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Will Al Capone be your new doctor…?
10th November 2006
Imagine the scene…
You pop down to your doctor's, he slips you a voucher for the local curry house and says
“I insist you eat out at Sheesh Mahal once a week. Don't worry, the NHS will foot the bill. You just enjoy yourself”.
Wouldn't that be marvellous?
No, this isn't one of my vivid dreams where the world is made of chocolate and I have to keep telling Raquel Welch to stop bothering me, because I'm happy with Lara. (Raquel Welch… I'm giving my age away there aren't I?).
This is something that really could happen.
Oh wait a minute; I forgot…
Doctors aren't always allowed to do what's best for us are they? Not after they've been beaten down by big business and profithungry authorities.
But in a fair world, doctors would (and should in my opinion) be able to recommend curry in certain circumstances.
And I'll tell you about one of those circumstances in a minute.
But instead, they're forced to prescribe 'medicines' like this…
A tale of two prescriptions...
Lipitor - a statin drug that's used for a variety of cardiovascular diseases is taken by more than one million people in the UK, and is credited with saving thousands of lives.
Of course, this being a lab creation, statins can have side effects - including muscle pain and liver disease.
But there's a new problem that's reared its head…
320 fake packets of Lipitor have been discovered within the NHS. They had the correct batch numbers on them, the correct packaging, everything.
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Which means these fakes got past the watchdogs, into the system and were ready to be dished out to patients.
In fact some patients may well have popped these little beauties already - no one can be sure.
That's alarmingly in itself isn't it?
Luckily these particular fakes aren't thought to be dangerous - even though batches of the drug have been recalled in a shot.
But it raises a very serious point…
With the drugs companies pumping out millions of little pills and making billions of pounds, it was only a matter of time before organised crime moved in and tried to take their slice.
And that's exactly what's happening - with trade in counterfeit medicines on the rise. It's getting so bad, that some estimates say that 15% of all imported medicines in the US contain unapproved substances.
And I wouldn't bet against the situation being the same here.
Al Capone… your new doctor?
I don't know about you, but this situation worries me. I mean, I doubt whether the criminal fraternity cares too much about quality control.
And it seems an impossible task to make sure these fake drugs stay out of our health system.
So we just have to sit back and take it right?
Well no, actually. We may not be able to do anything about the drugs industry as a whole…
But we can make sure we use pure, natural, healthy remedies wherever possible, and stay away from man-made drugs as much as we can.
Of course, there are times when we have no choice but to use drugs. In fact at times it's essential.
And we should always, always follow our doctor's advice.
But the more we stick to good old fashioned natural products, and use foods to protect our health, the more unlikely it is we'll ever need to use man made drugs, or run the risk of swallowing something we shouldn't.
Well, that's my opinion.
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After all, have you ever heard of a counterfeit gang trying to smuggle fake fruit into the supermarket? Or taking a bite of a jacket potato only to discover some criminal genius has swapped the real thing for a plastic one?
Which brings me neatly to the second part of my tale of two prescriptions…
The health-giving benefits of Britain's favourite food
You may remember some time last century (or at the start of this letter, which feels like a century ago!) I had a dream…
A dream about being prescribed a curry.
Of course, it'll never happen. The powers that be will keep making us take the money-making drugs.
But it should happen. And for medical reasons, not just my own selfish reasons.
A recent study carried out by the National University of Singapore suggested that curry (or at least an ingredient in curry) may help protect us against Alzheimer's.
1,000 people between the ages of sixty and ninety three took part, and those that ate more curries demonstrated better cognitive function.
And it's thought that curcumin could be the magic factor.
As I found out on the Internet:
“Curcumin acts as a free radical scavenger and antioxidant, inhibiting lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage.”
So there. Roughly translated it means 'treat yourself to the occasional curry'.
And while you're at it, why not wash it down with a lovely Cobra beer as well.
Here's to the Good Life!
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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