Cigar Smoking is Dangerous

Dr. Ranit Mishori wrote about the considerable dangers of cigar smoking, which include cancer of the lips, tongue, mouth, throat, lungs, pancreas and bladder, as well as heart disease and chronic lung disease. Second-hand smoke is more dangerous from cigar smoke than that from cigarettes. One cigar has 23 times the nicotine content of a single cigarette. An article in the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology showed that the toxin of carbon monoxide was higher at two cigar social functions in San Francisco than on a busy California freeway. One-third of teenagers start smoking cigars after seeing it glorified in the movies. It is way past time for this to stop.

See Mishori R, The Hidden Dangers of Cigars, Parade Magazine, May 31, 2009 (click here).

Anti-depressant Found Worthless for Treating Autism

A study funded by the NIH showed that the risks of taking Celexa for Autism outweighed any benefits. Previously, Prozac had similar results. These drugs are widely used by conventional medicine to treat Autism. Wake up, American physicians! There is an epidemic going on and these families need your help and they desperately need effective treatment. The parents will tell you what works and what does not. The Defeat Autism Now protocol of casein/gluten avoidance, metal detoxification, allergy and yeast treatment, nutritional supplementation, B12 shots, and hyperbaric oxygen helps a great deal with virtually all autistic children. Music therapy helps, neuromuscular retraining helps. We have to rid ourselves of physician drug dependence if there is true hope for this problem. Many states still do not mandate that treatment for autism be covered by insurance. This is criminal.

See Associated Press, June 2, 2009, (subscription required-click here to go to the AP website) Dr. Fred Volkmar, June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
See Autism Research Institute (click here)

Alcoholism

The CAGE questionnaire is a simple way to detect if too much alcohol is interfering with your life: Have you ever: 1) felt the need to Cut down your drinking? 2) felt Annoyed by criticism of your drinking? 3) had Guilty feelings about your drinking? taken a morning Eye opener? A score of 2 or 3 yes answers is highly suspicious and a score of 4 is virtually diagnostic of alcoholism. Alcoholics die early of liver and heart disease, and they ruin their family structure and relationships. Essential for a full recovery is rebuilding your body’s health and detoxifying with great nutrition: 3 meals a day, lots more fruits and veggies, whole, organic foods, healthy oils, no caffeine, no junk food and minimal sugar. The New England Journal of Medicine proposed a simple, inexpensive, safe, effective treatment as well, naltrexone at 25-50 mg a day. It really works to cut way back on the craving for alcohol. Food allergy desensitization can also be very helpful.

See
Anton RF. Naltrexone for the Management of Alcohol Dependence, NEJM, August 14, 2008. Obrien CP (click here)
The CAGE questionnaire for Detection of Alcoholism (click here), JAMA, November 5, 2008, 2054-2056.
Siple M. Eating for Recovery, De Capo Press 2008. http://www.dacapopress.com/ (click here)

Conventional Doctors Exagerate the Risks of Taking Supplements

Two articles in Prescriber’s Letter recently were good examples of how conventional doctors abandon logic when they write about nutritional supplements. The first was talking about lithium orotate, which is used in very low doses as an adjunct to help with anxiety and depression. It concluded that lithium orotate is dangerous because there was one report that a patient developed mild signs of toxicity after taking 18 pills a day. The recommended dose is 2-3 pills a day, and it is very safe at that dosage. Next, an article correctly pointed out that specific supplements can increase the risk of bleeding (gingko), sedation (valerian, kava), and hypertension (ephedra). Therefore, all nutritional supplements should be avoid for two weeks prior to surgery. Instead of a blanket prohibiton, maybe physicians should take a few minutes to learn the effects of nutritional supplements, some of which can improve recovery after surgery (vitamin C, Body Mend homeopathic) without any risk whatsoever.

See Prescriber’s Letter (click here, subscription required) February, 2009, p. 9, 10.

New Uses for Medications to Treat Addictions

There are several controlled drugs (Subutex, Suboxone, methadone) that are approved as substitutes for more addicting drugs such as heroin and morphine. These drugs have lower abuse potential and cause much fewer problems with overdose or withdrawal. They are used in drug-addiction clinics. Recently, these drugs have been used in their own right for pain relief. I would suggest Naltrexone instead. Naltrexone counter-acts narcotic drugs. In much lower doses than usually prescribed for drug overdoses, Naltrexone has been found to be helpful in various autoimmune and neurologic conditions. It is not approved by the FDA for this use, but you can find lots of information on the internet that documents its use. Sometimes, it is dramatically useful and it is very safe at the low dose recommended.

See Prescriber’s Letter (click here-subscription required), January, 2009, p. 4.

Using the Wrong Inhalor Can Increase the Risk of Severe Asthma Attacks and Death

New warnings have been issued about taking long acting bronchodilators like Serevent alone for asthma. Inhaled steroids for inflammation must be used with these drugs for moderate or severe asthma or alone for milder forms. Without controlling the inflammation the long acting bronchodilators can be risky. Short acting bronchodilators like Pro-Air are acceptable. Better yet, control the inflammation by treating allergies or with acupuncture, and you might not need to take an inhalors. However, often it is necessary to treat food and chemical allergies in addition to the pollen, dust and mold allergies treated by most allergists. Only integrative physicians use these advanced techniques.
Go to International College of Integrative Medicine (click here) or American Academy of Environmental Medicine (click here) for an integrative doc who might be able to help.

See Prescriber’s Letter,(subsciption required, click here) January, 2009, P. 5.

Can Statin Drugs Cause Diabetes?

A new concern about the routine use of statin drugs like Lipitor and Crestor is a possible link to developing diabetes. This concern came out of the Jupiter Trial. Previously, there has been concern that statins might worsen control of known diabetic patients. This is not yet proven, but it is another reason to use Red yeast, a natural product, instead of the prescriptions meds to help control cholesterol if needed. Regardless of whether a prescription or a natural statin is used, it is imperative to supplement with at least 60 mg of Coenzyme Q 10, because this important nutrient is depleted in the process.

See Prescriber’s Letter (click here-subscription required), January, 2009, p. 5