Saturday, February 13, 2010

the real killer?


we've always thought, & been taught, that heart disease is caused by stress, high blood pressure & high cholesterol. it seems that it's only part of the story.


ladies & gentlemen, we have a NEW killer. well, actually it's not new but it maybe the REAL killer.

news reports are just filtering through that arteries are narrowed as a result of inflammation &, amongst other causes, the main culprit could be sugar in the blood. read here for a quick overview & here and here for more comprehensive reports.

closer to home, sugar-sweetened soft drinks may be implicated as a cause of pancreatic cancer. (read here)

although these reports have not been validated by peer-reviewed medical journals, perhaps these could be taken as cautionary tales. consider this as you down that can or packet of the sugary stuff this festive season.

blessed new year!


But the fruit of the Spirit is .......... self-control. Against such things there is no law. gal 5:22,23

8 comments:

LX said...

Doc, tht is why there is no sugar in my tea or coffee.

Speaking of pancreatic ca, there is this patient.. only 41 years old who has been found to have ca of the head of pancreas. It is almost like a death sentence. Just too sad!!

doc said...

LX,

good for you! the brits do that, as well as take diet soda, but the irony is that when it comes to candies & chocolates, they consume like there's no tomorrow.

it's very likely that our current lifestyle & diet has resulted in diseases & cancers occuring at an earlier age. when i was a houseman in surgery, i remember a student in his early 20s who had Ca pancreas, & now occasionally, we have patients in early 40s coming for coronary bypass surgery.

foongpc said...

Oh yeah, sugar is dangerous! But I ate so much sugar this CNY! Damn!! Anyway, happy CNY to you! : )

doc said...

Foongpc,

we often take this issue lightly but i'm beginning to feel that the threat posed by high blood sugar is very much overshadowed by the other factors mentioned.

have a blessed new year!

zewt said...

really nothing new. i understand reports about how carbs, being turned to sugar in our body is also a silent killer.

doc said...

Zewt,

true but consider the general apathy towards a diet of less processed food/carbs, & how it takes years of abuse to our bodies before the effects finally surface, by which time, it really too late to reverse.

Unknown said...

i remember when i visit the doctor when i was young, the doctor always have a container of 'fox' sweets on the table.

hmmmm....


i guess you don't give the little ones sweets ya? :-pp

doc said...

the clinic doctors still do that but 1 sweet won't kill anyone!