File on 4 investigates Deaths in Police Custody

Radio 4's excellent File on 4 has been investigating Deaths in Police Custody. The programme will be broadcast at 8 pm. It appears that a new putative disease has been invented in America and may be adopted here as a means of explaining away/excusing/covering up improper use of restraint techniques by police. The new 'diagnosis' is called Excited Delirium. File on 4 has also found that official figures understate the number of people who die in custody after being restrained by police."It discovered that anyone who dies following restraint without being formally arrested is excluded from death in custody figures. Campaigners want an inquiry into how the the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) collates its figures."

Dr Mercola has written about Monsanto and its alleged Biopiracy in India

Dr Mercola has written about Monsanto and its alleged Biopiracy in India. "The government of India has made it very clear that they will not tolerate Monsanto's attempts to commercialize on their indigenous knowledge, a practice known as biopiracy. India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, is suing Monsanto, the world leader in genetically modified (GM) crops and seeds, and their collaborators, the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, for using local varieties of eggplant to develop a genetically modified version."

"The welfare of the * is paramount"

If you listen, watch or read the sort of radio programmes, TV documentaries and news items I tend to come across, I'll bet that you, like me, tend to associate that sentence template "the welfare of the * is paramount" very strongly with bureaucracy or hypocrisy or lying through their teeth. The radio programme I heard today was one such example. In this case, the social services were claiming that the welfare of some vulnerable children was of paramount importance to them, when, as is so often the case, covering their own uncaring backs was their paramount concern. Have a listen on the iPlayer to Radio 4's File on 4 programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019rqcl about Carers in Conflict.

"Jenny Cuffe talks to foster parents who find themselves battling with local authorities over the children in their care. They describe a Kafkaesque nightmare where doors are shut, telephone calls and emails unanswered, even court orders are ignored. Meanwhile, vulnerable children are treated as pawns as social workers move them from one place to another.

In one case investigated by File on 4, foster parents who offered to care for four siblings were denied the financial and practical support they needed from the council. Their official complaints were upheld yet key recommendations continued to be ignored and, as a consequence, the children have now been split up. After giving up their jobs to care for the children, the couple are now in debt and have to sell their home. The local MP describes the council's treatment of the family as outrageous. He says the case is extreme but not unusual and he's called for an enquiry.

In another case, a teenager with complex mental and physical needs was unlawfully removed from the foster home where he'd grown up. His sister told File on 4: "When he was in his foster mum's care he was always clean, always happy and he looked well but when I saw him he was dishevelled. It was as if someone took him away from himself. I felt his personality had gone." When his foster mother went to court to get him back, she was vilified by the council who used public funds to defend their actions to the bitter end but lost in court."

Latest concerns about Vitamin D deficiency. Check it out.

Check it out. Latest concerns about Vitamin D deficiency. BBC News reports that there has been an increase in childhood rickets over the past 15 years. "The chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, is to contact medical staff about concerns young children and some adults are not getting enough vitamin D. Government guidelines recommend some groups, including the under-fives, should take a daily supplement. However, recent research found that many parents and health professionals were unaware of the advice."

As well as the short video on that webpage, I believe you will find this one from a news report earlier this month even more interesting/alarming. That most health professionals are ill-informed in the matter of the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is perhaps the most alarming aspect of the problem.

Taking vitamin D3 supplements certainly made a big difference to me: enabled me to rise from a chair without a monumental struggle was perhaps the most noticeable difference, and the ability to climb stairs more easily, and of course to feel stronger, and steadier on my feet. All my life doctors had given me the wrong information about vitamin D. Especially Dr Nigel Bax - now a professor, I believe. Although my chest X-ray at the time I saw him caused him to exclaim with shock that my ribs were almost transparent on the X-ray, he did his damnedest to warn me off taking vitamin D, and said if I did take any supplements, against his advice, the best time to take them was on an empty stomach before breakfast! - That too, was wrong. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) should be taken with or after a meal that contains healthy fat. His confident, strongly expressed, incorrect advice did me immeasurable harm. - I had osteomalacia. No wonder my ribs were hurting.

There are some things you wouldn't want even if they were given away free, aren't there?

There are some things you wouldn't want even if they were given away free, aren't there? In no particular order, for me, these would include skimmed milk (aka greyish water), margarine (aka factory-produced slime pretending to be food), GM products, artificial sweeteners, cornflakes, Marmite, caviar, anchovies, Subway sandwiches, mulled wine (best poured down the sink, imo), Coke (aka toilet cleaner), Diet Coke and MSG (monosodium glutamate).

On Radio 4's Inside Health programme today one of the topics discussed was Tinnitus

On Radio 4's Inside Health programme today one of the topics discussed was Tinnitus. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that cutting salt intake was mentioned as helpful with this problem. Nonetheless if you type something like "tinnitus salt reduction" into your favourite search engine you will see that many people find that sodium reduction reduces the intensity of their tinnitus. I believe this is because there is a connection between tinnitus and fluid retention. - Anyway, since we are constantly advised these days to eat less salt to reduce heart disease and the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, and it is manifestly good for health to reduce salt intake, why not take the plunge and seriously cut down on salt and salty food? This is a safe, cost-free and drug-free course of action. It may very well improve your tinnitus problem as well as benefiting your general health and longevity. - What's not to like?

If you check the salt/sodium levels in the packets and cans in your food cupboards you may be surprised at how high they are

If you check the salt/sodium levels in the packets and cans in your food cupboards you may be surprised at how high they are. On labels, more than 0.5g of sodium (1.25g salt) per 100g is high, less than 0.2g sodium (0.5g salt) is low. To convert sodium content to salt content, multiply the sodium by 2.5
Find out more about Sodium in Food.

In general, if you are overweight, then to improve health and lose weight you need to be eating and drinking food that is as natural as possible - cooking fresh meat and fish and vegetables, drinking plain water and tea, rather than choosing highly processed food containing high salt levels.

BBC1's Birdsong last night was so disappointing

I had been looking forward to seeing Birdsong on TV last night but found it very disappointing. So much of the dialogue was inaudible and was scarcely improved by turning up the volume. The problems were poor enunciation and a reluctance to open the lips. Most of the time Eddie Redmayne's face was completely immobile and rendered the pace of many scenes leaden. I shall make a point of avoiding any future productions in which he stars.

Breast screening was discussed on Woman's Hour today

"Can mass screening for breast cancer be justified – no, according to a leading researcher who has worked in the field for the last ten years. Jane talks to Professor Peter Gurt- sche from the Nordic Cochrane Research Centre in Copehagen." (I think that spelling should be Peter Gotzsche.)

I've known for years that routine mammograms are not a good thing and I've written about this before. It's good that this has now been stated unequivocally on Woman's Hour, which is such a popular programme.

Professor Gotzsche also categorically advised against regular self-examination of the breasts by women, saying that there is no evidence that it does any good. - Jane Garvey was clearly very surprised to hear this. Many Woman's Hour listeners will have shared her surprise. Self-examination of the breasts has been part of orthodox medical propaganda for many years. It's great, however, to hear a researcher on the subject giving information that is supported by evidence, rather than dogma.

A snippet of information can transform someone's life

A snippet of information can transform someone's life. This is a message I received from someone one day last week:

"hi margaret

just thought i would let you know about my experience with regards to vitamin D i saw what you have said about it and as i have had fibromyalgia for over 25 years i thought what the hell i'll try anything once and so i have started taking a supplement called osteocare and WOW what a difference i have been taking it for 3 weeks now and i can already feel a big difference in my muscles and bones and also my energy levels i really don't know how to thank you enough i have not used my stairlift for a week much to everyones amazement and i am hoping that i will continue to improve lots more it has already made a huge difference to me and my quality of life it's amazing what a snippet of someone elses wisdom can have such a massive change in someone else's life

thankyou so much"

If your medication gives you a dry mouth or makes you thirsty

If your medication gives you a dry mouth or makes you thirsty, then it may be causing fluid retention, and fluid retention results in weight gain and sensitivity to salt (and many other unpleasant and undesirable side-effects). If you want to reduce the weight gain then the options are: reducing the dosage, gradually weaning yourself off the drug, changing the medication to another, and/or seriously cutting down on salt and salty food. The most commonly prescribed drugs that tend to have this effect are anti-depressants, especially amitriptyline.

Anti-depressants increase the risk of falls for elderly people with dementia

BBC News reports that anti-depressants increase the risk of falls for elderly people with dementia. "Many dementia patients also suffer from depression and drugs known as selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are frequently prescribed. But the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reports that the risk of injuries from falls was tripled."

Now that's a real shame, because anti-depressants should not be being prescribed at all, since research has shown that Anti-depressants are 'no better than dummy pills'. People who are suffering from dementia have enough to contend with, without having to cope with an increased risk of falling and all the other adverse effects of anti-depressants. - Rather than these unhelpful, harmful meds it would be better to try to improve the nutritional status of dementia sufferers. I suggest, for example, making sure they are not deficient in vitamin D. An adequate level of vitamin D would strengthen their muscles and bones (and immune system) and would render falls from any cause less likely to result in hip fractures and other broken bones. It's well past time that prescribers read the relevant research and acted on it, instead of carrying on in their own sweet uninformed way regardless.

Food Additives could be Harming Your Health

Food Additives could be seriously harming your health: read this article in the Ecologist. Remember also that salt is a very harmful food additive if you are vulnerable to salt.

The adverse effects of prescribed drugs often prove far worse than the health problem for which they have been prescribed

The adverse effects of prescribed drugs often prove far worse than the health problem for which they have been prescribed. This is particularly the case with prescribed steroids and prescribed antidepressants. This newspaper article gives details of a woman who is suffering the usual side-effects from prescribed steroid medication, and the Comments beneath the article illustrate how some sufferers would rather have continued with the original health problem than be having to endure the distressing side-effects. But their doctors did not warn them about the routine serious side-effects. Steroids are particularly damaging to children and teenagers, even when, as in Tara's case, the medication was really necessary.

Anyone considering taking antidepressants should realise that these drugs are no better than placebo (dummy) pills. - See Anti-depressants 'no better than dummy pills'. Nevertheless, despite being largely useless at alleviating depression, the many adverse side-effects are common and long-lasting - sometimes life-long. There are much safer therapies, e.g. MIND, the mental health charity, recommends a walk in the country as being helpful in lifting depression.

Are you on a diet? - Dieting/inadequate food intake is an often overlooked, but very significant, cause of depression. Good nutrition is an excellent way to improve your health. Obviously when you are not eating enough for the needs of your body and your brain you will experience both physical and mental harm. - It is not necessary (or desirable, or effective, or even safe) to diet to lose weight. The safe, natural way to lose excess weight is to cut down on salt and salty food. Avoid ready meals and takeaways because these are usually highly salted and offer poor nutrition. They are likely to worsen your feelings of depression.

When taking prescription drugs that cause fluid retention/sodium retention/weight gain, including steroids, antidepressants, anti-convulsants, anti-epileptics, anti-psychotics and many other drugs, you need to keep your intake of salt and salty food as low as possible. This is the way to reduce the harm that the side-effects cause.

The Ecologist draws attention to the industrial and everyday chemicals that contribute to the growing incidence of obesity

An article in The Ecologist draws attention to the industrial and everyday chemicals that contribute to the growing incidence of obesity. Well worth reading.

Health Challenge: Convert your body to a Biscuit-Free Zone!

You really can improve your health by giving up eating biscuits. Just consider their many unhealthy ingredients: transfats/hydrogenated vegetable oil/partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt (yes, even sweet biscuits usually contain a lot of salt!), sugar, wheat flour. If you are overweight and you eat biscuits then I'm sure you know that the biscuits are contributing to the excess weight. But you may not know that the transfats in biscuits do not just contribute to overweight, they are actually toxic to the body because they do not exist in natural food and so your body cannot metabolise them in a normal way. They are added for commercial reasons to extend the shelf life of the biscuits. Sadly they do not extend the life of the people who eat the biscuits...)o:- Go on! - Try giving up biscuits! - You'll feel better for it!

'Posh' salt is as harmful to health as ordinary table salt

'Posh' salt is as harmful to health as ordinary table salt. - Apologies: I should have written about this in November when it was in the news. Still, better late than never. - The Guardian reported on a Consensus Action on Salt and Health study, which found that there is widespread misunderstanding in the matter of different sorts of salt sold, and that many people buying the gourmet-type salts like rock salt, sea salt, Maldon Salt, Himalayan Salt and Fleur de Sel, mistakenly thought that the expensive salts were better for health than ordinary Saxa Table Salt. "In the study the sodium chloride and moisture content of seven different salt products available from supermarkets and online were analysed – including "posh" salts such as Maldon and Himalayan (Best Care Products) and Saxa table salt. Sodium and chloride combine to form salt (NaCl), the combination of minerals which puts up our blood pressure leading to strokes, heart failure and heart disease and also linked to osteoporosis, stomach cancer and kidney disease. Cash said the results show they all contain just as much sodium chloride as each other."

I don't know why they stress the sodium chloride (NaCl) content as such; it is the sodium ion content specifically that puts up blood pressure and causes fluid retention/water weight/obesity and heart damage and all the other degenerative disorders that develop in people vulnerable to salt/sodium. The chloride ions are only the associates of the baddie sodium ions; they are not themselves the baddies.

The nonsense spouted by the manufacturers of the expensive salts - nonsensical claims that their products are not harmful - should be filed with the claims made long ago by tobacco manufacturers that their products did not cause cancer, etc. and were not addictive. Lies for profits. Dishonesty for gain. Drivel for the gullible.

Group claiming to speak for pain sufferers is funded by drug companies that make and profit from sale of painkillers

The American Pain Foundation, a group that claims to speak for pain sufferers, is funded by drug companies that make and profit from the sale of painkillers. They downplay the risks of these drugs and this is compounding the growing incidence of painkiller addiction. "Overdoses now kill nearly 15,000 people a year — more than heroin and cocaine combined. In some states, the painkiller death toll exceeds that of car crashes. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the overdoses from opioid drugs like OxyContin an “epidemic.” And a growing group of experts doubts that they work for long-term pain."
See this article in The Washington Post.

Minerals associated with lowering your blood pressure include potassium, magnesium and calcium

Minerals associated with lowering your blood pressure include potassium, magnesium and calcium. Sodium is the mineral associated with raised blood pressure and so intake of salt and salty food should be lowered if you suffer from hypertension/high blood pressure. - Helpful pages include Obesity and the Salt Connection and Minerals, Weight and Fluid/Fat Retention.

My grandad used to drink a bottle of beer in the evening.

My grandad used to drink a bottle of beer in the evening. I see the scene now, in my mind's eye: my grandad in his chair to the right of the fireplace, the bottle and the glass on the strange marquetry table to his right. As a little girl, the dark liquid fascinated and scared me a bit. I asked my grandad what it was made of and he told me, "Stewed spiders." - Believing him, I have never drunk beer.

No Deaths from Vitamins: Report

America's Largest Database Confirms Supplement Safety
There was not even one death caused by a vitamin supplement in 2010, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System. The new 203-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published online at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2010%20NPDS%20Annual%20Report.pdf, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin. Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or dietary mineral supplement.
Read news release at orthomolecular.org

Applications for jobs as Government Regulators

In view of recent events, vacancies may occur as regulators in various Government Departments. Applicants may be required to possess the following attributes:

for regulators working for the Care Quality Commission - complete lack of interest in the welfare of patients/residents in geriatric wards and in care homes for the elderly and for young adults with learning difficulties

for regulators working for the MHRA - phlegmatic/lethargic/catatonic response to matters demanding urgent attention with regard to protecting members of the public from adverse effects caused by pharmaceutical drugs or by substandard or faulty medical devices and equipment, e.g. silicone implants for breast enlargement (see Breast Implant Scandal)

for regulators of standards of the competence and probity of medical/dental/similar staff (i.e. General Medical Council, General Dental Council and similar bodies) - complete uselessness for the task itself and proven allegiance to errant health professionals over patients

Preference may be given to applicants with tunnel vision and/or appropriate 'conflicts of interest'.

New Year Resolution Suggestions

If you've not yet decided on your New Year Resolution, here are some suggestions that will benefit the health of your body, the efficiency of your brain and the happiness of your spirit:

1) Give up dieting. It is a major cause of ill-health and depression. Dieting to try to lose excess weight is ineffective, unnecessary and harmful. Calorie counting and advice about increasing exercise and reducing fat intake to reduce obesity are ineffective, counter-productive and often damaging. - See the article in the British Medical Journal of November 2003 http://www.bmj.com/content/327/7423/1085.full for actual research on what happens when this advice is followed! - Over 800 obese adults were put on energy deficit diets, given diet sheets and plenty of instruction and help from trained staff, and apparently, visited fortnightly for a year, at the end of which they had GAINED weight! This mirrors the real experience of obese people, viz. - dieting makes you fat.

It is commonly accepted now, except by the 'experts', that less than 5% of dieters actually lose weight, and most gain weight as a result of dieting. - Even the ones who manage to lose weight do not usually improve their health. - See http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/jun/27/sciencenews.research for a report in The Guardian of Monday, June 27th 2005. It is about a huge research study of nearly 3000 people over a period of 18 years. The study found that overweight people who diet to reach a healthier weight are more likely to die young than those who remain fat. It also found that dieting causes physiological damage that in the long term can outweigh the benefits of the weight loss.

2) Seriously cut down on salt and salty food.

3) Avoid prescription drugs, especially antidepressants, steroids and painkillers, unless they really are necessary and you have checked out their side-effects. The adverse effects of pharmaceutical drugs are often far more damaging than the problem for which they have been prescribed.

I wish you better health, success and happiness in this New Year of 2012!