“Approximately 1.2 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty. Poverty creates ill-health because it forces people to live in environments that make them sick, without decent shelter, clean water or adequate sanitation.” (WHO) This is also the reality in Nicaragua, where I had the opportunity to work in the mountains for six weeks.
Health
Health concerns
Anxiety Sells
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
Maybe some can remember (can I ?) the bird and swine-flu hype which made governments spend trillions on supposedly anti-viral medicines, which firstly were never needed, which secondly would have never worked because of a lack of efficacy and which thirdly had to be destroyed at more great expense after the date of expiry. The media were happily fueling this hype and created by this a public pressure on governments with the above mentioned consequences – anxiety sells and I think that after shedding some light on dark banking practices the print and visual media do certainly merit the same treat – anxiety sells. Any room for ethics here ?
Life is Tough
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
It does not seem that I am able to resist the subject of coffee at present and I have good and bad news for coffee lovers: you die younger, but not because of the coffee, but because coffee drinkers are more likely to have other unhealthy habits. The NIH-AARP Diet & Health Study which followed 400,000 people over 13 years has shown, that coffee drinkers are more likely to die, because they are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, do little exercise and abstain from fruit and veg consumption.
Coffee Break Donations
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
Our co-writing Docs support the charity ‘German Doctors for the 3rd World’ www.aerzte3welt.de (English language option exists). Whilst one is keeping the house in order and the people of Almuñécar healthy, the other one will take a rather long coffee break in the hillsides of Northern Nicaragua. Many readers already know about the more eccentric…
Remote Control Medicine
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
Implanted medical devices have been in use for decades: pacemakers, ports, metal rods and tubes of all sorts and sizes, stents, etc.
Triple C…
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
In the January issue we were broadcasting doctor’s dislike of vitamins. This time we are in good humour and would like to inform you about what we LIKE: triple C – that is coffee, cocoa and… cholesterol! Yes – you may trust your eyes! This is finally a positive message about western-worlds-worst-health-enemy (WWW.HE): cholesterol. Whilst the manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering-medicines (CLM – modern magazines need abbreviations) are trying to convince the public that everybody should be taking one of their fabulous pills, there is the first signs that their best customers might be dropping out.
Bowel Cancer – Trust The Medics
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
Last month two meta-analyses were published about health strategies on how to reduce the chances of developing bowel cancer. A meta-analysis is not a new piece of research, but it looks at all the published research on a subject, thus unifying conflicting results and drawing a conclusion out of the whole body of existing evidence.
Doctors Don’t Like Vitamins!
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
Evidence is mounting, that vitamin and mineral supplements do have adverse health effects. The latest on the list are calcium and vitamin E.
So far it has been believed(!) that vitamin E and selenium supplementation lower risk for prostate cancer (in men!). However, when early results after 3 years from a large controlled trial showed no fewer cases but even an excess risk for prostate cancer, the trial had to be halted.
Altering (gene) Behaviour
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
Our life depends upon a combination of our very own chromosomes and our environment (apart from all the events that happen and the choices we make).
But while the chromosomes with their genes (genome) are considered as the blueprint of life, many of those life experiences — the foods we eat, or the toxins we’re exposed to — indirectly affect the genes and tell them what to do.
Parkinson’s Help on the Coast
by Editor •
The Parkinson’s Association for Granada, which has been operating for 13 years, will provide advice and answer questions, in Salobreña and other coastal towns of Granada.