Archive for the Drugs

Statins are America’s best selling drugs as of 11/07–the lastest stat I can find. Lipitor sold $9 Billion worth and Zocor $4.7 Billion. 12 Million Americans take one and more are being fed into the pipeline all the time. According to an ABC news online article from Dec. 2009,” The joke in the world of heart disease is that “they should put statins in the water,” but to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel that has recommended giving statins to “healthy” people, it’s no joke. The panel voted 12 to four with one abstention to recommend that the potent statin Crestor (rosuvastatin) be approved to prevent heart attacks in people who have no history of heart disease and don’t fit the traditional profile of an “at risk” population.”

The results of the trail of about 17,000 people from 25 countries is this, of the half that got Crestor, levels of mortality and morbidity were reduced vs the half that got a placebo.By how much? 70 or so people out of 8901. The reduction in events was tied to reduction of CRP– or C-reactive protein which is a marker of inflammation and an important test for anyone with a history of heart disease or any symptoms of heart problems. Did I mention that this trial was sponsored–that means paid for–by Crestor? And that some cardiologists pointed to the increase in diabetes in the subjects who got the drug vs the placebo group? That last finding was not mentioned by the people who published the findings.

This was not meant to be a diatribe against yet another fatal flaw in the current illness care system but I had to point out some startling and (should be) scary statistics. A statin drug could be coming your way, ill health or no. My point in this post is to tell you about the importance of taking the supplement CoQ10 if you are on a statin–or considering one. (It’s important for cardiovascular health and a supp I recommend even for those of us not on statins but it’s imperative for statin users as you’ll see.)

CoQ10 is the raw material needed for energy production within the cells. (That’s the reader’s digest version) It is also a scavenger of the free radicals produced by this process. Statin drugs not only suppress cholesterol production  they suppress production of CoQ10. Muscles are the biggest consumers of energy–the heart is the muscle that uses most because it never rests. Can you see the problem here? Less CoQ10 means less energy being made for the heart which is supposed to benefit from the use of a statin drug.

So what really occurs with too little CoQ10 on board? Let me quote one of the best integrative cardiologists I know. Dr. Steven Sinatra reported in his 2/09 newsletter, “The cascade effect that results from statin therapy goes something like this: lower CoQ10 levels lead to decreased ATP production, (energy production) which leads to diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, which leads to heart failure.”

That’s heart failure, the very thing the statin is supposed to be protecting you from. In countries like Japan, Germany and others in the EU, statin drugs come with a warning that it is recommended that you supplement with CoQ10 if you are taking this drug. Doctors prescribe it when people are in their offices. Clearly if other countries not so tied to their pharmaceutical behemoths can warn patients of a necessary, safe, and easy to use adjunct to the statin therapy, our government has that option.

Low CoQ10 also leads to muscle pain and weakness and fuzzy thinking. I don’t know about you but at this age I don’t need any help in that area. If you are on a statin, please do not stop it abruptly! If you want to add CoQ10 the best form is ubiquinone according to Dr. Sinatra. That’s because it’s converted, in the body, into ubiquinol, the antioxidant form of CoQ10. And the form you’ll see most often.) You can get a hydrosoluble product or a gel cap type. If you are on a statin, many of the docs I follow suggest 200 mgs per day in divided doses. You can talk to your MD about this but many will be unaware of the statin/CoQ10 connection. Drs. Sinatra, Julian Whitaker, Jim Roberts, and many other integrative cardiologists can be found online with more information.

One last quote, from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a bastion of all things conservative and Big Pharma focused. They reported a study that proved that higher levels of CoQ10 was related to longer life for heart failure patients. It wasn’t a very well publicized finding. I wonder why?

Yesterday’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the very inexpensive nutritional supplement niacin worked better to clear arteries than the not so cheap and side effect rich drugs Zetia– a drug used in addition to a statin, and Vyotrin– a single pill which combines a statin with Zetia. 

Much of the information I’m posting here comes from The Washington Post.

A recent trial gave 200 people one of the drugs or Niaspan, a form of the B vitamin Niacin. They were followed for 14 months. The results showed a decrease in artery clogging plaque in the niacin group but none in the pharmaceutical group. It’s plaque that causes problems and deaths not the cholesterol itself.

Vytorin and Zetia are among the most popular prescription drugs and were introduced with lots of fanfare and expensive advertising. Don’t worry though, Merck made their money back on those expenses. Last year, physicians in the United States wrote a total of more than 29 million prescriptions for them, and worldwide sales totaled $4.56 billion, according to Merck.

Critics of the study complained that it involved just 200 patients, was ended early, and examined what is known as a surrogate marker — the amount of plaque on artery walls — rather than evaluating the rate of heart attacks and stroke.

The study’s author, Allen J. Taylor of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center, said the trial ended early because the results were quickly apparent. “It couldn’t be more clear,” Taylor said. “It would have been unreasonable to continue the experiment because the trial had met its objective — niacin is superior to ezetimibe.”

Because plaque can clog arteries and restrict blood flow to the heart and brain, cardiologists view plaque as a good indication for the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The patients who took Niaspan had less plaque in their arteries and also had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein or HDL. Known as “good” cholesterol, HDL is believed to remove cholesterol from the arteries and carry it back to the liver, where it is passes from the body.

The patients who took Zetia had more plaque in their arteries but lower levels of LDL. They also had more heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems than the patients taking niacin.

If you are on Zetia or Vyotrin please find out more about using niacin as a safe alternative. And if you are worried about LDL cholesterol being some form of evil to be avoided at all costs, please stop back here tomorrow and the days following. I’m going to do my best to explain simply why it’s not evil, why HDL and triglyceride levels are much more important to pay attention to, and why low levels of cholesterol is unsafe at any age but especially midlife and beyond.

Ok girls, if you haven’t heard me say this yet hear it now: Fat is not the enemy!

Healthy fats, monounsaturated and some polyunsaturated, even saturated fats all have beneficial effects on every system in the body. Fat actually powers our metabolism. It causes no blood sugar spikes which lead to inflammation which puts us at increased risk of the diseases of aging. It is critical for preservation of bone, immunity, and energy throughout the day.

Adding fat to a carb will slow down the blood sugar response and it will help you feel full–one key way to prevent overeating. But this post is about Alzheimer’s and related kinds of disease processes and how you can help someone you love and yourself.

Today I read in Dr. Whitaker’s newsletter a story about a new Alzheimer’s drug which is actually fat in a pill. A man who at 59 was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, put on Aracept and a few other drugs, but declined over the years following his diagnosis.  His wife, a doctor, (Dr. Newport) was made aware of a clinical trial evaluating a new Alzheimer’s drug. When her husband was not approved for the trial she did some research to find out what the active ingredient in this new drug was. To her surprise, the active ingredient was medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). These are natural fatty acids abundant in coconut oil.

She started giving her husband coconut oil and with the first dose, “a light switch came on” said the patient. Maybe I should tell you that at this point he was unable to use a calculator, work, type or remember to eat.

One dose! Why it worked is too long to go into here but it has to do with ketones which are the body’s alternative energy source. These are the very things produced and burned as fuel when you do an Atkins type eating program.

It’s a remarkable story and just one example of how a food we’ve been told for years is a “bad, saturated fat” is being rightfully shown as an important part of a healthy diet. Even Big Pharma found something to love in this healthy fat.

The drug they based on MCTs is called Axona and is available as a “medical food.” That phrase makes me laugh just thinking about it. Now the medical world wants to claim natural foods as their own? If you were to take enough of this “food” to help brain function throughout the day you’d have to take it three times per day at a cost of $300/month. According to Dr. Whitaker, insurance companies are not reimbursing for it at this time.

Dr. Newport has a website with more information. 

Food for thought and for those who want to keep on thinking clearly.

Did you know that? The companies currently rushing the flu vaccine to market–which means it is not thoroughly tested and proven safe–are 100% untouchable if someone falls ill from the vaccine. How is this possible? Follow the money as in lobbyists, but I’m not here to get all political on you. I’m here to ask you–if you are considering the H1N1 flu vaccine or considering giving it to your kids or grandkids–to take a look at what some medical docs have to say about it.

FIrst of all, is it necessary? The body is a marvelous self healing machine if you support it.

Second, is it safe? With manufacturers immune from any liability if something goes wrong, and being pushed by the WHO and govts like the US to rush these vaccines to market, is it possible that they might be less concerned with the safety aspect to all who might get it? They make money either way right?

Here is a list of doctors–none of whom are crazy whack job radicals–who have real evidence that this vaccine is going to be harmful to certain members of the population. At least become fully informed by both sides before you run to the nearest clinic or CVS to get your jab.

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny  DO Vaccines expert  

Dr. Viera Scheibner      PhD and research scientist

Dr. Russel Blaylock Former pediatric neurosurgeon–When you get to his site, click the link for Swine Flu Data. To hear Dr. Blaylock report on his conversations with the CDC and their no drama, no pandemic, no panic necessary estimate of the coming flu season, head over here.

For information on what to do to bolster your immunity naturally against this flu or any other take a look at my earlier post.

Get educated, protect yourself, plan to stay well not treat disease.

PS-Vitamin D, 5000 mgs per day is optimal at this time of year to help ward off flu and other viruses. For kids it’s 2000 mgs. порно подглядывать за зрелами дамами

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