The medical drug-pushers are at it again: Wald still pressing for his polypills to be routinely prescribed to over-55s

In this BBC News report Professor Sir Nicholas Wald makes the dubious claim that when assessing the risk of heart problems, offering drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure to all over-55s has the same results as testing for cholesterol or blood pressure problems. He also says it would be simpler and cost effective. Well it might be simpler, and it might very well be cost-effective for Wald himself (see some discussion here of possible conflict of interest, since Wald and Law own a patent on the idea of the polypill) but I strongly doubt that there would be any gain for the NHS.

Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol and Wald wants statins to be part of the polypills. Statins are extremely profitable for drug manufacturers, but they do more harm than good to most of the people who take them. - Click on the STATINS label below this post to see lots of information about this.

There is a simple, safe, cost-free, drug-free way to lower high blood pressure, improve heart health and reduce heart attacks and strokes and many other degenerative illnesses for the over-55s - or indeed for any other age. - That is for GPs and other healthcare professionals seriously to explain to patients and the general public the huge health benefits from eating less salt and salty food. An even more effective measure would be to have a Secretary of State for Health with the guts and sense and decency to push through statutory upper limits for the amount of salt/sodium permitted to be added to processed foods, and especially to bread, which is usually high in salt and yet is a large part of most people's diet. He should also ban the food industry's use of synthetic transfats as additives to biscuits, cakes etc. And he should remove the food and drink manufacturers from the Dept of Health committee that advises on what to do about obesity.

Here's another good idea: tell the truth about Saturated Fats. - You may like to spare 2min 35secs to watch the excellent little video on this page.

If you are interested in the connection between sodium intake and blood pressure

as well as how reducing sodium intake reduces weight, you will find this new website saltandbloodpressure.weebly.com has insights you may not have encountered before.

Omega-3 may improve blood pressure in kidney disease patients

A combination of omega-3 fatty acids and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may decrease blood pressure and heart rate in kidney disease patients, says a new study. People with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which increases the risk of heart disease two- to 50-fold, experienced improvements in both blood pressure and heart rate following supplementation with four grams of omega-3 fatty acids, according to findings published in the Journal of Hypertension. Furthermore, when taken in combination with coenzyme Q10 the blood pressure reducing benefits were enhanced, despite CoQ10 alone not being associated with any improvements on its own, report researchers from University of Western Australia and Royal Perth Hospital.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: The effect upon blood pressure obtained by combining coenzyme Q10 with omega-3 fatty acids is an example of nutrient synergy. The concept of nutrient synergy maximizes the health benefits of micronutrients because of the discovery that they work best in "teams". Minimising salt/sodium intake also reduces blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease.

Thousands of people in Britain are on Incapacity Benefit because they are officially too fat to work.

Thousands in Britain on incapacity benefit because they are too fat to work
article in the Daily Mail

Extract:

"Last week it emerged that the number of patients admitted to hospital for weight-related health issues has leapt seven-fold in a decade.

There are around 2.6million adults on sickness handouts, meaning about one in 1,200 are receiving up to £84.50 a week because they are grossly overweight."

I wonder when fat people are going to be given the information they desperately need? - That dieting and calorie counting do not reduce overweight? - Obesity is not caused by overeating; this is just an unjust stereotype. - It is what you eat, not how much you eat, that matters. A major cause of obesity is fluid retention/salt sensitivity and so the easy, safe, fast, reliable way to lose excess weight is to give up dieting and simply avoid salt and salty food. This method means you will lose some of the excess water you are carrying around with you. Your blood pressure will go down and you will feel better in a host of different ways, including having more energy.

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

Children and Obesity

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

Vitamin D a key player in overall health of several body organs

Essential for life in higher animals, vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside's biochemist, Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D. In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. In addition, access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer. Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D.
Read article at physorg.com

Study Finds Postmenopausal Women Still at Risk for Calcium and Vitamin D Deficiency

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, contributing to muscle contraction, the secretion of hormones and enzymes, and colon cell health, helping control blood sugar and blood pressure and even helping recovery from thyroid surgery. However, the most well-known role for calcium is for bone health, since 99% of all the calcium in the body resides in the skeleton. But despite these known health benefits of calcium, particularly for bone health, a new study has found that most postmenopausal women are still at risk for both calcium and vitamin D deficiency.
Read article on the Natural Health Research Institute website (USA)