How the pharmaceutical industry manipulates health statistics

The book, KNOW YOUR CHANCES: UNDERSTANDING HEALTH STATISTICS, spells out what Dr W C Douglas and others have been saying for years – that most health statistics produced by the pharmaceutical industry need to be taken with a good deal of scepticism.

The book's three authors, Drs. Lisa Schwartz, H. Gilbert Welch, and Steven Woloshin, describe the many ways drug companies can take statistics, and twist them in braids and tie them in knots to say exactly what they want. These misleading results then form the basis of "exciting" health news and pharmaceutical advertising.

To Quote Dr Douglas: "They point out that the ads for the statin drug Zocor, for example, claim that the drug can reduce your risk of death by heart attack by 42 percent. The authors deconstruct the statistics that helped to create that sexy, attention-getting percentage. Take a look:

The Zocor numbers are based on a study in which just 111 heart disease sufferers out of about 2,000 who used Zocor died of a heart attack. Meanwhile, 189 of the placebo-taking control group of about 2,000 patients met a similar fate. So when you compare the death rates for Zocor-takers directly to that of the placebo group, the actual "reduction" of the risk of heart attack death between the two is a paltry 3.5 percent."
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Gary comments:
For an insignificant reduction in heart attack risk the risks associated with taking statins far outweigh the benefits.

Statins interefere with Coenzyme Q-10 and fat metabolism which can lead to:

• Cognitive decline (dementia, Alzheimer's)
• Muscle wasting, joint degeneration and severe pain (polymyalgia)
• Extreme fatigue
• Increased risk of falling and breaking a hip
• Heart failure
• Skin breakdown
• Infection, including fatal septicemia

Most people who suffer these terrible side effects put them down to ageing. How wrong they can be! In 99% of cases, the prescribing doctor does not withdraw the offending medicine - they prescribe yet another, like Prednisone!

"The treatment was a success; however the patient died"

While official statisitcs for the adverse side effects of statin drugs put them as rare, please bear in mind that reporting rates may be as low as one percent. In my experience, the rates are nearer 50% or more - and increasing the longer a person is on these drugs. While a person on statins may have a slightly less risk of dying of a heart attack, what is certain is their quality of life may be seriously compromised and they will die earlier of another disease.

NB: If on statins or if you have been on them at any time, then you are urged to commence a course of restoring your Conenzyme Q-10 stores. In fact, if on stains, then it should be compulsory that you also have Q-10 prescribed.


Here is a Quizz for your doctor:

• Name the human co-enzyme that is depleted when taking statin medication
• Answer: Coenzyme Q-10
• Is Coenzyme Q-10 water or fat soluble?
• Answer: Fat soluble
• What are the two most important functions of Coenzyme Q-10
• Answer: Mitochondrial ATP synthesis and as an antioxidant in cell membranes and lipoproteins
• List four signs of Coenzyme Q-10 depletion
• Answer: Refer list of 7 earlier on in this article

When to fire your doctor: Your good health is everything. If your doctor is unable to answer any of the above questions about Q-10, or appears dismissive of any symptoms or concerns that you have, or wants to prescribe another drug to counter the side effects of the other drug, then is is time to find a better doctor. You are the consumer - take your business elsewhere.

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Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.

What are some nutrition natural health alternatives to anti-depressants?

The Government's drug buying agency Pharmac is looking into the effectiveness of anti-depressants after an international study found they were of no "clinical" significance.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders daily take the pills when they might just as well be taking sugar pill says the study.

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Gary Moller comments:

I am not surprised that these drugs (SSRI's) are no more effective than placebos. This is yet another case of selective publication by which the drugs companies suppress the unfavourable studies and give huge emphasis to those that have a positive result.

These drugs are slow poisons that their takers slowly succumb to: suicide, diseases of the digestive tract, liver cancer and so on. The beauty of these pills is they invariably lead to other problems that require additional medication, thus entrapping the hapless patient in a spiraling descent in health, emptying their bank accounts in the process. If this is not depressing, then what is?

Chances are you never needed to be on mind altering drugs that imperil your long term health. Because these drugs are highly addictive, stopping suddenly may not be a good idea. Instead, a gradual process of weaning off them may be the best course of action. Best done with the assistance of the person who first got you on these - your doctor who should be held accountable for his or her actions for practicing what I consider to be bad medicine. There are good alternatives that should be effective in all but a few cases of feeling anxious and depressed.

There are good nutrition alternatives that can be used to ease the process of getting off these powerfully addictive drugs and for providing long term improvements in physical and mental energies.

Nutrition alternatives

• Kordels MSM (methylsulfonlymethane) taken through the day of about 6,000mg per day. 
• Balance Beta-Alanine is not only good for the muscles, it is wonderful for the brain and increasing energy levels. Take according to the directions on the label.
• Eagle Bioceuticals Lecithin 1200 which provides a key chemical for brain neurotransmitters. Three capsules per day is all that is needed to be taken.
• Kordels Coenzyme Q-10 to boost energy and alertness. Just follwo the instructions on the label.

Each of these nutrition supplements must be taken consistently for 3-6 weeks for the benefits to be noticed and then taken long term to sustain them. These need to be supported with a healthy diet that includes ample fresh fruits, vegetables, red and white meat, nuts, fats and oils - all from natural and unprocessed sources. Without artificial flavourings, colourings and preservatives. If you can get it; raw full cream milk and real free range eggs. The fat-free diet is depressing. Stay away from it if you have a tendency to be sad.

Boost your vitamin D levels by sunbathing, exposing your legs and torso. Just 5-10 minutes each side 2-4 times a week is fine, taking care depending on skin type. On non-sun days take a low cost vitamin D supplement.

Exercise daily beginning each day with a brisk pre-breakfast walk outdoors to stimulate the senses, the metabolism and the Pineal Gland. You must get sunlight on your face for this early morning walk to be effective. Wear a hat but not dark glasses. For UV protection of the eyes, wear a pair of clear glasses like these ones here. This is effective even on a dull winter day.

Advice sought about deQuervain's tendinitis

"I have been diagnosed with DeQuervain's tendinitis. I have been taking anti inflammatory meds and using a splint.

Of course, the dr. wants to give me the cortisone shot. I do not want this. I have heard of a patch that uses electonic pulses to deliver the cortisone. Is this any better than the shot or with less side effects? Where can I find info or a dr. that can help me find the more "natural" remedies you write about, such as exercise, massage and nutrition? Will acupuncture help? Thank you", Sheila USA

Note:
Sheila is a slightly overweight 53 year old who works in an office. From the photos she supplied, there would appear to be some generalised fluid retention that is commonly associated with over medication.

Medications being taken:
Simvastatin - cholesterol
Quinapril - blood pressure
Levoxyl - thyroid
Etodolac - anti inflammatory
Glimerperide - diabetes
Zyrtec - sinus
Methylprednisone - steroid
Prempro - menopause hormones
Metmorphin - diabetes
Motrin - pain
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Gary Moller comments:
Sheila, it is time for a cool, hard reality check:

My ex-wife has spent 20+ years managing old people's nursing homes where residents enter in an upright position through the front door and exit in a horizontal position through the rear doors with a tag on their toe. Not long ago, she commented "When we take them off their medications, they live longer". One of the greatest frauds of modern history is the lie that pharmaceuticals improve quality of life and extend life. With some exceptions, they do neither - in most cases they ruin people's lives.

One pattern that is arising from worldwide correspondence from people seeking advice about personal health issues, is that the USA and Canada are the most medicated countries on the planet. Sheila, you are no exception and you are going the way of most North Americans - drug dependent slaves to the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical and health industries.

The difference between you and the residents of the old people's nursing home is you are young and they are much older. In my opinion, there is no need for all of this medication. Even the diabetes medication is probably unnecessary if it is Type II diabetes that it is for. For each medicine that you are taking there is a healthy, cheap or free natural alternative, or no need for anything at all, other than less work, good food, sunlight, fresh air and moderate exercise. And love. Going by your pale complexion and being on a statin drug, you are probably vitamin D deficient, for a start (Please read my articles and advice on this site about vitamin D).

The tendinitis that you are suffering from, and other symptoms of gradually deteriorating health, such as swelling ankles, indicates that your body is being steadily weakened by the onslaught of drugs and their myriad of interactions that would require a super computer to decipher. Even if, what you are taking is off and on, the long term consequences are potentially disastrous.

For example; the statin may cause severe muscle weakness, fatigue and joint pain for which you will require additional medication. Statins prevent the uptake of the fat soluble vitamins which may soften your bones requiring further medication. Low cholesterol and low vitamin D reduces hormone production which kills libido and exacerbates menopausal symptoms, requiring further medication. Similar things happen with each of the drugs you are on; hence the need for the super computer. This kind of drugs cascade overwhelms the body - especially the poor old liver which is desperately fighting to detoxify the body of the growing list of chemical poisons. The only beneficiaries of this kind of medicine are the pharmaceutical Big Boys, the doctors who do the dispensing and the politicians who get the campaign funding and perks.

Regard the deQuervain's tendinitis as being the canary in the coal mine. The canary is telling you that it is time to get off the medical production line that you are on and to take command of your health and your life. It is time for you to ditch those who are drugging you to a shorter life and for their profit. But do not stop suddenly: Please heed the advice that follows.

Sheila, this may sound harsh; but the fact you have been searching for answers other than surgery and questioning the advice given, tells me that you are probably ready to make some life-saving changes. Here is my prescription for health:

Search around where you live for an experienced, qualified natural health consultant. This person may be a health professional like a naturopath, chiropractor or even a medical practitioner who practices non-drug holistic health (they do exist). Be prepared to pay for their time to enlist their services to progressively wean yourself off each and every medication that you are on. It is time to go on a total health kick.

You must give this time Sheila - a minimum of three months of total dedication and then a lifetime of invigorating perseverance - no less than that. Do this right and you will reap life-changing rewards beginning with a new found sense of independence. After all, giving into all of these medicines is akin to raising the white flag to life, isn't it? You will save money. You will have a renewed vigour for life, you will look great and you will have years and years of living life to the max to look froward to. You are not old; you are younger than me and you still have half a lifetime to live and to love.

I am confident that the deQuervain's tendinitis will resolve of its own accord as your body's strength and vitality is steadily restored. Body - Heal thyself.

To help you in your quest, I am happy to act as an independent mentor. Please contact me anytime to toss over anything that you are uncertain of, or to get another opinion.

All the best Sheila and good luck with your quest.

Ghost Authors Common in Medical Research Papers: Study

Drug companies initiating clinical trials often use ghost authors and medical writers whose contributions are not credited in the research papers, Danish scientists said on Tuesday.
This practice could be reduced by greater transparency and stricter rules that insist everyone who has worked on or contributed to a medical trial is named.
"Ghost authorship is common but it is often kept secret because it is in the interest of both the industry and the academic authors who lend their names to papers they have had very little or, in some cases, nothing to do with," Peter Gotzsche, of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, said in an interview.
The names of authors and researchers are omitted from the published research papers because this may serve the commercial interests of the company sponsoring the trial.
"We have seen again and again that the conclusions in trial reports and other types of articles are given a spin by industry so that the conclusions are too positive compared to the data presented," Gotzsche said.
"It is very important for the industry to get messages out that are useful for their marketing departments," he added.
Lending their name to a study can be beneficial for researchers because it raises their profile and the number of published studies they are linked to. Gotzsche and a team of international researchers believe that unless the role of all the authors is set out in the research paper, people reading the study will not be able accurately to judge or trust its conclusions.
The scientists analysed 44 trials approved by Danish ethics committees in 1994-1995 in the first systematic examination of ghost authorship. One of the studies had been initiated by a local company and 43 by one of 26 multinational drug companies.
The researchers identified 33 trials with ghost authors. In 31 of them the ghost writer was a statistician -- the person who analysed the trial data.
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Gary Moller comments:
These sorts of appalling practices help to explain why "research" that shows favourable results for commercial products always seem to be far more numerous than those reports that are less than favourable. Coupled with massive publicity machines behind them these reports of questionable repute then receive incredible publicity in the media - propaganda dressed up as news!

Menawhile, the free or cheap, self-help methods for keeping healthy, or regaining health are largely ignored. For example, if a drug was discovered that was shown to reduce cancer risk by as much as 50% it would be a news sensation. The discoverers would not only become incredibly wealthy, they would also be Nobel Prize winners. Or would they?

Well there is a drug that has been discovered that does just that - sunlight. Sadly, because sun is free it receives little in the way of recognition for its cancer preventing qualities. In fact, we are taught by the establishment to fear the sun. Some might think there is some kind of conspiracy going on here. Or is it just a case of willful neglect aided and abetted by powerful commercial interests?

Diabetes drug increases the most serious complication of diabetes

Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's widely used drug for treating type 2 diabetes, raises the risk of heart death by 64 per cent and the risk of heart attack by 43 per cent, US researchers have said.

The news about Avandia, a US$3 billion ($4.1 billion) a year drug also known as rosiglitazone, triggered a free fall in GSK's shares, which closed off more than 5 per cent on the London Stock Exchange. The slide continued on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares closing down nearly 8 per cent.

Glaxo said it strongly disagreed with the conclusions of the report, based on an analysis of other studies.

"Unfortunately, rosiglitazone appears to increase, rather than decrease, the most serious complication of diabetes, heart disease," Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement.

"The whole reason you want to treat diabetes is to prevent the complications of diabetes," Nissen added in a telephone interview.<
Go here for the full story

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Gary Moller comments:

Is this a joke? Sadly, it is not. Let me expalin why these dangerous drugs keep rolling out into the market place and keep being promoted and prescribed by doctors despite known health risks. The answer is simple: It is very, very good business. Take this diabetes drug for example.

This drug brings in over $4 billion a year with, say a profit of $1 billion. Let's say they get sued for a billion. That's a lot of money. But is it really? Not really.

First they know that they can sell the drug for 4-5 years before any real concerns are collated and red flaged. Then they delay, delay, delay and obfuscate like crazy, hiring the best lawyers on the planet. They know from past expereince that many of the suers will die, others will get too sick and tired to continue and even more simply run out of money to pursue the case. After 5 years, the first cases are being heard with judgements being made. If they do this really well and get lucky, as has been the case with the Agent Orange scandal of the Vietnam War, they will manage to drag this process out over decades.

Sure, it might be a billion dollars; but they have been able to pocket at least $10 billion in profits in the meantime, all the while developing their next wonder drug to foist on the ever swelling ranks of passive "sick" consumers and to replace the drug that has run its course in the market place.

This also explains why natural therapies for conditions like diabetes get little more than lip service. There's no money to be made from helping people stay healthy.

Therapeutic Goods Authority looms large - stop it now!

The Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) which the Government has committed to setting up without proper consultation with the public is well on the way to being established. Staff have already been hired making a farce of any consultation.

How will this regulatory organisation benefit the NZ public? We deserve to know.

The TGA will regulate natural therapies, natural medicines and nutritional supplements as if they were hazardous prescription pharmaceuticals. It is doing so on the basis of safety - premise that nobody has been able to substantiate (There is not a single recorded death in recent NZ history from taking a natural medicine or supplement).

If the TGA goes ahead, as would appear inevitable, your ability to decide what is best for your health will be severely diminished and the cost will rise.

Maori traditional healing will be seriously compromised and the development of herbs and medicines based on native NZ plants will probably not be possible without the financial muscle of Big Pharma.

Submissions are being called for; but you have only a few weeks to get one in. A Maori Hui is being organised to opposed the TGA. Details below and please get involved, if only by writing to your MP.

Here are the PDF files for these:

• Hui Invite
• Impact of TGA on Maori
• Hui Expression of Interest
• Maori Party Letter and Speech

Please act now and retain our freedom to manage our own health. Throw out the TGA!

Codex Guidelines and the Therapeutic Goods Authority are not good for your health

One day, possibly in 2009, you will wake up to find that high potency vitamins, minerals and nutrient-dense supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin will be illegal.

This is no joke; the legislation before the NZ Parliament to set up the Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Authority is part of a global movement to restrict your access to these safe products.

Your only choice for prevention and treatment of many ailments will be poisonous pharmaceuticals that will bleed our economies dry.

For a good overview of the issues, have a listen to this video (about 14 minutes long):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5266884912495233634&q=Nutricide

Why regulate and restrict products that are safe? Here in NZ there have been no deaths in the last decade or so from taking nutritional supplements, other than a child who tragically choked to death on a vitmain pill.
More information here