Why Medicine Might Be Wrong About Salt, Fat & BMI

Salt and fat kill you early, and your BMI tells you how early. That has been the wisdom for years, but wisdoms have an expiry date, too. Particularly medical wisdoms. Recent research says those three are probably well beyond their use-by date. [tweet this].  

We live in interesting times. Admitted, my view of times is myopic, it's focused on the biomedical. So, I'm obviously not referring to Greece teetering on the economic brink. In biomedicine our Greeks are the cherished wisdoms about salt, fat and BMI. Similarity 1: They are not doing so well. Similarity 2: Their balance sheet screams bankruptcy. Similarity 3: Our authorities won't kick them out for fear of a domino effect.

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How The Media Monkeys Get You Panicked About Sitting Too Long!

From "man is made to move" to "man is not made to sit" is a very recent transition of scientific insight. Let's get our readers panicked over more than not doing exercise, is the response of the media. Here is why you should sit down and get the facts straight before jumping up in fear. [tweet this].  

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Supplements: Nutrition Science Or Nutrition Crap?

Nutritionists claim they are doing science, consumers buy it, and the supplements industry makes a healthy living from it. Only you probably won't. Here is why: 

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One of the enduring diet questions is whether supplements are a good tool to (a) improve health, and (b) compensate for nutritional deficits of an enjoyable but less than healthy dietary habit.  
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Will The Polypill Prevent Your Heart Attack?

Giving the polypill to everybody above the age of 55 kills two birds with one stone: cardiovascular risk and preventive medicine. That's what the proponents of the polypill say. The medical establishment is in uproar. Here is why you should be, too. But for a different reason. [tweet this].

   

We are typically sold on the notion, that heart disease and stroke have become today's major killer, for one simple reason: We live far longer than our ancestors of a hundred years ago, whose major cause of death were infectious diseases. Their eradication has brought upon us the blessings of longer lives, and with it the detriments of aging related cardiovascular disease. It's root cause is elevated cholesterol, a theory enshrined in the so-called lipid hypothesis. Questioning it is to the medical establishment what Galileo's theories were to the catholic church: plain heresy. After all, cholesterol lowering drugs, the statins, are a blessing to mankind and substantial reducer of cardiovascular death. 

    

This is what nearly everyone believes.

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Why Risk Screening For Heart Disease Is As Good As Crystal Ball Gazing

If weather forecasts were as reliable as cardiovascular risk prediction tools, meteorologists would miss two thirds of all hurricanes, expect rain for 8 out of 10 sunny days, and fail to see the parallels to fortune telling.    

When you are older than 35 and visit your doctor, there is a good chance he will evaluate your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. The motivation behind this risk scoring is to prevent such an event while you still can. After all, these cardiovascular diseases are the number one causes of disability and death. In Europe alone 1.8 Million people die from it every year. In fact, they die prematurely, which means at an age younger than 75. [tweet this].

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