Today is World Diabetes Day

Today, November 14th 2011, is World Diabetes Day. November 14th was the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, the Nobel Laureate who, in 1922, discovered insulin. If you have diabetes, I believe you would find the following articles interesting:

Paleolithic diet much better for diabetics than conventional ‘diabetes diet’

Vitamin D has potential to combat Type 2 diabetes

Conflicts of interest rife in those setting diabetes and cholesterol guidelines

Study indicates 'bad' cholesterol not as bad as people think

The so-called "bad cholesterol" - low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL - may not be so bad after all, shows a Texas A&M University study that casts new light on the cholesterol debate, particularly among adults who exercise.
Read article at medicalxpress.com
Comment: A scientific review of 22 cholesterol lowering trials published in the British Medical Journal in 1992 concluded that lowering serum cholesterol concentrations does not reduce mortality and is unlikely to prevent coronary heart disease.

Interested in cholesterol and saturated fats?

Interested in cholesterol and saturated fats?- Then spare 2 minutes 35 seconds to watch the little video on this webpage. And read this new article by Dr Briffa. If you eat those special margarines that promise cholesterol-reducing (like Benecol and Flora pro.activ) you may like to think again about whether they may be harming the cells of your heart.

Unsubstantiated claim that lower British death rates are 'due to rise in statins use'

This really is a preposterous claim. Read Dr Briffa's blogpost about it. And click on the 'statins' label beneath this post to see my previous posts about statins.

To reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes and to lower cholesterol it is not necessary to take statins (expensive and have adverse side-effects). The safe, sure, swift, drug-free way to reduce all heart problems, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol, is to avoid/reduce intake of salt and salty food. This brings a host of other health benefits too and it makes you feel better and have more energy. Read how lowering salt/sodium helped Ray Hayden.

Incredibly irresponsible suggestion to provide statin medication to accompany meals in fast food outlets

BBC News reports that Dr Darrel Francis et al are recommending this measure to reduce the harm to health caused by eating junk food. Statins are pharmaceutical drugs that are prescribed for the purpose of lowering cholesterol levels and are claimed by this means to be drugs that benefit heart health. But as these researchers must certainly know, statins only rarely reduce health problems. Much more commonly they damage the health of the innocent patients who take them. Evidence for this - from reputable sources - abounds on the internet. Click on the statins link beneath this blogpost to see some of the evidence. Click here and here and here for a few more examples, and look up Dr Malcolm Kendrick's strong views on the subject of cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Anyone who wants to lower their cholesterol levels can do so without drugs. Simply cutting down on salt/sodium and salty food lowers cholesterol and also, much more importantly, lowers high blood pressure, lowers the risk of heart disease, heart attack, dementia, type 2 diabetes and many other degenerative illnesses, and reduces overweight by reducing fluid retention. And there are no adverse side-effects to cutting down on salt.

More bad news about cholesterol-lowering drugs

I recommend Dr Briffa's latest blog article on this subject. We read such a lot of inflated claims about statins and suchlike drugs, clearly underpinned by drug company cash and lobbying, and absurd suggestions that more and more people should take cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of their lives as a prophylactic measure, that it's a refreshing change when a medical practitioner throws cold water on all the hyperbole.

Dr Briffa impresses me with his industrious reading of research material and by his rendering it more comprehensible for his lay readers. His blog is easy to navigate and contains a wealth of interesting articles.

Personally, although as a steroid victim my cholesterol reading is higher than it otherwise would be, I would never consider taking the drugs claimed/designed to lower it, partly because I've read so much negative stuff about them, but mainly because the best and safest measures to reduce risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke, are to avoid salt and salty food, eat good nutritious meals, avoid taking unnecessary pharmaceutical drugs and abandon dieting.

I've been looking at Kellogg's Optivita. I see that it contains no added salt. - Hurray!

I've been looking at Kellogg's Optivita. I see that it contains no added salt. - Hurray!

It says on the pack "*Kellogg's Optivita can help lower cholesterol because it contains Oat Beta Glucan, the most effective part of the oat." - Well for all I know, that could well be true.

But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that it contains no added salt/sodium - and lowering sodium intake DEFINITELY lowers cholesterol levels and reduces your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc.

I see they have added potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. (Sodium chloride is the chemical name for common table salt.) - Why can't the Food Standards Agency get some bread manufacturers to make some bread products using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride, to benefit most people's health? - And don't tell me that salt is necessary for the bread-making process, 'cos I don't believe that for one moment. - I make my own bread, in a bread-maker, and I don't add salt, and it doesn't stop the bread rising or anything. The bread just doesn't keep as long. But bread is better eaten fresh in any case.

Optivita still contains a helluva a lot of sugar though. (Rhetorical question: Why do breakfast cereal manufacturers think that consumers want cereals that are sickly sweet and rot their teeth?)

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

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

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

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 help. My help is free.

Yet Another Plug for Healthy People to Take Statins...

The Telegraph reports that statins are once again in the news, with researchers again advocating that healthy people should take statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs. An extraordinary claim is made in the report:

"Cathy Ross, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "It is well established that most people with heart and circulatory disease benefit from taking statins.

"This study brings together evidence from several clinical trials to highlight that statins can benefit people who don't have symptoms of heart and circulatory disease, termed 'primary prevention'."

I urge you to read about nnt (number needed to treat) here. There you will find that very few people actually do benefit from taking statins. The vast majority of people who take them do not benefit, despite having the bother of taking them every day for years.

Far more people experience unpleasant side-effects from statins than benefit from them. The chief benefit of statins is to the drug companies who manufacture and sell them.

The best, cheapest, and most effective way to lower your risk of heart attack, reduce heart disease, lower high cholesterol levels, lower high blood pressure, reduce excess weight and benefit your health in a host of other ways with no adverse side-effects whatsover is to reduce your intake of salt and salty food as much as you can. Salt/Sodium reduction is of especial benefit to people who already have heart and circulatory disease or high blood pressure, or are overweight, etc. Salt reduction is real 'primary prevention'.

I don't know why the British Heart Foundation persists in banging the drum for statins, instead of stressing the many huge benefits of sodium reduction. - What's in it for them? Why do they want more and more people taking drugs - even when there is nothing the matter with them? - What's in it for them?

Very often it is prescription drugs that cause heart problems, etc. in the first place...)o: - drugs like steroids, HRT, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics and many more that are frequently over-prescribed and frequently unmonitored. It's best to avoid prescription drugs unless you feel they are really necessary. As a whole, they do far more harm than good.

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 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

And see Sodium in foods and

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

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

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

False Health Claims for Cheerios Violate Federal Law

Bloomberg reports that Cheerios are in trouble because of claiming to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

I'd like to point out that Cheerios is extremely high in salt/sodium, and so for this reason too, cannot possibly be regarded as a healthy 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 and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it!

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

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

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

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers

Children and Obesity

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

AstraZeneca's Crestor fails in new heart-failure study

AstraZeneca Plc's cholesterol drug Crestor has failed in a second clinical trial for heart failure, suggesting such statin medicines don't improve survival in patients with the chronic condition. Patients given Crestor proved just as likely to die early or be admitted to hospital with cardiovascular problems as those on standard therapy alone, researchers told the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting.
Read news report at reuters.com

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

And see Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

Eating dark chocolate every day could help guard against heart disease and stroke, new research has suggested.

Dark chocolate diet reduces risk of stroke and heart disease, study suggests
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Patients with raised blood pressure who treated themselves to one 100 gramme bar per day saw their health improve significantly over a two week trial period.

The study led by scientists in America and Italy looked at 19 patients with high blood pressure.

For two weeks, the patients were given 100 grammes of white chocolate, which is not rich in flavanols - a health-giving antioxidant found in dark chocolate.

Their blood pressure and cholesterol levels were then measured.

After the fortnight their diet was changed so that they were given dark chocolate instead of white chocolate. After two weeks of eating dark chocolate, their blood pressure readings showed an impressive reduction. On average, their blood pressures fell by three millimetres of mercury."

I personally favour chocolate because it very seldom contains much salt so it is not 'fattening' - despite the widespread misinformation that claims that it is fattening.

It's also good for you because it is rich in magnesium, which helps to counter fluid retention, the cause of obesity.

But as regards blood pressure and cholesterol levels, the very best course of action of all is to avoid salt and salty food. This lowers both significantly and makes you feel much better.

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

vulnerable groups

See Sodium in foods

Associated health conditions

More than a million people will be put on statins on the NHS to lower their cholesterol level and prevent heart attacks, under NICE guidelines.

Statins to be given to a million more over-40s

Extract from the Telegraph:

"GPs are urged to trawl the records of patients aged 40 and over to find anyone with a one in five chance of having a heart attack or stroke and call them in for advice and drugs.

Four million people already take statins, mostly after heart attacks. But the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) wants healthy people deemed at high risk of an attack or a stroke within 10 years to have preventive drugs as well.

That would put 1.5 million more on medication and should prevent an extra 15,000 heart attacks, strokes and new cases of angina each year.

It will cost £28 million to implement in the first year.

Nice recommends checking the records of everyone aged between 40 and 75 to flag up those at high risk and call them in for lifestyle advice and consider prescribing 40mg of simvastatin, which costs about 4p per person each day.

That will be controversial as it will put healthy people on medication and the drug has to be taken for the rest of a patient's life. Statins reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by about a quarter."

This is absolutely disgraceful. - There is no need at all for healthy people to be put on drugs - drugs with many adverse, unpleasant side-effects - for the rest of their lives in order to reduce their risk of heart disease. - The drug-free, cost-free, totally safe and extremely effective way to reduce heart disease and stroke and to reduce high cholesterol is to avoid eating salt and salty food. - People should be told the truth about the effects of salt sensitivity and decisions made about drug recommendations should not be made in order to bring profit to the iniquitous drug companies.

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

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (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

Children and Obesity

vulnerable groups

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

advice for pregnant mothers

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

Fraudulent claims were made about cholesterol-lowering drug.

Extract from http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/THE_FOUNDATION/vitorin_study_2008jan.html

"Hundreds of millions of people worldwide (100 million in the USA) again have their health and lives put at risk in order to increase profits for the drug companies!

Newly released information about the study with Vytorin, a widely prescribed cholesterol lowering drug, reveals that the drug does nothing to reduce plaque build up in the arteries. Just the opposite – using Vytorin doubled plaque growth and led to an increase in heart attacks and strokes. The study, conducted on 720 patients (most in the Netherlands) with high blood cholesterol levels, tested the effects of Vytorin (a "multi-drug" combining Zocor, a statin which inhibits cholesterol production in the liver; and Zetia, a drug that inhibits cholesterol absorption in the intestine). Although Vytorin lowered cholesterol levels in the blood by about 20% more than Zocor alone, it did not show any beneficial effects on slowing down progression of heart disease - it worsened it! Although some people may be surprised with the result, we at the Dr. Rath Research Institute are not.

More than a decade ago, Dr. Rath presented scientific evidence that indiscriminate lowering of cholesterol does not prevent heart attacks and strokes. This is because high cholesterol is a symptom but not the cause of heart disease. The production of cholesterol increases in response to weakening of the structure of the arteries of the heart and the need for their biological "repair". The most frequent reason for such weakening is impaired production of collagen – the building material of the blood vessel wall – which is caused by insufficient intake of micronutrients in our diet, such as vitamin C, Lysine, vitamin B6, copper and others. If these nutrients are not supplied, then cholesterol starts depositing in the arteries which with time leads to clogging of the blood flow, heart attacks and strokes. The cholesterol-based theory of heart disease does not explain why we are getting heart attacks but not nose or other organs attacks, why blockages occur in the arteries not veins, or many other aspects of heart disease. This theory only serves as a marketing tool for cholesterol lowering drugs."

You can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke by eating less salt. This also lowers high cholesterol levels. There are no adverse effects from reducing salt/sodium intake.

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

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (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

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

See FAT RETENTION

Children and Obesity

All men over 50 'should be offered heart pills' is the foolish opinion of the Government's heart tsar!

All men over 50 'should be offered heart pills' - Independent

Extract:

"Every man over 50 should be offered a pill to cut their risk of a heart attack, according to the Government's heart tsar.

Mass medication of the population would be the best way of cutting Britain's high rate of deaths due to cardiovascular disease, which claims more than 200,000 lives a year, said Roger Boyle, the National Director for Heart Disease.

But he acknowledged that the public was not yet ready to accept such an approach which would turn millions of "healthy" people into patients and draw accusations of a nanny state.

He called for a public debate on the pros and cons of "medicalising" the population by treating millions more people with statins - drugs to reduce cholesterol which are already saving thousands of lives. For women, whose risk is lower, treatment would be offered at the age of 60, he suggested.

Statins have been described as wonder drugs because they can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by a third, if the dose used is high enough, and have few side-effects. Three million patients are taking statins in England, which are preventing an estimated 10,000 deaths a year at an annual cost of £550m.

The number is set to double to six million patients under new guidance lowering the threshold for treatment published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) in June.

Dr Boyle, who takes a statin himself - "the cheapest available" - said that since the mid- 1990s, when Britain was the heart disease capital of the world, the death rate had fallen by 36 per cent, thanks in part to the increased use of statins.

"It is not perfect yet but we have seen substantial improvement," he said. "We now need to move on. Despite the reduction in the death rate, cardiovascular disease is still the main cause of death, more than for all cancers combined. We have still got a huge task. We may no longer be the cardiovascular disease capital of the world but in a nation such as ours we ought to be achieving optimal results.""

Dr James LeFanu's articles (click on tab below this post) on the adverse side-effects of statins have made clear that they are at best a very mixed blessing, and at worst no blessing at all.

Cholesterol levels can be safely lowered at no cost and without drugs by lowering intake of salt and salty food. This would also, independently, lower high blood pressure and obesity, lower the risk of developing late onset diabetes, stroke and heart disease/attack and many other degenerative conditions including most cancers.

It's what you could call 'a no-brainer'...(o:

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
(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

See Sodium in foods and Associated health conditions

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

Air pollution increases risk of heart attack and stroke. So does eating salt and salty food.

Pollution 'increases heart attack risk' - Telegraph

Extract:

"Exposure to air pollution multiplies the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes caused by high cholesterol, scientists say.

Researchers have identified how tiny particles in exhaust fumes combine with low density lipoprotein (LDL) fats - so-called "bad" cholesterol - to cause blocked arteries.

The findings suggest that those who have been told they are at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes should try to avoid living in polluted areas.

Dr André Nel, a medical expert at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and lead author of the study, said: "When you add one plus one, it normally totals two, but we found that adding diesel particles to cholesterol fats equals three.

"Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what's caused by the diesel or cholesterol alone."

Chemicals that coat particles can trigger the inflammation of blood vessels, which encourages the build-up of cholesterol deposits.

This process increases the risk of blood clots that trigger heart attacks and strokes."


You can also lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
(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

See Sodium in foods and Associated health conditions

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

More about the benefits of giving up statins...

They're all going on a statin holiday - Dr James LeFanu writing in The Sunday Telegraph

Dr LeFanu gives further evidence of the health and wellbeing benefits of patients who have given up taking their prescribed statins. - Of one woman he writes: "Since the start of her statin holiday a month ago, she sleeps well, with greatly increased energy, her rashes have cleared, her hair has regained its lift, her memory has improved and her writing skills returned. Her family doctor, she says, is "amazed". Those interested should read Dr Malcolm Kendrick's witty The Great Cholesterol Con (ISBN 978-1-84454-360-1)."

You can safely reduce cholesterol levels by minimising your intake of salt and salty food. There is sufficient sodium and chloride for the body's needs in fresh, unsalted food and drink without salting it. This will also lower the risk/severity of many other conditions of ill-health and you will find you have much more energy and vitality. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/conditions.html and
http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/sodium_foods.html

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - 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.)

Diabetics warned about heart disease

Diabetics given heart risk alert - Telegraph

Extract:

"Almost two million Britons with diabetes are at risk of dying from heart disease, it was claimed yesterday.

The figure follows an assessment of how well cardiovascular risk factors are being managed in people with diabetes.

A report from the charity Diabetes UK said many diabetics are failing to reach target levels for key risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol. As a result, 80 per cent of the 2.2 million diabetics in Britain were likely to die from cardiovascular disease."

The best way to guard against heart disease is to give up eating salt and salty food. This also reduces obesity, lowers blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels.

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - 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.)

Pistachios lower risk of heart disease and problems with cholesterol levels

Pistachios lower risk of heart disease - Telegraph

Extract:

"Pistachios in the diet can significantly reduce cholesterol and help prevent narrowing of the arteries, according to researchers.

One or two handfuls of the nuts can make a big enough difference to lower the risk of heart disease, say scientists.

Volunteers who ate three ounces of pistachios a day for one month lowered their total blood cholesterol by 8.4 per cent. Levels of "bad" cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fell by 11.6 per cent. The balance between LDL and "good" cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), was also changed. Participants on the pistachio diet had less LDL relative to HDL after four weeks.

HDL is protective rather than harmful and lower ratios between the two kinds of cholesterol are considered to be healthy. The volunteers were given pistachios as a daily snack and also had them incorporated into other foods.

The researcher Sarah Gebauer, from Pennsylvania State University, said: "Pistachio amounts of 1.5 ounces and three ounces - one to two handfuls - reduced risk for cardiovascular disease by significantly reducing LDL cholesterol levels and the higher dose significantly reduced lipoprotein ratios."

The simplest and most effective way to lower cholesterol levels and to lower the risk of heart disease is to stop eating salt and salty food. This benefits health in many other ways too. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/conditions.html

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - 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.)

More criticism of statins: - doubts are being raised over whether statins really live up to the hype about them

So much for the wonder drug - Sunday Telegraph

Extracts:

"More than three per cent of the population are now taking statins, at a cost to the NHS of £730 million last year. They have gained the reputation of being something of a wonder drug and are now prescribed not just for patients already suffering from heart disease but also for those identified as being at risk of developing cardiac problems in the future. The Government claims that its policy of encouraging the prescription of statins saves up to 7,000 lives a year.

Now, though, doubts are being raised over whether statins really live up to the hype. Dr James LeFanu, medical columnist of The Sunday Telegraph, highlighted the issue a month ago - and has since received more than 400 letters from readers who have had a less than happy experience with the drugs."

"So far, the Government and the medical establishment disagree with Dr LeFanu and those patients who have stopped taking their statins. The biggest British study into the effectiveness of the drug, published in The Lancet five years ago, followed 20,536 patients who took simvastatin or a placebo over five years. It concluded that for high-risk patients, the drug could cut the risk of heart attacks, strokes or the need for surgery to unblock arteries by about one third. Critically, it said prescribing should be widened to cover increasing numbers of patients, because it had been shown the drug was "so well tolerated and safe".

But the study, funded by the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation, was unusual in one significant respect. Of 63,603 patients screened to take part in the trial, about half - 32,145 - were selected as eligible. Of these, more than one third were subsequently excluded, following a "run-in period" where they tried the drug for up to six weeks. Reasons for their exclusion varied. Overall, 26 per cent either dropped out or were deemed by researchers to be unlikely to keep taking the drugs for the full five years. A further 10 per cent were excluded because their GPs warned of increased risks due to existing health conditions. Others were excluded because of apparent side-effects, such as rising levels of liver enzymes and creatine, and, in some cases, developing muscle weakness.

So, of the 63,603 initially selected, only 20,536 continued - a mere 32 per cent. The chairman of the British Heart Foundation, Professor Peter Weissberg, admits: "It tried everyone on the drug and only the ones who didn't have side-effects were continued. That is unusual, but dozens of other trials have looked at this in a more standard way and have concluded that the side-effects are not major. One of the problems with clinical trials will always be the drop-out rate. The key thing to establish with this trial was: if you take this drug, does it save your life or not? It concluded that it does.""

It's also worth looking at relative risk and number needed to treat

Lose weight AND lower your high cholesterol level AND lower your risk of heart attack by eating less salt! Go on! - 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.)

Food scientists have done tests and say they have evidence that organic produce is better for us than non-organic.

Organic IS healthier, say food scientists

Extracts:

"As the debate rages on about whether organically grown food is better for us than the "conventional" produce we have become used to, a new study sides firmly with organic.
Scientists found that some organic food is more healthy after tests on kiwi fruit grown by both methods.

The American researchers discovered that organically grown kiwis had significantly higher levels of vitamin C and polyphenols - compounds associated with health benefits including reducing cholesterol, improving circulation and preventing cancer."

"The researchers compared organic and non-organic kiwis grown next to each other on a farm in Marysville, California, at the same time. They found levels of sugars and acids were almost identical, so the flavour would be similar.

The organic fruit was darker and had thicker skin - likely to have developed as part of its defence against pests in the absence of pesticides.

It had 17 per cent more polyphenols - antioxidants that reduce the production in the body of harmful chemicals called free radicals. The organic produce was also found to have 14 per cent more vitamin C and greater concentrations of several important minerals such as potassium and calcium."