Monday, January 31, 2005

Vaccine Truths

Dr. James R. Shannon, former director of the National Institute of Health reported in December, 2003 that "the only safe vaccine is one that is never used".

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Careful Chewing Consideration

" You have once again gone on record with well presented and clearly irrefutable evidence of the criminality of feeding Aspartame to the public. You mentioned that Wrigley should be especially ashamed of themselves, because not only do they full well know just what they are doing, but buccally adsorbed Aspartame via their gums has an immensely more toxic effect than Aspartame from any other source, because it is not partially broken down by the digestive tract into several other poisons, nor is it processed by the liver, before going on to the rest of the body and brain. The Wrigley gum chewer is essentially getting straight IV Aspartame through their gums!



Now that you have indicted Wrigley, and they are found clearly guilty, I am hereby now calling for a world wide boycott of all Wrigley products."



In addition remember that gum chewing stimulates digestive enzymes. With no food in your stomach this can lead to digestive dis-order.



Secondly, remember that chewing gum is very hard on the TMJ joint of your jaw.

Perspectives on your health

"In Medicine one must pay attention not to plausible theorizing but to experience and reason together... I agree that theorizing is to be approved, provided that it is based on facts, and systematically makes its deductions from what is observed... But conclusions drawn from unaided reason can hardly be serviceable; only those drawn from observed fact" — Hippocrates

Saturday, January 29, 2005

A QUICK LOOK AT HOW SOME COUNTRIES ADVERTISE FOOD TO KIDS

* Ireland: All television commercials for fast food and candy are banned.

* Sweden/Norway/Austria/Luxembourg: All television advertising to children is banned.

* Belgium/France/Portugal/Vietnam: All marketing is banned in schools.

* United States: Spending more per child than any other nation in the world, the U.S. plugs $15 billion per year into marketing food to kids, which is more than what it would cost to provide health insurance for all uninsured children.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

More on Drugs and Death

According to research, deaths attributed to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal in the first few days of every month. This study is the first to document a beginning-of-the-month boost in deaths associated with mistakes in prescription drugs.



The Problem



The primary culprit behind these death rates: A beginning-of-the-month increase in pharmacy workloads and a consequential increase in their error rates. To offer a further explanation of this occurrence, one sociologist stated, "Government assistance payments to the old, sick and the poor are typically received at the beginning of each month. Because of this, there is a beginning-of-the-month spike in purchases of prescription medications."



However, further findings suggest otherwise.



Researchers examined all United States death certificates from 1970 to 2000 to analyze some 131,000 deaths caused by fatal poisoning accidents from drugs. They found that a small number (3 percent) of the deaths were from adverse effects of the right drug taken at the right dose, while the majority of deaths (97 percent) resulted from medication errors:



* Wrong dose given or taken

* Accidental overdose of a drug

* A drug taken inadvertently



It was also discovered that the beginning-of-the-month spike in deaths was apparent in the young and well as in the elderly and poor, indicating the problem is partially due to pharmacy error.



(The study did not include specific clinical information regarding prescription type, dosage or days supply, nor did it include deaths associated with overdose of street drugs or from intentional poisoning.)



The Solution



In order to reduce the medication-error death rate researchers recommended:



* Pharmacies to consider increasing staffing levels at the beginning of each month

* Government officials to consider spreading assistance payments out over the entire month, rather than the beginning

* Both patients and clinical staff to make a special effort to check the accuracy of their prescriptions at the beginning of each month



Science Daily January 6, 2005

Monday, January 17, 2005

Heart Health Month is soon to be here

80% of patients who develop coronary artery disease have "normal" cholesterol levels.

On July 13, 2004 commercial media announced statements from U.S. health officials recommending new guidelines for Cholesterol levels. The recommendations are based on results of new clinical trials showing the benefit of cholesterol-lowering therapy in high-risk patients and support the ATP III treatment goal of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) <100>

Preventing heart disease requires much more than simply screening for high cholesterol in the blood. "Although this approach has been useful, it fails to identify almost one-half of the 1.3 million individuals who develop MI [myocardial infarction] in the US each year who have either normal or only moderately increased serum cholesterol concentrations," researchers have pointed out.1

What's more, an estimated 80% of patients who develop coronary artery disease have cholesterol levels (as measured by standard lipid profiles) comparable to those in healthy individuals.2 And nearly half of all cases of premature coronary artery disease are missed when using only current standard guidelines for cholesterol testing.3

Even among patients who have been identified with high cholesterol, a significant number of individuals do not respond to routine lipid reduction strategies, or, they go on to experience a cardiac event despite drops in cholesterol.4

This cumulative evidence clearly underscores the urgency of assessing patients with more advanced cardiovascular risk markers than those included in standard lipid panels.

The Comprehensive Cardiovascular Profile 2.0 incorporates the latest breakthroughs in cardiovascular disease research to provide advanced, early warning of CVD risk. This thorough evaluation features an advanced lipid profile with fractionation, independent risk markers (including homocysteine and hs-C-reactive protein), relative risk indices, and Metabolic Syndrome alerts. All of these advanced markers play a critical role in the biochemical environment underlying cardiovascular health. The insight they provide allows the clinician to accurately address abnormalities relating to heart and vascular diseases.

References:
1 Rifai N, Ridker PM. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein: a novel and promising marker of coronary heart
disease. Clin Chem 2001;47(3):404-411.
2 Schildkraut JM, Myers RH, Cupples LA, Kiely DK, Kannel WB. Coronary risk associated with age and sex of
parental heart disease in the Framingham Study. Am J Cardiol 1989;64(10):555-9.
3 Akosah KO, Gower E, Groon L, Rooney BL, Schaper A. Mild hypercholesterolemia and premature heart
disease: do the national criteria underestimate disease risk? J Am Coll Cardiol 2000;35(5):1178-84.
4 Superko HL. Did grandma give you heart disease? The new battle against coronary artery disease.
Am J Cardiol 1998;82(9A):34Q-46Q.

Friday, January 14, 2005

Words To The Wise

"AFTER 40 YOU EITHER BECOME YOUR OWN DOCTOR OR BECOME YOUR OWN FOOL"

FRENCH PROVERB

Monday, January 10, 2005

Children Safety and Mobile Phones

"FRESH WARNING OVER CHILDREN'S MOBILES"
 
Sir William Stewart, Chair of the UK Health Protection Agency & NRPB, stated again that children should only use mobile phones for essential calls until the safety issue is resolved.

Virgin Mobile CEO says no cell phones for children too! and will stop selling the phones to the under 16 age group.

Saturday, January 8, 2005

Double Standard

So what else have we come to expect?

The FDA just must be in a state of brain fog -

NOVARTIS, the big pharmaceutical company uses Guar Gum in their product Benefiber. The FDA says that one person died from using this product in supplements.

T92-14, Guar Gum The article herein was written in 1992, maybe it is the money that makes one wonder what hasn't changed.

March 18, 1992

FDA ORDERS NATURE'S WAY GUAR GUM DIET PILLS OFF MARKET

FDA has received numerous inquiries about action taken recently by 10 states and the FDA against diet drug products containing guar gum. The following may help in responding to questions.

In a nationally coordinated effort, FDA and 10 states moved to stop the sale off a weight control drug product containing guar gum, an ingredient determined by FDA to be unsafe for weight control. FDA warned Nature's Way Products, Inc., of Springville, Utah, to stop distributing its East Indian Guar Gum capsules and to remove them from the market immediately.

Acting in concert with FDA, attorneys general in 10 states ordered General Nutrition Centers, the major distributor of the capsules nationwide, to stop selling them. They also ordered General Nutrition Centers to recall and destroy all other diet products containing guar gum. Failure to do so could result in civil penalties. The nationally coordinated action by FDA and the state attorneys general is the first of what are expected to be more joint enforcement actions against health fraud, deceptive practices and other violations of federal and state food and drug laws. FDA banned the use of guar gum in nonprescription diet drug products after numerous reports that the ingredient presents a health hazard. The agency also banned 110 other weight control ingredients in these products because none had proven effective. Guar gum was found to be neither safe nor effective. Guar gum is a complex sugar that swells when it becomes wet and is purported to create a sense of fullness when ingested. Diet drug products containing guar gum have caused numerous cases of esophageal, gastric and intestinal obstruction. Many people affected required hospitalization, and one eventually died as an indirect result of esophageal obstruction. Although the ingredient is banned in weight loss drug products, it is approved for use in small amounts in foods such as cheese, salad dressings and ice creams. This use is not a health concern.

In a letter to Nature's Way, FDA cited both use of a banned ingredient and claims on the label that make the product a new drug, requiring FDA approval before it can be legally marketed. East Indian Guar Gum capsules claim to promote weight control, regularity and digestion, and to control glucose and reduce cholesterol. Marketing a new drug without FDA approval is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA gave Nature's Way five days to advise the agency how it plans to comply with the law. Failure to do so could result in further regulatory action, such as seizure or injunction. FDA has moved against 14 manufacturers of guar gum diet drug products in the past couple of years. In July 1990, the agency told the marketer of Cal-Ban 3000 diet tablets and capsules to stop distributing those products and ordered distributors to recall supplies. U.S. Marshals subsequently seized more than 350,000 bottles of Cal-Ban 3000. In September 1991, a federal judge condemned the seized Cal-Ban 3000 as an unapproved new drug and ordered it destroyed.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00386.html


Pain killers cause intestinal woes

Up to 70 percent of people using OTC and Rx pain medications are subject to intestinal disorders leading to the use of more drugs and OTC products to solve yet another problem.

Look at all of the drugs and OTC products you are taking and consider the harm to your health that may be in the making.

Don't forget that your health care provider is required by law to tell you the risks and benefits of any drug they prescribe.

If you are experiencing pain and not getting relief, a short consultation with us may put you on a healthier path. Contact us at www.leaflady.org

for the New Year

sending you our very best wishes for health, happiness and prosperity in 2005.