What Doctors Don't Tell You Australia/NZ August 2022 - September 2022

Many years ago, I read an article in Esquire by Nora Ephron entitled “Dealing with the, uh, Problem,” about the early days of the feminine-hygiene spray business. Ephron was investigating how Alberto-Culver managed to convince women, as a rival company had done in its advertising, that her “trickiest deodorant problem isn't under her pretty little arms.” What interested me the most about the piece was marketing strategy: create the demand for the problem to sell the solution. And back in the 1970s, promoting their invented solution as feminist, part of the then-sexual revolution. Tell women they are smelly and unattractive—that they've got an, uh, ‘problem’ so unmentionable that you have to sell it with euphemisms—and you can make a killing. And Alberto-Culver (and many other companies following them) did just that: $40 million…

Dr Damien Downing, a specialist in allergy, environment and nutrition, is current president of the British Society for Ecological Medicine, on the editorial board of Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Chief Medical Advisor of cancer charity Yes to Life (www.yestolife.org.uk), and author of numerous books including The Vitamin Cure for Allergies. Dr Michel Odent, a French-trained surgeon and obstetrician, is a pioneer of the natural birth movement, emphasizing home and water birth. Founder of the Primal Health Research Centre in the UK, he has written some 50 scientific papers and 11 books. Dr Sarah Myhill has worked in the UK National Health Service and private practice since 1981. Honorary Secretary of the British Society for Ecological Medicine for 17 years, she is a frequent lecturer and author of Sustainable Medicine and Diagnosis and…

Fluoride failings I was very pleased to see the article on fluoride (WDDTY AU/NZ Jun/Jul 2022). However, I was surprised to see no distinction made between: 1) naturally occurring fluoride, 2) pharmaceutical-grade fluoride, and 3) hexafluorosilicic acid, an industrial waste product from the pollution-scrubbing operations of the phosphate fertilizer industry, which is contaminated with heavy metals. It is this latter form the government wants to add to our drinking water. It was disappointing that no mention was made of the current campaign in the UK run by UKFFFA (now the Fluoride-Free Alliance UK) or the past campaigns from NPWA and Doug Cross, whose efforts over the years have stopped fluoridation in many parts of the UK. Our current postcard campaign (www.ukfffa.org.uk) has now reached over 60,000 people in England and Wales; many thanks…

Drinking plenty of water every day could lower your chances of heart failure—and it's especially important if you're over the age of 65. Women should be drinking up to two liters (3.5 pints) of liquids, and men up to 3 liters (five pints), every day to reduce the risk of heart problems and heart failure. Staying hydrated is an overlooked way to keep the heart healthy, and research has found a link between dehydration and cardiac fibrosis, a hardening of the heart muscles. Researchers from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the US wanted to find out if the connection could still be found in larger groups, and so tracked the heart health and hydration levels of about 11,800 people; of these, 1,366 (11.5 percent) developed heart failure over the 25…

A breakfast of scrambled eggs and salmon is a great way to top up your vitamin D levels if you live in the sun-starved northern hemisphere. Fatty fish—which also includes trout and mackerel—is one of the richest dietary sources of the vital vitamin, and egg yolks are another good source, and so combining the two for breakfast is one of the best ways to start the day, says Signe Svanfeldt, a nutritionist with the nutrition app, Lifesum. People who don't eat fish can instead eat mushrooms. Although they don't have the same vitamin D levels as oily fish, mushrooms are aboutthe best source among vegan options, which includes fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. Lifesum app HEALTH FACT Dieters who took a supplement of the adaptogenic herb rhodiola lost more than twice as much weight as…

If you have a spiritual or religious belief, you are much less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. And having these beliefs is especially important if you've suffered from heart disease. People recovering from heart failure are more likely to suffer a sense of hopelessness and isolation—but having a belief in something bigger can help get them through those difficult times. Researchers from Duke University Hospital reviewed 47 studies that had explored the level of spiritual beliefs in heart patients. Those who had spiritual beliefs had a better quality of life and reduced their chances of being readmitted to the hospital. Spirituality can help people find meaning and purpose in life, the researchers say, and it can be different from having a religious belief. JACC Heart Fail, 2022; 10(4): 217-26…