Australian National TV Helps to Expose the Cholesterol Myths (Copying Several Parts of $TATIN NATION)

ABC's TV show Catalyst has just broadcast the first part of a two-part programme on saturated fat and cholesterol. The programme, presented by Dr Maryanne Demasi, is similar in several ways to $TATIN NATION (in structure, style of music, use of imagery, and some specific content).

It is immensely satisfying to see a national broadcaster finally picking up this issue and to see the message reaching a wider audience!

Towards the end of last year I corresponded with Dr Maryanne Demasi and she purchased a copy of $TATIN NATION. However, since then I had not received any further correspondance and I was not informed that ABC planned to make their own programme. I did try to follow-up with Dr Maryanne Demasi earlier this year, but I didn't receive a response. I found out about this programme this morning (after it was aired) from a post on twitter. Unfortunately, although $TATIN NATION has obviously influenced the ABC programme, ABC have not acknowledged this in their credits.

This is an example of the cut-throat world of corporate media and is yet another reason why independent film production is very close to impossible to sustain. 

The ABC programme is very good, and I highly recommend everyone to watch it. However, what is now needed is a proper explanation for the real causes of heart disease. I have been researching this in much more detail during the last few months and have become aware of some surprising results.

We already know that heart disease is an inflammatory condition and that excess sugar consumption is a major factor, however, there is certainly more to it than that. I believe that we now have a coherent alternative explanation for the real causes of heart disease. This new theory, in some ways, unites the different nutritional schools of thought. 

In addition, I want to look at the other so called risk factors for heart disease and the other common medications that people take for 'prevention'.

For more details of $TATIN NATION part 2, please click here:

  http://www.statinnation.net/statin-nation-ii/

You can watch the ABC programme directly from their website at the link below, and they also have a number of useful free downloads associated with the programme:

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/heartofthematter/ 

British National Press Does it Again with Extremely Misleading Article

This weekend, at least 3 national newspapers here in the UK (the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, and the Mirror) printed an article suggesting that cholesterol-lowering statin medications had led to a 40% reduction in strokes in Britain.

Based on what was written in these newspapers, it was initially a little time consuming to find the actual published research they are referring to – this is because their description of the stroke reduction being attributed to statins didn't match any of the published studies in the medical literature. As far as I can establish, they are referring to this study:

Yanzhong Wang, Anthony G. Rudd and Charles D.A. Wolfe. Trends and Survival Between Ethnic Groups After Stroke: The South London Stroke Register. Stroke 2013;44:380-387

Although the 3 newspapers state that statins have been the main factor, there is no evidence of this whatsoever in the above study. There is only one reference to statins in the study itself, which reads:

“There are limitations in our study. We do not have cholesterol/pathology data in our stroke register but we do have use of statins. “

That's it. There is no further mention of statins or any mention of the impact statins might or might not have had.

So, the national press has just plucked this headline out of thin air. Or maybe this article came about as a result of a press release from the drugs companies or an organisation which supports the drugs companies? Who knows? Wherever it came from, it has deeply misled the general public.

This is not the first time this has happened, I wrote about a similar case at the end of last year.

Its no wonder that many people are confused about this issue.