Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Treatment with thyroid replacement (T4) reduced the risk of all-cause mortality and heart disease, the latter by 39%, in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, a condition that many doctors have refused to treat. A British study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine has laid to rest a long-standing controversy on whether this condition should be treated. Millions of patients who have symptoms of low thyroid but whose blood tests are in the normal range need to be treated. T4 has to be converted into T3 to be active, and not everyone makes this conversion efficiently. Therefore, I prefer a T4/T3 combination treatment, which occurs in natural thyroid preparations. See Family Practice News, May 1, 2012, p. 22.

Osteoarthritis is Linked to Heart Disease

A Canadian study showed that patients with arthritis had an increased risk of heart disease. The highest association was 41% in women younger than 65 y.o. but both men and women were affected. The reason was not clear, but the authors speculated that less physical activity or the drugs prescribed for arthritis caused the increased risk. These mechanisms could be avoided by using natural therapies like glucosamine and emphasizing more creative forms of exercise like swimming and mini-trampolines. From the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Rheumatology Assoc., reported in Family Practice News, May 1, 2012, p. 1.

Threshold for Lead Poisoning in Children Lowered by the CDC

Almost twice as many children, an estimated 450,000, are now classified as lead toxic, since the CDC lowered the blood threshold from 10 mcg/dl to 5. Most affected children are undiagnosed. There is no safe level of lead, which can lead to mental retardation and an increased risk for various chronic diseases. Even more affected children would be found if a challenge test were performed to detect lead that is stored in the body 2 weeks after exposure. Even those who are detected are rarely treated by oral chelating substances, which are effective. Mercury toxicity is also common, but largely ignored by conventional medicine. The most obvious consequences of toxic metals are the autism spectrum disorders, but that is being swept under the rug. Wake up, America, your kids are being poisoned. See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, report on lead toxicity, January, 2012.

Female Hormone Therapy Shown to be Safe

The massive Women’s Health Initiative from Harvard showed that postmenopausal women who had hysterectomies and took estrogen had a lower incidence of breast cancer than those who took placebos. This should be comforting to those who take hormone replacement for an average of 6 years to control disturbing menopausal symptoms. Two important caveats: avoid synthetic progestins (Provera), which are dangerous, and I believe that natural hormones from soy or yams are safer yet than Premarin, which is an extract from horse urine. See Lancet on line, March 6, 2012.

Lifestyle Strikes Again

The NHANES study looked at 7 lifestyle goals: not smoking, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, not being overweight and having normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Only 2% achieved all seven goals, but those who did had a 51% less chance of dying from any cause and a 76% less chance of dying of cardiovascular disease. See the National Health and Nutrition Survey in JAMA 2012, March 16 issue.

Lack of Sleep is a Major Risk Factor

A Harvard study led by Orfeu Buxton showed that people who were sleep deprived had a slowdown in their metabolism and a one-third reduction in insulin production. This increased the blood glucose, which in turn increased the risk of diabetes and obesity. The lack of sleep also results in various psychological disorders and fatigue. Most people required 8 hours of sleep a day. A key question to ask is “do you fall asleep easily or get drowsy during the day?” See Bloomberg News, seen in the Toledo Blade, April 12, 2012, Section A, page 8.

Removing Heavy Metals is Safe

The American College of Metal Toxicology held a meeting at the CDC in February that was the antithesis of science. Led by notorious opponents of chelation therapy, the presenters declared that removal of extremely toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury is dangerous. As “evidence” they cited three anecdotal case reports. They totally ignored thousands of articles and studies, many in the conventional literature that demonstrated that chelation therapy is safe and beneficial. Needless to say, attendees at the conference included the FDA and the Federation of State Medical Boards. Such efforts would be ridiculous, if they were not so tragic. Human lives are at stake. See The Alliance for Natural Health USA, (posted April 24, 2012)