Treating and Beating with Orthomolecular Medicine

Is the Fox Guarding the Henhouse?

2012-07-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Is the FDA really looking out for our best interests? According to a recent Frontline program aired on PBS, the answer appears to be a resounding No. The program interviewed past employees who admitted they were pressured into covering up for potentially harmful medications that often times didn’t prove to be therapeutically effective when compared to other medicines or placebo. Yet these drugs were given patent status and released into the market.  

Officials at GlaxoSmithKline, makers of the antidepressant drug Paxil, in internal documents show that it has no benefit to adolescents according to a 1998 trial. According to this document, the officials recommend that staff “effectively manage the dissemination of these data in order to minimize any potential negative commercial impact.” In other words, it doesn’t work.

Other documents from the makers of Paxil show that one in sixty people on Paxil attempt suicide, while one in five hundred fifty on placebo attempt suicide (as reported by the BBC last year).  It is sobering to realize that evaluation for drug-induced deaths is not part of the review of safety and efficacy conducted by the FDA.

Typically, only a few hundred patients are treated with a new drug in placebo-controlled trials before the drug is approved. Also, the duration of placebo-controlled treatment is usually short – 30 to 90 days. How, then, will we determine whether a drug increases mortality?

Dr. Thomas Bigger, Columbia University, in an editorial commentary that appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, June 1994  Discovering new dangers of drugs after marketing is so common that overall, 51 percent of approved drugs have serious adverse effects not detected prior to approval. Each year prescription drugs injure 1.5 million people so severely they require hospitalization and as stated above, over 100,000 die each year.

Around 1,400 employees work for the FDA whose main duties relate to approving new drugs. Yet, there are only 52 full time employees who monitor the safety of all the drugs currently on the market.  

*The FDA estimates that only about 1% percent of adverse events are ever reported.

For example, the toxic effects of the heart medication dioxin are well documented and include a particularly serious heart arrhythmia. Each year, the FDA receives an average of only 82 adverse-reaction reports for dioxin, suggesting that the drug is not particularly dangerous.

However, when Medicare records were systematically studied, a shocking 202,211 hospitalizations due to dioxin adverse effects were found in a seven-year period. This would be equivalent to over 28,000 adverse reactions per year due to dioxin. 

JAMA, 1998[279;19]: 1571-1573, Time to Act on Drug Safety, May 20, 1998

What can you do to prevent being another statistic?

Read about every drug you are taking or are considering taking. Learn if there are safer drugs and or natural ways-diet, exercise, supplements you can take or do that will increase your chances of eliminating the cause of your condition.

A case in point-if you have high blood sugar levels or type II diabetes, the cause is usually from excess weight. Losing weight is the answer- not taking drugs.

I've posted to my website, www.treatingandbeating.com, several articles with natural protocols for various conditions including anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, heart disease, ADHD, diabetes, and many more. If you're looking for alternatives to drugs and surgery only mentality my treatingandbeating site is a good place to start. I'd also recommended mayo.org for researching your prescription drugs.

Why I Don’t Recommend Diuretics

2012-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Diuretics

Diuretics reduce edema (fluid retention) and lower blood pressure by reducing sodium and water retention. The three types of diuretics (thiazides, potassium-sparing diuretics, and high-loop diuretics) all work differently, but the goal is to lower blood pressure and/or heart fluid (CHF). These medications include Oretic, Euduron, Reneses, Hygroton, Bumex, Lasix, Anhydron, Diuril, Edecrin, Demadex, Dyrenium, Aldactone, Midamor, Zaroxolyn, and Lozol.

Diuretics may be needed, at least short term for reducing high blood pressure, but long term they are only covering up the symptom-not correcting the cause(s) of the problem.

Never discontinue your diuretic without working with a health care professional. And diuretics are a necessity for individuals with congestive heart disease who are experiencing fluid retention. DON’T STOP TAKING YOUR MEDICINE WITHOUT CONSULTING A KNOWLEDGIBLE HEALH EXPERT.

Lasix depletes vitamin B1 (thiamine), which is a crucial nutrient for heart muscle. A B1 deficiency can cause any of the following, fatigue, mental confusion, depression, anxiety, upset stomach, and tingling in the hands and feet. It is estimated that 50% of elderly adults in the US are deficient in vitamin B1.

Now add Lasix and you create another senile dementia case or someone who now needs an antidepressant medication. This scenario of chasing a side effect with another medication is all too common. Researchers found that when patients taking Lasix added 100 mg of vitamin B1 a day, their heart function improved. Imagine that.¹⁶

Diuretics may cause the following side effects; Excessive uric acid in the blood (gout), magnesium deficiency, potassium deficiency, electrolyte imbalance, muscle cramps, fatigue, headaches, lowered HDL, excessive sugar in the blood (diabetes), fever, rash, irregular menstrual cycles (Aldosterone), impotence (same), and excessive urination and thirst.¹⁷ The use of thiazide diuretics and potassium-sparing diuretics has demonstrated a modest increased risk of breast carcinoma, and the use of certain diuretics may increase the risk of breast carcinoma among older women.¹⁸

Diuretics have been shown to cause an eleven-fold increase in diabetes.¹⁹Let me repeat this. Diuretics, yes those little water pills, make you 11 times more likely to develop life-threatening diabetes! Obviously, my patients who tell me, “Doc, I’m just taking a little old’ water pill,” don’t know they may be setting themselves up for some serious health problems.

Aldactone is associated with several severe side effects, especially for individuals with kidney disease. It can cause kidney failure, muscle paralysis, and mental confusion in older adults.²⁰

Dyrenium is a diuretic medication that has been linked to kidney stones, kidney failure, and bone marrow suppression.²¹

Excess salt and sugar can make you retain water. The DASH diet, see my Heart Disease book, or do a Google search, is a great way to prevent swelling from excess salt intake.

Many foods can act as a diuretic and will aid in the production of urine. This will help you remove fluids from your body. Remember to always use moderation and caution when using a diuretic.

Apple cider vinegar -- is a natural diuretic and helps maintain potassium levels.

Artichoke -- natural diuretic

Asparagus -- contains asparagines, a chemical alkaloid which helps flush the kidneys.

Beets -- attacks floating body fat and fatty deposits.

Brussels sprouts -- cleanse the cell and stimulate thought kidneys and pancreas.

Cabbage -- breaks up fatty deposits.

Carrots -- speeds up metabolic rate and helps remove fat and waste from the body.

Cranberry juice -- aids in the removal of excess fluid from the body.

Cucumber -- stimulate the kidney and aid in the removal of uric acid.

Dandelion And Dandelion Leaf -- natural diuretic, and leaf key aides in the detoxification of the urinary tract.

Green tea -- natural diuretic and has been used for centuries in China.

Fennel -- has a calmative and diuretic property.

Horseradish -- speeds up the metabolism and helps eliminate fluid.

Lettuce -- aids in metabolism and flushing of toxins from the system.

Nettle -- has natural diuretic properties.

Oats -- contains silica in natural diuretic.

Tomatoes -- are rich in vitamin C that aids metabolism in the release of water from the kidneys.

Watermelon -- natural diuretic helps increased urination.

My favorite natural diuretic is standardized hawthorne root and dandelion root. Normally I find that patients who lose any extra weight eliminate problems with water retention and swelling. In my practice I use my Jump Start Weight Loss Program, liberal intake of lemon water (at least 64 ounces a day), and if needed the herbals mentioned above.

You can learn more about my weight loss program here –

http://archive.aweber.com/healthmattersrm/ATnmU/h/More_Testimonials_for_my.htm

Pfizer Comes Clean-Truth is Out About Lipitor

2012-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

But is Anyone Paying Attention?

Accounting for 6.5% of the total market share, statin drugs are the most widely sold pharmaceutical drugs in history. To date, Forbes Magazine tells us that statins are earning drug companies $26 billion in annual sales.

Pfizer spends over $3 billion each year to convince us that we need more and more drugs to be healthy. The public and the medical profession have been bamboozled by the legions of drug reps, billion dollar ad campaigns, and creative statistics.

Every weekday, some 38,000 Pfizer sales reps, roughly the size of three army divisions, make their pitches around the globe. They're armed with briefcases full of free drug samples, reams of manipulated clinical data, and lavish expense accounts for wining-and-dining doctors and their staff. The medical profession, its organizations, the media, and the public at large have swallowed the statin drug propaganda, hook, line and sinker.

In 2004, Pfizer's blockbuster drug Lipitor became the first prescription drug to make more than $10 billion in annual sales. Over twenty six million Americans have taken Lipitor, the most popular statin drug. Pfizer is now running full-page Lipitor ads in numerous papers, including The New York Times and USA Today. The ads feature Dr. Robert Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart. The ad reads:

In patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease, LIPITOR REDUCES RISK OF HEART ATTACK BY 36%*

The noteworthy part of this ad is the asterisk and this explanation of the 36% statistic: "That means in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor."

Another Jarvik/Lipitor Times ad proclaims: In patients with type 2 diabetes, LIPITOR REDUCES RISK OF STROKE BY 48%* If you also have at least one other risk factor for heart disease... The explanation: That means in a large clinical study, 2.8% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a stroke compared to 1.5% of patients taking Lipitor.

Twenty six billion dollars a year for a one to two percent decrease risk for heart attack and stroke- that's what all the fuss is about? It almost seems like snake oil. Yet, some doctors are recommending we put statins in the drinking water. Others are now suggesting that infants with a family history of heart disease should take statins as a preventative measure.

The Washington Post ran an article that reported on the PROVE-IT study: "The findings should prompt doctors to give much higher doses of drugs known as statins to hundreds of thousands of patients who already have severe heart problems," experts said. Perhaps "the experts" aren't aware of studies that show low serum total cholesterol is associated with a marked increase in mortality in advanced heart failure.

One of the largest of these studies was conducted at UCLA Department of Medicine and Cardiomyopathy Center in Los Angeles. The study involved more than a thousand patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF). After five years, 62 percent of the patients with cholesterol below 129 mg/l had died, but only half as many of the patients with cholesterol above 223 mg/l.

The Post article goes on to say:

In addition, it will probably encourage physicians to start giving the medications to millions of healthy people who are not yet on them and to boost dosages for some of those already taking them to lower their cholesterol even more.

The last line of this quote above should illicit alarm from every taxpayer in America.

Why? Because it will be the taxpayers who will pay for all those Medicaid and Medicare statin prescriptions -- amounting to billions of dollars spent on worthless and dangerous drugs. Worse, we'll also be paying for all the costs associated with the drug-induced side effects of the statin medications - congestive heart failure, polyneuritis, muscle pain, depression, memory loss (dementia), poor immune function, and fatigue to name a few.

Ok the real question is this: "Do statin drugs reduce deaths associated with cardiovascular disease?" Contrary to the Lipitor ads, apparently not, since a meta-analysis of 44 trials involving almost 10,000 patients showed the death rate was identical at 1 percent of patients in each of the three groups--those taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), those taking other statins and those taking nothing.

And what about using statins as a prophylactic measure?

A meta-analysis of 5 major statin drugs which showed that statin drugs provided a total absolute reduction in total mortality of 0.3% among those who showed no signs of having cardiovascular disease (primary prevention).

We'd be wise to read the study below before putting statins in the drinking water.

The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reported on an analysis of all the major controlled trials before the year 2000 and found that long-term use of statins for primary prevention of heart disease produced a 1 percent greater risk of death over 10 years compared to a placebo.

The only thing statin drug trials have proven for sure is that statin drugs lower cholesterol by inhibiting an enzyme known as HMG-CoA-Reductase. Regardless of their ability to lower cholesterol, they failed to show that this effect has any meaningful benefit for preventing early death from heart disease, heart attack or stroke.

And they've proven to be a catalyst for dangerous side effects. The most common side effect associated with statin drugs is muscle pain and weakness.

The symptoms are most likely due to the depletion of CoQ10, a nutrient that supports muscle function. One study found that 98% of patients taking Lipitor and one-third of the patients taking Mevachor (a lower-dose statin) suffered from muscle problems.

A Denmark study that evaluated 500,000 patients found that taking statins for one year raised the risk of nerve damage by about 15%--about one case for every 2,200 patients. For those who took statins for two or more years, the additional risk rose to 26%.

Former astronaut, Dr. Duane Graveline describes in his book, Lipitor: Thief of Memory, his complete memory loss due to the side effects of Lipitor. The incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) has steadily increased since the introduction of statin drugs. In fact, while heart attacks have slightly declined, CHF has more than doubled since 1989. Statins were first prescribed in 1987.

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that in every study with rodents to date, statins have caused cancer. In the CARE trial, breast cancer rates of those taking a statin went up 1500%.

And one last reason to avoid statins- men whose cholesterol levels are lowered through the use of prescription medications double their chances of committing suicide.

In closing...

I hope the public and the brainwashed medical community pays attention to the asterisk and the fine print. A one to two percent benefit earns Pfizer 10 billion dollars a year. Mind-boggling isn't it?

References

1.Eleanor Laise. The Lipitor Dilemma, Smart Money: The Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business, November 2003. 2. Hecht HS, Harmon SM. Am J Cardiol 2003; 92:670-676.

3. Jackson PR. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2001;52:439-46

4. The ALLHAT Officers and Coordinators for the ALLHAT Collaborative Research Group. JAMA 2002;288:2998-3007.

5. Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. Lancet 2002;360:7-22.

6. Matsuzaki M and others. Circ J. 2002 Dec;66(12):1087-95.

7. Jacobs D and others. Report of the conference on low blood cholesterol: Mortality associations. Circulation 86, 1046-1060, 1992.

8.Horwich TB and others. Journal of Cardiac Failure 8,216-224,2002.

9. Therapeutics Initiative. "Evidence Based Drug Therapy. Do Statins have a Role in Primary Prevention?" April-May-June 2003. The University of British Columbia. www.ti.ubc.ca.

10. American Heart Association. Inflammation, Heart Disease and Stroke: The Role of C-Reactive Protein. www.americanheart.org. Accessed August 15, 2002. Miyao Matsubara, Katsuhiko Namioka and Shinji Katayose.

Smith DJ and Olive KE. Southern Medical Journal 96(12):1265-1267, December 2003.

11. Gaist D and others. Neurology 2002 May 14;58(9):1321-2.

12.Newman TB, Hulley SB. JAMA 1996;27:55-60

13.Sacks FM and others. N Eng J Med 1996;385;1001-1009.

14.Rodger H. Murphree, D.C.; Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won't Tell You.

Harrison and Hampton Publishing, Birmingham, AL 2005-2012.

Cocaine, I Mean-ADHD Drugs For Children Increase By Almost 50 Percent

2012-07-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Using a large national database, FDA researchers analyzed prescription drug trends among children ages up to age 17 between 2002 and 2010 on an outpatient basis.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that ADHD prescriptions increased by 46 percent, and there were also higher numbers of medications prescribed for asthma and birth control.

The United States uses approximately 90% of the world's Ritalin. Amphetamines are chemically similar to cocaine. Both cause similar reactions in the brain. If we were to give cocaine to hyperactive children, instead of Ritalin, we’d most likely get similar results. Yet doing so would be criminal. “We have become the only country in the world where children are prescribed such a vast quantity of stimulants that share virtually the same properties as cocaine,” says Gene R. Haislip, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

You can read my article on ADHD “Another Overhyped Dangerous Drug,” by clicking the link below.

http://www.drmurphreestore.com/newsletters_letters/adhdgoogle.html

Do You Have Achy Joints?

2012-07-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

If so, avoid nightshade foods.

These include tobacco, eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, and white potatoes. Nightshade (family: Solanaceae) foods have been linked to an increase in arthritis symptoms. In one study, 70% of those with arthritis reported relief from chronic pain over a period of seven years after eliminating all nightshade foods. Between 20% and 30% of my patients on this regimen experience moderate to dramatic pain relief. They typically report less pain overall but especially in their hands, feet, knees, and ankles.

Blueberries. Blackberries. Raspberries. Strawberries. Recent studies have confirmed the antioxidant effects of berries on various health conditions.

Cardiovascular health. Eating berries can improve platelet function, blood pressure, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels, according to a Finnish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers recruited 72 middle-aged subjects who had an elevated risk of heart disease because of high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or other factors. Half of the subjects were randomly assigned to eat two servings a day of a combination of whole berries, purées, and juices that included strawberries and raspberries as well as several kinds of European berries that share nutritional qualities with American berries: bilberries (sometimes called European blueberries), lingonberries (similar to small cranberries), black currants, and chokeberries. The other group consumed control products: sugar water, porridge, and marmalade.

After eight weeks, researchers found that among the berry eaters, beneficial HDL cholesterol increased by 5%, blood platelet function was inhibited by 11% (reducing the risk of blood clots), and systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure measurement) went down an average of 1.5 mm Hg, while the controls experienced little change in these measures -- suggesting that berry consumption can have a positive effect on cardiovascular risk factors. The researchers hypothesized that the polyphenol content of the berries was responsible for these benefits.

Cancer risk. Preliminary studies also demonstrate that the phytochemicals in berries may prevent precancerous gastrointestinal conditions from progressing to cancer. Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that consuming black raspberries (darker versions of the more typical, red raspberries) may protect against esophageal cancer in people with the precursor condition, Barrett's esophagus. Research is currently under way to determine whether black raspberries can also prevent colon polyps from developing into colon cancer.

Black raspberries have high concentrations of anthocyanins and other antioxidants that are believed to have cancer-fighting properties. However, the effects of anthocyanins are limited to the gastrointestinal tract, which comes into direct contact with these substances; anthocyanins are not well absorbed into the bloodstream, so they are not considered effective for cancers that are unrelated to the digestive system.

The Health of Your Gut Helps Determine Your Overall Health

2012-06-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Noted UK Professor Jeremy Nicholson has come to the conclusion " ... almost every sort of disease has a gut bug."

Dr. Nicholson’s focus has been on deciphering the roles of different pro-biotic strains, of which there are many, and their relationship to how they signal areas outside the gut. It's been discovered that our friendly intestinal bacteria go beyond even their important role of digestion.

If spread out on a flat surface the inner linings of our GI tract would cover a tennis court. The friendly bacteria that colonize this vast inner surface produce the acids necessary to breakdown and assimilate nutrients into our blood. These acids transport our food's nutrients through the gut linings so that our cells can recognize and utilize them correctly.

Most digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine and is regulated by pancreatic enzymes (digestive) and bile. The pancreas aids in digestion by releasing proteolytic enzymes, which help break down proteins into amino acids. Natural digestive enzymes are found in raw fruits and vegetables. Processed foods are usually devoid of digestive enzymes. Over consumption of these processed foods can lead to digestive enzyme deficiencies. This may then lead to malabsorption and or intestinal permeability syndrome (bloating, gas, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, and intestinal inflammation). To ensure proper digestion, absorption and elimination, I recommend taking pancreatic enzymes with each meal.

Foods nor supplements get absorbed sufficiently without substantial healthy intestinal flora. Healthy gut flora actually creates Vitamins K2 and the B vitamins daily to maintain proper levels of those nutrients. Healthy gut flora also signal appropriate reactions to pollutants and pathogens that trigger immune system activity. This activity includes T-cell actions. Many knowledgeable scientists have ascertained that approximately eighty percent of our immune system depends on the GI tract's friendly bacteria.

Probiotics

The human intestines are inhabited by billions of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria, which are mostly located in the colon, aid in digestion by fermenting substances that were not digested in the small intestine and by breaking down any remaining nutrients. A healthy intestinal tract contains some 2-3 lb. of bacteria and other microorganisms, such as yeast, that normally don’t cause ay health problems. However, when the intestinal tract is repetitively exposed to toxic substances (antibiotics, steroids, NSAIDs, etc.), these microorganisms begin to proliferate and create an imbalance in the bowel flora. Harmful organisms like yeast and some normally dormant bacteria, begin to overtake the good bacteria. This is known as intestinal dysbiosis.

IBS and small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth may share similar symptoms. One study showed that 78% IBS participants had small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth. To aid in digestion and prevent intestinal dysbiosis, patients with IBS should take probiotics (Lactobacillus and Biidobacterium) on a daily basis.

For a more thorough explanation of gut health and “Leaky Gut” please visit my website http://drrodgermurphree.com/intestinal-permeability/

Do You Know What Your Drug Does?

2012-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Most of the material you’re about to read comes right out of the Physicians Desk Reference, the bible for prescription drugs. You’re usually given this information when you purchase your prescription drug.

Do you know anyone who actually reads his or her prescription inserts? Unfortunately, due to the never-ending promotion of “a drug for every ailment” campaign, we’ve become jaded to the potential side effects of various prescription medications. The commercials sound something like this; “Do you suffer from wanting to spend time alone? If so, you may be suffering from ‘I’m too shy’ disease. Ask your doctor about the latest psychedelic pill for shyness disorder.” Then, in happy, positive, inflected, mind-numbing fashion comes, “In clinical trials, this drug had the following minor side effects: headaches, diarrhea, nausea, cough, bladder infections, depression, suicidal thoughts, colitis, fever blisters, weakened immune system, and hair loss.”

Drugs can and do save lives. However, relying solely on drug therapy for symptom management can be risky, even deadly. Most drugs don’t cure anything. They merely mask the symptoms. This isn’t all bad and we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. However, the public at large is being lulled into a false belief that drugs, particularly cardio drugs, are a safe (and only) option to managing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Today’s standard, AMA-approved medicine is rooted in treating symptoms, rather than causes. Its dependence on drugs and surgery is ruinously expensive to patients, insurance companies, and society as a whole.”

—Derrick Lonsdale, MD, “Why I Left Orthodox Medicine

Calcium Channel Blockers

Calcium channel blockers include the drugs Diltiazem (Cardizem CD, Cardizem SR, Dilacor XR), Nifedipine (Procardia XL), and Verapamil (Calan, Calan SR, Isoptin, Isoptin SR, Verelan).

Calcium channel blockers slow the rate at which calcium passes to the contractile fibers of heart muscle and into the vessel walls, a sequence that relaxes the vessels. Relaxed vessels allow the blood to flow more easily, thereby reducing blood pressure. Calcium channel blockers are used to treat chest pain (angina), high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and irregular heart beats (arrythmias).

In 1995, the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to add a warning to the labeling of all calcium channel blockers. This action was in light of observational studies, which revealed that calcium channel blockers increase the risk of heart attack and death.¹

Calcium channel blockers were put on the market without proper testing, according to Dr. Kurt Ferver, Wake Forest School of Medicine. For those who take them, there is not only an increase in strokes, but a five-fold increase in the risk of heart attacks.²

The National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute has warned doctors not to use short-acting Procardia, if at all. The warning comes from 16 studies involving over 8,000 patients. The risk of dying is 1.06 times greater than average when a dose of 30 to 50 milligrams a day is used. However, the risk jumps to 3.0, or three times the average, when 80 milligrams a day is recommended. The maximum dose listed for Procardia is 180 mg a day.

Death is a pretty scary side effect

Why in the world are doctors still using calcium channel blockers for individuals with moderately elevated high blood pressure? Especially when there are safer and more effective drugs to choose from.

One study shows that those taking a calcium channel blocker are 60% more likely to have a heart attack than those taking a diuretic or beta blocker.³

Common Side Effects associated with calcium channel blockers are fatigue, flushing, swelling of the abdomen, ankles, or feet, and heartburn. Less common side effects are changes in heart rate, tachycardia or bradycardia (slow heart rate), shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, numbness in hands and feet, gastrointestinal bleeding, chest pains, jaundice, and fainting.⁵

Calcium channel blockers may increase the risk of developing breast cancer.⁶Reports have demonstrated an increased risk of cancer among users of Verapamil, but it is too early to conclude that calcium channel blockers are associated with cancer.⁷

Beta Blockers

Beta blockers “block” the effects of adrenaline (and norepinephrine) on a cell’s beta-receptors. This slows the nerve impulses that stimulate the heart. Therefore, the heart does not work as hard. Beta blockers are generally prescribed to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), congestive heart failure (CHF), abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), and chest pain (angina). Beta blockers are sometimes used in heart attack patients to prevent future attacks. Commonly prescribed beta blockers include: Atenolol (Tenoretic, Tenormin), Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), Nadolol (Corgard), and Propranolol (Inderal).

Beta blockers have several potential side effects, including congestive heart failure, shortness of breath, heart block, fatigue, lethargy, drowsiness, depression, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, tingling in the hands and feet, wheezing, bronchospasm, increased severity of asthma or chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, decreased sex drive, muscle fatigue, reduced HDL (good cholesterol), and increased LDL and triglycerides.⁸

I’m going to guess that if you knew a drug could cause heart death (congestive heart failure), you wouldn’t take it.

I’d surely say, “No thanks doc. I think I’ll pass on that drug.”

Does every female in America suffer from a beta blocker deficiency? There are periods in my practice where every new female patient is on a beta blocker.

Beta blockers must be the drug du jour since anyone with slight mitral valve prolapse, high blood pressure, or migraine headaches is placed on these drugs. Beta blockers can be very valuable for a minority of patients.

However, the majority of patients who take beta blockers don’t need them and suffer all sorts of health-robbing side effects. Depression, poor sleep (depletes the natural sleep hormone melatonin) severe fatigue, and breathing problems (bronchitis, Asthma, etc.) are common side effects in those taking beta blockers. Patients taking these medications often report that they just don’t have any energy.

I remember a recent patient who was on at least three medications to control her beta blocker side effects. She was taking Lexapro, an antidepressant, Ambien to help her sleep, and was using a bronchial inhaler for asthma. Once she discontinued her medications with the help of her family doctor and substituted nutritional supplements I recommended, her mitral valve prolapse and blood pressure returned to normal. The fatigue, depression, and breathing problems are slowly disappearing now that she is off her beta-blocking medication. There are a number of safe and effective natural approaches to reverse mitral valve prolapse. I share these can’t miss protocols in chapter 9 of my book Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won't Tell You.

Here's one of the most important health tips I could ever share-research your medications, be an informed consumer!

Prevention-A Heck of a Bargain

2012-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

In 2010 Americans spent over $2 trillion dollars, or 17% of the gross national product on medical care- the majority of which went to treat chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, both of which are preventable and certainly reversible.

Rather than focusing on prevention, our "health-care system" is primarily a disease-care system.

The unspoken message has generally been to ignore prevention, wait until it’s broken, and then seek out the “magic bullet,” or latest, greatest, usually most expensive, drug to cover up the symptom(s). Or if that doesn’t work, simply cut it out.

This expensive approach, one that is threatening the welfare of a growing number of American households, will cause some 54 million Americans to go without health insurance this year alone.

Spending money on expensive medical procedures is often worthless as well as foolish.

Take for example the data provided by the American Heart Association showing that 1.3 million coronary angioplasty procedures were performed in 2006 at an average cost of $48,399 each. And in the same year 448,000 coronary bypass operations were performed at a cost of $99,743 each.

Americans spent more than $100 billion in 2006 for these two procedures alone.

Yet a randomized controlled trial published in April 2007 in The New England Journal of Medicine found that angioplasties and stent-therapy don’t prolong life or even prevent heart attacks in stable patients (i.e., in 95% of those who receive them).

Coronary bypass surgery prolongs life in less than 3% of patients who receive it. In spite of the studies, and there are several which show that bypass and stent therapy are ineffective, physicians, insurance companies, and the public at large, all continue to robustly support these expensive and dangerous procedures.

When it comes to our health we should heed the words of the great philosopher, Virgil, who said, “The greatest wealth is health.”

Save Money and Live Longer With Healthy Habits

If you really want to save some money, invest in prevention- a healthy diet, exercise, proven nutritional therapies, and proactive health habits.

Research continues to show that those who eat antioxidant-rich foods reap health-enhancing, disease preventing benefits. Antioxidants are intimately involved in the prevention of cellular damage -- the common pathway for cancer, aging, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and a number of other diseases.

Radicals and Disease

Our bodies are made up of cells. Our cells are composed of molecules. Molecules are nothing more than positive and negative charged atoms-protons and electrons.

Oxidation is a chemical reaction at the molecular level that changes the body’s protons and electrons, which in turn produces something called free radicals.

Free radicals are created through internal external sources. External sources include stress, alcoholic beverages, unhealthy foods, cigarette smoke, toxins, and pollutants.

Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction, like falling dominoes. Their chief danger comes from the damage they create when they react with important cellular components. Free radicals damage our cells and cause numerous disease processes and accelerated aging. Fortunately, antioxidants can prevent this. They stop free radicals from initiating disease reactions in our bodies.

Evidence continues to show that most of the degenerative diseases that afflict humanity have their origin in deleterious free radical reactions. These diseases include atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammatory joint disease, asthma, diabetes, senile dementia, premature ageing, and degenerative eye disease.

If you want to prevent of these diseases, rather than treating their symptoms with expensive medical therapies, antioxidants are the way to go.

Lowering Cholesterol Isn’t The Answer

2012-06-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and Mary Enig, Ph.D, an expert in lipid biochemistry, call high cholesterol "an invented disease, a 'problem' that emerged when health professionals learned how to measure cholesterol levels in the blood."

Cholesterol is a potent antioxidant. Its job is to help reduce inflammation and free radical oxidative damage.

The body makes 85% of our daily cholesterol-reducing dietary intake only causes the body to make more. The more stress a person is under the more cholesterol the body produces.

If you have increased levels of cholesterol, it is at least in part because of increased stress and inflammation in your body. The cholesterol is there to do a job: help your body to heal and repair.

Conventional medicine of course advocates the use of dangerous cholesterol lowering drugs as the way to reduce your risk of heart attacks.

This approach demonstrates the idea that conventional medicine is missing the forest for the trees.

What is actually needed is to address whatever is causing your body damage, NAMELY STRESS, which leads to inflammation and increased cholesterol. Cholesterol isn’t the villain of heart disease only a small player in the process.

Noted researcher Dr. Rosedale so rightly points out:

"If excessive damage is occurring such that it is necessary to distribute extra cholesterol through the bloodstream, it would not seem very wise to merely lower the cholesterol and forget about why it is there in the first place.

It would seem much smarter to reduce the extra need for the cholesterol -- the excessive damage that is occurring, the reason for the chronic inflammation."

I totally agree and in my book “Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You,” outline study after study that demonstrates the fallacy of treating high cholesterol with dangerous statin drugs.

Here’s what the drug companies don’t won’t you to know-

Using Drugs to Lower Cholesterol Is Potentially Dangerous

One meta-analysis of over 41,000 patient records found that people who take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol as much as possible may have a higher risk of cancer, while other studies have linked low cholesterol to Parkinson's disease, mood disorders, low libido, and problems with poor memory and mental clarity issues.

But The Question Is-Are Cholesterol Drugs Even Effective?

Most cholesterol lowering drugs can effectively lower your cholesterol numbers, but are they actually making you any healthier, and do they help prevent heart disease?

Have you ever heard of the statistic known as NNT, or number needed to treat?

NNT answers the question: How many people have to take a particular drug to avoid one incidence of a medical issue (such as a heart attack)?

For example, if a drug had an NNT of 50 for heart attacks, then 50 people have to take the drug in order to prevent one heart attack.

According to Lipitor's own Web site, Lipitor is clinically proven to lower bad cholesterol 39-60 percent, depending on the dose.

BusinessWeek did an excellent story and found the REAL numbers right on Pfizer's own newspaper ad for Lipitor.

Upon first glance, the ad boasts that Lipitor reduces heart attacks by 36 percent. But there is an asterisk. And when you follow the asterisk, you find the following in much smaller type:

"That means in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor."

What this means is that for every 100 people who took the drug over 3.3 years, three people on placebos, and two people on Lipitor, had heart attacks. That means that taking Lipitor resulted in just one fewer heart attack per 100 people.

The NNT, in this case, is 100. One hundred people have to take Lipitor for more than three years to prevent one heart attack.

If you want to learn the truth about reducing your risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and or strokes then get a copy of my book “Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You.” I site medical studies from the Lancet, British Medical Journal, AMA, and other prestigious journals, which clearly show that using cholesterol drugs to lower cholesterol is a dangerous and ineffective approach-one that can cost you your life.

Don’t fall victim to the medical myths of heart disease get a copy of my book and help protect yourself and your loved one’s by following my clear and simple advice for reducing and reversing your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Learn how you can take an inexpensive over he counter supplement to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke by 41%. Find out how you can lower your blood pressure by an average of 10-20 points by simply adding 3 things to your daily diet.

Do you have mitral valve prolapse? If so read how you can reduce or eliminate your potentially dangerous drugs and control your MVP with the right combination of diet and supplements.

My Book Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You gives you the information you need to avoid the dangerous medical myths.

Don’t delay get my book today it may save your life.

Order online here http://drrodgermurphree.com/heart-disease-what-your-doctor-wont-tell-you/

Or -Available at Amazon.com or ask for it at your favorite bookstore.

Common Prescription Drugs Shown to Work Only 14% of Time

2010-12-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

Common Prescription Drugs Shown to Work Only 14% of Time

Americans now spend over $250 billion a year on prescription drugs- more than do all the people in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom combined!

Studies show that drugs as a whole, work for as few as 25% of those who take them. And our growing reliance on these ever more expensive “me too drugs” is creating huge profits for drug companies while ordinary Americans are struggling to pay their health insurance premiums. Between 1998 and 2002, the FDA approved 415 new drugs.

Only 14% of these newly approved drugs were actually uniquely different or innovative in their design.

The other 86% were old drug formulas masquerading as new innovative therapies.

For example, there are six cholesterol-lowering statins on the market right now, five SSRI anti-depressant drugs, and at least nine ACE inhibitors to treat high blood pressure.

The Medicare prescription drug benefit only made matters worse for health care consumers.

The plan prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices, even though those prices continue to rise much faster than inflation.

Representative Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican and former chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (which oversees the drug industry) co- sponsored the drug bill, was rewarded with a high-paying job as chief executive of the pharmaceutical industry's trade association. Go figure.

Notice the cost and profit margin for the following drugs and see some of the over the counter bargains that often work as well.

Celebrex: 100 mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $130

Cost of general active ingredients: $ 0 .60

Percent markup: 21,712%

Over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS like Advil cost $15 for 200, 200mg capsules- a prescription strength dose would be 800mg up to 3 times a day. A bargain.

Claritin: 10mg

Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215

Cost of general active ingredients: $0 .71

Percent markup: 30,306%

The over the counter antihistamine Zyrtec sells for $14 a month.

Sinupret® by Bionorica, has been the #1 most widely recommended, scientifically tested nasal and sinus support formula in Germany for children for more than 70 years and retails for less than $25.

I recommend Sinupret to my patients with seasonal allergies and it works like a charm.

Lipitor: 20mg

Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272

Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80

Percent markup: 4,696%

Zocor: 40mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $350. 27

Cost of general active ingredients: $8. 63

Percent markup: 4,059%

The natural over the counter lipid lowering herbal, gugulipid,

reduces total cholesterol by 24%, triglycerides by 23%, and raises HDL by 16 percent.

A month supply of gugulipid costs around $25.

I recommend gugulipid for my patients extremely elevated cholesterol levels.

Paxil: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $220

Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60

Percent markup: 2,898%

Prozac: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $247

Cost of general active ingredients: $0 .11

Percent markup: 224,973%

Zoloft: 50mg

Consumer price: $206

Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75

Percent markup: 11,821%

There are over 100 peer-reviewed studies showing that S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) is a safe and effective antidepressant. It increases the action of several neurotransmitters including serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

A review of 23 randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involving 1,757 people with mild to moderate depression shows that the herb St. John’s Wort is as effective as prescription antidepressants.

And studies comparing the over the counter, amino acid 5HTP, to SSRI’s and older antidepressants have consistently shown that 5HTP is as good, if not better, than the prescription antidepressant drugs.

Prevacid: 30mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $44

Cost of general active ingredients: $1 .01

Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $360

Cost of general active ingredients $0 .52

Percent markup: 69,417%

Over the counter Zantac costs $14 a month.

Even better, consider using natural over the counter digestive enzymes $15-$26 a month.

But drugs have to be expensive, right? All that money is needed for

research and development. Right?

Don’t believe it! Only about 14% of Fortune 500 drug-company

revenues are applied toward research and development, while over 30% is devoted toward marketing.

Truth health doesn't come from a drug. No one has a drug deficiency.

If your a health care bargain shopper drug therapy is best avoided when possible.

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About IBS How You Can Reverse IBS In As Few As 2 Weeks

2010-11-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

An estimated 40 million Americans suffer with

irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Some experts, recognizing that many go undiagnosed, suggest that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 10–20% of the general population. Irritable bowel

syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms in which abdominal

pain or discomfort is associated with a change in bowel pattern, such

as loose or more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, and/or hard or

less frequent bowel movements or constipation.

We know that gender plays a clear role, as more than 80 percent of IBS patients are

women between 20 and 55 years old.

The criteria for diagnosing IBS is based on the newly modified Rome

criteria (Rome II criteria) as the presence for at least 12 weeks (not

necessarily consecutive) in the preceding 12 months of abdominal

discomfort or pain that cannot be explained by a structural or

biochemical abnormality and that has at least two of following three

features:

(1) pain is relieved with defecation, and its onset is associated (2)

with a change in the frequency of bowel movements (diarrhea or

constipation) or (3) with a change in the form of the stool (loose,

watery, or pellet-like).

Some people with the disorder have constipation (IBS-C). Some have

diarrhea (IBS-D). And some alternate back and forth between

constipation and diarrhea (IBS-A).

IBS symptoms result from what appears to be a disturbance in the

interaction between the gut or intestines, the brain, and the

autonomic nervous system that alters regulation of bowel motility

(motor function) or sensory function.

Research has shown that the cause of IBS is related to neuroendocrine-

immune system dysfunction (brain and stomach hormones). This

connection is largely mediated by the neurotransmitter or brain hormone known as serotonin. The

brain and gut are connected through the neuroreceptors (hormone docking stations)

for serotonin, 5-hydroxytriptamine-3 (5-HT3) and 5-hydroxytriptamine-4 (5-HT4).

These serotonin receptors regulate the perception of intestinal pain

and the GI motility (contractions that move food through the

intestinal tract). Therefore serotonin controls how fast or how slow

food moves through the intestinal tract. In fact, there are more

serotonin receptors in the intestinal tract than there are in the

brain. Ninety percent of serotonin receptors are in the intestinal

tract.

Research suggests that IBS patients have extra sensitive pain

receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, which may be related to low

levels of serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin may help explain

why people with IBS are likely to be anxious or depressed. Studies

show that 54–94% of IBS patients meet the diagnostic criteria for

depression, anxiety, or panic disorder.

Restoring optimal levels of serotonin has been the focus of

traditional drug therapy. Zelnorm, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, was once

hailed as “the drug” for IBS-c (IBS with frequent constipation), has

recently pulled from the market for its association with heart attacks

and stroke. The percentage of patients taking Zelnorm that had serious

and life-threatening side effects was 10 times higher than the

percentage of patients taking a placebo.

Even before this drug was recalled cardiovascular risks, many experts

warned that this drug was dangerous for its other potential side

effects including severe liver impairment, severe kidney impairment,

bowel obstruction, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, headaches,

abdominal adhesions, gallbladder disease, and back pain.

Lotrinex (Alosetron), a 5-HT3 agonist, is prescribed for IBS-d. Within

8 months of being on the market, reports of ischemic colitis (a life

endangering situation in which the blood supply to the intestines is

blocked) began to grow each day. Lotrinex was responsible for at least

four deaths, probably many more. Many who took the drug reported

severe abdominal pain from constipation.

The drug was taken off the market. It is now back and available with

strict prescribing guidelines. An editorial in The British Medical

Journal suggests that as many as 2 million Americans will be eligible

for the drug under the new guidelines. According to previous reported

side effects, this would result in 2,000 cases of severe constipation,

almost 6,000 cases of ischemic colitis, 11,000 surgical interventions,

and at least 324 deaths.

Antispasmodics (Levsin, Levsinex, Bentyl, Donnatal, etc.) are

routinely prescribed for the treatment of IBS symptoms. Potential side

effects include bloating; blurred vision; clumsiness; constipation;

decreased sweating; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; excessive

daytime drowsiness ("hangover effect"); feeling of a whirling motion;

headache; light-headedness; nausea; nervousness; rash; hives;

difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth,

face, lips, or tongue agitation; confusion; diarrhea; difficulty

focusing eyes; disorientation; exaggerated feeling of well-being;

excitement; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; hallucinations;

loss of coordination; loss of taste; memory loss; muscle pain;

pounding in the chest; severe or persistent trouble sleeping; trouble

urinating; unusual weakness; very slow breathing; vision changes;

vomiting.

Using potentially dangerous drugs to reduce

symptoms, while ignoring natural and often more effective approaches

is typical of what is wrong with “cookbook” (symptom-focused)

medicine.

Reversing IBS With Nutritional Therapy

I find that IBS usually disappears rather quickly once my patient’s

correct their poor eating habits (increase fiber, reduce simple

sugars, caffeine and junk foods), uncover any hidden allergies when

present, including gluten intolerance (Celiac disease), boost optimal

stress coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, B-vitamins, etc.),

restore bowel ecology (probiotics), and take the right digestive enzymes with

their meals.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

5HTP

To boost serotonin levels I recommend patients take, the amino acid

responsible for making serotonin, known as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP).

5HTP along with the right vitamins and minerals, is responsible for making serotonin.

Patients should take 300-400mg a day with food.

Digestive enzymes

Most digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine and

is regulated by pancreatic enzymes (digestive) and bile. The pancreas

aids in digestion by releasing proteolytic enzymes, which help break

down proteins into amino acids. Natural digestive enzymes are found in

raw fruits and vegetables. Processed foods are usually devoid of

digestive enzymes.

Over consumption of these processed foods can lead to digestive enzyme

deficiencies. This may then lead to malabsorption and or intestinal

permeability syndrome (bloating, gas, indigestion, diarrhea,

constipation, and intestinal inflammation). To ensure proper digestion

and absorption, I recommend taking pancreatic enzymes with each meal.

For stubborn IBS symptoms, I recommend using a high dose, pharmaceutical grade, pure 8X (100% stronger than most over the counter digestive enzymes).

Magnesium

I always recommend people take a good optimal daily allowance

multivitamin/mineral formula. Patients with IBS have depleted their

stress-coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, and vitamins) and this not only leads to IBS but also

prevents them from overcoming IBS.

It is a vicious cycle that can only be

broken by taking adequate amounts of essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients I’ve already mentioned above.

The mineral magnesium, which is involved in over 300 bodily processes,

is particularly important for reversing the symptoms of IBS-c and IBS-A.

Magnesium helps relax the smooth muscle of the colon (natural

laxative) allowing normal bowel movements. While a diet high in

nutritious fiber is important, magnesium is even more important. A

magnesium deficiency not only causes constipation but can also lead to

heart disease, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), depression, anxiety,

chronic muscle pain, headaches, migraines, fatigue, and many other

unwanted health conditions. Those with IBS-c may need up to 1,000mg of

magnesium each day. While those with IBS-d, may need less than 500mg.

I recommend patients begin with 500mg of magnesium a day, preferably taken in a multivitamin formula.

Probiotics

The human intestines are inhabited by billions of beneficial bacteria.

These bacteria, which are mostly located in the colon, aid in

digestion by fermenting substances that were not digested in the small

intestine and by breaking down any remaining nutrients.A healthy

intestinal tract contains some 2-3 lb. of bacteria and other

microorganisms, such as yeast, that normally don’t cause ay health

problems.

However, when the intestinal tract is repetitively exposed to toxic

substances (antibiotics, steroids, NSAIDs, etc.), these microorganisms

begin to proliferate and create an imbalance in the bowel flora.

Harmful organisms like yeast and some normally dormant bacteria, begin

to overtake the good bacteria. This is known as intestinal dysbiosis.

IBS and small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth may share similar

symptoms. One study showed that 78% IBS participants had

small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth. To aid in digestion and prevent

intestinal dysbiosis, patients with IBS should take probiotics

(Lactobacillus and Biidobacterium) on a daily basis.

I recommend taking a high dose (9 billion strong), pure, enteric coated probiotic formula once a day on an empty stomach for 2-3 months.

This approach isn’t guaranteed to solve every case of IBS. However, in

the majority of my patients, their IBS symptoms are usually gone within two weeks.

I've developed a IBS Formula, called The Healthy Bowel Formula. You can read more about this formula in my online store or call the clinic 205-879-2383.

http://store.drmurphreestore.com/hebosu.html

Treating and Beating Anxiety

2010-11-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Benzodiazepines have numerous side effects, including poor sleep, seizures, mania, depression, suicide, ringing in the ears, amnesia, dizziness, anxiety, disorientation, low blood pressure, nausea, fluid retention, sexual dysfunction (decreased desire and performance), weakness, somnolence (prolonged drowsiness or a trance-like condition that may continue for a number of days), headaches and tardive dyskinesia. A mind boggling 40% of adults, 60 or older experience drug-induced tics or tardive dyskinesia (tremors or uncontrollable shakes) from taking a benzodiazepine drug. Sadly, for many, these tremors are permanent. Over 61,000 older adults have developed Parkinson’s disease from using antipsychotic drugs (benzodiazepines and antidepressants). The crippling side effects and addictive nature of these drugs has been known for at least 40 years, yet doctors continue prescribe them at an ever-increasing rate. Surveys show that over 5.6 million adults over the age of 65 are now taking benzodiazepines.

A mouth dropping 50% of all women 60 and older will be prescribed a benzodiazepine drug. And since addiction often occurs within 2 to 4 weeks of starting these drugs, the majority of folks are now dependant on these drugs. Tolerance to the hypnotic (sleep) effects of these drugs may occur within one week.

Symptoms of tolerance are identical to drug withdrawal symptoms and may include anxiety, panic, severe insomnia, muscle pain and stiffness, depression, suicidal thoughts, rage, heart and lung problems, and agoraphobia (extreme fear of public or crowded spaces). Tragically, only 10 to 30% are able to successfully stop taking these drugs, most are addicted for life.

Neurotransmitters and Essential Nutrients Our patients and the public at large should know that the neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) come from the vitamins, minerals and amino acids contained in our foods. A deficiency in any of these nutrients can cause an assortment of health related illnesses, especially mood and sleep disorders.

Inhibitory or relaxing neurotransmitters include serotonin and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). The neurotransmitter serotonin is produced from the amino acid 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP). GABA is mainly produced from the amino acid glutamine. GABA, 5HTP, and L-Theanine Both GABA and 5HTP, have a calming effect on the brain. Benzodiazepines work by increasing the effectiveness of GABA. But, as we’ve learned these drugs have potentially lethal side effects.

Instead of using a GABA additive loaded with potentially dangerous side effects, why not use an over-the-counter GABA or 5HTP supplement to reduce anxiety, stress, or help with sleep? Both work rather quickly, have few side effects, and can be found at the local health food store. Usually only a small dose of GABA is needed, 500–1,000 mg. taken twice daily on an empty stomach. The brain doesn’t readily absorb GABA, but another amino acid known as L-theanine, can boost GABA levels.

I often recommend L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea. It has a calming effect on the brain. For anxiety related disorders the usual dose is 50-100mg taken on an empty stomach, two to three times daily. Research with human volunteers has demonstrated that L-theanine creates its relaxing effect in approximately 30 to 40 minutes after ingestion.

Supplementing with the supplement 5-hydroxytrryptophan (5HTP), a form of the amino acid tryptophan, helps raise serotonin levels. Studies show that 5HTP is as effective in normalizing moods as antidepressant drugs. 5HTP also boosts melatonin levels by 200 percent. The recommended dose is 100mg three times a day.
Amino acid therapy offers a safe and effective way to reduce anxiety-without the numerous side effects associated with benzodiazepines.

RDA-Recommended Disease Allowance

2010-10-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Many so-called experts will tell you not to worry about taking vitamins if you are eating a balanced diet. Unfortunately, dieting alone can’t provide enough essential vitamins and minerals to promote optimal health. For instance, you would need to consume 5,000 calories per day (mostly fat) in order to get the recommend minimum (400 IU) of vitamin E, and 12,000 calories per day to get the minimum amount of chromium. Most of our foods are processed and, therefore, the nutrients have been leeched out of them. Could this be one of the reasons pre-senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have increased so dramatically over the last few decades?

Thousands of studies validate the benefits of taking a multivitamin/mineral formula on a daily basis. These studies have been reported in medical journals, popular newspapers and magazines. A good multivitamin/mineral formula offers a broad range of health benefits. Taking a daily multivitamin/mineral formula reduces the incidence of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, glaucoma, depression, macular degeneration, diabetes, senile dementia, and various cancers.

A Few Vitamin Facts

1. Multivitamin Use Is Associated With Lowering A Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine states that an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, C-reactive protein (CRP), can be reduced by the intake of a multivitamin. An elevated CRP level found in one’s blood serum is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Source: American Journal of Medicine, Volume 115, Issue 9

2. Daily Multivitamin Use May Bring Significant Savings To Older Americans. According to a this study, the daily use of a multivitamin by older adults could bring about more than $1.6 billion in Medicare savings over the next five years.

3. Slash Cancer Odds. Taking 200 micrograms of selenium daily for four and a half years cut cancer rate 42 percent and cancer deaths in half in a group of 1300 individuals. The incidence of colorectal cancer dropped 64 percent and prostate cancer an amazing 69 percent! University of Arizona Study.

4. Prevent Alzheimer’s. Not a single elderly person who took separate doses of vitamin E (200-800 IU) or vitamin C (500-1000 mg) developed Alzheimer’s disease during a four-year double blind study. Chicago’s Rush Institute for Healthy Aging.

5. Boost Immune System. Taking 200 IU of natural vitamin E daily boosted immune functioning in older people. A supplement with only 60 mg of vitamin E daily did not improve immune functioning. Obviously, superior immune functioning lessens infections, possibly cancer and heart disease. Tufts University Study

6. Stop Heart Attacks. A daily dose of 400-800 IU of natural vitamin E cut subsequent heart attacks in men with heart problems by an astonishing 77 percent. Cambridge University, England.

7. Stop Strokes. High doses of B vitamins decreased the amount of plaque in carotid (neck) arteries by 10 percent during a four-year study. Blocked carotid arteries can cause strokes. Plaque increased by 50 percent in non-vitamin B takers. University of Toronto.

8. Prevent Fractures. Taking 500 mg of calcium and 700 IU of vitamin D daily for three years significantly cut the rate of bone loss and non-vertebral fractures in men and women older than age 65. Tufts University Study.

9. Save Vision. Women taking vitamin C supplements cut their risk of cataracts by 77 per cent. Tufts University and the National Institutes of Health.

10. Prolong Life. Taking vitamin E and vitamin C (in higher doses than in a multivitamin) cut chances of death from all causes by 42 percent. Vitamin E users were 47 percent less apt to die of heart disease and 59 percent less likely to die of cancer. National Institute on Aging.

11. Help Decrease The Risk Of Stroke. According to researchers from Harvard, the long-term dietary intake of folate and vitamin B12 may help decrease the risk of ischemic stroke. Source: Stroke, Volume 35, 2004

12. Vitamin C Deficiency May Be Linked To Respiratory Disorders. In a two-year study, researchers found that vitamin C may prevent symptoms linked to airway diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 101, Number 10, 2004

Almost as unacceptable as not recommending vitamin and mineral supplements is the recommendation of them based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA is the measured amount or dosage of nutrient per vitamin and minerals recommend. The RDA or as I call it the Recommended DiseaseAallowance, may keep you from getting Scurvy, but it certainly won’t stand- up to the many chronic diseases that continue to plague modern man.

The U.S. federal government sets these levels based on the “average adult.” The “average person plan” assumes that you are an adult under 60 years old who is in good health, has normal digestion, isn’t overweight, leads a relatively stress-free life, has no medical problems, doesn’t take any medication, eats a balanced diet, and consumes 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Needless to say, most of us don’t fit into the definition of the average person defined by RDA. In fact, most adult women don’t meet the RDA for zinc, Vitamin B, calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin E. Likewise, most adult men don’t meet the RDA for zinc and magnesium. Fewer than 29% of people eat 5 fresh fruits and vegetables a day. Furthermore, 20% of the U.S. population doesn’t eat ANY fruits or vegetables at all!

The recommended daily allowance is some fifty years out of date. It was never intended to advance health, only to prevent malnutrition diseases like scurvy or rickets. Taking the minimum amount of a nutrient to prevent gross deficiency diseases doesn’t help those people who want to be truly healthy and not just be free of symptoms.

The RDA is inadequate if your goal is for prevention and or treatment of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, depression, senility, diabetes, arthritis and other age related disorders. For optimal health and well-being, many health practitioners are recommending many times higher than the RDA on certain nutrients. It’s no secret, for the majority of the U.S. population the diet is poorly lacking in essential nutrients. Additionally, nearly all Americans are deficient even in the minimal RDA requirements, and are therefore exposed to premature death.

Taking an optimal daily allowance multivitamin/mineral formula is the best way to ensure you obtain and maintain optimal health.

Neurontin for Everything?

2010-10-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Neurontin for Everything?

How does a drug company take an unproven, worthless, and potentially dangerous drug like Neurontin, and turn it into a billion dollar blockbuster? Through deceit, lies, and bribery, reports New York Times health writer and author Melody Peterson.

Peterson, in her book "Our Daily Meds," reveals the chicanery, pseudoscience, and greed behind the marketing of many of today's well-known drugs.

The history of one drug in particular, Neurontin, shows just how deceitful, ruthless, and cold-hearted some drug executives can be.

The original clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of Neurontin for treating epilepsy were less than impressive.

The studies not only showed that the drug was ineffective, and potentially dangerous, but that in 5-10% of patients it actually increased the frequency and severity of the epileptic seizures.

The FDA found the drug be worthless and had grave concerns over its potential dangers. But, eventually they gave in to pressure and allowed Neurontin to be marketed as a second line drug. This meant that it was to be used only after other epilepsy drugs had first been tried and failed.

No problem - drug executives were determined to make Neurontin into a million dollar blockbusting drug and a little thing like science wasn't going to stop them.

It didn't matter that legitimate research had proven that Neurontin was ineffective in the 10 conditions it was being promoted for, including attention deficit disorder, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, mood disorders, migraines, and bi-polar disorder.

Worried the scientific truth may interfere with their plans for establishing Neurontin as a block buster, Pfizer sought to cover-up these studies including the one showing Neurontin was no better than a placebo in reducing diabetic nerve pain- "I think we can limit the potential down sides of the study by delaying the publication for as long a possible...it will be more important to how we write up the study."

Realizing that new studies would be expensive and most likely negative, they aggressively hatched a plan to ignore science, clinic trials, and morals, and began to market Neurontin for an assortment of chronic illnesses.

John Ford, a senior marketing executive had this to say at one sales meeting, "Neurontin for pain, Neurontin for monotherapy, Neurontin for bi-polar, Neurontin for everything."

Not to be out done Phil Magistro a senior level sales executive left a voice message for his sales force stating, " When we get out there, we want to kick some ass. We want to sell Neurontin for pain. All right? And monotherapy and everything we can talk about. That's what we want to do."

And that's exactly what the sales reps did; they drank the "purple Kool-Aid" and hyped the snake oil for every illness they could think of. And it worked; eventually 90% of the 2.7 billion dollars in Neurontin sales came from off-label use - 90% of the prescriptions were for unproven uses.

So how does a drug company take an unproven, potentially dangerous drug and successfully market it to doctors?

Easy, deceive then bribe them. The company paid marketing copywriters to write pseudoscientific, and of course, incredibly favorable articles on the wonders of Neurontin.

Medical Education Services, a ghost writing marketing firm was paid $60,000 to create dozens of fabricated studies on Neurontin. Doctors were then paid $1,000 each to "sign-off" on the article.

One in-house memo from this group is revealing - "Draft completed. We just need an author." This particular piece was targeted at children with attention deficit disorder. Consider the side effects of Neurontin which include:

Muscle pain

Skin rash and itching

Swollen glands

Sore throat and fever

Aggressiveness

Difficulty in concentration

Mental depression

Nightmares

Chills

Increased chance of certain types of seizures

Mood or mental changes

Nosebleeds or other unusual bleeding or bruising

Shortness of breath

Sores, ulcers, or white spots on lips or in mouth

Unusual tiredness or weakness

Wheezing, tightness in chest, or troubled breathing

Sales reps were paying doctors to recommend this drug to 10 year olds. Scary huh?

Sales reps found doctors were enthusiastic to attend- "meet, greet, and treat dinners." Doctors were paid to up to $300 to hear sales pitches for Neurontin while dining at 4 star restaurants. The doctors giving these dinner talks were paid up to $100,000 a year.

And Neurontin sales executives were also happy to pay doctors $750 each to attend all expense paid vacations including one at the posh Château Élan located just outside Atlanta. Doctors received continuing education hours while being brainwashed on the wonders of Neurontin in the morning, leaving their afternoons free to lounge by the pool, get their daily spa-treatment, play golf, dine on gourmet meals, and enjoy the nightly entertainment, including free tickets to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

Not satisfied with their growing largesse, marketing executives decided to simply pay doctors $350 for every patient they placed on Neurontin.

In 2004, the lies and deceit campaign came to end. Pfizer pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in the promotion of Neurontin, and agreed to pay $430 million.

In October 2008 a new lawsuit, brought by the same attorney, alleges that the company's misdeeds went much further than originally charged.

According to newly unsealed court documents, not only did the company and its subsidiaries push Neurontin for unapproved uses--the practice at the center of the first suit, which Pfizer admitted to as part of its settlement--they did so knowing that the drug was ineffective for several of those conditions.

Pfizer, according to the documents, engaged in "outright deception of the biomedical community, and suppression of scientific truth"--stalling or stopping the publication of negative study results; manipulating both trial designs and data to make the drug look more effective than it was; and using questionable tactics to enhance the drug's image and increase its sales.

The question is how many other drugs are being marketed with little to no scientific studies to prove them effective? Could Pfizer's Lyrica, the spitting image of Neurontin (same drug, different packaging) be the snake oil? Perhaps, so since the studies for it and fibromyalgia are less than stellar- in spite of the real likelihood that the study was manipulated to yield positive results.

Melody Peterson's book "Our Daily Meds" is a must read for anyone who wants to make informed decisions about their most important asset, their health.

Electromagnetic Fields And Poor Sleep

2010-10-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Electromagnetic Fields And Poor Sleep

Artificially generated electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) are produced when alternating current passes through electrical wires or a portal device, like your cell phone. The energy that's produced, known as an EMF, exerts pressure and impacts everything around it including the cells in your body.

The Earth has its own static electromagnetic fields, with magnetic poles located roughly at our North and South Poles. We don't fully understand these magnetic fields. We do know that many of our basic bodily functions, including sleep and sense of direction are largely controlled by these fields.

For decades, numerous scientific entities including the World Health Organization have been telling the public that there are almost no credible health risks from excess exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The official public-health-agency position is that, aside from a small increased risk of childhood leukemia, consumers are perfectly safe no matter how many appliances litter their homes and offices, or how many power lines exist nearby.

However, this view is being challenged by dozens of studies including the $8 million, seven-year study by the California Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) Program.

"To one degree or another, all three of the scientists who worked on the EMF Program are inclined to believe that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can cause some degree of increased risk of childhood leukemia, adult brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and miscarriage," says Dr. Raymond Neutra, one of the scientists who wrote the report.

I’ve been educating my patients about the potential dangers of excess EMFs for several years now. I’m particularly concerned EMFs and their ability to deplete normal melatonin levels. Low melatonin levels contribute to poor sleep- linked to numerous health conditions including anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, obesity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, hypothyroid, low metabolism, accelerated aging, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic pain, diabetes, and migraine headaches.

The Importance of Melatonin

The pineal gland is located at the base of our brain, and the ancient Greeks considered it the seat of the soul. This thought may not be far off, since the pineal gland is responsible for releasing melatonin, an extremely important hormone that plays a vital role in regulating the body’s sleep-wake cycle.

Melatonin is a potent antioxidant that plays a part in preventing cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, colds, chronic inflammation, fibromyalgia, mood disorders, headaches, and heart disease.

Once a curiosity to scientists, melatonin is now known to slow down or perhaps even reverse the effects of aging. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that, unlike other antioxidants, can cross the blood-brain barrier and attack any free radicals floating around in the brain. This is perhaps one reason why it is so important in preventing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, two illnesses that attack the brain.

Normally, melatonin levels in your body begin to rise in the mid-to-late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then decline in the early morning hours.

But some things can work against your body’s production of melatonin. Levels gradually decline with age, and some older adults produce very small amounts or none at all.

Melatonin is also affected by a person’s exposure to light.

Levels start to rise as the sun goes down and drop off as the sun comes up. The eyes are extremely sensitive to changes in light, and an increase in light striking the retina triggers a decrease in melatonin production. Conversely, limited exposure to light increases melatonin production.

Exposure to electromagnetic fields can also deplete melatonin. Do you keep any of these things in your bedroom? Electric clock or radio, electric blanket, sound machine, cell phone, electric telephone, electric fan, television, or computer? In fact, any plugged-in electrical device generates electromagnetic fields. I recommend you remove all EMF generating appliances from your bedroom.

Melatonin levels can also be decreased by certain drugs including non-steroidal anti- inflammatory (NSAIDs), antidepressants (SSRI’s), and anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines).

Sleep Hygiene

If you’re like some 20 million Americans who find it hard to fall asleep at night find it hard to fall asleep at night, you may be suffering from delayed sleep phase insomnia- a disruption of normal circadian rhythms. Removing those melatonin- zapping EMFs from your bedroom may be all you need to do for a good night’s sleep.

However, if your melatonin levels are really depleted, you may need to use over the counter melatonin replacement therapy. Studies have shown that 3-6 mg. of melatonin taken at 11 p.m. helps reset these rhythms while providing deep restorative sleep.

An alternative to supplementing is to get more melatonin in the foods you eat. Foods high in melatonin include oats, sweet corn, rice, Japanese radishes, tomatoes, barley, and bananas.

I recommend that before bed, you turn off the TV, computer, avoid all EMF generating gadgets (cell phones), and find a comfortable, quiet room (other than your bedroom) where you can read something pleasant by the light of a soft low-wattage lamp.

Relax and read or listen to soothing music for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep the lights low, and avoid any stimulation, especially the TV. Simply pour one cup of Epsom salts into a warm bath, and soak.

Sweet dreams.

A.N. Vgontzas, “Modest sleep loss increases/alters normal secretion of IL-6, TNF-alpha, cortisol,” 84th Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society, San Francisco, June, 2002.

• T. Wehr et al., “A circadian signal of change of season in patients with seasonal affective disorder,” Archives of General Psychiatry 58(12) (2001): 1108–14.

• H.A. Welker et al., “Effects of an artificial magnetic field on serotonin in acetyl transferase activity in melatonin content in the rat pineal gland,” Exp Brain Research 50 (1983): 426–32.

• I.V. Zhdanova et al., “Sleep inducing effects of low doses of melatonin ingested in the evening,” Clinical Pharmacological Therapeutics 57 (1995): 552–8.

Popp. F.A. Dr.: Is Disease an Energy Disturbance. Lectures: Aug-Sept 1979. Bioresonance and multiresonance therapy, ed. Brugemann.

Hans. Haug International Vol. 1. 1993, p.177.

Andrea Alberti1, et al. “Plasma cytokine levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a preliminary study,” Journal of Sleep Research 12(4) (2003): 305.

Flu Shots For The Elderly Are Ineffective

2010-10-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Originally taken from-

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 23, 2008

Flu Shots For The Elderly Are Ineffective

(OMNS, October 23, 2008) Have the elderly people in your family missed their flu shot? If so, they may have made the right decision.

The New York Times recently reported that "A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70," and that previous studies may have shown "not any actual protection against the flu virus but a fundamental difference between the kinds of people who get vaccines and those who do not . . . simply because they went to the doctor more often." (1)

Influenza vaccination has been widely touted even though evidence of effectiveness is lacking. One large scientific review looked at 40 years' worth of influenza vaccine studies. It found thatflu shots were ineffective for elderly persons living in the community, and flu shots were "non-significant against influenza" for elderly living in group homes. (2)

The authors of another major review "found no correlation between vaccine coverage and influenza-like-illness attack rate." (3)

Author Dr. Thomas Jefferson said, "The vaccine doesn't work very well at all. Vaccines are being used as an ideological weapon. What you see every year as the flu is caused by 200 or 300 different agents with a vaccine against two of them. That is simply nonsense." (4)

Indeed, he commented, "What you see is that marketing rules the response to influenza, and scientific evidence comes fourth or fifth." (5)

Some still claim that flu vaccinations, even though they do not prevent the flu, may help prevent more serious complications such as pneumonia, so dreaded and so often deadly for the elderly. But the authors of the study discussed in the NY Times article specifically noted that "influenza vaccination was not associated with a reduced risk of community-acquired pneumonia." (6)

As with all immunizations, flu shots can have harmful side effects. Vaccines may contain, among other things, ingredients such as mercury and aluminum, which are widely regarded as toxic. The elderly are more likely to be injured by, or even die from, flu vaccine side effects. Such incidents may remain unreported by hospitals or physicians.

One man, aged 76, had a flu shot and immediately had to be hospitalized for a week. When family members suggested to the hospital staff and physicians that it was probably a reaction to the shot, their views were disregarded. Two years later the man had another flu shot, and was promptly hospitalized a second time. Family members once again said it was a reaction to the flu shot. The hospital said it was a low-grade infection, probably a bladder infection. The man died.

There are indications that vaccination side effects are underreported. The US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System receives around 11,000 serious adverse reaction reports each year, mostly from doctors. (7)

FDA states that "VAERS tracks serious vaccine reactions, not common fevers and soreness from shots. Serious reactions include death, life-threatening illness, hospitalization, and disability resulting from a vaccine." (8) However, FDA admits that they probably receive reports for only about 10 percent of all adverse vaccine reactions. (9)

The National Vaccine Information Center estimates the reporting percentage to be far lower, perhaps under 3 percent. (10)

The exact contents of each year's flu shot is an educated guess. Sometimes this guess is wrong, as it was for 2008, where the vaccine "doesn't match two of the three main types of flu bugs now in circulation. . . . The predominant type A flu virus this year is the H3N2 strain; 87% are the "Brisbane" strain.

And 93% of this year's type B flu bugs are from the "Yamagata" lineage. The current flu vaccine's H3N2 component is the "Wisconsin" strain; the type B component is from the "Victoria" lineage." (11) Even when the guess is correct, flu viruses frequently mutate and become resistant all over again.

The flu vaccine, notes the NY Times, has not been double-blind, placebo-control tested. Faith in vaccination appears to be greater than the scientific evidence to justify vaccination. Senior citizens already take far more medications than any other segment of the population. The elderly have weaker immune systems. The risk of immunization adverse effects rises accordingly. Increased side effect danger, along with low effectiveness, is a bad combination.

Is their an available alternative? Yes, there may be: give the elderly more nutrients, rather than more needles.

Older people often have inadequate diets. With ageing and illness, their bodies' need for vital nutrients goes up, yet frequently their intake actually goes down.

Nutritional supplements help fight the flu. Vitamins and minerals have been shown to significantly reduce incidence and duration of influenza. This was already known back when many of today's elderly were still middle-aged.

32 years ago, twice Nobel-Prize winner Linus Pauling reviewed the nutritional literature and determined that high doses of vitamin C reduce the frequency and shorten the severity of influenza. (12) Orthomolecular (nutritional) physicians have repeatedly confirmed this.

Robert F. Cathcart, MD, successfully treated thousands of viral-illness patients with massive doses of vitamin C. (13) Vitamin D also increases resistance to influenza (14), as do the minerals selenium and zinc. (15)

With good nutrition bolstered with supplemental vitamin and mineral intake, the human body's natural defenses are strengthened and can rapidly adapt to resist new flu strains. Clinical evidence indicates that nutrition is more significant that vaccination. Malnutrition is far more dangerous than not getting vaccinated.

No, there is not a vaccination for every illness. It might be nice if there were, but no shot can make up for poor nutrition.

Over-reliance on vaccinating the elderly ignores their fundamental problems of poor diet and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. These are underlying reasons for a susceptible immune system. Supplemental nutrition is the "other" immune system booster. It is time to use it.

References:

(1) Goodman B. Doubts grow over flu vaccine in elderly. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/health/02flu.html September 2, 2008.

(2) Rivetti D, Jefferson T, Thomas R et al. Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Jul 19;3:CD004876.

(3) Jefferson T, Rivetti D, Rivetti A et al. Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines in elderly people: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005 Oct 1;366(9492):1165-74.

(4) Gardner A. Flu vaccine only mildly effective in elderly. HealthDay Reporter, Sept 21, 2005.

(5) Rosenthal E. Flu vaccination and treatment fall far short. International Herald Tribune, September 22, 2005.

(6) Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Weiss NS, Neuzil KM, Barlow W, Jackson LA. Influenza vaccination and risk of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent elderly people: a population-based, nested case-control study. Lancet. 2008 Aug 2;372(9636):398-405.

(7) National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161, 703-487-4650, 703-487-4600.

(8) http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/vaccine.html

(9) KM Severyn in the Dayton Daily News, May 28, 1993 cited at http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/NEWSVaccinations.htm

(10) "Investigative Report on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System." National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), 512 Maple Ave. W. #206, Vienna, VA 22180.

(11) DeNoon DJ. Most influenza strains do not match current vaccine. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/570050 February 11, 2008. Also: Joe Bresee, MD, chief, epidemiology and prevention branch, CDC Influenza Division, Atlanta. CDC news conference, Feb. 8, 2008.

(12) Pauling L. Vitamin C, the Common Cold, and the Flu. Freeman, 1976.

(13) Cathcart RF. Vitamin C, titrating to bowel tolerance, anascorbemia, and acute induced scurvy. Med Hypotheses. 1981 Nov;7(11):1359-76. http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html

(14) Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006. Dec;134(6):1129-40.

(15) Girodon F, Galan P, Monget AL et al. Impact of trace elements and vitamin supplementation on immunity and infections in institutionalized elderly patients: a randomized controlled trial. MIN. VIT. AOX. geriatric network. Arch Intern Med. 1999 Apr 12;159(7):748-54.

For more information:

Video questioning influenza vaccine: http://www.thinktwice.com/flu_show.htm

A humorous look at flu vaccine: http://www.thinktwice.com/Flu_Farce.mov

Traditional Medicine Offers Little Hope For Fibromyalgia Sufferers

2010-09-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from Dr. Rodger Murphree’s “Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”

With so many different symptoms, it’s no surprise that fibromyalgia and CFS patients are typically taking 6–12 different prescription drugs. Lyrica, Elavil, Klonopin, Paxil, Effexor, Xanax, Trazadone, Neurontin, Zanaflex, Ambien, Lunesta, Cymbalta, and Provigil have all been heralded as “the drug” for fibromyalgia. Some of these are helpful, some worthless, and some really dangerous.

Drug management alone typically fails to yield lasting relief from the most common fibromyalgia and CFS symptoms, and patients’ and doctors’ optimism over a new drug treatment eventually gives way to this sad reality. Oh well, a new drug with an even larger marketing budget is on the horizon. (Forgive my cynicism. I’ve just seen this situation so many times!)

Many of the most commonly prescribed drugs for fibromyalgia have side effects that are similar or identical to the symptoms of FMS and CFS. These similarities can cause a lot of confusion when doctors are trying to determine the effectiveness of treatment. Ambien, for instance, can cause flu-like symptoms, achy muscle pain, sore throat, and fatigue. Sounds like CFS, doesn’t it?

Tranquilizers are often prescribed for restless leg syndrome; achy, tight muscles; and sleep problems. But these drugs deplete the sleep hormone melatonin, which then leads to a disruption of a person’s circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). Instead of promoting deep restorative sleep, these drugs prevent it!

It’s important to realize that your drug or drugs may be causing or contributing to some or all of your symptoms. I spend a great deal of time with my new patients reviewing and discussing their current drugs—how they interact with each other, and the potential side effects.

I often find that by asking the right question, I can help the patient realize that her symptoms began or worsened soon after the drug treatment began.

Sometimes, though, I do find drug-induced symptoms that began months after the start of the drug treatment. Drugs deplete essential nutrients that the body needs to properly function, but it can take weeks, months, or even years for the drug to fully deplete the nutrient and for you to see the side effects surface.

Still, not everyone can be drug free, and most of my patients are on at least one prescription medication. But the least offensive drug should be used—sparingly—and only to manage symptoms unresponsive to more natural therapies.

A study conducted by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research demonstrates the need for FMS and CFS treatment beyond drug therapy.

Thirty-nine patients with FMS were interviewed about their symptoms. Twenty-nine were interviewed again 10 years later. Of these 29 (mean age 55 at second interview), all had persistence of the same FMS symptoms. Moderate to severe pain or stiffness was reported in 55% of patients, moderate to a great deal of sleep difficulty was noted in 48%, and moderate to extreme fatigue was noted in 59%. These symptoms showed little change from earlier surveys. The surprising finding was that 79% of the patients were still taking medications to control symptoms. We can conclude that the medications weren’t making a significant impact.

Conventional medical treatments for FMS and CFS is a controversial topic, and I certainly have no desire to offend the many brilliant medical doctors out there. Still, in my experience, most traditional doctors continue to rely on prescription medications to treat fibromyalgia, even though their own studies show them to be ineffective and potentially dangerous.

They still just don’t get it. Those with fibromyalgia and CFS are sick and they want to feel well, not drugged.

Just try to find a doctor who really knows anything about these illnesses. Most don’t. It’s even harder to find one who is having any lasting success treating these illnesses. How many folks with fibromyalgia get well under the care of a traditional rheumatologist?

I speak to fibromyalgia support groups across North America, and I can tell you what the answer is: very few. The three-month wait for a new patient appointment typically ends in a two-hour interview and exam followed by a 10-minute visit to discuss test results, and then several prescription drugs and a follow-up appointment every 3–6 months.

And let’s face it, those with fibromyalgia are medical misfits, they don’t usually respond to medications like other folks. The ACR has, like many physicians, thrown up their hands and admitted they have little if anything to offer for those suffering from fibromyalgia. They focus more on helping their patients “cope.” At least they’re honest about their limitations.

Traditional Doctors Are Often Opposed To Natural Medicine

I find that people in general are usually down on what their not up on.

Many conventional doctors are quick to ridicule nutritional
therapies, even though these therapies have consistently shown themselves effective in treating fibromyalgia. This prejudice just doesn’t make sense.

The usual accusation is that “there are no controlled studies.…”

But actually, there are numerous studies that validate the use of nutritional supplements to manage and often correct the symptoms of poor health. There are over 1,000 studies demonstrating the positive effects of various supplements and foods in the treatment of hypertension alone. And hundreds of studies demonstrate magnesium’s benefits in treating high blood pressure, angina, heart arrhythmias, chronic pain, muscle spasms, anxiety, mitral valve prolapse, and fatigue.

Dr. Janet Travell, White House physician for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine at George Washington University, co-wrote Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, which is acknowledged as the authoritative work on muscle pain. In one chapter alone, Dr. Travell references 317 studies showing that problems such as hormonal, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies can contribute to muscle pain and soreness.

And modern medicine itself, despite the millions of dollars spent to promote it’s superiority over other forms of health care, is largely an art—with a lot of unproven science. The Office of Technology Assessment, under the authority of the Library of Congress, published a year-long study entitled “Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Medical Technology.”

The study showed that only 10–20 percent of all present-day medical practice have been shown to be beneficial by scientific controlled clinical trials. The study concluded that the vast majority of medical procedures now being utilized routinely by physicians are “unproven.”

Or how about, “Nutritional supplements aren’t regulated and therefore are dangerous.” Too much might make you queasy, but no one dies from taking vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients! The same can’t be said about drug therapy.

The great physician Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “A medicine…is always directly hurtful; it may sometimes be indirectly beneficial. I firmly believe that if most of the pharmacopoeia [prescription drugs] were sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for Mankind and all the worse for the fishes.”

Prescription drug therapy attempts, for the most part, to cover-up symptoms. This approach does little to correct the underlying problem(s).

After seventeen years of specializing in treating and beating fibromyalgia I’ve learned that traditional medicine alone yields little if any long-term results.

The best hope for those with fibromyalgia is to find and work with a doctor who practices integrative medicine-combining judicious use of prescription drugs (short-term if possible) and natural therapies (vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients).

Combining prescription drugs (when needed) with natural supplements allows the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia to be corrected, not just covered-up.

Subscribe to my Health Matters email newsletter-it is free to join and gives you free access to all my past tele-conferences (including those on fibromyalgia, heart disease, depression, hypothyroid, fatigue, and more)..

www.get-healthmatters.com

Reverse Mitral Valve Prolapse with Orthomolecular Medicine

2010-09-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Reverse Mitral Valve Prolapse with Orthomolecular Medicine

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) or "click murmur syndrome" is the most common heart valve abnormality, affecting five to ten percent of the world population. A normal mitral valve consists of two thin leaflets, located between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. Mitral valve leaflets, shaped like parachutes, are attached to the inner wall of the left ventricle by a series of strings called "chordae."

When the ventricles contract, the mitral valve leaflets close snugly and prevent the backflow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium. When the ventricles relax, the valves open to allow oxygenated blood from the lungs to fill the left ventricle.

In patients with mitral valve prolapse, the ventricles contract; the redundant leaflets prolapse (flop backwards) into the left atrium, sometimes allowing leakage of blood through the valve opening (mitral regurgitation).

When severe, mitral regurgitation can lead to abnormal heart rhythms. Patients with mitral valve prolapse may have imbalances in their autonomic nervous system, which regulates heart rate and breathing. Such imbalances may cause inadequate blood oxygen delivery to the working muscles during exercise thereby causing fatigue.

Palpitations are sensations of fast or irregular heart beats. In most patients with mitral valve prolapse, palpitations are harmless. In very rare cases, potentially serious heart rhythm abnormalities may underlie palpitations, which require further evaluation and treatment.

Sharp chest pains are reported in some patients with mitral valve prolapse, which can be prolonged.

Conventional Medical Treatment for MVP

Beta-blockers, such as Inderal (propranolol); Lopressor or Toprol (metoprolol); and Tenormin (atenolol) are used for long-term management of mitral valve prolapse (MVP). I'm always amazed at how many of my patients are taking these drugs for MVP, even with their very serious side effects.

These drugs slow the heart rate, which reduces cardiac output and leads to low blood pressure and fatigue. The brain and muscles then aren't getting enough blood and oxygen, and this can lead to fuzzy thinking, poor memory, depression, anxiety, and fatigue.

Potential side effects of beta-blockers include congestive heart failure, fatigue, heart block, dizziness, depression, decreased heartbeat and function, cold extremities, paresthesia (a feeling of "pins and needles"), shortness of breath, drowsiness, lethargy, insomnia, headaches, poor memory, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, colitis, wheezing, Raynaud's syndrome (burning, tingling, pain, numbness, or poor circulation in the hands and feet), muscle cramps, muscle fatigue, lowered libido, impotence, raised triglycerides, lowered HDL, raised LDL, and high blood sugar.

Nutritional Therapy for Treating MVP

In my experience, the best way to stop the symptoms associated with heart irregularities, including MVP, is to correct the underlying nutritional deficiencies.

Magnesium is a natural sedative that relaxes muscles, and the heart is, of course, mostly muscle. The smooth muscle contained in the blood vessel lining is also dependent on magnesium.

Magnesium acts like a beta-blocker (without the side effects) by inhibiting stimulatory hormones including norepinephrine and epinephrine (hormones that increase heart rate).

The more magnesium found within a muscle cell, the more relaxed the muscle becomes. And a relaxed heart is a happy heart.

Several studies show that magnesium reduces the symptoms of MVP, including palpitations, chest pain, and fatigue.

CoQ10

CoQ10 is a valuable nutrient for reversing MVP symptoms. The heart muscles need large amounts of CoQ10 for optimal function. Several studies have demonstrated that it can return heart function to normal.

Fish oil may also help reduce the irregular heartbeats associated with MVP.

Fish oil reduces blood pressure, inflammation, fibrinogen, irregular heart- beats (arrhythmia), atherosclerosis, triglycerides (blood fats), and platelet aggregation (blood clot formation).

I routinely recommend my patients with MVP, high blood pressure; congestive heart disease or other cardiovascular conditions take the Essential Therapeutics Healthy Heart Formula. This formula contains a high dose multivitamin/mineral formula with 500mg of magnesium, 100mg of CoQ10, and 2,000mg of pure fish oil.

I like this convenient to use pack. It combines everything my patients need to help prevent and or reverse MVP and other cardiovascular disorders.

If you’d like to know more about the Healthy Heart Formula please call the office or visit us online-

http://store.drmurphreestore.com/hehefo.html

www.Treatingandbeating.com

Reverse Anxiety and Depression With Orthomolecular Medicine

2010-09-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

Certain amino acids along with certain B vitamins and minerals produce the neurotransmitters. The amino acid tryptophan turns into serotonin. The amino acid phenylalanine turns into epinephrine. Amino acids are the raw nutrients needed to manufacture the neurotransmitters, which regulate our moods.

Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that help relay electrical messages from one nerve cell to another. Neurotransmitters are produced from the amino acids in the foods we eat. Amino acids join together in different patterns to form a protein. Eating a protein rich food allows us to replenish our ongoing demand for the essential amino acids.

What do neurotransmitters do?

Neurotransmitters help regulate pain, reduce anxiety, and promote happiness, initiate deep sleep, boost energy, and mental clarity.

The neurotransmitters that cause excitatory reactions are known as catecholamines. Catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline) are derived from the amino acid phenylalanine.

Inhibitory or relaxing neurotransmitters include serotonin and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). The neurotransmitter serotonin is produced from the amino acid tryptophan. GABA is produced from the amino aid glutamine.

Prescription Anti-Depressants

The most popular antidepressant drugs are known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI’s). SSRI’s including the drugs Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, and Zoloft are supposed to help the brain re-uptake the serotonin it produces. It is analogous to using a gasoline additive to help your car get more mileage out of the gasoline in your tank.

Unfortunately, many of the individuals who suffer from mood disorders, don’t have any serotonin in their brains to re-uptake. A gasoline additive poured into an empty gasoline tank doesn’t help much, if at all.

Brain Function Questionnaire

Over the years I’ve used various questionnaires or tests to determine which amino acids needed to be recommended. I’ve been using the questionnaire below and have found it provides a quick and accurate assessment tool to diagnose a person’s brain chemistry.

The “S” Group

If three or more of these descriptions apply to your present feelings, you are probably part of the “S” group:

• It’s hard for you to go to sleep.

• You can’t stay asleep.

• You often find yourself irritable.

• Your emotions often lack rationality.

• You occasionally experience unexplained tears.

• Noise bothers you more than it used to; it seems louder than normal.

• You flare up at others more easily than you used to; you experience unprovoked anger.

• You feel depressed much of the time.

• You find you are more susceptible to pain.

• You prefer to be left alone.

Serotonin is a hypothalamus neurotransmitter necessary for sleep. A lack of serotonin causes difficulty in getting to sleep as well as staying asleep. It is often this lack of sleep that causes the symptoms mentioned above.

Serotonin levels can easily be raised by supplementing with the essential amino acid 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP), a form of tryptophan.

The “G” Group

If three or more of these descriptions apply to your present feelings, you are probably part of the “G” group:

• You often feel anxious for no reason.

• You sometimes feel “free-floating” anxiety.

• You frequently feel “edgy,” and it’s difficult to relax.

• You often feel a “knot” in your stomach.

• Falling asleep is sometimes difficult.

• It’s hard to turn your mind off when you want to relax.

• You occasionally experience feelings of panic for no reason.

• You often use alcohol or other sedatives to calm down.

The “G” group symptoms are from the absence of the neurotransmitter gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). GABA is an important neurotransmitter involved in

regulating mood and mental clarity. Tranquilizers (benzodiazepines) used to treat anxiety and panic disorders work by increasing GABA.

I recommend my patients use Essential Therapeutics Gabatol an all-natural brain calming formula that boosts GABA levels.

The “N” Group

If three or more of these descriptions apply to your present feelings, you are probably part of the “N” group:

• You suffer from a lack of energy.

• You often find it difficult to “get going.”

• You suffer from decreased drive.

• You often start projects and then don’t finish them.

• You frequently feel a need to sleep or “hibernate.”

• You feel depressed a good deal of the time.

• You occasionally feel paranoid.

• Your survival seems threatened.

• You are bored a great deal of the time.

The neurotransmitter norepinephrine, when released in the brain, causes feelings of arousal, energy, and drive. On the other hand, a short supply of it will cause feelings of a lack of ambition, drive, and/or energy. A deficiency can even cause depression, paranoia, and feelings of apathy.

The amino acid SAMe can quickly boost norepinephrine levels.

The Medical Myths of Cholesterol-What You Need to Know About Heart Disease

2010-08-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Medical Myths of Cholesterol-What You Need to Know About Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease kills almost one million Americans each year. This number accounts for 41 percent of all deaths in the United States. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims more lives than the next eight leading causes of death combined, including cancer, accidents, and AIDS. And, despite an aggressive campaign launched by the American Heart Association to counter the epidemic of heart disease, one person dies every 33 seconds. For nearly four decades, we have relied on medical myths to guide us in our attempts to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. We have been told to reduce our cholesterol, saturated- fat intake, and to take lipid-lowering medications. Unfortunately, these recommendations have been shown to actually increase the risk of premature death, strokes, heart attacks, depression, suicide, senile dementia, and congestive heart failure.

Medical Myth Number One

Most health organizations and the public at-large are sold on the idea that high cholesterol is the main cause of arteriosclerosis and heart disease.

However, a growing body of research is dispelling this medical myth. The prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, reported in 1994 that most individuals with coronary artery disease have normal cholesterol levels! Forty percent of all heart attacks occur in individuals with normal cholesterol levels. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that there is no evidence linking high cholesterol levels in women with heart disease. In fact, low cholesterol levels, especially after the age of forty-seven, increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, depression, and early death. As reported in The Journal of Cardiology, “low cholesterol increases the risk of a heart attack.”

To cite the medical experts from the famous Framingham study: For each 1 mg/dl drop of cholesterol there was an 11 percent increase in coronary and total mortality (death from all sources).

Your body needs cholesterol. Cholesterol makes up eight percent of brain-matter. It is essential for proper brain function. The importance of cholesterol is far reaching. Cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D and other hormones that are needed for sustaining a healthy life. Cholesterol is one of the key substances at nerve synapses needed to transmit information. Cholesterol helps regulate brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. Low cholesterol can cause depression, fatigue and neurological disorders (nerve pain, tingling and numbness).

Individuals with low cholesterol are three times more likely to suffer from depression as normal adults.

Medical Myth Number Two

Cholesterol lowering drugs are a safe and effective way to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Over the last twenty years, the pharmaceutical companies have promoted cholesterol-lowering statin drugs with such fervor that they’ve become household names: Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, Zocor, and others. Sixteen million Americans take Lipitor, the most popular statin drug. Statin sales in the U.S. alone are over 12.5 billion dollars a year.

No doubt, the statins lower cholesterol levels and perhaps do lower the risk of dying from a heart attack, at least in patients who already have had one, but the size of the effect is unimpressive. In one of the experiments for instance, the CARE trial, the odds of escaping death from a heart attack for a patient with manifest heart disease was 94.3 %, which improved to 95.4 % with statin treatment. This is a difference of 1.1 percent. Surely not worth all the hype these medications have received. Especially since the potential side effects from these drugs may include congestive heart failure.

The acknowledged side effects of statins include muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, and a potentially fatal muscle-wasting disorder called rhabdomyolysis. One statin, Baycol, has been withdrawn because it was linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis. Interference with production of Co-Q10 by statin drugs is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived of the essential nutrient, Co-Q10. A deficiency of CoQ10 can lead to nerve damage and congestive heart failure.

While heart attacks have slightly declined, CHF (congestive heart failure) has more than doubled since Lipitor and other statins were first prescribed in 1987.

Taking statins for one year raised the risk of nerve damage by about 15 percent. Researchers studying CoQ10 have estimated that as little as a 25 percent reduction in bodily CoQ10 will trigger various disease processes, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer, immune dysfunction, and fatigue.

Medical Myth Number Three

The drugs used to treat chest pain, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure are safe and effective.

Nothing could be further from the truth. These drugs are dangerous. Calcium Channel blocking drugs (Cardizem, Procardia, Calan, Norvasc, and others) increase the risk of having a heart attack by five-fold.

Beta-blocking drugs (Atenolol, Inderal, Toprol, Tenormin, and others) may cause congestive heart failure, heart block, depression, type II diabetes, tingling in the hands and feet, fatigue, and many other unwanted side effects.

Diuretics increase the risk of developing type II diabetes by fifty percent.

Medical Myth Number Four

Heart surgery, including coronary bypass and angioplasty are safe, effective, and proven procedures.

In fact, neither surgery has been subjected to double blind placebo controlled trials. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has estimated that 90 percent of Americans who undergo bypass surgery receive no benefits. A Swedish study revealed that 12 percent of those undergoing bypass suffered obvious brain damage, including strokes. Other studies have shown that the majority of patients are more likely to die from the surgery, up to 10 percent, than a heart attack. Studies also show that patients who elected not to have the surgery actually lived longer than those who did have surgery.

Medical Myth Number Five

The test to determine if someone needs heart surgery, known as an angiogram, is a safe and accurate diagnostic procedure.

Over one million angiograms are performed each year, costing over $10 billion. These tests use a long catheter with a tiny camera for the purpose of observing arterial blockages. A study that measured the blood flow in 44 blocked arteries, as demonstrated by angiogram, found that heart arteries with up to 96 percent blockage had the swiftest blood flow. While arteries with only a 40 percent blockage had a reduced flow. The authors concluded the angiogram is an unreliable diagnostic tool and should be considered worthless.

Medical Myth Number Six

Traditional medicine continues to promote these 5 medical myths while perpetuating the greatest myth ever; nutritional supplements are unregulated, aren’t proven, and are dangerous.

This is probably the most unscrupulous myth of all. The medical journals are overflowing with studies (over1, 000 of them) that demonstrate the effectiveness of various nutritional supplements for treating high blood pressure, alone. The Federal Drug Association fought for 20 years and spent millions of dollars to prevent the following statement from being used on bottles of fish oil supplements “Consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

Fortunately, truth and justice prevailed. A recent American Heart Association’s study showed that individuals who took 1,000mg of fish oil a day had a 41 percent reduction in heart disease and sudden death. CoQ10 supplements have been proven to be more effective in reversing congestive heart failure than traditional drugs. Normally class IV or terminally ill congestive heart patients live only a matter of days. The majority of those receiving CoQ10 survived 2 years or more.

A number of studies have shown that vitamins help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Vitamin E has been shown to cut subsequent heart attacks by 77 percent. In fact taking vitamin E reduced the chances of death from all causes by 42 percent. B vitamins have been shown to decrease the amount of plaque in the carotid (neck) arteries by 10 percent.

Traditional medicine and its political organizations, including the American Heart Association, have failed to stop the rising epidemic of heart disease. Given heart disease’s epidemic proportions and that most of the traditional therapies commonly used to treat it may actually cause more deaths than the illness itself, it’s time to put these dangerous myths to rest.

What can you do to reduce your risk of developing heart disease? Well, first of all, please quit being stressed out about fats and cholesterol. Stress will kill you, literally. Eat all the free-range eggs, meat and butter your heart desires. Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables. Avoid hydrogenated oils and excess sugar. Supplement your diet with a good multivitamin and at least 1,000mg of fish oil each day. Above all, avoid falling prey to the medical myths of heart disease.

About Dr. Murphree

Dr. Murphree is a board certified nutritional specialist and chiropractic physician who has been in private practice since 1990. He is the founder and past clinic director for a large integrated medical practice located on the campus of Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham Alabama. The clinic was staffed with medical doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and massage therapists. He is the author of 5 books for patients and doctors, including "Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won't Tell You,’” "Treating and Beating Anxiety and Depression with Orthomolecular Medicine," and

"Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."

He can be reached toll free 1-888-884-9577 or at 205-879-2383 His website is at www.Treatingandbeating.com

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Anti-depressants-Study Says They Are Worthless

2010-08-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Broad Review of FDA Trials Suggests Antidepressants Only Marginally Better than Placebo

August 24, 2010 — A new review of 4 meta-analyses of efficacy trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests that antidepressants are only "marginally efficacious" compared with placebo and "document profound publication bias that inflates their apparent efficacy."

"We found that out of the 4041 patients initially started on the SSRI [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor] citalopram in the STAR*D study, and after 4 trials, only 108 patients had a remission and did not either have a relapse and/or dropped out by the end of 12 months of continuing care," lead study author Ed Pigott, PhD, a psychologist with NeuroAdvantage LLC in Clarksville, Maryland, told Medscape Medical News.

These means that only 2.7% of patients taking anti-depressants actually go into remission!

Sustained Benefit "Jaw Dropping"

"In other words, if you're trying to look at sustained benefit, you're only looking at 2.7%, which is a pretty jaw-dropping number," added Dr. Pigott.

Overall, "the reviewed findings argue for a reappraisal of the current recommended standard of care of depression," write the study authors.

Yep, I agree, pretty jaw dropping when you learn the potential side effects of taking a worthless drug.

Read the entire study at the link below-

http://tiny.cc/bmfpa

The Truth About Anti-depressants

If you want to know the truth about anti-depressant meds take a look at my article “The Depressing Truth About Anti-depressants” which natural provides the protocols I use for my patients with mood disorders.

www.drrodger.com/newsletters_letters/depressingtruth.html

A Deadly List

2010-08-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

A Deadly List

The May 2007 issue of SELF-magazine featured a story entitled The Deadly Twist. This story is about patients who’ve had strokes following a chiropractic cervical adjustment. The article is quite painful to read. I can’t help but feel a tremendous amount of sorrow for these folks.

The article reveals a study, reported in Neurology 2003, that shows “patients with strokes caused by hemorrhaged or torn vertebral arteries are nearly five times more likely to have had a recent neck adjustment than those with strokes caused by something else.” The above statement probably sent shivers down the spine of every reader who’d ever had a chiropractic adjustment. However, reading between the lines, we need to realize that most strokes come from clots, not torn vessels. The majority of strokes occur when a blood clot blocks the flow of oxygenated blood to a portion of the brain. This is known as an ischemic stroke. An ischemic stroke can be caused by a blood clot that forms inside the artery of the brain (thrombotic stroke), or by a clot that forms somewhere else in the body and travels to the brain (embolic stroke).

Americans experience over 700,000 strokes a year. Ischemic strokes account for 83% of this number. In the U.S., approximately 3,000 cases of vertebral hemorrhage occur annually.

Chiropractors see roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population a year. You do the math, it is highly improbable that chiropractic adjustments could be causing thousands of strokes a year as some web sites have promoted. In fact, the incidence of stroke following chiropractic adjustments has been estimated to be less than 1 to 3 incidents per million adjustments. One study covered a period of 28 years, while another involved reviewing about 110 million chiropractic visits. The results of these studies show conclusively that the risk of stroke from a chiropractic adjustment is so small as to be statistically insignificant. Certainly this doesn’t warrant such malicious anti-chiropractic diatribe from the Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group or Stephen Barrett’s virulent anti-chiropractic commentaries on his Quackwatch.org site. Those who live in glass houses should be careful about throwing rocks.

If these folks are really concerned about protecting the American public from dangerous health practices, they should look no further than their own medical profession.

Over 700,000 Americans die each year from government sanctioned, FDA approved, AMA sponsored medicine.

Iatrogenic, or doctor induced, illnesses take the lives of 783,936 American each year. This makes conventional medicine the number one killer in the United States, ahead of heart disease and cancer. And, beware that as few as 5% of iatrogenic events are ever reported.

This implies that iatrogenic deaths are much higher and would be equivalent to six jumbo jets falling out of the sky each day. Now that’s news!

An October 2003 JAMA study from the US government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported 32,000, mostly surgery-related, deaths costing $9 billion and resulting in 2.4 million extra hospital days in 2000. Americans submit to over 600,000 bypass surgeries each year. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that up to 10% of bypass patients die from the surgery. Yet, the National Institutes of Health has estimated that 90% of Americans who undergo bypass surgery receive no benefits. Another study involving 14 major heart hospitals around the world showed that one-third of all heart bypass surgeries were unnecessary and actually increased the risk of death.

Americans using FDA sanctioned drugs, as directed, are dying at the rate of one every three to five minutes. In fact, the average American has a 26% chance of being hospitalized from a drug injury from the effects of a lifetime of drug taking. Of the 30 million people admitted to hospitals each year, approximately ten percent, or 3 million, are admitted specifically because of adverse drug reactions. In 1995, a JAMA report noted that, “…approximately 280,000 die annually as a result of these injuries.” And to top it off, hospital born infections kill another 26,000 (conservative estimate) patients each year. The General Accounting Office reports, “of the 198 drugs approved by the FDA between 1976 and 1985, 102 of them or 51% had serious post approval risks including heart failure, myocardial infarction, respiratory failure, seizures, and kidney failure.

The FDA estimates that NSAIDS cause 200,000 cases of gastric bleeding annually, leading to 10,000 to 20,000 deaths. Calcium channel blockers increase the risk of stroke by five-fold.

Americans take over 5 billion sleeping pills each year. And each year, 15,000 Americans die from these same sleeping pills. The heart drug Digoxin causes over 28,000 cases of life-threatening or fatal adverse reactions each year.

The very drugs that are being used to treat various illnesses are causing more American deaths in one year than occurred in the entire Vietnam War! Yet, in spite of the fact that these FDA approved drugs are killing over 100,000 Americans each year, people still believe health comes from a doctor prescribed pill bottle. Annual spending on drugs continues to grow by 12% or more each year. The public and the medical profession have been brain-washed into believing drug therapy is a safe and effective way to “cure” every ailment known to man. This starts at an early age as our kids become jaded and used to the idea of lining up for the school nurse to dispense their Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs. To safeguard their stranglehold on public perception, the pharmaceutical industry makes sure doctors are thoroughly duped with half-truths and pseudo-science about the newest, greatest wonder drugs.

In 2001, drug companies paid for over 60% of the costs of all doctors’ continuing education classes. And over 80,000 drug reps give away $11 billion worth of samples each year. There is now one drug rep for every doctor in the United States.

However, today’s latest greatest drug is often tomorrows widow maker. Does Rezulin, Zelnorm, Baycol, Fen-Phen, Propulsid, Avandia, Vioxx, and Bextra ring any bells?

Vioxx alone has been linked to 27,000 cases of heart attack. The diabetes drug Avandia, increases heart attack risk by 43% and increases risk of death from heart disease by 64%. Dr. David Graham of the Food and Drug Administration estimates that Avandia may have caused 30,000 to 140,000 heart attacks or deaths since it was introduced in the U.S. in 1999.

As a chiropractor who cares deeply for his patients and his profession, I believe that I’m providing a life-enhancing service every time I deliver a cervical adjustment. I believe that the scientific data, as well as the clinical experience of thousands chiropractors and their patients from around the world, all provide irrefutable proof that cervical adjustments are safe and beneficial.

Instead of hyping the tragic, yet rare, danger of the Deadly Twist, SELF and other media sources should be sharing the ever-growing “Deadly List” of conventional medical dangers.

Randy Southerland, Today’s Chiropractic Lifestyle. Dec 2006.

U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Report, vol. 51, no. 5, March 14, 2003.

Leape LL. Error in medicine. JAMA 1994 Dec 21:272(23):185-7.

Carolyn Dean. Death By Modern Medicine. Matrix Verite Inc. Ontario, Canada 2006

Silverstein FE, et al.Misoprstol Reduces Serious Gastrointestinal Complcations in Ptients with Rheaumatoid Arthritis Receiving Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs. Ann of Int Med Aug. 15, 19995. 123 (4):241-9.

Impact of Hosputal-Acquired Blood System Infections. Medscape.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414382_3

Coile RC Jr. Internet-driven surgery. Russ Coiles Health Trends. 2003 Jun;15(8):2-4.

Rutkow IM. Surgical operations in the United States: 1979 to 1984. Surgery. 1987 Feb;101(2):192-200.

Sidney Wolfe, Worst Pills Best Pills, Pocket Books,New York, NY. 1999.

People’s Pharmacy, 1997 and 1998.

The Medical Myths of Heart Disease

2008-06-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Treating and Beating With Orthomolecular Medicine

2007-08-13T22:23:00.001-07:00