweet drinks were the LAST thing I needed.

Suffering from chronic excessive lethargy, severe respiratory illness … I remember it well. Breathing was becoming difficult and at times I could not ‘catch my breath’ … as if I was drowning.

I would inhale and exhale rapidly as if I had run a sprint just to ‘catch my breath’ … laying on the couch. With each of these episodes, the thought crossed my mind that my next breath may be my last; that perhaps next time I would not be able to ‘catch my breath’.

The depth of the misery can not be overstated. I was obese, sickly, extremely lethargic … totally and completely miserable.

On the night of the 14th I told my wife,

“you will have to take me to Urgent Care in the morning and if they can’t help me, take me to the hospital. I am tired of living like this.”

The next day I would go to Urgent Care … and placed in a wheelchair because I could not walk. I didn’t have to worry about going to the hospital.

I was rushed to the hospital via ambulance… where my blood sugar was 740 mg/dl and my A1C was too high to read. I didn’t know it at the time but I was coming close to going into a diabetic coma or ketoacidosis (DKA).

Today

I woke up and while I don’t normally eat breakfast I decided to fix ‘bacon’ and eggs this morning. I do usually have coconut oil and butter in my coffee. :)

After starting the coffee and the bacon and eggs cooking… I weighed. 166 lbs. I’ve been 165 lbs +/- 2 lbs for months. Normal Weight.

Next I tested my blood sugars…. BAM! I love the 70’s!!! And … normal blood sugar for non-diabetics. :)

I am so ALIVE!!!! I truly do THRIVE! … I am not ‘just’ surviving.

Did you see the top right picture? I eat foods like that all the time.

Pork, Poultry, Beef, Eggs… until the berries and higher carb veggies come in season when I will eat a handful of them occasionally. This is my typical daily food plan. Fatty meats, leafy green vegetables, eggs, coconut oil and butter.

… and just so we are clear on this point… I THRIVE!!! : "

Read more of Steve's Story here 

All the best Jan

Pancake Day 2015 - Low Carb Of Course !

These crepes/pancakes are virtually carb. free and are very easy to make - although you use ricotta cheese they do not taste of cheese.

Ingredients.

200 Grams of ricotta cheese
3 eggs
I teaspoon of cinnamon
A splash of milk

Method

Mix the cheese, eggs and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Add a splash of milk if the mix is too thick to run freely. Place a small knob of butter into a frying pan, I use a small omelette pan 8". Heat the butter and spoon in 3 table spoons of mix. Fry until firm then turn over and cook for one minute or until the crepe is starting to brown. This mix makes between 6 and 8 crepes/pancakes. Allow to cool and fill with cream cheese and finely chopped spring onions or smoked salmon and asparagus tips, whatever you like. Roll up the crepe and enjoy. Great at any time and very good for the lunch box or picnics. Also great warmed up with some low carb berries and double cream.

Or why not serve with a slice of lemon - gently squeezed over the crepes.

Enjoy your pancake day Tuesday 17th February 2015.

All the best Jan

Simple Fry Low Carb Sausage with Apple

Many thanks to Anna for this simple fry meal - it's ideal anytime of day.

"This two ingredient taste sensation can work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  We make it as a go-to quickie meal in our house.  Sometimes you don’t have time to make a big feast.  Sometimes you just gotta eat and get back to it.

Use a mild sausage if you’re making this for breakfast and a hot Italian sausage for lunch or dinner.  Heh heh, I said hot Italian sausage.

Sausage and Apple Fry ‘Em Up

1 Pound loose sausage-meat
1 Gala apple, peeled, cored and cubed into 1 centimeter pieces

In a large sauté pan on high heat, brown the sausage until almost cooked through.  Add in apple pieces and stir around.  Lower heat to medium and continue to cook until apple is soft and sausage is crispy.  Drain on paper towels and serve immediately."

Look out for the lower carb variety of sausage-meat for this recipe.

I may also serve this dish with some mushrooms - how about you?

Enjoy

All the best Jan

Statins expert calls for safety checks over the drug

AN Oxford professor whose findings were central to the mass prescription of statins is to re-examine trial data after concerns over the heart drug.

Prof Rory Collins, whose research helped rubber stamp statins as safe, said his team will carry out a “challenging” reassessment of the evidence which will include studying all reported side effects.

Although the original research looked at the effect of statins on the heart and considered cancer risks it did not examine other side effects.

Separate studies and patient complaints have included muscle pain, cataracts, diabetes, fatigue and memory loss. Dr Collins, who championed the controversial drug, said the additional work was needed to convince the public that statins were safe.

Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of the British Medical Journal, which has spearheaded calls for access to statins data, said: “This is of real concern. We wrongly assumed all the details of possible side effects had been thoroughly assessed before new guidance effectively made tens of thousands of people eligible for this drug.

We now know this is not the case and would urge any re-analysis is done in the most transparent way.”

Her comments came as Dr Sarah Wollaston, chairwoman of the Commons Health Select Committee, called for drug companies to release all their trial data.

Her demand is echoed by experts at the British Medical Journal, which is writing to the authors of all the major statin trials asking for the release of findings which have not been made available for public or independent analysis.

This follows a massive expansion in statin prescribing under new guidance from the Government’s drug watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Dr Wollaston, Tory MP for Totnes, Devon, said: “I’m concerned there may be side effects that have not been reported. “Drug manufacturers should release all their trial data on statins so they are available for scrutiny.”

Last year Nice recommended statins be prescribed to low-risk patients with a one in 10 risk of heart disease over the next decade.

This includes almost every healthy man over 60 and woman over 65 – the equivalent of four in 10 adults in the country.

Most doctors accept that statins benefit high-risk patients but the move to widen prescriptions is controversial.

Medicines regulator Nice argued the move would save lives and was based on trial data which had been assessed by a group of researchers at Oxford University, who based their finding on 30 trials.

Head researcher Prof Collins admitted he had not seen the full data on side effects.

In an email to this paper he stated that his team had assessed the effects of statins on heart disease and cancer but not other side effects such as muscle pain.

Klim McPherson, professor of public health at Oxford University, said: “We know these drugs have side effects but we do not know if these have been assessed properly by the drug companies who carried out the trials.

“It is outrageous. Why do they not make their data available for scrutiny?” Prof McPherson, 73, who recently weaned himself off a two-year statin prescription after debilitating muscle pains, added: “Taking these drugs should be a matter of individual patient preference with patients fully aware of their risks, which at the moment is not the case.”

Last year leading doctors’ magazine Pulse revealed two thirds of GPs are disregarding Nice advice to offer statins to more patients.

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

Can we trust professor Collins to do a "challenging reassessment" when he steadfastly refuses to release all the data from from statin trials he has been involved with. His Oxford based statin research unit the CTT (Cholesterol Treatment Trialists Collaboration) receives funding of in excess of £268 million of which £217.5 million comes from Merck.

 http://jeromeburne.com/

Graham

Steve Strange R.I.P.

Another sad loss and only 55 years old.

Graham

Bossy JD McPherson

Graham

Charles Aznavour - The Old Fashioned Way

One for Valentines day. All the best Jan

Nuts For Cumin Food Scandal Could Be Even Bigger Than Horse Meat

A new supply probe being investigated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) could be "much more serious" than the horse meat scandal, a leading expert has warned.

An FSA probe into cumin imports has led to the recall of two products containing undeclared almond traces, including an alert about a spice mix sold in Morrisons.

Professor Chris Elliott, who led the government inquiry into the horse meat fraud that hit British supermarkets in 2013, said the cases were serious because they threatened the lives of nut allergy sufferers.

Nuts could be being substituted for cumin

Similar cases of cumin-based products have been recalled in the US and Canada for having undeclared peanut traces and Prof Elliott, who called for a dedicated FSA food crime unit to be established, suggested it was due to a crop failure of the spice.

He told the Independent: "This is the first real test of the UK food supply system since the horse meat crisis and it's actually much, much more serious.

"It's much more serious because in the whole horse meat scandal nobody got ill and nobody died because of it. But if you happen to be allergic to almonds or peanuts there is the potential of getting ill or even dying because of it. So the challenge is there.

"This time the crop failure is cumin and it does seem to be that there has been fraud going on."

The paper reported that a poor cumin harvest in the Gujarat region in India may have resulted in nuts being substituted for the spice, used widely in curries and soups.

The FSA began testing cumin imports to the UK after alerts in the US and Canada but said none of the products recalled there had been distributed in the UK.

The two UK products recalled were Bart ground cumin from the Barts Ingredients Company Ltd and Morrisons Fajita Meal Kit, which the supermarket withdrew on Thursday. Investigations are continuing and there is no suggestion the suppliers were aware of the issue.

In an alert issued on the FSA's website on January 31, Jason Feeney, chief operating officer at the FSA, said: "The FSA has been pro-active in checking for problems with cumin products in the UK and, as a precaution, is taking action to protect consumers.

"Currently there is no evidence to suggest that the undeclared almond protein found in this product is linked to the problems with cumin found in the US and Canada. Investigations are ongoing."

Story and picture taken from ' The Huffington Post' 

So please take care  ........

All the best Jan

Thought for the day.

Research Misconduct in Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Industries.