Overmedicated Society Needs Natural Health

This is quite an interesting interview.  When you know that drug pushing is the end result, like my friend who was prescribed Levaquin without being told of the risk of tendon rupture, you might wonder what you need to do to change the way you look at your health.

In an in-depth interview on CNN this morning, John Abramson, MD, board member of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, explained why it is that 74% of Americans who visit a doctor, leave with a prescription for a drug (or several drugs), and why taking drugs is NOT the best way to good health.
Dr. Abramson succinctly explains how American medicine's reliance and over use of drugs--primarily new, expensive drugs--is driven by the drug industry. And how that industry controls most of the channels of communication by which medical information is transmitted to physicians and the public.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2011/05/31/exp.am.overmedicated.abramson.cnn.html


And in another story that tells you how how hospitals are seriously low in their supply of prescription drugs, you should have your contingency plan.  Natural Health is here to help you.  

Hospitals hunt substitutes as drug shortages rise

I have to say I see this as inevitable and I am not surprised.  Of course I do not use any drugs and rely only on herbal, homeopathic,  orthomolecular and nutritional medicine.

You can too, and you can learn how to be more responsible for your health.

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The more medical students are exposed to pharma marketing, the more they like it and deny its influence

Our Health Forensics service may be of help to you, or the many of our acclaimed educational programs from The Oake Centre for natural health education.

In Support of Health Forensics

Some years ago I began the arduous task of developing a better way to get to core issues in a client's health status.  I did this mainly because I have a strong commitment to public health.

Over time I honed this approach, always seeking just a little bit better way to accomplish the resulting "picture" of some one's health status.  It also came to be able to show the real core of the problems at hand: nutritional deficiencies related to organ system strength.

With the ever broadening of diagnostic classification, the extensive reliance on pharmaceuticals, and the loss of the art in health care, I  knew I had to find a better way.  With this approach I believe I can help people understand what has become an epidemic of no real method to prevent and improve health.

This process started off with a nutritional profile and an overview based on Five Element Theory.  Over time I added something or removed something to eventually come to the point where I began developing my patent application.

Patent applications are time consuming.  I know because I already have one.  This will be my second, and I hope to have the package ready to submit shortly.


In the mean time there three levels of my program are available.


The basic level is the ASK plan.  This allows you to ask a simple question and after payment you receive what is equal to my 15 minute mini-consult.


The second level available in my system is Health Detective.  This is a service that looks into your current health concerns and there is a $300 fee.  This plays out to about a 5-6 hour access to my expertise.  You receive feedback from the results of the forms I require you to complete and it includes a private phone consultation.  The information amazes most doctors.


The most in depth level in the system is Health Forensics.  There is an hourly fee for this service.  Many practitioners use this service when they are meeting with obstacles in a client's care.  I also have many attorneys using this system for help with difficult case.  This service is focused on complex and complicated health concerns, or it may be used to assist you in developing your own health protection program.  Additionally, our health, spiritual, nutritional, emotional, and specialized counseling services are provided under this designation.

All of these services are unique and highly customized and individualized to your needs. Telephone counseling sessions are available by appointment only (prescheduled and prepayment required).


We do offer retainer plans.

While we do not do insurance billing we do provide statements so you may submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

There is never any obligation to continue working with us after the first appointment.  All information is considered highly confidential and is provided only and directly to you.

Learn more about Health Forensics

Nonsense in Normal Lab Results 

Broadening Disease Definitions

More on Profit with Less for Care

Many people are finding that, even with health insurance, they cannot afford to pay for medical or dental work - a growing number of individuals are simply putting things off.

In many situations your health can be improved and many problems prevented with education and information 

This might make you want to consider subscribing to Health Forensics 

Health Insurers Making More Money Than Ever While People Postpone Medical Care

SOURCE

Cost keeps many U.S. adults from eye care

Published: May 19, 2011 at 11:09 PM

ATLANTA, May 19 (UPI) -- Cost, or the lack of health insurance, keeps many U.S. adults from getting eye examinations, putting their vision at risk, health officials say.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, says survey data indicate many people with visual impairment report not seeking eye care because of the cost, lack of health insurance, or the perception that they did not need care.

"People ages 40-64 are most likely to cite cost or lack of insurance as a barrier to eye care, while people ages 65 and older -- the age group with highest prevalence of moderate to severe visual impairment -- were most likely to say they did not need eye care," the report says. "Residents of Massachusetts, which has the smallest proportion of uninsured people because of mandated health insurance were least likely to cite cost or lack of health insurance as a barrier to eye care."

CDC health officials say it is important to have people age 40 and older with risk of any age-related eye disease -- or chronic disease that affects the eyes, such as diabetes -- get regular comprehensive eye exams. Many serious eye diseases can be detected before symptoms appear and treated to reduce visual impairment, the report says.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/05/19/Cost-keeps-many-US-adults-from-eye-care/UPI-15641305860976/print/#ixzz1MuhAkCIG

Drug Web Sites May Not Be That Helpful

I have to admit that am opposed to drug ads on TV and elsewhere, such as the proliferation of ads that have been sponsoring Prevention magazine since Robert Rodale's death.

To add to the disease and drug mongering I think the ads promote, this article supports the need for more balanced and consistent information.

What most people today seem not to understand is the simple fact that their health care provider is required by law to give drug and side effect information every time a drug is prescribed.

Also helpful is information like we provide in our "Health Detective" and "Health Forensics" programs that includes drug interaction and nutrient depletion.

HANOVER, N.H., July 5 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers describe prescription drug maker Web sites a gray area of discourse and ethics.

Lewis Glinert, professor of linguistics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and John Schommer of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis examined Web sites dedicated to the 100 best-selling prescription drugs.

The researchers found consumers were expected to move in a maze of text and navigation choices and that content was unpredictable -- including difficult to discern mixes of information and promotion.

"The Food and Drug Administration has rules about direct-to-consumer print and television drug advertising, so we think it makes sense to also regulate Web sites and other marketing tools when it comes to prescription medicine," Glinert said in a statement.

"Consumers need consistent and balanced information."

The findings were presented at the Communication, Medicine and Ethics Conference at Boston University School of Public Health.

Glinert noted the search engine Google has been working with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to improve Internet drug searches -- including adding links to NIH content and risk data.

"Our research provides justification for Google's move," Glinert said. "Only time will tell if this is a major change for the better."

© 2010 United Press International, Inc.

Medicare Moves to More Cuts

It is announced that another 21% cut in reimbursement to health care providers will begin soon according to a report on NPR this morning. What Health Law Didn't Fix: Medicare Doctor Pay

You may wish to look for one of our informative "Healthy Options" classes.  You can book a program for your community too.  We've been teaching these community and corporate wellness programs since 1995.

Other "Healthy Options" can be found here.

Taking Too Many Pills

There is a recent TV commercial for Crestor that has a woman explaining about how her doctor put her on the drug to help her reduce LDL, or what is marketed as " bad cholesterol".

When I hear this commercial I want to have equal time to explain something very important to doctors and to women.   Since I don't have the gazillions of disposable income that the PhRMA companies have, I don't have a snowflake's chance in hell of this, so I'll address it here.

One of the most problematic health issues today is thyroid function.  Part of the problem is that it is not only overlooked as important in today's Big Insurance+Big PhRMA controlled medical care, but it is also porrly diagnosed.

Yes, folks, the TSH test won't tell you " squat" !

What also is missing is that thyroid dysfunction cause your cholesterol level to rise.

Since this concept is basic physiology why is your doctor pushing a drug on you to lower cholesterol when properly evaluating thyroid function is a much better place to start?

This is also very much related to gall bladder function which can be resolved without "cutting it out" !

Another generally overlooked is the vital part sound nutrition plays in the prevention and treatment of disease, yet mainstream media continues to ignore this vital concept.

Recently, the New York Times also looked at the issue of pushing pills, especially as the vultures from PhRMA and the buzzards from Big Insurance begin their efforts to round you up for the kill, following the passing of the so-called "health" bill. (Just recall that HillaryCare wanted everyone to be taking Prozac, and we know what a disaster the SSRI drugs have become.)

Risks Seen in Cholesterol Drug Use - "With the government’s blessing, a drug giant is about to expand the market for its blockbuster cholesterol medication Crestor to a new category of customers: as a preventive measure for millions of people who do not have cholesterol problems."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/business/31statins.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

And so did the London Daily Mail

D. Mail 29.3.10 "A NATION OF PILL-POPPERS"
Dept of Health data reveals we each pick up more than 16 prescriptions a year on average, twice as many as 20 years ago. The boom is partly put down to a profit-hungry pharma industry inventing & exaggerating ailments & then blitzing doctors to boost sales. The NHS spent £22million a DAY on prescription drugs in England in 06 - a 60% rise in real terms on 10 years earlier.
-
(A colleague's comment: Prof. Michael Oliver, emeritus professor of Cardiology at Edinburgh University, wrote in the British Medical Journal in March last year that healthy older people are being turned into patients by GPs who are too quick to prescribe pills for high blood pressure, cholesterol & mild diabetes. The standard for these is based on much younger people's needs. The professor stated that few older people are allowed to enjoy being healthy as a bureaucractic demand for documentation can lead to over-diagnosis, over-treatment & unnecessary anxiety - known as "the medication of health." GPs are pressurised by the government to hit targets & this has overtaken personal advice from GPs. Incentives known as "Quality & Outcomes Framework" mean a proportion of GP practice-income is dependent on hitting targets. He questions whether patients are warned about medications' side-effects & whether older people could be allowed to return to their previous unencumbered & reasonably fit lives.

Please note that our organization offers an excellent thyroid testing kit, and health and nutrition counseling,
http://leaflady.org/detect.html

Health Coaching would have alerted you sooner to FDA finding on Plavix and acid drugs

FROM Heartwire: Cardiologists Shocked by New FDA Alert on Clopidogrel-PPI Interaction
I am shocked that cardiologists are shocked because all they had to do was to take just a little time to review the literature and do a drug interaction profile.  Had they done this, something that takes about 5 minutes, they would have been able to know that the acid blocking drugs interfere with the P450 detox pathway and also proetin digestion.  Additionally they could have learned about the nutrient depletions and related problems from both of these drugs.  Not to overlook the risk of silent bleeding as well,..

Are things so bad that this is the level of health care we are getting because Big PhARMA and Big Insurance is behind obstruction of health reform?

Previously posted articles, related issues -
Resolve Acid Reflux with Care, Naturally
Natural Blood Thinning

**********************************************************************************

Recently, Dr. Mehmet Oz told Larry King on CNN about how health coaches can solve America's health crisis. Even five years ago it would have been hard to imagine that prevention and wellness would be considered in the mainstream.

CHI has been offering health coaching for several decades in a very unique way that has led us to the place where we seeking a patent.

If you were learning about natural health approaches to health problem you might not be at risk for this drug interaction problem and you'd be saving a lot of money at the same time.

If you are looking for in depth information about your prescription drugs and what you can safely use in their place you might wish to use our services. We have many patients who use this service and get the information they need to protect their health and learn how to advocate for their own health as well as how to ask the right questions when they see their health care provider.
 
We also offer this service to health care professionals and law firms.

FDA says heartburn drugs can interfere with Plavix


By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Business Writer Matthew Perrone

WASHINGTON – Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.

The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drugs Prilosec (20 mg average price $132/mo) and Nexium (20 mg average price $211/mo) cut in half the blood-thinning effect of Plavix (75 mg average price $211/mo), known generically as clopidogrel.

Regulators said the key ingredient in the heartburn medications blocks an enzyme the body needs to break down Plavix, muting the drug's full effect. Procter & Gamble's Prilosec is the over-the-counter version of AstraZeneca's Nexium, which was first approved in 2001.

"Patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use clopidogrel to prevent blood clots will not get the full effect of this medicine," the agency said in a statement.

Plavix is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With global sales of $8.6 billion last year, it's the world's second-best selling drug behind Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.

Because Plavix can upset the stomach, it is often prescribed with stomach acid-blocking drugs.

The FDA says patients who need to reduce their acid should take drugs from the H-2 blocker family, which include Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta and Boehringer Ingelheim's Zantac. FDA scientists say there is no evidence those drugs interfere with Plavix's blood clotting.

Nexium and Prilosec are part of a class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors, but FDA regulators said they don't have enough information to say whether other drugs in that class shouldn't be used with Plavix.

"There's not enough data to tell us how those drugs interact with," the enzyme that activates Plavix, said Mary Ross Southworth, FDA's deputy director for safety of cardiovascular products. "There are ongoing studies looking at those other drugs."

The FDA said the warnings on Plavix have been strengthened based on a 150-patient study submitted by Sanofi over the summer.

Information about the drug interaction between Plavix and certain heartburn medications is not new. Researchers reported last year that taking Plavix with Nexium significantly increased patients' chances of being hospitalized for a heart attack, stroke or chest pain.

In January, Sanofi and Bristol-Myers updated Plavix's labeling to advise against using it in combination with certain heartburn drugs.

A Sanofi spokeswoman said Tuesday that the company has bolstered that language labeling.

"We've strengthened the label to say that these drugs should be avoided altogether, not just discouraged," said Noelle Boyd, Sanofi's senior communications director.

http://www.leaflady.org/Drugs.htm