US frontline doctors censored!

A growing group of American doctors calling themselves ‘America’s Frontline Doctors’ held a press conference this week to share their joint experiences of successfully treating hundreds of covid patients across multiple US states. Instead of being hailed as heroes, they are being vilified, censored and smeared by the mainstream media (BBC News, CNN, Washington Post) for spreading information labelled as ‘false’ and ‘misinformation.’ Their crime? Daring to claim that a treatment protocol using hydroxychloroquine, zinc and zithromax has saved hundreds of lives and that any lockdown and mask-wearing is unnecessary as this protocol can also be used prophylactically. Within hours, recordings of the press conference went viral on social media platforms as Facebook (where it was shared nearly 600,000 times), Twitter and YouTube sought to erase their claims because it violates their ‘COVID-19 misinformation policies’. It wasn’t only ordinary citizens who were affected. President Trump had a tweet removed, while his eldest son was temporarily barred from Twitter for reposting. Ironically, in a tweet, Dr Simone Gold announced the website for America’s Frontline Doctors had been “arbitrarily shut down” for being in violation of Squarespace’s Acceptable Use policy. Despite these actions the brave group of doctors have continued to stand up to the defamation and held a second press conference to decry the actions of the Big Tech platforms and restate their message that there is a treatment for covid and that people have died unnecessarily.

UK teachers' unions demand masks on schoolchildren

England was forced into mandatory mask wearing in shops and takeaways on Friday 24th July. However, the Government has been very clear that children under the age of 11 don't have to wear them. TV doctors created a stir earlier this week by saying that parents should be putting masks on children as young as 7 and making them into a fun, fashion statement so that they get used to them. Now Teachers Unions are calling for compulsory face masks for schoolchildren and 10 schools have broken with Government guidance. Unsurprisingly, this is causing a heated row given that many parents are deeply concerned about the potential risks to their children's health and development. Unions said recent announcements requiring the wearing of masks on public transport and in shops had "...highlighted the need for similar protections to be in place in schools and colleges". Yet, there has been no recorded case of a teacher catching coronavirus from a pupil anywhere in the world. Yesterday schools have been warned that if they refuse to back down over plans to make face masks compulsory when schools reopen in September, they may face a judicial review. Our friends at UsForThem have started a petition against mandatory masks in schools, please sign if this resonates with you.

UK government battles obesity epidemic

The UK government has unveiled measures to curb the obesity epidemic in the UK following the publication of a report from Public Health England confirming that being overweight or obese increases the risk of severe illness and death from covid. Amongst the measures proposed is a ban on advertising ‘junk’ food before 9pm on TV, the end of ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ deals on foods high in salt, sugar and fat, a requirement for out of home outlets to display calories on their menus and a GP prescription for bike riding. All of which are set to maintain the status quo and make very little difference to Big Food - or to the public who have been repeatedly told to eat less, count calories and exercise for decades to no avail. In our view, the complete avoidance of current scientific findings that diets high in processed carbs are at the root of the obesity - and chronic disease - crisis. Until the government and its advisors are prepared to open a discourse with those scientists and doctors who are on the frontline using low-carb protocols to effect meaningful change in people’s health they must accept such tweaks are unlikely to have more than a minimal effect on obesity rates. It’s akin to putting a sticky plaster on a broken leg for all the good it’s likely to do.

Homeopathy paper to be retracted

A paper arguing for the use of homeopathy in the fight against covid is to be retracted after Retraction Watch called attention to its publication. The editor of the Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice put its inclusion down to an “…overflow of manuscripts” and the bias of the reviewers. He said he was discussing the retraction of the article with the publishers. As of today, the article is still available online. Homeopathy has experienced sustained attacks from skeptics over recent years despite good evidence of its efficacy. It’s time all potential natural treatments and therapeutics are considered to combat not just covid, but all viral infections and support a robust and resilient immune system.

Inactive substances in drugs found to be active

A new study published in Science has found many excipients used in drug manufacturing, long thought to be inert, are in actuality active. Excipients are used to stabilise a drug, prevent contamination, control metabolism of drugs or improve their taste. Because they are largely considered to be safe their toxicology has been mostly ignored to date. The excipients in a single drug may be considered harmless at the recommended dose, but consideration has not been given to patients taking a polypharmacy when excipient levels may far exceed those anticipated. The study identified 38 regularly used ingredients that displayed biological activities with the potential to cause adverse effects. Currently, drug side-effects are generally dismissed and swept under the carpet as one of those things that people have to put up with regardless of how debilitating their effects may be. The benefits of any treatment should far outweigh their harms. That’s why we and integrative doctors advocate the use of natural therapies that support our bodies to heal themselves.

Toddler milk harmful to health

A coalition of 30 child nutrition experts led by the Public Health Advocacy Institute have launched a Citizen Petition in the US calling on the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce regulations to combat deceptive labelling on products sold as ‘follow-on’ or ‘transition’ milks. They are also calling for them to be categorised as sugary drinks to attract sugar taxes and be included in public health campaigns. Such deceptive marketing is designed to mislead parents into buying nutritionally inferior and unnecessary products for their children. Many of these products are highly processed and contain high levels of sugar and processed vegetable oil, but their labels imply significant health benefits from their use. Often positioned as a healthful choice for picky eaters such products only increase a child’s preference for sweet tastes setting them on a path to metabolic disease in future life at a time when the obesity crisis is reaching epidemic proportions and threating to overwhelm healthcare systems. That’s why we need to change the way we feed our kids to protect their health as they grow and develop.