Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity. (Hippocrates)
We have always lived with the advice that we should regularly check our blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol to remain medically fit and stave off a medical emergency. But how does one feel when he comes to know that the very parameters prescribed by the very well known experts in their respective fields, were fudged? “Downright cheated” would be a mild response considering what the people have suffered in terms of anxiety and avoidable expense.
In an interview with Fiona Godlee, in 2016, the editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published in the Economic Times, the headline read, “Putting patients on insulin is A Big Scam”. In response to a question relating to insulin and diabetes Godlee said:
“There are certain things which are not going right. To put patients on insulin is a big push by industry and the doctors who in turn are influenced by the industry. Rather than tackling the lifestyle issues, going straight to insulin is not the right option. That is a big worry because insulin is not without its harm and is expensive in India. I think it’s a medical scam, an industry scam. Patients think that this is the best drug for them, and they need to pay for it or else they would die, and a very big group of people are vulnerable to it. I think we need to speak out against the pressure to put people on insulin. With diabetes becoming such an epidemic in India, we need to look at the root causes and put money there rather than putting people on insulin”.
To tell the truth pushing diabetics to take insulin is a medical scam. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to convert Glucose into fuel for energy. The condition of no Insulin production in the body is known as Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Now, for a well-informed person living with Type 1 Diabetes the above-mentioned interview is misinformation. For an ill-informed person living with T1D, it is reliable information because a) it’s coming from a recognized expert and b) it’s published by a leading daily. And for any patient and/or family of a patient, who may still be in the process of making peace with their diagnosis, this may make it more difficult for them to accept the harsh reality.
Professor Partha Kar, National Specialty Advisor for Diabetes with NHS England, when asked for his views, said, “Whenever we talk about ‘reversing’ diabetes or indeed in any context, it is paramount we mention the type of diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes has fundamental differences with Type 2 Diabetes, most important of them being that Type 1 Diabetes is something which is not reversible and it cannot be treated with anything but Insulin.” He further adds, “Insulin is a life-saving medication in these group of patients and brought on by autoimmune disorder. It has no relationship to lifestyle, which does tend to have a significant bearing in development of Type 2 Diabetes.”
Michael McEvoy recently wrote an article saying that there is no such thing as good and bad cholesterol and that these terms are fictitious. In fact LDL the so called ‘bad’ cholesterol and HDL the so called ‘good’ cholesterol are not even cholesterol; they are lipo-proteins, transports for cholesterol. LDL is what is called low density lipo protein. Its function is to transport cholesterol from the liver to the bloodstream so that cholesterol can do all of its vitally important functions in the body such as making steroidal hormones (DHEA, estrogen, testosterone, pregnenelone, progesterone), creating and repairing cells, synthesizing vitamin D and numerous other vital functions. Added he, “In fact, your body is incapable of functioning without LDL particles. Calling LDL ‘bad’ is extremely misleading and tends to induce a sense of irrational fear. It is true that LDL particles can oxidize in the bloodstream and can irritate blood vessels. But many things oxidize in the body, including omega 3 fats, which oxidize at an incredible speed…. The real question should be: “what is causing LDL to oxidize?” When there is a high level of oxidation present in the body, there also tends to be free radical activity in the tissues. Consuming adequate amounts of antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E prevents oxidative free radical damage.” According to him if you are really concerned about your cardiovascular disease risk factor, test and monitor these factors:
Cardio CRP reference range: 1-3
Homocysteine reference range 0-6
Insulin reference range: 0-5
Since elevation of these factors is much more correlative of CVD risk than cholesterol values, it only makes sense to test them regularly. Unfortunately, these aren’t routinely tested by doctors. The reason may very well be due to the fact that there aren’t any drugs to treat these blood chemistry factors and they are specifically controlled through nutritional intervention.
Not long ago, Paul K. Whelton, M.B., M.D., M.Sc., lead author of the guidelines published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted the dangers of blood pressure levels between 130-139/80-89 mm Hg. “You have already doubled your risk of cardiovascular complications compared to those with a normal level of blood pressure,” he said. “We want to be straight with people – if you already have a doubling of risk, you need to know about it. It doesn’t mean you need medication, but it’s a yellow light that you need to be lowering your blood pressure, mainly with non-drug approaches.”
There is new news about blood pressure: The United States has officially stipulated that for 65 year olds the standard blood pressure is 150/90; for normal elderly over 80 years old, 160 or even 170. It also has admitted that over the years, “We have been greatly affected by the number of “old standards” (not ) exceeding 120) that have focused on medical and commercial interests in the past. It has caused a huge unnecessary psychological burden on the elderly over the age of sixty or seventy years old!”
As regards blood sugar, the latest norms stipulate the fasting blood sugar of diabetics over 60 years old is controlled at around 6.5 and the control of over 70 years old is about 7.5. Most of the time over 80 years old does not exceed 8.0 even as occasionally, it can be around 8.5. From now on, we must correct the concept of being taught by a doctor. The report says that the pharmaceutical industry has tried to subvert our perception of normal blood pressure! What is the normal blood pressure of all ages? The answer: Normal systolic blood pressure = Wu’s calculation of systolic blood pressure = (82 + age). Example: 75 years old = 82 + 75 = 157. In conclusion: Normal systolic blood pressure: male = 82 + age, female = 80 + age, Health (normal) indicators: measured systolic blood pressure = normal systolic blood pressure. The doctor of the North Hospital of the Third Hospital said that the blood pressure of people over 70 years old cannot be lower than 130, otherwise it is easy to produce postural hypotension fainting, high blood pressure between 150-130 is safer, prefer to be higher, not lower.
The same is true for blood sugar. With the increase of age, the standard of relaxation is appropriate. The fasting blood sugar of diabetics over 60 years old is controlled at around 6.5, and the control of over 70 years old is about 7.5. Most of the time over 80 years old does not exceed 8.0. Occasionally, it can be around 8.5. Hypoglycemia is even more terrible.
It is seen that what could be treated as a lifestyle disease even without medication, has for reasons of greed, been subjected to avoidable medication with side effects. This unethical behavior on the part of the medical fraternity in collaboration with the more sinning corporate pharma lobby is not confined to these three more rampant diseases only, but seemingly extends to all sorts of disorders. Take for example the case of an “anti-intestinal cancer” substance present in rice. Most of us are given to eating rice hot; while if we take it after allowing it to cool, we may be serving ourselves better. The substance in cooked rice that can fight intestinal cancer, called resistant starch; only after cooling, will produce more resistant starch. Such rice, because of more resistant starch, is not easily converted into sugar, which is beneficial for weight loss and easier to control blood sugar, and is also very good for preventing intestinal cancer and can be eaten even by the diabetics. Obviously, we should change the old concept of eating. It is no wonder that Japanese people live longer, not only because they eat more sea fish, but also eat rice scientifically. It is also a rice ball and a sushi and a cold cake.
But such sane advice is hard to come by, much less from the medical experts. Their greed would much rather see us falling ill and put us on medication even if not warranted, just to make a quick buck; to hell with medical ethics and the Hippocrates Oath. It would, however, be unfair to tar the entire medical community with the same brush and unlike lawyers where 99% give the rest a bad name, here about 50% of the fraternity may be giving the rest a bad name.
Bhushan Lal Razdan, formerly of the Indian Revenue Service, retired as Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Chandigarh.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.