Author: World Vitamins Online

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? People can have high blood pressure for years and not know it. Nearly 30% of adults in the United States have high blood pressure and of those over one-third are unaware that they have this condition. These numbers come from the American Heart Association.

When your doctor takes a blood pressure reading it is reported as two numbers. The first, or the upper number, being systolic and the second or lower number being called the diastolic number. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have issued the following guidelines for interpreting these numbers.

• Normal Blood Pressure is below 120/80 mmHg

• When systolic pressure is 120 to 129 and diastolic pressure is 80 to 89 this is defined as prehypertension.

• Stage 1 hypertension is systolic 140 to 159 and diastolic between 90 and 99.

• Stage 2 hypertension is when systolic is higher than 160 and diastolic is over 100. Read more…

A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers.

In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour.

It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect.

The technique, which is relatively straightforward and cheap for the NHS, could reduce the risk of a major heart attack or stroke in such patients by half.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the new procedure, which involves placing tiny burns on a nerve responsible for high blood pressure in some people, has been carried out in Britain for the first time.

It is part of an international clinical trial which could lead to the new treatment being offered on the NHS.

An estimated 15 million people in Britain suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension – around half of them undiagnosed. Read more…

One of the major health problems facing our society today is the problem of obesity. This is a condition that will increase the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis in people over the years. Everywhere we look someone is pushing the latest diet that will help us sheds those unwanted pounds. When we watch television or read print media everyone has the “most effective” weight loss program for us. We have the low-calorie diet, the Miracle Diet, the Pritikin Diet and a host of others to choose from. All making claims they are the one to get you into better shape. No wonder people are confused and baffled.

At any given time 15 to 35 percent of us are trying to lose weight. We try the latest non-fat foods, go to fat farms and get involved in the latest diet program. But for all this effort and the billions of dollars spent by millions of people we are still getting fatter. The number of Americans considered to be fat is up from 25% in the eighties to over 33% of the population today.

With the New Year fast approaching many of us will resolve to loose weight only to fail in the coming weeks or months. Some will actually experience their weight loss goals but unfortunately fewer will be able to maintain it. Some of the attempts to loose weight will also come with other medical risks. People who experience repeated failure in their weight loss program will eventually loose self esteem and feel guilt.

So are all weight loss programs doomed to fail? Exactly what is going wrong? We need to separate fact from fiction when it comes to diets and weight loss. There are a few things that may help. Read more…

Reinhold Vieth is frustrated. A thin, bald professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Patho-biology, Vieth is among the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subject of vitamin D. He began studying it as a graduate student in 1974 and hasn’t changed his focus since. “I stick with vitamin D and follow it where it goes,” he says.

In recent years, vitamin D has been going to some exciting places. Reports of new and promising studies seem to emerge almost weekly. A 2007 analysis of vitamin D studies found that individuals with higher vitamin D levels are significantly – as much as 50 per cent – less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Another 2007 study found that women who took 1,100 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day together with a calcium supplement reduced their overall cancer risk by 60 per cent. And the excitement is not only about cancer prevention. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression and rheumatoid arthritis, among other diseases. Perhaps not surprisingly, in light of the other studies, one recent review of the health records of more than 13,000 Americans found that individuals with the lowest vitamin D levels were 26 per cent more likely, in an eight-year period, to die than those with the highest levels.

So why is Dr Vieth so frustrated? You might think he’d have cause for celebration. But for him and other vitamin D researchers around the world, the good news comes with a bitter aftertaste. They believe they can prove vitamin D could help millions live longer and be healthier and yet they have not been able to convince their own governments.

In the US and Canada, official vitamin D policy is set by the Institute of Medicine. And in the opinion of Vieth, the current recommendations – 200 International Units per day for people under 50, 400 for people aged 51-70, and 600 for those 71 and older – are outrageously low. Bruce Hollis, professor of paediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, calls 400 IU a day “a joke”. That’s because the best research suggests that to achieve the higher vitamin D blood levels associated with disease prevention, most adults in the US would need to take 1,000-2,000 IU a day: five to 10 times more than the current official recommendation for adults.

In the UK, the government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy has declined to set a “Reference Nutrient Intake” value for people “leading a normal lifestyle”, arguing that you can get the vitamin D you need from food and sunlight. But they fall in line with the Americans where they do make recommendations: for people confined indoors, the elderly and pregnant women, they suggest a daily intake of 10 micrograms a day. That’s equal to 400 IU. Read more…

Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body, including the shoulder. Osteoarthritis of the shoulder can affect the two joints in the shoulder area — the acromioclavicular joint and the glenohumeral joint. Early diagnosis and treatment help people with osteoarthritis of the shoulder manage their symptoms.

Cause of Shoulder Osteoarthritis

The shoulder is considered the most movable joint in the body, but because of its range of motion the shoulder is more unstable than other joints. The shoulder is a common site of injury. The ball of the upper arm is actually larger than the shoulder socket that holds it. To remain stable, the shoulder is supported by muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

The degenerative process associated with osteoarthritis can affect the shoulder, though it is less common than in other joints. When osteoarthritis develops in the glenohumeral joint, it is usually the result of a previous injury. Osteoarthritis in the acromioclavicular joint can be painful and cause problems when using the joint for everyday tasks. Read more…

What’s the nation’s No. 1 killer of women? Heart disease. It causes one death every 35 seconds. Janet Bond Brill, a registered dietitian and author of Cholesterol Down (Three Rivers Press), shares 10 tips to reduce the bad stuff. Plus, test your heart-health IQ with our quiz…

Cholesterol and Heart Disease
In the annual physical, your doctor checks your cholesterol levels. But what is it? And what do the numbers say about your health?

Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat. In our bodies, it travels through our blood stream in particles called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are bad because they can lead to a buildup of plaque in arteries.

A mass of plaque can narrow your arteries and restrict blood flow – much like trying to sip juice through a clogged straw. Eventually, the plaque ruptures and a blood clot forms, cutting off the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

Hello, heart attack and stroke! Read more…

Recently, Dr. Constance R. Chu, the Albert Ferguson associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Cartilage Restoration Center there, confirmed a theory, and found herself troubled by the results. It turned out that if you dropped a heavy weight onto parts of a cow’s knee joint from various heights, the joint was hurt. (While the parts of the joint were damaged, the cow itself was uninjured by the experiment; the knees came from a local abattoir.) When the weight hit the joint’s surface cartilage with great speed and force, the bone and cartilage fractured. No surprise there. But it is what happened in Dr. Chu’s experiment when the impact was more subtle — closer to, for instance, the perturbations inside a human knee when a ligament is torn — that concerned her. She found that with lighter impact, the various parts of the knee appeared, visually at least, to be fine.

But when Dr. Chu and her colleagues examined the cartilage cells just below the placid surface, they found carnage. “Many of the cells within the impact zone” — the area that had been directly thwacked by the weight — “were dead,” she said. They died instantly. More insidiously, other cartilage cells, those outside the injury site, began to die in the hours and days after the impact. “We saw an expanding zone of death,” Dr. Chu said. By the end of her group’s planned observation period, four days after the impact, cartilage cells well away from the original injury site were still dying.

The results are fascinating, in a gruesome sort of way. But why should escalating damage to cows’ cartilage matter to the average active human? Well, Dr. Chu says, this study, which was just published in the December issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, in conjunction with other researchers’ findings, may help to explain why, she said, “I’m seeing so many patients in their 20s and 30s with knee arthritis after joint injury.”

Human knees (as well as bovine ones) are remarkable instruments, able to bear large loads and pivot in multiple directions. But they also damage easily, as evidenced by the approximately 175,000 anterior-cruciate-ligament-reconstruction operations performed in the United States every year, a number that, by all estimates, has risen steeply in the past decade or so. (No agency tracks the procedures.) Many of these operations are being done now on teenagers, who rip an A.C.L. during a soccer or basketball game. (A.C.L. operations were relatively uncommon in young people before youth sports grew so popular.) Others are in men and women in their 20s and 30s who fall on the ski slopes, for instance. Read more…

Americans have heard a lot of mixed messages about vitamins and may be wondering if they are safe and effective. As with most health questions, it’s smart to look at multiple information sources to get the true picture on nutritional supplementation.

“The total body of scientific evidence overall supports the benefits of nutritional supplementation,” reports certified clinical nutritionist Neil E. Levin, nutrition education manager at NOW Foods in Bloomingdale, Ill. “Surveys show that most people trust vitamins, relying on them as a form of nutritional insurance, and most doctors surveyed recommend them to their patients.”

The Lewin Group has published evidence-based research reporting that the proper use of certain dietary supplements can save billions of dollars in health care costs while improving the quality of life and preserving the independence of seniors.

The occasional negative report, however sensational, should be regarded skeptically when contrasted with a solid body of evidence. According to the FDA’s Consumer Update, it’s a smart idea to “think twice about chasing the latest headline. Sound health advice is generally based on research over time, not a single study touted by the media.” Read more…

Eighty-six percent of people who develop an eating disorder said the illness was apparent by the age of 20, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders.

However, these types of illnesses do not always start out as eating disorders.

Dianna Schalles, Lafene Health Center nutritionist, said dieting is a gateway that can lead to an eating disorder.

“Sometimes it will start out innocently, trying to be health conscious,” she said.

Schalles said people start by eliminating certain fats from their diets. When they see success, they cut other elements of their diet too. This combined with positive body-image feedback from others can cause a domino effect.

“It’s very complex; often times a person may not know they would be at risk for that,” she said.

With an enormous market for weight loss programs and diet supplements and a constant flow of unrealistic images in the media, quick-fix or extreme dieting can be utilized to try and obtain the perfect body image.

However, professionals stress simple and healthy lifestyle choices can be implemented into everyday routines to achieve physical fitness.

“Long term success isn’t about finding the right diet,” Schalles said. “It’s really about identifying behaviors that contribute to a person consuming more calories or an adequate physical activity.” Read more…

The British television presenter and lifestyle coach Amanda Hamilton shares her views on health and nutrition.

Like everything else in this turbulent world, food supplement habits among consumers are changing. Market research shows that sales of single and multi-vitamin pills have fallen dramatically, and this downwards trajectory is predicted to continue as more people reply on fruit and vegetables to get their daily nutrients.

On the face of it, this should be a positive move. Food can deliver the most bio-available nutrients, particularly those from fresh fruit and green vegetables. Other important food constituents such as enzymes cannot be replicated in a laboratory without considerable expense to the consumer’s pocket.

However, ditching supplements only works if the food measures up.

Even though most of us know about the recommended five-a-day (servings of fruit and vegetables) mantra, failure to eat such a diet could leave you open to possible nutritional deficiencies, leading to health problems now or later in life. Read more…

The best way to get enough vitamin D is through food, right? No, according to the latest Harvard Heart Letter, which says supplements are the best way for Americans to raise their body’s level of vitamin D, which in most cases too low right this moment.

In fact, the Harvard report notes that at least one-third of Americans and 75 percent of people who have cardiovascular disease are vitamin D deficient. To make that determination, the report states that “deficient” is defined as less than 20 nanograms of 25-hydroxyvitamin D per milliliter of blood (ng/mL); “insufficient” is from 20 to 30 ng/mL, and “sufficient” as any level greater than 30 ng/mL. The Vitamin D Council, however, states that everyone should maintain a level of 50 to 80 ng/mL, which means that according to their standards, a great many more people would be classified as being vitamin D deficient.

Vitamin D deficiency is a serious problem, as this vitamin plays a critical role in bone strength (including osteoporosis and fractures associated with falls), coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, muscle pain, infection, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, asthma, and memory loss. Read more…

While the rest of us were preparing for Thanksgiving, the CDC was kicking off its largest-ever public awareness campaign about staying healthy while traveling.

And not a moment too soon.

Peak flu season coincides with the busiest weeks of the winter travel season. This year, with both the seasonal flu and H1N1 in full swing, CDC is especially worried about how easy it is for illnesses to spread when people are in close contact at work and family get-togethers, on trains, ships and especially on planes.

The danger is real. Each year the seasonal flu sends thousands of people to the hospital and kills nearly 36,000. Since April, H1N1 alone has killed at least 4,000 people and sickened about 22 million others.

Although CDC reported this week that flu-related hospitalizations and deaths are on the drop, an agency spokesperson notes that flu cases “are still very high nation-wide compared to what is expected for this time of year.”

So, well-mannered travelers, as we all gear up for the next big wave of holiday travel, here are some tips for germ-free air travel and an update from airlines about change fees should illness strike.

Travel well

Ideally, you’ll travel when healthy, and you’ll stay that way on the road.

To do that, begin your trip well-rested and head for the airport early. You won’t be pressed for time, and the stress of traffic and long security lines will roll off your back.

To help ward off illness, experts suggest boosting immunity with exercise, healthy foods and vitamins. Dr. Margaret Lewin, Medical Director at Cinergy Health, suggests taking a daily dose of Vitamin D. “If you are sitting next to a passenger who is obviously ill, try to change your seat,” Lewin said. If that’s not possible, she suggests you to give the ill passenger beside you a packet of tissues and then turn your air duct toward the person. Read more…

Vitamin D is one of my favorite topics to share valuable information about, as the research that continues to come out is just so exciting.

If you click on the link you will be taken to a site that allows you to download the PowerPoint presentations of an awesome vitamin D conference. I had actually planned on attending this conference in Toronto in early November but had a schedule conflict that prevented me from attending at the last minute.

The evidence is overwhelming, and the solution is incredibly simple. One way to drastically reduce your risk of cancer and countless other chronic diseases is to optimize your levels of vitamin D — either by safe sun exposure, tanning in a safe tanning bed or taking a high-quality supplement.

Yet, a great deal of people around the world have heard nothing of this great “discovery.” It’s even likely that your doctor is among them.

And on top of that, many, many people are deficient in vitamin D. It’s thought that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public.

Clearly, the word needs to get out but the mainstream media is slow to react.

Plus, there’s no money to be made on selling vitamin D (it’s one of the most inexpensive supplements around, and sun exposure is free!). So don’t count on any major corporations or drug companies to help get the message out (rather, count on them to try and suppress this lifesaving information).

The longer this information goes largely unnoticed, the more people will die unnecessarily from potentially preventable cancers and other diseases.

So just what do you stand to gain from optimizing your vitamin D? Well, I highly recommend browsing through the studies above to see it with your own eyes, but let me summarize some of the amazing benefits here. Read more…

Reporting from Washington – Acupuncturists, dietary-supplement makers and other alternative health practitioners, some of whose treatments are considered unproven by the medical establishment, would be brought more squarely into the mainstream of American medicine under the health legislation now before the Senate.

The legislation would allow doctors to incorporate alternative health providers in some treatment plans. It also includes language that some believe could require insurance companies to expand their coverage for alternative therapies, on which Americans now spend $34 billion a year.

Insurers and some scientific watchdogs say the measure would undermine one of the central principles of the healthcare overhaul: that the system cut costs by eliminating medical treatments that aren’t proven effective.

“These provisions are anti-science and anti-consumer,” said Dr. Steven Novella, a professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine, who is mobilizing opposition to the Senate bill.

The leading champion of these measures is Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, who credits bee-pollen pills with curing his seasonal allergies. He is also the leading recipient in Congress of campaign donations from chiropractors and dietary-supplement makers.

Harkin’s staff says he supports healthcare that has shown itself to be effective.

“Sen. Harkin has done everything he can to ensure that supports for proven preventive practices, be they traditional or complementary, are included in this bill,” said spokeswoman Bergen Kenny, referring to a version of the legislation that cleared Harkin’s committee over the summer. Read more…

Do you pop vitamin pills daily to keep yourself healthy? If you do you’re likely in the majority, because half of adults take vitamins daily. But are you taking the right ones and in the right amount?

If you don’t know, you could be spending too much and possibly even causing your body harm. Vitamin sales have been growing at the pace of 4% annually and as more people lose health insurance, those numbers are expected to increase more rapidly. The Nutrition Business Journal expects sales to grow by 8% to a total of $9.2 billion annually as people turn to vitamins hoping they will stay healthy and avoid the doctor.

But, you shouldn’t just start popping pills. For example, Vitamin A in the right dosage can help maintain healthy teeth, bones, skin and vision, but if you take too much, you can end up reducing bone density, encouraging hair loss and developing liver problems.

So how can you avoid the pitfalls of taking too many vitamins? Do your homework. If you want to use vitamins and supplements to stay healthy, do so with some professional help. I work with a doctor dual-certified in internal medicine and naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medicine believes that the human body has an innate healing ability. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and cutting edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease. My doctor, using basic blood and saliva tests, helps me to determine what vitamins and minerals I need to stay healthy and avoid costly medical treatments in the future. Read more…

Obese patients who lost a moderate amount of weight by eating less and exercising more improved their cardiovascular health, says a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The results of this two-year study, published in the Dec. 15, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that weight loss led to improvement in four key measures of heart and vascular health. The improvements seen in the study participants included decreased thickness of heart muscle, improved pumping and relaxation functions of the heart and decreased thickness of the carotid artery walls. Heart muscle thickening and impaired pumping and relaxation functions are predictors of heart failure, and increased carotid wall thickness is a predictor of plaque formation.

The researchers studied 60 moderately obese individuals at regular intervals, and 46 people (78 percent) completed the entire two-year follow-up period. The participants ranged in age from 22 to 64 and had BMIs (body mass indexes) of between 30 and 44. During the study, the subjects were instructed to eat low-calorie diets (1,200 to 1,500 calories for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories for men) and to exercise for about three and a half hours per week, principally walking.

On average, they lost weight for about six months, reaching a maximum loss of nine percent body weight or 22 pounds. Maximum cardiovascular benefit lagged behind weight loss, with the greatest improvement coming six to 12 months after the study began.

Starting at about six months, most participants slowly regained some of their lost weight. At the end of two years, the participants averaged about nine pounds below their initial weight. Even though they regained some weight, after two years they still retained some of the heart and blood vessel benefit they had received.

“Losing 20 or so pounds might seem daunting to some people, but we showed that even a more modest weight loss can yield heart and vascular benefits,” says first author Lisa de las Fuentes, M.D., a Washington University heart specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and assistant professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division at the School of Medicine. “It’s important to realize that you can choose goals that are attainable and work progressively toward them. You don’t necessarily need to lose 50 pounds to improve your heart function.”

The study participants were randomly assigned to either low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets. Both diet groups experienced similar improvements in heart and vascular measurements. That’s reassuring for people who prefer one type of diet over the other, says de las Fuentes.Read more…

It wouldn’t be surprising to find that registered dietitians (RDs) are among the healthiest eaters in the United States, but their healthy habits extend beyond diet. Registered dietitians demonstrate a commitment to the three pillars of health: a healthy diet, supplements and regular exercise. According to new research from the “Life…supplemented” 2009 Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, eight in 10 registered dietitians view dietary supplements as important for maintaining health.

The study shows 81 percent of registered dietitians agree most people have gaps in their diets that can be filled with vitamins and other dietary supplements. Many include themselves in this group, with 76 percent agreeing that supplement use can address their own diet gaps. Registered dietitians’ actions follow suit, with nine in 10 (96 percent) taking supplements and recommending them to their clients (97 percent).

Which supplements are registered dietitians taking? Most commonly, they are taking a multivitamin (84 percent). RDs also take specialty supplements (64 percent take at least one specialty supplement), such as Omega-3 fish oils (47 percent), herbal or botanical supplements (46 percent) or fiber (22 percent). Over half of registered dietitians take supplements for improved bone health (58 percent) and overall health and wellness (53 percent).

“Registered dietitians know people’s eating habits, and we know that people don’t always eat correctly,” says Leslie Bonci, RD, director of sports medicine nutrition for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and advisor to the “Life…supplemented” campaign. “A healthy diet works in concert with exercise and responsible use of supplements for a wellness lifestyle. We’re seeing RDs champion these three components to overall wellness.”

Seven in 10 registered dietitians who recommend supplements to their clients report doing so for bone health (72 percent) and to fill nutrition gaps (69 percent). Read more…

Osteoarthritis is considered one of the most debilitating of diseases, and is clearly the most common type of musculoskeletal disorders.

Our population has become riddled with this terrible affliction, with millions of new cases reported annually. The overall cost to society is estimated to be in the region of $100 billion.

While Osteoarthritis is not thought to be gender related, it is apparent that the disease is far more common in women, than in men.

Although age is an obvious factor in many cases of osteoarthritis, it’s also very clear that there are other areas of concern, such as sports injuries, or perhaps a previous auto accident, Any previous injury, broken bone etc. can become a contributing factor in later life to one’s osteoarthritis
condition.

Obesity is a worrying problem in our modern world and has a significant effect on those suffering with OA. Osteoarthritis is most commonly found in the hands, knees, hips and back, and can be especially problematic in the load bearing joints.

Osteoarthritis tends to be less prevalent in the shoulder joint, but not unheard of. OA pain in the shoulder region, or glenohumeral, will when in most cases be attributed to a previous injury.

Discovering the actual cause of one’s OA can be like searching for a needle in a haystack, some factors are known however and should be considered, such as what strain certain types of occupation may be having on the condition.

Being overweight is a modern day epidemic, one which can have serious consequences for all of us especially arthritics suffering with osteoarthritis. Losing those excess pounds will lessen the strain on the load bearing joints, which in turn can only help one’s OA. Read more…

General Mills announced today a public commitment to reduce sugar in cereals advertised to children to single-digit grams of sugar per serving. The initiative is in place and progress has been made, the company said, “with further reductions to continue until single-digit levels are reached on all cereals advertised to children.”

“Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only five percent of the sugar in children’s diets,” said Jeff Harmening, President of General Mills’ Big G cereal division. “Still, we know that some consumers would prefer to see cereals that are even lower in sugar, especially children’s cereals. General Mills has responded – and we are committing to reduce sugar levels even more.”

General Mills has been reducing sugar in cereals advertised to children, while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain. “We have already made meaningful changes across our cereal portfolio,” noted Harmening, “and we have reached and exceeded our original goals. So today we are strengthening our goal – by publicly committing to further reduce to single-digit levels of sugar per serving every cereal advertised to children under twelve.”

The company’s commitment is among the most aggressive goals advanced in the food industry. The initiative will extend globally to 130 countries, with Cereal Partners Worldwide – the global cereal joint venture in which General Mills is a partner – adopting similar commitments.

General Mills has led numerous health and nutrition initiatives in cereal. The company was a pioneer in fortifying cereals with vitamins and minerals, and continued its leadership by fortifying its entire line of children’s cereals with calcium and vitamin D in 2008. Read more…

It is time that the actions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) speak for themselves and Americans began to question their own absorbent use and blind-loyalty to FDA approved drugs. If not, you too may become a FDA statistic. The FDA’s financial ties to “big-pharma” have caused millions of preventable deaths over the last 30 years.

In 1996-97 the FDA approved a drug known as Posicor (a chemical called mibefradil dihydrochloride) for the treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension). Prior to approval, the data from the congestive heart failure trials presented at a FDA Advisory Committee meeting on Posicor showed that more patients treated with Posicor died than those taking a placebo! After its release for use by the public 200 more Americans died from using Posicor as prescribed. It was finally removed from the market in 1998.

To treat high cholesterol, the FDA has approved synthetic chemicals known as “statins”. Brand names include Zocor, Lipitor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Baycol, and Lescol. Unknown to the public and most doctors, statin drugs can be life threatening. In a letter to the Archives of Internal Medicine, Uffe Ravnskov MD, PhD and colleagues show that in two of the three clinical trials that included healthy people, the chance of surviving was better without treatment of statins. Researchers from the University of Denmark report that about 15% of statin users over the age of 50 will suffer from nerve damage. Since cholesterol is manufactured in the liver, it remains to be seen just how much liver damage the consuming public will sustain when the internal organ injuries are factored in. USA Today reported, “Statins have killed and injured more people than the government has acknowledged”. To add insult to injury, there are no studies linking high cholesterol directly to heart disease. Wrap your brain cells around that! Factors that can be linked to heart disease are high levels of homocysteine within a person’s body. But that’s a problem that can be cured with the proper ratios of B vitamins and folic acid. Translation, no profit for doctors or drug companies. Read more…