Which is Worse—the Cost of Drugs or the Side Effects?

A survey by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that many people do not take their medicine as prescribed(click here to view). 29% did not fill the prescription because of the cost and 23% cut their pills in half to make the prescription last longer. Now we learn from the Archives of Internal Medicine 2008 that longer term common diabetes pills called thiazolidinediones increase the incidence of hip and other fractures by twofold to threefold. Further in the Archives of Internal medicine 2008, Dr. Heckbert reports that alendronate to strengthen the bones, also very common, have a much higher incidence of atrial fibrillation, which in turn can cause strokes. What to do?—Try a more natural approach with lifestyle changes and herbal and nutritional supplements. These are a lot safer and less expensive and in my experience, most of the time they work well.

Americans are Sick and Don’t Know It

A Federal-State Program called the Delta Regional Authority did a screening program at Wal-Marts for 1000 people. 78% had high blood pressure, 56% had very high Cholesterol (greater than 240), 41% had high blood sugar, and 71% were obese. Do not take your health for granted. These risk factors cause deadly diseases and are treatable. Get an annual PE from your doctor or at least do one of the many free or low cost screenings that are available. The PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute estimates that almost half of the $2.2 Trillion we spend on health care is wasted. The biggest culprits are defensive medicine and the lack of preventive medicine and screening. Do not be a statistic. Get tested now. And go to an alternative doc, who will not submit you to defensive medicine.
Contact International College of Integrative Medicine for such a doc.

ST. JOHNS WORT GIVES A BLACK EYE TO SUPPLEMENTS

My expereience is that St John’s Wort is not very effective, even though it has been proven to be helpful for some cases of depression. Every time there is a negative study, as there was last month on using it for ADHD, the press concludes that supplements don’t work. St. John’s Wort is not only fairly weak but it has side effects like antidepressant drugs and many interactions to watch. There are many other natural therapies that work better. As my friend Al Czap, who edits the Alternative Medicine Review, says, St. John’s Wort doesn’t work for a bloody foot either!
Contact Associated Press and Bastyr School of Naturopathic Medicine, University of Washington Med school and Harvard, who all participated in the study.

A Study for Chelation to Treat Autism?

The Associated Press reported on July 9 on a proposed study on removing heavy metals in autistic children that is being pushed hard by parents, who have seen dramatic improvements in their children. Unfortunately, one of the med schools, Johns Hopkins, charged with doing the study is very reluctant to do so. Sometimes this means a negative study before it even starts. Those with experience in the field know how to give the therapy safely and effectively.
Contact Associated Press for details and the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology formerly the American Board of Chelation Therapy