Statins : significant under reported side effects

But I'm with you - if you felt as I did after just over a week of atorvastatin then the risk of death by cardiovascular event was far preferable. And yes, it took me about a year to get back where I had been before.

The thought of everyone over a given age being inveigled into taking these things scares me to death. I want to know that EVERYONE who is supporting it does not have shares in their production.

It is very interesting to hear that you have been through a very similar experience, it really does make me feel less 'guilty' about making such a decision against my doctor's advice, the stress of worrying about my actions was probably just as likely to cause a heart attack as my cholesterol issue.  

I dont mistrust my doctors but I do now check on these forums about health issues and then use the information to make sure I ask the right questions next time I visit the doctor, which I wouldnt have done before.  I feel so much more empowered since I found posts like Ann's and yours.  Thank you both so much again.

But to make the meat sauce I use that meat, a tin of tomatoes and onions and garlic. The flavour is wonderful. No Oxo, no sugar, not even salt. I saw a low carb recipe for spag bol the other day on a US site. I was thinking how can meat sauce not be low carb - until I discovered he'd put SUGAR in it! Apparently felt it was needed to take the sharpness off the tomatoes. 

Bleugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was even funnier was that there was another article asking why we eat savoury first and sweet after - which of course is a purely British thing really - but the US only seem to eat sweet.

And as you say, wonder why they are fat and diabetic...

Google salt again and some as in Trust Me I'm a Doctor ans elsewhere say that it is not as bad as it is painted and much, much less bad for us that sugar.

But for those who can't reconcile even that - I'm not going to criticise.

Doing without however did not stop me from getting hypertension in 2000 or T2 diabetes about four years later. There is no justice in this life:-)

We don't often shop at Morrisons but they say that their meat all comes from their own farms.

I don't think I'd class what I eat as bland - love a good curry from a real Indian but not too many of those here in northern Italy! We're off to Innsbruck with our camper van tomorrow - not entirely essential for the husband's work on Thursday but we will go for a Greek meal as well. And maybe wander along a Christmas market - not that we don't have a home grown one along the road. 

I stopped using salt when we got our first microwave - you should salt vegetables after cooking it advised to avoid dehydrated patches. I always forgot  - and eventually decided not to bother. Don't even use it for pasta now. Just for porridge - salt on them and cold milk!

From one animal rights site and I've cut out some of their rants to save space.

"The veal calf industry is one of the most reprehensible of all the kinds of intensive animal agriculture. Veal calves are a by-product of the dairy industry;.Male calves are taken from their mothers shortly after birth. Some are slaughtered soon after birth for "bob veal." Others are raised in "open pens," a kind of minimum security prison, and even then they are sometimes chained. Most are destined for the veal crate.

The veal crate is a wooden restraining device that is the veal calf's permanent home. It is so small (22" x 54") that the calves cannot turn around or even lie down and stretch. Designed to prevent movement (exercise), the crate does its job of atrophying the calves' muscles, thus producing tender "gourmet" veal."Feeding" TimeThe calves are generally fed a milk substitute intentionally lacking in iron and other essential nutrients. This diet keeps the animals anemic and creates the pale pink or white color desired in the finished product. Craving iron, the calves lick urine-saturated slats and any metallic parts of their stalls. Farmers also withhold water from the animals, who, always thirsty, are driven to drink a large quantity of the high-fat liquid feed.Because of such extremely unhealthy living conditions and restricted diets, calves are susceptible to a long list of diseases, including chronic pneumonia and "scours," or constant diarrhea. Consequently, they must be given massive doses of antibiotics and other drugs just to keep them alive.  The calves often suffer from wounds caused by the constant rubbing against the crates.

14 weeks after their birth, the calves are slaughtered. The quality of this "food," laden with chemicals, lacking in fiber and other nutrients, diseased and processed, is another matter. The real issue is the calves' experience. During their brief lives, they never see the sun or touch the Earth. They never see or taste the grass. Their anemic bodies crave proper sustenance. Their muscles ache for freedom and exercise. They are kept in darkness except to be fed two to three times a day for 20 minutes"

I have acid reflux and one said remedy for it is to take Manuka honey before meals to put a coating on the esophagus. Later I had some routine blood tests and the doctor asked how long I had been diabetic as I had a reading of 14. I cut out the honey and it quickly went down to borderline levels and try to keep to a decent diet for control.

My last total cholesterol level in May was 6.3. Last week the nurse asked when I am due to have it checked again. I told her on the First of Never.

Over an hour later the stewardess came along with two European meals from First Class.

I like Chinese and Greek but don't very often have it.  Last time I had Kleftika I went for an INR test the next day and my reading had shot up from the previous week.

I'm not going to get into an argument about this, I know where the meat I eat comes from and have no bad conscience about it at all. If I did I would have to be vegan - I feel no need for that. I grew up on a farm, I live in the country and I wear leather shoes. That is my choice. A good friend is vegan and all that goes with it - I don't criticise her for her choice, she doesn't criticise me.

But where is the logic in eating carbs that then require medication? Reduce the carbs, reduce the medication required. And before anyone tells me that carbs are essential for life - no they are not. If they were several ethnic groups would have died out long ago, in particular Inuit and Mongols.

I don't have any great concience about the meat I eat apart from 'factory veal, rabbits and chickens'

They will have to introduce winter hill walking!

A German youth and a Swiss girl set out. I went over to the hotel that was closed and not even a caretaker there. Thankfully the Ski lift engineers were going back down at the end of their shift in their truck and we got a lift from them and stopped for the two snow covered figures who had started to walk.