Thursday, 13 November 2008
We are being told that even if we have no nedical condition we should take statins for maintenance helping us to reduce risks of heart attacks and strokes.
Considering that tens of millions of people now take statins to lower cholesterol, the following headline was conspicuously absent from the major media this month: “Statins Found to Turn On Gene that Causes Muscle Damage.” It’s now a fact of science; a new study shows that taking statins destroys your muscle to a greater or lesser degree. And let’s not forget that the heart is a muscle.
Place this study juxtaposed to another rather interesting recent finding: the more fit you are the longer you will live – and the two just don’t add up. How can you destroy muscle and be more fit? You can’t. Sure you can drug your cholesterol number lower, but will you be healthier, fit, and live longer?
In the new study researchers found that statins activate a gene signal in muscles called atrogen-1. When this gene activates it targets key muscle proteins for destruction. The activation of this gene drives the process of muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. It is induced in cardiac muscle in failing hearts. Why on earth would any person want this gene activated by a drug?
The researchers tested statin-taking humans who were complaining of severe muscle pain. Muscle biopsy found that the atrogen-1 gene was activated, compared to people with severe muscle pain not on statins and controls. They went on to show through various experiments that statins activate the gene. This is extremely bad news for any person taking a statin.
Right now doctors ignore the majority of muscle aches and pains caused by statins, and in their mind only consider the problem serious when it is debilitating (rhabdomyolysis), which apparently happens less than 1% of the time. However, at least 5%-7% of statins experience significant muscle problems. The number is greater than 10% if a person is taking the now commonly prescribed higher doses. And if a person is trying to be fit and exercise the number jumps to 25%. These numbers are clearly on the low end as it has now been shown that doctors are ignoring their patients, not reporting the side effects of statins to the FDA, and telling them the side effects they are experiencing are not from the drug!
This new science shows that as soon as the atrogen-1 gene is activated by statins it starts destroying muscle. This means that even mild aches or pains while taking a statin is a sign that muscle is being destroyed, an entirely new and sobering perspective on the side effects of statins. Statins directly work against being physically fit, as is evidenced by the difficulty statin users have exercising without troubling symptoms.
Cardiomyopathy (serious weakening of the heart muscle) is a known adverse and often not reported side effect of statin therapy, previously thought to be the result of a statin induced coenzyme Q10 deficiency. It is likely that the combination of Q10 deficiency with atrogen-1 activation is behind this problem.
Statins – Perversion of Science for Profit
The statin industry is a 20-billion-a-year propaganda machine, producing more yearly revenues from one class of drug than all professional U.S. sports combined. Just like any hot-selling drug on the market, negative studies are discouraged to say the least. They are either thrown in the trash can when they don’t work out or critical researchers are often blackmailed, meaning if they publish something negative they will never again get research money from the industry. These well known tactics discourage basic research on drug-related toxicity problems.
When statistics are honestly looked at in the case of using statins for many years to prevent a first heart attack, for every life that is saved (1% over 10 years use) statins cause an equal number of adverse deaths due to accidents, infection, suicide, and cancer (1% over 10 years use). This means that as a general public health measure, which is now the lion’s share of current statin use, they are an ineffectual waste of money. It has now been proven that middle-age men would be better off taking an aspirin a day for a tiny fraction of the cost (of course there are many supplement options). Statin-taking for a number of years does not reduce mortality rate. None of these facts phase the statin industry, which keeps churning out positive spin and moving right along regardless of the damage being doing and the money wasted.
The fraud of statins inside one’s body centers on the regulation of an enzyme known as HMG CoA reductase. Statins work by reducing the function of this enzyme, the higher the dose the more the enzyme is reduced, and the less cholesterol is made. It is well known that individuals with naturally lower cholesterol (LDL at 130, total less than 200) in their 40s and 50s have fewer cardiovascular problems as they grow older. However, taking a statin to reduce cholesterol to these levels or even lower is not the same thing as natural healthy function.
In healthy individuals with lower cholesterol the HMG CoA reductase enzyme is active at a high level as part of health. It is part of a complex communication system within the body that regulates energy, immunity, fat metabolism, leptin, cellular thyroid hormone activity, liver-related synthesis, stress tolerance, adrenal function, sex hormone synthesis, and brain function. This system is core to survival! The high activity of this enzyme is a type of metabolic fitness, similar to the idea of muscle fitness. The enzyme is very active in a healthy state for a variety of important and vital needs.
Drugging this enzyme is similar to making a person get around in a wheelchair, whether they need one or not. If you put a person’s metabolism in a statin-induced straightjacket, then maybe Humpty Dumpty won’t fall off the wall so easily. That may be a useful concept for someone in brittle cardiovascular health, but it has little to do with the average person concerned about general cardiovascular well being and maintaining a healthy level of fitness and vitality.
Doctors don’t use statins to try and reduce HMG CoA activity a little bit, with the idea of approximating some type of healthy function of the enzyme (the lowest and least toxic dose possible to provide improvement). Doctors actually could care less what healthy function of the enzyme actually is. Rather, the new “gold standard of medical care” is to batter the enzyme into a state of submission so that cholesterol levels are abnormally low. Any apparent benefits of a statin, many of which are falsely touted, is accomplished by poisoning some aspect of health. How long can such a charade be allowed to continue on millions of unsuspecting people? Why won’t the FDA demand drug companies include a correct risk profile as part of the labeling? As normal, the FDA continues to sleep on duty.
Take Health into Your Own Hands
The medical profession has lost almost all credibility. There is no short cut to being healthy. The majority of drugs are best used for a short duration, which is not in the best interest of Big Pharma profits. Some people in poor health need to be managed with drugs. Drugs as a tool for general health and prevention are a travesty. The statin industry is a scam gone wild. Space in this article has only allowed me to define a few of the primary statin side effects. There are many more that are seldom explained, including weakened immunity and cognitive decline. Statins are a slow and insidious poison wherein the side effects gradually get worse the longer a person takes them. This means that people often don’t realize their decline in health is from the statin, until someone points this issue out to them and they look at how their health in general has deteriorated since being on a statin. No, it’s not that the person is simply getting older – it’s the statin! If we want a renaissance in cardiovascular fitness and quality of life in the over 50 crowd then most of the meds need to go in the trash and be replaced with consistent exercise programs, a fresh and organic diet, stress management programs, improved quality of sleep, and appropriate dietary supplements that support fitness and healthy cardiovascular function. Seniors need to have a rightful and respected place in our culture.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Glucosamine & joint pain
Let’s face it: joint pain is uncomfortable and frustrating, especially for those who are used to living an active life. For relief from the pain, many reach for remedies like the prescription drugs in the category known as COX-2 inhibitors (Celebrex and Vioxx are famous examples), or pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol™) and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Aleve™). These drugs do offer immediate relief, but they’re hardly without problems (witness the class action suits over Vioxx). Tylenol is the number one cause of hospital admissions for liver failure. Furthermore, keep in mind that none of them address the underlying cause of the joint pain.
Monday, 6 October 2008
About to have your annual flu shot?
"Should I get a flu shot?"
My answer is an unequivocal no. I never advocate getting a flu shot. Based on everything that I know about flu shots, I think it's pretty clear that their main effect is to tax and possibly weaken one's immune system.
There are a number of rationales why I feel that flu shots should be averted, But here's the most obvious reason: One in a million people who receive the flu shot advances a neurological disease called Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
Guillain-Barré syndrome tends to develop without awareness, and is marked by extreme muscle debility and other symptoms related to nerve dysfunction. ,Furthermore, let's not miss an obvious point: if one in a million people who get the flu shot can develop a devastating neurological condition, how many others who get the flu shot suffer from a number of uncomfortable symptoms that are never properly or accurately diagnosed? It's just not natural to think that the ingredients in a flu shot can cause severe neurological damage in a small percentage of the people while leaving everyone else completely uninjured.
The best defence against the flu and the common cold is to live healthfully every day. Furthermore, if we do develop the flu or a cold, if we give our bodies time to rest and heal, we can cleanse ourselves of our weakest cells.
Are Flu Vaccines Pointless?
Let's see if Dr. Tom Jefferson, Cochrane Vaccines Field, Rome, Italy, can't help us answer that important question.
In his paper "Influenza vaccination: policy versus evidence" Jefferson concluded that influenza vaccination programs, which cost nations hundreds of millions of dollars every year, could be a waste of time and money.
Jefferson examined all the research previously published in the world on the effects of inactivated vaccines (vaccines with dead viruses).
Furthermore, what did Dr. Jefferson learn?
Quite simply...
In children under 2 years inactivated vaccines had the same field efficacy as placebo, and in healthy people under 65 vaccination did not affect hospital stay, time off work, or death from influenza and its complications.
You can be sure these findings cemented in concrete my annual decision to avoid a flu shot!
I URGE parents whose doctors are telling them their babies or children need a flu shot to consider Jefferson's eye-opening conclusions.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Things you were not told regarding statins
In the new study researchers found that statins activate a gene signal in muscles called atrogen-1. When this gene activates it targets key muscle proteins for destruction. The activation of this gene drives the process of muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. It is induced in cardiac muscle in failing hearts. Why on earth would any person want this gene activated by a drug? The researchers tested statin-taking humans who were complaining of severe muscle pain. Muscle biopsy found that the atrogen-1 gene was activated, in comparison to people with severe muscle pain not on statins and controls. They went on to show through various experiments that statins activate the gene. This is extremely bad news for any person taking a statin..
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Do you know about the dangers of Viagra?
no prescription no mention of the Horrendous potential side effects.
(Heres a great article from the health ranger)
Ever wonder how the drug companies REALLY want to sell pharmaceuticals? Here's the answer: Through vending machines! Bypass the doctors, advertise drugs directly to consumers, and get them to insert their credit cards into drug-dispensing machines that pretend to "diagnose" diseases by asking people to take an instant survey.Do you sometimes feel like life is too much to handle? Do you ever start projects but fail to finish them? Have you ever felt sad about something? If so, you may be suffering from a brain chemistry disorder that requires pharmaceutical treatment! Here, just insert your credit card, push the "BrainZac" button, and this machine will issue you a diagnosis AND deliver your "treatment."The small print, of course, says you'll be billed $12 per pill, and dispensed 100 pills for a total of $1200 dollars, 90% of which will be billed to the federal government and paid by taxpayers.What a scam, huh?
This is where the industry is headed. CVS Pharmacies already have in-house clinics that can diagnose diseases and prescribe drugs for them all in the same minute!If retail pharmacies are going to play doctor, diagnosing fictitious "diseases" and then prescribing dangerous pills to "treat" those diseases, then why do we need doctors in the loop at all? Big Pharma has figured out it would be a lot more profitable to just skip the doctors and sell drugs directly to consumers.This is why they are lobbying the FDA so strongly to move hundreds of popular prescription-only drugs to over-the-counter (OTC) status. That way, the doctors are taken completely out of the loop, and consumers can buy all these high-profit pharmaceuticals themselves, like mind slaves responding to direct-to-consumer drug advertising.The FDA recently admitted it hopes to convert 50% of blockbuster prescription drugs to OTC status. That list even includes dangerous, deadly drugs like statins and antidepressants.
Keep in mind this is all happening in a political environment where the FDA claims herbs, supplements and superfoods are so dangerous that zero health claims should be allowed by the companies selling them. But deadly prescription drugs are so safe, the FDA says, that even children should be able to walk into a Wal-Mart and buy unlimited bottles of statins and antidepressant drugs, completing the purchase through a self checkout lane that doesn't even require the oversight of a pharmacist.It's an amazing world we live in, huh? Just remember: When you someday see prescription drugs being sold in Vending machines, we predicted it first right here .
Friday, 26 September 2008
Allow me to introduce myself
Hi, I am the honest doctor I have been studying natural medicine for 15 years. Actually natural medicine has been around for 7,000 years whereas pharmaceutical medicine is less than 100 years old (they are the ones that should be considered alternative). I obtained my BSc in 1995, my masters in 2002 and my PhD. in 2005. I have spent the last three years lecturing to doctors regarding the efficacy of natural products and treatments. I have reduced the amount of amputations given and organs removed by surgeons in hospitals by some 60% , also hundreds of people are still alive thanks to natural methods that would now be long gone. My philosophy has always been and always will be - "If has not been removed it can be repaired".
The reasons I am starting this blog are two fold.
Firstly, I will expose the drug companies for selling products that have been diabolical hidden side effects.
Secondly, I will be exposing so called natural product companies that sell Rubbish and claim that it cures all, over 90% of the stuff I read on the Internet has been written by skilled copywriters however, when I check their ingredients against their claims I am appalled to find that they obviously know little or nothing about natural formulations .Worse still they claim to have the panacea for everything, yet care only about profit and not about you the consumer.
Don't get me wrong some products are excellent and they are worth every penny, but they are few and far between I will be covering these also. I will try and give an honest appraisal to all questions regarding both medical and natural products.
