Healthy Suggestion

UPDATE 8 May: Plavix et al and Anti-Acid Drugs Again in the News:

Benefits Of Anti-clotting Medications Reduced By Common Heartburn Drugs

ScienceDaily (2009-05-07) -- Proton pump inhibitors interfere with anti-clotting protection of clopidogrel. The anti-clotting action of the medication clopidogrel can be compromised by common drugs for the treatment of heartburn and ulcers resulting in a roughly 50 percent increase in the combined risk of hospitalization for heart attack, stroke and other serious cardiovascular illnesses, according to a new study. ... > read full article

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One of the most popular items at Natural Health News has been a post I made back in November about Plavix and Nexium.

Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) is an inhibitor of ADP-induced platelet aggregation acting by direct inhibition of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) binding to its receptor and of the subsequent ADP-mediated activation of the glycoprotein GPIIb/IIIa complex. Chemically it is methyl (+)-(S)-α-(2-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydrothieno[3,2-c]pyridine-5(4H)-acetate sulfate (1:1). The empirical formula of clopidogrel bisulfate is C16H16ClNO2S•H2SO4 and its molecular weight is 419.9.

Gastrointestinal and intracranial hemorrhage as well as other bleeding events are a risk of this drug.

Plavix Postmarketing Experience: The following events have been reported spontaneously from worldwide postmarketing experience:

Body as a whole:
- hypersensitivity reactions, anaphylactoid reactions, serum sickness
Central and Peripheral Nervous System disorders:
- confusion, hallucinations, taste disorders
Hepato-biliary disorders:
- abnormal liver function test, hepatitis (non-infectious), acute liver failure
Platelet, Bleeding and Clotting disorders:
- cases of bleeding with fatal outcome (especially intracranial, gastrointestinal and retroperitoneal hemorrhage)
- thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) - some cases with fatal outcome - (see WARNINGS)
- agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia/pancytopenia
- conjunctival, ocular and retinal bleeding
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders:
- bronchospasm, interstitial pneumonitis
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders:
- angioedema, erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, lichen planus
Renal and urinary disorders:
- glomerulopathy, increased creatinine levels
Vascular disorders:
- vasculitis, hypotension
Gastrointestinal disorders:
- colitis (including ulcerative or lymphocytic colitis), pancreatitis, stomatitis
Musculoskeletal, connective tissue and bone disorders:
- myalgia

You can learn more about Plavix at http://www.rxlist.com/plavix-drug.htm#ad

Allegedly, according to the manufacturer, Nexium or other proton pump inhibitors are taken with Plavix to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. However it is also pointed out that the risk of heart attack with this combination is about 50% higher that if you were not taking the PPI drug.

Interestingly enough there are a number of natural appraoches to reducing platelet aggregation that are certainly less effective and do not seem to create risk of GI or other serious bleeding.

Plavix costs about $1.50 a pill.

Other products that will reduce platelet aggregation are aspirin, vitamin E, garlic, and natto. There are also herbs that will help support this process such as red clover and ginkgo.

Generally, with natural products you do not run the risk of major bleeding are risk of heart attack.

And if you are also concerned about GERD, not related to combined use with other drugs, you might consider -

PPI drugs may deplete Calcium, Folic acid, Vitamin B12* and Vitamin C

Vinegar for gastic distress

1 teaspoon of organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a glass of pure water
about 20 minutes before meals reduces reflux.

or Chamomile tea, or the tea with added tincture, rebalances gastric acidity.

or a simple glass of water sipped slowly (no ice) reduces stomach acid.

or the use of high quality digestive enzymes (simply4health full spectrum enzymes) and evaluation of the amount of HCl present in your stomach as low levesl of HCl contribute to GERD.

Consider too that lecithin granules do a lot to improve the flexibility and health of your arteries and reduce risk of arteriosclerosis. Plain yoghurt mixed with applesauce also helps this condition.
***
Long term side effect of stomach acid blockers such as Pepcid, Tagamet, Zantac, Prilosec - Potentially harmful acidity develops in the tissues of the body when the system's ability to eliminate the acids that are produced (metabolic waste, acid forming foods, and the system's various stress mechanisms) is reduced. The stomach is one of the primary venting mechanisms for this build up of hydrogen ions (acids are typified by an abundance of such ions) and when our stomach's acid producing mechanisms are pharmaceutically inhibited, the hydrogen ion concentrations become too abundant to be efficiently eliminated by other pathways of elimination. Consequently, the acids build up in the tissues and fluid compartments of the body, where they greatly interfere with the normal cellular functions. The overly acidic condition of the intercellular fluid compartment makes it an ideal breeding ground for harmful micro-organisms, creating an enormous burden on the immune system. This build-up can lead to fatigue, poor mental and emotional health and eventual chronic degenerative illness.

A Second Opinion -
Plavix clopidogrel by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Benefit and side effects of Plavix medication

Plavix is a prescription medication marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Plavix was launched in 1998. It is currently marketed in over 80 countries.

Cardiologists are re-evaluating how they prescribe Plavix, a popular heart medication used to prevent blood clots, after a major clinical study found the drug may cause dangerous bleeding in patients who take it along with aspirin to ward off a first heart attack. Some people taking the blood thinner Plavix on top of aspirin to try to prevent heart attacks, as many doctors recommend, now have good reason to stop. The Plavix and aspirin combination not only didn’t help most people, but it unexpectedly almost doubled the risk of death, heart attack or stroke for those with no clogged arteries but with worrisome conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Plavix danger in combination with proton pump inhibitors
Patients with stents who take Plavix with prescription heartburn drugs, including AstraZeneca PLC’s Nexium, are significantly more likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack, stroke, chest pain or a coronary artery bypass operation than those who take Plavix alone.

Q. I read that taking Plavix and Nexium is dangerous. I am taking Plavix and Zantac. Is this dangerous too? I had a heart attack and a stent was put in my artery. I then was put on Aspirin (325 mg), Plavix (75 mg), and Zantac because I have stomach ulcer. I had sever nose bleeding after 2 weeks taking the above medications. My cardiologist reduced aspirin to 81 mg. I don't know how I will tolerate this new regiment.
A. Nexium and Zantac work in different ways so I don't know if Zantac, an H2 antihistamine, would have a similar interaction with Plavix as would Nexium, a proton pump inhibitor.

People who suffer a heart attack nearly double the risk of having another if they are taking the widely used blood thinner Plavix together with a heartburn drug like Prilosec. Plavix, also known as clopidogrel and made by Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, and aspirin are often used to thin a patient's blood after a heart attack. Doctors also may prescribe a proton pump inhibitor, or PPI, such as AstraZeneca Plc's heartburn drug Prilosec to cut the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding from bloodthinners. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tracked 8,205 U.S. patients who were treated for a heart attack or chest pain known as unstable angina and given Plavix and aspirin. Two-thirds of these patients also took a PPI, primarily Prilosec, and had almost double the risk of having another heart attack or bout of unstable angina compared to those not taking a PPI. Dr. Michael Ho of the Denver VA Medical Center, who led the study, said this drug combination may be responsible for thousands of repeat heart attacks.

Plavix Prescription
Plavix is one of the world's top-selling drugs. Plavix is prescribed with the intention that it may prevent strokes and heart attacks in patients at risk for these problems. Plavix is in a class of medications called antiplatelet drugs. It apparently works by helping to prevent harmful blood clots.

June 2007 - A federal judge permanently blocked a Canadian maker of a cheap generic version of blood thinner Plavix from marketing the drug, saying its version infringed on a valid patent for Plavix. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein said Apotex Inc. had failed to prove that the patent was invalid.

Plavix in Germany
German health insurers, under pressure to cut costs amid reforms, are considering whether to restrict prescription guidelines for Sanofi-Aventis's blood thinner Plavix in a move that could harm the drug's sales. The Joint Committee (B-GA), the self-regulating body of German health insurers is reviewing a report it had commissioned from an independent research institute which questions the benefits of Plavix for certain patients. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare (IQWiG) said Plavix or Iscover, offered no benefits over aspirin when used alone as a preventative treatment for conditions resulting from arterial diseases. Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third biggest drugmaker, criticised the institute's report.

Plavix update
October 2006 - Bristol-Myers Squibb had third-quarter earnings in 2006 plunge as sales of the anti-clotting drug Plavix were hurt by a cheaper generic. New York-based Bristol earned $338 million, or 17 cents per share, from continuing operations, compared with $964 million, or 49 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Plavix was hurt by competition from the early introduction of the cheaper generic by privately held Canadian drug maker Apotex Inc. A deal between Bristol-Myers and Apotex to delay the generic for years fell apart and is now under criminal investigation by the U.S. government for possible antitrust violations. The probe has been widened to review whether the deal violated federal securities laws. Plavix, used to prevent blood clots that can trigger heart attacks, was the world's second-biggest medicine, with global annual sales of $6 billion before the generic arrived.

September 2006 - Plavix has been approved for patients who have had a type of heart attack called acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who are not going to have coronary artery repair (angioplasty). A STEMI is a severe heart attack caused by the sudden, total blockage of an artery. In STEMI patients, Plavix prevents subsequent blockage in the already-damaged heart vessel, which could lead to more heart attacks, stroke - and possibly death. FDA approved Plavix in November 1997 to decrease platelet function in people who suffer from acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Platelets are the sticky blood cells that help to form a clot and can contribute to blocked coronary arteries. According to the American Heart Association, each year an estimated 500,000 Americans have a STEMI heart attack.

August 2006 - A Bristol-Myers Squibb executive entered a secret side deal with a generic drug maker in hopes of preserving a lucrative monopoly over the anti-clotting drug Plavix. Those allegations are thought to be the focus of a Department of Justice investigation of Bristol-Myers and the company’s marketing partner for the drug, Sanofi-Aventis. The court filing, made by lawyers for the Canadian generic drug company Apotex, contends that Bristol-Myers made the secret agreement as part of a proposed patent lawsuit settlement with Apotex. The secret deal, Apotex contends, was an effort to evade the scrutiny of the federal and state regulators who were reviewing the settlement. The filing alleges that Dr. Andrew G. Bodnar, a top assistant to Bristol-Myers’s chief executive, Peter R. Dolan, negotiated the secret deal after regulators objected to an earlier version of the patent settlement on the ground that it would stifle competition. Although the Food and Drug Administration approved Apotex’s generic version of Plavix in early 2006, the settlement would have delayed the introduction of that drug until 2011, several months before the expiration of the Plavix patent.

August 2006 - Canadian drugmaker Apotex Corp. launched a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s blockbuster Plavix anti-clotting medicine, threatening Bristol-Myers' earnings outlook and dividend.

March 2006 - Sanofi-Aventis shares surged after the French drugmaker settled a dispute with generic rival Apotex Inc. that could keep U.S. patent protection on its multibillion-dollar blood thinner Plavix until 2011.

Plavix or Aspirin?
Plavix is commonly used to prevent blood clots, but is aspirin a cheaper way to prevent a blood clot? Is Plavix being used by doctors mostly because of a major marketing push? Plavix is distributed by Sanofi-Aventis, a French drug manufacturer, and Bristol-Myers Squibb of New York. Plavix is Sanofi-Aventis's top-selling drug.

Plavix Side Effects
Serious side effects of Plavix include bleeding and, rarely, low white blood cell counts or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (low platelet counts with spontaneous bleeding and clotting).

Dr. Sahelian's Opinion
I prefer to stick with aspirin at this time since, in my opinion, Plavix is very expensive and I have not seen enough proof that it is significantly superior to aspirin.

Thieves Vinegar

Anti- Epidemic Vinegar from the leaflady
This is the historic recipe known as "Thieves' Vinegar" used during the time of Black Plague.

You will need:

1 quart of organic raw apple cider vinegar

1 pound garlic cloves

8 oz. comfrey root

4 oz. each of oak bark, marshmallow root, mullein flowers, rosemary flowers, lavender flowers, wormwood, black walnut leaves

12 oz. vegetable glycerin

Make a tea from each herb by soaking in clean spring or distilled water for 12 hours, then boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Let steep for 30 minutes. Then strain each herb and simmer again reducing the amount to one-half to concentrate the tea. Juice or squeeze the garlic, and add to the mixture of teas and vinegar. Stir in the glycerin thoroughly.

Store best in an amber glass bottle.

Take 1 -3 teaspoons during an epidemic, or 1 teaspoon hourly if someone has a serious communicable dis-ease.

Most of the supplies you'll need to make this vinegar may be ordered through our strategic partner link in the right column: Starwest Botanicals.

Please note that comfrey root may only be ordered for external use under current FDA guidelines (salves, oils or liniments).

Immune Health

Cancer: A Nutritional and Environmental Dis-Ease

This last sentence from the following story tells it all.

"One theory is that the change in caloric intake beefs up cell repair mechanisms against destructive agents called free radicals."

Since 1962 we have been told that cancer is a nutritional disease. Now we have the added and cumulative effect of environment, including vaccines. Even veterinarians are relating cancer in companion animals to the vaccines.

The use of the term "free radicals" also tells you that there is a very real reason why sound nutrition and vitamins are helpful in the process of recovering from cancer.

Articles like this make me wonder if any of the so called researchers know what they are doing, or even what they are saying.

If I look at just one cancer drug, 5 FU, a fluoride based long used chemo drug, I find that it depletes these nutrients -

NB:Limited test tube research occasionally does support the idea that an antioxidant can interfere with oxidative damage to cancer cells. However, most scientific research does not support this supposition.

Antioxidants*

Multiple nutrients* (malabsorption)
Taurine* reduces the likelihood and/or severity of a potential side effect caused by the medication.
Beta-carotene* (mouth sores)
Chamomile* (mouth sores)
Eleuthero* (Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
Russian research has looked at using eleuthero with chemotherapy. One study of patients with melanoma found that chemotherapy was less toxic when eleuthero was given simultaneously. Similarly, women with inoperable breast cancer given eleuthero were reported to tolerate more chemotherapy.45 Eleuthero treatment was also associated with improved immune function in women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy and radiation.)
Ginger* (nausea)
Glutamine* (mouth sores)(intestinal toxicity)
Melatonin
N-acetyl cysteine* (NAC)
Probiotics (Lactobacillus GG)
Spleen peptide extract* (see text)
Thymus peptides* (see text)
Vitamin B6
Vitamin E*, topical (mouth sores)(also prevents hair loss)
Milk thistle*
PSK* (Coriolus versicolor)- The mushroom Coriolus versicolor contains an immune-stimulating substance called polysaccharide krestin, or PSK. PSK has been shown in several studies to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. One study involved women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. PSK combined with chemotherapy significantly prolonged survival time compared with chemotherapy alone. Another study followed women with breast cancer who were given chemotherapy with or without PSK. The PSK-plus-chemotherapy group had a 25% better chance of survival after ten years compared with those taking chemotherapy without PSK. Another study investigated people who had surgically removed colon cancer. They were given chemotherapy with or without PSK. Those given PSK had a longer disease-free period and longer survival time. Three grams of PSK were taken orally each day in these studies.)

New clue on why cancer spread is linked to diet Mar 11, 2009
PARIS (AFP) – Investigators on Wednesday said there could be a clue to explain why dietary restriction succeeds or fails in braking the growth of cancer.

Scientists spotted a century ago the link between calorie intake and the progression of certain kinds of tumour.

But how this works at the molecular level has been unclear. In addition, tumours may remain puzzlingly immune to fasting among some individuals but not among others, which is partly why the practice has not been incorporated into cancer treatment.

Nada Kalaany and David Sabatini of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) looked at the impact of food curbs on six types of human cancers that had been grafted onto mice which had been genetically modified to lack immune resistance.

The mice were then split into two groups, with one batch able to tuck into a standard rodent diet for two to three weeks. The others received daily meals that amounted to a 40 percent reduction in calories compared to their counterparts, which led to a fall of between 20 and 30 percent in body weight.

The researchers conclude that tumours' sensitivity to fasting depends on a key pathway -- activation of an enzyme called phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, also called PI3K, which plays an important role in the proliferation of cancer cells.

If the PI3K pathway is closed, tumours respond to dietary restriction, and vice versa.

The study is important because it helps drug designers who are working hard on prototype treatments that mimic the effects of dietary curbs on cancer.

As several cancer types carry mutations that could cause the PI3K mechanism to open up, the paper suggests that the approach will not work in certain cases.

The paper is published by the British-based journal Nature.

Previous research on lab rodents suggests that a calorie decrease of 10 to 50 percent leads to a reduction in the incidence of certain cancers and brakes the speed at which they spread.

One theory is that the change in caloric intake beefs up cell repair mechanisms against destructive agents called free radicals.

Costs Too Much, Get Too Lttle: US Health Care

The insurance industry wants to retain control over health care access, service and fees. No surprise!

Here in the US we are the only country that has insurance through employment. What we need is a mind set that puts people first, not profit, and not poor care at high cost.

Report: US on short end of health care 'value gap'
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer
Mar 12, 2009

WASHINGTON – If the global economy were a 100-yard dash, the U.S. would start 23 yards behind its closest competitors because of health care that costs too much and delivers too little, a business group says in a report to be released Thursday.

The report from the Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs of major companies, says America's health care system has become a liability in a global economy.

Concern about high U.S. costs has existed for years, and business executives — whose companies provide health coverage for workers — have long called for getting costs under control. Now President Barack Obama says the costs have become unsustainable and the system must be overhauled.

Americans spend $2.4 trillion a year on health care. The Business Roundtable report says Americans in 2006 spent $1,928 per capita on health care, at least two-and-a-half times more per person than any other advanced country.

In a different twist, the report took those costs and factored benefits into the equation.

It compares statistics on life expectancy, death rates and even cholesterol readings and blood pressures. The health measures are factored together with costs into a 100-point "value" scale. That hasn't been done before, the authors said.

The results are not encouraging.

The United States is 23 points behind five leading economic competitors: Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The five nations cover all their citizens, and though their systems differ, in each country the government plays a much larger role than in the U.S.

The cost-benefit disparity is even wider — 46 points — when the U.S. is compared with emerging competitors: China, Brazil and India.

"What's important is that we measure and compare actual value — not just how much we spend on health care, but the performance we get back in return," said H. Edward Hanway, CEO of the insurance company Cigna. "That's what this study does, and the results are quite eye-opening."

Higher U.S. spending funnels away resources that could be invested elsewhere in the economy, but fails to deliver a healthier work force, the report said.

"Spending more would not be a problem if our health scores were proportionately higher," Dr. Arnold Milstein, one of the authors of the study, said in an interview. "But what this study shows is that the U.S. is not getting higher levels of health and quality of care."

Other countries spend less on health care and their workers are relatively healthier, the report said.

Medical costs have long been a problem for U.S. auto companies. General Motors spends more per car on health care than it does on steel. But as more American companies face global competition, the "value gap" is being felt by more CEOs — and their hard pressed workers.

One thing the report does not do is endorse the same solution that countries like Canada have adopted: a government-run health care system.

The CEOs of the Business Roundtable believe health care for U.S. workers and their families should stay in private hands, with a government-funded safety net for low-income people.
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On the Net: Business Roundtable: http://www.businessroundtable.org
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

Canola Comments

This update comes via my "Southern Comrade" and fellow health nut. I was throwing words around in my brain about a title for one of his posts. It had to be cleaver because we have this on-upsmanship thing going on.

I thought about a fellow I used to work with 30 years ago who is now a PhD and head of his village corporation in Alaska. He and I share another acquaintance who is an amazing artist and Puffin fan.

Not that any of this makes sense, it all comes back to play on words, so here is a link to more on fat, and 'Puffin PUFAS'.

Canola oil is a too commonly used ingredient in food, especially now that "plant sterols" are plugged into all kinds of things like margarine, vitamins, even aspirin. You'll find it in dog food and even in an ever increasing number of items in the natural food market place.

My suggestion is that you read this following definition of canola oil, understand it is toxic to the liver, it is a trans fat as a result of processing, and consider keeping out of your diet.

"Canola Oil contains 5% saturated fat, 57% oleic acid, 23% omega-6 and 10%-15% omega-3.

This oil was developed from the rape seed, a member of the mustard family. Rape seed is unsuited to human consumption because it contains a very-long-chain fatty acid called erucic acid, which under some circumstances is associated with fibrotic heart lesions. Canola oil was bred to contain little if any erucic acid and has drawn the attention of nutritionists because of its high oleic acid content.

But there are some indications that canola oil presents dangers of its own. It has a high sulphur content and goes rancid easily. Baked goods made with canola oil develop mold very quickly. During the deodorizing process, the omega-3 fatty acids of processed canola oil are transformed into trans fatty acids, similar to those in margarine and possibly more dangerous.

A recent study indicates that "heart healthy" canola oil actually creates a deficiency of vitamin E, a vitamin required for a healthy cardiovascular system. Other studies indicate that even low-erucic-acid canola oil causes heart lesions, particularly when the diet is low in saturated fat."

Surviving Mesothelioma

A Review by Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND

Mesothelioma is a usually rare form of cancer, almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, cancer cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. The most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis (the serous covering of the testis.)

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in some way. Washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can also put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma. There is generally no association with smoking.

People who are found to have mesothelioma are most often told that the only treatment is surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. They are also offered a very limited life expectancy.

But what if you were given this diagnosis and you believed enough in your self to want to find a better way of care and a longer life.

Paul Kraus was just a person who said no to orthodox treatment, and now, some 12 years later has released his book, Surviving Mesothelioma, and Other Cancers to be a guide for people facing a diagnosis of cancer.

Having worked with people who have mesothelioma from time to time over the many years I have been working with natural healing I found the best outcomes came to people whose will to live was the strongest.

Paul Kraus is just one who held to this belief and now he shares this with you.

One of the best features of Kraus’s book is the format; He chose a format I use in my “Road to Health” series of books. I was pleased to see this format because I have had such positive feedback about it and how easy it is to get right to the information in the books.

A chapter about patient’s rights is included, which I cannot stress enough how important this is in today’s mainstream medical venue.

Reading each page in each chapter is uplifting, as well as providing good information. This is a book for patients and families, but I highly recommend it for all health care providers.

The core of this book, Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers, is that it addresses the four key points for healing: physical, mental emotional and spiritual.

With these, and Kraus’s book as a guide, you have a way to find your healing path.

More information about the book and mesothelioma can be found at: Surviving Mesothelioma.

Scattershot method for determining best medicine

This article points to a 50% effectiveness for comparison shopping. Other studies have established that 80% of what is standard in health care doesn't work, and many providers just do not know why.

If this is where things are today, then it is going to be as slow as molasses in January to get a fire under change in health care.

I raised questions about ability to diagnose what ails you. I've also questions drug issues. It just seem as if no one really knows what is going on. And to top it off, doctor groups don't want people to be allowed to comment about them on line.

Is there a problem with free speech in medicine these days as well?

All I know is that for me this does not bode well, and I suppose I'd better get started on that book everyone wants me to write. The one with patient stories, the ones I hear every day from very frustrated people who are only trying to maneuver their way through the current system. They are just seeking preventive tools or better care from a provider who will at least talk with them - face to face.

HEALTHBEAT: What's the best medicine -- really?
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical, Mar 9, 2009

WASHINGTON – Think your doctor knows which drug — or surgery or even diagnostic test — works best? Think again. Half the time, there's little if any good evidence comparing one to another. And one of medicine's little secrets is that brand-new drugs don't have to work any better than cheap old ones to be approved for sale.

Now the government has a $1.1 billion down payment to start unraveling that problem, money provided in the economic stimulus package to better determine which test or treatment works best, when and for whom so that patients don't waste time and money on poor choices.

But which ailments go to the top of a very long wish list? And perhaps most important, how to make sure the results get into doctors' and patients' hands but not overly limit what therapies people can choose?

"There's a lot of clamor ... that this is going to deprive people of the choice to basically have every treatment they want. That's based on a false premise," Dr. Harold Sox, past president of the American College of Physicians, told The Associated Press. Last week, Sox was chosen to lead a panel of the prestigious Institute of Medicine to help guide what comparisons the government makes.

"If people had a good explanation of why a test that they wanted was more likely to hurt them than to help them, they might of their free choice say, 'You know, I was clearly wrong. I shouldn't want that test and now I don't."

At issue is what's called "comparative effectiveness." Should you have open-heart bypass surgery or far less invasive stents to open severely clogged heart arteries? Which of two hot treatments best prevents stroke from a clogged neck artery, surgically rooting out the clog or pushing it aside with a stent?

Does arthroscopic surgery work any better than painkillers for knee arthritis? Of all the competing pills, which is best to start with in treating Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure? Is there really any difference between Prevacid and Prilosec for heartburn, or between Fosamax and hormone treatments for bone-weakening osteoporosis?

Those winners-and-losers questions drive fierce opposition to comparison effectiveness research from drug makers and others who have a financial stake in the outcome and fear that insurers will use the results to make coverage decisions. Back surgeons once lobbied to kill the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality after it found "insufficient evidence" supporting certain spine operations — not that they didn't work, just that more evidence was needed.

The result: The nation has a scattershot method for determining best medicine. The little-known AHRQ spends about $30 million a year reviewing evidence of select tests and treatments. The National Institutes of Health occasionally compares contested therapies in expensive, years-long studies involving thousands of patients, like the stroke trial now under way.

So an extra $1.1 billion for the government to start spending on such comparisons this year marks a huge jump. By June's end, the Institute of Medicine panel will provide a priority list of up to 50 vexing medical questions to help the feds determine where to start.

Don't expect easy answers. Federal scientists are acutely aware that many of today's studies don't account for wide variations in responses to treatments by minorities or other subgroups.

"We have not yet seen a report or an assessment that says, 'Option A thumbs up, Option B forget it,'" says AHRQ Director Dr. Carolyn Clancy. The goal is "to figure out what's the right choice for me."

"Medical decision-making is rarely black-and-white," adds the NIH's heart chief Dr. Elizabeth Nabel. "We see certainly helping to provide additional evidence that really guides physicians and individuals in sorting through the shades of gray."

The bypass-versus-stent question for severe heart disease is a good example. Last week's New England Journal of Medicine published a comparison suggesting bypass recipients fare slightly better. But Nabel notes that in fact the study found tradeoffs that mean people may legitimately choose the easier recovery of a stent.

A bigger question is how to ensure that patients get the opportunity to consider such findings. AHRQ has begun translating its jargon-filled comparisons into easy-to-understand consumer brochures.

But the most-used comparative effectiveness research may come from a unique program in Oregon called the "Drug Effectiveness Review Project" that evaluates the evidence behind competing drugs.

One example: Two years before the painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market because of heart side effects, the project declared it riskier than its equally effective cousins, says project director Mark Gibson at Oregon Health and Science University.

The reports don't weigh drug costs but they are used primarily by the Medicaid directors of 14 states in coverage decisions. A wider audience sees them thanks to the influential Consumers Union, which does add price to evaluations done by both the Oregon project and AHRQ to create its free Web-based "Best Buy Drugs" guides.
___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.
___

On the Net:
AHRQ: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov
Oregon project: http://www.ohsu.edu/drugeffectiveness/

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

Yes, in hospital care, it is nursing that is the key.

Persistent nursing shortages is a decades old conumdrum. Unfortunately hospital adminstration too often fails to acknowledge that nursing is the major "product" of hospital health care. Adminsitraors are first to cut costs in the nursing department, yet it should be the last.

The foreign nurse issue was an issue in the 1960s when I entered this field: no change.

U.S. healthcare system pinched by nursing shortage
By Will Dunham, Mar 8, 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. healthcare system is pinched by a persistent nursing shortage that threatens the quality of patient care even as tens of thousands of people are turned away from nursing schools, according to experts.

The shortage has drawn the attention of President Barack Obama. During a White House meeting on Thursday to promote his promised healthcare system overhaul, Obama expressed alarm over the notion that the United States might have to import trained foreign nurses because so many U.S. nursing jobs are unfilled.

Democratic U.S. Representative Lois Capps, a former school nurse, said meaningful healthcare overhaul cannot occur without fixing the nursing shortage. "Nurses deliver healthcare," Capps said in a telephone interview.

An estimated 116,000 registered nurse positions are unfilled at U.S. hospitals and nearly 100,000 jobs go vacant in nursing homes, experts said.

The shortage is expected to worsen in coming years as the 78 million people in the post-World War Two baby boom generation begin to hit retirement age. An aging population requires more care for chronic illnesses and at nursing homes.

"The nursing shortage is not driven by a lack of interest in nursing careers. The bottleneck is at the schools of nursing because there's not a large enough pool of faculty," Robert Rosseter of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a telephone interview.

Nursing colleges have been unable to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand, and some U.S. lawmakers blame years of weak federal financial help for the schools.

Almost 50,000 qualified applicants to professional nursing programs were turned away in 2008, including nearly 6,000 people seeking to earn master's and doctoral degrees, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said.

PAY DIFFERENCES

One reason for the faculty squeeze is that a nurse with a graduate degree needed to teach can earn more as a practicing nurse, about $82,000, than teaching, about $68,000.

Obama called nurses "the front lines of the healthcare system," adding: "They don't get paid very well. Their working conditions aren't as good as they should be."

The economic stimulus bill Obama signed last month included $500 million to address shortages of health workers. About $100 million of this could go to tackling the nursing shortage. There are about 2.5 million working U.S. registered nurses.

Separately, Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Nita Lowey, both Democrats, have introduced a measure to increase federal grants to help nursing colleges.

Peter Buerhaus, a nursing work force expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said the nursing shortage is a "quality and safety" issue. Hospital staffs may be stretched thin due to unfilled nursing jobs, raising the risk of medical errors, safety lapses and delays in care, he said.

A study by Buerhaus showed that 6,700 patient deaths and 4 million days of hospital care could be averted annually by increasing the number of nurses. "Nurses are the glue holding the system together," Buerhaus said.

Addressing the nursing shortage is important in the context of healthcare reform, Buerhaus added. Future shortages could drive up nurse wages, adding costs to the system, he said.

And if the health changes championed by Obama raise the number of Americans with access to medical care, more nurses will be needed to help accommodate them, Buerhaus said.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Mohammad Zargham)
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

Signs of vitamin deficiency

The mainstream medical pundits and mass media tell you that vitamins just are a waste of time and money. They want you to eat the standard American diet that is void of almost all nutrition and then they want to dose you up with costly drugs, create more side effects to get you on the symptomatic merry-go-round, but offer no cures. This following post is just an example of how easy it is to correct a usually common nutritional deficiency without cortisone cream.

And remember it is real nutrition that keeps your health in tact.

It really amazes me what people think they can get away with on the internet.

An example I found today asks you for $67 to get a download book of some undefined type about a condition called cheilitis.

Angular cheilitis (also called perlèche, cheilosis or angular stomatitis) is an inflammatory lesion at the labial commissure, or corner of the mouth, and often occurs bilaterally. The condition manifests as deep cracks or splits. In severe cases, the splits can bleed when the mouth is opened and shallow ulcers or a crust may form.

Causes
Although the disease has an unknown etiology, the sores of angular cheilitis may become infected by the fungus Candida albicans (thrush), or other pathogens. Studies have linked the initial onset with nutritional deficiencies, namely riboflavin (vitamin B2)and iron deficiency anemia,which in turn may be evidence of poor diets or malnutrition (e.g. celiac disease). Zinc deficiency has also been associated with angular cheilitis.

Cheilosis may also be part of a group of symptoms (upper esophageal web, iron deficiency anemia, glossitis, and cheilosis) defining the condition called Plummer-Vinson syndrome (aka Paterson-Brown-Kelly syndrome).

Angular cheilitis occurs frequently in the elderly population who experience a loss of vertical dimension due to loss of teeth, thus allowing for over-closure of the mouth.

Less severe cases occur when it is quite cold (such as in the winter time), and is widely known as having chapped lips. This lesser form mostly happens to young children/teenagers. The child may lick their lips in an attempt to provide a temporary moment of relief, only serving to worsen the condition.

The best approach for this condition is improved nutrition, supplemented by B complex vitamins (found in our coming new product RK BioBlend), improved hydration, and the use of an organic lip balm to help moisturize the lips.

And this won't cost you $67.

Many Middle-aged And Older Americans Not Getting Adequate Nutrition

ScienceDaily (2009-03-07) -- As older adults tend to reduce their food intake as they age, there is concern that deficits in micronutrients lead to medical problems. Researchers examined how well different ethnic groups met the recommended daily allowances through food intake and supplement consumption. The study determined that many middle-aged and older Americans are not getting adequate nutrition. ... > read full article

Inadequate Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Found Among U.S. Children

ScienceDaily (2009-03-06) -- Children and adolescents aren't meeting guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption, according to researcher. ... > read full article

Vitamin C cancer study challenged

TUCSON, March 6 (UPI) -- Personal nutrition coach and U.S. nutrition author Jack Challem is challenging a recent study on high doses of vitamin C interfering with chemotherapy drugs.

Challem, a Tucson, Ariz., personal nutrition coach and a regular contributor to the journal Alternative and Complementary Therapies, challenges the findings of a study published in Cancer Research which concludes that vitamin C given to mice or cultured cells treated with common anticancer drugs reduces the tumor-fighting effects of the chemotherapeutic agents.

Challem points out two main problems with the study -- the oxidized form of vitamin C, or dehydroascorbic acid, and not actual vitamin C, ascorbic acid, was used; and in the mouse experiments, the animals were given toxic doses of dehydroascorbic acid, a compound that is not used as a dietary supplement in humans.

"This study and the subsequent headlines were a grievous disservice to physicians and patients with cancer," Challem writes in the Medical Journal Watch column in Alternative and Complementary Therapies.

"Considerable positive research ... has shown striking benefits from high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in cancer cells and animals -- and in actual human beings."

High-dose intravenous vitamin C is a common form of alternative and complementary therapy for patients receiving chemotherapeutic drugs and is believed to help bring about tumor cell death, Challem says. In addition, it may promote post-surgical healing by enhancing collagen formation, and increase tissue resistance to tumor spread.
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/03/06/Vitamin_C_cancer_study_challenged/UPI-98611236362282/

You might refer to this report on the vitamin C and others you can find by searching Natural Health News.

Here's Your Chance

UPDATE:

White House to hold healthcare forums across U.S.
Fri Mar 6, 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's administration will organize healthcare forums across the United States in the coming weeks to involve Americans and local policy makers in a push for reform, the White House said on Friday.

Obama vowed on Thursday to break the political stalemate that has blocked past efforts and pass a comprehensive plan to cut healthcare costs and expand insurance coverage this year.

The regional meetings, which will take place in California, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Vermont in March and early April, are meant to gather ideas from local communities about how to fix the system.

"The forums will bring together diverse groups of people all over the country who have a stake in reforming our health care system and ask them to put forward their best ideas about how we bring down costs and expand coverage for American families," Obama said in a statement.

"The time for reform is now and these regional forums are some of the key first steps toward breaking the stalemate we have been stuck in for far too long."

The events will be hosted by the participating states' governors and will include doctors, elected officials from the Democratic and Republican parties, and "everyday" citizens, the White House said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited

There is a conduit set up now to take your views on health care and reform.

Of course I hope it isn't lip service as the government hasn't been too trustworthy for several decades now.

Just don't overlook the change and of course you can contact The White House directly as well.

Now that daylight savings time arrives this coming weekend, perhaps more light on issues will bring better outcomes.

I see this as a very good time to push acceptance of coverage for supplements and more inclusion of natural care as a way to lower costs and raise effectiveness of acre. I am not endorsing that this be under the control of MDs, however.

Remember, you can dodge the rat-pack mass herding mentality and skip a currently circulating SEO generated petition by submitting your own comments directly via the links in this post and to your representatives at Congress.org.

Obama says U.S. can't afford to wait on healthcare
By David Alexander, Mar 5, 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saying Americans cannot afford to put off an overhaul of healthcare, President Barack Obama vowed on Thursday to break the political stalemate that has blocked past efforts and pass a comprehensive plan this year.

Obama formally launched a drive for healthcare reform at a White House forum, telling about 120 experts the costly and inefficient system was dragging down the ailing U.S. economy.

"Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative," Obama said. "If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost of healthcare this year, in this administration."

Obama said he understood skepticism about the initiative given the failure of President Bill Clinton's plan in the 1990s, which died amid heavy opposition from insurance and drug companies.

"I know people are afraid we'll draw the same old lines in the sand and give in to the same entrenched interests and arrive back at the same stalemate that we've been stuck in for decades," he said.

"This time is different. This time, the call for reform is coming from the bottom up, from all across the spectrum -- from doctors, nurses and patients; unions and businesses; hospitals, health care providers and community groups," he said.

Obama's drive for a healthcare overhaul, a core promise of his Democratic candidacy, is another big-ticket item on a jammed White House agenda that includes programs to ease the economic crisis, rescue the financial system and cure an ailing housing market.

But Obama said the U.S. economic crisis made the healthcare task even more critical, and he reiterated his goal to pass a comprehensive healthcare measure by the end of the year.

"By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care," he said.

U.S. healthcare costs have grown to $2.5 trillion annually and the ranks of the uninsured have swollen to 46 million people. The country consistently ranks lower than other rich countries in preventing and treating many diseases such as diabetes.

MOMENTUM GROWING FOR REFORMS

Political momentum for an overhaul has grown in recent years. Obama and his Republican rival in the presidential election, Senator John McCain, both proposed extensive changes in the healthcare system during the campaign.

More than 80 percent of Americans think the U.S. health system needs fundamental change or a complete overhaul, a 2008 Harris Interactive poll found. In his budget plan, Obama proposed setting aside $634 billion to help pay for the overhaul over the next 10 years.

"Now is the time for action," said Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat and champion of healthcare reform whose appearance at the forum's closing session sparked a standing ovation.

"I'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking," said Kennedy, who has brain cancer. "This time we will not fail."

The attendees at the White House session include congressional, industry, union and think tank experts including some, such as insurance and pharmaceutical industry lobby groups, which may oppose a final plan.

Healthcare stocks were down across the board on Thursday. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor index of health insurers fell more than 9 percent, including steep drops for Humana Inc and Cigna Corp.

Obama has not presented a specific reform plan to Congress, seeking to avoid the problems that killed Clinton's effort and build support before he settles on an approach.

"It is clear there is tremendous momentum," said Democratic Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "How do we do this? The fact is this is going to be incredibly difficult."

Baucus and Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said they were aiming to put together a healthcare bill by June.

Representative Joe Barton, the top Republican on the House panel that leads on healthcare, complimented the president on getting all sides together and said "if this is a real process and we're listened to, folks like me will participate."

"I don't consider what happened in the '90s a failure," Barton said, adding he worked hard to kill the Clinton plan. "But this is a different time and a different approach."

Clinton was criticized for hatching the reform plans behind closed doors, but Obama said he would ensure the process was transparent and inclusive. The Health and Human Services Department unveiled a new website devoted to the issue at www.healthreform.gov.

(Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Maggie Fox and David Storey)
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, is serving on the House committee writing the health care bill, contact her too.

Doctors zapping patients with too much radiation

Please recall that exposure to radiation is cumulative and that it is a known cause of cancer. For women who are propagandized to comply with annual mammogram this is an extremely important issue to consider. The annual mammogram is a major component of rising breast cancer rates. Dental and chiropractic x-rays are also a factor as is the airport screening x-ray.
See other articles here at Natural Health News on the risks of screening mammogram.

A new study says that the average American is exposed to six times more radiation from medical tests than in the early 1980s, prompting warnings that physicians may be upping patients' cancer risk by giving them unnecessary exams.

A study by The National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) shows that the average American's overall radiation exposure jumped from 3.6 millisieverts (mSv) to 6.2 mSv per year -- almost entirely a result of radiation-based medical tests. These tests, once responsible for only 15 percent of Americans' exposure to radiation, now account for nearly 50 percent. In contrast, there was almost no change in so-called background radiation, which naturally emanates from soil, rocks and other environmental substances.

The increase in medical radiation exposure (from 0.53 mSv to 3.0 mSv) stemmed primarily from a rise in the use of computer tomography (CT) scans (which use x-rays to create cross sectional images of inside the body to spot tumors, clogged arteries, among other things), and nuclear imaging tests, which involve injecting radioactive chemicals into the bloodstream that can be picked up by special instruments and used to create images of the body's inner structures.

The advantage of these tests is that they are generally better for diagnosing conditions than older technologies [such as standard x-rays, which expose patients to much less radiation], says Arl Van Moore, president of the American College of Radiology. "But we are concerned about the overuse of radiation through self-referral," or doctors ordering exams that can be done in their own offices for their own financial benefit, he says.

Need medical tests and worried about radiation exposure? Walter Huda, a medical physicist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, advises that you press your doc on why he or she has ordered the exams – and ask whether the clinic is certified by the American College of Radiology to perform the tests.

One tidbit of good news from the report, says physicist David Schauer, NCRP's executive director: ***occupational exposure has been sliced in half during the same period. The major reason: employers have taken steps to protect them, such as installing lead-coated pipes in nuclear plants to prevent the escape of harmful radiation.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=are-doctors-zapping-patients-with-t-2009-03-05

*** As for occupational exposure, do not overlook the impact of the ever increasing EMF-ELF ElectroSmog issues related to DTV, WIFI and cell/mobile use are exposure. In one city I lived in the Public Works Department requires anyone climbing the water towers there to wear a radiation detection badge (like radiologists and techs use in health care) to track exposure. Yes, non-ionizing radiation is harmful too.

Coconut Oil Components Confound HIV Charge

I have for quite a number of years volunteered for the Medical Advisory Board at Keep Hope Alive.

KHA has been a forerunner in the education of thousands internationally about building immunity, especially when it comes to HIV and AIDS. They publish Positive Health News, and I placed an excerpt here about lauric acid which they published in 1997.

It seems to have taken a heck of a long time for mainstream medicine to catch on.

MARY ENIG Ph.D. ON NATURAL COCONUT OIL FOR AIDS and OTHER VIRAL INFECTIONS On July 19, 1995, Enig was quoted in an article published in The HINDU, India’s National Newspaper as stating that coconut oil is converted by the body into “Monolaurin” a fatty acid with anti-viral properties that might be useful in the treatment of AIDS. The staff reporter for The HINDU wrote about Enig’s presentation at a press conference in Kochi and wrote the following:

“There was an instance in the US in which an infant tested HIV positive had become HIV negative. That it was fed with an infant formula with a high coconut oil content gains significance in this context and at present an effort was on to find out how the “viral load” of an HIV infected baby came down when fed a diet that helped in the generation of Monolaurin in the body.”

The reporter commented on Enig’s observations that “Monolaurin helped in inactivating other viruses such as measles, herpes, vesicular stomatitis and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and that research undertaken so far on coconut oil also indicated that it offered a certain measure of protection against cancer-inducing substances. "

In another article published in the Indian Coconut Journal, Sept., 1995, Dr. Enig stated:

“Recognition of the antimicrobial activity of the monoglyceride of lauric acid (Monolaurin) has been reported since 1966. The seminal work can be credited to Jon Kabara. This early research was directed at the virucidal effects because of possible problems related to food preservation. Some of the early work by Hierholzer and Kabara (1982) that showed virucidal effects of Monolaurin on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses was done in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control of the US Public Health Service with selected prototypes or recognized strains of enveloped viruses. The envelope of these viruses is a lipid membrane.”

Enig stated in her article that Monolaurin, of which the precursor is lauric acid, disrupted the lipid membranes of envelope viruses and also inactivated bacteria, yeast and fungi. She wrote:“Of the saturated fatty acids, lauric acid has greater antiviral activity than either caprylic acid (C-10) or myristic acid (C-14). The action attributed to Monolaurin is that of solubilizing the lipids ..in the envelope of the virus causing the disintegration of the virus envelope.” In India, coconut oil is fed to calves to treat Cryptosporidium as reported by Lark Lands Ph.D. in her upcoming book “Positively Well” (1).

While HHV-6A was not mentioned by Enig, HHV-6A is an enveloped virus and would be expected to disintegrate in the presence of lauric acid and/or Monolaurin. Some of the pathogens reported by Enig to be inactivated by Monolaurin include HIV, measles, vercular stomatitis virus (VSV), herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), visna, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Influenza virus, Pneumonovirus, Syncytial virus and Rubeola. Some bacteria inactivated by Monolaurin include listeria, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Groups A, B, F and G streptococci, Gram-positive organisms; and gram-negative organisms, if treated with chelator.

Enig reported that only one infant formula “Impact” contains lauric acid while the more widely promoted formulas like “Ensure” do not contain lauric acid and often contain some hydrogenated fats (trans fatty acids). A modified ester of lauric acid, Monolaurin (available in capsules), is sold in health food stores and is manufactured by Ecological Formulas, Concord, CA.

ENIG ON A THERAPEUTIC DOSE
Based on her calculations on the amount of lauric acid found in human Mother’s milk, Dr. Enig suggests a rich lauric acid diet would contain about 24 grams of lauric acid daily for the average adult. This amount could be found in about 3.5 tablespoons of coconut oil or 10 ounces of “Pure Coconut Milk.” Coconut Milk is made in Sri Lanka and imported into the United States. It can be found in health food stores and in local grocery stores in the International Foods section or in specialty grocery stores that sell products imported from Thailand, the Philippines or East India. About 7 ounces of raw coconut daily would contain 24 grams of lauric acid. 24 grams of lauric acid is the therapeutic daily dose for adults suggested by Mary Enig based on her research of the lauric acid content of mother’s milk. (1)

1. Positively Well, by Lark Lands Ph.D. Her new book discusses lauric acid and suggests many treatment options for persons with AIDS or CFIDS and may be ordered by calling 905-672-7470 or 800-542-8102

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE ANTI-VIRAL EFFECTS OF LAURIC ACID
Mary Enig cites 24 references in her 7 page article on “Lauric Acid for HIV-infected Individuals,” a few of which are as follows:

1. Issacs, C.E. et al. Inactivation of enveloped viruses in human bodily fluids by purified lipids. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1994;724:457-464.

2. Kabara, J.J. Antimicrobial agents derived from fatty acids. Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society 1984;61:397-403.

3. Hierholzer, J.C. and Kabara J.J. In vitro effects on Monolaurin compounds on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses. Journal of Food Safety 1982;4:1-12.

4. Wang, L.L. and Johnson, E.A. Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by fatty acids and monoglycerides. Appli Environ Microbiol 1992; 58:624-629.

5. Issacs, C.E. et al. Membrane-disruptive effect of human milk: inactivation of enveloped viruses. Journal of Infectious Diseases 1986;154:966-971.

6. Anti-viral effects of monolaruin. JAQA 1987;2:4-6 7. Issacs C.E. et al. Antiviral and antibacterial lipids in human milk and infant formula feeds. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1990;65:861-864.

Note: Enig’s article in the Indian Coconut Journal has 41 reference cites. To obtain a complete set of both articles she wrote, see our order form on the last page of this newsletter.

Common ingredient offers AIDS protection
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
Wed Mar 4, 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A cheap ingredient used in ice cream, cosmetics and found in breast milk helps protect monkeys against infection with a virus similar to AIDS and might work to protect women against the virus, researchers reported on Wednesday.

The compound, called glycerol monolaurate, or GML, appears to stop inflammation and helps keep away the cells the AIDS virus usually infects, the researchers said.

While it does not provide 100 percent protection, it might greatly reduce a woman's risk of being infected, and she could use it privately and without hurting her chances of pregnancy, the researchers reported in the journal Nature.

And it costs pennies a dose, Ashley Haase and Pat Schlievert of the University of Minnesota reported.

"For years, people have used the compound as an emulsifying agent in a variety of foods ... it is in breast milk," Schlievert told reporters in a telephone briefing.

GML is being considered as an additive to tampons because it interferes with bacteria, particularly those that can cause a potentially fatal infection called toxic shock syndrome.

If it can be shown to work safely in women, GML might provide the first easy route to a microbicide -- a gel or a cream that women could use vaginally to protect themselves from infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS.

HIV infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million. It is transmitted sexually, in blood and breast milk. In Africa, it is most commonly passed during heterosexual contact.

PROTECTING WOMEN

AIDS experts say many victims are married women whose husbands will not use condoms and who are often trying to have children. They need a safe and private way to protect themselves.

A microbicide (pronounced my-CROW-buh-side) might also protect men who have sex with men.

Haase and Schlievert's team tested GML, carried in KY jelly, in macaque monkeys. They put the gel into the vaginas of the monkeys and then applied SIV, a monkey version of HIV.

Four out of five monkeys never became infected and tests showed GML affected the immune response.

HIV is particularly hard to fight because it infects the very immune cells the body uses to attack a virus. When HIV infects an area such as the vagina, the CD4 T-cells rush to defend against it. The body sends out signaling chemicals called cytokines to call in more T-cells.

HIV can then infect them all and spread through the body.

GML appears to stop the cytokine call for help and stops so many T-cells from rushing to the area, Haase and Schlievert said. This in turn reduces the opportunity for HIV to take hold.

"This result represents a highly encouraging new lead in the search for an effective microbicide to prevent HIV transmission that meets the criteria of safety, affordability and efficacy," they wrote.

Even if it was only 60 percent effective, such a gel could prevent 2.5 million HIV cases over three years, they said.

They said they plan to study their gel in more monkeys for longer periods of time to ensure the gel is not simply delaying infection rather than preventing it.

(Editing by Will Dunham)Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

Other articles:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=111339
http://www.lauric.org/

Plavix and Nexium Combo Nixed

UPDATE: A 2008 Report on PPI / GERD drugs
---------------------
ORIGINALLY POSTED Nov, 2008

Addressing stomach acid and blood thinning are two things that can be treated effectively with natural products including herbs and/or supplements.

Natural treatment is much less costly and won't make millions or billions for the drug companies, and it won't cause gastric bleeding or silent bleeding because of "thin" blood or irritation of the mucosal lining of the stomach or elsewhere.

I don't get the logic behind taking a drug if you know the risk will be gastric ulcers. I don't get why a drug is even prescribed when you know you have to prescribe another drug to try to offset a side effect of the first drug.

I think it would be great if roulette was removed from medical guessing.

Serious side effects of Plavix include bleeding and low white blood cell counts or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP - low platelet counts with spontaneous bleeding and clotting). It sells for about $1.50/pill.

Of course we know how horrified doctors are over Vitamin E because it might cause blood "thinning". Be this at it may, high quality, non-soy vitamin E is an effective natural agent that does protect you from cardiovascular insults. It keeps your blood cells from aggregating and is protective against colon cancer. Vitamin E also helps oxygen cross the alveolar membrane in the lungs and eases menopausal symptoms.

Serious side effects of Nexium may include poor protein digestion, impaired liver detoxification and possibly cancer from long term use. It runs about $1/pill or less.

There are effective natural methods to reduce the 'heartburn' side effects of Plavix without reverting to another pharmaceutical leading to a disastrous drug interaction situation.

See: Healthy Suggestion

Concerns on mixing Plavix, heartburn drugs
By AP Business Writers Matthew Perrone And Marley Seaman

NEW YORK – Stent patients who take the blood thinner Plavix along with certain heartburn drugs may face a greater risk of heart attack, stroke and other dangerous events, according to a study released Tuesday.

Researchers found that patients who were taking Plavix with popular prescription heartburn drugs, including AstraZeneca PLC's Nexium, were significantly more likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack, stroke, chest pain or a coronary artery bypass operation than those who took Plavix alone.

The study followed more than 14,000 patients from 2005 to 2006 in a database kept by pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Nexium and other proton pump inhibitors, like Wyeth's Protonix, are used to treat chronic heartburn, in which stomach acids come back up the esophagus, causing pain and inflammation. Doctors frequently prescribe these drugs to patients on Plavix because the blood thinner has been linked to a higher risk of ulcers.

Medco said 40 percent of patients in its study were taking the prescription heartburn medications. The company's chief medical officer, Robert Epstein, said that if over-the-counter medications like AstraZeneca's Prilosec were included, the percentage would likely be even higher.

Epstein said heartburn drugs could interfere with a liver enzyme needed to process Plavix, neutralizing its effects.

He stressed that patients should not stop taking Plavix or heartburn drugs, particularly if they have a history of stomach problems.

"But if you're a person who's otherwise healthy taking Plavix, you might want to consider calling your doctor and asking, 'Do I need really need this' or 'Do I need it every day?' " Epstein said in an interview. "There are ways to look at this question now that we wouldn't have thought about previously."

Bristol-Myers also urged patients to talk with their doctor before taking action and questioned Medco's approach.

"While we are still reviewing the data, in general, retrospective analyses — in contrast to randomized clinical trials — are more subject to confounding factors," said spokesman Ken Dominski.

Academics at the the American Heart Association's annual meeting in New Orleans, where the data was presented, had similar concerns.

Dr. Robert Harrington of Duke University said that without a rigorous study comparing patients with similar health profiles "you cannot assume that the groups are balanced" and the results are real rather than a fluke.

For example, he said, people taking proton pump inhibitors may also have other health problems that skew their risk for heart disease.

"I would not change practice based on these data," said Harrington, who led an American College of Cardiology panel that last month said it was reasonable for doctors to prescribe these two drugs together.

All patients in the Medco study had been implanted with a stent, or a wire-mesh tube used to prop open arteries after they have been cleared of plaque. The study tracked whether they had been hospitalized for the heart and circulatory problems within a year of the stent being implanted.

In patients who had not suffered a previous heart attack, 32.5 percent patients who took Plavix and a heartburn drug experienced one of the severe events within a year of their stent surgery. Those events were seen in just 21.2 percent of patients who took only Plavix.

In patients who had suffered a previous heart attack, 39.8 percent of patients experienced the severe events within a year. In patients who did not take the heartburn drugs, only 26.2 percent did.

Plavix, or clopidogrel, is the second best-selling drug in the world, with global sales of $7.3 billion in 2007. It is marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Heartburn drugs were the fourth best-selling class of drugs last year, with sales of $25.6 billion, according to IMS Health.
Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. fell 34 cents Tuesday to close at $20.04. Shares of Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis rose 5 cents to $30.02.

AP Medical Writer Marilyn Marchione contributed to this report from New Orleans.

High Cost and Waste: US Health Care System

The concept that health care in the US is costly and wasteful is a decades old evaluation of the system. Over the 40 years I have been involved in mainstream medicine I have heard this argument and discussion more times than you would like to know. Yet little has changed. And I am not too sure the stimulus health plan will much of anything to increase quality, increase access or reduce costs.

It is an odd thing to think that back in the first few years of the 1970s when I started grad school and undertook a program leading me to the nurse practitioner arena, the reason I went in this direction was to increase patient education, improve access to care and focus on prevention.

Now here is the same discussion four decades later: American College of Physicians Issues New Policy on Nurse Practitioners in Primary Care

Why are we having the same discussion? I knew 40 plus years ago what my role was and so did the physicians I worked with (not under). When I was teaching this discipline I knew and so did my students. We were a pretty independent bunch and we practiced in and independent way.

These days it is much more controlled, but the costs aren't the result of tort lawyers.

Drugs are it, labs tests are us, and layer upon layer of bureaucracy at the insurers requires an entire staff of people who do nothing but billing.

Where is that universal claim form we were told we'd see, that would keep costs down?

Oh, yes, I've heard the electronic records story before too. I guess there isn't much I haven't heard.

So why is it that only 80% of health care isn't working after all this time?

Maybe the reason why I switched to natural health care only.

US health system is plagued by high cost and waste: experts
by Jim Mannion

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has one of the world's most advanced but also most complicated health care systems, plagued by widespread waste and costs that have escalated as the US population ages, experts say.

Venturing where others have failed, President Barack Obama is now proposing to spend 634 billion dollars on reforms aimed at expanding health care coverage among the nearly 46 million uninsured Americans.

How he should do it -- and whether it should be done at all -- are likely to be the subject of fierce debate. But, in the words of one economist, the system he inherits is "an administrative monstrosity."

Economist Henry Aaron, in a 2003 paper, called it "a truly bizarre melange of thousands of payers with payment systems that differ for no socially beneficial reason, as well as staggeringly complex public systems with mind-boggling administered prices and other rules expressing distinctions that can only be regarded as weird."

Following are some aspects of the system revealed in a review of the scientific literature by the Rand Corp., a non-partisan think tank, and posted on the website www.randcompare.org.

First, Americans are living longer but two of every three are overweight or obese, one in 10 have diabetes, and about a quarter of the population between the ages of 45 and 54 suffer from hypertension.

More than half are covered by insurance provided by their employers, but it is not required and the quality of coverage varies widely. Nearly 16 percent of Americans have no insurance at all.

Meanwhile, US spending on health care is growing faster than the economy as a whole.

It hit 2.1 trillion dollars in 2006 and was projected to reach 2.25 trillion dollars by 2007, an annual increase of 6.7 percent, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It could reach 4.3 trillion dollars a year in a decade.

"By 2017, about 20 cents of every dollar spent in the US economy will be spent on health care," Rand said.

The federal government in 2006 covered about a third of US healthcare spending, mainly through its health insurance programs for the poor and elderly -- Medicaid and Medicare.

Payments by private insurances companies accounted for another 34 percent, while out-of-pocket payments by individuals amounted to 14 percent of the total. The remainder came from state and local funds and other private funds.

On average, Americans spend about six percent of their after-tax income on health care, although in the case of the poor or elderly the share is larger.

Among the trends driving up health care spending, the Rand survey found, are lengthening life spans, the spread of obesity, and technological innovations that push back mortality but at a higher cost.

Technological advances alone account for over half the increase in overall US health spending, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.

"Certain technological changes, for example some vaccines, may reduce spending. However, in general new technologies tend to increase the number of health services that an individual receives, thereby increasing costs," Rand said.

At the same time, the US system is seen as wasteful compared to those of other countries.

The United States spends significantly more on administrative costs than countries with single payer systems -- seven percent compared to 1.9 percent for France, for example, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

And private insurance companies have higher administrative costs (14 percent) than public insurance programs like Medicare or Medicaid, which come in at three to five percent of the total, the literature shows.

"Practitioners and hospitals, in their interactions with multiple payers, are encumbered by numerous billing requirements, a multitude of formulars and clinical care guidelines, and patients with different covered benefits," Rand said.

Studies also have shown that one-third or more procedures performed in the United States were of questionable benefit, according to the think tank.

A 2008 study that compared health care systems in developed countries found that US patients reported waiting less time to get an appointment to see a specialist, but also more problems with the cost of the care and the efficacy of procedures.

Within the United States, however, patients covered by Medicare consistently gave higher marks for the care they received than did those insured by private companies, according to surveys funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Copyright © 2009 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.

Peanut Allergy Linked to Skin Creams, Soymilk

from a six year old report on peanut allergy -
By: Anna Soref, April 01, 2003

Peanut allergies in infants and young children may be related to soy-based foods and peanut oil-based skin creams, according to a study published in the March 13 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Of the 49 children in the study who developed peanut allergies, 84 percent had used peanut oil-based creams and a quarter had consumed soymilk in their first two years. "I think that based on these findings, many of us in practice will ask families not to use peanut-based products, whether they be in creams, peanut butter or candy, until children do get somewhat older," said Brian Smart, M.D., a spokesman for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Milwaukee.

The researchers are hoping to learn why the number of children with peanut allergies has tripled in the past decade. About 1.5 million Americans are allergic to peanuts and 50 to 100 people die from the allergy each year. Similar results in future studies could pave the way for new strategies for handling peanut allergies, the researchers said.

Smart pointed out, though, that most people who think they have food allergies actually do not. "It's important for those who believe they have food allergies to see an expert because chances are they can eat a much broader diet than they think," he said.

In the same issue, NEJM also published a study on a new drug that is the first to offer protection for those who suffer from severe peanut allergies. A single dose of the drug TNX-901 increased the threshold of sensitivity from one to nine peanuts—enough to thwart accidental peanut ingestion, the researchers hope.

"We believe this will be a wonderful tool, but it will probably be a couple of years or longer until it will be on the market because we need more safety data," Smart said.

Square Root Day

I am from the era when everyone studying higher mathematics owned a slide rule. The first one I owned was made of wood and it tucked away into a stiff green leather case, about a foot long.

When my daughters were young I bought an inexpensive plastic slide rule so I could teach them just what a neat gadget it was. It really had a lot of applications, even if you were using it to draft a pattern for sewing some new item of clothing.

Somehow when the calculators came along that did all those computations I never wanted to give up my slide rule. Maybe it was a trophy of some sort.

Eventually I tucked it away in a drawer. Perhaps today I'll have to take it out, if just for no more than a nostalgic drive.


March 3, 2009
Today is Square Root Day

Slide Rule Cemetary

3/3/09: Math fans to celebrate Square Root Day
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Dust off the slide rules and recharge the calculators. Square Root Day is upon us.

The math-buffs' holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

"These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day — and poof — they're gone," said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City teacher who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event.

The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest Square Root Day event.

Gordon's daughter even set up a Facebook page — one of a half-dozen or so dedicated to the holiday — and hundreds of people had signed up with plans to celebrate in some way. Celebrations are as varied: Some cut root vegetables into squares, others make food in the shape of a square root symbol.

The last such day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, which coincided with Groundhog Day. The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

Digital TV Health Risks Identified

Originally posted 21 Feb/09
Problems with the implementation of digital TV have been sounded for at least a decade. For your information, please review the following excerpt of a report from Germany regarding what people are experiencing there.

"In Germany, analog broadcast television stations have gradually been switching to digital broadcast signals since 2003. This switchover first took place in metropolitan areas. In those areas, however, the RF exposures in public places as well as at home continued to increase at the same time. As a result, the continuing declining health status of children, adolescents, and adults in urban areas could not be attributed to any single cause.

On May 20, 2006, two digital broadcast television stations went on the air in the Hessian Rhoen area (Heidelstein, Kreuzberg), which until recently had enjoyed rather low mobile phone radiation exposure levels. Within a radius of more than 20 km, the following symptoms that occurred abruptly were reported:

Constant headaches, pressure in the head, drowsiness, sleep problems, inability to think clearly, forgetfulness, nervous tensions, irritability, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, depressive mood, total apathy, loss of empathy, burning skin, inner burning, leg weakness, pain in the limbs, stabbing pain in various organs, weight increase.

Birds had fled the area. Cats had turned phlegmatic and hardly ever went into the garden. One child committed suicide; a second child tried doing it.

Over time the same unbearable symptoms showed up in other locations—most recently in Bamberg and Aschaffenburg on November 25, 2008. Physicians accompanied affected people to areas where there was no DVB‐T reception (valleys, behind mountain ranges) and witnessed how these people became symptom‐free only after a short period of time."

Full article
Related article
Water Tower Antennae

Green Living: Another non-toxic tip for your healthy home

Instead of buying a small bottle of a spendy rinse agent at about $4 for your automatic dishwasher try this inexpensive and non-toxic substitute - White Vinegar.

Weighing in for a gallon of this safer home cleaning standard at under $4, who would choose the other product.

Simply fill your rinse agent dispenser with white vinegar and it will be released automatically in the rinse cycle every time your dishwasher runs.

You can do the same for your laundry by adding one-half cup white vinegar to the rinse water and reduce or eliminate fabric softener. It will also remove more soap residue from your clothes, making them whiter or brighter.

NOTE: Jet Dry contains citric acid and sulfamic acid (descaling agents) and both compounds can cause burning if ingested. Keep both liquid and powder forms where children can find them.

Women kept in the dark when it comes to their health

UPDATE: 2 March: "A Case for Thermography" Healthy Handout© is now available from CHI/The Oake Centre with your donation.
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UPDATE: 24 Feb: PLEASE READ COMMENT FOR CONFIRMING INFORMATION.
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I agree that women are kept in the dark on mammography, but so is everyone else. I heard this same song from a local hospital administrator when I queried him why his facility was not offering thermography. His reply was that there weren't any studies.

I replied that there were studies and sent him several references. I haven't had a reply, and I don't expect one. I just know I have to drive 75 minutes to get thermography.

With the 3 day Race and March coming soon (Women's Health Month) perhaps you'll like to send along your donation to get our report on mammography that we've finally found time to update. I'm sure it will be eye-opening for the vast majority of women.

Women kept in the dark about the facts about mammography
Dr. John Briffa, 20 February 2009
Mammography is a widely advocated and popular intervention designed to pick up breast cancers earlier than they would otherwise be, and therefore allow less invasive and more effective treatment. However, as I pointed out in a blog back in 2007, some researchers believe that the benefits of mammography are somewhat overblown, and that the potential downsides are at the same time downplayed or not mentioned at all. A major problem with mammography is that it may detect cancers that would not go on to trouble women during their lifespan. This can obviously subject women to unnecessary stress and anxiety, not to mention unnecessary treatment in the form of, say, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The debate about the relative benefits and harms of mammography has reared up again in the UK because of the publication of a letter in the Times newpaper which can you read here. In it, 23 interested parties cite evidence that is published by the researcher Peter Gøtzsche and his colleagues from the independent Nordic Cochrane Centre in 2006 [1]. This review of the available literature concluded that: “for every 2000 women invited for screening throughout 10 years, one will have her life prolonged. In addition, 10 healthy women, who would not have been diagnosed if there had not been screening, will be diagnosed as breast cancer patients and will be treated unnecessarily. It is thus not clear whether screening does more good than harm.”

The letter in the Times appears timed to coincide with the print publication of an article by Peter Gøtzsche and colleagues in this week’s British Medical Journal [2]. The article outlines some of the apparent deficiencies and omissions in the information given to UK women regarding breast screening. The article refers to the UK Department of Health (DoH) leaflet entitled ‘Breast Screening; the Facts’. The authors of the article make the point that the title of the leaflet suggests the information can be trusted. But can it?

The authors of the BMJ piece make the point that the DoH leaves no doubt that screening is good for women, and quote excerpts from the leaflet which include: “Why do I need breast screening?”, “If changes are found at an early stage, there is a good chance of a successful recovery,”. The leaflet also claims that breast screen saves “an estimated 1400 lives each year in this country” and “reduces the risk of the women who attend dying from breast cancer.”

However, according to the authors, the leaflet has many deficiencies which mean that women cannot make informed decisions about whether they attend breast screening or not.

For instance, no mention is made of the major harm of screening—that is, unnecessary treatment of harmless lesions that would not have been identified without screening. It is in violation of guidelines and laws for informed consent not to mention this common harm, especially when screening is aimed at healthy people. The new guidelines from the General Medical Council state: “You must tell patients if an investigation or treatment might result in a serious adverse outcome, even if the likelihood is very small.” The likelihood of being overdiagnosed after mammography is not very small; it is ten times larger than the likehood [sic] of avoiding death from breast cancer.

The leaflet notes that about one in every 20 women screened will be recalled for more tests because of ‘false positive’ results (results that suggest a problem when, in reality, there is none). But, as Gøtzsche and colleagues point out, the more screenings a woman has, the more likely she is to end up with a false positive result. They cite evidence that shows that after 10 screens, risk of false positive diagnosis was 50 per cent in one piece of research and 20 per cent in another. The authors add: “We now know that the psychosocial strain of a false alarm can be severe and may continue after women are declared free from cancer.”

Basically, mammography can lead to women have unnecessary treatment including radiotherapy. Gøtzsche and colleagues point this out, and also explore some of the risks associated with this. They note that the leaflet tells women that the dose of radiation from mammography is very small, but does not tell women of the risks associated with healthy women having radiotherapy. They cite evidence that radiotherapy suggesting that radiotherapy may double the risk of death from heart disease and lung cancer. The authors that that “Technological improvements may have diminished these harms to some extent, but they are still important.”

The authors also tell us that the leaflet summary implies that screening leads to fewer mastectomies. In fact, research shows that screening leads to 20 per cent more mastectomies being performed.

Also, we are told that the leaflet expresses no reservations about screening older women, “only a scare that the breast cancer risk increases with age, although it has not been shown that screening these women decreases their risk of dying from breast cancer. Furthermore, the problem with overdiagnosis becomes more pronounced, and the likehood of gaining any benefit smaller, due to competing risks of death.”

And, finally, the authors point out that it has not been proven that screening saves lives. While it may reduce the risk of breast cancer mortality (by about 15 per cent), studies show that breast screening does not decrease total cancer mortality. As the authors point out “This indicates that the benefit of screening is likely to be smaller than generally perceived.”

The authors then conclude: “We believe that if policy makers had had the knowledge we now have when they decided to introduce screening about 20 years ago, when nobody had published data on overdiagnosis or on the imbalance between numbers of prevented deaths from breast cancer and numbers of false positive screening results and the psychosocial consequences of the false alarms, we probably would not have had mammography screening.”

This is one group of reseachers’ view, and not everyone will share it. The figures regarding those that benefit and those who may come to harm have been disputed. However, there can be little doubt that many women are simply not being informed of the full facts about breast screening. So one figure I think we can be certain of is that chances of these women making a truly informed decision about mammography is zero. I’m not against mammography, but I am against women being kept in the dark about the true benefits and risks associated with this practice.

References:

1. Gøtzsche PC, Nielsen M. Screening for breast cancer with mammography. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD001877. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001877.pub2.

2. Gøtzsche PC, et al. Breast screening: the facts—or maybe not. BMJ 2009;338:b86

Mainstream Medicine: Slow to Catch On

About 20 years ago I started using a food supplement in my work known as BioSupplemente Naturalle. One of the benefits of this whole food supplement is that it is helpful in the prevention of birth defects. We have just completed recreating the formula so that it is now available in bulk powder and the homeopathic liquid.

Another 15 previously I talked often with a local GP in the small coastal community where I lived at the time about the importance of B vitamins in the diet of pregnant women for preventing birth defects. He always recommended spreading whole grain toast with some raw butter and nutritional yeast. But then he is an Australian and well versed in the benefits of Vegemite. (Marmite for readers from the UK). I happen to like nutritional yeast sprinkled on popcorn, with onion powder and dill herb added.

Another decade (and more) earlier I was always dosing up my energy drinks with nutritional yeast, perhaps because of being a great fan of Adele Davis. Plus, during this time I was in college as a nursing student deeply involved in the study of nutrition for health. I learned again during this time that B vitamins were very important in the prevention of birth defects.

Now it seems that doctors are being told to get moms-to-be on B12 etc.

No wonder there is so much chronic disease; yes, its that longstanding lack of nutrition education in mainstream medicine.

A word for the wise: B vitamins should be used in the complete complex and that is why high quality organic nutritional yeast is such a good source of B vitamins. It should be noted that quite a bit of older research shows that B6 and B9 prevent neural tube defects ( i.e., spina bifida for example). And that while pregnant, the daily B12 supplement dose should be 2800 mcg, which may require additional supplementation added to nutritional yeast.

Vitamin B12 can prevent major birth defects
By Will Dunham Will Dunham
Mon Mar 2, 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Before becoming pregnant, women need to get enough vitamin B12 in addition to folic acid to cut their risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord, researchers said on Monday.

Irish women with the lowest vitamin B12 levels were five times more likely to have a baby with a neural tube defect than those with the highest levels, the researchers wrote in the journal Pediatrics.

Neural tube defects can lead to lifelong disability or death. The two most common ones are spina bifida, in which the spinal cord and back bones do not form properly, and anencephaly, a fatal condition in which the brain and skull bones do not develop normally.

Dr. James Mills of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, one of the researchers, said the study showed that vitamin B12 deficiency was a risk factor for neural tube defects independent of folic acid, another B vitamin.

Many women now know of the importance of folic acid and there has been a drop in neural tube defects.

Mills said he hopes that awareness of the similar role of vitamin B12 can reduce neural tube defects further.

Vitamin B12 is essential to maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. It is found in meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, shellfish and fortified breakfast cereals. It also can be taken as an individual supplement or in a multivitamin.

"An absolutely critical point is that women have to consider this before they become pregnant because once they realize they are pregnant it's likely to be too late," Mills, a researcher in the NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a telephone interview.

The developmental events involved in these birth defects occur in the first four weeks of pregnancy, Mills said.

Mills urged women who do not eat meat or dairy products to be particularly aware of the need to get enough vitamin B12.

He had similar advice for women with an intestinal disorder such as inflammatory bowel disease that may prevent them from absorbing sufficient amounts of the vitamin.

The study involved almost 1,200 women in Ireland who gave blood samples during early pregnancy, which were analyzed to determine vitamin B12 levels.

The women in the lowest 25 percent of vitamin B12 levels were five times more likely than those in the highest 25 percent to have had a baby with a neural tube defect.

The researchers suggested that women have vitamin B12 levels above 300 nanograms per liter before getting pregnant.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Mohammad Zargham)
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.