Children on Crete eat ideal Mediterranean diet that beats allergies

Children on Crete eat ideal diet to beat allergies - Telegraph

Extract:

"The classic Mediterranean diet which is rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, whole grain foods, beans and olive oil appears to protect children from allergies including asthma and allergic rhinitis which causes a runny nose.

A study conducted with 700 rural children on the Greek island of Crete found that about 80 per cent ate two or more fruits every day and nearly 70 per cent ate two or more portions of vegetables a day."

It's only a short article and is well worth reading.

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.)

Which? mag finds that some low fat Weight Watchers products for people on diets are high in sugar. - So what! - It's SALT that causes weight gain.

The savoury ready meals 'that can contain more sugar than ice cream' - Telegraph

Extract:

"Some savoury ready meals contain more sugar than vanilla ice cream, according to a study today by the consumer watchdog

A report by Which? magazine found that some low fat Weight Watchers products aimed at people on diets were also high in sugar."

If you are on a diet to lose weight, I urge you to stop dieting. - Obesity is not caused by overeating, by too many calories, by too much fat or too much sugar. - It is caused by fluid retention, usually because of sensitivity to salt which in turn has often been caused by taking prescription drugs. - You can lose weight fast and very easily, without hunger and without exercising and completely safely. - All you need to do is cut down on the amount of salt and salty food you eat. - Give up counting calories altogether! - Just eat fresh food, cooked from scratch, and be sure to include plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit.

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.)

Risk of heart attack is raised by painkillers. Cut down on salt.

High doses of ibuprofen raise heart attack risk - Telegraph

Extract:

"The common pain killer ibuprofen has been found to increase an existing risk of having a heart attack or a stroke in people who suffer from arthritis, research shows today.
For some the risk was nine times higher.

The findings bring more anxiety to the millions of arthritis sufferers in Britain as they follow a series of research studies that have shown increased risk of heart disease from the pain killers they take to ease the condition.

The latest evidence comes from a study of more than 18,000 people who took one of three pain killers for their arthritis.

One patient in 10 was also at high risk of heart attack or stroke and some of these patients took low dose aspirin as well as one of the pain killers for arthritis. For high risk patients taking both aspirin and ibuprofen the risk of a heart attack or stroke was nine times greater, over one year, when compared with those who were taking one of the other arthritis painkillers, lumiracoxib, alone."

Well I've been advising for years, both on my website and when people contact me as individuals, that taking drugs is hazardous. The NSAIDs painkillers are among the drugs I specify. Avoid taking drugs if you possibly can.

Painkillers are pretty ineffective for severe pain anyway. - The safest way to reduce or prevent many kinds of pain, including the pain of osteoarthritis, is to reduce salt/sodium intake permanently. - Either cut down on salt and salty food or, preferably, give it up completely. This is also the best way to avoid headaches or migraines. Cutting out salt will also lower your blood pressure and lower your risk of heart attack or stroke and a host of other diverse health problems, including diabetes. - 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.)

Researchers claim that red meat 'raises risk of breast cancer'

Red meat 'raises risk of breast cancer' - Telegraph

Extracts:

"Eating even small amounts of red meat daily can increase the risk of breast cancer by 56 per cent in older women, according to British research published today.

Researchers were quite surprised that only 2oz of red meat a day appeared to have an effect
As little as 2oz (57g) of beef, lamb or pork a day showed an effect. Post-menopausal woman who ate larger amounts, 3.6oz (103g), of processed meats such as sausage, bacon, ham or pies had an increased risk of 64 per cent.

Even younger, pre-menopausal women had a slightly raised risk if they ate red meat daily, the study from the University of Leeds found.

The research, led by Prof Janet Cade, a professor of nutritional epidemiology and public health, involved 35,000 women aged between 35 and 69 who have been followed for nearly eight years."

"The researchers took into account smoking, weight, fruit and vegetable intake, class, education and use of hormone replacement therapy.

"The findings are robust. Whatever we adjusted the data for we could still find an association," Prof Cade said yesterday. The study, in the British Journal of Cancer, says: "Women consuming the most total [all kinds] meat, red meat and processed meat were at the highest risk compared with non-meat eaters, although red and processed meat were only statistically significant post-menopausally"."

"Prof Cade said one reason why red meat may contribute to a raised risk of breast cancer is that it is a rich source of saturated fat. The women who ate the most meat were also more likely to be fatter."

"Henry Scowcroft, of Cancer Research UK, said: "Our best dietary advice to women worried about their breast cancer risk is to maintain a healthy body weight by taking regular exercise and avoiding large regular portions of fatty foods like red and processed meat, and excess alcohol. It's also important to be breast aware, and to go for screening when invited by your GP."

Dr Alexis Willett, of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "We encourage all women to eat a balanced diet, limit alcohol consumption, exercise regularly and keep a healthy weight to maintain general good health.""

I have quoted rather extensively from this article because when advice is given the amount of coverage that this has had today - radio, TV, newspapers - it is likely to be very influential. And this research must have cost a huge amount of money - 35,000 women over a period of eight years. - Despite its cost, and despite the publicity given to it, I am not remotely persuaded that its findings can be given much credence and I am confident that the conclusions the researchers have drawn are flawed. I'll explain why I am of this opinion.

Neither the researcher nor the people quoted as commenting on the research findings makes any mention of salt (or sodium) as far as I can see, even though Prof Cade says: "The women who ate the most meat were also more likely to be fatter." - But people are made fatter by the conjunction of salt sensitivity and the intake of salt, not by eating red meat as such. It looks to me as though the red meat eaters may possibly have used a bit more salt than the other women in the study. - The processed meat in the study would have had salt added by the food manufacturers, and that added salt would of course have increased the weight of the women who were sensitive to salt, and so would have increased the risk of their getting breast cancer.

The research would have been much more useful if levels of salt/sodium intake had been among the parameters considered, but it does not appear to have been.

Obesity is caused by fluid retention which in turn is usually caused by salt sensitivity. And obesity is the main individual contributory factor in the causation of most cancers. - So in my opinion, the best dietary measure anyone can take to lower their risk of developing cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular, is to lower their salt intake to the lowest they can manage.

This page lists many of the adverse health conditions that are caused or exacerbated by salt sensitivity, and cured or made less severe by cutting down on salt intake, and by eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit - 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.)

New laws target owners of obese dogs - Telegraph

Extract:

"Pet owners could be prosecuted for overfeeding their animals under new laws announced today.

The Animal Welfare Act is aimed at giving greater protection to pets that do not receive proper care. It will also increase the penalties for those who inflict the most serious neglect or suffering.

And for the first time it will enable the authorities to act against owners before any actual suffering to their animals occurs.

Owners will be legally required to provide a proper diet, a suitable environment and housing and ensure their pets can behave normally and without pain or disease."

What people are not told that when dogs and cats become obese it is because they are eating a salty diet. They should be fed food that does not contain any added salt. Salt is bad for pet dogs and cats. For example, they should not be given any leftover takeaway food. If they are fed food without any salt added, they will lose weight easily.

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.)

Organic fruit and vegetables contain more vitamin C, study finds

Organic fruit has more vitamin C, study finds - Telegraph

Extract:

"Further evidence in support of the health benefits of organic fruit and vegetables has been published by an international team of researchers.

They found that organic carrots, apples and peaches contained higher levels of vitamin C and flavonoids, compounds with antioxidant properties said by some scientists to protect against heart attacks and cancer.

Last week US researchers revealed that organic kiwi fruit have significantly more vitamin C and polyphenols - linked to reduced cholesterol, improved circulation and lower cancer risks - than non-organic produce."

You can also lower your risk of most cancers and many other illnesses by eating less salt/sodium. - 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.)

Flaws in council policy were to blame for legionnaires' disease deaths.

Legionnaires' disease deaths blamed on flaws in council policy - Guardian

Extract:

"Britain's worst outbreak of legionnaires' disease, which killed seven people and affected 180 others, could have been avoided if the local council had followed readily available safety guidelines, a report concludes today.

The report, prepared for the Health and Safety Executive, follows two public meetings to consider the outbreak of the disease in the air-conditioning system at the Forum 28 arts and leisure centre in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in August 2002.

Colin Pickthall, former Labour MP for West Lancashire, who chaired the inquiry, said that "several flaws were apparent from the start". He told the BBC: "The guidelines on how to avoid legionella were readily available then, as now. They weren't used, they weren't disseminated around the council. They were put in bins or they were put in files.""


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.)

Muscular exercise can help your memory

Boost your brain... use your brawn - Telegraph

Extract:

"Were you one of those forever leaping about on the tennis court at school or were you more likely to be found huddled around the Bunsen burner? Sporty or swotty, the two tribes have, by tradition, rarely crossed - save for the odd all rounder, who managed to be captain of games while studying advanced maths. Now, new research from America is confounding the old stereotypes, with the finding that exercise actually makes your brain bigger and more capable of learning.

The study, carried out at the Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, has shown that working out the muscles could simultaneously be pumping up the brain - and specifically the memory.

Exercise appears to directly affect a region of the hippocampus, the area of the brain concerned with memory and learning, called the dentate gyrus, one of the few areas of the brain where neurogenesis - the creation of nerve cells - takes place. Building up the number of nerve cells (neurons) and the connections between them in the dentate gyrus is vital to the prevention of memory decline that typically begins at around the age of 30. So does this mean that aerobic exercise can help anyone increase their learning potential?

Cell production is a complex affair relying on a ready supply of proteins and hormones, particularly a hormone called Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1). IGF-1 is known to be crucial in child growth and the development of every cell in the body. It is released into the bloodstream every time you contract and relax a muscle and so levels rise when you exercise."

I feel sure that optimising your nutrition is also a help in keeping the memory working well. Certainly nutritional deficiencies and 'slimming' can impair memory. Reducing salt/sodium intake also improves mental alertness.

Patricia Hewitt's attempt to find a solution to the junior doctors' training fiasco at risk from surgeons' anger

Surgeons' fury over trainee fiasco - Guardian

Extract:

"Patricia Hewitt's attempt to find a solution to the junior doctors' training fiasco was at risk last night after England's top surgeons threatened to pull out of negotiations.

Bernard Ribiero, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "I will not see a generation of highly qualified, experienced and committed surgical trainees exposed to the vagaries of an untested and clearly flawed system." If a government review committee did not act today to rescue medical trainees from "a professional lottery", the surgeons would take matters into their own hands and make the appointments independently."

More choice in NHS maternity services promised by 2009

Hewitt promises more choice for expectant mothers by end of 2009 - Guardian

Extracts:

"By the end of 2009, every pregnant woman in England will be guaranteed the full range of choices about how and where to give birth, Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, promised yesterday.

She committed the government to a drastic improvement in NHS maternity services, but could not say how many extra midwives would be needed or how much the fuller service would cost.

She told health authorities and trusts to work out the details and make decisions about how many hospitals would have to close maternity departments as consultant-led services are consolidated into fewer hi-tech specialist centres."

"Ms Hewitt claimed every NHS facility was safe. But she said inequalities across England were "shocking". Women living in families where both partners were unemployed were 20 times more likely to die in labour. Single mothers were three times more likely to die and women living in deprived areas 45% more likely."

"Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, warned that the NHS would have to recruit 1,000 extra fulltime midwives by 2009 and 3,000 by 2012 to implement the strategy. Andrew Lansley, the Conservative shadow health secretary, said Ms Hewitt had failed to reconcile her promises with closures or cutbacks at 43 maternity services and an increasing shortage of midwives."

Dentist accused of unhygienic practices: General Dental Council hearing

Dentist 'used tools to clean out his ears' - Telegraph

Extract:

"A dentist used sterilised instruments to clean his ears and urinated in a surgical sink, a General Dental Council hearing heard yesterday.

Alan Hutchinson, 51, is also accused of unhygienic practices including cleaning his fingernails with sterilised tools and refusing to routinely wear gloves at his surgery in Batley, West Yorks.

At the hearing in central London, the father-of-three pleaded not guilty to all the charges except that of not routinely wearing gloves."

It is reported that NHS patients are being put at risk by cancer care delays.

Patients put at risk by cancer care delays - Telegraph

Extract:

"More than half of all cancer patients are having to wait longer than the Government says is acceptable for life-saving radiotherapy treatment, it was disclosed last night.

There is also a huge disparity in the provision of radiotherapy services across the country, with "black holes" where treatment is very poor, a report by an NHS advisory group is said to show.

The study, by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group, is being looked at by ministers, but it has not yet been published. It has reportedly found that half of all cancer patients are waiting longer than the Government's "maximum acceptable delay" of four weeks for the treatment."