Food Facts and Risks

Today we are faced every day with real fake food(s). Advertising is so extreme that you don't have much of a chance to escape the blitz. And we are paying a very high price for corporate control of the food chain.

This trend goes from cradle to grave an no one is calling out to stop the madness. At the same time the illutrious USDA and FDA are now allowing you to eat cloned meat, milk and probably other foods not included in the media fray to senstize you to it being ok for health.

Well we just don't really know do we? No labels on your food identifying cloned ingredients...

And how much $$$ has crossed palms in DC from Big Agra for this one?

You have the next month or so to contact the FDA and tell them NO to cloned food, NO GMO food and NO Big Agra over-processed and over-refined health destroying 'foods'.

Check out the organic consumers organization on line too.

Overweight toddlers are at risk of growing up to be overweight, with the attendant constellation of health woes, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

It is a health crisis, specialists say, fueled by eating too much calorie-laden processed food and drinking too many sweetened beverages while also spending more hours plopped in front of television and computer screens than earlier generations.

Toddler weight problems are also a legacy of the obesity epidemic among adults: Overweight mothers tend to give birth to bigger babies who are exposed to insulin imbalances while in the womb that can predispose them to obesity.

"The whole country is struggling with this," said Virginia Chomitz , senior scientist at the Institute for Community Health at the Cambridge Health Alliance. "There's a lot of factors in our environment and our lifestyle that are pushing us toward being fatter. It's an uphill battle to push against that tide."

Docs still can't get it

Doctors just don't want you to use any natural treatments for your health and they seem to concoct every imaginable study to convince you that herbs or vitamins aren't beneficial.

So here is a study that shows that Black Cohosh in deed is beneficial for menopausal symptoms.

We suggest that hot flashes are more directly related to adrenal stress but for hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of years Black Cohosh has proven itself many times over. Read on...

December 26, 2006 Science Daily —

The natural herb black cohosh is commonly used by women to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its action have eluded scientists -- until now.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the National Institutes of Health Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research have discovered that black cohosh may act on human opiate receptors, which play a role in regulating a body's temperature.
Z. Jim Wang, assistant professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutics, led the study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry; the paper is currently available on the journal's web site.
Opiate receptors are chemical sensors that respond to opiates like morphine and endorphins, Wang said. Chemical substances with opiate activity bind to the receptors and produce the appropriate response, including the regulation of pain, temperature and appetite.
"We used several extracts of black cohosh and found that elements of the herb could bind to the human 'mu' opiate receptor," Wang said. "The opiate receptor system affects several aspects of female reproductive neuroendocrinology, such as the levels of sex hormones and neurotransmitters that are important for temperature regulation."
Black cohosh (known as both Actaea racemosa and Cimicifuga racemosa) is a member of
the buttercup family. A perennial plant, it is native to North America. It has been used by Native Americans to treat malaise, gynecological disorders, kidney ailments, malaria, rheumatism and sore throat, as well as colds, cough, constipation, hives and backaches, and to induce lactation.
Women experience a variety of symptoms of menopause, but the hot flash is the most
common. Although the exact mechanism of the hot flash is unclear, estrogen withdrawal
during menopause clearly plays an important role, Wang said. It is assumed that declining estrogen concentrations may change the levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.
As a result, the thermoregulatory center located in the hypothalamus functions irregularly, which leads to inappropriate peripheral vasodilatation that causes hot flashes.
"The hypothalamic thermostat setting can be controlled directly or indirectly by the opiate system," Wang said.
Wang said this is the first time black cohosh has been linked to the activity of the opiate receptors. The ethanol extract used in this study, he said, is currently being used in a phase II clinical trial conducted by researchers from the UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research.

Safer Sources

Carla Johnson write for the Spokane Spokesman-Review. Several years ago when I qeustioned this class of drugs and submitted healthier options she ignored my comments. Looks like she might be opeing her thinking a bit. It would be nice to hear an apology.

Be that as it may - and most likely not forth coming - these drugs are really risky because they block the P450 detox pathway, block protein digestion, reduce your immune response and as you see now, raise your risk of hip fracture.

Try some of our natural suggestions at Leaflady.org

Study links heartburn drugs, broken hip By CARLA K. JOHNSON

Taking such popular heartburn drugs as Nexium, Prevacid or Prilosec for a year or more can raise the risk of a broken hip markedly in people over 50, a large study in Britain found.

The study raises questions about the safety of some of the most widely used and heavily promoted prescription drugs on the market, taken by millions of people.

The researchers speculated that when the drugs reduce acid in the stomach, they also make it more difficult for the body to absorb bone-building calcium. That can lead to weaker bones and fractures.

Hip fractures in the elderly often lead to life-threatening complications. As a result, doctors should make sure patients have good reason to stay on heartburn drugs long term, said study co-author Dr. Yu-Xiao Yang of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

"The general perception is they are relatively harmless," Yang said. "They often are used without a clear or justified indication for the treatment."

Some people find relief from heartburn with over-the-counter antacids such as Tums, Rolaids and Maalox. But for others, those medicines do not work well. Moreover, heartburn can be more than a source of discomfort. People with chronic heartburn can develop painful ulcers in the esophagus, and in rare cases, some can end up with damage that can lead to esophageal cancer.

Dr. Sandra Dial of McGill University in Montreal, who was not involved in the study but has done similar research, said patients should discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors and taper off their use of these medicines if they can.

Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec are members of a class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors. The study found a similar but smaller risk of hip fractures for another class of acid-fighting drugs called H2 blockers. Those drugs include Tagamet and Pepcid.

The study, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at medical records of more than 145,000 patients in England, where a large electronic database of records is available for research. The average age of the patients was 77.

The patients who used proton pump inhibitors for more than a year had a 44 percent higher risk of hip fracture than nonusers. The longer the patients took the drugs, the higher their risk.

The biggest risk was seen in people who took high doses of the drugs for more than a year. That group had a 2 1/2 times greater risk of hip fractures than nonusers.

Yang said that for every 1,262 elderly patients treated with the drugs for more than a year, there would be one additional hip fracture a year attributable to the drugs. For every 336 elderly patients treated for more than a year with high doses, there would be one extra hip fracture a year attributable to the drugs.

Dr. Doug Levine of AstraZeneca PLC, which makes Nexium and Prilosec, said the study does not prove that proton pump inhibitors cause hip fractures. It merely suggests a potential association, he said. Doctors need to monitor their patients for proper dosage and watch how long they take the drugs, Levine said.

Julia Ellwanger, a spokeswoman for TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., which markets Prevacid, said proton pump inhibitors' safety has been well-established by rigorous studies, and the new study does not prove or disprove a connection to hip fractures.

Dr. Alan Buchman of Northwestern University, who was not involved in the research, said the study should not change medical practice, since doctors already should be monitoring the bone density of elderly people taking the drugs and recommending calcium-rich diets to all patients.

"Most people are not taking enough calcium to start with," he said. He also wondered if a similar result would have been found in a sunny climate, because vitamin D from sunshine helps with calcium absorption.

Also, Buchman said it not known whether the acid-fighting drugs prevent esophageal cancer. He said the risk of esophageal cancer has been exaggerated in the marketing of these drugs.

"I think the risk has been overplayed and scared the community," Buchman said.

Heartburn medicines are heavily are advertised in "Ask your doctor about ..." commercials in this country, particularly during the evening news.

Nexium is the third biggest selling drug in the world, behind the cholesterol medicine Lipitor and blood thinner Plavix, with global sales totaling $5.7 billion last year, according to IMS Health, which tracks drug sales.

Yang and his co-authors disclosed in the paper that they have worked as consultants and received speaking fees from companies making acid-fighting drugs. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Gastroenterological Association/GlaxoSmithKline Glaxo Institute for Digestive Health.

Men in the study had a higher drug-associated risk of hip fracture than women, possibly because women may be more aware of osteoporosis and may get more calcium in their diets, Yang said. He plans more research on whether calcium-rich diets or calcium supplements can prevent the problem.

Something to think about

Can anything be more ridiculous than that a man would have the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of the water, and because his ruler has a quarrel with mine,
though I have none with him?
-- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensees

We wonder what took the FDA this long too!

This issue of problems with the kidneys and liver when using NSAIDS goes back to the 70s for sure. We debated it in the days when I worked in ICU.

Remember Kenny Easley?

Liver AND kidney failure is the real risk, as well as aberrations of clotting, silent bleeding, some indication of bone loss and nutritional deficincy. Ginger, willow bark, MSM, turmeric or other are better choices.

There is the same or more risk with aspirin since, like the blood thinners (coumadin or heparin et al), it too will eventually cause disintegration of the cell wall membrane and extremely hazardous bleeding.

So what isn't your doctor telling you?

Looking at the Lipitor Lies

The Price of Freedom is Responsibility - It is every American's inherent right to freely choose for themselves whatever type and source of healthcare he or she deems appropriate. However, it must be emphasized that practicing such medical freedom
requires the responsibility of acquiring valid health information and skills, having the wisdom to recognize when professional healthcare is needed, and to choose that healthcare wisely.

"Informed consent can be effectively exercised only if the patient possesses enough information to enable an intelligent choice (AMA, 1999)."

I have been a champion of informed consent for decades. I find it missing in today's health care arena, yet it is a cornerstone of healthcare, and required by law.

The 'Don't tell if the patient doesn't ask' mentality is just too common these days, and this is one reason why this BLOG was implemented.

Do you wish to risk your life for 1.9 per cent improvement when better and safer treatment is available? And think of the high price you pay...Lipitor averages a 4700% profit.

HIGH-DOSE LIPITOR FOR STROKES: HOW EFFECTIVE, HOW SAFE?
A new study of high-dose Lipitor reveals minimal benefit and unanswered questions about safety. Yet doctors are prescribing high-dose Lipitor to more patients.

In August 2006, a large study was published involving the maximum 80-mg dose of Lipitor (atorvastatin) in patients with a recent stroke.1 Lipitor is the top-selling drug in America and one of several statin drugs (e.g. Zocor, Crestor, Pravachol) widely prescribed for reducing cholesterol. The study, which was funded by Pfizer and authored by 8 Pfizer employees and consultants, showed that high-dose Lipitor reduced the occurrence of subsequent strokes slightly better than placebo. The authors concluded: "These results support the initiation of atorvastatin [Lipitor] treatment soon after a stroke or transient ischemic attack.1" But does the study really support the medicating of all stroke patients with the most powerful, side-effect prone dosage of Lipitor? No, the study does not. Here is why.

Minimal Efficacy, Serious Toxicity
In the study, 11.2 percent of patients receiving high-dose Lipitor experienced another stroke, whereas 13.1 percent of patients receiving placebo had another stroke.1 The difference was only 1.9 percent, a tiny improvement. This result is certainly not enough to warrant the widespread medicating of stroke patients with an expensive, highly potent form of Lipitor.

While Lipitor reduced the occurrence of blockage (ischemic) strokes, the occurrence of bleeding (hemorrhagic) strokes actually increased with Lipitor. Subsequent hemorrhagic strokes occurred in 55 patients receiving Lipitor vs. 33 patients receiving placebo. This means that hemorrhagic strokes increased 67% with Lipitor in comparison with placebo. Therefore, high-dose Lipitor is certainly not warranted in people with hemorrhagic strokes.

No Reduction of Deaths
Another reason for caution with high-dose Lipitor was the failure of the study to show any improvement in overall mortality with high-dose Lipitor. The drug decreased the number of fatal strokes, but this was offset by an increased number of deaths from other causes. The result was that among 2365 Lipitor patients, 216 (9.1 percent) died, while among 2366 placebo patients, 211 (8.9 percent) died. In short, the number of deaths increased slightly with high-dose Lipitor in comparison with placebo.

This is a very important finding, especially since a similar trend was seen in another major study of high-dose Lipitor published in 2005. The 2005 study compared the effect of maximum-dose (80 mg) and low-dose (10 mg) Lipitor on heart attacks and other cardiovascular events. Deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased considerably with high-dose Lipitor in comparison to the lower dose.2 However, the overall number of deaths was slightly greater with high-dose Lipitor than with the lower dose. In an expert editorial that accompanied the 2005 study, Dr. Bertram Pitt deemed the increased mortality with high-dose Lipitor "a matter of concern." Dr. Pitt added, "we need further reassurance as to the safety of this approach."3 For cases requiring aggressive LDL lowering, Dr. Pitt recommended a combination approach that included dietary modifications, moderate-dose statins, and other lipid-lowering therapies.3 I agree with Dr. Pitt's concerns and recommendations.

Hepatic Injuries with Lipitor
In the 2006 stroke study, 51 (2.2%) of high-dose Lipitor patients vs. 11 (0.5%) placebo patients developed elevations in liver enzymes (over 3 times the upper limit of normal), which indicated liver injry.1 In other words, liver injuries occurred nearly 5 times more frequently with high-dose Lipitor than with placebo. This is a serious finding. The 2005 study revealed a similar trend: liver enzyme elevations occurred nearly 7 times more frequently with high-dose than with low-dose Lipitor.2 These findings tell us that high-dose Lipitor is far more likely to cause liver injuries than low-dose Lipitor or placebo.

Is liver injury a serious side effect? A few years ago, a friend of mine was placed on 10 mg of Lipitor by his doctor. My friend's liver enzymes rose to three times above normal. Although the elevation was modest, it indicated the destruction of liver cells. My friend, who is a doctor, discontinued the Lipitor. He knew that statins such as Lipitor can be liver toxic. If the lowest dose of Lipitor caused this liver injury, how much more serious an injury would high-dose 80-mg Lipitor have caused?

You should be very cautious with drugs that cause liver injuries. Several years ago, when the drug Rezulin (troglitazone) was introduced, we were told that the drug caused modest liver injuries in only 2.2% of patients (vs 0.5% with placebo). Soon, reports of liver failure and death with Rezulin flooded the FDA. Belatedly, we learned that the manufacturer had omitted vital information: patients receiving Rezulin in the clinical trails had actually developed dangerous liver enzyme elevations and serious liver damage.4,5 These and other findings indicated that Rezulin was a serious liver toxin, but this information was withheld by the manufacturer for years. By the time Rezulin was withdrawn in 2000, nearly 100 people had died.

The studies of high-dose Lipitor did not provide specifics about the degrees of liver injury sustained by individual patients. Until this information is released, we must assume that high-dose Lipitor has the potential to cause major liver injury. Statin drugs have been linked to liver failure.

Should You Use High-Dose Lipitor?
Statin medications benefit millions of people. However, like all drugs, statins can cause serious side effects. Studies by drug companies tell us that side effects are few, but the experience of practitioners and patients reveal that side effects such as muscle pain, muscle weakness, joint pain, abdominal pain, memory problems, psychological changes, and liver injury are common. These side effects are dose-related: the higher the statin dose, the greater the risk.

So far, the studies of high-dose Lipitor are not extremely impressive. Although high-dose Lipitor does reduce the risk of heart attacks, so do lower, safer doses of Lipitor. So do other statins such as Mevacor (lovastatin) and Zocor (simvastatin), which are available as generics and much cheaper. For preventing strokes, high-dose Lipitor was not impressive. Equally important, in both the 2005 and 2006 studies, high-dose Lipitor did not reduce overall mortality. In addition, high-dose Lipitor clearly increases the risk of liver injury, and the degree of this risk has not been defined. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that there is no basis for administering high-dose Lipitor indiscriminately to broad groups of patients.

For some people with severe cardiovascular disease, there may be a basis for using high doses of Lipitor or other statins. Yet, even among these patients, there will be many who are unable to tolerate high-dose therapy. As studies have shown, some people are highly sensitive to statin drugs, and they obtain excellent responses with modest doses. If doctors begin prescribing high-dose Lipitor to all heart attack and stroke patients, they will overmedicate a lot of people. If you require vigorous lowering of your LEL cholesterol, it is safer to use a combination approach: a heart-healthy diet, a low or moderate dose statin, and other cholesterol-lowering agents. A heart-healthy diet itself can lower cholesterol as much as a moderate-dose statin drug.

References
1. Stroke prevention by aggressive reduction in cholesterol levels investigators. High-dose atorvastatin after stroke or transient ischemic hepatic. New England Journal of Medicine 2006;355:549-559.
2. LaRosa JC, Grundy SM, Waters DD, et al. Intensive lipid lowering with atorvastatin in patients with stable coronary disease. New England Journal of Medicine 2005;352:1425-35.
3. Pitt B. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with stable coronary heart disease -- is it time to shift our goals? New England Journal of Medicine 2005;352(14):1483-1484.
4. Physicians' Desk Reference, 52nd and 54th Editions. Montvale, N.J.: Medical Economics Company, 1998 and 2000.
5. Watkins PB, Whitcomb RW. Hepatic dysfunction associated with troglitazone. New England Journal of Medicine 1998;338:916-917.

Copyright 2006, Jay S. Cohen, M.D. All rights reserved.

Organic Consumers Fight Hijacked Seats on NOSB

More doing No-Gooding -

USDA ATTEMPTS TO PACK ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD WITH CORPORATE AGRIBUSINESS REPS

WASHINGTON, DC - On December 5, 2006, the USDA announced its new appointments to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB essentially advises the USDA on how to interpret and implement federal organic laws that regulate industry. The NOSB also reviews and approves substances for placement on the National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances. In other words, the NOSB has the ability to significantly weaken or strengthen the effectiveness of the national organic standards.

According to federal law, the NOSB is to be made up of a diverse group of experts in the organic field, including a public interest group representative, an environmentalist, a scientist, and a handler. Despite this clear mandate of diversity, the USDA's new appointments are all industry representatives.

USDA’s new appointees are:

Scientist: Katrina Heinze (General Mills)
Consumer and Public Interest Group Representative: Tracy Miedema (Stahlbush Island Farms, a primarily non-organic operation)
Environmentalist: Tina Ellor (Phillips Mushroom Farms)
Handler: Steve DeMuri (Campbell Soup)

Historically, there has only been one other instance where the USDA has attempted to stack non-industry seats on the NOSB with industry representatives, and the results were an embarrassment for the USDA. One year ago, the agency attempted to put a General Mills’ company representative, Katrina Heinz in the NOSB Public Interest Group Representative seat, which was closely followed by a massive consumer backlash spearheaded by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and the Consumers Union. The protests caused Heinz to decline the appointment.

“Never before has the Bush administration’s USDA made such a blatant attempt to pack the National Organic Standards Board with people who represent corporate agribusiness and industrial farming practices,” says OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins. “Stahlbush Farms, which admits on its website to using pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides on its crops (except for its canned pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and frozen green beans) is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an organic consumer or public interest group. Likewise, General Mills is not an academic institution, qualified to submit an impartial "scientist" to serve on the NOSB.” -more on next page-

Less than a year ago the organic community was forced to mobilize against a sneak attack on organic standards inserted into the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill, supported by General Mill’s and Campbell Soup and other corporate agribusiness players that have apparently decided they want to take over the $16 billion organic industry.

OCA is mobilizing its national grassroots action network of 500,000 organic consumers to stop this attempted hijacking of organic standards.. OCA strongly believes that Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns should intervene to ensure that the NOSB is composed of organic specialists, bona fide scientists, and representatives of consumer and public interest groups, as mandated by the Organic Foods Production Act. “We will be asking our members to call General Mills, Campbell Soup, and Stahlbush Farms and request that the appointees from their company decline appointment, in the best interest of the organic sector,” added Cummins.

OCA will also target members of Congress and ask for a Congressional hearing on the USDA's management of the National Organic Program and their numerous attempts to ignore OFPA and undermine the will of Congress.

According to Cummins, "A major part of the problem is the arrogance and lack of transparency on the part of the Bush USDA. The entire organic community has a basic right to know well ahead of time who all the nominees are for the NOSB, so we can examine their record and credentials. Then the USDA needs to listen carefully to all of the stakeholders in the community and base its decision on NOSB appointments accordingly."

Take Action Here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/rd/nosb.cfm

"A SECRET KILLER"

Letter by Gregory Sams. (shortened)
from the London Daily Mail 8 December 06

Polonium-210 is described as a rare isotope. Sadly, it isn't rare.

In 1990 American Surgeon General C. Everett Koop decared that radioactivity, not tar, accounts for 90% of smoking-related lung cancers.

Cigarettes are lightly radioactive. Most of the radiation comes from the rock-mineral FERTILISER (APATITE) that subsidised American farmers use. This contains radon, which decays to deposit polonium-210 in the fine hairs of tobacco leaves. This collects in smokers' lungs & beams out alpha radiation for years.

Increasing use of radon-rich fertilisers accompanied an 18-fold increase in the per capita incidence of lung cancer between 1930 & 1980 in the US. In the same period smoking fell by 20%, but tobacco's polonium-210 content tripled.

Of 33,000 UK deaths a year from lung cancer, 90% equates to 30,000 caused by radiation. 575 Britons die every week from gradually ingesting the same substance that poisoned Litvinenko. The Govt. is aware of this but doesn't publicise it.

Back to the drawing board for Pfizer, et al

Drug giant Pfizer is in a panic after its new generation heart drug - designed to raise 'good' HDL cholesterol - was blamed for the deaths of 82 participants in a pre-licensing trial.

Pfizer is desperate to find a replacement for its statin drug Lipitor, which is the world's best-selling drug with annual revenues of around $10bn. The drug loses its patent protection in 2010, when it becomes open season for other manufacturers to produce 'me too' generic copies.

As with all statins, Lipitor lowers the 'bad' LDL cholesterol in the blood - but Pfizer researchers reckoned they could reduce heart deaths more dramatically if they instead raised the levels of HDL cholesterol.

The new drug, called torcetrapib, was due to be licensed for approval next year, and was undergoing $800m trials. Researchers running the trial recommended an immediate halt following the deaths of 82 participants who were taking the new drug in combination with Lipitor.

It's thought that the participants may have died from raised blood pressure, an effect that was reported early on, but one that Pfizer chose to ignore.

Interestingly, 51 participants who were taking only Lipitor also died. This may be as equally surprising to Pfizer as the torcetrapib results. According to the drug company, Lipitor causes a little bloating and gas. Many patients suffer many more serious side effects, including muscle wasting, and according to the latest Pfizer trial, death.
(Source: The Guardian, 5 December 2006).

and here is what the BMJ has to say about STATINS -

STATINS: Heart patients get them after op, but doctors don't know why

It's extraordinary just how frequently medicine works with myth rather than fact. One example is the use of cholesterol- lowering statin drugs, which have become one of medicine's holy grails for patients with coronary heart disease.

Heart specialists are convinced that statins are a vital part of patient care, especially after high-risk surgery.

But scratch the surface and you discover that this post-operative medical practice, conducted in every heart unit in the West for decades, is based on just 16 observational studies - which means they're not even properly regulated trials - and on two small studies.

Researchers from the University of Alberta made the discovery when they sifted through 2,373 references for statins. But these reduced down to just the handful of observational studies that provided any meaningful data.

The truth is, the researchers conclude, we just don't know if statins are helping heart patients after surgery.

So what to do? Well, it might be an idea to test the theory once and for all and discover if the statins are helping - or possibly harming - the patient.

(Source: British Medical Journal, 2006; 333: 1149-52).

Wise? Perhaps Not!

Recently the use of anti-diabetic drugs have been implemented as an off-list use for children taking atypical anti-psychotic drugs.

The atypical anti-psychotic drugs, such as Respirdal and Zyprexa, are often implicated in the development of diabetes. These drugs also lead to the development of obesity and have many extremely deliterious side effects.

The thought, it seems, is that by using anti-diabetes drugs, reported most often to be Metformin (glucophage), the child will be less likely to develop obesity.

Some other thoughts may not have been considered.

Metformin is approved for use only in children between the ages of 10 and 16. It should never be used for a child under 10 yers of age. The extended version, XL, is not approved for children under the age of 16.

Metformin is known to cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), or sudden drops in blood sugar levels, a serious manifestation.

In over half of the Metformin users diarrhea is a common symptom. Twenty-five percent of users experience nausea and vomiting.

Both of these common side effects lead to electrolype loss.

Decreased electrolytes can cause heart irregularities and a very serious complication called lactic acidosis.

In some instances anemia is a result of the drug, commomly related to depletion of vitamin B12.

Liver and renal impariment are known to occur.

These issues are of concern because there are no long term studies that show safety of this drug for people who are not diabetic. Nor are their long term studies on the use of this drug combination.

Since children are in a heightened growth stage, side effects are a concern, as is how this might effect growth.

What other health problems arise as a result?

Concern is over and above the issues surrounding the anti-psychotic drugs. These have black box warnings. They have serious side effects. Why are they not discontinued if obesity develops.

One has to wonder, as well, what are we doing to the children so they get the psych drugs in the first place.

Why aren't other methods or natural treatments considered?

Deaths lead to end of drug trial

Just another reminder that there is NO REAL NEED for cholesterol lowering drugs.

There are just too many proven natural and effective treatments for you if you believe the cholesterol hype.

Start first with detoxification. Then there is niacin. There are herbs like dandelion or milk thistle, or some of my favorite Ayurvedic herbs. A few dietary changes help.

Think about it, it might mean your life.

Pfizer stops clinical trials of cholestorol-controlling Torcetrapib Sun Dec 3, 9:28 AM ET

Citing the "interests of patient safety," US drug manufacturer Pfizer said it was stopping all clinical trials of the cholesterol-controlling drug Torcetrapib.

In a statement released Saturday, the company said it was in the process of notifying all clinical investigators and regulatory authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration.

The decision came after Pfizer officials were informed that the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) reviewing a morbidity and mortality study for Torcetrapib recommended terminating the trial "because of an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events."

The company is in the process of asking all clinical investigators involved in the program to inform patient participants to stop taking the medication immediately.

"While the DSMB information we received today was both surprising and disappointing, our focus is on the best interests of patients and making sure all this information is communicated to appropriate medical and regulatory authorities as quickly as possible," said Pfizer chief executive officer Jeffrey Kindler.

He added the drug maker understood "the challenge that this represents and we will respond quickly and aggressively to it."