This was sent to us recently and it brought tears to my eyes – partly because it brought back childhood memories of happy and carefree family evenings spent watching a grainy, flickering black-and-white television, and partly because it made me wonder if this is the sort of math being used in boardrooms and on Wall Street and in Washington these days.
See if this doesn’t bring a smile to your face too…
Dr. Myatt is currently deep in research for an upcoming paper on an increasingly common modern disease, hepatitis C. In this research she reviews hundreds of papers and references and studies – some of them big name scientific studies, some of them anecdotal reports, some of them promoting natural therapies, many more promoting allopathic Big Pharma drug offerings.
There is a lot of misinformation out there – much of it promulgated by Big Pharma and Big Medicine who really don’t have a workable solution for hepatitis C, but don’t want to give any ground to the possibility that there might be natural alternatives to their often-toxic drug treatments.
As an example, Dr. Myatt came across this article in the government’s National Library of Medicine PubMed service – the place where your allopathic doctor goes for his information (if your doctor bothers to research at all). This study was published under the heading of "Hepatology" (the study of diseases of the liver) and titled Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial.
I’ll include the text of the abstract at the end of this article, but here is the short course:
Whew! Heady stuff! Almost anyone quickly reading this brief abstract would be compelled to conclude that milk thistle has virtually no benefit or place in the treatment of hepatitis C. But wait – let’s read the authors words a little more carefully for when we do we begin to recognize a classic example of obfuscation and doublespeak:
Univariate analysis showed significantly fewer liver-related symptoms and better quality-of-life parameters in users than nonusers, but after reanalysis adjusted for covariates of age, race, education, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index, and smoking, only fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and general health remained significantly better in silymarin users. In conclusion, silymarin users had similar alanine aminotransferase and HCV levels to those of nonusers but fewer symptoms and somewhat better quality-of-life indices.
Translation please? Here it is…
"We found that milk thistle helped patients feel better – so we re-worked the analysis to try to juggle the numbers the way we wanted them to be, and even after working hard to show otherwise we had to admit that it looks like milk thistle has a beneficial effect in hepatitis C patients"
At no time, in the 2000 years or so of the recorded use of milk thistle has anyone ever claimed it to be an "anti-viral" herb. Immune enhancing, yes. Liver protective, yes. But not antiviral. So why look for an antiviral effect? Perhaps so that they could then say that "it doesn’t work"?
Folks, if these results had been obtained with a prescription drug Big Pharma would be shouting it from the very rooftops and pressing for it to be added to drinking water like their favorite toxin fluoride. It would be in the nightly news and on the front pages of major newspapers. But it’s just a lowly and unpatentable and unprofitable natural herb that must be discredited at any cost – even if that "cost" is scientific and medical honesty. Even if that "cost" is the quality of life enjoyed by hepatitis C sufferers.
Here is the full text of the abstract – judge for yourself:
Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial.
Authors: Seeff LB, Curto TM, Szabo G, Everson GT, Bonkovsky HL, Dienstag JL, Shiffman ML, Lindsay KL, Lok AS, Di Bisceglie AM, Lee WM, Ghany MG; HALT-C Trial Group.
Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Herbal products, used for centuries in Far Eastern countries, are gaining popularity in western countries. Surveys indicate that persons with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) often use herbals, especially silymarin (milk thistle extract), hoping to improve the modest response to antiviral therapy and reduce side effects. The Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial, involving persons with advanced CHC, nonresponders to prior antiviral therapy but still willing to participate in long-term pegylated interferon treatment, offered the opportunity to examine the use and potential effects of silymarin. Among 1145 study participants, 56% had never taken herbals, 21% admitted past use, and 23% were using them at enrollment. Silymarin constituted 72% of 60 herbals used at enrollment. Among all participants, 67% had never used silymarin, 16% used it in the past, and 17% used it at baseline. Silymarin use varied widely among the 10 participating study centers; men were more frequent users than women, as were non-Hispanic whites than African Americans and Hispanics. Silymarin use correlated strongly with higher education. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on serum alanine aminotransferase or hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels. Univariate analysis showed significantly fewer liver-related symptoms and better quality-of-life parameters in users than nonusers, but after reanalysis adjusted for covariates of age, race, education, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index, and smoking, only fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and general health remained significantly better in silymarin users. In conclusion, silymarin users had similar alanine aminotransferase and HCV levels to those of nonusers but fewer symptoms and somewhat better quality-of-life indices. Because its use among these HALT-C participants was self-motivated and uncontrolled, however, only a well-designed prospective study can determine whether silymarin provides benefit to persons with chronic hepatitis C.
PMID: 18157835 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
The thyroid gland, and hypo/hyper thyroidism are very complicated and are misunderstood even by most doctors. With the wealth of information, misinformation and outright urban legend about thyroid function it is no wonder that this is such a difficult and frustrating and even dangerous area for the do-it-yourself health enthusiast to dabble in!
The endocrine system (the hormone system) is a particular area of interest and specialty for Dr. Myatt as many of her very happy and satisfied patients know. The thyroid is a key player in that whole system, but it does not function in isolation.
We get a lot of endocrine and thyroid questions, and it seems that most people with thyroid concerns are "armed" with at least minimal (and misleading and misunderstood) lab results that they want us to interpret via email and then use to provide them with a detailed plan by which to sort out their problems. Further, they generally want us to do so without their having to incur any further expense. Since they have been to a conventional doctor who has done conventional testing which has not solved the problem we are expected to somehow be able to use their minimal symptom list and the often inappropriate lab testing results done in isolation to conjure up an answer that will solve this medical dilemma (which has obviously stumped their regular doctor or they would not be writing to us for help!) – all at no cost.
Folks, this is asking us to "shoot in the dark" and we just won’t do it – it is not fair to us, and certainly not fair to you!
Just as conventional medicine does not have a "one pill cure" neither does Natural Medicine have a magic "one herb solution" to these very complicated problems. And even with Dr. Myatt’s knowledge and experience, she will never guess or offer "off-the-cuff" recommendations – good health is too important for guesswork!
Further, let’s be very clear about something: "Natural Medicine" is NOT "no cost medicine". We rely on research and science not guesswork and tests, herbs and supplements are not free. (Though they are far less costly than patented prescription drugs!)
Here is a series of emails that went back and forth here recently:
Marilyn wrote to ask:
Does your thyroid cytotrophin contain literally T3 and T4 hormones? Also, does Maca inhibit the thyroid since it is a cruciferous vegetable and contains glucosinates? Please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks so much!
Dr. Myatt took some time out of her schedule to answer Marilyn:
Hi Marilyn:
Cytotrophin does indeed contain T3 and T4, approximately 1/2 grain per tablet in a 1:5 ratio (T3:T4) as is the ratio made by the body. It cannot be listed on the label (or my website!) because then it is considered a drug and not a supplement.
Glucosinolates can cause goiter (swollen thyroid gland with decreased activity) if taken in excess combined with a low-iodine diet. Though this is documented to occur with other glucosinolate-rich foods, it is not known if maca causes goiter.
Anyone who has demonstrated low thyroid function should have an iodine test to determine if iodine deficiency is the cause of their hypothyroidism, but you probably knew that. And of course, if your iodine levels are low, they should be brought up to sufficiency.
Almost a year later Marilyn wrote again to ask:
Dear Dr. Myatt: I was diagnosed with borderline hyperthyroidism a few months ago because my TSH levels were 0.3 even though I have every symptom of hypothyroidism. Last month and the months before my basil body temperature has been consistently 97.6. This month it is 97. How could it go that low in just one month? The only thing I’ve been taking is MACA and I’ve been on 5,000 mg for almost a year. What can I do? I took the Iodine Patch Test and within 10 hours, the patch was considerably faded. Please let me know what I can do naturally as I cannot afford to go through more testing. Please let me know as soon as possible what your opinion is. Thanks!
Dr. Myatt forwarded this to me with her comments – since she is up to her eyebrows in consultations and research and reports these days:
In addition to needing T3 and T4 (the REAL thyroid hormone numbers), and probably iodine testing, she should stop maca, which is theoretically a possible goitrogen. And why is she taking such a high dose of this to begin with? She needs a consult, at least a brief one…
Please let her know this,
Dr. Myatt
So, Marilyn, here is our opinion, at no cost:
C’mon folks, there are plenty of things that qualify to be do-it-yourself projects and hobbies. Your health though is too important for you to think that you can fix through on-the-job-training and stumbling from one good idea to the next!
And here are some useful links for you Marilyn:
IODINE – The "Missing Mineral" for Thyroid, Heart, Immune and Cancer Protection
Iodine testing – ("Spot" and 24-hour loading) – Including Bromide
Comprehensive Plus Hormone Profile with HGH and Thyroid Hormones
Someone wrote and asked me about Alpha-lipoic acid, to wit:
"I have had a life long allergic reaction to sulpha – it crystallizes in my urine, making urination difficult. I just started taking ALA as an aide for glaucoma. I am 60 yrs. old.
I understand that ALA is supha based. How should I proceed?
Thank you,
Sal"
Hey Sal, there should be no problem with alpha lipoic acid, and “sulfa” (a drug) does not cause allergic reactions because of the sulfur content. Here’s the scoop.
Sulfur (chemical symbol: S) is a naturally occurring non-metallic element that comprises 0.25% of the human body. It is the 8th most prevalent element in the body. (A)
Elements found in the human body at their approximate amounts:
Sulfur is an essential mineral, meaning that the body MUST have it. Sulfur is found in two amino acids, cysteine and methionine. Methionine is an essential amino acid. (B)
Sulfur is a component of many proteins, vitamins and hormones. Sulfur-containing compounds in humans include methionine, cysteine, homocysteine, cystathione, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), taurine, thiamin, biotin, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), coenzyme A, glutathione (GSH), chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine sulfate, fibrinogen, heparin, metallothionein, and inorganic sulfate. (C)
There is no such thing as a sulfur allergy, just as there is no such thing as an allergy to oxygen , carbon or calcium, all of which also occur in the human body in high amounts. Anyone who was truly allergic to sulfur would be dead!
Sulfate (SO4) is a molecule which contains sulfur and oxygen. It occurs in nature and is found in most natural water including rain water. It is also the form of sulfur most commonly used to fertilize plants. (D) Sulfate may have a laxative effect that can lead to dehydration, especially in infants. Adults become “acclimatized” to high sulfate levels. (E).The current U.S. EPA national Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level for sulfate, is 250 mg/L (U.S. EPA, 1990).
Sulfite (SO3) is another molecule that contains sulfur. Sulfite is used on foods and some wines as antioxidants, and can cause asthmatic reactions. Sulfites are rare in medications.
Sulfites are used as preservatives on vegetables, especially vegetables in salad bars. This is probably the most common source of sulfite allergy reactions.
Sulfa drugs (sulfonamide class of antibiotics), contain sulfur but allergies and other reactions are not from the sulfur per se. Rather, the complex sulfonamine molecule can form proteins that are allergenic in some individuals. The sulfur atom is NOT the allergenic agent and being allergic to sulfa drugs does NOT imply having an allergy to sulfur.
Sulfa antibiotics include Septra®, Bactrim® and Pediazole®.
Go ahead, Sal, and take alpha-lipoic acid without concern for your history of sulfa drug allergy. And be sure to look for more in-depth information about proven treatments for glaucoma coming up in the next edition of HealthBeat News.
In Health,
Dr. Myatt
References
(A): Reference: H. A. Harper, V. W. Rodwell, P. A. Mayes, Review of Physiological Chemistry, 16th ed., Lange Medical Publications, Los Altos, California 1977.
B.) Reeds PJ. "Dispensable and indispensable amino acids for humans." J. Nutr. 130 (7): 1835S–40S, 2000.
C.) Parcell Stephen. Sulfur in Human Nutrition
and Applications in Medicine. Alternative Medicine Review Volume 7, Number 1 2002.
D.) Sulfate -vs- Elemental Sulfur Part I: There Is A Difference. Educational brochure by Agri-Facts ™
E.) Wilkes University Center for Environmental Quality,
Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences.
“Sulfates and Hydrogen SulfideThat Rotten Egg / Sulfur Smell
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria “(SRB).
"Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud and that the major cancer research organisations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them." – Linus Pauling PhD (Two-time Nobel Prize winner).
Have you ever wondered why, despite the billions of dollars spent on cancer research over many decades, and the constant promise of a cure which is forever "just around the corner", cancer continues to increase?
Once quite rare, cancer is now the second major cause of death in Western countries such as Australia, the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. In the early 1940s cancer accounted for 12% of Australian deaths. (1) By 1992 this figure had climbed to 25.9% of Australian deaths. (2) The increasing trend of cancer deaths and incidence is typical of most Western nations. It has been said that this increase in cancer is just due to the fact that people now live longer than their ancestors did, and that therefore the increase of cancer is merely due to the fact that more people are living to be older and thereby have a greater chance of contracting cancer. However, this argument is disproved by the fact that cancer is also increasing in younger age groups, as well as by the findings of numerous population studies which have linked various life-style factors of particular cultures to the particular forms of cancer that are predominant there.
"My overall assessment is that the national cancer programme must be judged a qualified failure" Dr. John Bailer, who spent 20 years on the staff of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and was editor of its journal. (3) Dr. Bailer also says: "The five year survival statistics of the American Cancer Society are very misleading. They now count things that are not cancer, and, because we are able to diagnose at an earlier stage of the disease, patients falsely appear to live longer. Our whole cancer research in the past 20 years has been a total failure. More people over 30 are dying from cancer than ever before . . . More women with mild or benign diseases are being included in statistics and reported as being ‘cured’. When government officials point to survival figures and say they are winning the war against cancer they are using those survival rates improperly."
A 1986 report in the New England Journal of Medicine assessed progress against cancer in the United States during the years 1950 to 1982. Despite progress against some rare forms of cancer, which account for 1 to 2 per cent of total deaths caused by the disease, the report found that the overall death rate had increased substantially since 1950: "The main conclusion we draw is that some 35 years of intense effort focussed largely on improving treatment must be judged a qualified failure." The report further concluded that ". . . we are losing the war against cancer" and argued for a shift in emphasis towards prevention if there is to be substantial progress. (4)
According to the International Agency for Research in Cancer "…80-90 per cent of human cancer is determined environmentally and thus theoretically avoidable." (5) Environmental causes of cancer include lifestyle factors such as smoking, a diet high in animal products and low in fresh fruit & vegetables, excessive exposure to sunlight, food additives, alcohol, workplace hazards, pollution, electromagnetic radiation, and even certain pharmaceutical drugs and medical procedures. But unfortunately, as expressed by medical historian Hans Ruesch, "Despite the general recognition that 85 per cent of all cancers is caused by environmental influences, less than 10 per cent of the (U.S.) National Cancer Institute budget is given to environmental causes. And despite the recognition that the majority of environmental causes are linked to nutrition, less than 1 per cent of the National Cancer Institute budget is devoted to nutrition studies. And even that small amount had to be forced on the Institute by a special amendment of the National Cancer Act in 1974." (6)
According to Dr. Robert Sharpe, " . . . in our culture treating disease is enormously profitable, preventing it is not. In 1985 the U.S., Western Europe and Japanese market in cancer therapies was estimated at over 3.2 billion pounds with the ‘market’ showing a steady annual rise of 10 per cent over the past five years. Preventing the disease benefits no one except the patient. Just as the drug industry thrives on the ‘pill for every ill’ mentality, so many of the leading medical charities are financially sustained by the dream of a miracle cure, just around the corner." (7)
In fact, some analysts consider that the cancer industry is sustained by a policy of deliberately facing in the wrong direction. For instance, in the late 1970s, after studying the policies, activities, and assets of the major U.S. cancer institutions, the investigative reporters Robert Houston and Gary Null concluded that these institutions had become self-perpetuating organisations whose survival depended on the state of no cure. They wrote, "a solution to cancer would mean the termination of research programs, the obsolescence of skills, the end of dreams of personal glory, triumph over cancer would dry up contributions to self-perpetuating charities and cut off funding from Congress, it would mortally threaten the present clinical establishments by rendering obsolete the expensive surgical, radiological and chemotherapeutic treatments in which so much money, training and equipment is invested. Such fear, however unconscious, may result in resistance and hostility to alternative approaches in proportion as they are therapeutically promising. The new therapy must be disbelieved, denied, discouraged and disallowed at all costs, regardless of actual testing results, and preferably without any testing at all. As we shall see, this pattern has in actuality occurred repeatedly, and almost consistently." (8) Indeed, many people around the world consider that they have been cured by therapies which were ‘blacklisted’ by the major cancer organisations.
Does this mean that ALL of the people who work in the cancer research industry are consciously part of a conspiracy to hold back a cure for cancer? Author G.Edward Griffin explains ". . . let’s face it, these people die from cancer like everybody else. . . [I]t’s obvious that these people are not consciously holding back a control for cancer. It does mean, however, that the [pharmaceutical-chemical] cartel’s medical monopoly has created a climate of bias in our educational system, in which scientific truth often is sacrificed to vested interests . . . [I]f the money is coming from drug companies, or indirectly from drug companies, the impetus is in the direction of drug research. That doesn’t mean somebody blew the whistle and said "hey, don’t research nutrition!" It just means that nobody is financing nutrition research. So it is a bias where scientific truth often is obscured by vested interest." (9) This point is similarly expressed by Dr. Sydney Singer: "Researchers are like prostitutes. They work for grant money. If there is no money for the projects they are personally interested in, they go where there is money. Their incomes come directly from their grants, not from the universities. And they want to please the granting source to get more grants in the future. Their careers depend on it." (10)
A large portion of money donated to cancer research by the public is spent on animal research which has, since its inception, been widely condemned as a waste of time and resources. For instance, consider the 1981 Congressional Testimony by Dr. Irwin Bross, former director of the Sloan-Kettering, the largest cancer research institute in the world, and then Director of Biostatistics at Roswell Park Memorial Institute for Cancer Research, Bufallo, NY: "The uselessness of most of the animal model studies is less well known. For example, the discovery of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancer is widely-heralded as a triumph due to use of animal model systems. However, here again, these exaggerated claims are coming from or are endorsed by the same people who get the federal dollars for animal research. There is little, if any, factual evidence that would support these claims. Indeed, while conflicting animal results have often delayed and hampered advances in the war on cancer, they have never produced a single substantial advance either in the prevention or treatment of human cancer. For instance, practically all of the chemotherapeutic agents which are of value in the treatment of human cancer were found in a clinical context rather than in animal studies." (11)
In fact, many substances which cause cancer in humans are marketed as "safe" on the basis of animal tests. As expressed by Dr. Werner Hartinger of Germany, in regard to cancer-causing products of the pharmaceutical-petro-chemical industry, "Their constant consumption is legalised on the basis of misleading animal experiments . . . which seduce the consumer into a false sense of security." (12)
The next time you are asked to donate to a cancer organisation, bear in mind that your money will be used to sustain an industry which has been deemed by many eminent scientists as a qualified failure and by others, as a complete fraud. If you would like to make a difference, inform these organisations that you won’t donate to them until they change their approach to one which is focussed on prevention and study of the human condition. We have the power to change things by making their present approach unprofitable. It is only through our charitable donations and taxes that these institutions survive on their present unproductive path.
Copyright 1997 by the Campaign Against Fraudulent Medical Research, www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr
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Disclaimer: This article is presented for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional or medical advice. CAFMR disclaims all liability to any person arising directly or indirectly from the use of the information provided.