One study found that men who were taking statins before undergoing surgical removal of their prostate had a lower risk of having the cancer return. “The use of statins at the time of surgery was associated with a 30 percent reduction in the risk of recurrence of prostate cancer,” said lead researcher Dr. Robert J. Hamilton, a urology resident at the University of Toronto Medical Center in Ontario, Canada.

Hamilton thinks that the anti-inflammatory properties of statins may explain the finding. However, it might also be the ability of these drugs to lower cholesterol that has an effect on cancer cells, he said.

Another study focused on inflammation inside prostate cancer tumors. “We looked at the association between statin use and prostate tumor inflammation,” Banez said.

“We found that men who were using statins prior to surgery had a significantly lower risk for inflammation within their prostate tumor,” Banez said.

In fact, men taking statins had a 72 percent reduction in the risk for inflammation of the prostate tumor. The researchers also found that obesity appears to be associated with increased inflammation and more aggressive prostate cancer.

BINGO!  Statins have a slight anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant characteristic that plays a role here, but you’re also forgetting what else it does like block the production of CoQ10 (See blog post).  Why take a drug that will decrease inflammation but block the production of CoQ10 which will then increase the chances of developing other degenerative diseases?  Why aren’t these studies taking a look at natural sources of anti-inflammatory compounds that do not have deleterious side effects?

Natural anti-inflammatories

• Fish Oil (EPA/DHA) plays a huge role in cooling down inflammation.  I usually recommend 2000 – 6000 mg per day of a high quality fish oil.
• Grape Seed Extract is a potent COX-2 inhibitor
• Enzymes help to remove or digest inflammatory compounds like protein wastes.
• Turmeric is a very potent COX-2 inhibitor herb
• Broad spectrum multi-mineral, multi-vitamin.

Remember the hippocratic oath stresses “Doctor do no harm.”  Take control of your health rather than leaving it up to your medical doctor.  Prevention is the key.  Be pro-active rather than retro-active.

There have been numerous reports about adverse reactions such as death after the administration of the vaccine.  (See Post)

On the Merck website they state:

GARDASIL is contraindicated in individuals who are hypersensitive to the active substances or to any of the excipients of the vaccine.

Source: http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2008_0708.html

How does one know if they are hypersensitive to the substances within the vaccine, if they’ve never had exposure to that substance?  Oh, yeah, if they have a reaction, then they know that they’re sensitive.

The CDC website contains a report about the adverse reactions to the vaccine:

As of August 31, 2008, there have been 10,326 VAERS reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination in the United States. Of these reports, 94% were reports of events considered to be non-serious, and 6% were reports of events considered to be serious.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaers/gardasil.htm

My Suggestions: do your research and form your own opinion.  Get all the information you can so that you can make a true informed decision.

Be well…

‘Generation RX’ addresses many of the alarming issues surrounding the growing use of ADHD drugs, antidepressants, and anti-psychotic medications among children and teenagers worldwide.

‘For decades, scores of doctors, government officials, journalists, and others have extolled the benefits of psychiatric medicines for children,’ said Miller, the film’s writer and producer. ‘Generation RX unveils ‘the rest of the story’ and explains how this era of unprecedented change in Western culture really occurred — and what price has been paid by society.’

By employing the expertise of internationally respected professionals from the fields of medicine, ethics, journalism, and academia, Kevin P. Miller investigates whether collusion between drug companies and their regulatory watchdogs at the FDA exists. He also focuses on the powerful stories of real families who followed the advice of their doctors — and faced devastating consequences for doing so.

‘Generation RX’ is a film about families who confronted horror and found nowhere to turn for help — and how scores of children have been caught in the vortex of mind-bending drugs at the earliest stages of their growth and development. This powerful documentary also examines whether we have forced millions of children onto pharmaceutical drugs for commercial rather than scientific reasons.

Ultimately, Miller says, ‘Generation RX may help parents decide whether the perceived benefits of these medications outweigh the serious risks to children.’

Critics and Hollywood insiders have already begun hailing ‘Generation RX’ as one of the best documentaries of 2008. Paul Haggis, the Academy Award winning Writer/Director said, ‘Generation RX is a powerful and often chilling eye-opener. Many of the stories stayed with me weeks after viewing, and continue to haunt me now.’ Mike Adams, publisher of NewsTarget and Natural News, says the film ‘delivers a jaw-dropping emotional ride,’ and ‘weaves a terrifying tale of criminal conspiracy. It is one of the best films of 2008.’

Jason Buchanan of the ‘All Movie Guide’ stated, ‘Generation RX is a film that every parent should see.’

‘Generation RX’ is being released by Common Radius Films, an Independent media company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information — to view the trailer, or to obtain a copy of the film, visit the movie’s website at GenerationRxFilm.

There’s been tons and tons of research done on statin drugs and their ability to lower the production of cholesterol.  See my previous post about the Cholesterol Conspiracy.  But the truth behind why statins may prevent heart attacks is because they have antioxidant characteristics and block inflammation.  The majority of cardiovascular studies out there state that 70% of all heart attacks occur in people who have no prior history of artery blockage or any signs of artery blockage upon autopsy.  

Since memory loss such as dementia is a degenerative process, we can conclude that oxidative stress and inflammation will speed up that process.  It’s well known that as you get older your body produces less and less antioxidants and your need for antioxidant supplementation increases.  So if your body produces less antioxidants, your oxidative stress increases and degenerative processes such as dementia speed up.  Here’s the logic behind these studies: 

Increased oxidative stress increases dementia.  Statins can lower oxidative stress.  Therefore…statins may protect against memory loss.  

But hold on here…what else do statins do?  Well…they block the production of CoQ10 and Vitamin D.  Hmm.  You really need those to function optimally.   

I know…enough blah, blah, blah already.  Just cut to the chase.  Well the solution: if you want to decrease oxidative stress, take some antioxidants.  Simple, yet effective.  

We’re being duped! A lie is a lie, even if the truth is being stretched. The word cholesterol has somehow, with the help of media, become a bad chemical. Now Cheerios© claim to help “lower cholesterol.” Let’s look at the whole picture here.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a lipid that is essential to life, especially our cells since the cell membranes are composed of it.

Some of the functions of cholesterol:

• It is a precursor to the steroid hormones made in your body (estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, progesterone, cortisol, aldosterone)
• Precursor for vitamin D synthesis
• Important in the manufacturing of bile, which aids in fat digestion
• Important for the metabolism of the fat soluble vitamins (A D E K)
• Maintains the fluidity of cellular membranes

The Lipid Hypothesis:

In efforts to find the culprit for cardiovascular diseases, researchers began to point the finger at cholesterol being the prime suspect. Finding cholesterol plaques lining the artery walls led researchers to deduce that the narrowing of the space with the vessel was the prime cause for cardiovascular disease. The solution to the problem was to lower the amount of circulating cholesterol. Hooray (right?)!!!  Read on…

Enter the Statins:

In 1971, Japanese researcher Akira Endo discovered that a toxin produced by Penicillium citrinum actually inhibited the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (the enzyme that makes Cholesterol). Its a natural defense mechanism that these bacteria evolved which would eventually kill the “predator.” This toxin was called Mevastatin. Then in 1976 Merck isolated another toxin from the fungus Aspergillus terreus, which inhibited HMG-CoA reductase, and called it Lovastatin.

Pharmaceutical companies began to isolate HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors from various microbes and then eventually began to synthesize it in the test tube.

Fast forward 25 years and statins become the #1 selling drug in the US, bringing in BILLIONS of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry.

Take home point: statins are toxic compounds meant to kill.

Have we solved the problem?

The logical conclusion you can draw from this is that since cholesterol build up cause cardiovascular disease and statins inhibit cholesterol production, there should be less cardiovascular disease in the US since it’s the #1 selling drug.

Yet according to the CDC, in 2005, heart disease was the leading cause of death, and stroke was the #3 leading cause of death.

Hmm…doesn’t seem like we solved the problem here.

Follow the white rabbit down the money trail…

Show me the MONEY!!!  Lipitor continues to top the list of the best selling drugs worldwide.  In 2006, sales topped $12.9 billion dollars.  Think about that.  The company who manufactures Lipitor is Pfizer.  In 2007 Pfizer listed revenues of $48.8 billion dollars.

In 2005, they maxed their contribution to the re-election of president George W. Bush ($250,000).

A 30 count 20mg bottle of Lipitor costs roughly $114.  Doctors tell you that you’ll need it for the rest of your life…adds up to thousands per person.

So how did lipitor rise to the top of the list?  Well, with MDs buying into the lipid hypothesis and then transmitting false information to their patients and organizations such as the American Heart Association lowering the “acceptable” levels of circulating cholesterol…you can see where this is going.  Tell every patient that they need to get their cholesterol levels checked, have the media express concern over the link between high cholesterol and death, and now you have a recipe for increased sales.

Another point to add in here is that “high cholesterol” has no signs or symptoms.  If it shows up on blood tests, your doc will probably instill some fear in you that you’re “at risk” and then quickly pull out the prescription pad.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Cholesterol conspiracy…

We’ve taken a detour from being addicted to street drugs to being addicted to prescription drugs. The drug dealer has changed from the guy hanging out on the street corner to the pharmacist in your local drug store. Granted you still need a doctor’s prescription to get these drugs, but that doesn’t solve the problem of addiction.

Our commercials are laden with advertisements by pharmaceutical companies hocking the latest pill to “cure” erectile dysfunction, seasonal allergies and depression. These companies spent close to $5 Billion in advertising in 2006 alone. Studies have shown that people are more likely to ask their doctor for the medications they are more “familiar” with because they saw it on TV.  In 1997, there was a change in the “direct-to-consumer” advertising laws and thus we saw a huge increase in drug ads on television.  By 1999, the average American was exposed to at least 9 drug related commercials per day.  (Overdosed America Dr. John Abramson)

• In 2007 US prescription drug sales were $274.9 billion (up 5.8% from 2005)
• In 2000 US prescription drug sales were just over $100 billion
• The average American spends roughly $350 per year on prescription medications

Drugs and the Elderly

The cost of prescription medications really takes its toll on the elderly.  Here are the top 5 most commonly prescribed drugs:

(Source: “Enough to Make You Sick: Prescription Drug Prices for the Elderly” from Families USA)

Drugs…the cure for everything?

I must say that not all drugs are “bad” per se.  The advent of certain medications such as antibiotics helped us to control diseases such as tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.  You hardly see any of these types of diseases and if you do, they’re pretty isolated.  Pain medications can be really helpful when you’re in acute pain, or if you’ve gone through some type of trauma.

We have the best “emergent care” doctors in the world, but when it comes to managing and treating chronic illness most medical doctors fall short.

That’s because we’re trying to fix a problem with the wrong tool.  Most drugs are only effective for acute care and does nothing to solve the chronic condition.  (We’ll talk about this in another post)

Ask yourself these 4 questions before going on any medication

1. Will this medication “correct” my problem?
2. How long will I need to take this medication?
3. What side effects does this medication have?
4. Will my body function better after taking this medication?

Be cautious of any type of foreign chemical you put into your body.  Get the facts.  Understand what it does and it’s side effects.  Be informed so that you can make a good decision for the future of your health.

Read the complete 2008 MedWatch Safety Summary, including a link to the manufacturer’s Dear Healthcare Professional Letter and Dear Patient Letter regarding this issue at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#exubera

Read more about this story

Technorati Tags: Singulair, suicide, FDA, mood change

Here’s the list of some “fatal” drugs (remember “doctor do no harm?”)

• Vioxx: This was a painkiller, removed from the market in 2004 because studies showed an increase for heart attack and stroke.
• Bextra: This is an NSAID painkiller, removed from the market in 2005 because studies showed an increase for heart attack and stroke.
• Zelnorm: Treats irritable bowel syndrome, removed from the market in 2007 because studies showed an increase for heart disease.
• Tysabri: Treats M.S., removed from the marketin in 2006 because studies showed an increase in brain infection.
• NeuroSpec: Designed to diagnose appendicitis, removed from the market in 2005 because patients would experience life-threatening symptoms.
• Cylert: Treats ADHD, removed from the market in 2005 because there were reports of patients experiencing liver failure.
• Permax: Treats Parkinson’s disease, removed from the market in 2007 because studies showed an increase for heart disease.
• Baycol: Treats high cholesterol, removed from the market in 2001 because of fatal rhabdomyolysis (basically the breaking down of all your muscles, which is very fatal).
• Palladone: This is a narcotic painkiller, removed from the market in 2005 because of a cross reaction with alcohol intake leading to coma.

FDA drug recall timeline (1980 – 2007)