How to Influence Your Treatment

The patient-doctor relationship is central to the delivery of healthcare on a worldwide basis. This relationship has been changing in most developed countries in recent years in that patients are now more open to question courses of treatment outlined by doctors than they were previously. This is a positive step in the delivery of healthcare to consumers (patients). A good relationship has honesty, mutual respect, trust and confidentiality as its core values.

The first thing you need to get your doctor to do in relation to a health problem, is to summarise all the different approaches to its resolution. If the doctor is proposing a prescription drug be used in the treatment of your problem, you need to ask if there is an alternative to this approach. Diet, exercise, water, food supplements, holistic, homeopathic and herbal remedies have all been used successfully to treat some health problems.  If people have been successfully treated in the past for the ailment in question without drugs, let the doctor know you would prefer the non-drug route if that is how you feel.

If the doctor insists that a drug is the only option in dealing with your health problem, then you need to ask the following questions:

1.     Who manufacturers the drug?

2.     Is there an equivalent drug on the market by another drug company?

3.     Why the preference for the specific drug proposed?

4.     Does the drug address the underlying cause of the problem, or merely provide a temporary respite from the symptoms?

5.     What side effects are stated by the manufacturer for the proposed drug?

6.     What side effects did other patients report after taking the drug?

7.     Is the drug only proposed as a short-term measure?

8.     What is the long-term solution of the problem?

By questioning your doctor, you need to establish two things: if there is a bias against natural or alternative treatments for health problems; or if the products of one particular pharmaceutical company are favoured over others. Unless you totally trust your doctor from previous experience, you should try the questioning route as a consumer: you have a right to have all the alternatives fully explained to you at the outset having paid, one way or another, for the treatment you are receiving.

The better informed you are about alternative courses of treatment for your problem prior to a visit to your doctor, the more you can influence the course of treatment decided upon by mutual agreement. Visiting online resources such as The Mayo Clinic, Health Insite, MedlinePlus and CHIS –UK can help you to understand the different options available in contrast with orthodox medicine.

If you go to the surgery unprepared in any way about your condition, then you are generally putting yourself at the mercy of what conventional medicine has decided for your condition. In such a situation, a course of treatment for a health problem can get very biased dependent upon the attitude of the medical establishment in the particular part of the world you live in. If you don’t believe the last statement, then go and read my March post titled “ Why One Person’s Ordeal is Significant.” 

The Possible Health Legacy of the Olympic Games

I would first of all like to congratulate the UK authorities for staging a magnificent Olympic Games in London in 2012; and Team GB for a stellar performance across a range of disciplines reflected in their overall medal haul. However, according to my adjusted figures, the best overall nation in the games was Jamaica. To give them the number one spot, I simply divided the number of medals they won in the Olympics (12) by the current population of Jamaica (2.89 million) to arrive at a figure which wasn’t surpassed by any other major nation competing when calculated on the same basis.

The IOC President, Jacques Rogge, should be worried as he surveys the final medals table about the unevenness of the spread of medals throughout the world. India, Indonesia and Malaysia, for instance, didn't win a single gold medal from a combined population size of 1,500 million people. Shouldn’t the 2020 games be awarded to Mumbai or Jakarta in order to bring these countries fully  into the games?

There is a legacy to be had for the people of East London in that they inherit all the structures built to accommodate the games, which includes a 80,000 seater stadium, aquatics centre, velodrome, shopping centre and the accommodation blocks in which the athletes were housed during the games. This should help to breathe new life into a part of London which was a run-down area prior to the Olympic Park being constructed there to accommodate the games.  

The British authorities are assuming that the London 2012 games will be a financial success based on their estimated recovery of £13 billon from an expenditure of circa £9 billion. Whilst their projected figure for financial recovery is just an estimate at this stage, it appears to demonstrates that a well -planned games can be a financial success without unduly burdening the taxpayer.

The heroes created during the games, such as Ussain Bolt of Jamaica in sprint events, Sir Chris Hoy of GB in cycling, and Oscar Pistorius, the double leg amputee from South Africa, for competing in the 400m track event, are good role models for young people interested in sport to follow. Young people need positive role models; and all the athletes who competed in the games should in the coming weeks and months visit schools in their area in order to encourage more young people to take up sport.

The games can leave a worthwhile legacy for the UK, and the wider world, only if it inspires enough people to take up sport at a young ago, and thereby give them the daily amount of exercise they require in order to establish and maintain good health. Adequate daily exercise is one of the building blocks of good health. People who get involved in sport at a young age will hopefully keep it as a component for the rest of their lives irrespective of whether or not they compete for their counties in an Olympic games.     

 Of course governments do need to provide adequate funding and facilities for sport in order to reap the benefits later on. Providing funding for sport makes sense when the corresponding savings on crime, drug abuse and illnesses caused by inactivity are taken into account. Governments need to take action on funding now in order to benefit from the goodwill created by the games; and to ensure a positive legacy is probable rather than just possible. 

The Problems Associated with Prescription Drugs

Pharmaceutical companies are money-making outfits whose primary aims are to maximise the return for their shareholders. They just happen to be using health as a means of achieving their monetary objectives, as opposed any other sphere of activity. The directors and senior executives of most drug companies, in addition to any salaries paid to them, usually own sizeable amounts of shares in the company giving them an additional incentive to focus solely on profit.

We consumers should be suspicious of the products of drug manufacturers for the following reasons:

1.     Designed as a short-term measure.

The vast majority of prescription drugs on the market only treat the symptoms of the problem for which they are prescribed, and not the underlying cause of the problem. If you only treat the symptoms, the problem will re-occur requiring more drugs after the effects of the initial  dose has worn off. Repeat doses of a drug sets up a seemingly never-ending dependency for the patient being treated, and contributes enormously to the profits made by the manufacturer.

Drugs in the category  known as “ blockers”, as the name implies, are only temporary stop-gap measures.  A calcium channel blocker, for example, in the treatment of heart disease temporarily holds back calcium from the heart having a short-term beneficial effect only.

2.     Have side effects.

All prescription drugs have side effects to the extent that the body reacts to any synthetic input. In some cases, this reaction is quite severe and can affect such vital organs as the brain, eyes, heart, lungs or kidneys. A pharmaceutical company nearly always understates the side effects of a drug until such time as the number of people complaining about it brings it to the attention of the authorities in a particular jurisdiction.

In the past eight years the drugs Viox and Avandia were withdrawn from the market on a worldwide basis as a result of complaints by patients indicating the possibility of an increased risk of developing cardiovascular problems from their continued use.

3.     Prescribed following wrong diagnosis by doctors.  

Doctors sometimes make false diagnosis of what patients are suffering from, and then prescribe drugs according to their wrong assessments. An error like this can sometimes have a devastating, or even fatal, effect on the patient being treated.  

4.     Open to abuse.

Abuse of prescription drugs means taking drugs for reasons other than the ones for which they were prescribed, or taking drugs in excess of the prescribed amounts. A certain amount of prescription drugs get into the hands of people they were not intended for at all. The taking of a drug for a purpose for which it was not intended can have dangerous health consequences for the taker, and become addictive in the same manner as illegal street drugs such as crack, cocaine or heroin.   

5.     Prescribed following bias by doctors.

Some doctors have a bias in favour of the use of prescription drugs in the treatment of health problems to the extent that the alternatives are not even considered as a first option. Doctors of this mentality do their patients a disservice in not considering all the options fully before making a decision on a course of treatment.
Furthermore, I would not rule out the possibility of undue influence of drug companies on some doctors in the form of “expenses” paid for services rendered, or the sponsoring by them of publications which doctors read, in order to advance their products

The above reasons should put you on red alert as far as prescription drugs are concerned in the treatment of health problems. Conventional medicine generally does not give patients opportunities to pursue  alternative courses of treatment for their ailments.  However, this blog is at the forefront of championing the rights of people to pursue whatever courses of treatment they desire.  

Taking Care of Children

The best thing a pregnant woman can do for her unborn child is to make sure that she is not deficient in vitamin D. The best source of vitamin D is direct sunlight on the skin; all that is required is 15 minutes exposure daily. Food sources of this vitamin are fish oil, sardines, salmon and herring. Eggs and milk only contain small amounts. Failing to get a sufficient amount from sunlight or from food, then a vitamin D supplement should be taken as insurance against the child being born with brittle bones

From once a child is born, research by experts has shown that breast milk is the best option over the first year. If the mother is not producing enough milk, or has other problems, then formula milk can be substituted. As milk provides all the nutrients a baby needs, solids should be introduced gradually after 4 months in addition to milk. No attempt should be made before the baby is a year old to wean him/her off milk; some mothers do breast feed up to 18 months and beyond.

The foods fed to a baby after the first year need to do three things: promote growth; develop and consolidate bones; and produce red blood cells. Milk, yogurt, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables are good foods to help achieve these objectives. Use the child’s appetite at any one sitting, to gauge how much food is required.

Vitamins A, C and D, as well as the minerals calcium and iron, are the most critical to help the child grow and develop properly. The aforementioned foods should provide these essential nutrients in sufficient amounts except for, possibly, vitamin D. Therefore kids should be encouraged in good weather to play outside in order to benefit from the main source of vitamin D: the sun. If you live in a part of the world that has long winters, consider giving your child a vitamin D supplement in order to make up for any deficiency in this regard.

Children need to drink water, for the same reason that adults do, to irrigate the whole body and to encourage the proper elimination of waste. After infants are weaned off breast or formula milk, they should be encouraged to drink water with the main meals of the day; and to drink it between meals if the weather is hot in order to prevent dehydration.

According to the medical authorities in many parts of the world, children need to be vaccinated against certain diseases. In some countries these vaccinations are “recommendations” made by the health authorities; in others, such as certain states in the USA, it is illegal not to have them done as a child cannot attend school without proof they have been carried out. In the UK at the present time, it is recommended that children are vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, meningitis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. The balance of evidence would appear to support the view that the benefits of immunisation far outweigh any possible side effects.

In addition to the foregoing, children should be encouraged to do the following in order to aid their overall development: engage in play activities each day, and thereby get their daily quotient of exercise; interact with other children of roughly the same age; play and bond with a pet or pets; look at books appropriate to their age;  and construct or draw something from play materials provided.

If your 3 or 4 year old child is potty trained, there are advantages in sending him or her to a nursery school, if there is one near you. The main advantages are the interaction with other kids and teachers there in a secure environment. It is inadvisable to send your child to a  formal education  place (primary school) before the age of five.

I hope you have found this post on the needs of children useful. Any comments on it can be made in the box below provided for that purpose.   

Fraudulent Practices by Global Pharmaceuticals

Last week in the UK, while most of the attention was on the banks for misquoting the Libor rate, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK’s biggest pharmaceutical company, was fined a record 3 billion dollars by the US’s  FDA ( Food & Drug Administration) in settlement of claims arising from three separate legal cases brought for fraud relating to sales and marketing of nine of their drugs including Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia.

The settlement of the dispute with the US authorities, prompted Andrew Witty, chief executive of GSK, to make the following statement: ”In recent years, we have fundamentally changed our procedures for compliance, marketing and selling in the US to ensure that we operate with high standards of integrity and that we conduct our business openly and transparently."  Only time will tell if this statement is true.

GSK are not to only pharmaceutical company involved in this kind of thing. The US authorities have also in recent years fined Merck, Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories billions of dollars each in connection with their drugs.  It does not surprise me, or anyone who read my post in March titled  “ All Prescribed Drugs Have Side Effects “ , that pharmaceuticals are involved in misrepresentation, mis-selling or improper marketing techniques. It is common practice for them, for instance, to understate the side effects of a drug until such time as the numbers of people complaining about it bring it to the attention of the authorities.

Pharmaceutical companies have also been known to bombard doctors with literature about their drugs in order to have them prescribed on a regular basis; some have even gone so far as to offers doctors free holidays if certain targets are hit in the regularity with which their drugs are prescribed. The medical establishments in many countries have known for some time about the unhealthy relationship that exists between the manufacturers of drugs and the prescribers.    

The record fine of 3 billion dollars by the US authorities on GSK only represents a slap in the wrist as the money the company makes from prescription drugs is huge. It is estimated that the company has made more than 30 billion dollars from the drugs Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia alone. GSK are only fourth in the league table of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies; the table is topped by Pfizer. A more meaningful way of penalising a company found guilty of fraud would be to jail the senior executives, in addition to a fine linked to the profits they have made in the jurisdiction involved during the period cited in the legal action.   

Drug manufacturers will take fines lightly because they know they have got a monopoly in the market in the treatment of health problems, whereby the alternatives are rarely given an opportunity to be used. This situation is not going to change until such time as doctors are compelled by law to give a patient an opportunity to pursue an alternative course of treatment relating to a health problem, in the many situations where this is a viable option.

If you have anything to say on this post, do so via the comments box below.

How to Prevent a Stroke or Heart Attack

There are certain things individuals can do to greatly reduce their chances of suffering a stroke or heart attack. Suffering the consequences  of a stroke or heart attack can have a devastating effect on the person concerned, and his/her immediate family, as has been highlighted in the UK recently when a stroke victim wanted to commit suicide but the law prevented his immediate family from helping him do this.

Here are eight things that you can do to significantly reduce your chances of suffering a stroke or heart attack:

1. Stop smoking.

If you smoke, make a decisive attempt to give it up. If you live in a household with someone who smokes, urge them to give up the habit, or outline to them places they can smoke that will not interfere with your health. Smoking, or exposure to smoke, causes the heart to work harder.

2.  Limit your alcohol intake.  

Drink no more than two units of alcohol per day. This equates to one pint of beer or two glasses of wine per day. Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, and contribute to other conditions like being overweight or obese.

3.  Choose a good diet.

One of the best ways to fight any cardiovascular disease is through a healthy diet. The food you eat can affect risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and weight control. Choose a diet rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, fish, whole-grains, high in fibre and containing low-fat dairy products should suffice here. Avoid or reduce the amount of saturated fats found in meats, eggs and butter as they increase cholesterol to an unhealthy level.

4.  Drink sufficient water.

Try and drink six glasses of water per day. Water cleanses the whole body of toxins and waste products leaving it clear to function properly.

5.  Take regular daily exercise.

Try and engage in at least 30 minutes of brisk walking, or light jogging, every day of the week. Indoor exercise with weighs, or on a stationary bicycle, can also help. Adequate daily exercise has a positive influence on the whole body and reduces blood pressure. Daily exercise, in conjunction with a healthy diet, should ensure you do not have weight problems, and you are within 5% of the weight indicated by your BMI( body mass index). See my recent post titled “ How To Control Your Weight To prevent Health Problems “  to learn how to calculate your BMI.

6.  Take measures to reduce stress.

Try and reduce any stress at source, if you can identify what is causing it. Otherwise you could engage in meditation, breathing techniques, yoga or listening to relaxation music. 

7.  Get sufficient sleep.

My recent post tilled “The Heath Benefits Of A Good Night’s Sleep “ adequately deals with this subject.

8.  Manage your diabetes.  

If you are a diabetic of either type, then there is an increased risk of developing cardiovascular problems, especially if your blood sugar level remains high for a lengthy period of time. You therefore should be avoiding foods and drinks that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, and concentrating on only consuming products that ensure your blood sugar moves on an even keel. You should also be using daily exercise routines for the same reason.

If you adhere to the above recommendations, you will have significantly reduced the risk of either suffering a stroke or heart attack. Anything you have to say on this post, can be made using  the comments box below.

How to Slow Down the Aging Process

It is generally accepted that our health deteriorates as we age. Our eyesight, memory and resistance to disease all suffer as a consequence of the aging process. Whilst it is impossible to reverse the aging process completely, it is possible to postpone the negative effects of aging by paying particular attention to what we consume daily, and the amount of regular exercise we engage in.
  

Here are things you can do to combat aging:

1.  Drink lots of water.

Make it a habit to drink six glasses of water per day irrespective of how thirsty you feel. It is best to start off with one glass of water when you get up in the morning, one with breakfast, one before lunch, and one with lunch, one before dinner, and one with dinner. Water flushes out toxins and other waste products from the body; it greatly reduces your risk of a heart attack; it helps with weight loss; and assists with clearing your skin.

2.  Have a diet rich in anti-oxidants.

The aging process is greatly influenced by the foods we eat. To combat aging, it is best to consume lots of fresh fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, a variety of berries, apricots and grapefruit, as they are rich in anti-oxidising agents.  The antioxidants protect the cells in our bodies from damage by free radicals, thereby slowing down the aging process.

Vitamins C, E and selenium are also very important in slowing down the aging process. Good food sources of these are citrus fruits, fresh green vegetables, lettuce, tomatoes, cod liver oil, oily fish, whole grains, onions and meat.

3.  Take regular daily exercise.

My April post titled “Exercise Improves Health “  adequately describes what needs to be done on a daily basis regarding exercise.

4.  Take action to reduce stress.

You need to identify and remove, if possible, any harmful stress from your life. The body can be adversely affected by harmful stress. There are many proven ways to combat stress such as meditation, deep breathing, yoga or listening to relaxation music. You obviously will need to allocate such time to yourself on a regular basis to practice whatever technique you have chosen.

5.  Get sufficient sleep.

My most recent post titled “The Health Benefits Of A Good Night’s Sleep”  deals with everything you need to know concerning this.

6.  Take daily food supplements.

Though it is not specifically an anti-aging measure, the taking of food supplements, such as a multivitamin and vitamin tablet, on a daily basis is insurance against a deficiency in the diet resulting in health problems as you get older. There are such variables with food dependent upon the state of the land it comes from, how fresh it is, how it is stored, and how it is cooked that it is unwise to be wholly reliant upon it to provide all the nutrients that you need to maintain good health.

 Brewer’s Yeast tablets are also an excellent food supplement worth considering because they contain iron, magnesium, zinc, essential animo acids and all the B vitamins.

If you adhere to the measures outlined above, you should be in a good position to avoid lots of the health problems suffered by people ignorant of what can be done to combat aging.

The Health Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep

There are substantial health benefits in getting adequate sleep. A lot of research has been done and the main conclusions drawn from getting a good night’s sleep are as follows:

·   It helps the body make repairs to itself caused by stress and other influences, and strengthens the immune system.

·    It keeps your heart healthy preventing heart attacks and strokes.

·    It helps you to feel more relaxed next day and reduces stress.

·    It makes you more alert and bolsters your memory.

·    It makes you smarter and more productive, which can help your career.  

·   It can help prevent depression because it has an impact on the chemicals in the body including serotonin, which is needed to combat this disorder.  

·   It can aid weight loss because the hormones ghrelin and leptin. Important for the regulation of appetite, are disrupted by lack of sleep. 

·   It can help you live longer on the basis of studies done on groups of people.

How much sleep does a person need? The answer to this question can vary dependent upon your age and circumstances. Some people can make do with 6 hours or less per night, while others sleep for 8 or 9 hours. The average for most people is about 8 hours.  

Research has also been done on what helps you get adequate sleep with the following conclusions:

·  Make sure the room you are going to sleep in has been well aired during the day and is not too hot come bedtime. A room temperature of 18 degrees Centigrade (65 Fahrenheit) is about right. Make sure the room is as dark as possible when the light is switched off and noise-free. Do not have things like a computer, TV set or mobile phone in the bedroom.

·  Make sure the bed you are sleeping in is of sufficient size with the head adjacent to an internal wall. The mattress should be as comfortable as possible.

·  Do not eat or drink anything in the two hours preceding going to bed. Do not drink coffee, tea or alcohol in the 8 hours before you go to bed.

·  When you take exercise during the day, do it outdoors if at all possible.

·  Make the time you go to bed at night and get up in the morning a regular time if at all possible, to enable your body to adjust to this schedule.

·  If you miss some sleep for any reason, then a 40 minute nap next day is okay to compensate. Otherwise do not nap during the day.

·  Engaging in a relaxation technique, such as deep breathing or listening to relaxation music, in the hour before you go to bed can induce sleep.

·  Avoid any strenuous activity in the two hours before bedtime.  

In giving advice on sleep, I do realise that peoples’ circumstances can vary enormously. However, the above is the best advice that I could muster on the important subject from a health point of view of getting a good night’s sleep.

How to Control Your Weight to Prevent Health Problems

Taking control of your weight is one of the most constructive things that you can do concerning your health.  Excessive weight can lead to health problems such as: a stroke or heart attack; developing type 2 diabetes; developing cancer of the colon, kidney or breast; having arthritis; becoming infertile; developing cataracts; or just having a poor quality of life.

While experts still debate precisely what constitutes an ideal weight, the weight to height ratio appears to be the best. This ratio is called the BMI (body mass index), and takes account of the fact that taller people have more mass area than shorter people, and therefore tend to weigh more.  You can calculate your BMI by going to this website and inserting your height and weight in either metric or imperial measurements. Most experts agree the following concerning BMI readings: a reading of under 25 is healthy; a reading between 25 and 30 is overweight; and a reading of over 30 is obese.

If you are in the obese category, then you may have already compromised your health to such an extent that you are at serious risk of developing one or more of the conditions referred to in paragraph one. Obese persons should try to reduce their weight under the supervision of a doctor and/or dietician. People who are just overweight can address this state by paying attention to their diet and the amount of exercise that they do on a daily basis. The equation is simple: calories in – calories out = weight gain if a positive number, or weight loss if a negative number.  A calorie is a measurement of the amount of energy that is obtained from food, and is usually expressed as a number in labelling per 100 kg of food (in EU countries).

The best approach to weight loss is to concentrate on a low carbohydrate, high protein and high fibre diet; and set an overall desirable weight that you want to get to. It is best to set achievable goals like a 5% reduction in your weight over a certain period of time. If, for example, your starting weight is 76 kilograms (168 pounds) now, and your target weight is 69 kilograms (152 pounds), the first target could be getting to 72 kilograms (160 pounds) in six months; and your next target getting down to your ideal weight in a further six months.  If you didn’t achieve the first target within the stipulated period, then just extend the period. It wouldn’t matter much in the example given, if getting to the ideal weight took 15 months as opposed to 12 months.

Try and get half the protein you consume from vegetable or fruit sources such as beans, peas, lentils, kale, carrots, cabbage, apples, apricots, pears and bananas; and the other half from fish, wholegrain cereals or bread, low-fat yogurt,  eggs and meat in that order of preference. Other sources of protein worth considering are nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, macedonia nuts or peanuts.

Avoid simple carbohydrates such as soft drinks, sugar, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, jam, corn flakes, pop-corn and syrup. If you have a tendency to snack in between meals, you don’t need to give them up completely. If you currently take two snacks a day between meals involving eating crisps or crackers, why not supplant them with a healthier choice such as an apple followed by a glass of water, and a pear and a glass of water ? Eating whole fruits in between meals fills you up and gives you fibre; while water also acts to fill you up and cleanses the whole system.

The other thing that you need to do is take regular daily exercise in order to burn off excess calories and get your weight down. My post in April titled  “Exercise Improves Health”  adequately explains what you need to do on a daily basis regarding this.

You now have a valid approach to achieving your ideal weight as a preventative measure against health problems. If you persist with the recommendations  outlined above, you will achieve your objective ! 

Why Standardised Food Labelling is a Good Aim

The UK’s Heath Secretary, Andrew Lansley, last week announced a UK-wide consultation on standardising food labelling, with the aim of making it “ easier for consumers to compare the nutritional information on the food they buy“. At present in the UK, there are numerous food manufacturers all doing their own thing when it comes to displaying nutritional information for consumers to follow. The stated objectives of the consultation with the regional governments in the UK are as follows:

1.Maintain and extend the use of front-of-pack labelling across the widest possible range of food and drinks products. 2.Achieve the greatest possible consistency in the content and presentation of front-of-pack nutrition labelling, in a form that is clearest and most useful to consumers.

 I think standardising food labelling is a good idea. Anything that enables a consumer to make a healthier choice at the purchase stage should be encouraged. What I am confused about in the consultation launched is the reference to “front-of-pack”. What needs to be displayed somewhere on the package, tin, container or bottle, as far as I am concerned, is first a clear list of all the different ingredients in the product; and then the nutritional information provided in a clear way indicating the energy, protein, carbohydrate/sugar, fat, fibre and sodium content.  In addition to that, the amount of calories, sugar, fat, saturated fat and salt (sodium) in a product needs to be stated by the manufacturer in relation to the size of the container that the product comes in.

If a product, such as baked beans for instance, comes in a round tin, I cannot see at all that that it makes a difference where the relevant information is placed on the tin as long as it is legible and capable of being understood. In a round object what exactly constitutes the front and the back ? The same question could be asked of foodstuffs that that come in rectangular cardboard cartons. I suppose the drafters of the consultation document are calling where the name of the product is written, together with the depiction of the product, the front and the opposite side the rear. It is not always possible to put all the information consumers need to know about the constituent parts and nutrition value of a product on the same side as the name and the picture; although a very brief overview of this information might be accommodated there.

Having a list of list of ingredients somewhere on the packaging, which only some food manufacturers do at present, is crucial. I went over to package surrounding the porridge oats that I ate for breakfast this morning and on the ingredients list it said: “Rolled Oats (100%) “, in other words it is unprocessed as there are no additives listed at all. The healthiest choice is always the product that is either unprocessed, or has received the least processing; you can easily assess how much processing a product has received, and therefore compare different products for health worthiness, by reference to the ingredients list.  

A clear indication of the ingredients and nutritive value on packaging is a start in the right direction, in order to enable the consumer to make an informed choice when purchasing. However, you will still need to work out for yourself the health implications of some substances listed in the ingredients list. If, for example, nasty substances like sugar (found in abundance in the regular version of soft drinks), aspartame (found in the diet version of soft drinks) and hydrogenated oil (found in tinned meats) are listed, are there equivalent products available in the store without these health hazards ?

Any problems with how and where the information on products is to be displayed can be worked through as everything is still subject to the consultation process, and only needs to be finalised before there is a recommendation made at the end. Hopefully, if Britain adopts standard labelling of food products, other counties will follow suite. As lots of products such as rice, pasta, canned meats and canned fish cross international borders, a common way of displaying nutritional information on these products is desirable.  

If you have any views on this, use the comments box below to air them.  If you are a UK resident, you can make your views known to the Department of Health by going to the following website: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/food-labelling-consultation-launched/  , and then following the links.

How Consumers Can Influence Food Choices

I am of the opinion that consumers can collectively influence what foods and beverages retailers make available for purchase in their stores at affordable prices. If people continue to buy things detrimental to health, such as foods and soft drinks laden with sugar for instance, then that is what will take up the majority of the space at the retail outlets concerned.

The main shift detected in consumer habits over the last twenty years or so has been away from conventional foods and drinks towards organic produce. However, over the last two or three years this movement away from conventional produce has come to a halt mainly because of increasing price differentials; the indications are that people are prepared to pay 10-20% more, but not 50% or 100% more, for organic produce.

Whilst organic foods are healthier than conventional ones insofar as they are produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or the help of artificial products, it is not necessary to qualify for that particular accreditation in order for foods and beverages to contain more nutrients than what is generally available at present. My February post titled  “Beware Of White Processed Foods “  highlights unnecessary processes that go on in the production of white flour and white rice that takes away a large part of their nutritive value.  

One of the main derivative products of white flour is white bread. If a significant number of consumers switched from buying white bread to wholemeal bread, for instance, that would force retailers to make the latter available in bigger quantities to meet the increased demand. The same logic applies to white rice and pasta; retailers would make more brown rice and wholegrain pasta available on their shelves if there was an increased demand for them.

In the soft drinks section, any movement away from products containing ingredients detrimental to health like sugar, or sugar substitutes (which includes descriptions in the ingredients list like “corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, aspartame etc”),  would be detected by the retailer and their stocking policy would be adjusted accordingly.

If you cannot find a product in your local store to meet your requirements, what can you do about it ?  You could make suggestions to your retailer that there is a market for the product you are seeking by making comments to the staff in the store, or via the internet. My local Asda supermarket in Edgware, England enables me to go online after a visit and make comments or suggestions on anything quoting my receipt number as a reference. 

One possible suggestion you could make to retailers is to provide a healthy alternative to the soft drinks generally on display in their stores, which are a health hazard because of the added sugars or sugar substitutes. Couldn’t an alternative sweetener like stevia be used instead ? Stevia, which is a collection of herbs much sweeter than sugar originating from the Americas, was approved by the European Union last year for use in member countries. Stevia has an alkalising effect on the body as opposed to the acidic influence of sugar in all its various guises.

The present attitude of retailers will not change unless a significant amount of consumers take steps to improve the availability of healthy foods and beverages at reasonable prices. From once a healthier range of produce is available, the retailers’ systems will detect, almost immediately, any change in sentiment due to the bar coding systems linked to computers they have in place. Therefore the first objective is to get a healthier choice of products than exists at present on the shelves in the first instance ! 

How to Build Good Health

Everybody needs to take action sometime in their life to prevent health problems or disease. The best way to do this is by taking positive steps to build good health, paying particular attention to such things as diet and exercise in order to achieve this goal.   Good health can be built over time with the right attitude, right information, perseverance, and a will to succeed.

I have used the headings of diet, exercise and other measures to outline in the following paragraphs what needs to be done in order to build good health.

Diet

The foods and drinks we consume on a daily basis determine the nutrients our body receives. If the quality, quantity, variety of the foods and drinks we consume daily aren’t correct, then our bodies can become deficient in nutrients, which can lead to health problems. Our body needs sufficient amounts of protein, complex carbohydrates , essential fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water on a daily basis.     

The main sources of animal protein are meats, fish, eggs and dairy products. Sources of vegetable protein are seeds nuts, beans, lentils, peas and green vegetables. Fruits and whole grains also contain protein but in smaller amounts. An average person needs about 70 grams (2.9 ounces) of protein per day. It is best to get most of your protein from non- meats; and to limit your intake of meat protein to three times a week.       

Simple carbohydrates are found in such things as sugar, sugar substitutes, jam, chocolate, cakes and soft drinks and should be avoided at all costs, as they cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels and acidity. Complex carbohydrates are found in peas, beans, lentils, wheat, barley, brown rice, corn, fruit, dried vegetables, wholegrain bread and potatoes. A person needs on average about 175 grams (7 ounces) of complex carbohydrates per day.   

The body also needs 25 grams (1 ounce) of each of the following types of fatty acids on a daily basis: saturated fatty acids; mono-unsaturated fatty acids; and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids are found in peanut oil and in animal- derived products such as meat, eggs, butter, cream, cheese and yogurt.  Mono-unsaturated fatty acids are found in olive and colza oil, peanuts, olives, almonds, avocados, and duck and goose meat. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in corn oil and grape seed oil, margarine, fish, shellfish and fish oil.

You should consume on average of 50 grams (2 ounces) of fibre per day. Fibre comes from a variety of sources. You can work out from the table produced in my post titled “Why Fibre Is Crucial In The Diet”   how you are going to achieve your daily requirement.    

In addition to eating a varied diet in order to receive all the nutrients that are required for optimum health, it is prudent, in most cases, to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement as well to make sure there is no deficiency in the diet The reason for this is there are such variables with the nutrient value of food dependent upon the following: the state of the land that it comes from; how fresh it is; how it is stored; and how it is cooked.  For further information on this see my post titled “Why Whole Food Concentrates & Supplements Are Necessary “.

The best beverage to drink is water, as outlined in a recent post titled “ Water Is Essential To Health“. Other drinks to consider are coconut milk green and herbal tea. Coffee and soft drinks (sodas) should be avoided.

Exercise

The reasons why exercise is so important to overall health are outlined in my post titled “ Exercise Improves Health”.  

Other Measures

The other steps you need to take are as follows:

·  Maintain a positive mental attitude at all times; and try and reduce stress in your home or at your place of work.

·  When the sun is shining, safely expose yourself to it in order to reap the benefits of the healing power of the sun. For more information on this particular topic, go here.

·  Engage in laugher with your family, neighbours and work colleagues as often as possible. For more information on this, go here.

·  If appropriate to your particular circumstances, keep a pet or pets to improve your overall mood and reduce stress. For more information on this subject, go here.  

·  Quit smoking because of the detrimental affect it has on health, as acknowledged by various governments across the world in the measures they have introduced to persuade people to quit the habit.

·  Take firm control of drinking alcoholic beverages. Limit your intake to no more than two units of alcohol per day.  

 If the above steps are taken, good health should naturally follow as a consequence, thereby greatly reducing the need for a doctor, hospital or prescription drugs.