Reduce Hypertension by Avoiding Salt and Salty Food:

You can reduce high blood pressure by seriously cutting down on salt and salty food. Especially if you would prefer to avoid taking drugs, then I do urge you to cut down on salt/sodium and salty food. - And I don't just mean sprinkle less onto your meal or use less in cooking; I mean try to eat fresh food, instead of processed food, takeaways and ready meals, because these processed foodstuffs have usually had a lot of salt added to them by the manufacturers. If you feel you have to buy some processed food, then look carefully at the labels to choose a pack/tin with lower salt/sodium level.

For fuller information about this, see Sodium in foods

The Telegraph reports that care homes are still administering anti-psychotic drugs to dementia patients.

The Telegraph reports that care homes are still harming dementia patients by administering 'chemical cosh' drugs (aka anti-psychotic drugs) to them.

Psychiatric drugs are causing huge weight gain in children for whom they are prescribed

US News reports on how psychiatric drugs are causing huge weight gain in children for whom they are prescribed. The weight gain is, of course, accompanied by increased levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood, as is characteristic for obesity.

The medics quoted in the article are disgracefully ignorant of the facts about what causes these extremely harmful effects.

As I have been explaining on my website and in this blog and in other ways for many years now, the weight gain is because these drugs cause sodium and water retention and the weight gain can be reduced/prevented by avoiding salt and salty food. Scandalously, these ignorant prescribers of these powerful, dangerous drugs, are not warning their patients/victims that while taking this pharmaceutical junk, they should strictly avoid eating salt or salty food. For people - especially children - taking these drugs, salt/sodium becomes literally a poison, a poison that will permanently damage their health. - My personal opinion is that children should never be prescribed this junk. They should be protected from this great harm.

Prescription drugs including many steroids, many antidepressants, anti-psychotics and epilepsy drugs as well as other pharmaceuticals, are a major cause of fluid retention/obesity and especially of morbid obesity. - Taking prescription drugs should be avoided unless they are absolutely necessary.

Furthermore, the fluid retention problem often leads on to fat retention - which, surprisingly, is not caused by eating too much fat, but by mineral deficiencies, principally calcium deficiency.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

Putin Proposes a Ban on Drug Company Reps Visiting Doctors to Promote their Drugs

Putin’s Proposed Reform Worries Drug Producers
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised to ban pharmaceutical makers from sending representatives to doctors’ offices, a practice they spend up to 50 percent of their revenue on and one of the last open channels for companies to promote prescription drugs. “We should get rid of these so-called pharmaceuticals representatives working in medical institutions,” Putin said Oct. 9 at a meeting on the development of the drugs industry. In the past 10 years, Russia has seen the rise of “a clearly abnormal type of interaction” between medicine producers, particularly foreign companies, and parts of the medical community, he said. It is impermissible to have “pharmaceutical holdings paying specialists to prescribe patients substances produced by these companies,” Putin said.
Read article in The St. Petersburg Times (Russia)

Jade Goody's openness about her cervical cancer has led to more women having a smear test for the illness.

BBC News reports that Jade Goody's openness about her cervical cancer has led to more women having a smear test for the illness.

So-called Weight Loss Lip Balm Will Not Help You To Lose Weight!

BBC News reports widespread scepticism about 'Weight Loss Lip Balm' that is claimed to help with weight loss. "The manufacturers say four key ingredients blended together make it work: Green tea (which has been linked to weight loss), caffeine (to boost energy), the mineral Chromium Piclinate - (which, it's claimed, helps the body burn fat), and the herb Hoodia (which apparently suppresses the appetite)."

Caffeine does not help with weight loss. 'Burning fat' is unnecessary to achieve weight loss and whether hoodia suppresses the appetite or not is irrelevant, since appetite suppression is both unnecessary and undesirable for weight loss.

Obesity is NOT caused by eating too many calories/too much fat and/or taking too little exercise. - No matter how many doctors and other 'experts' claim that it is, and that it can be reduced by eating fewer calories and taking more exercise, they are wrong and it is still NOT true. - The hypothesis has never been put to the test scientifically and there is certainly not a shred of valid, reproducible evidence to back it up.

There is a wealth of evidence to show that it is NOT true. - Millions upon millions of innocent overweight people have tried over decades to reduce their excess weight by eating fewer calories and taking more exercise. - Overwhelmingly they fail to lose weight this way. - They get tired; they feel cold and ill and hungry. But they do not lose weight (or if they do it is only temporary). - The 'experts' then tell them that they have done it wrong; they haven't tried hard enough or long enough; they are lying; they are mistaken, etc. - The 'experts' cannot get their heads around the fact that it is THEY who are wrong; THEY who are lying; THEY who are mistaken...

Obesity is caused by fluid retention in people who are sensitive to salt. - It is as simple, and as profoundly complex, as that.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

On Woman's Hour today Ilsa Parry, creative designer, was interviewed by Jane Garvey.

On Radio 4's Woman's Hour today, Ilsa Parry, creative designer, was interviewed by Jane Garvey. Jane's characteristic warm style of questioning and Ilsa's enthusiastic responses made for very enjoyable listening. It sounded as though disabled people may eventually benefit from Ilsa's innovative, original ideas. So I looked for her on the internet:

rethinkthings

ilsaparry.blogspot

You may like to have a look...(o:

The Sun carries a sad story of a poor fellow who has reached 70 stones in weight

The Sun carries a sad story of a poor fellow who has reached 70 stones in weight and is "now almost immobile" and for whom extraordinary measures need to be taken to transport him to a clinic where it is hoped he will receive life-saving treatment. What a tragedy and how shameful it is that the NHS and other health bodies have never yet told people the truth about the causes of obesity and the best ways to reduce the fluid retention that causes it.

The most likely cause in this case is that this man was prescribed medication years ago that has the side-effect of causing salt sensitivity/fluid retention/sodium retention/oedema/morbid obesity - there are many expressions for the problem. Prescription drugs like certains steroids, antidepressants and antipsychotics are a major cause of morbid obesity in adults. What he should have been told was to avoid salt and salty food while he was taking the medication. This would have prevented the massive fluid retention and the terrible suffering, mental, physical, emotional and financial, that he has had to endure. Even now they could give him a diuretic to reduce the fluid retention (that's what jockeys take to lose water weight before a race) but I doubt anyone will have the sense to do so.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

It's good to see Peter Duncan speaking out against statins.

Well done the Daily Mail for reporting Peter Duncan's sensible decision not to take statins to lower his cholesterol level. Instead he believes it's better to improve your diet and fitness.

He is quoted as saying, "I am naturally sceptical of medical prognosis and drug companies' product claims - not even an aspirin has passed my lips for many years. I believe the body should look after itself," and also, "I like to imagine the medical profession has dreamed up the perfect scam. Create an unsatisfactory condition (high cholesterol); make a drug that can lower it (statins); play down the unfortunate side effects with 'biased' research (medical trials) and on the back of this they can create a whole cholesterol food industry and make billions from selling expensive prescriptions."

Peter Duncan is clearly a man after my own heart. Like him I am extremely sceptical about the claims of drug companies; they have too often been found to be falsifying results and their products harming the unfortunate people who take them.

And very obviously, a high cholesterol level is not caused by deficiency of statins...(o:

If your cholesterol level is high you can lower it without the use of drugs: - if you cut down on salt and salty food this will lower it safely and easily and will benefit your health in many other ways too.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels

Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Read article at physorg.com

Researchers find that copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps do not reduce arthritic pain or stiffness

BBC News reports that copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps do not reduce arthritic pain or stiffness.

If you want to reduce arthritic pain without using drugs you can do so by cutting down on salt and salty food. As well as reducing pain, cutting down on salt has many other health benefits too, including weight reduction and reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Giving paracetamol to babies after they have had a vaccination reduces the effectiveness of the vaccination

BBC News reports that giving paracetamol to babies after vaccinations may impair the effectiveness of the vaccination.

It seems to me that it would in any case always be preferable to avoid giving unnecessary medication to children, especially babies.

Today is Global Handwashing Day: Have YOU washed your hands properly today - using soap?

The Telegraph reports on poor hand-washing hygiene after using the lavatory, especially by men.

"Washing hands with soap reduces the risk of passing on infections like norovirus, influenza and C.diff."

Additionally, swine flu is among many illnesses from pneumonia to intestinal worms that can be prevented by conscientiously washing hands.

Some foolish 'experts' are confusing obesity with mental illness

BBC News reports the exaggerated claim that many "physical" health problems are really "mind" problems that urgently need a lot of research money to be spent on them.

Some foolish 'experts' are following an old and largely discredited tradition of claiming that physical problems are 'really' mental illness, rather than physical illness. (e.g. see Lennane KJ and Lennane RJ. Alleged psychogenic disorders in women - a possible manifestation of sexual prejudice. N Engl J Med 1973; 288: 288-292.)

So here we have UK psychiatrist Dr Peter Jones claiming that most lung cancer is caused by addiction to smoking, and that some obesity is caused by a brain-driven compulsion to eat. His motivation appears self-serving, when you read his claim that, "to tackle such problems experts need to go back to delving the mind," and that, "He and other leading mental health experts are calling for a trebling of funding to £200m a year for research."

Most lung cancer is caused by the deleterious effects of inhaled smoke on the lungs, and it clearly matters not whether the smoker is addicted or not addicted; the physical damage done is the same. However, be that as it may, smoking is, fortunately, on the wane in this country. - It is the issue of obesity, the fast-growing serious illness that is destroying many millions of lives, that largely concerns me.

Obesity is CATEGORICALLY not caused by "a brain-driven compulsion to eat." It is caused by fluid retention/sodium retention/water retention/salt sensitivity/oedema/weakened blood vessel walls, and it is easily lessened by addressing the fluid retention problem by cutting down on salt and salty food and abandoning dieting forever.

Unfortunately if these misguided 'experts' get £millions to fund further research into proving that black is white they will waste a lot of time and money and do far more harm than good.

Obesity is NOT caused by eating too many calories/too much fat and/or taking too little exercise. - No matter how many doctors and other 'experts' claim that it is, and that it can be reduced by eating fewer calories and taking more exercise, they are wrong and it is still NOT true. - The hypothesis has never been put to the test scientifically and there is certainly not a shred of valid, reproducible evidence to back it up.

There is a wealth of evidence to show that it is NOT true. - Millions upon millions of innocent overweight people have tried over decades to reduce their excess weight by eating fewer calories and taking more exercise. - Overwhelmingly they fail to lose weight this way. - They get tired; they feel cold and ill and hungry. But they do not lose weight (or if they do it is only temporary). - The 'experts' then tell them that they have done it wrong; they haven't tried hard enough or long enough; they are lying; they are mistaken, etc. - The 'experts' cannot get their heads around the fact that it is THEY who are wrong; THEY who are lying; THEY who are mistaken...

Obesity is caused by fluid retention in people who are sensitive to salt. - It is as simple, and as profoundly complex, as that.

Now - what really causes the fluid retention/salt sensitivity/obesity? - Here are the main causes:
1. Prescription drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline.
Amitriptyline is also known as Elavil, Tryptanol, Endep, Elatrol, Tryptizol, Trepiline, Laroxyl, and is present in some combination drugs, e.g. Limbitrol is a drug which combines amitriptyline and chlordiazepoxide.
Weight gain is also widely reported by people taking Lexapro, Prozac, Fontex, Celexa and Paxil. These are not tricyclic antidepressants; they are SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors). As with the tricyclic antidepressants, the weight gain is because of sodium retention and fluid/water retention, and can be avoided/reduced by avoiding eating salt and salty food.
2. Other prescription drugs such as steroids including prednisolone (also sold as Pediapred®), prednisone (also sold as Deltasone®, Meticorten, Orasone and SK-Prednisone), cortisone, hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, betamethasone, beclomethasone, fludrocortisone, triamsinolone, desonide, fluprednidene, clobetasone, alclomethasone, momethasone, desoxymethasone, fluosinonide, budesonide, fluosinolone, triamcinolone (trade names Kenalog, Aristocort, Nasacort, Tri-Nasal, Triderm, Azmacort, Trilone, Volon A, Tristoject, Fougera, Tricortone, Triesence) and other corticosteroids, Advair - a combination drug that contains Fluticasone, a corticosteroid, HRT and other medications containing oestrogen - like some birth control medication (contraceptives) - amitriptyline and some other anti-depressants, some anti-psychotic drugs, including Zyprexa (aka olanzapine) and other psychotropic drugs, and some anti-epileptic/anticonvulsant drugs, notably valproate (trade name Epilim).
If you have been inappropriately prescribed or over-dosed with corticosteroids or HRT or the many other drugs that cause weight gain, then you may well have developed drug-induced Cushing's Syndrome, a very serious illness, frequently far more serious than the health problem for which the drugs were prescribed. It is, to the best of my knowledge, an entirely preventable illness if doctors conform to the protocols for prescribing these drugs and if they monitor patients' progress on the drugs, and if they warn patients about salt. It is VITALLY important that it be realised that weight gain resulting from these drugs is from sodium and water retention, so patients taking these drugs should be warned not to eat salt, or foods containing salt, while taking the medication. They should also be informed that any weight gained in this way can easily and swiftly be reduced by eating less salt/sodium, and they should be warned not to try to lose weight by eating less food or restricting calories because this will not help them to lose weight and is harmful.

If you gain weight suddenly and unexpectedly when you start to take prescribed medication that I have not mentioned on this page, it is highly likely that the weight gain is caused by the drug. You may like to consider whether you really need to take that drug, or whether the dose could be lowered. At any rate if you continue with the drug, try to reduce your salt intake in order to reduce the weight gain. Doctors seldom, if ever, warn about the drugs that cause salt sensitivity and the need very strictly to avoid salt and salty food while on the drugs, and many do not observe the drug protocols and very few properly monitor the patient's progress on the drugs. Obviously if doctors did do all these things, there would be no steroid victims, no patients with drug-induced obesity, etc. whereas there are many millions of them worldwide, victims of medical negligence and ignorance.

3. If, as a baby or small child, you ate salt and salty food, you were highly likely to have developed sensitivity to salt and you therefore became fat or overweight.

4. Pregnancy can cause fluid retention/salt sensitivity because of hormonal changes during pregnancy. It is important to avoid salt and salty food during pregnancy.

These are the main causes of obesity. Dieting/calorie counting makes obesity worse and should be avoided.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.
Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection
Vulnerable groups
Sodium in foods and
http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page
and FAT RETENTION

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted from my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

You may like to think twice about getting your tongue pierced. - It

You may like to think twice about getting your tongue pierced. - It could even lead to a deadly brain abscess!
See BBC News article on risks associated with tongue studs.

To lose excess weight you need to excrete more water and excrete excess fat

To lose excess weight you need to excrete excess water and excrete more fat; you do not need to 'slim' or adopt a low-fat diet or to tire yourself out with strenuous exercise.

To excrete excess water/fluid you must cut down on salt and salty food, and make sure you eat plenty of fruit and (unsalted) vegetables.

To excrete more fat you need also to eat more calcium, e.g. dairy yoghurt.
See FAT RETENTION

Give up dieting! - It is unnecessary, frequently harmful and IT DOES NOT WORK!

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Sodium in foods

Vulnerable groups

Children and Obesity

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Associated health conditions

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

Drug firms hiding test results: Study

"Doctors and patients may not get the full story on some prescription drugs because companies sidestep rules and hide test results, according to researchers in Canada, France and Britain. Anyone doing a clinical trial of a drug is supposed to announce publicly that the trial is under way and describe its goals. But David Moher of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute said many tests are conducted without this disclosure. This allows scientists, or the drug companies who pay for the work, to release good results but quietly cancel anything that looks bad for their product. "Selective outcome [result] reporting is prevalent," Dr. Moher's study concluded."
Read article in the Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

Omega-3 may protect diabetics from heart failure

Increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids may protect diabetics from heart failure, according to a new study from the Netherlands.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

The majority of obese children reject the idea of weight loss surgery.

BBC News reports that majority of obese children reject the idea of weight loss surgery. "Across the board, school is not helping them sort their weight out - the food is problematic, the exercise is inappropriate for them and the bullying culture against them is not addressed."

It's a shame and a scandal that these unfortunate children are not being told the truth about child obesity and not being given the correct advice to reduce it. - Most childhood obesity is caused by eating salt and salty food. Parents (and schools) should as a priority seek to protect children from salty food. As well as causing the children to be obese in itself, it also tends to result in a sort of addiction to salt, which makes it harder to reduce salt intake.

See Children and Obesity

See FAT RETENTION

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Sodium in foods

Vulnerable groups

The Guardian reports that less than half of doctors and nurses in the NHS intend to have the swine flu vaccine.

The Guardian reports that less than half of doctors and nurses in the NHS are intending to have the swine flu vaccine. "There are growing signs that large numbers of workers will shun the jabs because they see them as unnecessary and potentially unsafe."

See Might Swine Flu Vaccine increase Risk of Cancer?
Concerns about safety of swine flu vaccine
Drug firms dodge swine flu liability

You can boost your immunity to infection by cutting down on salt and salty food. Good nutrition has no adverse side-effects.

Fat Loss: you don't need to burn it off or change to an unhealthy low-fat diet.

Fat Loss: you don't need to burn it off or change to an unhealthy low-fat diet. You need to cut down on salt and salty food, eat plenty of fruit and unsalted vegetables, eat more dairy calcium and GIVE UP DIETING!

See FAT RETENTION

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Sodium in foods

Vulnerable groups

Children and Obesity

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Associated health conditions

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

Warning about improper administration of antiviral drug, Relenza, following death of influenza patient

MarketWatch reports that Glaxo and the FDA have "warned doctors about the proper use of the antiviral drug Relenza after receiving a report of an influenza patient who died after receiving the drug through a mechanical ventilator."

You can boost your immune system by eating less salt and salty food, and by avoiding dieting. Good nutrition is the safest medicine.

Protect your pets from salt and salty food. Salty food causes obesity in dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.

If you have an overweight pet dog, cat or rabbit, it is overweight because of eating food containing added salt, e.g. leftovers from your takeaway meal. This is bad for them. Give them unsalted food instead. They will lose weight, have more energy and live longer.

The same applies to overweight owners of pets...(o:

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Sodium in foods

Vulnerable groups

Children and Obesity

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Associated health conditions

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

Is there enough evidence to support the policy of immunising people against seasonal flu?

BBC News reports the claim of an expert, Tom Jefferson, in the British Medical Journal, that there is not enough evidence to support the policy of immunising people against seasonal flu. Mr Jefferson, who works for the Cochrane Library, a body that determines the relative effectiveness of health interventions, has found that flu vaccines have "little or no effect on many influenza campaign objectives such as hospital stay, time off work, or death from influenza and its complications." He believes a re-evaluation of the evidence is urgently necessary, in view of the financial cost to the taxpayer of flu campaigns.

My own concerns about vaccines, as about other prescribed pharmaceutical medications, are about their safety and ubiquity, as well as their effectiveness or otherwise. When pharmaceutical drugs do harm patients, as they so very often do, this costs the drug companies so little financially or in any other way, that there is little to spur them into ensuring the safety of their products. See Drug firms dodge swine flu liability

You can boost your immunity by optimising your nutrition. Good nutrition has no adverse side-effects.

How unlawful interference, threats and propaganda lead to the Irish voting ‘Yes’ to the Lisbon Treaty

See http://www.eu-facts.org/en/ireland/irishyesvote.html

Swollen/distended veins/blood vessels are not the result of obesity; they are the CAUSE of obesity.

Swollen/distended veins/blood vessels are not the result of obesity; they are the CAUSE of obesity.

Some people, i.e. the people who tend to gain excess weight, are sensitive to salt. If they eat salt or food containing added salt they naturally get thirsty and so they drink water or some beverage containing water in order to quench their thirst. Unfortunately they are not able later to excrete all the excess salt (sodium) and the excess water that the salt has attracted to itself. Some of that excess salt water has entered their blood vessels and stayed there, and that fluid retention is causing distended veins AND WEIGHT GAIN. This is not what happens with slim people. If slim people eat salt or salty food and if they then become thirsty and drink to allay their thirst this does not make them gain weight. - Why? - Because their veins/blood vessels have strong enough walls to withstand the influx of the salt and water and also their kidneys are working well so the excess salt and water are quickly processed by the kidneys to be excreted in the urine when they urinate.

THAT'S the basic difference between fat and slim people. - Slim people are able to excrete excess salt and the water it attracts to itself; fat people's blood vessels are compromised and so they retain some of the excess salt and water and swell and so gain weight.

It is as simple - and as difficult - as that. - Obesity is on the increase NOT because more people are 'overeating', but because more and more people are becoming sensitive to salt, i.e. more and more people have weakened blood vessels and impaired kidney function. I have a webpage about this problem and these people: - Vulnerable groups

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Sodium in foods

Children and Obesity

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Health expert warns of cancer danger from some anti-ageing creams.

Health expert warns of cancer danger from some anti-ageing creams. See Telegraph report. "Many products claiming to rid skin of wrinkles and fine lines actually strip away the protective top layer and leave it vulnerable to sun damage and dangerous toxins, according to Dr Sam Epstein, chairman of the US Cancer Prevention Coalition."

Reducing salt and salty food reduces the risk of developing cancer.

Massive overuse of antipsychotics to treat elderly patients with dementia in UK's hospital wards.

The Telegraph reports on massive overuse of antipsychotics to treat elderly patients with dementia in UK's hospital wards. As well as the article itself, there is a letter today on the letters page of the Telegraph - a letter drawing attention to this scandalous abuse of the human rights of vulnerable citizens. The letter is signed by spokespeople for ten leading charities, carers groups and experts. These drugs cause serious side-effects and increase the risk of death. I am sure that the doctors who prescribe these dangerous drugs would run a mile from themselves being made to take the drugs! There is a similar situation in care homes - dementia patients being overprescribed this pharmaceutical junk, sometimes called a 'chemical cosh'.
But these facts are not new facts. They have long been known but nothing effective has been done to curb this abuse of NHS patients. The letter urges that the government crack down on this overprescribing. When I heard about this on the radio I gained the impression that it is doctors who are largely to blame. But the government must surely have the power to curb the reckless over-prescribing of drugs by our drug-obsessed doctors. - They should do so promptly. - I personally favour making it a criminal offence to prescribe this junk inappropriately, harming the patient. A few successful prosecutions would soon bring down the reckless prescribing rates of doctors.

Salbutamol asthma inhaler is failing more than one in ten children

Salbutamol asthma inhaler is failing more than one in ten children and may be making them more likely to suffer an asthma attack. See BBC News item.


Reducing intake of salt and salty food is helpful for anyone with asthma.

Holland and Barrett are banning beauty products that contain the chemicals Parabens or SLS

Holland and Barrett have announced that their "aim is to provide a toiletries range that is FREE from Parabens and Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)."

"Parabens are a group of chemicals used as preservatives and can be found in toiletries products such as shampoos, moisturisers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants and toothpaste, to which they are added to kill bacteria, prevent the growth of mould and prolong the shelf-life of products. There is concern regarding the potential toxic effects of the absorption of Parabens via the skin." And "Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) is commonly used in soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products as a foaming agent." Sodium Lauryl Sulphate dissolves the oils on your skin, which can cause skin irritation and drying, and there are concerns it may potentially cause more serious health risks. I know it caused serious scalp problems for a friend of mine who used to use shampoo that contained it.

I don't think I 've known about Parabens ever so long, but I've certainly known for several years that SLS is a baddie for the skin, and I'm glad to hear that Holland and Barrett have made this decisive move against having these potentially harmful ingredients in the products they sell. Maybe now that they have led the way, and publicised it, other retailers/manufacturers will follow and these undesirable ingredients will cease to be used in shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, etc.

Warning about risk of hypo attacks experienced by people with type 2 diabetes.

BBC News reports about risk of hypo attacks experienced by people with type 2 diabetes.

You can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by cutting down on salt and salty food.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Vulnerable groups

Sodium in foods

Beware the Great British SALTY Breakfast!

The Food Standards Agency is warning that British breakfasts tend to be high in salt, as is reported by the Telegraph today: Breakfast is often the saltiest meal of the day.

Rosemary Hignett, the FSA’s head of nutrition, says, among other things, "“We’re not suggesting people stop eating or even cut down on bread or breakfast cereals, as they are important part of a healthy diet." Unfortunately it is quite untrue for her to say that they are an important part of a healthy diet; they are not at all important to a healthy diet. It's about time the FSA clarified its thinking on this matter. They clearly have divided loyalties, but by kowtowing to the Food Industry they subvert the facts they should be presenting to consumers.

Top 10 foods which contribute most to our daily salt intake:

1. Bread

2. Meat products (that is processed meat products, e.g. sausages, bacon)

3. Breakfast cereals (e.g. Kellogg's cornflakes)

4. Cheese

5. Butter/spreads (Buy unsalted butter instead of salted butter.)

6. Baked beans

7. Ready meals

8. Soups

9. Pizzas

10. Crisps and snacks

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Vulnerable groups

Sodium in foods

Children and Obesity

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

You don't need 'smart drugs' to improve your academic performance. - Just cut down on salt and salty food.

You don't need 'smart drugs' to improve your academic performance. - You really don't. - You can improve your academic performance by just cutting down on salt and salty food - and giving up dieting, of course.

Sodium in foods

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html

Cancer patients recover faster from gastrointestinal surgery if given liquid food directly into the intestine

BBC News reports on a study that finds that cancer patients recover faster from gastrointestinal surgery if given liquid food directly into the intestine. It appears that, amazingly, it had previously been thought nutrition hampered patients' recovery!! - I wonder who was the half-witted originator of this strange idea? "Oesophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancer patients usually fast, or are nil by mouth, for up to 10 days after gastrointestinal surgery." It must have harmed many thousands of cancer patients over the years...)o:

Anyway, thankfully, they have now found "that patients given nutrition directly into the intestine through a feeding tube recovered around three days faster than those who were fasted and only given basic hydration." And there are also fewer complications, so as well as saving patients needless extra suffering, costs to the NHS will be lower and there will be fewer bed shortages.

You can lower your risk of cancer by cutting down on salt and salty food.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Researchers claim that more than half of babies now born in the UK and other wealthy nations will live to 100 years

BBC News reports claim by researchers that "More than half of babies now born in the UK and other wealthy nations will live to 100 years."

I think they're wrong there. I think the continuing rise in the incidence and severity of obesity, accompanied as it tends to be by a host of co-morbidities - diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart disease, depression, et al, will greatly lower the average life expectancy and will also lower the proportion of the population that attains very long life.

My pessimistic outlook on this matter could be entirely turned round, however, if the powerful and influential medical lobbies could be prevailed upon to tell the truth about the causes of obesity, but this appears unlikely, as they have too much to gain by continuing with the lie that 'overeating' causes obesity and the other lie that 'just eating less and exercising more' reduces obesity, and too much to lose by telling the truth.

The main causes of obesity are pharmaceutical drug side-effects, salty processed food, dieting and, overwhelmingly, misinformation from the 'experts'.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Vulnerable groups

Sodium in foods

Children and Obesity

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Associated health conditions

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted from my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Taken Together Help to Prevent Cancer

An article published in the Sept 2009 issue of Anticancer Research suggests that vitamin D supplements may better be used together with calcium supplements to prevent cancer. Low, insufficient or deficient vitamin D is now considered as a risk factor by many researchers for various types of cancer. For example, scientists suggest that maintaining high levels of vitamin D can reduce risk of breast cancer by up to 70 percent.
Read article at foodconsumer.org

Court rejects GM sugar beets

Court rejects genetically modified sugar beets
The government illegally approved a genetically modified, herbicide-resistant strain of sugar beets without adequately considering the chance they will contaminate other beet crops, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White rejected the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision in 2005 to allow Monsanto Co. to sell the sugar beets, known as "Roundup-Ready" because they are engineered to coexist with Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.
Read article in the San Francisco Chronicle (USA)

High dose Vitamin D supplements significantly reduce falls in older people.

High dose Vitamin D supplements significantly reduce falls and fractures in the over-65s as Herald.ie reports. Extract from the report:

"People aged 65 and above should take high-dose vitamin D supplements to help stop them falling over, a team of European and US researchers said yesterday.

Senior citizens can cut their chance of falls by 19pc if they take between 17.5 microgrammes and 25 microgrammes of the vitamin as a daily supplement, the researchers from Zurich and Harvard claimed."

Well that's good news.

I've certainly felt stronger since I started taking vitamin D supplements some months ago.

Dirty ambulances pose infection risk

The Telegraph reports that "Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission said they found ''dirty'' vehicles and that staff for the East of England Ambulance Service were ''unsure'' about preventing infection."

It must be very difficult to keep ambulances properly clean, with so many people in and out of them all the time, but it seems a good idea to draw attention to the matter so that it can be improved.

Vitamin D deficiency in younger women increases risk of hypertension

Vitamin D deficiency in younger women increases risk of high blood pressure
Vitamin D deficiency in premenopausal women may increase the risk of developing systolic hypertension 15 years later, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's 63rd High Blood Pressure Research Conference.
Read article at physorg.com

Cutting down on salt and salty food reduces high blood pressure.

A No vote on the Lisbon Treaty would not harm the Irish Republic.

The Mad Hatter told Alice that "words mean what you want them to mean." He would have been at home in the European Union, where "no" means "yes" and political propaganda is passed off as information.
Read article in the Wall Street Journal (USA)
Comment: To learn the facts about the European Union and its dark history, click here. For further information on the Lisbon Treaty, click here.

Do you think it would be a good idea to sell cigarettes in plain white packets?

BBC News article considers whether plain white packets for cigarettes would be a good idea to help to reduce smoking. I would favour this. I think it would reduce the numbers of children tempted to start smoking, and therefore save a lot of avoidable illness and suffering.

One good thing: from today it is "a legal requirement for all packs of cigarettes to carry a graphic health warning, showing such images as diseased lungs and deeply yellowed teeth."