Showing posts with label scams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scams. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Trion:Z, Phiten Power Balance Bracelets - more scams promoted by sporting personalities?
A reader asked me to comment some time ago about Trionz energiser bracelets. Trionz reminded me very much of Phiten which you can read about here (scroll down a little to get to the article). There is now a proliferation of similar bracelets and devices that come with magical claims and big price tags ($60 for something that might have cost less than 10c to manufacture).
Many health claims are made for this over-priced bling, none of which appear to be supported by peer reviewed research, or anything at all near this. If you have persistent aches and pains, injury problems, poor balance or undue fatigue, you would be much better off spending your hard earned cash on a weekly deep tissue massage, tai chi and a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to sort out your health and nutrition requirements.
When the goal is health and/or performance, there are no fancy gimmicks or easy short-cuts.
Monday, August 22, 2011
The truth about vitamin water and sports drinks
Vitamin water and most sports drinks that are promoted by leading sports people are setting kids up for rotten teeth, obesity and diabetes - all in the name of improving health and sports performance! This devious marketing tactic reminds me of the tobacco industry around 1990 when it once sponsored sports such as triathlon and duathlon.
Chronic high sugar intake is detrimental to sports performance because it sets the athlete up for bouts of hypoglycaemia, or sugar crashes.
By the way, fructose is not bad for you when taken in moderation and in balance with other sugars and natural solids - such as in whole fruit. The problem with fructose nowadays is we can get far too much on its own if consuming processed foods, including sugar drinks with nothing else with it other than a few token vitamins and a good dose of toxic colouring agents.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mona Vie - Yet another Multi Level Marketing rip-off
"Hi Gary,
I was doing a bit of research and came on your website. Have you perhaps heard of a company and product called MonaVie?
Please find information of some of the world class amateur and professional athletes who trust MonaVie for better energy, enhanced clarity and performance during hard and strenuous exercise.
etc"
Hendrik
______________________
Gary responds:
Sigh! Barely a week goes by without being approached by somebody peddling one of these get rich quick pyramid schemes masquerading as super-duper health products.
Especially ones like Mona Vie. So you are telling me we should guzzle more of this overpriced jungle juice? While you are at it, why don't you clear even more Amazonian rainforest for plantations, forcing the natives out of their tribal homelands?
You can salve your conscience from selling this environmentally destructive product by throwing a few cents per sale in the direction of the homeless you helped make, now living in the slums of Brazil.
(Mona Vie costs about NZ$70 per bottle. By comparison, one can purchase products for around NZ$50 that makes up 10 or so liters.
"MonaVie is a nutritional beverage company that distributes beverage products made from blended fruit juice concentrates with açaí pulp powder and purée through a multi-level marketing (MLM) business model. Marketing claims made about the products suggest that they provide antioxidants and health benefits. MonaVie has been the subject of recent media controversy, and several sources have questioned both the product's value and the legality of claims regarding its reputed health benefits. The manufacturer of MonaVie products, as well as some of its senior distributors, were involved in four lawsuits between 2007 and 2008." (Wikipedia)
Read more Wikipedia about Mona Vie here.
To learn more about what I think of Multi Level Marketing pyramid schemes, please go here.
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Polypill set to combat killer condition - Or will it slowly kill thousands more people?
"Trials of the polypill will start in NZ after an Indian study offered convincing results.
Auckland University and New Zealand patients are trialling a pill which could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from heart disease, the biggest killer across the Western world.
The five-in-one polypill, which combines well-known medicines in lower doses, has been shown to be safe and effective in its first trials on humans. Researchers estimate that the single pill would reduce heart disease and risk of stroke by over 80 per cent in middle aged and older people. The medication contains a combination of aspirin, three drugs that lower blood pressure and a statin, the drug that lowers levels of cholesterol."
..."Researchers were desperate for trial participants aged between 50 and 70."
By Isaac DavisonNZ Herald
4:00AM Wednesday Apr 01, 2009
_________________________________
Auckland University and New Zealand patients are trialling a pill which could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from heart disease, the biggest killer across the Western world.
The five-in-one polypill, which combines well-known medicines in lower doses, has been shown to be safe and effective in its first trials on humans. Researchers estimate that the single pill would reduce heart disease and risk of stroke by over 80 per cent in middle aged and older people. The medication contains a combination of aspirin, three drugs that lower blood pressure and a statin, the drug that lowers levels of cholesterol."
..."Researchers were desperate for trial participants aged between 50 and 70."
By Isaac DavisonNZ Herald
4:00AM Wednesday Apr 01, 2009
_________________________________
Gary responds:
In my daily work, I see chronic ill health that is drugs induced. Clinical trials on poor Indians, funded by the drugs industry and publicised by compliant media do nothing to change my view that this Polypill is nothing other than a dangerous extension of plans to snare every human being into the pharmaceutical net.
The Polypill is a mix of dangerous drugs that have well documented adverse side effects. While there may be a slight decrease in heart attack risk, this is far cancelled out by increased risks of many other ailments including cancer, septicemia, impotence and dementia.
If a clinical trial shows a 2% stroke rate in the medicated group as compared to 4% in the control group, the researchers will claim a halving of stroke risk. Of course, this is a misleading claim; but one that mainstream media grabs onto with glee.
High blood pressure is usually the result of an imbalance in the body as is high cholesterol. These drugs do nothing at all to address the underlying health issues that cause these ailments. All they do is mask the symptoms (high blood pressure, cholesterol etc) while the disease process quietly percoloates away to the stage where it becomes next to untreatable.
If you are considering entering the New Zealand trial, why not consider the natural health"Poly" alternatives: Vitamin E, vitamin C, Lysine and fish oil mixed with a generous helping of fresh fruit and vegetables. And a little refreshing exercise - outdoors, of course!
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
If you are considering entering the New Zealand trial, why not consider the natural health"Poly" alternatives: Vitamin E, vitamin C, Lysine and fish oil mixed with a generous helping of fresh fruit and vegetables. And a little refreshing exercise - outdoors, of course!
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Is USANA and other MLM schemes legitemate businesses or Scams?
I have been issuing warnings now and then about the dangers of becoming involved in multi level marketing scemes (MLM), also known as "Pyramid Schemes". One of the real hot schemes right now is USANA which has the endorsement of various sporting associations and many top sports people.
Here's a quick illustration of how a MLM scheme works:
Be warned: 80-90% of the people who get involved in these MLM business schemes lose their money. If you want to make money out of MLM, then you need to be one of the first - At the top of the pyramid. If you come in nearer the bottom, then you are in for a financial hiding.
Just to add some balance: Here's a Fox report that raves about USANA. Oh my! - How the borderlines between news and advertising are so blurred:
I am not opposed to supplements, just the way they are being sold via MLM schemes - and who wants to take a whole lot of synthetic stuff? Give me the natural versions any day. Supplements should never be used as a substite for a lousy diet. People need know nothing about health and nutrition while being a distributor of USANA, dishing out health advice along with a handful of synthetics.
So, who is Barry Minkow of the Fraud Dsicovery Insitute?
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Here's a quick illustration of how a MLM scheme works:
Be warned: 80-90% of the people who get involved in these MLM business schemes lose their money. If you want to make money out of MLM, then you need to be one of the first - At the top of the pyramid. If you come in nearer the bottom, then you are in for a financial hiding.
Just to add some balance: Here's a Fox report that raves about USANA. Oh my! - How the borderlines between news and advertising are so blurred:
So, who is Barry Minkow of the Fraud Dsicovery Insitute?
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Is Life Force Body Balance good for you and good value for money?
I was reading your website (found you on google when I searched MLM scams etc and found the comments on MLM very interesting. I have a traditional business model so I do not know much about these sorts of companies apart from the fact that the people that always approach me never seem to look well off .
I get approached most weeks for something to do with health and wellness usa companies by well meaning customers or colleagues and have declined so far
My dilemma is I want a product I can take each day to help me regain energy, and to rid myself of the aches and pains, plus to generally increase well being
I do a lot of physical work and now I am starting to suffer from all the accidents over the years and to many back strains etc
However I know all the MLM companies products are overpriced to pay everybody so do you have a recommendation of a daily supplement that will help me as above
There is one from a company (the latest approach) which caught my attention but as usual its $50 a bottle and they recommend you start with 8 per month ouch!!
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
I get approached most weeks for something to do with health and wellness usa companies by well meaning customers or colleagues and have declined so far
My dilemma is I want a product I can take each day to help me regain energy, and to rid myself of the aches and pains, plus to generally increase well being
I do a lot of physical work and now I am starting to suffer from all the accidents over the years and to many back strains etc
However I know all the MLM companies products are overpriced to pay everybody so do you have a recommendation of a daily supplement that will help me as above
There is one from a company (the latest approach) which caught my attention but as usual its $50 a bottle and they recommend you start with 8 per month ouch!!
________________________________
Gary comments:
On the face of it the product referred to looks as good as any others. Quality is not the issue. What is at issue is the business model and the price of the product. These products are priced to direct the customer into the eel trap that is the business model of multi level marketing (MLM) schemes.
These schemes do not work for the vast majority of participants. MIM schemes generate great wealth for those at the top of the pyramid while leaving countless thousands of people at the bottomwho have lost money. Due to the hard sell methods employed these schemes can be family wreckers. They have the potential to destroy workplace relationships and rub out community goodwill. Poeple have been so distracted their day jobs have suffered and some people have even lost their jobs.
As you read this you will gather that I am not on the Christmas card lists of multi level pyramid scheme marketers. Here are all my articles about these pyramid schemes so that you can get a better idea of what I am going on about.
So, take care and try not to get sucked in by the hype and the promise of overnight wealth. Even if the product is "endorsed by doctors" so was cigarette smoking at one time.
If you are suffering aches and pains and feel your health could generally be better than it is, it is better to develop a nutrition plan that is customised to your specific needs, rather than a one size fits all solution like a vegetable juice drink that costs $50 a bottle.
I do like the Active Elements programme to kick the ball off because it helps me to identify a person's health issues and specific needs. For a general supplement I quite like the Balance Sports Multi for active people. You could add Nutra-Life Fruitful Greens or Berry Brights. These are good value and can be added to smoothies. I like to add a couple of big spoons to a big bowl of fruit salad which we keep in the family fridge. It is delicious when had with my home made yoghurt.
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Are your vitamins really killing you?
"Rather than making you healthier, you might be surprised to know that the vitamins you take every day are actually killing you.
This recent story has been running in the media based on a meta-analysis by Goran Bjelakovic published in JAMA 2007.
The problem is that this JAMA article was a flawed hatchet job not worth the paper it was written on. Out of 748 vitamin studies, the researchers selected only 67 focusing on high dose synthetic vitamins, and excluded all the others showing benefit. This called selective sampling...."
"Negative articles on vitamins are seen in the mass media. Usually, these are funded directly or indirectly by drug companies, and the researchers are paid to come up with negative findings in order to discredit vitamins so people will take more drugs. It is a simple matter of follow the money trail."
For the full article by Dr Dach, please go here.
_____________________________
Gary Moller comments:
Dr Dach is not the first expert to rubbish recent reports that vitamins kill people. What has been predictably disappointing is the fact that huge media fanfare has been given to these flawed, if not fraudulent reports while the reports and voices to the contrary have been largely ignored.
This is in common with the ignoring of the truth about other health lies . Do you hear that keeping out of the sun increases your risk of developing at least 28 different forms of cancer? Do you hear that fat free diets are among the root causes of the obesity epidemic? Do you hear that lowering cholesterol can kill off your sexual performance? Do you hear that calcium fortified low fat milk may be adding to your risk of developing osteoporosis? Do you hear that more runners die from drinking too much water nowadays, then from drinking too little? And so on and so on.
What is common to all of these is big bucks industry benefiting from promoting health myths and compromised health advocacy organisations failing to advocate for the consumer-patient. Health has been hijacked by commercial interests, as has much of our food production and their huge financial muscle has skewed the advice and information that is delivered to the public.
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
This recent story has been running in the media based on a meta-analysis by Goran Bjelakovic published in JAMA 2007.
The problem is that this JAMA article was a flawed hatchet job not worth the paper it was written on. Out of 748 vitamin studies, the researchers selected only 67 focusing on high dose synthetic vitamins, and excluded all the others showing benefit. This called selective sampling...."
"Negative articles on vitamins are seen in the mass media. Usually, these are funded directly or indirectly by drug companies, and the researchers are paid to come up with negative findings in order to discredit vitamins so people will take more drugs. It is a simple matter of follow the money trail."
For the full article by Dr Dach, please go here.
_____________________________
Gary Moller comments:
Dr Dach is not the first expert to rubbish recent reports that vitamins kill people. What has been predictably disappointing is the fact that huge media fanfare has been given to these flawed, if not fraudulent reports while the reports and voices to the contrary have been largely ignored.
This is in common with the ignoring of the truth about other health lies . Do you hear that keeping out of the sun increases your risk of developing at least 28 different forms of cancer? Do you hear that fat free diets are among the root causes of the obesity epidemic? Do you hear that lowering cholesterol can kill off your sexual performance? Do you hear that calcium fortified low fat milk may be adding to your risk of developing osteoporosis? Do you hear that more runners die from drinking too much water nowadays, then from drinking too little? And so on and so on.
What is common to all of these is big bucks industry benefiting from promoting health myths and compromised health advocacy organisations failing to advocate for the consumer-patient. Health has been hijacked by commercial interests, as has much of our food production and their huge financial muscle has skewed the advice and information that is delivered to the public.
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
MLM USANA - is it really all that cheap or better quality?
I have written previously about the rip-offs of multi level markeing schemes (MLM). I am constantly being asked about one in particular, USANA.
Have a listen to this, bearing in mind we are talking about cheap synthetic rubbish duking it out among themselves. Stick to the natural vitamins please!
Have a listen to this, bearing in mind we are talking about cheap synthetic rubbish duking it out among themselves. Stick to the natural vitamins please!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
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
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
_______________________________
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.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Getting fleeced by Multi Level Marketing (MLM) schemes
I have warned people about pyramind schemes - oops! MLM (Sorry for the Freudian slip).
As a health and fitness professional, I receive approaches every week. USANA is one of the big movers and shakers. Read my earlier posting about these parasitic scams.
Did you know:
These schemes poison relationships, ruin friendships, create tension at work and cost you money and damage your self esteem.
As a health and fitness professional, I receive approaches every week. USANA is one of the big movers and shakers. Read my earlier posting about these parasitic scams.
Did you know:
- 67% of USANA distributors never make a cent from their wonderfull business
- 86% never make enough to cover their monthly minimum purchases.
- 72% of the compensation goes to just 2.6% of the agents
These schemes poison relationships, ruin friendships, create tension at work and cost you money and damage your self esteem.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
How much do drugs companies influence your doctor's treatment decisions?
"Approximately US$19 billion is spent annually by drug companies for marketing to doctors. Tens of thousands of sales representatives descend on doctors' offices every day. Patients in doctors' waiting rooms are often outnumbered by drug reps (typically young, female, attractive).
Drug companies write the package inserts of all drugs, carefully including the information they choose and omitting information they want to avoid.
Drug companies underwrite a large percentage of continuing education courses for doctors. In doing so, they make sure that the speakers represent the company view.
Drug companies design studies that are meant to produce favorable results and then publish the studies in medical journals. Studies with unfavorable results are not published.
Drug reps typically bring stacks of studies, all favorable, which impress doctors, who no longer have the time or motivation to search the medical literature themselves.
Drug reps do not include independent studies with less favorable conclusions. Many doctors never see these."
____________________________
Gary Moller comments:
What this article did not mention is the fact that drugs companies also invest millions in successfully influencing politicians and bureaucrats. For shocking evidence of the extent of this political lobbying in the USA, go here.
Back in the days when I hired physical education graduates straight from university to work in our rehabilitation programmes it was common for the attractive ones to be recruited within a year or so by our opposition: the drugs companies. Their new job over on the Dark Side was to promote drugs to doctors like blood pressure and cholesterol lowering pills. What is described that happens in the USA happens in NZ. Sadly, NZ allows the advertising of pharmaceutical drugs direct to the consumer using media like television.
Side effects of drugs medication is always underplayed, as is the reporting of any ill effects which consequently distorts official statistics to give the impression of a drug appearing to be much safer than it really is.
If a doctor is even aware of effective alternative treatments for conditions like weak bones, arthritis and high blood pressure these usually receive very low priority treatment that is little more than lip service, or else completely dismissed as a waste of a patient's time and money. I am still astonished at how often a doctor dismisses out of hand a therapy like glucosamine for arthritis despite the wealth of research evidence in its favour.
When a drug is prescribed for a condition like blood pressure this may be done on the basis of a handful of potentially flawed tests of blood pressure done in the artificial envirnoment of a medical clinic. The drug is then dished out with advice along the lines of; "Try this and we will see how it goes". Unless the medication is being closely monitored through the person's day, such as with a blood pressure machine, then the prescribing of this potentially harmful medication sure is a hazardous hit and miss exercise! Would you run a business without having accurate measures of key performance indicators? Of course not and why should your health be any different when ingesting potentially hazardous drugs?
Maybe it is not in the interests of the prescriber or the manufacturer to monitor these drugs properly because it might be discovered more often than not that they are not very good at doing what they are supposed to do and may even be doing more harm than good!
Drug companies write the package inserts of all drugs, carefully including the information they choose and omitting information they want to avoid.
Drug companies underwrite a large percentage of continuing education courses for doctors. In doing so, they make sure that the speakers represent the company view.
Drug companies design studies that are meant to produce favorable results and then publish the studies in medical journals. Studies with unfavorable results are not published.
Drug reps typically bring stacks of studies, all favorable, which impress doctors, who no longer have the time or motivation to search the medical literature themselves.
Drug reps do not include independent studies with less favorable conclusions. Many doctors never see these."
____________________________
Gary Moller comments:
What this article did not mention is the fact that drugs companies also invest millions in successfully influencing politicians and bureaucrats. For shocking evidence of the extent of this political lobbying in the USA, go here.
Back in the days when I hired physical education graduates straight from university to work in our rehabilitation programmes it was common for the attractive ones to be recruited within a year or so by our opposition: the drugs companies. Their new job over on the Dark Side was to promote drugs to doctors like blood pressure and cholesterol lowering pills. What is described that happens in the USA happens in NZ. Sadly, NZ allows the advertising of pharmaceutical drugs direct to the consumer using media like television.
Side effects of drugs medication is always underplayed, as is the reporting of any ill effects which consequently distorts official statistics to give the impression of a drug appearing to be much safer than it really is.
If a doctor is even aware of effective alternative treatments for conditions like weak bones, arthritis and high blood pressure these usually receive very low priority treatment that is little more than lip service, or else completely dismissed as a waste of a patient's time and money. I am still astonished at how often a doctor dismisses out of hand a therapy like glucosamine for arthritis despite the wealth of research evidence in its favour.
When a drug is prescribed for a condition like blood pressure this may be done on the basis of a handful of potentially flawed tests of blood pressure done in the artificial envirnoment of a medical clinic. The drug is then dished out with advice along the lines of; "Try this and we will see how it goes". Unless the medication is being closely monitored through the person's day, such as with a blood pressure machine, then the prescribing of this potentially harmful medication sure is a hazardous hit and miss exercise! Would you run a business without having accurate measures of key performance indicators? Of course not and why should your health be any different when ingesting potentially hazardous drugs?
Maybe it is not in the interests of the prescriber or the manufacturer to monitor these drugs properly because it might be discovered more often than not that they are not very good at doing what they are supposed to do and may even be doing more harm than good!
Ribena-maker fined $217,500 for misleading vitamin C ads
"GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Ribena, has been fined $217,500 after admitting it mislead customers about the vitamin C content of the blackcurrant drink. The company appeared in Auckland District Court to face charges alleging 15 breaches of the Fair Trading Act.
It admitted that its cartoned Ready To Drink Ribena, which it claimed had 7mg of Vitamin C per 100ml, in fact had no detectable Vitamin C content.
The company also admitted it may have misled customers in advertisements saying the blackcurrants in Ribena syrup had four times the Vitamin C of oranges."
____
___________________________
Gary Moller comments:
Read the whole story - it is a wonderful one about how a couple of school girls doing a school science experiment outed a dishonest pharmaceutical giant.
The Advertising Standards Authority and Brandpower deserve no accolades in this affair by showing no interest in the girls' findings. Action only happened after the story aried on a television consumer programme.
All is not lost for Ribena with regards to being able to make health claims: It can climb onto the "99% fat-free" bandwagon because it is all sugar and no fat - more sugar than Coca Cola in fact. How about that!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Treatment found for Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit Anxiety Disorder (DSACDAD)!
HAVIDOL is for the treatment of Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit Anxiety Disorder (DSACDAD). It is the only known medication available for this newly recognized disorder.
Important safety information:
Problems can be avoided if you take HAVIDOL only when you are able to immediately benefit from its effects. To fully benefit from HAVIDOL patients are encouraged to engage in activities requiring exceptional mental, motor, and consumptive coordination. HAVIDOL is not for you if you have abruptly stopped using alcohol or sedatives. Havidol should be taken indefinitely. Side effects may include mood changes, muscle strain, extraordinary thinking, dermal gloss, impulsivity induced consumption, excessive salivation, hair growth, markedly delayed sexual climax, inter-species communication, taste perversion, terminal smile, and oral inflammation. Very rarely users may experience a need to change physicians. Talk to your doctor about HAVIDOL
Monday, February 19, 2007
Disease Alert - Multi Level Marketing Scams
Women tennis players to get approved supplements
Last Updated: 2006-08-23 14:13:10 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - "Players on the women's tour have been given the green light to take certain vitamins and health supplements without the fear of failing a drugs test, the WTA Tour said on Wednesday.
Tennis professionals have been wary of taking nutritional supplements ever since the men's tour was rocked over two years ago by a series of failed dope tests that were eventually blamed on contaminated supplies.
In order to ensure players on the women's circuit do not suffer a similar fate, the governing body WTA signed an agreement that will provide competitors with products that are guaranteed to be free of any substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Products from USANA Health Sciences Inc., a leading globalvitamin and health supplement manufacturer, will help ensure that players who wish to take vitamins and supplements are able to maintain fitness required to compete at the professional level, without fear of violating the rigorous WADA standards."
____________________________________
Gary Moller comments:
I wrote this article several months ago; but have held off publishing because it might cause a hostile backlash and get me offside with some influential sporting types. Well, here goes....
The tennis article above also appeared in a NZ Academy of Sport Newsletter which is unfortunate. It is unfortunate that a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) company had burrowed its way into professional tennis. Those in charge should know better. Worse, still is that this is being publicised by a NZ Government agency - the NZ Academy of Sport.
Because of my work, health website etc, hardly a week goes by that I am not subject to some kind of MLM proposition. It usually starts with a carefully pitched email with a slick video presentation, an invitation to attend a meeting at a friend's house or an invitation for an initimate coffee. Despite all the promises of wealth, lifestyle and independence, I seldom take up the invitation to attend and have steadfastly refused all approaches to join. Let me explain why:
Who gets the flash car?
It is reported in Australia that there are an astonishing 500,000 MLM participants selling $1.2 billion worth of goods and services each year. Interesting: This works out to $2,400 gross sales per year per participant. If the comission rate is a generaous 10% (It is actually works out to more like 2%, but let's be very generous) then the average real income is about $240 - hardly a living wage. My impression is that 99% of those who sign up for these schemes lose more money than they ever get out. I also suspect that much of those claimed millions of dollars of product sold through these schemes is gathering dust in the back of garages and basements or consigned to landfill.
MLM schemes are a disease:
They infect participants with MLM Blindness and they eventually suffer a fatal loss of family, community and friendships. MLM blindness means they can not see how they look from the outside. They are oblivious as friendships unravel, social and communuty groups are poisoned. They are unable to see that MLM is the reason why friends, family and work mates avoid them. Neighbourhoods are turned into market places that are open season for exploitation.
The Televangelism connection:
A common "Ra, Ra! Happer Clapper" theme runs common to most, if not all MLM schemes: It starts with the Founder, a self-awarded brilliant scientist who discovers the Elixir of Youth who then develops his own unique range of products. Articulate, jet black hair, brilliant white ivories, complete with brow-lift and Italian tailored suit make up the package. Unlike most scientists I know, he has the gift of the gab to make up the perfect promotional package. The pitch, the promises and the blind fervour all remind me of the exact same model that is modern religious fundamental evangelism marketing.
By writing about MLM in this way I know that I am going to be subjected to criticism on a par with what one would expect from religious extremists. Actually, there is little difference, nor is the brain-washing methods involved in building the MLM armies of disciples, most of whom end up working for nothing other than to increase the profits of those at the top of the scheme.
Overcoming the guilt factor of exploitation by doing good works:
The slick marketers who devise these schemes have every base covered. Selling over-priced products that probably don't work to your family, workmates and neighbours site better on one's conscience if the seller knows some of the profits go to homeless orphans in a 3rd world country that has had its indigenous agricultural base and rain forests destroyed to make way for the foreign owned plantations that produce these so-called health products. Some even go a step further and urge participants to donate to their charity!
MLM friends are of the shallow kind:
They are your friend for as long as you are a tempting prospect. The friendship is fleeting. Glad-handing and vacuous smiles do not endure.
MLM schemes are callous business models:
MLM schemes are based upon the ultimate failures of others. This is a callous business model that has no controls on expansion or any care if it exceeds market saturation. The only ones to profit are those at the top of the pyramid (Did I mention the unmentionable "P" word?) These schemes are doomed by design; to profit you must be in early. Those in late, will lose their money to those above. Its all about profiting off the failures of others.
Where does the money come from?
Sure, money can be made from these schemes, but where is the money coming from? Is it coming from the product sales or from the recruitment of others below? We all know that the real attraction of MLM is the pyramid. The product, be it vitamins, cleaning agents or telephone calling cards, is merely an over-priced technicality, there to only avoid being labeled an illegal scheme.
Here's the maths:
MLMs work by geometric expansion, the same way that one female mouse can produce a thousand offspring within a year. You sponsor ten who sponsor ten and so on and so it goes. However, there is a problem and that is rapid and inevitable market saturation. At just three levels deep this would be 1,000 people. At six levels deep, that would be 1,000,000 people believing they can make money selling a product that is over priced and not really needed. A small country like New Zealand is quickly saturated and there are inevitably many losers. These schemes are doomed by design. Go onto some internet sports nutrition forums and you will discover that many correspondents are selling a scheme. At the time of writing, USANA was King of the MLM nutrition schemes here in NZ. It will soon be replaced by the next scheme such as this one: http://www.mymonavie.com/StephenBell/opportunity_payplan.asp This is an outrageously over-priced fruit juice with some very slick marketing. Be wary of it.
MLM and professional ethics:
What about the ethics of health professionals like doctors being involved in MLM schemes? Being part of a MLM health supplements scheme compromises professional judgement to pick and choose which supplements to recommend a client, if any, and to supply them at the best price and quality.
There are no magic elixirs of youth, supplements that cure cancer or turbo charge sporting performance (Legal ones anyway!). Supplementation should be carefully considered as part of a number of measures to improve or maintain health, including a careful analysis of lifestyle, diet and training methods, if an athlete.
Furthermore, the Dr-patient relationship threatens to become most unhealthy the moment she or he enters a MLM scheme - parasitic in fact. The way the MLM supplements are priced, the patient can only afford them if he or she becomes an agent and brings friends, family and workmates into the scheme.
As much as possible, the health professional should remain above commercial influences, able to provide impartial advice that is based on evidence - and the best prices.
Who do you get your health and nutrition advice from?
Would you have your neck manipulated by a person who learned by attending a weekend course in a luxury resort, or would you go to somebody who trained for 6 years in a university under the watchful eye of a learned professor of chiropractic medicine? The choice is easy. On matters of health, including nutrition, consult a qualified health professional, rather than a self-appointed expert who had no assignments to hand in for marking and no exams to pass. Their only requirement to ply their products is to hand over $200 for the MLM marketing kit and buy a crate of product samples.
MLM schemes are all the same
Same breed of wolf - different disguises. The only difference between them is the name on the building, stationery and the dubious products they ply to gain a facade of technical legality.
They leave behind them a trail of disapointed people who are out of pocket, feeling lonely, angry and cheated.
Omega Trend, Amway, Nu Skin, USANA etc, etc and now we have Monavie
Friday, January 19, 2007
Recipe for producing a champion performance: Just add Baking Soda
Baking Soda May Help Exercisers
Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is used as a medication to neutralize
stomach acid in ulcer patients and as a home remedy for stomach distress. Now researchers in Greece have shown that it may neutralize the acid in muscles during intense exercise and helps athletes to exercise longer (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, October 2006).
If you run or cycle as hard as you can, you start to breathe hard, and suddenly your leg muscles start to burn because your muscles have become acidic. Its the burning in your muscles that forces you to slow down. Muscles get the energy to move your body from the food that you eat.
Carbohydrates are broken down step by step in a chain of reactions to release energy for your muscles. Each step requires oxygen. If you have enough oxygen, the carbohydrates are eventually broken down to carbon dioxide and water that you can blow off from your lungs. However, if you cant get all the oxygen that you need, the series of reactions stops and lactic acid accumulates in your muscles and spills over into your bloodstream. The acidity in muscles caused by the accumulation of lactic acid is what makes your muscles burn.
When acid is exposed to an alkaline or base, it combines with it to neutralize the acid and form water. What would happen when an athlete takes the base, sodium bicarbonate, before he competes? He would be able to exercise longer if the bicarbonate got into the muscle and neutralized the burning caused by the acid. The authors of this study showed that higher doses of sodium bicarbonate were more effective in preventing burning.
This exercise aid is still experimental, so we will have to wait for further research to see if it really works. Source: Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine January 21, 2007
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Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is used as a medication to neutralize
stomach acid in ulcer patients and as a home remedy for stomach distress. Now researchers in Greece have shown that it may neutralize the acid in muscles during intense exercise and helps athletes to exercise longer (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, October 2006).If you run or cycle as hard as you can, you start to breathe hard, and suddenly your leg muscles start to burn because your muscles have become acidic. Its the burning in your muscles that forces you to slow down. Muscles get the energy to move your body from the food that you eat.
Carbohydrates are broken down step by step in a chain of reactions to release energy for your muscles. Each step requires oxygen. If you have enough oxygen, the carbohydrates are eventually broken down to carbon dioxide and water that you can blow off from your lungs. However, if you cant get all the oxygen that you need, the series of reactions stops and lactic acid accumulates in your muscles and spills over into your bloodstream. The acidity in muscles caused by the accumulation of lactic acid is what makes your muscles burn.
When acid is exposed to an alkaline or base, it combines with it to neutralize the acid and form water. What would happen when an athlete takes the base, sodium bicarbonate, before he competes? He would be able to exercise longer if the bicarbonate got into the muscle and neutralized the burning caused by the acid. The authors of this study showed that higher doses of sodium bicarbonate were more effective in preventing burning.
This exercise aid is still experimental, so we will have to wait for further research to see if it really works. Source: Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine January 21, 2007
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Gary Moller comments:
This is not new. Athletes have been playing around with baking soda since 1980 and probably much earlier. Experienced athletes gave it the short shove very quickly because its benefits are minimal for the properly prepared athlete and the stomach upsets from the bicarbonate neutralised any theoretical benefit. Quite simply; when you are competing at extreme intensity, like running 1500m track the last thing you want to be taking is anything that upsets the stomach and intestines. Researchers are hoping this old trick will gain some new legs. No doubt it will eventually end up as an expensive wonder additive in sports drinks.
As far as recipes go for producing champions there are no short cuts short of doing a Landis or a Schwartzeneggar. Even if baking soda works one must question its use just as one should question the use of large doses of caffeine. With regards to the burning feeling in the muscles that Dr Mirkin describes the solution is as follows:
As far as recipes go for producing champions there are no short cuts short of doing a Landis or a Schwartzeneggar. Even if baking soda works one must question its use just as one should question the use of large doses of caffeine. With regards to the burning feeling in the muscles that Dr Mirkin describes the solution is as follows:
- Eight to ten years of endurance training including a weekly 2hr + run or 3hr + cycle on nothing but water. This trains the ability to use fat and encourages prolific capiliarisation of the muscle.
- Ensuring an alkaline wholefoods diet that is high in antioxidants, the B vitamins and minerals including magnesium and calcium. There is a good case for supplemetning with these to boost natural intake.
- Periodically developing one's anerobic capacity to its maximum prior to seasonal peaks in competition.
Fifty years ago, athletics coach Arthur Lydiard, got the recipe right. The performances of his athletes would still be competitive today, if one were to factor in improvements in track and shoe technologies and the widespread use of rabbits nowadays. Oh, yes - and rampant cheating (you could include the rabbits here)! With a few minor modern adjustments and the application of modern nutritional stategies and the old recipe is as robust as ever.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Eli Lilly Said to Play Down Risk of Top Pill
Sunday 17 December 2006The drug maker Eli Lilly has engaged in a decade-long effort to play down the health risks of Zyprexa, its best-selling medication for schizophrenia, according to hundreds of internal Lilly documents and e-mail messages among top company managers.
The documents, given to The Times by a lawyer representing mentally ill patients, show that Lilly executives kept important information from doctors about Zyprexa's links to obesity and its tendency to raise blood sugar - both known risk factors for diabetes.
Lilly's own published data, which it told its sales representatives to play down in conversations with doctors, has shown that 30 percent of patients taking Zyprexa gain 22 pounds or more after a year on the drug, and some patients have reported gaining 100 pounds or more. But Lilly was concerned that Zyprexa's sales would be hurt if the company was more forthright about the fact that the drug might cause unmanageable weight gain or diabetes, according to the documents, which cover the period 1995 to 2004.
Zyprexa has become by far Lilly's best-selling product, with sales of $4.2 billion last year, when about two million people worldwide took the drug.
Critics, including the American Diabetes Association, have argued that Zyprexa, introduced in 1996, is more likely to cause diabetes than other widely used schizophrenia drugs. Lilly has consistently denied such a link, and did so again on Friday in a written response to questions about the documents. The company defended Zyprexa's safety, and said the documents had been taken out of context.... Last year, Lilly agreed to pay $750 million to settle suits by 8,000 people who claimed they developed diabetes or other medical problems after taking Zyprexa. Thousands more suits against the company are pending. (Read the whole article by clicking on the linked headline).
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Gary Moller comments:
Now, let's see, $4 billion+ per year over 10 years = $40 billion. The cost of suppressing this health information = only $750 million - so far. If I was the CEO of this company, I think the maths is very much in favour of that decision to suppress, rather than disclose. Similar to pill-popping this behaviour is becoming a bit of a bad habit.
Do you think the US politicians are ever going to get tough on these guys with stiffer penalties that make non-disclosure uneconomic? No way! They will not do anything to hurt their buddies any further than a token slap on the hands with a wet bus ticket.
Politicians have allowed themselves to be compromised on this and other issues. For evidence of the millions of $$$ that are pumped into the political coffers of the USA political parties and individual electorates by pharmaceutical interests go here.
While we are at it; if you want evidence that the Iraq war is very good for business and benefiting politicians at the same time - and to see just how compromised both Republicans and Democrats are on these issues - then take a look at these charts. (Now that the balance of power has shifted in the US, it will be interesting to come back in several months from now and see if the "balance of payments" has shifted during that time).
Do you think the US politicians are ever going to get tough on these guys with stiffer penalties that make non-disclosure uneconomic? No way! They will not do anything to hurt their buddies any further than a token slap on the hands with a wet bus ticket.
Politicians have allowed themselves to be compromised on this and other issues. For evidence of the millions of $$$ that are pumped into the political coffers of the USA political parties and individual electorates by pharmaceutical interests go here.
While we are at it; if you want evidence that the Iraq war is very good for business and benefiting politicians at the same time - and to see just how compromised both Republicans and Democrats are on these issues - then take a look at these charts. (Now that the balance of power has shifted in the US, it will be interesting to come back in several months from now and see if the "balance of payments" has shifted during that time).
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
At last! "Evidence" that Phiten works
In my earlier posting about Phiten, I was very sceptical of the amazing health and performance claims of this athletic product. I asked for evidence that it really does work because, try as I did, I could find nothing.
During my fruitless searches, here is what one a leading exercise physiologists wrote me about Phiten: "..as you are well aware we are inundated with miracle cures and quick fixes - most with absolutely no substance - I personally take no interest (personal or academic) in these things that tend to try to make up for a lack of common sense inactivity and poor nutrition".
At last, evidence: somebody sent me the following article:
http://www.metacog.co.uk/images/Athletics%20Weekly%20Review.pdf
Without offering any evidence, the article says:
Without offering any evidence, the article says:
“Phild Processing” is a process that has been proven to enhance kinetic ability in the body, preventing injuries and back pain. Helping to actualize one’s potential in sports or in daily life, Phiten’s Titanium products are used worldwide by athletes and other people who have begun to recognize the high potential hidden in these products."
This and the rest of the article is absolute rubbish because it offers no evidence to support these astonishing claims. It demonstrates the complete lack of objectivity of the editors of these kinds of sports and fitness publications which rely on advertising to be viable.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Does it work; or is it just another scam?
I competed in the Crazyman last weekend. It was one of the most gruelling events I have ever done (came 2nd in my age group, btw and cramp-free). Cramp was a huge problem for many, if not most of the competitors in the Crazyman. One of the sponsors gave away "Phiten" titanium anti-cramp patches to every competitor and I spent most of the race staring at these things that were plastered on hamstrings, calf muscles and shoulders. As, I said, there was no shortage of cramp during the race - this, despite the liberal presence of Phiten patches.
Phiten Titanium products are heavily promoted world-wide with
slick marketing that makes liberal use of some of the World's most famous athletes. Being well-paid professionals, they must surely be right when they swear by the magical properties of these products.
I am sceptical. I keep thinking of "snake oil"
Apparently, a commonly used trick is to have the customer lift a concealed brick with an outstretched hand which they have initial difficulty with. After applying the titanium, the lift is executed with relative ease and this is attributed to the magical properties of the product. Of course, this is utter rubbish: The improvement is the result of the brain reprograming for the 2nd effort after being deceived by the first attempt. It had nothing to do with the titanium.
Phiten claims to have a secret method by which titanium is rendered soluble in water, as well as rendering it with special bioelectric qualities. Search as I did, I could find no published research about this method that they call "Phild". I have a reasonable academic background in chemistry and I understand that titanium is a very hard metal that is extremely corrosion resistant and insoluble in water. Until I am shown the science behind the secret Phild process, I think the claims are bunkum.
I seriously question the claim that wearing a titanium impregnated patch, bracelet or beanie will have any effect on deep underlying muscle. They would have us believe that the titanium ions, that have somehow been rendered water soluble, now magically penetrate the waxy skin layer, the thick subcutaneous fat layers and then the muscle sheaths to finally penetrate the muscle and then exert some strange bioelectric effect on them. This is a miraculous feat and one that few other products have ever mastered, including anti-inflammatory rubs that are heavily promoted to athletes, although they are also of little practical benefit to the user.
These products serve only to line the pockets of already wealthy executives - probably in New York.
Of course, I would welcome a representative from Phiten to post a response to this article - to put the record straight by presenting peer reviewed and published scientific evidence that validates the claims of their advertising and their sales representatives.
While we await this evidence, my advice for avoiding muscular aches and pains associated with exercise and competition is to stick with tried and proven methods, including preparing properly with a tailored fitness programme, a suitable diet and stocking up body stores of magnesium and other minerals. I have already written much about this and I can tell you that these strategies really do work for the majority of athletes.
Oh! - while I am at it - can somebody tell me this; can I improve circulation and reduce cramp if I rub titanium-containing sunblock all over the affected parts? Its much cheaper.
Phiten Titanium products are heavily promoted world-wide with
slick marketing that makes liberal use of some of the World's most famous athletes. Being well-paid professionals, they must surely be right when they swear by the magical properties of these products.I am sceptical. I keep thinking of "snake oil"
Apparently, a commonly used trick is to have the customer lift a concealed brick with an outstretched hand which they have initial difficulty with. After applying the titanium, the lift is executed with relative ease and this is attributed to the magical properties of the product. Of course, this is utter rubbish: The improvement is the result of the brain reprograming for the 2nd effort after being deceived by the first attempt. It had nothing to do with the titanium.
Phiten claims to have a secret method by which titanium is rendered soluble in water, as well as rendering it with special bioelectric qualities. Search as I did, I could find no published research about this method that they call "Phild". I have a reasonable academic background in chemistry and I understand that titanium is a very hard metal that is extremely corrosion resistant and insoluble in water. Until I am shown the science behind the secret Phild process, I think the claims are bunkum.
I seriously question the claim that wearing a titanium impregnated patch, bracelet or beanie will have any effect on deep underlying muscle. They would have us believe that the titanium ions, that have somehow been rendered water soluble, now magically penetrate the waxy skin layer, the thick subcutaneous fat layers and then the muscle sheaths to finally penetrate the muscle and then exert some strange bioelectric effect on them. This is a miraculous feat and one that few other products have ever mastered, including anti-inflammatory rubs that are heavily promoted to athletes, although they are also of little practical benefit to the user.
These products serve only to line the pockets of already wealthy executives - probably in New York.
Of course, I would welcome a representative from Phiten to post a response to this article - to put the record straight by presenting peer reviewed and published scientific evidence that validates the claims of their advertising and their sales representatives.
While we await this evidence, my advice for avoiding muscular aches and pains associated with exercise and competition is to stick with tried and proven methods, including preparing properly with a tailored fitness programme, a suitable diet and stocking up body stores of magnesium and other minerals. I have already written much about this and I can tell you that these strategies really do work for the majority of athletes.
Oh! - while I am at it - can somebody tell me this; can I improve circulation and reduce cramp if I rub titanium-containing sunblock all over the affected parts? Its much cheaper.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Milking the "Worried Well"
There has been much publicity recently about the cozy relationship between medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. I have written several articles about this over recent years, expressing concern about how medical research is swayed towards this or that approach that relies on expensive interventions, encourages the consumption of over-priced commercial products, or downplays the adverse effects of a drug on one's health.
A strategy to increase the reliance of the population on pharmaceuticals is to turn healthy people into unhealthy ones. This is achieved by progressively lowering the threshholds for the prescription of powerful medicines. Blood pressure is a perfect example: Medication was once only considered a possibility if blood pressure exceeded 150/100. Not too many years ago, this threshold was lowered to 145/95 and then to 140/90. Now some bright spark has come up with the ailment called "prehypertension". If blood pressure exceeds a healthy 125/85, then blood pressure lowering medication is on the cards. That's just about every adult on the planet!
Question: Are the exploding rates of dementia in Westernised societies the consequence of excessive long term use of prescription medicines like anti-depressants, statins and beta blockers and not just lifestyle and diet?
We are seeing the same lowering of thresholds with blood cholesterol: Once levels exceeding 6.0 were the point where medication was considered; then it was lowered to 5.5 and more recently to 5.0. Today, even 4.8 may result in cholesterol lowering medication being prescribed.
This is creating a whole new goup of patients: the" Worried Well". Or should that be the "Worried Poor"?
Some experts want to go even further by proposing the development of the "Poly Pill". This will be a pill that contains several drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol that can be prophylactically prescribed to the entire adult population. The Poly Pill will supposedly preempt cardiovascular disease that afflicts over 50% of the older adult population. Where does this madness come from and where will it end?
Well, once a person heads down this sorry path, the only end is drugs-soaked misery - much to the delight of the drugs industry I'm sure. Why? Because one drug leads to another. For example; blood pressure medication is one of the leading causes of male impotence. So, shortly after the blood pressure prescription, the patient is placed on viagra in an attempt to resurrect his drooping sexuality. Within 15-20 years of the first prescription, the patient will be on at least 10 different prescription medicines. Quality of life declines with each prescription. Isn't medicine supposed to improve quality of life? Once on these pills, getting off them is not always as simple as just stopping. In some cases, it can be dangerous to stop suddenly once started.
Making perfectly healthy people dependent on drugs is abhorrent and something to be strongly resisted. Especially when healthy alternatives abound in most cases.
Sure, preventing the development of disease is important. This is best done by proper monitoring and using healthy lifestyle-based interventions to prevent progression into desease. This is a much more sensible and palatable approach. A good example of this can be found in my e-publication for monitoring blood pressure. Have a careful read and you will also learn the secret for living 100 quality years - without the aid of drugs.
A strategy to increase the reliance of the population on pharmaceuticals is to turn healthy people into unhealthy ones. This is achieved by progressively lowering the threshholds for the prescription of powerful medicines. Blood pressure is a perfect example: Medication was once only considered a possibility if blood pressure exceeded 150/100. Not too many years ago, this threshold was lowered to 145/95 and then to 140/90. Now some bright spark has come up with the ailment called "prehypertension". If blood pressure exceeds a healthy 125/85, then blood pressure lowering medication is on the cards. That's just about every adult on the planet!
Question: Are the exploding rates of dementia in Westernised societies the consequence of excessive long term use of prescription medicines like anti-depressants, statins and beta blockers and not just lifestyle and diet?
We are seeing the same lowering of thresholds with blood cholesterol: Once levels exceeding 6.0 were the point where medication was considered; then it was lowered to 5.5 and more recently to 5.0. Today, even 4.8 may result in cholesterol lowering medication being prescribed.
This is creating a whole new goup of patients: the" Worried Well". Or should that be the "Worried Poor"?
Some experts want to go even further by proposing the development of the "Poly Pill". This will be a pill that contains several drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol that can be prophylactically prescribed to the entire adult population. The Poly Pill will supposedly preempt cardiovascular disease that afflicts over 50% of the older adult population. Where does this madness come from and where will it end?
Well, once a person heads down this sorry path, the only end is drugs-soaked misery - much to the delight of the drugs industry I'm sure. Why? Because one drug leads to another. For example; blood pressure medication is one of the leading causes of male impotence. So, shortly after the blood pressure prescription, the patient is placed on viagra in an attempt to resurrect his drooping sexuality. Within 15-20 years of the first prescription, the patient will be on at least 10 different prescription medicines. Quality of life declines with each prescription. Isn't medicine supposed to improve quality of life? Once on these pills, getting off them is not always as simple as just stopping. In some cases, it can be dangerous to stop suddenly once started.
Making perfectly healthy people dependent on drugs is abhorrent and something to be strongly resisted. Especially when healthy alternatives abound in most cases.
Sure, preventing the development of disease is important. This is best done by proper monitoring and using healthy lifestyle-based interventions to prevent progression into desease. This is a much more sensible and palatable approach. A good example of this can be found in my e-publication for monitoring blood pressure. Have a careful read and you will also learn the secret for living 100 quality years - without the aid of drugs.
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