Weight Loss Community Blog

A study has shown that the combination of a nutritious diet, daily fish oil supplements and/or three oily fish meals, like salmon, sardines or fresh tuna, a week can help alleviate depression symptoms.

Published in Nutrition & Dietetics - the official Journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, including the Journal of the New Zealand Dietetic Association - researchers reviewed all existing literature related to dietary manipulation in a bid to uncover how such nutritional manoeuvring may assist in treating this illness.

Depression is a major risk factor for deliberate self-harm and suicide - affecting more than one million Australians each year, and is estimated by the World Health Organization to become the second leading cause of morbidity worldwide by 2020. The findings in this study contribute to rectifying the simplistic, traditional view of the illness as a personality weakness, and provide anecdotal evidence of depression as a mood disorder with underlying biological and psychosocial causes.

Amazing, simply amazing. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally discovered that Dolophine (methadone hydrochloride) is dangerous. They obviously thought this discovery would be news to prescribers so they issues a medwatch safety alert. At the risk of sounding more sarcastic than simply incredulous I say again: amazing!

Here is what they have to say.

Dolophine (methadone hydrochloride)

Audience: Pain management specialists, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals
Indication: Treatment of moderate to severe pain not responsive to non-narcotic analgesics; detoxification of opioid addiction; and maintenance treatment of opioid addiction
[Posted 11/27/2006] FDA notified healthcare professionals of reports of death and life-threatening adverse events such as respiratory depression and cardiac arrhythmias in patients receiving methadone. These adverse events are the possible result of unintentional methadone overdoses, drug interactions, and methadone's cardiac toxicities (QT prolongation and Torsades de Pointes). The reports underscore the importance of knowing methadone's toxicities and unique pharmacologic properties, including dosing and monitoring recommendations.

Hershey’s, the North American candy maker, have named soy lecithen as the cause of the Salmonella scare that led to a plant closure and recall of 25 products. Soy lecithin is an emulsifying agent used to help chocolate flow during the manufacturing process. The salmonella was picked up during a routine manufacturing quality check at the company's plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

The ingredient was revealed by the company and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), after a week of intense scrutiny over the secrecy surrounding the outbreak. However, the company and CFIA still refuse to reveal the supplier of the contaminated ingredient. Hershey's also refused to divulge at what stage of ingredient manufacture, transportation or use the salmonella contamination occurred. Neither Canadian nor US food regulations require manufacturers or regulators to reveal the source of contamination, or the supplier, if the ingredient was externally sourced.

Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) received incredibly massive marketing support in the last 12 months or so thanks to what could best be described as politico-commercial market manipulation. It's sales and distribution skyrocketed. Given that the drug was principally sold to perform tasks which it is completely unable to perform it is not surprising that the marketing din has fallen silent while some people count their profits.

Not everyone is so lucky. Many people consume the drug and suffer the risk of exposure or use without receiving much or even any actual benefit. Here is just one small example contained in a FDA report on the drug's "safety."

Ofcom, the UK's advertising watchdog, announced that it would impose a total ban on high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food and drink advertisements of particular appeal to children under the age of 16, broadcast at any time of day or night on any channel. The announcement of the new restrictions on food and soft drink advertising to children on TV is the culmination of a three-year debate in the UK on the role advertising plays in establishing eating habits.

Under Ofcom's proposals, restrictions will be targeted at food and drink products rated as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) according to the Nutrient Profiling scheme developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Food or drink products which are below FSA thresholds may be advertised without scheduling restrictions, providing an incentive for some manufacturers to reformulate existing products as well as to develop new products which are low in fat, salt and sugar.

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