From: "Steve Harris" <sbharris@ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition
Subject: Re: physiological laws
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001 12:06:37 -0700

Spam me and get sued! wrote in message
<5667E5FC20DDED7D.72E3B742D7775946.66122E8222A6B0D3@lp.airnews.net>...
>"Steve Harris" <sbharris@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>>Other chronic diseases aren't curable, but are often
>>quite treatable. High blood pressure is an example.
>
>My former GP also told me that my hypertension could never be cured,
>only managed by taking BP meds for the rest of my life.


I doubt that. Give me his name and number and I'll give him a call and
see if he tells his patients that, as a rule, with no alternative
offered. Want to bet on what he says? Hypertension is incurable mostly
because obesity, as a social problem, is incurable. Though an occasional
person does manage to fix it.

>I checked my BP last night.  125/74.  A little higher than it has
>been, but still better than the 169/90 that I had 18 months ago.  And
>I quit taking my Norvasc several months ago.

So? There have been many studies showing you
can fix hypertension with diet, and many more showing drastic
effects on blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipids with
the right diet. I coauthored one myself, even. It's not today's
newsflash, or even yesterday's. That's not the problem. The problem
is that most people with hypertension and diabetes will not stay on
a low calorie diet in an affluent Western society over the long term,
 unless locked in a metabolic ward. Or paid a LOT of money.
(the Hollywood Star Diet: they threatened me with loss of my
million dollar income if I got fat, so I ate less. There's a headline.)


>Incurable?  If you insist on treating it with a low-fat, high-carb
>diet, yes, it is incurable.

No, if your patients don't lose weight, weight associated
problems are usually incurable. We
all know (orthodox doctors all know) that for most people most
of the syndrome X problems go away if your patients get to
ideal body weight. The problem is that they don't/won't DO it.

Hypertension is a social disease. Some societies don't have
any, but not because they're eating a high fat diet. All known
societies where hypertension isn't a problem are societies where
the diet is low calorie and low fat.


> Type II diabetes is that way, too.  (My
>wife has been off her diabetes meds since February, and keeps her bG**
>under 100 with diet)


Sure, it's called "diet controlled diabetes". Common as dirt. It's also
as common as dirt that patients will not change their diets, will not
exercise, and consequently will not lose weight.  When (if) they finally
do, they say "my doctor said I'd be on this drug the rest of my life".
No. The doctor said you'd be on it the rest of your life if you didn't
change your lifestyle.  Now that you finally did, you're going to blame
the doctor for giving you pills?  He was trying to keep you alive while
you wised up.

SBH