This is from Dr. Ed Martin of House Calls. Once again, he’s uncovered the real truth about expensive MRIs and why doctors and hospitals love to give them to you. And, it’s not always about your good health. A definite “pass it on”. And, in article #2, he reveals that Canada is starting to regulate vitamins and supplements, playing right into Big Pharma’s hands. What’s with that, eh? dmc
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MRIs: An Expensive Mistake for Breast Cancer
One of the biggest cash cows is breast cancer… and a new study shows just how efficiently they use this disease to redirect cash from patients and their insurance companies to doctors and labs.
That’s because MRI exams add a new layer of expenses for breast cancer patients… but not much else, according to the study out of Britain.
The researchers followed 1,623 women already treated for breast cancer. All of them went through the usual tests — generally a doctor’s visit, an x-ray or ultrasound, and a lab test — to determine if they’d need another operation.
But roughly half of them were also given an MRI exam.
Within six months, 19 percent of the women who got the MRIs were told they’d need another operation. Within those same six months, 19 percent of the women who DIDN’T get the MRIs were also told they’d need a second surgery.
A year later, there was also no difference in the quality of life between these two groups, according to the study published in The Lancet.
In other words, the MRI didn’t make a single bit of difference on any level… except run up costs. Here in the United States, a breast MRI can cost up to $1,500.
There’s really only one word for this: exploitation.
That’s because this study is hardly the first of its kind… it’s not even the most damning. Other studies have also found that MRIs add little to the process beyond extra costs. They can even lead to entirely unnecessary surgeries since they can pick up minute tumors and lesions that were best left alone.
A study published last year found that women who get MRIs don’t live longer… and don’t have a lower rate of recurrence.
Add it all up and here’s what we have: A very expensive test that doesn’t increase lifespan or quality of life, and doesn’t help doctors determine who’ll need additional surgeries.
Of course, whether it’s an MRI for a woman who’s already fought off a breast cancer diagnosis or a mammogram for a woman who hasn’t, most of these screenings are unnecessary to begin with. The long-term data is in, and the numbers don’t lie: All those extra screenings pushed by the mainstream lead to more surgeries — but not fewer deaths.
They just don’t work — not for the patient, anyway. They work out pretty well for all the doctors, surgeons and labs that profit off them.
But let’s shift our outrage to Canada now, where vitamins are coming under government assault. Keep reading!
Canada’s nutrition crackdown
Canadian officials are cracking down on vitamins and nutrients, leaving many Canucks who rely on supplements out in the cold. For many conditions, Canadians now have no choice but to take Big Pharma’s dangerous meds… or do nothing at all.
And if you think this can’t happen here, you haven’t been paying attention — because there’s already a bill making its way through Congress that would give the FDA new oversight over natural health products like vitamins and supplements.
But let’s get back to Canada, where the heavy-handed bureaucrats of the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities have told pharmacies to stop carrying unlicensed natural products and supplements.
Most of the companies who make these products — vitamins that have been on store shelves for years — want to comply, but can’t… because there’s a huge backlog for those licenses.
How did it happen?
Let’s rewind to 2004… when Canadian officials began regulating vitamins. Under the new rules, all supplements would need a license. They knew it would take a while to get to every product, so they told the companies that make them not to worry. As long as they’ve at least applied for a license, they could keep selling their vitamins.
Now, nearly six years later, they thought they’d be done by now — so they’re pulling the plug on that informal grace period. If your product doesn’t have a license by now, tough. But there’s just one little problem: They’re not even close to done.
They’ve still got some 10,000 applications to review.
It’s not just bad for consumers who want and need these natural treatments… it’s bad for the Canadian economy. The companies that make these vitamins and supplements say they’re facing big losses and will have to lay off workers — if they manage to survive at all.
One little company makes just two products — and neither one has been granted a license yet, according to a story in Canada’s National Post.
Oh, Canada — looks like the only thing you stand on guard for now is Big Pharma’s best interests.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
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Tags: breast cancer, breast cancer screening, Canada regulates vitamins, Dr. Ed Martin, House Calls, MRI, supplements
This is from Deborah Ray and the Alliance For Natural Health, March 2, 2010. I believe, due to overwhelming response from concerned citizens, Senator McCain has withdrawn his support of the Supplements bill as written. I think we’ve finally won one. But we have to keep it up. We have to stand up and be counted. Not just on this bill, but every outrageous boondoggle they (Congress) seems to come up. I believe its in your best interest to be appraised of what’s going on in Washington. Check out the Suzanne Somers link below and pass it on. dmc********************************************************************The Pulse of Health Freedom, March 2, 2010
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Tags: Alliance For Natural Health, anti-supplement bill, Bill O'Reilly, Senator John McCain, Suzanne Somers
Is your sexual prowess linked to Vitamin D and the sun’s natural rays? Dr. William Campbell Douglass II has all those answers and more. Excellent article, Dr. D. Pass it on! dmc
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How sunlight boosts your love life
I’ve been shedding light on America’s sex problems for decades…and now the mainstream is finally coming around.
Toss your dangerous penis pills, because the REAL answer to most cases of erectile dysfunction can be found in a single hormone: testosterone. And a new study suggests that you can get your own bedroom boost by simply stepping outside — because your testosterone rises and falls alongside your sun-powered vitamin D levels.
But don’t count on the sun alone to get your sex life cooking. It might give your testosterone levels a little kick, but it won’t be enough for most sexually challenged men.
There’s a simple reason for that: As you get older, your body makes less testosterone. It happens to the best of us. Getting fat will also cause your levels to go limp. And if you’re fat and old, you’re up the creek — but let me throw you a paddle: Switch to a high-protein diet rich in animal fats, and drop the carbs down to almost nothing.
The protein will give you energy. The zinc in the meat will boost your testosterone levels. And the lack of carbs will help you shed those extra pounds. Add it all up, and you’ll be back on track in the sack — but most men over 50 will need an extra hormone boost to really complete the picture.
Forget off-the-shelf testosterone supplements. Visit a doc who knows something about natural hormones. He can check your levels and top you off the right way: with a series of injections.
Finally, don’t be afraid of that big yellow thing in the sky. The media’s Chicken Little act over sunlight is out of control — I actually read an article in the online edition of the St. Petersburg Times that said you should get your vitamin D through sunlight “only with your doctor’s approval.”
I kept looking for the punchline, but it wasn’t a joke.
So consider this your permission slip — get outside and bask for a few minutes every day. Skip the sunblock and head back inside when your skin turns just a little pink.
The sun won’t poison you if you use some common sense, but your food might. Keep reading for the latest tuna trauma…
Canned tuna linked to mercury
If you’re partial to canned foods, you’re probably getting a little something extra in your tuna salad: a heaping helping of mercury.
But let’s face it — if you’re partial to canned foods, you’ve got bigger fish to fry. You’re eating your way into an early grave, and your lousy processed-food diet will kill you long before the mercury can.
The seafood-mercury scare is nothing new…but if you stick to healthy, deep-water wild-caught fish, don’t panic. You should be far more worried about the mercury in your fillings, tap water and vaccinations than anything in your seafood.
If, on the other hand, you think fish are caught with can openers, do yourself a favor and pay attention to the new study from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Researchers examined 300 cans of tuna from the top three brands, and found 55 percent had higher-than-safe levels of mercury.
Bad? Sure. But unless you’re locked in a shelter and the bombs are falling, you shouldn’t be eating anything that comes in a can, period. The processed garbage inside is bad enough, but the cans themselves are lined with a dangerous estrogen-like chemical called bisphenol-A, or BPA.
Add some mercury to the mix, and you’ve got a toxic stew that only a government regulator could love. After all, the EPA still lists canned tuna as a low-mercury choice… despite repeated studies that prove otherwise. And the FDA continues to say BPA is perfectly safe to use in can linings and plastics – despite admitting “concern” over it.
If you really want to lower your risk, there are other fish in the sea. The safest — and healthiest — include freshwater trout, flounder, salmon, catfish, whitefish and herring, along with oysters and clams. If you have to have tuna, stick to the fresh stuff caught in deep waters.
And if the catch of the day includes farmed fish, throw it back. Farmed fish often have higher levels of mercury, lead and PCBs. They’re also much lower in the essential omega-3 fatty acids that make fish so healthy to begin with.
Should you decide to skip seafood altogether, get your fins on a quality fish oil supplement and eat plenty of fresh, fatty grass-fed beef to make sure you’re getting enough of those omega-3s.
Casting a wide net,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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Tags: canned tuna and mercury poisoning, Daily Dose, Dr. William Campbell Douglass II, sex and vitamin D
It seems Oprah, in her infinite wisdom, has teamed up with Walgreens to make you healthier. Or, as Dr. William Campbell Douglass II believes, it’s all about the money. Oprah doesn’t have a clue, does she? Even Dr. Oz (where is he when you need him) knows better. Come on, Oprah, really! Check it out below, and pass it on. dmc
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When Oprah speaks, her flock leaps. And now, she wants her viewers to run, too — right out the door for a diabetes test.
It’s a great big game of “Oprah Says,” but no one wins this one…except for Oprah and her favorite sponsors.
In her biggest act of self-importance yet, the queen of TV blather is trying to solve America’s diabetes problem by sending her viewers out to Walgreens for free blood tests.
Hurry up, now…Oprah says.
Pardon me for not feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, but I doubt Oprah will ever come close to even hinting at the kind of changes people need to make to avoid diabetes.
She has advertisers to worry about, after all.
The truth is, lowering your risk for diabetes is beyond simple: Swear off the sugar, cut the carbs down to the barest of minimums and eat a diet rich in fresh animal fats and protein.
Works nearly every time…but that kind of crazy talk isn’t going to sell a lot of commercials, and it’s not going to make Oprah viewers feel good about their own carb-fueled misery.
So instead, she’s teamed up with Walgreens — which has no financial interest in making America healthy. Ever walk the aisles in a big chain pharmacy? The “food” section is chips, cookies, frozen dinners, soda and ice cream.
The healthiest thing in the store is probably the beer — and that’s only if local liquor laws allow them to sell it.
Chain pharmacies make money by catering to sick fatties who will buy more chips and ice cream while they wait for their prescriptions to be filled.
That, and overpriced dollar-store junk.
Show up for that free blood test, and after your run the potato-chip gauntlet to get to the pharmacy in the back, you’ll be asked to sign a consent form. Take a look at the fine print — it says right on the bottom that they’ll share your information. It doesn’t say whom they’ll share it with, but it doesn’t take much detective work to figure it out — the list of sponsors on the Walgreens website reads like a Who’s Who of Big Pharma: Bayer, Merck, Sanofi Aventis, and Pfizer, just to name of few.
You can bet your glucose they’re salivating at the idea of getting the names, addresses, phone numbers and blood-sugar levels of Oprah viewers who are at risk for diabetes.
But go ahead, sign that form — Oprah says.
If, on the other hand, you really want to eliminate your risk for diabetes, change the channel.
That’s not the only diabetes drivel making the rounds this week. Keep reading…
Tubby teens pushed towards diabetes drugs for weight lossYour kid may not have diabetes, but that won’t stop the pediatric pushers from trying to get him hooked on diabetes drugs in order to shed a few pounds.
The latest bit of shockingly underwhelming research found that kids taking metformin XR lost very little weight over a very long time…yet it’s being hailed as some kind of breakthrough.
These teens managed to shave an average of just 0.9 off their body-mass index over a year, according to the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. That’s around five measly pounds…for kids who generally need to lose 30 or 40 pounds, or more.
And yet the delusional authors of this study had the nerve to call this complete failure a success.
“These results indicate that metformin may have an important role in the treatment of adolescent obesity,” they wrote, apparently unaware of what words like “important” and “treatment” mean.
Then they had the stones to add that longer-term studies are needed.
Sorry, pal — but if you got nowhere in a year, you don’t get a second shot.
The fact is, drugs are never the real answer for weight loss — especially diabetes meds like metformin.
Sure, they might help you or your kid lose a few pounds. And you might kill some mice by setting up land mines in your home, too.
This drug causes nausea, vomiting, cramps and diarrhea — so of course your kids will lose some weight on it. They’ll be too sick to eat…and when they do, they’ll have trouble keeping it all down.
And if you thought your kid was an outcast because he’s fat, wait until you see how his social life blossoms with those side effects. It’s also known to cause plenty of flatulence, but you know kids — maybe they’ll find that one funny.
Never kidding when it comes to children’s health,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
Tags: Dr. William Campbell Douglass II, free diabetes test, Oprah, Walgreens
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