News

If you live in Scotland, you will have seen the BBC news last week reporting a new scientific study suggesting “Scotland’s poor health record could be directly linked to a lack of sunshine.”  Dr Oliver Gillie linked the ‘extreme’ weather to Vitamin D deficiency, which is caused by low exposure to sunlight.        

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is found in very small quantities in foods of animal origin and is commonly known as the ‘Sunshine’ vitamin.  It can be produced in the skin from the energy of the sun – but not if you keep covered up!  We are talking about Scotland here, but the same deficiency is found in people in very hot climates where their religious beliefs require them to keep their skin covered.

Scotland, especially the countryside, is astonishingly beautiful.  But it does have an extreme climate characterised by very little sunshine.  In fact, Scotland gets as little sunshine as the Arctic Circle.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Harry Burns, announced that he was already considering the evidence on Vitamin D, aware that medics have already established a lack of the Vitamin as a factor in conditions like heart disease and some cancers – of which Scotland has some of the highest levels in Europe.  But now this new evidence suggests it’s not poor diet, not even the Forfar Bridies, the Stovied Tatties or the deep fried Mars bars – it’s the weather!

That’s what I call a really good case for supplementation!  I wonder how it will develop. 

I also heard recently that Rickets was now being diagnosed in children in Britain – mainly in Asian families not born in the UK.  Again, this is an example of Vitamin D deficiency.  It seems that the amount of Vitamin D needed by children to prevent bone deformities such as Rickets can be made fairly easily by the sun on the cheeks of European infants.  However, it is well documented that darker skin is not as efficient in making Vitamins D, and in the winter, producti0on falls considerably. 

That must be a further case for supplementation.  It seems the only secure way to ensure adequate Vitamin D intake in children in Scotland is to give them a daily supplement.

But at least Scotland is now taking that on board.  Up to now, Vitamin D has received little or no attention from policy makers – yet they have some of the highest levels of chronic illness in the world.  Dr Gillie has challenged Ministers to introduce measures which would help Scotland catch up with other European countries which enjoy a more favourable climate.  Dr Gillie believes the problem can be solved – provided there is the political will to do so.

The final word comes from the CMO – “if Vitamin D supplements can be shown to contribute to improved health in Scotland, then we will make the appropriate recommendations.”

www.consumersforhealthchoice.com

By my reckoning a food scare story hit the papers every other day; the latest is about eating sausages or bacon for breakfast.  One sausage or three rashers of bacon a day can cause bowel cancer screams the headlines – at the same time they warn against eating salami, pastrami, ham, hamburgers and minced beef.  It’s the preserving process of smoking, curing, salting or adding nitros compounds that does the damage we are told – while they round up the article by stating that organic vegetables provide no health benefits over standard produce.  The world really is mad.

A quick rummage through my box of press cuttings reveals some interesting statistics when it comes to scares – top of the league is alcohol with 18 different cases reported since 2005.  Next in line is VITAMINS – closely followed by red meat, fish and sugary drinks.  Further down the list, but still in the top 20 food scares comes cheese, bottled water, bread, coffee, eggs, cooked meats – but only one on peanuts which are known to be life threatening for some.

Alcohol is a given; we all know how damaging that can be.  But vitamins?  Mind you, the media seems unable to make up its mind on this  - “Young people in Britain risk suffering health problems due to a chronic lack of vitamins in their diet, according to a study commissioned by Boots Health Club.  Millions of young people are thought to be ‘vita-rexic’ a term coined to refer to vitamin deficiency”.  That was published in the Daily Mail and carried by several of the other national dailies and could be considered a positive message for supplements.  On another occasion, also widely reported was a study on Vitamin D.   “Older men and women with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to fall multiple times . . . . “  Again, this sent a positive message, but others have been extremely damaging to the health supplements industry – yet almost all reports quote Scientists as saying ‘the study is far from conclusive and more research is required’.  I’d like to know why they don’t complete their work before drip feeding and misleading the media with bogus stories. 

How about this one – “Scientists have issued a major health warning over vitamins tablets today.  They warned that taking some supplements regularly can lead to liver damage and birth defects.”  Such stories are not unusual and tend to be orchestrated around the time we approach different stages of the Food Supplements legislation.   A cynical view maybe, but it does make you wonder.

On the other hand, I think it was The Times who ran a story a couple of years ago about the ‘practice of disease mongering by the drugs industry.’  It was suggested in the article that pharmaceutical companies were promoting non-existent illnesses or exaggerating minor ones, for the sake of profits. 

I’m sure we are all suffering from warning fatigue, but on a lighter note, other scares that have hit the headlines include; “Being a Londoner – Living in London prematurely ages your skin by three-and-a-half years”. 

“Being Male – scientists are saying that simply being male is like having a ‘terminal disease’. Experts say the higher risk of various illnesses and premature causes of death that men face compared with women makes being male a health hazard in itself!” 

“Sunday Roasts – beef packed with hormones could be to blame for fertility problems in a generation of young men, researchers say.” 

“Alarm Clocks – could be bad for your health.  Participants who were suddenly forced awake by alarm clocks had higher blood pressure and heart rates than those allowed to wake up in their own time.”  Not rocket science is it?  Finally, “Unemployment – being unemployed is as dangerous as smoking 400 cigarettes a day, because working makes us happy!”  I give up.

Many would argue that our life is the safest it has ever been in the entire history of evolution.  It is certainly true that in most cases there is less disease, we are better fed and better protected – and we have confidence in ourselves.  It’s just a shame that parts of the media feel compelled to exaggerate fanciful fears to compensate for lack of real danger.

Sue Croft ~ Director, Consumers for Health Choice

www.consumersforhealthchoice.com