YourHealthMatters

ZICAM pulled from market

The FDA finally pulled ZICAM off the market because of reports of people using it suffering loss of smell. I noticed this problem a few years years ago when the product was first released and warned my patients to stop using it. The product was first sold in 1999 and that makes me ask how long does it take for the FDA to notice problems with drugs.

There are other safer alternatives for treatment of the common cold nasal symptoms. OTC products containg guiafenesin like plain Mucinex, help liquefy and loosen secretions in the lungs and sinuses. Allergy meds like fexofenadine may be helpful. Cough suppressants like DM as in Nyquil or Delsym help night-time coughing. Vitamin C in high doses can shorten the duration of a cold and so can echinacea. Certain mushroom mixtures can strengthen your immune system to respond quicker. And there is always garlic which will help a sore throat and also the other symptoms wen taken in large enough amounts.

Zicam contains zinc which the FDA says may damage nasal nerves for smell. I often recommend people use zinc lozenges for throat pain and to stimulate the immune system in the throat for a sore throat. These products do not seem to cause the same problem.

Read about the FDA announcement here on MSNBC.

drBob

A Capitalist-Socialist Experiment in Health Care

What we are witnessing right now in the US as President Obama addresses health care reform may be the first organized attempt to create a capitalist system alongside a socialist system for provision of health care.
I think it is essential we all recognize this is going on as we read the almost daily news on the developments in Obama's plans. I for one was quite afraid of the initial news I was seeing from the government about what they planned because I thought they were going to wipe out private health insurance (capitalist) as was done in Canada many years ago when the socialist health care system was introduced. Finally some Democratic members of the Congress and Senate have started to openly say we will all have a choice between two systems.

Research Fails to Show CAM Benefit

MSNBC is reporting that after spending $2.5 billion on research there has been almost no evidence that alternative medical treatments work for anything. The only exceptions are acupuncture studies showing some benefit for arthritis and ginger for nausea from chemotherapy. Hands up all of you who disagree with this finding from personal experience.
I certainly disagree with this finding and the results don't surprise me. Long ago when I was in Ontario, the Drug Benefit Plan for seniors paid for Vitamin E for a time when one of the premier's had a grandmother taking it. When the government changed it was calculated that the government was spending millions each year on Vitamin E with no proof of effectiveness. So the new government stopped paying for Vitamin E and instead started paying for a much more expensive drug alternative. Guess how many of my many patients on Vitamin E decided to take the expensive drug for free instead of paying $8/mth to stay on vitamin E.

You can read the  MSNBC article here.

This report does not make me want to go back to only offering conventional treatments by the way.

drBob

BP Drugs For All over 55?

British researchers think they have now shown that putting every adult over 55 on pills for blood pressure, even if their BP is only 110/70, could lower their risk of heart attack, heart failure and maybe stroke. But the research was an analysis of 147 previous studies that studied BP meds and health. Of these 37 studies have already been criticized by independent researchers as being unsuitable for analysis with the others. This is far too many studies to study at one time some American researchers have also suggested. A few years ago the British researchers sought to prove that putting every adult on a statin for cholesterol, ASA, and a drug for blood thinning and 3 BP drugs would also lower cardiac risk.This polypill as it was nicknamed was to have 5 pills in it.  This idea never took off and that was probably a good idea.

Do I agree with this and will I be putting all my patients over 55 automatically on BP meds? There are many natural ways to reduce cardiac risks without depending on meds to let you get away with eating unhealthy food, avoiding exercise and smoking. Uncontrolled inflammation in the body is the biggest trigger for plaque formation in the arteries. This can be assessed by a blood test called CRP and can be controlled and lowered with proper foods, exercise and supplements.

I have seen many older people who can not tolerate a BP of 110/70 without being faint and dizzy constantly. Lowering their BP further with meds seems to me to be foolhardy when they are so many natural methods to increase longevity and promote good health.

This study was published in the British Medical Journal in May 2009.

drBob

Burning Fat with Exercise - New Study

Here is a new study about exercise. metabolism and fat-burning which busts a few beliefs about fat-burning. The study was done at Duke University and also provides some insight into using exercise for muscle building, a favorite wish of many people.

Essentially the study looked at different combinations of exercise and metabolic effects. All study participants had controlled caloric diets. The conclusion - yes exercise does boost metabolism while you exercise and can burn fat while you exercise but when you finish these benefits will soon stop. There is no increase in metabolic rate during the next 24 hours as many people mistakenly believe. But there was a burning of fat for a maximum of 24 after the exercise, depending on the type of exercise.

AND, if you eat as many calories soon after, as you burned during the exercise, there will be no net fat burn. The study also looked at building lean muscle mass with exercise.

So skip the (un)healthy snacks right after the exercise. I still support the use of Dr. Sears' PACE system of exercise as the best way to burn fat with exercise and he has  the results to prove it. You can buy his PACE book and as well he now has a DVD on the system which is very useful for getting you started.

The Duke study was reported on MSNBC here.

drBob

Preventable Deaths Rising

The Harvard School of Public Health recently reported that 2 million people die in the US each year from causes that are preventable. I have to ask if this will be addressed adequately in health care reform this year.
Three factors, namely smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, are the top three preventable cause in this report, accounting for at least one million deaths each year.
Other listed preventabe factors listed in order were lack of adequate physical activity, elevated blood sugar, elevated LDL (the lethal kind of cholesterol), low intake of essential fatty acids found in saltwater fish (omega-3 fatty acids) high trans fat intake (read those labels), alcohol abuse, low vegetable and fruit intake and low intake of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This last item must be watched carefully in your diet because over-heating of PUFAs can change them to dangerous trans fatty acids already on this list.

Alcohol may be protective of heart problems when taken in small amounts, when abused it was responsible for at least 64,000 deaths.

You can read an article with more information on the website of the Life Extension Foundation by clicking here .

What do you think can be done in health care reform to address this issue? Would you be in favor of higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol as a way to reduce use? When I practiced in Ontario the provincial government regularly raised taxes on cigarettes and alcohol and knew how many thousand people would likely stop either one for a specific increase in taxation.

Leave a comment on what you think would help these deaths from rising.

drBob

R.I.P. - Dr.Ian Yeats

Saturday morning in Denver my long time friend and colleague, Dr. Ian Yeats, died in his sleep. On Wednesday he had had ankle surgery and was out of hospital planning to come home on the weekend. Cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy.
I first heard about Ian back in Ontario about 1982 when he moved into my area to begin practice. He and I covered each other when one was away, delivered each other's babies if needed and practiced each in solo practice for 15 years in Meaford, Ontario. Then he moved here to Liberal and I followed him a few years later in 1997. Ian was 65 and I am 63 so his death has been a wakeup call for me.
My sympathies go out to his widow Trudy and their children, all of whom are grown up. I grieve for the loss of a friend and also because Ian worked very hard and was an excellent physician. He certainly deserved to retire back to Ontario or wherever and now he will not have that chance. He will be sorely missed in Liberal by many friends and patients.

R.I.P. Ian......

drBob

Who Wants Prevention & Alternative Medicine Covered?

On John Weeks' The Integrator Blog this week comes a post about an unusual survey done of the attitudes of Republicans and Democrats about health care insurance coverage. The full post is here. Voters, not candidates or any politicians, were surveyed in Iowa and Washington state.

Question #1 - "Basic health benefits should include coverage for any licensed health care professional, such as naturopathic  physicians, acupuncturists and chiropractors, as long as they are certified and licensed by the state and by their profession."

Both Democrats and Independents supported this from 72-81%, while  only 60% of Republicans supported this policy. This question does not mention alternative therapies performed by physicians.

Question #2 - "Health care services should stress preventing disease rather than relying on high technology cures."

Again over 70-77% of Democrats and Independents supported this policy, while only 60% of Republicans supported it. This question does not ask specifically what type of prevention measures should be paid for.

I'd like to see this survey done country-wide for even more revelations.

Missing was a survey of the Presidential candidates. It's one thing for voters to want these measures adopted, it's another for our representatives or our President to make it happen.

I enjoy reading John Weeks' blog and highly recommend it to you.

drBob

PS - How would you vote on these questions? Leave me a comment on your views.

FDA Attacks Our Freedom of Choice Again

Here comes the FDA, guardian of corporate profits, trying to stop the use of compounded hormones again. This time it's doing the corporate bidding of Wyeth who lost billions after the 2002 WHI study scared women off Premarin© and PremPro©.

Somehow the FDA has decided that the natural female hormone estriol should be banned from compounded products, because it is an "unapproved drug". However there is at least one FDA approved study underway on the use of estriol in improving MS. How can it be approved for this study and not for compounding use? Then consider that estriol is produced in every woman's body, so how can it be a drug and unapproved for use in your body?

A new group, the HOMEcoalition, opposed to the FDA attack, has published a full page ad recently presenting the other side of the argument. Please go to their website here and add your name to the opposition. Sign up for their free email list to keep up to date on this issue. I support the aims of this organization and have known the organizers as teachers and mentors for years.

This is about two approaches to healthcare - on the FDA and Big Pharma side the approach is One Symptom needs One Big Pharma Drug. On the side of health freedom the approach is to assess each patient as an individual with biochemical differences and individual requirements for treatment. Using a compounded prescription for hormones allows me to change the concentrations of the ingredients and the dosing instructions for each individual woman or man as needed.

Which type of care do you support?

Download the HOMECoalition_AD here. Please circulate this email and the ad to anyone who supports the need for access to individualized care.

drBob

How Do You Like Drinking Other People's Drugs?

Do you know what's in your drinking water? Recent studies highlighted in an MSNBC report from The Associated Press show that more and more our pharmaceutical drugs are ending up in our water supplies across the country. There are no standards for testing drinking water for drugs and no requirements to remove them. The EPA does not list any pharmaceuticals on their list of contaminants to be tested for in municipal water supplies. So no municipalities will reveal what drugs are there. Their reasons make for interesting reading in this article.

But the lack of testing and reporting doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Antidepressants, antibiotics, hormones, anti-convulsants and more are all found now in water. The amounts are small compared to taking a daily pill, however no one knows the risk involved with chronic exposure. As well we also get pesticide residues which often mimic estrogen effects in our bodies.

Is this happening in your city or town? You may have to really dig to discover that.

Click here to read the MSNBC report.

Alongside this comes the Third Report of the CDC which shows an average of 148 chemicals in most people, including 38 new ones. Similar findings were reported last year in the National Geographic when one of their staff writers had the $10,000 test to evaluate her chemical toxicity. She was shocked to discover how many of these 148 chemicals she was carrying. These are likely entering through our water supply and certain foods.

What's the answer? Bottled water may not be an answer because most bottled water is not being treated effectively to remove the chemical and drug residues. Reverse osmosis will remove many of the problems and some bottled water is treated this way. This process produces residue water contaminated with the removed chemicals and is expensive to do on a large scale. Read your water labels carefully to see what if any treatments were used in production. Carefully distilled water should be free of all chemical and drug residues but is expensive to produce.

To remove chemicals from the body requires at least regular infrared sauna. The drug residues should be cleared by your liver and kidneys.

Will the residues bother most people -  nobody knows until research is done. This whole report got me thinking about numerous people over the years in my practice who have complained that drinking water makes them sick - was it the water or allergies to unknown drug residues? Would they have been fine on distilled water or reverse osmosis water? I don't know but I am suspicious.

What does drBob drink? Reverse osmosis water at home, Perrier or Pellgrino in restaurants when available and rarely tap water anywhere except at my cottage from a drilled well which is isolated enough to not likely get much pesticide or drug residue.

This MSNBC report is first in a 3 part series from The Associated Press. Stay tuned as I report on the remaining parts.

drBob