Food and Health Room

[Anthea]

Hands off our Hummus!

Whitehall plans to cut calories by 20% on dozens of our favourite foods - including garlic bread and pesto - face a backlash as industry say targets are 'unworkable'

Sweet potato chips and guacamole also face being changed beyond recognition
Government calls for calories of 15 categories to be cut by 20% over five years
Retailers say guidelines are ‘unworkable’ and wrong response to obesity crisis
For some products only way to reduce calories is to remove crucial ingredient

Hummus, garlic bread and pesto are under threat from strict new calorie limits, the food industry has warned.

Dozens of other products popular with middle-class shoppers including hollandaise sauce, sweet potato chips and guacamole also face being changed beyond recognition.

There is a growing backlash in the industry against the calorie guidelines, first announced by the Government’s health agency last spring.

They are among a raft of measures to tackle obesity and call for the calories of 15 categories of food to be cut by 20 per cent over five years.

Click to enlarge


The only way for some foods to meet the calorie guidelines is to remove a crucial ingredient. Products under threat include hummus, top left, and olive and basil focaccia, top right

But manufacturers and retailers say the guidelines are ‘unworkable’ and the wrong response to the nation’s obesity crisis.

They have accused Public Health England (PHE) of basing the targets on an oversimplified mathematical model which does not work in practice.

For some products, the only way to reduce the calorie content to comply with the guidelines is to remove a crucial ingredient.

They include the ‘bread with additions’ category, which has a proposed limit of 254 calories per 100 grams.

Garlic bread typically contains 374 calories per 100g and the same portion of an olive and basil focaccia loaf has 300 calories.

Only if the garlic butter was removed from the garlic bread or the olives from the focaccia would the calories be sufficiently reduced, manufacturers claim.

There are similar problems for hummus and guacamole, which are classed as ‘meal accompaniments’, with a 193 calories per 100g limit.

Hummus typically has about 278 calories per 100g and even a reduced calorie version is 219 calories. Guacamole is about 228 calories.

Pesto, meanwhile, contains 453 calories per 100g, five times the 79 calories guideline for the ‘cooking and serving sauces’ category.

Manufacturers say the calorie content of these products cannot easily be reduced without radically altering their taste and consistency.

Other items that fall outside the limits include microwavable rice and quinoa pouches, which would need to be stripped of their flavourings to comply.

Grissini breadsticks, polenta chips and korma curry sauce are also above the guidelines and would be very difficult to alter.

The guidelines are not compulsory but the Government has threatened to use ‘other levers’ against the food industry – such as a sugar tax on confectionery – if it is deemed not to be taking sufficient action against obesity.

Two thirds of adults and one third of children in the UK are either overweight or obese. Britain’s rates are the third worst in Europe.

The guidelines were first announced by PHE last March alongside advice for adults to eat only 400 calories for breakfast, 600 calories for lunch and 600 calories for dinner.

Further details emerged over Christmas when draft calorie limits were drawn up for each of the 15 categories of foods and circulated within the industry.

PHE is expected to publish final guidelines this spring and the food industry will be expected to have met them by 2024.

Tim Rycroft, of the Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, said: ‘FDF and its members welcomed the calorie reduction programme when it launched. But we have reservations about how achievable the targets are in reality.

‘A collective 20 per cent calorie reduction guideline across all food categories is unfeasible, particularly given the range of food types that this blanket guideline covers. We hope industry’s concerns will be considered.’

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, the trade body for retailers, said: ‘While we support the Government’s aim of reducing calorie consumption, some of the calorie targets are simply not realistic.

‘Our members continue to reformulate products by removing sugars, fats and salts. However, they must also take account of the tastes and preferences of their consumers.’

Coffee shops and restaurants will also have to comply with the limits. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, which represents them, said: ‘We are wary that the targets are unworkable.’

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: ‘Consuming too many calories is the root cause of obesity. The Government has a clear ambition to halve the number of children becoming overweight and obese by 2030 and prevent them becoming obese adults.

‘The food industry has a responsibility to act where it can make products healthier. Our draft proposals set out how the food industry can help tackle excess calories. We encourage industry feedback to help shape this work.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... imits.html

[Piling]

Hummus, garlic bread and pesto are under threat from strict new calorie limits, the food industry has warned.

They should better to cut sugar and all additives in junk food. Hummus is tahini+chick peas + olive oil. Very healthy fat.

[Anthea]

Junk food diet is killing us

Eating processed foods such as burgers, sugary cereals and pizzas increases risk of fatal diseases, with Britons the worst culprits in Europe

New study of 45,000 people found link between death and ultra-processed food

Previous data has shown such meals can cause high blood pressure and cancer

But this is first to investigate consumption of such products and mortality risk

Eating too many burgers, pizzas, biscuits and cakes can knock years off your life, according to new research.

A study of almost 45,000 middle-aged people found that deaths from heart disease, cancer and other illnesses were linked to the consumption of 'ultra-processed food'.

These include: chips, white bread, ready meals, sausages, sugary cereals and fizzy drinks - essentially any product involving an industrial procedure.

Worryingly, these snacks make up half the average Briton's diet – a higher proportion than any other European country – and they are prematurely killing us, say scientists.

And a 10 per cent increase in how much junk someone eats is associated with a 14 per cent rise in their risk of dying within the next eight years, they added.

Previous research has shown that these fat-rich, low-fibre foods cause high blood pressure and cancer, but this is the first to investigate consumption and mortality risk.

Co-author Dr Laure Schnabel, a nutritional epidemiologist at Paris-Sorbonne University, said: 'Ultra-processed foods contain multiple ingredients.

'The nutritional characteristics of [these] could partly explain the development of non-communicable chronic diseases among those who consume them.'

In addition to having a higher content of total fat, saturated fat and added sugar, many fast food items contain legal but controversial additives such as sodium nitrite and titanium oxide.

Meanwhile, artificial sweeteners - which are also commonly present in snacks - are suspected of altering gut bacteria, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases which are major causes of premature mortality.

Together, when consumed in substantial volume over time, they can trigger long-term, potentially fatal illnesses.

The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, were based on a survey of 44,551 healthy 45-to-64-year-olds in France, with an average age of 57 who kept 24-hour dietary records.

This enabled researchers to measure their intake of more than 3,000 different food items classified into four groups depending on their level of processing.

Overall, fast food accounted for 29 per cent of total energy intake - about 20 per cent less than in the UK and other industrialised countries, where it's half of a UK person's diet. More than anywhere else in Europe.

Last year, a study of 19 European countries found 50 per cent of food sold in the UK is ultra-processed compared with 46 per cent in Germany, 45 per cent in Ireland - and 14 per cent in France.
Congratulations France

HOW IS THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO TACKLE OBESITY?

October's proposed plans to restrict the number of calories in pizzas, pies and ready meals came as part of drastic Government moves over the past year to try and cut down on obesity.

A tax on added sugar in drinks came into force in April, requiring companies to hand over more of the money they make from drinks which contain more than 5g of sugar per 100ml of liquid.

As a result, many soft drinks have had their recipes changed in order to avoid paying the tax and putting prices up. Sugary drinks are the biggest single source of sugar for children and teenagers.

The Government is also considering making it compulsory for all restaurants and fast food outlets to display the number of calories in each meal on their menu.

Some food outlets already do this but there can be unexpected numbers of calories in popular dishes, and the Government is consulting on the plans before a decision is due in spring.

In March this year, Public Health England warned Brits to crack down on the number of calories they're eating, advising people to consume no more than 1,600 per day.

The watchdog says adults shouldn't eat any more than 400 calories for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 600 for dinner – this would allow for some snacks, experts said.

Examples of 600-calorie meals include a tuna pasta salad and a small cereal bar, a chicken salad sandwich and a pack of crisps, or half a pepperoni pizza with a quarter of a garlic baguette and a banana.

In the same announcement PHE said shops selling the food should cut down their portion sizes to help people slim their waistlines.

Plans are also being considered to ban advertising junk food on television before 9pm, to reduce the number of children who are exposed to it.

Last September a parliamentary report was presented to the French Assembly over concerns about the increased consumption of ultra-processed foods

It emphasised policy actions aimed at improving the nutritional quality of the food supply and reducing intake by a fifth by 2021.

Dr Schnabel said: 'Ultra-processed foods consumption has largely increased during the past several decades and may drive a growing burden of non-communicable disease deaths.'

Higher consumption was associated with younger age, lower income and educational level, living alone, higher BMI and less physical activity.

Link to Video:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti ... eases.html

[Piling]

If Humans are destroying themselves, I don't care, that's their own choice, except for the poorest people.

But our food and way of life are destroying animals, vegetation, and now, and it is the worst for all life on earth, insects.

https://www.sciencealert.com/study-warn ... ct-numbers

I try to buy only organic and harmless stuff, but it is not easy.

[Anthea]

Chocolate company is slammed for making 'boy' and 'girl' flavours that are blue and pink – because it doesn't take transgender people into account

Whittaker's Coconut Ice Surprise blocks come in blue and pink colours

Campaign raises money for children's charity, contributing 20c for each block

Activists, academics have criticised promotion for excluding non-binary gender

A chocolate company has been criticised for its latest promotion - as activists and academics claim it excludes transgender and intersex people.

Whittaker's Coconut Ice Surprise blocks come in blue or pink colours - representing a 'boy' or a 'girl' - and are a special product designed to raise money for children's charity Plunket in New Zealand.

The campaign has been criticised by academics, activists and on social media for not considering intersex, transgender, gender non-binary and gender-fluid people.

Customers do not know if they have a blue or pink bar until they remove the product's packaging.

RainbowYouth executive director Frances Arns said although it was good that 20c of every bar sold was going to charity, the campaign was still 'disappointing'.

'It's a shame that they used a binary notion of gender, which is erasing many of the identities that exist in the rainbow community,' she told Stuff.

The Whittaker's promotion was inspired by 'gender reveal parties', where expectant parents hold a special ceremony to announce whether their child is a boy or a girl.

Ms Arns said those parties were outdated and can be harmful.

'The baby may grow up to have a different gender [than] that they were assigned at birth. The concept is also erasing two per cent of babies born intersex,' she said.

Whittaker's said the product was designed to support Plunket.

'Coconut ice is usually pink so that's where we started, but given Plunket's association with babies we went for blue as our other coconut ice colour,' the company said in a statement.

Whittaker's said the campaign was meant to be 'a bit of fun... rather than to create controversy or offend anyone'.

Intersex university sociologist Sarah Hendrica Bickerton said she likes Whittaker's as a company but doesn't appreciate the campaign.

'I get that they were just trying to have some fun and Plunket does an amazing job so it's really good they want to support them. But if you place the campaign in a wider context effectively it is excluding a whole range of people,' she said.

'It is literally pride month in New Zealand and you are fixing a boy and girl binary model at a time we are celebrating diversity in gender and sexuality? Maybe Whittaker's need to look into whether they have enough diversity in its marketing team].'

Auckland University of Technology psychology lecturer Pani Farvid said outdated gender stereotypes were being promoted in the campaign.

'We, in academia, are working really hard to dispel the gender binary model as we know there are more than two genders and that ascribing blue and pink to boys and girls is stereotypical,' she said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... count.html

God made Adam and Eve and a hairdresser

[Piling]

There is something mad in some cultures.

But in France, feminists would have targeted the blue/boys -pink/girls, probably. No one would have care to non-gendered lobbies.

We are Latin Macho retarded people

[Anthea]

I HATE political correctness

This reporter got into trouble for referring to a footballer as being BLACK

John Motson apologises to Millwall striker Tom Elliott after describing him as 'big, black and brave' on air

Sportsmail exclusively revealed that John Motson described Millwall striker Tom Elliott as 'big, black and brave' on talkSPORT radio broadcast
It occurred before Millwall's FA Cup fifth-round tie against AFC Wimbledon
Legendary broadcaster was reprimanded by his talkSPORT bosses for comment
Elliott has acknowledged Motson's apology and wants to draw line under affair

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sport ... gaffe.html

Here is the man's photo and he is BLACK it is a fact

big, black and brave
or
short, white and fat

Both are indisputable facts

I would have called him big, black and overpaid

He is British born, which is rare in footballers, we seem to import a great many from other countries and seldom seem to give our hom-egrown footballers a chance

[Anthea]

Pains: When to panic and when to put your feet up

Is your chest pain a pulled muscle — or a heart attack? Could your ‘caffeine headache’ be a brain tumour? Two top doctors reveal when to panic and when to put your feet up...

Making a judgement call on your latest health symptoms can be tricky business

People fear over and under-reacting, which often leads to old-fashioned denial

Here, New York doctors Christopher Kelly and Marc Eisenberg give you cues

There's one question our patients really want answered. The one that gnaws at them at night, that prompts them to make an appointment for the first time in years.

The one that keeps them from ignoring that weird new symptom that’s probably nothing but . . . ‘OMG, what if it isn’t nothing, and what if it’s an early sign of something serious? Am I dying?’

The answer, of course, is , yes. From the moment you were born!

The real question is: will it be sooner than you had expected?

Thankfully, most new symptoms turn out to be no big deal. Sometimes, however, a headache isn’t just a headache, and can actually be the sign of a life-threatening condition. But in the middle of the night, even just a 1 per cent chance of a terrible outcome starts to feel like a 98 per cent chance.

Don't panic! The good news is that most of the time your symptoms will be benign, and you can go ahead and enjoy that cup of tea

Of course, you could just Google your symptoms. Go ahead. Oh, it says your stuffy nose is a sign of cancer? (By the way, where did Dr Google go to medical school?)

So if you have a new symptom, what should you do?

Here, we go through the most common symptoms and provide guidance on the next steps — whether you can relax and make yourself a cup of tea, or should pick up the phone to make an appointment with your GP, or rush off to A&E.

You’ll get the same advice we offer our family members. (And in case you’re wondering how two cardiologists can know so much about everything, that’s because we enlisted the help of colleagues who specialise in other fields).

The good news is that most of the time your symptoms will be benign, and you can go ahead and enjoy that cup of tea.

Of course, it’s impossible to cover every scenario: when in doubt, ask a doctor.

Also, we assume you’re a generally healthy adult who doesn’t already have a diagnosis directly related to your symptoms. If you have severe chest pain and had heart surgery two weeks ago, please call your doctor!

If you know or suspect that you have a health problem, it is recommended you seek your physician’s advice before embarking on any medical programme or treatment.

HEADACHE

Most of us know the familiar pounding sensation that occurs at the end of a long week. But what if this headache is different?

Before you panic, let’s pause to review the facts. Many people have experienced headaches severe enough to warrant a trip to A&E. In fact, one in 50 visits to A&E is about headaches.

Yet most of those people survive, and you probably will, too.

Reality check: Many people have experienced headaches severe enough to warrant a trip to A&E. In fact, one in 50 visits to A&E is about headaches, yet most people survive...

TREAT YOURSELF AT HOME

YOUR headache is mostly in your forehead or face and you’ve recently had symptoms of a cold, such as a fever and runny nose:

One of your sinuses is probably jammed with mucus and is too swollen to drain properly.

You can try to thin out the mucus by inhaling warm vapour. Take ibuprofen along with a decongestant such as pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine (available over the counter from your pharmacist).

If the pain gets steadily worse and lasts for more than a week, you might need antibiotics; make an appointment to see your doctor.

You also have a fever, body aches, pains in your muscles and have a sore throat:

You probably have the flu.

You have recently kicked your coffee habit:

You’re in caffeine withdrawal. You’ll need to ride this out, preferably with the help of a pain reliever, such as ibuprofen.

Your headache feels like a band around your skull, but gets better with rest and medications such as paracetamol:

These symptoms are typical for a tension headache, the most common and least dangerous type of headache. They don’t require medical attention unless they’re happening often enough to interfere with the quality of your life.

The pain is uncomfortable but not intolerable. It came on gradually and isn’t associated with any other symptoms:

Some headaches don’t fit any specific pattern but also don’t have any alarming features.

Take a pain reliever with a tall glass of water and lie down in a quiet room. Give the medicine at least an hour or two to work. You should feel better soon.

Bruising that’s a sign of something serious

Fact: Tiny bruises all over your skin may relate to kidney or auto-immune disease

Your skin, unlike your waistline, reliably gets thinner with age.

The blood vessels become closer to the surface and more susceptible to the slings and arrows of everyday life, with minor injuries more likely to result in bruises.

If you have a long history of sun exposure or steroid cream usage, these changes can occur even earlier.

But tiny bruises all over your skin may be something different: the widespread disruption of small blood vessels can lead to lots of small bruises, about the size of an eraser tip.

In some places, the bruises can actually join together. The many different causes include changes in the clotting system, severe infections, calcium being deposited in blood vessel walls (which can occur in advanced kidney disease) and autoimmune diseases.

See your GP — unless the lesions are painful and/or you’re experiencing high fevers, in which case you should go to A&E.

If the pain keeps getting worse or becomes more regular, take a look through the next sections.

SEE YOUR GP

YOU’RE having frequent or intense headaches now, but never used to before:

High levels of stress, poor sleep, or a sudden decrease in caffeine intake can cause new-onset headaches in a person who doesn’t normally have them.

If there’s no obvious explanation, however, you should see your doctor to rule out rare but dangerous causes of headache.

YOU occasionally have gradual-onset throbbing headaches along with nausea and increased sensitivity to light and sound:

This pattern is classic for migraines. If you think you’re having migraines, see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis and get on the right medications.

YOU’RE over 50, your scalp hurts when you brush your hair and your jaw gets tired after chewing for a few minutes:

You may have temporal arteritis, a condition where the arteries on the side of your face become diseased and narrowed. Major symptoms include headache, scalp tenderness, jaw fatigue after chewing and vision changes or loss. If the disease isn’t quickly diagnosed and treated, permanent vision loss can occur. See your doctor ASAP.

GO TO A&E

YOUR speech has also become slurred, or you feel weak or numb in an arm, leg, and/or the side of your face:

You could be having a stroke. (Why are you still reading this article? Go to the hospital!)

YOU’RE feeling groggy and generally not quite right:

A headache associated with confusion, excess sleepiness, or personality changes may indicate high pressure around the brain from infection, tumour or bleeding.

YOU have a fever and your neck also hurts:

An infection around the brain, known as meningitis, causes high fevers, headache, and neck stiffness/pain. Some people also become sensitive to bright lights.

The headache came on fast and furious:

Ones that go from zero to ten within a few minutes are known as thunderclap headaches. They’re often a sign of a serious and rapidly progressing problem, such as bleeding into the brain. You’ll need to get to A&E for an urgent brain scan.

Other people in the house are also having headaches for no apparent reason:

Forgotten to change the batteries on your carbon monoxide detector? Open the windows and get outside quickly.

A LUMP IN YOUR NECK

Because the neck isn’t encased with bones, it’s a common location for noticing lumps and bumps. Some of those growths have been there all along, even if you’re just noticing them. The larynx (voice box), for example, contains rings of cartilage that you can feel in the bottom, V‑shaped part of your neck.

In men, the Adam’s apple is another firm area that moves up and down with swallowing.

Other lumps, however, could be a new sign of a medical condition, ranging from the common cold to cancer.

Don't worry just yet: Because the neck isn’t encased with bones, it’s a common location for noticing lumps and bumps...

TREAT YOURSELF AT HOME

YOU have, or just had, cold symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat and/or runny nose) and have tender neck lumps:

An upper respiratory tract infection is the most common and least dangerous cause of neck lumps. Infections such as the common cold are the usual culprits — the painful lumps are swollen lymph nodes (clusters of immune cells) reacting to your infection.

The nodes are usually tender, moveable and present on both sides of the neck.

Antibiotics are rarely necessary, and things should go back to normal in a week or two. Large (greater than one centimetre) nodes lasting for more than two weeks will require further evaluation with a scan.

SEE YOUR GP

YOU have a lump near the middle of your neck, feel hot all the time and have had unintended weight loss:

You could have an enlarged thyroid gland, known as a goitre; or a growth arising in the thyroid gland, known as a nodule (the thyroid helps to regulate your metabolism). You’ll need blood tests to check your thyroid function.

YOU have one or more firm, non-tender lumps and recently travelled to Mexico, India, South-East Asia or sub-Saharan Africa:

If you do travel off the beaten path, you may have contracted tuberculosis (TB); this can cause fever, night sweats, weight loss and chronic cough. In some cases, however, TB can primarily infect lymph nodes, usually in the neck.

YOU have recurrent high fevers and one particularly large lump:

You may just have a bad viral infection, but you could also have a bacterial infection in your throat or nearby lymph node. Your doctor may try prescribing antibiotics. If the lump remains, you’ll need tests to look for persistent infection or alternative explanations.

YOU have a rock-hard lump that does not move:

Hard nodes that are firmly attached to one spot are more likely to be cancer.

GO TO A&E

YOU have a muffled voice or experience difficulty swallowing:

These symptoms indicate the lump is compressing vital structures in your throat. You need an emergency evaluation to ensure your airway isn’t about to close down.

BLOOD IN URINE

Most discoloured urine doesn’t contain actual blood, but some by-product of your food or medicine that looks like blood.

So, do you keep swigging water and pray your urine clears up . . . or visit A&E?

Did you know? Most discoloured urine doesn’t contain actual blood, but some by-product of your food or medicine that looks like blood...

TREAT YOURSELF AT HOME

YOU just had a beetroot salad or soup:

After eating beetroot, some pigment may get absorbed into your blood and colour your urine. Interestingly, people with anaemia are more likely to absorb beetroot pigment into their blood, so if you’re feeling short of breath and find that the veg is turning your urine redder than usual, get tested for anaemia.

IT’S that time of the month:

In almost all cases, your urine is just being contaminated with menstrual blood.

YOU just ran a marathon:

Nearly one in four people experiences bloody urine after intense aerobic exercise, such as long-distance running or swimming. Doctors don’t know why it occurs, but it hasn’t been linked to long-term kidney problems.

If your muscles are really hurting after an intense workout, you could have a different condition called rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown). The damaged muscle fibres release chemicals that colour the urine brown and can cause kidney failure. The condition is serious and warrants a trip to A&E.

SEE YOUR GP

YOU look like the Michelin man:

The combination of red urine and body swelling, particularly in the face and legs, strongly suggests kidney damage.

The struggling kidneys can’t get rid of fluid fast enough, so it instead ends up under your skin. The kidneys also fail to keep blood out of your urine. You need an urgent evaluation to identify the cause and begin treatment.

YOU take lots of pain medicine:

If you take pain medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin) for a long time in high doses, you could experience kidney damage. In some cases, the first symptom is bloody urine.

If you suffer from chronic pain, consult your doctor to find a long-term treatment plan that’s both safe and effective.

YOU take a blood thinner:

If you have heart disease or a history of blood clots, you might be on a blood thinner such as warfarin, apixaban (brand name Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), or dabigatran (Pradaxa).

One inevitable consequence of these drugs is the increased risk of bleeding. Sometimes the bleeding is from something minor, such as a tiny burst vessel in your bladder. Sometimes, however, the bleeding is from a problem that requires immediate attention, such as a tumour. In this case, the blood thinner may have saved your life by revealing the problem early.

YOU’RE a man, and your urine dribbles out:

You’re likely to have an enlarged prostate. With age, the prostate gland wraps around the urethra (the tube that drains urine from the bladder). As the prostate gets bigger, the urethra gets squeezed, and you have to generate more effort to force urine through.

The enlarged prostate can bleed into the urethra, turning urine red. You’ll probably need tests to rule out less likely but more serious conditions such as prostate cancer.

GO TO A&E

YOU have spasms of severe pain in your lower pelvis and/or back:

You’re probably passing a kidney stone — these can get stuck in the tube that drains to the bladder. As that tube tries to squeeze the stone through, you experience spasms of intense pain.

As the stone inches its way down, it often shears a few blood vessels. Once the stone finally reaches the bladder, the pain and bleeding should slow down. You should get to A&E for an urgent assessment.

YOU have fever, chills and feel lightheaded:

You probably have a severe infection in your kidneys or bladder requiring intravenous fluids and antibiotics.

Dr Christopher Kelly, a senior clinical fellow, and Dr Marc Eisenberg, an associate professor of medicine, work at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in the U.S.

Adapted from Am I Dying?!, by Christopher Kelly and Marc Eisenberg (William Morrow, £20). To order a copy for £16 (offer valid to March 19; p&p free), visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640.

To share your stories with the authors, go to amidying.com

WILL INDIGESTION PILLS DO
OR SHOULD I CALL AN AMBULANCE?

Phew! If you’re having chest pain and haven’t already called an ambulance, you’ll be relieved to learn that most of the time it turns out to be wind or a pulled muscle

With chest pain, the main worry is that it could indicate a heart attack, which means part of the heart muscle is no longer receiving adequate blood flow.

If you’re having chest pain and haven’t already called an ambulance, you’ll be relieved to learn that most of the time it turns out to be wind or a pulled muscle.

But how do you know which way it’ll turn out? Do you need emergency heart surgery? Or just an antacid?

TREAT YOURSELF AT HOME

You strained your chest, and now have sharp chest pain when you twist your body or raise your arms:

Perhaps yesterday you decided to go all out at the gym or took a tennis ball in the ribs. Either way, if your pain is worse when you contort your chest, it’s likely to be from a sore muscle or even a rib fracture.

As long as the pain isn’t disabling, soldier on with an ice pack and ibuprofen. See your doctor if you took a major blow to the chest and now have shortness of breath or tenderness over multiple ribs.

You have sharp pain in one spot when you take a deep breath:

The most likely explanation is that you pulled one of the muscles between your ribs, which produces sharp pain when you take a deep breath and stretch it out. The pain usually improves with ibuprofen or paracetamol.

If you also have a fever, chills and a cough, you could have pneumonia, an infection in the lungs. The infected area inflames the adjacent part of the chest, causing pain with deep breathing.

If you do think you have pneumonia, see your doctor ASAP.

You had chest pain for a few seconds, but then it went away and hasn’t come back:

The truly fearsome causes of chest pain usually aren’t shy or short-lived. If you felt uncomfortable for a single, short episode (lasting less than a minute), you may have just had wind or a brief muscle spasm. You can safely wait to see if it happens again.

You’ve been coughing a lot and now have sharp chest pain when you cough:

Repeated coughing bouts can pull chest muscles. They also irritate the airway. Both situations can result in sharp chest pain with coughing. Thankfully, neither is a big deal. The cough, on the other hand, may be a reason to see your doctor.

SEE YOUR GP

You get chest pain when you really exert yourself, and you feel better with rest:

The arteries supplying your heart muscle with blood may have severe blockages (also known as plaques). As a result, the heart isn’t getting enough flow when it’s working hard and needs extra blood. You may need an exercise stress test.

You have sharp chest pain that improves when you lean forward, but you otherwise feel fine:

You may have an irritation of the lining around the heart, a condition known as pericarditis.

This can be an isolated problem, can occur alongside or shortly after a bad cold, or can be a sign of a serious disease, such as the autoimmune condition lupus.

See your doctor as soon as possible. If you also feel lightheaded or very short of breath, just head to A&E.

You get burning chest pain after eating or when you’re lying down:

You may also have a sour taste in your mouth: You could have acid reflux, where digestive juices from the stomach bubble back towards the mouth.

If a glass of water improves the pain, consider the diagnosis confirmed (since water washes acid back down into the stomach).

Try taking antacids to neutralise your stomach acid. If those fail, try taking ranitidine (brand name Zantac) or omeprazole, which you can get over-the-counter from your pharmacist; these stop the stomach from generating acid in the first place.

If the problem (or need for medications) lasts for more than two weeks, see your doctor.

GO TO A&E

You’ve had severe, constant, pressure-like chest pain for several minutes, and it’s not getting better:

You may be having a heart attack; call an ambulance.

YOU’RE also short of breath:

The combination of chest pain and shortness of breath can indicate a heart attack, fluid around the heart, a blood clot in the lungs, a bad asthma attack or pneumonia — all require prompt attention in A&E.

You have sharp chest pain along with a fever and cough:

You could have pneumonia. See your GP today. However, if you’re feeling lightheaded or really short of breath, go to A&E.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti ... ttack.html

[Anthea]

Move over Cadbury! Chocolatier creates VEGAN Creme
Egg and claims that it's BETTER than the dairy original

Mummy Meagz has created a vegan alternative to the Cadbury Easter favourite
Company owner Meagan Boyle claims it is as good if not better than the original
The company, from Cottingham, East Yorkshire, has been producing the vegan 'Creme Eggs' for five years, having started selling them in its coffee shop

A chocolatier has created a plant-based version of a Cadbury's Creme Egg, claiming it is 'as good as, if not better than, the dairy alternatives'.

The Mummy Meagz 'Creme Egg' contains no animal products and so its creator says it offers a 'cruelty-free' alternative.

'We didn't see why people should miss out on an indulgent Easter treat just because of their ethical lifestyle choices,' the confectionery company's owner, Meagan Boyle, nicknamed Mummy Meagz, told the Press Association.

The mother and daughter-owned company, from Cottingham, East Yorkshire, has been producing the vegan 'Creme Eggs' for five years, having started selling them in its coffee shop.

However the eggs recently boomed in popularity after becoming available online, garnering global interest as thousands of shoppers visited the website.

Mummy Meagz products have previously appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain, with host Piers Morgan describing the rocky road bar as 'tasteless'.

'We did consider sending Piers and his underlings a box,' said Mummy Meagz of the vegan cream egg. 'But they are like gold dust at the moment and we just can't spare any!'

The company says veganism is 'growing fast' and it is proud to be a 'trailblazer' in the movement.The company says veganism is 'growing fast' and it is proud to be a 'trailblazer' in the movement.

As vegans we don't want to eat any products derived from any animal,' it said. 'To us, a 'regular' cream egg isn't normal, as we don't think drinking milk from a cow is normal!

'We'd rather eat something that is made 100% from plants, but tastes as good as, if not better than, the dairy alternatives.'

Announcing the product on social media, Mummy Meagz tweeted: 'MOOOve over Cadbury's.

'They're back... Mummy Meagz Vegan & Gluten Free Cream Eggs.

'On sale, ONLY, through the Mummy Meagz website, as of tomorrow.

'We will be shipping every 2 weeks all the way up to Easter!'

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food ... ginal.html

[Piling]

Cadburry should stop better to use palm oil.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environme ... 30801.html

Palm oil IS vegan and it destroys environment.

[Anthea]

:ymsick:

Cadburry should stop better to use palm oil.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environme ... 30801.html

Palm oil IS vegan and it destroys environment.

I am going to stop eating Cadbury chocolate

[Piling]

Better to eat the best chocolate, with pure cocoa fat and good dairy. Expensive but eating less and better is the key.

[Anthea]

Pubs in UK are closing down
at a rate of one every 12 hours

The Campaign for Real Ale say that 378 pubs shut down permanently between July and December last year in England, Scotland and Wales, representing more than 14 closures a week

Since the start of last year, some 854 have shut across Great Britain, but the decline has slowed since 980 closures in 2017.

There are now 40,683 pubs in England, 2,901 in Wales and 3,612 in Scotland, according to the figures.

Jackie Parker, CAMRA's National Chairman said: "Pubs are a very important part of our national culture and are valuable community assets which help to combat loneliness and social isolation. It's great we have seen a drop in the number of pubs closing and shows that our campaign to get planning protection for pubs was worth it.

"Protecting pubs in the English planning system was a necessity and a welcome move from the Government. However, it has taken nearly two years for the trickle-down effects of the planning changes to show.

"As the UK prepares to exit the European Union, the Government will have the freedom to reduce Beer Duty specifically in pubs - levelling the playing field between the price of beer sold in social, community settings and cheap supermarket alcohol consumed at home.

"We believe this is one of three key measures the Government needs to take urgently to halt the tide of pub closures. We want a full reviews both of the business rates system to fix the unfair amount pubs pay, and the currently ineffective legislation designed to enable pub tenants to get a fair deal from their big-business property owners - both moves the Government has promised but is yet to carry out."

The number of pub closures has dropped slightly from a rate of 18 a week during 2018 - helped, claim CAMRA, by success in achieving new local planning protection for pubs in England.

The hardest hit areas include Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East, where one in a hundred pubs have closed in the past year.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... ures-show/

[Piling]

In France our cafés and bistros are slowly closing down : 600.000 in 1960. 34.000 in 2016 .

The economical crisis might be one of the causes : it is terribly expensive, especially in Paris. Another reason might be the ban of smokers inside.But the phenomenon is more serious in small villages and country towns.

[Anthea]

I'm proof food is the best medicine:
NHS doctor says changing his diet helped cure his heart condition as he shares his Eat To Beat Illness recipes that could transform your health too!

What would you say if I told you that I’d discovered a medicine that could change your life?

This miraculous drug taken every day could help protect you against Britain’s deadliest illnesses, from cancer and heart disease to Alzheimer’s and diabetes. It’s also cheap, simple to administer and readily available.

You’d be keen to take it, wouldn’t you? Well, such a medicine does exist . . . it’s found in food and lifestyle choices you make every day.

I’m proof of the power that tweaking your diet can have. I personally have managed my heart condition simply by modifying what I eat.

I’m an NHS doctor who spent six years at Imperial College in London, one of the UK’s most prestigious medical schools, and I absolutely believe that food can be some of the most powerful medicine available, and that everyone should have access to this knowledge.

Because this isn’t cherry-picked strands of evidence to support faddy diets, this is science, the result of appraising thousands of high-quality studies to come up with evidence-backed advice that I hope will cut through the chatter and give you practical — and delicious — ways to improve your health and help to prevent disease.

Inside today’s Weekend magazine I’m showing you delicious, filling recipes that make eating to beat illness so easy, and next week, in exclusive four-page free pullouts, I’ll share the best food and meals to eat in relation to specific diseases — from cancer to eyesight problems. They could revolutionise your health.

My earliest introduction to the idea that food could be so potent was as a 12-year-old, decades before I knew anything about clinical trials and evidence. At the time my mother used to suffer random anaphylaxis attacks, the worst form of allergy where your airway can close and your blood pressure drops.

The attacks are life threatening and require treatment with an adrenaline shot.

Despite a barrage of medical tests, doctors were baffled, and suggested that her only option was to keep an adrenaline shot with her at all times and take allergy medication, every day, for life — which came with side effects including crushing fatigue and intolerable nausea. This wasn’t the way she wanted to live.

She has no background in medicine, but her Indian upbringing had given her an appreciation of the value of food and lifestyle and, as a trained lawyer, she used her research skills and analytical approach to examine the scientific literature and create a plan of action.

I watched her completely overhaul her diet, creating a daily ‘prescription’ of a diet packed with vegetables, legumes, such as lentils and chickpeas, and whole grains, combined with good sleep patterns, exercise and meditation.

After two years, to the amazement of her doctors, she came off all her medications and hasn’t needed to use an adrenaline shot since.

Going to appointments with her and spending time with her doctors was what inspired me to get into the medical profession in the first place, but it wasn’t until I was in my first medical job and was diagnosed with a heart condition that I had first-hand experience of the power of food.

Three months after I began working as a junior doctor in Basildon I started getting palpitations. Within the hour I’d been hooked up to a heart monitor which showed I was in fast atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition where your heart beats irregularly, inefficiently and, in my case, very fast (up to 200 beats a minute).

In the short term this can cause dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness and, left untreated, can increase the risk of stroke, heart disease and heart failure.

It was very unusual for someone of my age, who was a normal weight and had no family history of heart problems.

After a load of tests, cardiologists could find no reason for it. Their proposed solution was a procedure that uses a laser to burn an area of the heart thought to be responsible, and to put me on beta-blocker medication.

I didn’t want such a drastic solution as the burning treatment, so my doctors agreed that I could try lifestyle changes to see if that might have an impact first.

I swapped canteen lunches for Tupperwares full of home-made plant-based dishes with beans and chickpeas and quality fats.

I started meditating and took up yoga and weights rather than the high-intensity training I had been doing, I tried to optimise my sleep and cut out using my phone and my laptop late at night. A year later, the AF episodes had stopped entirely and I was able to come off my medication.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what worked, but my increased vegetable intake may have replaced the electrolytes and vitamins in my cells that were lacking, eating vegetables on a daily basis flooded my body with plant chemicals that we now understand have profound effects on the way our genes express, added dietary fibre probably improved the functioning of my gut bacteria, lowering inflammation and increasing essential fatty acids, and practising mindfulness undoubtedly helped with stress.

My personal experience of the transformative power of food made me eager to find out more. I scoured journals, watched presentations, attended international nutrition conferences and began to unravel a magnitude of clinical evidence highlighting the impact of food on disease.

I read thousands of papers, studies, editorials and books dedicated to nutritional medicine, and then I started talking to my patients about what they ate, when they ate, and started to give them advice based on what I’d researched.

It worked. My diabetic patients improved their blood-sugar control, arthritic patients lost weight and become more active and even those who had no significant change in their body composition felt better in themselves — all without drugs.

I truly believe that the reason why food can work better than anything else is because, unlike a drug that is just dished out, patients can take an active role in their recovery, they can tailor recipes to their lifestyles, likes and dislikes, and make food and health a part of their life.

Put simply, food is the easiest and most cost- effective and evidence-based method of preventing and reversing disease.

Broadly speaking the diet that I recommend is a Mediterranean one — it’s predominantly vegetable-based using a rainbow of fresh produce that gives us a gamut of different plant chemicals that have been proven to be beneficial for health.

It’s about ditching excess refined sugars and refined carbohydrates, and instead upping your intake of whole grains, pulses and legumes, as well as nuts and seeds and good quality fats and oils.

I’m not anti-animal proteins, but I don’t think we need them every day, and I think that ideally they should be carefully sourced and unprocessed to ensure we’re getting as many nutrients as possible from them.

It’s a diet that has been studied over decades and is backed by thousands of research papers that are evidence of its ability to improve health, reverse disease and increase longevity.

Obviously I’m not a saint when it comes to food — and I don’t expect anyone else to be, either.

I was recently on holiday in Bologna, Italy, and had this incredible croissant filled with Nutella — it was amazing and I enjoyed every single bite.

What I am conscientious about when I’m eating is the provenance of meat. I want to know where animal products come from. So I’d definitely have fried chicken but I’d make sure that the chicken was free range.

I probably have red meat once every two weeks or so and when I do, it will be from an animal that’s been well looked after and well fed. And that costs money. A lot of the budget-range meat that we see in supermarkets is not great, both from a nutritional perspective and an environmental perspective.

I know that when it comes to healthy food, there are a lot of conflicting messages out there, but I really want to cut through all of that and give you the information that you truly need to make healthier choices for you and your family.

After reading the pullout available in Weekend magazine today, and the ones that you’ll see over the next few days, I hope that you’ll realise that culinary medicine isn’t about fancy meals, it’s about making educated decisions about improving your diet in ways that can slot into a hectic lifestyle.

I’m living proof of the incredible medicinal benefits of food and I’ve got no doubt that just a few tweaks and changes to what you put on your plate will leave you feeling — and looking — better than ever.

The Doctor’s Kitchen: Eat To Beat Illness by Dr Rupy Aujla will be published on March 21 by Thorsons at £16.99. © 2019 Dr Rupy Aujla

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti ... icine.html