YourHealthMatters

Big Pharma Big Deceptions

 Check out this article on Dr. Mercola's site and read how Big Pharma carefully spins its research findings to increase its marketing rewards. Although there is nothing new here for some of my readers, I think we all need reinforcement of these ideas from time to time. This article focuses on the statin drug class which includes Lipitor and Crestor. Lipitor becomes generic in November 2011 and soon I think you will see ads from Lipitor suggesting it is superior to all other statins in many ways.

However, the FDA has given Crestor two indications for use that no other statin has, based on good research that I have evaluated. So the two biggest statin drugs will be battling it out on our TV's again. Stay tuned and watch the spin doctors at work.

In the article you will also read how someone not affiliated with Big Pharma asked for FDA approval to do an important study on CoQ10. They were told the study would only be approved if they got Big Pharma to supply the supplement which of course could taint the final published results.


drBob

Dr. Bob on TV

On Tuesday May 11 I am appearing on Doctors on Call, a live phone-in show on PBS, channel 5. The show is on from 7-8 pm. I will be appearing with Dr. Everard Hughes, my favorite oncologist in Garden City. Our topic will be alternative cancer therapies. Please listen in and phone us with your questions about cancer therapy. If you have a question now that you would like answered on the show let me know. This will be my first US TV appearance.

drBob

The Cost of Taking Care of Your Health Just Went UP!

Dr. Mercola on his excellent website just highlighted another way in which good health will cost more, not less under the health care reform coming. He notes that this act will change what you can use an HSA or Flex account for. Up to now if I prescribed a supplement for someone with a medical problem they could use their tax-protected money in an HSA to purchase the supplement. The new legislation will limit the HSA funds to be used only for "prescribed drugs or insulin". If this means that prescribed supplements which are not drugs are no longer eligible for HSA money, then the cost of good health just went up and you will all be under subtle pressure to buy more drugs than supplements. When I practiced in Ontario most people would choose a drug paid for by their drug plan rather than buy a supplement they had to pay for.

This article also gives the cost estimates of what health care will cost in the country over the next 10 years - a staggering figure that will result in tax hikes in coming years.

What is not mentioned is how  much state income taxes will rise to pay for increasing state-funded Medicaid fees to the same level as Medicare fees which is a requirement of the new legislation. Try and get any elected official or person running in the MidTerms to discuss this issue and see what happens.

Click here to read this chilling article by Dr. Mercola.

drBob

Where Are The Bodies??

With the FDA desperate to take away our freedom to purchase vitamins and supplements over the counter, a very relevant question should be: If vitamins and supplements are too unsafe to be available over-the-counter, Where Are The Bodies of all those have died as a result of taking vitamins or supplements? GUESS?

This is not an idle question and there is an answer readily available if you look. The 2008 statistics released by the American Association of Poison Control Centers National Poison Data Centers in its latest report show that exactly NO ONE died in 2008 from taking vitamins and/or supplements. This huge number of deaths of course would justify what the FDA and Big Pharma want to do, wouldn't it?? And it would justify Sen. McCain's sponsoring the DSSA Act.

If you believe as I do that the FDA must not be granted this unbridled power, then read this page and take action to email your members of Congress and Senate and urge them not to vote in favor of the DSSA, which has been sponsored by Sen. John McCain.

And if The Tea Parties Organization is really looking for an issue to go after government over, why not take on this issue and protect some of our fundamental essential rights - the right to choose what we take to improve our health, reduce our dependence on Big Pharma, and extend our healthspan.

I am indebted to Dr. Jonathan Wright for first posing this question in the latest issue of his excellent "Health And Nutrition" newsletter.

drBob

Do You Know About the DSSA?? - Pay Attention to This Law

Would you like the FDA to remove most vitamins and supplements from the open market, then make them available for Big Pharma to sell at inflated prices? I don't see any hands going up out there! If you doubt this can happen, read what has happened already to pyridoxamine as an example that has already happened. The price of this natural safe supplement just got elevated to brand name drug status.

Sen. John McCain has co-sponsored an act called the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of of 2009 which will do just that. The FDA will be able under this legislation to remove any vitamin or supplement from the market without scrutiny or appeal. Don't think for a moment they will act in your best interests with this new found power.

It will be very interesting to see the recorded vote on this Act. Any member of Congress or Senate who supports this vote should find out how many voters they will lose at their next election. Taking away your freedom to choose safe supplements over drugs should be remembered when you are next in the Federal Election voting booth.

Please send an email to your elected officials about your position on this DSSA bill. Click this link NOW.

In the next post I will report on the research that shows just how SAFE over-the-counter vitamins and supplements are. Stay tuned.....

drBob

Check Your Bank's Health

Although this might be considered off-topic, probably most people wonder about their bank's health as much as their own these days. I just found a free website for checking on bank financial health using a measure called Distressed Asset Ratio. The site uses FDIC data and compares 2008 to 2009 data so you can see if your bank is improving or getting sicker. The bank we use is showing great improvement, the bank we left last is in bad shape.

The site is www.banktracker.com

drBob

Sweeping Changes in Politics Coming

Here is a short article on the recent Supreme Court Decision to allow corporations to spend unlimited money influencing any political campaign by buying ads in the media. This may have dire consequences for the right of an individual to ever have their voice heard in the political arena.Why am I writing about this on a site usually related to medical topics?

Because by allowing corporations to influence who gets elected, corporations will influence what legislation gets passed or blocked that is in their best financial interests, not necessarily in the interests on the individual. Think Big Pharma and Big Insurance Barons.

This will become very evident in the coming mid-term elections and could cripple health care reform in this country. The" land of the free and the brave" suddenly has become even more the land of big business.

Here is the MSNBC article on the ruling and which justices voted in favor of this change. Note that the female justices opposed the ruling.
 
drBob

H1N1 Flu Update

The web is such an amazing place to get current news on all sorts of topics. Here's what I have found lately about the H1N1 virus.

Two doctors have posted articles strongly suggesting that keeping your Vitamin D3 level high in your blood with supplements can minimize your chances of catching H1N1. If you are interested, get a blood level done for Vitamin D3 so you can supplement adequately.
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This article on MSNBC reports autopsy findings on people who have died from H1N1 have massize lung damage from the virus. So people with chronic lung disease from smoking or other reasons should consider taking the H1N1 shots. BUT, the first H1N1 vaccine may be an inhaled nasal preparation. In previous nasal flu vaccines there has always been a strong warning about giving this to anyone with asthma or chronic lung disease because of the risks. This same warning will be on the new nasal vaccine as reported here on MSNBC. That's an interesting problem. The people who most need this vaccine possibly, should not take the nasal vaccine. They must wait till the injectable vaccine is available. One shot of either vaccine type is now expected to work. Antibody levels will rise about 6 weeks after vaccination. So another reason for all adults to know their Vitamin D3 levels and optimize them now.

Last week a Harvard scientist told a meeting that so far the H1N1 infections in  children have been mild and the death rate is similar to the usual seasonal flu. This is news that has also been reported in Australia whose winter season has been going on while we have enjoyed summer.

My own experience with this virus all summer has been to see one case in a family, mostly adults with quick response to Tamiflu and no spread among other family members. Now that school is in, I'm starting to see children with H1N1 symptoms. They too seem to be mildly infected for the most part and respond well to Tamiflu. And I have yet to catch this virus, but then I take Vitamin D3 at high doses every day.

drBob

Only in America - a "Kill Granny" Campaign

President Obama has sparked a right-wing attack on his health care reform ideas by talking about living wills and right -to-die in his legislation proposals. He is suggesting Medicare actually pay for doctors to talk to seniors once every 5 years about preparing their living will and how they want to die on a VOLUNTARY basis. This has been jumped on by his opponents who are claiming he wants to kill off seniors, deny them care at the end of life,etc. Makes for good media content, doesn't it?

The MSNBC link to this idea is here.

Do I believe the government is out to kill Granny - absolutely not. Do I think talking about living wills and end-of-life issues is important? Absolutely yes, although once every 5 years is the real joke in all this. Don't people change their minds about such issues more often than that? Consider my own situation when I had to have neurosurgery to remove a cerebral aneurysm in 2008. I was not yet a "Grampa" and no doctor talked to me about living wills or end-of-life. Instead I went straight to my lawyer and had a living will prepared and much more importantly I had a Power of Attorney for Health Care prepared and signed to give my wonderful wife control of health decisions if I was unable to because of the surgery. This proved to be the most important preparation in my case. She spotted changes in me  in the first week that signaled problems and alerted the surgical staff who then quickly paid attention because she had Power of Attorney status. She and the neurosurgeon both were life-savers for me.
Again this whole media blitz misses the point. We should all have living wills and Power of Attorney documents prepared long before we reach "Granny" or "Grampa" age and why shouldn't this be a medical topic paid for whenever we want to talk about it to our doctor?
Doesn't this also prove that some opponents of health care reform will do or say anything to get media attention, even when they are totally wrong about the intent of the changes?
Doesn't this also prove that many bureaucrats know almost nothing about how health care reform should be done but they know how to get on the front page of their local paper?

Would I recommend all adults prepare and sign their living wills and Power of Attorney for Health Care long before they reach "Granny" or "Grampa" age - absolutely yes. Don't wait for government to tell you when to do this. You can never get these documents prepared too soon.

drBob

PS - if I sound a bit cynical in this post, I am. I worked 25 years for a terrible socialized health system in Ontario and 12 years here for a system that is too costly,  and doesn't work either.

Acetaminophen and Pain Pills - #2

The FDA has decided to leave acetaminophen on the shelves and in pills with some changes. The maximum dose per pill will be reduced and the maximum daily dose that is considered safe will be reduced to 3250 mg, down from 4000 mg. More warnings on all products with acetaminophen will be required. Also more warnings about mixing alcohol with acetaminophen will be required. The percentage of cases of liver failure is higher in people using alcohol with acetaminophen. What's missing perhaps is changing the adult maximum dose to one based on the person's weight.
So we can all breathe a little easier about this issue. I am relieved. For once the FDA has opted for more public education about the dangers of acetaminophen and reducing the doses in the medications.

drBob