Cave Salem!

If my blog and I were transported back in time, and you, Dear Reader, were an Ancient Roman, then I might well say to you, "Cave salem!" thus giving you a bit of advice to improve your health. Though of course, as an Ancient Roman, you would not be particularly in need of that bit of advice...(o: 

 

But in our present-day culture, and speaking in English, I say, "Beware of salt!" and that is a very necessary warning for most people, because there is way too much added salt in our modern diets. The Food Industry ladles a great deal of salt into the ready meals and other processed food products it manufactures. - Excessive salt intake may well be contributing to your weight problem, or to your high blood pressure and breathlessness. It may well have been the main factor in the stroke or heart attack you had or any/all of the chronic ill-health you suffer. - Be that as it may, if you cut down on the amount of salt and salty food you eat, you will feel ever so much better, have more energy and think more clearly. Give it a try! - Read about salt in food.

British Health Foundation warns that severe heart failure can feel like drowning

British Heart Foundation warns that severe heart failure can feel like drowning.

The British Heart Foundation is currently warning that severe heart failure can feel like drowning, as is reported in this BBC News article today. "There is no cure for heart failure, which can lead to extreme exhaustion and breathlessness." The BHF is aiming to raise funds for its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal: ""We aim to raise money to carry out basic research into regenerative medicine. Stem cells could help by offering therapeutic interventions." 

The BHF is primarily a drug-oriented charity (see Health Campaigning Charities), with a heavy emphasis on the controversial drug family of statins. It always seems to me such a pity that they so rarely inform people that cutting down on salt and salty food can bring about dramatic improvements in heart health, e.g. helping with problems of breathlessness, reducing the size of an enlarged heart, reducing the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and heart attack, as well as a host of other degenerative conditions, including being overweight or obese. Salt reduction is particularly appropriate for overweight that involves fluid retention. If you want to help people who suffer from breathlessness, whether caused by heart problems or by asthma, or simply by being overweight, you could do them a big favour by telling them of the benefits that salt reduction can bring. 

(I apologise for my typo in the title of this post. - It should say British Heart Foundation, not British Health Foundation.)

IOM presses FDA to set new federal standards for the amount of salt that food manufacturers and restaurants be allowed to add to their products

This WebMD article reports that the Institute of Medicine is calling for the FDA to set mandatory standards for safe levels of sodium, using their existing authority to regulate salt as a food additive.

Not before time! Most people have surely encountered the message that lowering sodium intake can reduce high blood pressure, as well as reducing the risk of stroke, heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure, type 2 diabetes and many other degenerative diseases. Unfortunately most people do not know that lowering sodium intake, i.e. cutting down on salt and salty food, is also the fastest, safest and simplest way to lose excess weight.

The trouble is that there are many vested interests seeking to keep consumers salt intake high. It suits food manufacturers to add more salt than is healthy for a number of reasons. Among these reasons: salt is a very cheap ingredient, and it is an ingredient that allows more water to be added (thus adding salt and water to ham enables salt and water to be sold at the same price as ham). Salt is also addictive for many people and so this keeps up the sales of salty products. And in the case of fast food restaurants, high salt levels produce increased thirst and therefore increased sale of drinks and enhanced profits.

Until mandatory salt restriction in foodstuffs comes about, we need to police our own intake of added salt and avoid it as far as we can.

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, boost your lung function 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

Sodium in foods

Fat retention and fat excretion: the importance of getting enough calcium.

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

Another Warning of Adverse Side-Effects of Simvastatin

The Telegraph reports on an American study which has found that "high doses can cause muscle damage and a rare condition which induces kidney problems and may be fatal."

Statins, of which this drug is an example, are taken by people to lower their cholesterol level and reduce the risk of having a heart attack. They cost the NHS a great deal of money because they are prescribed to millions of people, who take them every day, often for the rest of their lives. This makes them an obvious cash cow for the drug industry, but the benefit to patients is less obvious. See relative risk and number needed to treat. And painful side-effects are much more common than is usually admitted.

A cost-free, drug-free, completely safe way to reduce hypercholesterolaemia is to cut down on salt and salty food. Avoiding salt and salty food also reduces excess weight and the risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improves your health in countless other ways

Unfortunately, too many people benefit financially from conning the public into thinking that statins are a good and necessary therapy. If you click on the STATINS label beneath this post you will find further information about this controversial class of drugs.

Kellogg's to reduce high salt content of Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and other breakfast cereals

Kellogg's is to reduce the high salt content of Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes, Coco Pops and Ricicles, Frosties and Crunchy Nut, from March, as reported here. Well this is very good news. It will save a lot of suffering. The salt content of these junk cereals will still be high though, even after the reduction. "The move follows repeated warnings from the FSA that the nation is eating too much salt, calculating the average daily salt consumption is 8.6g, which is 43% above the recommended limit of 6g. The figure is linked to 14,200 premature deaths a year from conditions linked to high blood pressure, including strokes and heart attacks."

These cereals are especially unsuitable for toddlers and small children because children are more vulnerable to salt than adults are. High salt intake is a primary cause of child obesity.

See Children and Obesity
Sodium in foods

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, boost your lung function 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.
Fat retention and fat excretion: the importance of getting enough calcium.

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.

Omega 3 fish oil is being recommended to help prevent heart attacks

The Telegraph reports yet another benefit from taking omega 3 fish oil each day: less chance of having a heart attack. This fish oil is already believed to protect against strokes and some forms of cancer. Speaking personally, I take omega 3 fish oil capsules every day and I believe they do me good.

Another safe way to reduce your risk of heart disease/heart attack/stroke is to cut down on salt/sodium intake.

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

And see Sodium in foods and

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

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers

Children and Obesity

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

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

Denny's is being sued for serving food too high in salt

Jerry Hirsch of the Los Angeles Times reports that a "New Jersey Superior Court lawsuit alleges Denny's heavy use of salt puts "the restaurant chain's customers at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke." The lawsuit asks the court to order Denny's to list the sodium content of its food on the menu and warn about the hazards of consuming salt in high doses."

Very well done to the Center for Science in the Public Interest for filing a lawsuit on this issue! Highly salted food is extremely harmful to people with high blood pressure, people who are overweight, people with heart problems, cholesterol problems, kidney problems, liver problems, diabetes sufferers and a host of others.

Jerry Hirsch also informs us that "The group also has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to regulate salt as a food additive instead of an ingredient that is "generally regarded as safe." Such a change would make it easier to regulate sodium levels in food, such as by limiting the amounts permitted in various food categories."

That would be a very useful step to take. Salt/Sodium is clearly the most dangerous part of the meals Denny's serves. - Although regulatory authorities stress calorie content, the calorie content is largely irrelevant for health, since it is sodium content that mainly causes weight gain (in people who are sensitive to salt).

Remember:

If you're obese or overweight
SALT is the poison on your plate!
Margaret Wilde © 2008

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

And see Sodium in foods

FAT RETENTION

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Vulnerable groups

See advice for pregnant mothers

Children and Obesity

Associated health conditions

Statins are causing muscle damage in some patients.

Science Daily reports on a study "by researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland and the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, [who] looked at muscle biopsies from 83 patients, 20 of whom had never taken statins. They found significant muscle injury in patients who had taken statins, including several who had discontinued medication before the biopsy."

Many patients experience a lot of adverse side-effects from statins (drugs taken to lower harmful cholesterol levels and thereby to reduce cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, etc.). Many discontinue the medication because they find the side-effects too unpleasant. And of course, the side-effects can do lasting harm, even if you discontinue them.

Prescription drugs including many steroids, many antidepressants, anti-psychotics and epilepsy drugs as well as other pharmaceuticals, are a major cause of high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, brittle bones, etc. - Avoid taking prescription drugs unless they are absolutely necessary.

The most effective and the cheapest way to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and a multitude of other chronic health problems is to avoid eating salt and salty food. This is also a completely safe measure to take; reducing sodium intake has no bad side effects whatsoever. - You will also find, if you are overweight, that reducing salt reduces your excess weight.

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

And see Sodium in foods and

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

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers

Children and Obesity

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

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

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

Professor Malcolm Law is advocating mass medication to reduce blood pressure and the risk of stroke

Professor Malcolm Law is advocating mass medication - blood pressure drugs for ALL the over 55s for the rest of their lives - to reduce blood pressure and the risk of stroke. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8057850.stm

A bit extreme, don'tya think? - A bit OTT? - A bit daft? - I agree with you. - Makes you wonder whether it was a drug company that funded the research, doesn't it?

Here are the two safe, easy, rapid, drug-free ways to reduce your blood pressure and your risk of stroke and risk of a load of other illnesses too, as well as lowering your weight if you are overweight:

1. Avoid taking prescription drugs unless they are really necessary, because many of them actually CAUSE high blood pressure and risk of stroke and heart attack and type 2 diabetes, etc.

2. Cut down on salt/sodium 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 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

Britain's most-popular brands of bread could be banned from claiming health benefits of their very salty loaves, under draft EU regulations.

Bakers face ban on claiming salty breads are healthy
article in the Telegraph

Extracts:

"Bakers would no longer be able to market their products as "high in fibre" or "wholesome" if they contain more than 1g of salt per 100g.

Research in 2007 indicated that nearly half of loaves on supermarket shelves in Britain were above this threshold, indicating that the proposed rule could affect millions of loaves sold each year.

Major producers including Warburtons and Hovis are among the worst offenders, tests have shown, with some breads marked multigrain, organic or "diet" containing higher than recommended levels of salt.

Bread is the largest single source of salt in our diet and health experts say that cutting the amount used in baking could save 7,000 lives a year by reducing rates of heart attacks and strokes.

The EU limit is lower than a 1.1g per 100g target set for 2010 by the Food Standards Agency."

"The British Federation of Bakers said that the salt content of loaves had fallen substantially in recent years, and said that the EU regulations may include exemptions for certain types of loaf – including wholemeal and brown – by the time they are finalised next month."

I regard it as disgraceful that bread manufacturers have been allowed to manufacture and sell these high salt breads when it is known that high salt intake can and does harm health.

You can easily make your own bread by using a breadmaker and ensure that it has a much lower sodium content, especially if you use a lower sodium salt substitute instead of ordinary table salt.

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, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

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

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

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free. I am not a doctor or a dietician or a nutritionist. My website does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Millions more people could be put on statins to prevent heart attack experts said as research shows they are more effective than previously thought.

Statins cut risk of death even in healthy people, research finds
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"There have been calls for everyone over the age of 50 to be given drugs to lower the risk of a heart attack but this is controversial as many see it as needlessly medicalising healthy people.

Prof Roger Boyle, national director for heart disease and stroke, said the public was against a blanket approach to prescribe statins to everyone over 50 and so instead GPs will this year begin to assess the risk of a heart attack for all over 40s this year. He said the only constraint to the programme was how fast the assessments could be carried out and 'whether the public will accept the change from being a person to being a patient and taking medication long-term’.

“The research confirms the benefits of statins throughout the stages of heart disease and it is a powerful indicator of the safety of this kind of treatment,” he said."

I am, I STRESS, not a doctor and not medically qualified in any way. I do, however, have a brain and I use it. - To aim for everyone over the age of 50 to be taking statins - drugs with highly unpleasant side-effects for many people - every day for the rest of their lives is dangerous lunacy, calculated to benefit the drug companies and add to the power of the medical profession.

There is a drug-free and COST-FREE way to reduce high cholesterol levels and to reduce heart disease and heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure and a myriad other degenerative diseases, and this way has no unpleasant side-effects; it is completely safe. - But the advisers to the government and the members of the medical profession who, like me, know the facts about salt sensitivity/fluid retention/obesity, etc, but unlike me, do not have the courage/honesty to tell the truth about it, do not dare to to do what is necessary. - The Food Industry needs to have legal sanctions put on the amount of salt/sodium it adds to its pernicious processed food and ready meals, and the public needs to be told the truth. The aim should be, within a reasonable time-frame, to eliminate added salt completely from most processed food. The Medical Profession needs to have legal curbs put on its ever-growing reckless prescribing of the many drugs that cause salt sensitivity/fluid retention/obesity, etc. The lies/misinformation about the causes of obesity, etc need to be forsworn. They are the main cause of suffering and early death in this country (and in America and some other countries).

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!

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

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

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

The food industry is knowingly overusing a chemical that can cause crippling disease or early death. - That chemical is SALT.

Industry Not Lowering Sodium in Processed Foods, Despite Public Health Concerns
a webpage of Center for Science in the Public Interest

Extract:

""The food industry is knowingly overusing a chemical that can cause crippling disease or early death," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said. "Despite 30 years of unkept promises from food companies, nothing has changed. The average sodium content remains dangerously high. The next Administration can't sit by incuriously as chain restaurants and food manufacturers recklessly turn Americans' brains and hearts into ticking time bombs."

Health officials see lower-sodium diets as a major public health goal, because current levels promote high blood pressure, which, in turn increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In 2004, the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes, and two colleagues estimated that cutting sodium in foods by 50 percent would save about 150,000 lives annually. The American Medical Association, American College of Cardiology, and many other health groups have urged that industry gradually achieve that 50-percent reduction over a ten-year period.

While some companies maintain that current levels are necessary for purposes of taste or preservation, CSPI found large brand-to-brand differences in numerous categories of foods. That indicates that some companies could easily lower sodium levels and still have perfectly marketable products. For instance: Arby's French fries have three times as much sodium as McDonald's fries. Bumblebee white albacore canned tuna has 70 percent more sodium than Crown Prince. And Kraft's Classic Caesar salad dressing has almost twice as much sodium as Annie's Natural version."

You better believe it! - Salt can cause you serious ill-health! - Study the labels on the processed food you buy! - Reduce your sodium intake!

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, sleep better, improve your concentration 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!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods

and FAT RETENTION

There is a positive correlation between getting less than seven and a half hours' sleep and increased risk of developing heart disease.

Less than seven and a half hours' sleep 'could increase risk of heart attack'
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"High blood pressure increases the risk of developing heart disease, which can lead to damage in the arteries and place strain on the heart.

An estimated one third of Britons, some 16 million people, are thought to suffer from high blood pressure.

It is more common in older people and an estimated half of all people over 65 suffer from the condition.

Scientists followed the sleep patterns of 1,255 people, with an average age of 70, who suffered from high blood pressure for more than four years.

They found that those who slept less than 7.5 hours a night, and whose blood pressure increased overnight, were 25 per cent more likely to suffer from heart disease."

All of the health problems mentioned in the article are exacerbated by high salt intake and reduced in incidence and severity when salt and salty food are avoided.

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!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods

Beta-blockers linked to heart attacks after surgery

Patients who were taking drugs to lower their blood pressure before, during, and after operations unrelated to their hearts had higher rates of heart attacks and death than similar patients who were not taking the drugs, a study shows.
Read article in The Boston Globe (USA)

J&J Paid $68 Million to Settle Birth-Control Cases

I found this webpage with lots of useful information about Orth Evra birth-control patches - http://www.birthcontrolpatchsideeffects.com/

Johnson & Johnson has spent at least $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed by women who suffered blood clots, heart attacks or strokes after using the company's Ortho Evra birth-control patch, court records show. J&J, the world's largest maker of health-care products, avoided trials through the confidential settlements and hasn't released the financial details to investors. Of 562 complaints reviewed by Bloomberg News, the vast majority of users alleged the patch caused deep-vein thrombosis, or blood clots in the legs, and pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots in the lungs. Some blamed it for heart attacks or strokes. The complaints blamed Ortho Evra for the deaths of 20 women.
Read article at bloomberg.com

Lung drugs 'can increase heart attack risk'

Drugs widely used to treat lung problems such as emphysema and bronchitis can significantly increase the chance of a heart attack, stroke or even death, a new study shows.
Read article in the Daily Telegraph (UK)

A drastic lack of cardiac care is putting heart patients lives at risk, according to a new study, released today by the British Heart Foundation (BHF)

Lack of cardiac care 'putting heart patients lives at risk'
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Only 40 per cent of patients receive rehabilitation after a heart attack or heart surgery, the research shows, despite a Government target to offer it to 85 per cent of them.

Staff shortages mean those who do receive the care get just one third of the recommended hours of physiotherapy.

The report, released today by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) failed to find a single cardiac rehabilitation programme in Britain with the minimum recommended number of staff.

Studies have shown that patients who do not receive cardiac rehabilitation are 26 per cent more likely than those who do to die within five years.

Mike Knapton, director of prevention and care at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Cardiac rehabilitation saves lives but the majority of patients don't get the service.""

You can lower your risk of heart attack and other heart problems by reducing your salt intake.

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!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

Patients who have "minor" heart attacks need more aggressive treatment as they are more likely to die within 6 months than those who had major attacks

Minor heart attack patients 'more likely to die'
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Up to 50,000 people who suffer a minor heart attack each year should receive better treatment, they say.

A study looking at data from heart attack patients in 115 hospitals across 14 countries showed that patients who suffered a minor heart attack were more likely to die or have a second heart attack between two weeks and six months after being discharged from hospital than those who had a major attack.

Heart attacks are described as minor or incomplete where the blood flow to the heart muscle is partially blocked rather than cut off completely, as is the case in a major heart attack.

Currently complete heart attacks are aggressively treated with angioplasty to insert a balloon and metal stent to reopen the blood flow but generally less severe heart attacks do not receive the procedure.

However, they can still cause damage to the muscle and Prof Keith Fox, who led the study, says doctors may underestimate their seriousness.

"Clinicians and other physicians really need to be alerted to this," said Prof Fox, from the University of Edinburgh. "Some of these people may have been told, it is only a minor heart attack don't worry too much about it whereas actually it is a wake-up call and they need the best treatment in terms of unblocking the artery."

In the early days after a heart attack those who suffered a complete blockage are more likely to die or have a second attack than those who had an incomplete blockage. But after two weeks this is reversed and those who suffered an incomplete blockage are 15 per cent more likely to die or have a second attack."

You can significantly reduce your risk of a heart attack by eating less salt/sodium and salty food.

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

Men and women are being advised to take aspirin every day to help prevent heart attacks and strokes once they reach middle age.

An aspirin a day could keep heart attacks away
Article in the Sunday Telegraph

Extracts:

"Previous studies have already suggested taking aspirin could cut the chance of having a heart attack or stroke by a third and the risk of a fatal attack by 15 per cent.

New joint research by Nottingham and Sheffield universities bolsters the view that blanket prescriptions could help millions of people later in life."

"Dr Mike Knapton, director of prevention and care at the British Heart Foundation, warned further "robust research" was needed before blanket prescription could be recommended."

Overwhelmingly, the best, most effective way to reduce the risk of heart attack is to avoid salt and salty food. - And this has no adverse side-effects...(o:

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