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Forget drugs and chemical remedies. According to a controversial new book which slams the pharmaceutical industry, eating good food is the real key to health. RITA DE BRUN of the Irish Independent reports.
Food is powerful stuff. The hippies knew it, with their brown rice and lentil diet, at a time when canned steak and kidney pie was the preferred repast of a nation.
And they weren't the only ones: between Japan and Taiwan lies a tropical Tir na nOg - the archipelago of Okinawa, whose people until recently enjoyed the highest life expectancy in the world. Longevity rates began to decline there 10 years ago, with the introduction of western fare.
The Mediterranean diet has also been associated with good health and longer life since the 1950s. Studies show it can help to prevent cancer, obesity, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Now nutrition expert Patrick Holford, and medical journalist Jerome Burne, have written a book on the subject, Food is Better Medicine than Drugs. The central tenet of this highly informative tome is that while drugs can suppress symptoms, most are not designed to remove the causes of disease. And if drugs are taken for any length of time, they often create new problems. The authors argue that food, and food supplements, can often treat chronic diseases more effectively than drugs - without the risks.
Holford and Burne argue that the Western world has become heavily dependent upon prescription drugs, many of which have serious side effects. They also claim that known risks are often concealed by the pharmaceutical companies.
Up to 70% of the UK population takes medication to treat or prevent ill health or to enhance wellbeing, yet every year, 10,000 of them are killed by adverse drug reactions, according to the book.
Between 2001 and 2002, the number of people officially in need of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) tripled - a fact which made absolutely no difference to the number of heart attacks, according to Harvard Medical School research. Despite this, statins are among the best-selling drugs of all time.
Drugs to treat insomnia feature in the top 20 most prescribed drugs in the UK and US. However, in 2004 the British Medical Journal concluded that there was evidence that they cause "major harm" and that there was "little evidence of clinically meaningful benefit".
Fifteen years ago, most drug trials were run by universities, independently of drug companies. Since then, however, work has been taken over for the most part by private firms, according to the book.
Many of these firms are owned by the same advertising companies which handle the drug companies' multi-million dollar advertising accounts. This fact was acknowledged last year by the editor of the British Medical Journal, who said: "The evidence is strong that drug companies are getting the results they want.
"This is especially worrisome because between two-thirds and three-quarters of the trials published in the major journals are funded by the industry. The book cites a case reported on last year by The New York Times. The paper said that while the drug Propulsid was licensed for heartburn in 1993, two years later the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) received reports that it was linked with severe disruption to heart rhythm and the death of an infant.
By 1996, the number of adult cases has risen to 57 and there were seven more involving children. None of this was made public. By 1998, more than 500,000 prescriptions for children were being written a year and 20% of infants in neo-natal care were on the drug.
When it was finally withdrawn in 2000, the FDA had reports of 80 deaths and 34 serious heart problems among patients taking the drug. Four years later, Johnson & Johnson settled outstanding claims which had, by then, arisen out of 300 deaths and 16,000 injuries - costing a total of $90m.
On the subject of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) anti-depressants, the authors cite evidence, given at a coroner's court in June 2003, that depressed people on SSRI anti-depressants were twice as likely to kill themselves as those not on a drug. The same year, the UK's MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) warned doctors not to prescribe SSRIs to children because it increased the risk of suicide.
Research data showed a suicide risk for children dating back to 1996 but uninformed doctors prescribed the drug for tens of thousands of children over the next seven years. In 2004, 3.5 million people received 20 million prescriptions for SSRIs, global sales of which were estimated at about $17bn.
The authors relate another alarming tale: a year before the anti-inflammatory blockbuster, Vioxx, was withdrawn - and while the makers, Merck, were discussing warnings about heart problems with the US Food and Drug Administration - the company gave the go-ahead for an advertising budget for the drug at $150m - more than Pepsi Cola's.
Throughout this book, the authors provide solid scientific evidence, backed up by case studies, of the drawbacks associated with the most common drug treatments.
They provide clear explanations as to how specific foods, supplements and exercise are often safer and more effective methods of healing.
They tell us that for almost every disease, there's a country that doesn't have it. Heart disease is unknown, for instance, among Japanese who eat a traditional diet.
In rural China, the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer is less than one in 20,000, as opposed to one in 10 in the UK. Depression is lowest in regions of the world where eating fish is the norm.
Pacific island children have only a fraction of the diabetes incidence of European children. Every five minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with the disease. Drugs for diabetes are big business, with sales in the UK alone worth £1bn a year and rising.
Food is Better Medicine than Drugs contains a goldmine of nutritional advice. Omega-3 fish oils are a must for anyone with cardiovascular risk. Tumeric is a powerful antioxidant.
Garlic reduces the plaque which clogs arteries. The list goes on.
Ultimately, they stress the importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention.
This book will change your attitude to drugs. Read it, and never again will you pill pop, without first thinking of the cover ups, side effects and risks - not to mention the powerful marketing mechanism that is the pharmaceutical industry.
The alpha and the omega of well-being
* Last January, UK scientists reported that the amount of Omega-3 essential fats in a pregnant woman's diet helps to determine her child's intelligence, fine motor skills and propensity to anti-social behaviour.
* 5-HTP and omega-3 fats work better than anti-depressants.
* Magnesium lowers blood pressure as effectively as drugs, with no side-effects.
* Chromium works better than metformin in lowering high blood sugar.
* Essential fat supplements are as effective as Ritalin in children with the symptoms of ADHD, with no side effects.
* Many drugs for insomnia create dependency if taken for longer than a week.
* Every five minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with diabetes.
* Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant.
* One clove of garlic a day can help reduce a high cholesterol score by 9%.
* A recent report on depression from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says: "There is little clinically important difference between anti-depressants and a placebo for mild depression." Meanwhile, a 2005 study on moderate to severe depression found that 58% of people taking anti-depressants improved, compared to 45% of those on placebos.
Food is powerful stuff. The hippies knew it, with their brown rice and lentil diet, at a time when canned steak and kidney pie was the preferred repast of a nation.
And they weren't the only ones: between Japan and Taiwan lies a tropical Tir na nOg - the archipelago of Okinawa, whose people until recently enjoyed the highest life expectancy in the world. Longevity rates began to decline there 10 years ago, with the introduction of western fare.
The Mediterranean diet has also been associated with good health and longer life since the 1950s. Studies show it can help to prevent cancer, obesity, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Now nutrition expert Patrick Holford, and medical journalist Jerome Burne, have written a book on the subject, Food is Better Medicine than Drugs. The central tenet of this highly informative tome is that while drugs can suppress symptoms, most are not designed to remove the causes of disease. And if drugs are taken for any length of time, they often create new problems. The authors argue that food, and food supplements, can often treat chronic diseases more effectively than drugs - without the risks.
Holford and Burne argue that the Western world has become heavily dependent upon prescription drugs, many of which have serious side effects. They also claim that known risks are often concealed by the pharmaceutical companies.
Up to 70% of the UK population takes medication to treat or prevent ill health or to enhance wellbeing, yet every year, 10,000 of them are killed by adverse drug reactions, according to the book.
Between 2001 and 2002, the number of people officially in need of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) tripled - a fact which made absolutely no difference to the number of heart attacks, according to Harvard Medical School research. Despite this, statins are among the best-selling drugs of all time.
Drugs to treat insomnia feature in the top 20 most prescribed drugs in the UK and US. However, in 2004 the British Medical Journal concluded that there was evidence that they cause "major harm" and that there was "little evidence of clinically meaningful benefit".
Fifteen years ago, most drug trials were run by universities, independently of drug companies. Since then, however, work has been taken over for the most part by private firms, according to the book.
Many of these firms are owned by the same advertising companies which handle the drug companies' multi-million dollar advertising accounts. This fact was acknowledged last year by the editor of the British Medical Journal, who said: "The evidence is strong that drug companies are getting the results they want.
"This is especially worrisome because between two-thirds and three-quarters of the trials published in the major journals are funded by the industry. The book cites a case reported on last year by The New York Times. The paper said that while the drug Propulsid was licensed for heartburn in 1993, two years later the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) received reports that it was linked with severe disruption to heart rhythm and the death of an infant.
By 1996, the number of adult cases has risen to 57 and there were seven more involving children. None of this was made public. By 1998, more than 500,000 prescriptions for children were being written a year and 20% of infants in neo-natal care were on the drug.
When it was finally withdrawn in 2000, the FDA had reports of 80 deaths and 34 serious heart problems among patients taking the drug. Four years later, Johnson & Johnson settled outstanding claims which had, by then, arisen out of 300 deaths and 16,000 injuries - costing a total of $90m.
On the subject of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) anti-depressants, the authors cite evidence, given at a coroner's court in June 2003, that depressed people on SSRI anti-depressants were twice as likely to kill themselves as those not on a drug. The same year, the UK's MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) warned doctors not to prescribe SSRIs to children because it increased the risk of suicide.
Research data showed a suicide risk for children dating back to 1996 but uninformed doctors prescribed the drug for tens of thousands of children over the next seven years. In 2004, 3.5 million people received 20 million prescriptions for SSRIs, global sales of which were estimated at about $17bn.
The authors relate another alarming tale: a year before the anti-inflammatory blockbuster, Vioxx, was withdrawn - and while the makers, Merck, were discussing warnings about heart problems with the US Food and Drug Administration - the company gave the go-ahead for an advertising budget for the drug at $150m - more than Pepsi Cola's.
Throughout this book, the authors provide solid scientific evidence, backed up by case studies, of the drawbacks associated with the most common drug treatments.
They provide clear explanations as to how specific foods, supplements and exercise are often safer and more effective methods of healing.
They tell us that for almost every disease, there's a country that doesn't have it. Heart disease is unknown, for instance, among Japanese who eat a traditional diet.
In rural China, the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer is less than one in 20,000, as opposed to one in 10 in the UK. Depression is lowest in regions of the world where eating fish is the norm.
Pacific island children have only a fraction of the diabetes incidence of European children. Every five minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with the disease. Drugs for diabetes are big business, with sales in the UK alone worth £1bn a year and rising.
Food is Better Medicine than Drugs contains a goldmine of nutritional advice. Omega-3 fish oils are a must for anyone with cardiovascular risk. Tumeric is a powerful antioxidant.
Garlic reduces the plaque which clogs arteries. The list goes on.
Ultimately, they stress the importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention.
This book will change your attitude to drugs. Read it, and never again will you pill pop, without first thinking of the cover ups, side effects and risks - not to mention the powerful marketing mechanism that is the pharmaceutical industry.
The alpha and the omega of well-being
* Last January, UK scientists reported that the amount of Omega-3 essential fats in a pregnant woman's diet helps to determine her child's intelligence, fine motor skills and propensity to anti-social behaviour.
* 5-HTP and omega-3 fats work better than anti-depressants.
* Magnesium lowers blood pressure as effectively as drugs, with no side-effects.
* Chromium works better than metformin in lowering high blood sugar.
* Essential fat supplements are as effective as Ritalin in children with the symptoms of ADHD, with no side effects.
* Many drugs for insomnia create dependency if taken for longer than a week.
* Every five minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with diabetes.
* Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant.
* One clove of garlic a day can help reduce a high cholesterol score by 9%.
* A recent report on depression from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says: "There is little clinically important difference between anti-depressants and a placebo for mild depression." Meanwhile, a 2005 study on moderate to severe depression found that 58% of people taking anti-depressants improved, compared to 45% of those on placebos.
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