Hands up! - Who thinks pain is caused by a shortage of aspirin in the body? - Or by lack of antidepressants?

Hands up! - Who thinks pain is caused by a shortage of aspirin in the body? - Or by lack of antidepressants? - Well I hope that none of you has your hand up. I hope that when you think about it you agree with me that pain is your body's signal to your brain that there is something wrong with your body. You know the sort of thing: you step on something sharp when you are walking around barefoot and you feel pain. If your body hadn't sent the message to your brain you might be unaware that there was something wrong and might continue walking with the wound exposed to possible infection. - And I hope you agree with me that the way to deal with the pain is to deal with what is causing the pain, i.e. move your foot away from the sharp stone, clean up the wound and apply a sticking plaster or bandage, perhaps, to keep it clean and prevent infection. You need to deal not with the pain, but with the cause of the pain. And the cause of pain is in your body, not in your mind.

Now if you happen to think that the way to deal with pain is to 'kill' it, with aspirin or another pain-killer, then I wonder if you are someone employed in the pharmaceutical industry perhaps? or a shareholder in a drug company? - Or one of their dupes? - And if you think that pain is caused by 'depression', are you a medical student or doctor who has been conditioned/brainwashed to believe such nonsense by attending lectures and seminars funded by drug manufacturers who need medics to prescribe drugs in order to swell their profits? - Or are you a dentist who believes that a woman who has agonising toothache is only 'claiming' to be in agony because that belief allows you, the dentist, a good way of covering up when you or your colleagues have failed by incompetence or negligence to diagnose an acute abscess and you lack the moral courage and honesty to admit your fault/mistake? And are you more afraid of criticism and humiliation than you are afraid of leaving a fellow human being in needless, prolonged agony which appropriate dental treatment would remedy or ameliorate...

Remember, pain is a signal from the body to the brain. A signal to you that there is something wrong with your body. It is one of your body's defence mechanisms. It is not a signal to someone other than you that you are 'depressed'. That does not make evolutionary sense. - It is a very foolish idea. Do not entertain it.

Is salt fattening? - Yes, salt is fattening for some people.

Is salt fattening? - Yes, it is fattening for some people. - Salt is fattening for people who suffer from excess fluid retention. You can read here about the groups of people who are vulnerable to salt, and whose health and weight would be improved if they were to cut down on salt and salty food. They would also feel much better in themselves.

World Down's Syndrome Day and Lucy Harris

World Down's Syndrome Day is observed on March 21st. This post is a few days past that date, but never mind. Lucy Harris is a five-year-old who was born with the condition, and her father Terry Harris is a photographer. The Harris family have compiled a photographic exhibition to mark World Down's Syndrome Day and it has opened in Peterborough. I invite you to watch the videoclip on this BBC news webpage and share it with your friends to help more people to understand Down's Syndrome better.

The simplest and safest way to reduce premenstrual tension/syndrome

The simplest and safest way to reduce premenstrual tension/syndrome is to to cut down on salt and salty food. I invite you to read this webpage.

You can easily and safely reduce fat retention without using drugs, without reducing fat intake and without using liposuction

You can easily and safely reduce fat retention without using drugs, without reducing fat intake and without using liposuction. Read here about simple dietary measures (NOT dieting!) you can take to reduce fat retention and excess weight.

Were your varicose veins caused by the drugs you were prescribed?

Were your varicose veins caused by the drugs you were prescribed? - Mine were. - You can read about my experience here, where you will also be able to read about how to reduce similar harm done to your veins and to other systems of your body.

If you are going to start taking prescribed steroids, e.g. prednisone, or prescribed antidepressants, e.g. amitriptyline, you would be wise to avoid food containing added salt

If you are going to start taking prescribed HRT or steroids, e.g. prednisone, or prescribed antidepressants, e.g. amitriptyline, you would be wise to avoid food containing added salt/sodium. See my webpages http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html and http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/ami.html. See also my webpage about salt/sodium in food.

What has happened to Jules?

What has happened to Jules? - Her visits were like busy little rays of sunshine; now she is a sniffling, fetid fog of misery. Has Jules become a battered wife? or, too tired to cook, has she taken to eating processed crap instead of food?

Many restaurant meals contain too much salt

BBC News reports that a "survey of nearly 700 popular meals served in celebrity chef and High Street restaurants found half were high in salt - equivalent to a red traffic light label on a supermarket product. From their research, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) discovered that the 13 saltiest main meals contained more than the maximum recommended daily intake of 6g of salt."

To give Consensus Action on Salt and Health its due, it keeps on checking salt levels in various food products and in various establishments that serve meals, and it keeps on bringing out reports which draw attention to the continued high levels of salt that are potentially harmful to consumers. Professor Graham  MacGregor reminds us that "Salt puts up our blood pressure, and as a result, thousands of people die unnecessarily each year from strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. Whilst efforts have been made by foods in supermarkets to use less salt, chefs' preference for saltier foods is preventing further progress. It's clear from our survey that some chefs are not listening to their customers."

I just wish that, as well as drawing attention to high salt intake increasing blood pressure and causing premature deaths from strokes, heart attacks and heart failure, health experts would inform people that salt intake is a major factor in problems of obesity, child obesity and morbid obesity. This is especially the case for people who take or have taken prescribed steroids, HRT, antidepressants, some contraceptive medications, anti-convulsant/anti-epileptic drugs, anti-psychotics, and some other prescription drugs.

Read about how to lose weight by eating less salt and salty food.

To reduce the obesity caused by prescribed steroids or HRT

To reduce the obesity caused by prescribed steroids or HRT, there is helpful advice on this page.

When a church does not know the difference between right and wrong

I invite you to read this farewell letter to the Pope by The Ethical Nag.

What's the difference between South African state police killing an innocent taxi-driver and UK state NHS staff killing innocent patients?

What's the difference between South African state police killing an innocent taxi-driver and UK NHS staff killing innocent patients?
 

Is there one? - Yes. - The South African police involved have been arrested...