Sugar More Addictive Than Cocaine According To New Research!
08/23/07
This Week In HealthBeat
News:
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Yet More Good Reasons To Stop The Pop
Habit - Metabolic Syndrome And Addiction
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This week's FDA "Warnings"...
-
The FDA Is "At It Again"...
Keeping Us Safe From Mother Nature
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We Get Letters I - Comments and
Questions...
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We Get Letters II - Readers Ask Medical Questions...
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Laughter is Good Medicine: Kids Say The
Darndest Things - Part 2
Yet More Good Reasons To Stop The Pop
Habit
Dr. Myatt has written and warned and ranted about the dangers of Soda
Pop consumption over and over and over - most recently in our HealthBeat
article
Poisonous Pop
. Well, the bad news about
pop just keeps
rolling in... this article from one of the many medical journals that we
read each day for you:
The Choice of a Metabolic Syndrome Generation: Soft Drink Consumption
Associated With Increased Metabolic Risk
A study suggests that middle-aged adults who drink more than 1 soft
drink (diet or regular) daily have a higher risk of developing adverse
metabolic traits as well as the metabolic syndrome.
Medscape Medical News 2007
For those who are a little hazy about what
is "metabolic syndrome", the article defines it thusly:
Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of three or more of
following risk factors: excess waist circumference, high blood pressure,
elevated triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol
levels, and high fasting glucose levels. [high fasting glucose levels =
diabetes]
So, the long and short of this is that Pop drinkers are far more likely
to develop "Metabolic Syndrome" and diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Cool, huh? And we let our kids drink this stuff ???
But Wait! There's More!
This just in from a research paper out of France:
Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward
Yup, you read correctly - according to this study
sugar is more
addicting than cocaine!
Here is the conclusion of the research (edited slightly for brevity):
Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine
reward, ... We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness
results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In ... humans, sweet
receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not
adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of
these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in
modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with
the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.
Here's the short-course, plain English translation: Because our distant (and not-so-distant)
ancestors developed without mounds of sugar available to them we don't handle
sugars well, and sugars turn out to be actually more addictive (in the truest
sense of addiction) than cocaine. Further, it is not the sugar, but the intense
sweetness that is the addictive thing - the researchers used saccharine as a
sweetener as well as sucrose (sugar) and the results were the same. Sweet beat
out cocaine for the lab rats in the study.
Yikes! It boggles the mind, doesn't it!
Read the research paper in it's entirety here: http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0000698
Still gonna go out for that six-pack of soda-pop or that mega-slurpee at
the convenience store? Why not try some alternatives? Plain ol' water
has been a perennial favorite since the days of Alley Oop the caveman - I've heard
it called "Adam's Ale"... but if water just doesn't cut it for you, how
about iced green tea with a little lemon, or if you really need an energy
drink, try some
Red Alert
- 10 Servings of Fruits
& Vegetables in One Delicious Drink, with minimal sugar.
This week's FDA "Warnings"...
Certain Diabetes Drugs to Carry Strengthened
Warnings
Manufacturers of certain drugs to treat type 2 diabetes have agreed to add a
stronger warning on the risk of heart failure. The information will be included
in the form of a "boxed" warning, FDA's strongest type of warning.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01683.html
So... take Big Pharma's drugs and risk heart
failure, or read up on some natural strategies for dealing with Diabetes without
drugs and risk improving your health... Tough call, right? Check out our webpage
Diabetes - get hip, get healthy, and do it without heart-destroying drugs!
Updated Prescribing Information Approved for Coumadin
FDA has approved updated labeling for the blood-thinning drug Coumadin to
explain that genetic makeup may influence how a patient responds to the drug.
Manufacturers of warfarin, the generic version of Coumadin, also plan to add
similar labeling information.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01684.html
It should come as no surprise that there are some
wonderfully effective ways of maintaining healthy blood "viscosity" and normal
clotting factors that don't involve swallowing "rat poison'... you can find
plenty of free information with strategies for staying healthy without rat
poison - check out our pages on
Thrombophlebitis and
Heart Health
and kick the Warfarin habit before it kicks you!
The FDA Is "At It Again"...
Keeping Us Safe From Mother Nature
A recent notice from the FDA warns consumers
to not use several red rice yeast products that have been discovered to
contain a molecule described as Lovastatin - the molecule synthesized by
the Big Drug Companies and marketed to us under a variety of brand names
such as Mevacor®, Advicor®, Altocor®,
Altoprev®, and Statosan® (Atos Pharma).
Here is their warning and link for your
amusement:
FDA is warning consumers not to buy or
eat three red yeast rice products promoted and sold online as dietary
supplements for treating high cholesterol. FDA analysis showed the
products contained an ingredient found in the prescription cholesterol
drug Mevacor.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01678.html
In part, their warning states:
This risk is even more serious because
consumers may not know the side effects associated with lovastatin and
the fact that it can adversely interact with other medications," said
Steven Galson, M.D., M.P.H., director of FDA's Center for Drug
Evaluation and Research.
Oooh! Spooky frightening words! No mention
of course that the FDA approved drug, which is the same stuff that is in
the supplements the FDA would ban, might be just as dangerous (or
not)...
The FDA goes on to explain:
These red yeast rice products are a
threat to health because the possibility exists that lovastatin can
cause severe muscle problems leading to kidney impairment. This risk is
greater in patients who take higher doses of lovastatin or who take
lovastatin and other medicines that increase the risk of muscle adverse
reactions. These medicines include the antidepressant nefazodone,
certain antibiotics, drugs used to treat fungal infections and HIV
infections, and other cholesterol-lowering medications.
Uh, Guys...? You forgot grapefruit juice -
grapefruit juice (and grapefruit) inhibits the metabolism of statins
which can increase the levels of the statin, and increase the risk of
dose-related adverse effects...
But of course the patented drugs are safe -
after all, they are FDA approved, and prescribed for you by a FDA
approved doctor, and sold to you at great profit by a FDA approved
Pharmacy... Surely that FDA approval removes almost all the risk
from these drugs, right?
Folks, I have a news flash for you:
Mother
Nature holds the patent on Lovastatin! Big Pharma may have figured out
how to fully synthesize it in their soulless, sterile laboratories, but
Mother Nature was there first!
Here is a bit of history about the
"discovery" of Lovastatin taken from the on-line reference resource wikipedia: (edited for brevity - full article available at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statin )
Akira Endo and Masao Kuroda of Tokyo,
Japan commenced research... in 1971. The first agent isolated was
mevastatin (ML-236B), a molecule produced by Penicillium citrinum. The
pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. showed an interest in the Japanese
research in 1976, and isolated lovastatin (mevinolin, MK803), the first
commercially marketed statin, from the mold Aspergillus terreus.
But mankind has known about the properties
of this Miracle of Mother Nature for thousands of years - here is an
another excerpt from the on-line resource wikipedia: ( full article
available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_yeast_rice )
In addition to its culinary use, red
yeast rice is also used in traditional Chinese herbology and traditional
Chinese medicine. Its use has been documented as far back as the Tang
Dynasty in China in 800 A.D. and taken internally to invigorate the
body, aid in digestion, and remove "blood blockages".
This whole silly thing just makes me want to
shake my head - for it is nothing new, and the FDA has tried this several times
before with Red Rice Yeast. Each time they try it, their ban crumbles
under the weight of logic:
-
If Lovastatin is a unique, synthesized,
patented drug, how could Mother Nature have possibly gotten there first
with something as lowly as a fungus?
-
If Lovastatin is a new and novel thing (and
therefore worthy of patent protection,) what were the ancient Chinese
doing with it in 800 A.D.?
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If the natural, less potent (but just as
effective) substance is so very dangerous that we must be "protected"
from it, how can the synthesized, isolated version be so much safer that
it is sold without prescription (O.T.C or Over The Counter) in Britain,
with Big Pharma agitating for the same here in the US?
To their credit, the FDA has so far resisted
Big Pharma's call - probably because they are wary of the logic that
says if Big Pharma's brands of statins can be sold O.T.C., then why
shouldn't Mother Nature's brand also be allowed to be sold?
It will be fun to follow this one, and you
can be sure that HealthBeat will keep you updated as this comedy - er,
story - unfolds.
And here is a parting thought... is there
not a lawyer out there somewhere who would take this case? God and God's
Agent, Mother Nature vs. Big Pharma and Big Pharma's Agent, The FDA in a
lawsuit over theft of intellectual property, plagiarism, counterfeiting,
and patent infringement?
What a fun trial that might be! After all,
what would happen to you or I if we reverse-engineered one of Big
Pharma's creations and sold the result for billions in profits? Would we
not find ourselves in court "quicker than two shakes of a lamb's tail?"
Learn more about
Red Yeast Rice at the Wellness Club website!
We Get Letters: Comments and Questions...
Janet writes to comment:
I have just signed up for your newsletter. Thank you again!
I have personally used medicinal herbs and other natural treatments for
30 years; and now know just enough to realize how little I know! ~Janet
Dr. Myatt replies:
Hi Janet:
An ancient Arab proverb goes something like this:
There are four types of men:
The man who doesn't know, and doesn't know that he doesn't know. He is a
fool. Avoid him.
The man who doesn't know, and knows that he doesn't know. He is a
student. Teach him.
The man who knows, and doesn't know that he knows. He is asleep. Awaken
him.
The man who knows, and knows that he know. He is a teacher. Learn from
him.
Knowing how little you know is the beginning of wisdom!
In Health,
Dr. Myatt
And another Janet writes:
Dear Dr. Myatt,
I have a question regarding castor oil packs. I have read that this is
a good treatment for lymphoma....Then, on another website, I read one
should not use castor oil packs if there is a malignancy. Your in put
would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You, Janet
To which Dr. Myatt answers:
Hi Janet:
I use castor oil packs (COP) for everything, including every type of cancer. I
have been involved in several large (unpublished) studies using castor
oil packs and have never seen an adverse outcome, and I have never seen
any studies which show that a COP is contraindicated in lymphoma. The
only time I wouldn't use a COP is where I wouldn't use heat, such as in
a "hot" appendix.
Please keep in mind that there are MANY other things that should be done
in addition to COP's for cancer. It is difficult for a layman to sort
out what will really help because of all the conflicting stories one
hears. As you probably know, "everybody is an expert" when you have
cancer. The lady next door, your butcher, baker and candlestick-maker,
the gal at the health food store --- everybody "knows" a cure for cancer
that you should be using! The trouble is, 99% of such advice is wrong.
An holistic physician can make specific recommendations based on the
individual, and this is much more productive.
Here is a note (which the patient gave me permission to use ) from a
Stage 4 ovarian cancer patient. I don't know if you're familiar with
"staging," but stage 4 is as high as it gets, and ovarian cancer is
usually a death-sentence. She wrote last week after her check-up with
the oncologist:
Hi Dr. Myatt -
Well, I'm home now - been a long day. He (oncologist) gave me an
internal exam as usual to see what's growin' - because the last time I
was there (3 mo. ago) he felt stuff growing - Well, guess what - he felt
NOTHING!! NADA - NIENTE - 0 growths!! - and he can't figure it out. So
he wants to see me in 3 more months and no scans ordered. How do you
like that!
Bye!
Gail
And a note she sent out to friends the next day:
Hi Everyone - I just had another 'cancer visit' with my oncologist. I
was delighted with the results.
On his examination - he could not feel the cancer that was growing the
last time I was there even though my cancer marker was elevated a
little. He expected me to be bloated and full of growths, but I wasn't.
He is baffled. I attribute this as a result of working with Dr. Myatt -
a nutritionist in Arizona - and sticking with her diet and and
supplements.
So, to all my family and friends - Thank you for your support and
prayers and kind and healthy thoughts - they are working for me. Don't
underestimate their power and yours
I love you all soooooooo much
Love and Light
Gail
Janet, Gail is not an exception. We have excellent results in achieving
remissions in even our advanced cancer patients. And keep in mind that I
have never met any of these people in person --- this work has all been
done by telephone consultation.
Please, if you need solid holistic medical advice, don't just try and
stumble around with a "do it yourself" program. Cancer is a very "worthy
adversary," and I cannot recommend highly enough that you enlist the
help of myself or a trusted holistic doctor to help you with this. My
telephone consultation information can be found here:
http://www.drmyattswellnessclub.com/consultations.htm
Please do keep in touch no matter what and let me know how this lymphoma
case turns out. We'll be praying for the welfare of this patient.
In Health,
Dr. Myatt Muscular and joint pain is a very common and
vexing problem that interferes with the enjoyment of life's pleasures
for most of us at some time or other. There are some excellent natural
solutions to this problem - read on:
Dr. Myatt received
this letter recently:
Hi!
I am a friend of a patient of yours and he
mentioned that you could probably suggest a vitamin/mineral that might
help my muscle soreness. Have been to a Dr. who ruled out Fibromyalgia.
I am very active with work, motorcycles and horses. Have any
suggestions? Thank You, Tanya N.
Hi Tanya,
Thank
you for your question. Muscle soreness can result from many things, and
combinations of things. The very best way to sort this out would be to
arrange an
alternative medicine consultation with Dr. Myatt - this will save
you time, money, and uncertainty, and provide you with a very definitive
plan for better health.
Here are some general suggestions:
An optimal dose multiple vitamin / mineral / micronutrient formula such
as
Maxi-Multi is a cornerstone for anyone's good health. Without
optimal nutrition, the cells of your body (including your muscles)
cannot function properly.
CoEnzyme Q 10
(CoQ10) is an important energy molecule for the mitochondria
(the energy units) of our body's cells. The body produces CoQ10
naturally, but many people are deficient for a number of reasons,
including prescription medication use - particularly the use of
cholesterol-lowering drugs. Without adequate energy supplies your
muscles cannot function at their best and may feel tired and achy. CoQ10
is also a powerful antioxidant.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to many processes in the body. They
are anti-inflammatory. Deficiencies in Omega-3 fatty acids can
contribute to a subtle body-wide inflammatory state. The Standard
American Diet is woefully deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids. An excellent
source is
Max EPA
.
Bromelain
is nature's premier anti-Inflammatory herb, useful for all
types of infection, injuries, inflammation, sinusitis, cardiovascular
disease, rheumatic disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer. It is very
effective at reducing swelling and inflammation, thereby reducing pain
and discomfort of muscle soreness.
Cox-2
Support is a new product that many of Dr. Myatt's patients and
Wellness Club members have reported excellent results with. This herbal
blend was created to help support normal healthy Cox-2 levels. You are
no doubt familiar with the Cox-2 inhibitor drugs such as Vioxx and
Bextra and others which have earned a reputation for being dangerous.
Cox-2 support was formulated to give similar pain relief by helping the
body to produce normal, healthy levels of Cox-2 compounds instead of
creating artificially high levels of these compounds in the body by
preventing their normal metabolism as the discredited Cox-2 inhibitor
drugs are designed to do. It is well worth a try for relieving all kinds
of muscular and joint discomfort.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Nurse Mark
We Get Letters II - Readers Ask Medical Questions...
Q.) Hello Dr. Myatt,
I would be interested in information regarding high cholesterol (my LDL is
314!!), halting or REVERSING coronary artery disease (several 40% blockages),
and osteoporosis (severe---I'm trying strontium now after refusing Forteo),
lowering blood pressure in a healthy way (I'm 53, 5' tall and weigh 100 pounds
on a good day!) and fibromyalgia (Yep, that too). The laundry list goes on and
on, so at this point just about anything you talk about would be of interest to
me or a family member!
Trying to avoid as many pharmaceuticals as possible, but have tried all the
'naturals', and I still haven't found the solution....
Your site is great. I look forward to your newsletters!
Best regards,
Eliz
A.)
Hi Eliz:
Welcome aboard! As I'm sure you know, I can't really respond personally to every
complaint you have (I don't have NEARLY enough information). To do so would
require a telephone consultation. But there are plenty of highly informative
pieces to help answer these questions on our main website (
www.DoctorMyatt.com )
and on this site.
This should get you going:
High
Cholesterol .
And be sure to see these HealthBeat articles:
And this whitepaper: (which will be pulled from the
site soon and made into a white paper for purchase, so grab this while you can
for free)
Lower Cholesterol Naturally
See our information about
Osteoporosis: and
our HealthBeat article
Strontium: The Missing Mineral for Osteoporosis Prevention and Reversal:
Fibromyalgia: that's a "case by case" basis; I recommend a phone consult. And
I'll work on a general information page for this topic and post it to the main
website.
There's a problem with a "do it yourself" approach to natural health, especially
when you have some serious medical concerns. You wind up buying all of the
"best-hyped" supplements (and natural manufacturers can be every bit as "hypey"
as Big Pharma!), waste a lot of time and money, and you still haven't done
anything specific for your case.
There's a reason why naturopathic medical doctors spend 4 years in medical
school after 4 years of pre-med. That's because a precise
understanding of the patient's complaints, and targeted recommendations, takes a
lot of knowledge and understanding. The "do it yourself" approach to medicine
is, for most people, a waste of time and money and can even be dangerous. Get
some professional assistance! I'm here if you need me....
P.S. to all HealthBeat News Subscribers: Remember that you'll find a boat-load
of free, no-hype holistic health information at
www.DoctorMyatt.com.
You can also look up past articles from HealthBeat at our
new
HealthBeat Archives page.
All the links above were taken from our free-to-access websites.
In Health,
Dr. Myatt
Laughter is Good Medicine: Kids Say The
Darndest Things - Part 2 When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights
off until we
were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies
followed us in. Noticing
them before I did, Billy whispered, 'It's no use, Grandpa. The mosquitoes are
coming after us with
flashlights.'
When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, 'I'm not sure.'
'Look in your
underwear, Grandma,' he advised. 'Mine says I'm four to six.'
A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, 'Grandma,
guess what? We
learned how to make babies today.' The grandmother, more than a little
surprised, tried to keep her
cool. 'That's interesting,' she said, 'How do you make babies?' 'It's simple,'
replied the girl.
'You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'.'
'Give me a sentence about a public servant,' said a teacher. The small boy
wrote: 'The
fireman came down the ladder pregnant.' The teacher asked, 'Do you know what
pregnant means?' Sure,'
said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child.'
A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one
day when a
fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a
Dalmatian dog. The
children started discussing the dog's duties. 'They use him to keep crowds
back,' said one
youngster. 'No,' said another, 'he's just for good luck.' A third child brought
the argument to a
close: 'No, they use the dogs to find the fire hydrant.'
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