WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

[Stanley]

The BBC report that a study of tea drinking has revealed that drinking a minimum of two cups of tea a day is good for your health. A dash of milk doesn't harm the effect and 4 cups is even better. All teas contain the vital elements responsible. The researchers stress that this is not a definite result for tea but a very strong indication.
(That's good! Now for my second brew of the day!)

[Tizer]

The usual news report that walnut eaters are healthier than the rest of us has turned up once again. And as always, look into the detail and you find it's funded by the California Walnut Commission.

[Stanley]

Now who would have thought that!
I went for an extended furtle to try to identify the source of the 'news' that four cups of tea is good for you and found this....
"The research, conducted by a team from China, involved more than one million adults across eight countries. The findings indicate that there's less benefit associated with drinking fewer cups of tea. Just one to three cups per day only lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by 4%, the results showed. The risk of developing diabetes went down by 1% for each additional daily cup. "Our results are exciting because they suggest that people can do something as simple as drinking four cups of tea a day to potentially lessen their risk of developing type 2 diabetes," Xiaying Li, a researcher at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, said in a statement.
Now there's a surprise....

[plaques]

When we were part of the Common market it was red wine and gin. Vodka is now a complete No, No, Water will soon be not fit to drink, so I guess its back to small beer that's if they can afford to boil the water and the pubs can afford to keep open.

[Big Kev]

Now who would have thought that!
I went for an extended furtle to try to identify the source of the 'news' that four cups of tea is good for you and found this....
"The research, conducted by a team from China, involved more than one million adults across eight countries. The findings indicate that there's less benefit associated with drinking fewer cups of tea. Just one to three cups per day only lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by 4%, the results showed. The risk of developing diabetes went down by 1% for each additional daily cup. "Our results are exciting because they suggest that people can do something as simple as drinking four cups of tea a day to potentially lessen their risk of developing type 2 diabetes," Xiaying Li, a researcher at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, said in a statement.
Now there's a surprise....

Is it just ordinary tea or the weird stuff people drink without any milk in it?

[Stanley]

Any sort of tea Kev, and a dash of milk might make it even more effective. (If you believe the researchers..... )

[Tizer]

Tea...We watched a TV programme showing Michael Palin in the Kurdish region and there they drink strong tea in a small cup with about a tablespoon of sugar stirred in. I wonder what does for risk of diabetes?

A 2-pint pack of whole milk is now £1.40 in our Tesco. How much is it in your neck of the woods? It doesn't seem long since it was about 85p. I wonder how much of the extra the farmer gets?

[Stanley]

Not all of it Peter but they are looking a bit more cheerful. Milk hasn't yet reached the price it should be to give a reasonable profit throughout the food chain and an adequate return on the farmer's investment. This applies to almost all basic foods and what we are seeing in the supermarkets isn't profiteering but a readjustment of values and this is only just in time. We will still see shortages this winter because the increases hadn't reached the growers in time to make it economic to plant the crop in many cases.....

[Stanley]

I have been known to forecast food shortages and have no doubt that many of you thought I was exaggerating.
So have a look at THIS article in the Sun. Normally I would advise taking what they say with a pinch of salt but this report is accurate.

[Tizer]

`Marion Biotech: Uzbekistan links child deaths to India cough syrup' LINK

That takes me back to the 1980s when I was a food scientist and this was in the news...
`“Antifreeze Wine”: The Scandal That Destroyed an Industry' The Badger Online

[Stanley]

I remember the adulteration of wine with anti freeze Peter and heard the report yesterday about the cough medicine. Makes you glad we have a heavily regulated industry.

[plaques]

When Boris Johnson/ Sunak / Jacob Rees Mogg repeals ALL the old EU/UK laws that were transferred in bulk to UK laws we should be able to add what we want to booze and food. There's only about 4000 of them and so far nobody is looking at what they really mean for Health & Safety.

[Stanley]

Have you noticed that Putin's attack on Ukraine has proved to be the best distraction ever from the disaster that is Brexit? the consequences roll on and we get occasional glimpses through the furnace door when captains of industry tell us of the problems they are facing. The Irish problem drags on together with the looming consequences for reunification with the South. There are many more Brexit effects but they are all buried under war reports.
Ken is quite right.... we ditch the whole of EU legislation at our peril if we don't immediately replace it with equally strong measures of our own. The crooks are watching and waiting for their opportunity.....

[Stanley]

It's ten years since the food industry was rocked by the horse meat scandal when diseased horse meat was found in beefburgers on supermarket shelves. News items this morning not yet on the internet point to the fact that as we have taken sovereign control by leaving the EU the EU checks that protected us then but still allowed horsemeat from Poland to get into our industry are not protecting us now and we have not put any checks in place at the borders. The only action being taken is by the biggest processors and users. Smaller businesses are relying on the local food standards inspectors and that service is under severe pressure due to underfunding.
Experts say that it is only a matter of time until we have a repetition of the original scandal.

[Stanley]

Yesterday's blood test results from the surgery prove once more that Wendy is correct in advocating low carb for a diabetic diet. I have been far more strict with myself and the results are very positive. Thanks Wendy!

[Wendyf]

Good to hear that Stanley.

[Big Kev]

Living through chemistry seems to we working for me, I have reintroduced some carbs into my diet which has been good for my digestive system

[Stanley]

The nurse wanted to know how I was managing to get such perfect results and I told her I had this wise woman on the moor looking after me. I don't think she believed me!

[Sue]

Yesterday's blood test results from the surgery prove once more that Wendy is correct in advocating low carb for a diabetic diet. I have been far more strict with myself and the results are very positive. Thanks Wendy!

Absolutely . I have tried to convince another diabetic friend but to no avail.

[Big Kev]

A lower carb intake definitely improves my hba1c but I need to keep things balanced so, although still on a low carb diet I have had the odd half a baked potato or slice of wholemeal bread all 'good' carbs. The additional medication certainly makes a difference too, the Metformin didn't appear to be as effective as when I first started on it 20 years ago.

[Stanley]

"Metformin didn't appear to be as effective as when I first started on it 20 years ago."

That may be why, about twelve months since, Hassan put me on one 25mg tablet of Alogliptin a day

[Stanley]

See THIS Lancet article which reports on Ultra-processed food consumption, cancer risk and cancer mortality: a large-scale prospective analysis within the UK Biobank.
Briefly the UK is at higher risk because so much of the national diet is made up of pre-prepared and ultra processed food. The message is clear. Buy natural fresh raw food and cook it yourself. That way you avoid the added chemicals and inferior ingredients that are used to make such foods long lasting and profitable.

[plaques]

There is a suspicion that the 'extra' deaths we are now seeing in the more developed countries may be associated with the mRNA vaccines. Personally I can't see a correlation but if added to the increased consumption of highly processed food it may be enough to show correlation. Of course big Pharma and the food industry will be keeping their heads down as long as possible.

[Stanley]

I have similar thoughts Ken. Like you I can't claim any expertise but one thing I think I have seen is that the more complicated we make our world the worse it is for human health. We already knew that by the growth of 'The Western Diseases'. Would it be that surprising if complicated drugs and food processing added to the load on our systems?
My policy of eating nothing but natural fresh food cooked by myself might be the right way to go. So far so good!

[Tizer]

Scientists have been demanding this for years bu faced political cloth ears...
`Folic acid in flour too low to prevent birth defects, scientists say' LINK
`Leading scientists say adding higher levels of folic acid to all flour and rice would stop hundreds more UK babies being born with lifelong disabilities. They say current levels being proposed are too low and will not help some groups of women, while any concerns over potential harms are unjustified. The government says mandatory fortification of one type of white flour allows an element of choice. The Food Standards Agency says it will still offer big public health benefits. Last year, governments across the UK decided to introduce new laws making it compulsory for the food industry to add a vitamin called folic acid, also known as B9, to non-wholemeal wheat flour. That means everyone who eats white bread would get more folic acid in their diets.'...