Sodium sanctions and a statin island inquest
A prediction-come-true that warrants some salty language
It shouldn’t surprise you that one of my favorite of all nutrients for optimum health is at the top of the mainstream’s “most wanted” list. Long-time readers of mine already know what I’m talking about: sodium.
That’s SALT, for newcomers.
Of course, the kind of salt many Americans consume – the bleached white, iodized variety – is closer to an industrial waste product than a healthy nutrient, but that’s beside the point (sea salt is the best for you, FYI). Getting sufficient amounts of the actual sodium the mainstream so maligns is crucial to not only your circulatory health, but also to brain function and cellular H2O balance
Take in too little salt, and you’ll literally drown in the water you drink – especially if you swill huge amounts of water while over-exercising, like the mainstream urges you to do.
A couple of years ago (Daily Dose, 11/16/04), I wrote to you about the UK’s absurd governmental crackdown on dietary salt. In that article, I predicted that the same thing would happen here in the U.S. – starting with the ridiculously low guidelines for high blood pressure the American mainstream has recently embraced
The asinine 115/75 standard for borderline high blood pressure that just a decade or so ago would’ve been considered dangerously LOW (or low normal) is now dangerously HIGH!
And it seems I was right.
According to a recent Associated Press article, the bloated, conformist American Medical Association voted recently to recommend what they consider “high salt” foods to be labeled with a warning. This august body also concluded that it would be appropriate to insist on 50% less sodium in all U.S. foods in 10 years’ time
This, despite the MEDICAL FACT that in only a small percentage of people does excess salt consumption cause high blood pressure. So basically, according to the AMA, over the next decade, everyone should have to cut their salt intake because a small minority might have a problem with over-consumption.
Didn’t they try this kind of thing before? It was called Prohibition, wasn’t it?
Yeah, that worked out great. And speaking of mainstream plans for our health that backfired
Lipitort’s day in court
Aside from cutting our salt, loading up on diuretics, and lowering BP to the point of puddling in our shoes for heart health, the mainstream has embraced another brilliant “solution” to cardiac problems
Statin drugs.
These medications have become the world’s most prescribed drugs in the last 10 years or so, and are touted by many in the mainstream as “lifesaving” – and a necessity in this ever-more-obese world.
But hmmm, these drugs are far from harmless, it seems (some of us, I won’t mention any names, have known this for a long time). Side effects can include muscle weakness, pain, fatigue, and memory deterioration
In fact, it is exactly these symptoms that have been named in a pair of lawsuits against Pfizer for side effects of their statin drug Lipitor – at over $12 billion in annual sales, the world’s best-selling prescription medication. Filed simultaneously in New York’s State Supreme Court on Manhattan Island, the suits allege that the drug (which is considered quite safe by the medical mainstream) is insufficiently labeled, considering its possible side effects.
Maybe it would be a good idea to add this little gem to the label: “There is no scientific proof that lowering blood cholesterol reduces the incidence of heart attacks.” Just a suggestion. (As you know, I’m not a troublemaker.) But while I’m making constructive suggestions, I think they should consider renaming this wonderful and life-saving drug, “Lipitort.”
One of the plaintiffs, a mere 47 years old, claims the drug ruined his life. He maintains that within weeks of being prescribed the drug, he could no longer walk unassisted or lift his toddler off the ground
Although no one is suing for a death of any type, it’ll be interesting to see whether this story gets any play in the mainstream sources in the wake of the Vioxx debacle. Of course, I’ll keep you posted as it develops.
In the meantime, if you want a healthy heart AND ample muscle-power, get plenty of omega-3s from eggs, fish, and grass-fed beef – and make sure you season it up with some pure sea salt.
Advice and commentary that’s worth its salt,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
