Health & WellnessS


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Manufacturer tried to hide results of testing of blood thinner implicated in 1,000 deaths

J Martin
© All GovJ. Martin Carroll, former CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim.

The manufacturer of a blood-thinning drug tried to hide results of an internal study that the manufacturer feared would hurt sales of the widely-advertised medication, according to recently-unsealed court documents.

Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturer of Pradaxa, is being sued by patients and their families, charging it failed to properly warn users about possible dangers of the drug. More than 1,000 of those using Pradaxa have died from bleeding, Katie Thomas of The New York Times reported.

Some of the papers released by Chief Judge David R. Herndon of the United States District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., indicated that a research paper would contradict the company's claims that regular blood monitoring is not necessary while taking Pradaxa.

The lack of regular monitoring is one of the main selling points of the drug over warfarin, a drug long used in the prevention of blood clots and strokes. Warfarin requires frequent blood monitoring and attention to diet.

Boehringer Ingelheim emails released by the court show concern about the effect a change in recommended monitoring would have on sales of Pradaxa. "This may not be a onetime test and could result in a more complex message (regular monitoring), and a weaker value proposition ... vs. competitors," one employee wrote.

An email from another employee expressed concern about the drug's safety risks in older patients, and said "there may be a role" for one or two blood tests in Pradaxa patients.

The case highlights the fact that much of the research on drugs is performed by the drug makers themselves, who have a financial interest in ensuring their products are approved by regulators.

Bacon n Eggs

Flashback Fat does not make you fat, sugar makes you fat

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If you're feeling completely confused about whether you should cut fat from your diet, you are not alone. But here's the bottom line: fat does not make you fat or sick.

So, why do so many people believe that fat is bad for you and causes heart attacks? This all started in the Dr. Key's Seven Countries Study decades ago that examined heart risk based on lifestyle and dietary habits. He found that in the countries where people ate more fat - especially saturated fat - there were more cases of heart disease, and he concluded that the fat caused the disease. But here's the problem with this study: correlation is not causation. Just because both fat intake and heart disease were higher among the same population doesn't mean the heart disease was caused by the fat consumption. Here's another way to look at it: Every day, you wake up and the sun comes up, but although these events happen at the same time, you waking up doesn't cause the sun to come up.

Comment: Gabriela Segura, MD writes in her overview of the Ketogenic Diet
The fact is you get MORE energy per molecule of fat than sugar. How many chronic and autoimmune diseases have an energy deficit component? How about chronic fatigue? Fibromyalgia? Rheumatoid Arthritis? Multiple Sclerosis? Cancer? Back to Allan and Lutz:
Mitochondria are the power plants of the cell. Because they produce most of the energy in the body, the amount of energy available is based on how well the mitochondria are working. Whenever you think of energy, think of all those mitochondria churning out ATP to make the entire body function correctly. The amount of mitochondria in each cell varies, but up to 50 percent of the total cell volume can be mitochondria. When you get tired, don't just assume you need more carbohydrates; instead, think in terms of how you can maximize your mitochondrial energy production...
If you could shrink to a small enough size to get inside the mitochondria, what would you discover? The first thing you'd learn is that the mitochondria are primarily designed to use fat for energy!
In short, let fat be thy medicine and medicine be thy fat!
See also :
Ketogenic Diet Reduces Symptoms of Alzheimer's
Ketogenic Diet (high-fat, low-carb) Has Neuroprotective and Disease-modifying Effects
Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets
Is the Ketogenic Diet the cure for multiple diseases?
Solve Your Health Issues with a Ketogenic Diet


Arrow Up

Russia considers complete ban on GM food production

No GMO
© EPA
While the Grocery Manufacturer's Association, along with Monsanto and other poison makers try to slip a labeling-by-choice campaign past citizens in the US, Russia is preparing a bill that would heavily restrict the import of genetically modified agricultural produce, as well as stop it altogether from being produced domestically.

The initiative is backed by the parliamentary majority, and is an amendment to the existing law "On Safety and Quality of Alimentary Products," which sets norms for the maximum content of transgenic and genetically modified components in Russia's food. The author of the bill is Evgeny Fyodorov, a member of the United Russia party. A group called Russian Sovereignty also supports the initiative. Some are calling this a long shot, but if it were to pass, it could be another nail in the Biotech industry's coffin.

The innovative draft law does not suppose a total ban, says Mr. Fyodorov, but it does put imports under the government's control and keeps it from being grown locally. Imported products that were tested with high levels of transgenic and genetically modified ingredients would be subject to refusal.

Russia already banned some GMO imports such as Monsanto's GMO corn, and Russia already has a labeling law. Anything that contains more than 0.9 percent GMO has to have a label and warn consumers. Last year a resolution was passed which requires a listing of all genetically modified plants in the state, but it doesn't go into effect until this July. Fyodorov wants to make that a zero tolerance policy for all foodstuffs produced in country. The draft includes a ban on GMO plants, animals, or anything of microbial origin, which is good thinking since AquaBounty's GMO salmon almost made it into our food supply already.

Bell

Flashback How much can an extra hour's sleep change you?

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The average Briton gets six-and-a-half hours' sleep a night, according to the Sleep Council. Michael Mosley took part in an unusual experiment to see if this is enough.

It has been known for some time that the amount of sleep people get has, on average, declined over the years.

This has happened for a whole range of reasons, not least because we live in a culture where people are encouraged to think of sleep as a luxury - something you can easily cut back on. After all, that's what caffeine is for - to jolt you back into life. But while the average amount of sleep we are getting has fallen, rates of obesity and diabetes have soared. Could the two be connected?

Comment: James L. Wilson says in Adrenal Fatigue:
When to Sleep

For people with adrenal fatigue (most people), it is important to be in bed and asleep before your second wind hits at about 11.00pm. Riding your second wind and staying up until 1.00 or 2.00 in the morning will further exhaust your adrenals, even though you may feel more energetic during that time than you have felt all day. In order to avoid this pitfall, make sure that you are in bed and on your way to sleep before 10.30pm, so that your adrenal glands do not have a chance to kick into overdrive for that second wind.
See also: Why we need to sleep in total darkness'
Take Control of Your Sleep, Before It Takes Control Of You'


Arrow Down

'Fake food': mislabelled drinks, meat and cheese found by West Yorkshire laboratory

Fake Food
© The Independent, UKThe public laboratory said it was concerned its findings were part of a larger national trend.
Shoppers are allegedly at risk of buying food "fake food," including ham on pizza that is "meat emulsion" or poultry, prawns that are 50 per cent water, and fruit juice containing additives not permitted in the EU.

The results found by a council laboratory in West Yorkshire and shown to the Guardian newspaper, claim to reveal that almost 40% of 900 food samples were not what they were advertised, or were mislabelled in some way.

The tests were part of a general surveillance programme by the local authority, and as part of checks focusing on products prone to being counterfeited.

Among the reported discoveries was herbal slimming tea containing neither tea nor herbs, but rather glucose powder mixed with prescription obesity medication at 13 times the normal dose; and beef mince that allegedly contained pork or poultry products.

The illegal additives claimed to have been found in juices included brominated vegetable oil, which is meant to be used as a flame retardant and is linked to behavioural problems in rats at high doses.

The experts told the newspaper that they are concerned the 900 samples were likely to be indicative of national trends at large, as budget cuts increase the risk that mislabelled or fake food will be left unidentified by council-run labs.

Black Cat 2

Bizarre "Tom and Jerry Syndrome" in the UK

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© Unknown.
In a bizarre development, cats throughout the U.K. are suddenly suffering seizures triggered by everyday household noises like rustling newspaper, the tapping of a boiled egg, or the click of a computer mouse.

Other noise-induced seizure triggers include popping pills out of blister packs, dropping metal items on tile floors or into ceramic bowls, hammering nails, and even cat owners slapping their foreheads or clicking their tongues.

Syringe

Vitamin C injections ease ovarian cancer treatments

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© Claudius Tesch/Wikimedia CommonsVitamin C may reduce chemotherapy side effects when given intravenously.
People with ovarian cancer who receive high-dose vitamin C injections are less likely to report toxic side effects from chemotherapy than people who had chemotherapy alone, according to the results of a small clinical trial.

The study, published today in Science Translational Medicine, was too small to assess whether the combination of chemotherapy and vitamin C combats cancer better than chemotherapy alone. But accompanying work in mice suggests that the two treatments could be complementary.

The results are the latest salvo in long-running controversy over the use of vitamin C against cancer. Early studies championed by Nobel-prizewinning chemist Linus Pauling in the 1970s suggested that vitamin C could help to fight tumors. But larger clinical trials failed to substantiate those claims.

Comment: Better still, ditch the chemotherapy, do some detoxing, and learn about the ketogenic paleo diet:

'Primal Body' transforms metabolism with gluten-free high fat ketogenic diet
The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview
Ketogenic Diet improves insulin sensitivity and numerous aging markers


Life Preserver

Russell Brand: My life without drugs

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© Mark Nolan/WireImage'I cannot accurately convey to you the efficiency of heroin in neutralizing pain.'

Russell Brand has not used drugs for 10 years. He has a job, a house, a cat, good friends. But temptation is never far away. He wants to help other addicts, but first he wants us to feel compassion for those affected
.

The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday. I had received "an inconvenient truth" from a beautiful woman. It wasn't about climate change - I'm not that ecologically switched on - she told me she was pregnant and it wasn't mine.

I had to take immediate action. I put Morrissey on in my car as an external conduit for the surging melancholy, and as I wound my way through the neurotic Hollywood hills, the narrow lanes and tight bends were a material echo of the synaptic tangle where my thoughts stalled and jammed.

Morrissey, as ever, conducted a symphony, within and without and the tidal misery burgeoned. I am becoming possessed. The part of me that experienced the negative data, the self, is becoming overwhelmed, I can no longer see where I end and the pain begins. So now I have a choice.

Comment: A Top Doc Explains Why Kind Love Beats Tough Love When Treating Addiction:
Dr. Gabor Mate is renowned in Canada for his work in treating people with the worst addictions, most notably at Vancouver's controversial Insite facility, which provides users with clean needles, medical support and a safe space to inject drugs.

Canada's Conservative government has tried to shut Insite down, but the country's Supreme Court ruled late last year that doing so would contravene human rights laws because the program has been shown to save lives.

In Mate's book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, which was a No. 1 bestseller in Canada, he advocates for the compassionate treatment of addiction, a position that is increasingly receiving international attention. Healthland recently spoke with Mate about the causes and consequences of addiction and what to do about the problem.



Red Flag

Roundup accumulates in GMO food, proving its lack of safety

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An important new manuscript accepted for publication in the journal Food Chemistry disproves the widely held notion that GMO crops are 'substantially equivalent' to their traditional counterparts; a notion which forms the basis for national and international agencies - including the U.S. FDA, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization - declaring genetically modified foods to be safe without having performed adequate health risk assessments.

The new manuscript titled, "Compositional differences in soybeans on the market: Glyphosate accumulates in Roundup Ready GM soybeans,"[i] was submitted by a team of researchers from Norway and the United Kingdom who explored the compositional differences of 31 soybean batches from Iowa, USA, which consisted of three different types:
  1. Genetically modified, glyphosate-tolerant soy (GM-soy);
  2. Unmodified soy cultivated using a conventional "chemical" cultivation regime;
  3. Unmodified soy cultivated using an organic cultivation regime.
Their analysis revealed the following discoveries:
  • "Organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more sugars, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose, significantly more total protein, zinc and less fibre than both conventional and GM-soy."
  • "Organic soybeans also contained less total saturated fat and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy."
  • "GM-soy contained high residues of glyphosate and AMPA (mean 3.3 and 5.7mg/kg, respectively). Conventional and organic soybean batches contained none of these agrochemicals."

TV

How Big Pharma brainwashes Americans into believing they're sick

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Big pharma uses celebrities and other sneaky ways to sell diseases that may not exist.

Most of us have our guard up when it comes to direct-to-consumer drug advertising. We know the butterflies, sunsets and puppies in the TV ads are designed to distract us from terms like "blood clot," "heart attack," "stroke," "seizure," "life-threatening allergic reaction" and "death." We are aware that more than half the ads tell us why we don't actually want to ask our doctor about the new wonder drug.

Unbranded advertising, however, is much more insidious. Instead of selling a drug, it sells the disease driving the drug sales and sometimes doesn't mention the drug at all.

Unbranded advertising often appears to be from the CDC and can even run free as a public service announcement thanks to its apparently altruistic message. The hallmark of unbranded advertising is it calls the disease it's hawking (whether depression, bipolar disorder or restless legs) "under-diagnosed," and "underreported" and cites "barriers" and "stigmas to treatment" which of course means sales. Sometimes it calls the disease a "silent killer" to scare people who think they're fine. (Before drug advertising it was the opposite: the medical establishment said you were probably fine despite how you felt.)