Rheumatoid arthritis A recent paper reports on research conducted at the University of Birmingham has discovered that maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (1). The scientific paper is available here (2). It was also found that although Vitamin D can help to prevent the […]
Merck kills off new cholesterol-lowering drug I have just come across a very interesting item entitled: “Check the Obits: Lipid Research Died Last Week” (1). It is published by a mainstream medical magazine “Medpage Today”. The article was in response to the decision by Merck, one of the major pharmaceutical companies that it would not
The Warburg Effect It is clear that diet plays a major role in the development of cancer and that a change in diet may sometimes play a part in treatments that are successful. Otto Warburg has proposed that cancer cells depend on anaerobic fermentation to provide an adequate energy for their survival. This means they
Readers of this blog will be aware of many reasons why cholesterol is not a reliable marker for the risks of developing heart disease or anything else for that matter. There are very thorough studies, which demonstrate that those who comply with the cholesterol guidelines actually have the highest all-cause mortality rates (1). For women,
I have lost count of the number of people I have met who are convinced that they should be concerned about the cholesterol level in their blood. If it is considered to be “too high” then they are at serious risk of suffering from heart disease. Hence action has to be taken that will lower
Most evidence based on studies in men The case for the widespread use of statins is extremely flimsy. The trials that provide the justification have been subject to detailed criticisms (1). In any event most of them were conducted before effective regulatory controls were introduced. As the work has been primarily with men, the case
When the dietary guidelines were devised in the 1970s/1980s one of the most important studies used to justify them was the investigation conducted in North Karelia, which is a province in Finland. Population studies were conducted between 1972 and 1992 to monitor blood cholesterol (TC), blood pressure (BP), height, weight and the incidence of smoking.
265. More Doubts About “Healthy Eating” Official Advice Read More »
The case for the widespread use of statins is extremely flimsy. The trials that provide the justification have been subject to detailed criticisms (1). In any event most of them were conducted before effective regulatory controls were introduced. As most of the work has been with men, the case for using statins with women is
Readers of these blogs will be aware that there is very little reliable evidence to demonstrate that using statins to lower total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) has substantial benefits. As a general rule, the advantages of using statins have been exaggerated. At the same time, the adverse side effects (ADEs) have invariably been downplayed.
Weight loss is an important aspect of the official policy for treating T2D. The recommendations are to increase the amount of fibre and to reduce fat, especially saturated fat. Specific advice includes: Increase consumption of foods such as wholegrain bread and cereals Choose foods that are low in fat – replace butter, ghee and coconut oil with
245. Weight Loss for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) Read More »