HealthBeat News

Category: Drugs and Alternatives

  • Iodine Shortages – Again!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    You may remember when the tsunami struck Japan and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster – an environmental mess that will plague mankind for centuries to come.

    At that time millions of people seemed to remember that potassium iodide was protective to the thyroid gland in cases of exposure to radioactive iodine – a common component of radioactive “fallout.” Subsequently those people all tried to find supplies of potassium iodide at the same time with predictable results – shortages and price gouging.

    After the panic died down a bit supplies returned to normal – almost. Then in an unfortunate accident Dr Guy Abraham, the maker of the iodine supplement Iodoral, passed away and there have been problems within his company that have resulted once again in shortages of Iodoral.

    Iodoral brand iodine / iodide (an effective supplement must contain both) is currently unavailable and future availability is uncertain.

    This is a serious problem for many people – supplemental iodine is an important part of thyroid health for many folks and it’s not a supplement that should be just “stopped” suddenly. Because of the shortages, many of Dr. Myatt’s patients found themselves in a “pickle” and Dr. Myatt set out to find a replacement that would meet her high standards for purity and potency.

    She has been successful, and we now offer LugoTab – a direct replacement for Iodoral.

    LugoTab is exactly the same formulation – same ingredients, same potency, same (or even higher) quality. It is made right here in the USA in a FDA accredited facility under the watchful eye of a skilled and experienced pharmacist that Dr. Myatt knows and trusts.

    So, don’t fall for the “shortage” panic or pay exorbitant prices for the few remaining bottles of Iodoral that some unscrupulous sellers may have still in stock. Just as during the Fukushima shortages Dr. Myatt considers it unethical to take advantage  of people by raising prices and has instead worked hard to find a top quality product that you can trust, at the same price – LugoTab iodine / iodide is available now at Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club.

  • Headlines Scream: New Risks For Niacin!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Will the assault on vitamins, minerals, and other natural and non-patentable (and thus non-profitable) supplements and treatments ever stop?

    In my opinion, no. As long as something poses a threat to the profit picture of Big Pharma and their patent drug offerings there will be no let-up in Big Pharma’s efforts to remove the competition.

    Here is a link to one of dozens of equally breathless and poorly researched and written articles from the last few days: Studies see new risks for cholesterol drug niacin

    Pretty scary, huh? Calling niacin a drug, invoking the names of a “famous” cardiologist and both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, telling us that just by using this “Drug” niacin "for every 200 people that we treat with niacin, there is one excess death,"…

    It sure sounds like we had better stop using this deadly “drug” immediately!

    Right?

    Not so fast…

    Associate Press (AP) and the reporter who penned this unfortunate scare-piece have done their readers a severe injustice – shame on them for such shoddy journalism!

    While the reporter correctly identifies niacin as a member of the B vitamin family, she promptly goes on to call it a drug, and then compounds her error by insinuating that patent drug forms of niacin-containing drugs offered by the pharmaceutical companies by prescription are no different from the natural forms of simple, unadulterated niacin available over-the-counter in your local health food or vitamin store. Shame on her!

    The drugs referred to in this “study” are Niaspan and Tredaptive. Both these drugs contain niacin – but niacin alone is not a drug – it is a vitamin!

    And bologna contains beef – but it sure isn’t steak!

    Niaspan is a “time release” niacin-containing drug from the drug company Abbvie. It contains it’s niacin in a wax matrix within a film coating that is said to delay absorption (the “time release” part) and it also contains the inactive ingredients hypromellose, povidone, stearic acid, and polyethylene glycol, and the coloring agents FD&C yellow #6/sunset yellow FCF Aluminum Lake, synthetic red and yellow iron oxides, and titanium dioxide.

    Niaspan has been around as a prescription drug for many years and has long been known to carry a risk of liver damage and to occasionally cause increased blood glucose in diabetics.

    Tredaptive is, so to speak, “a whole ‘nother ball-game” and one really has to question why it is even being mentioned. You see, while this fancy prescription drug does indeed contain niacin, it also contains another drug – a drug called Laropiprant which acts as a prostaglandin DP1 antagonist intended to reduce the natural  “flushing” that niacin is infamous for.

    So, why would I say that Tredaptive is “a whole ‘nother ball-game”? Well, because it has never been approved for use in the United States, it has been banned from use in Europe, and in those few countries where it is still available the drug company Merck is suspending sales of it and telling doctors to stop prescribing it!

    Sounds like a bad drug that Merck no longer wants to take a chance on selling – the risks are too great! Remember, Merck, like any drug company is all about risk and reward – aka “profit” – and they have obviously concluded that the profit from this drug will not be enough to offset the payouts when the lawsuits begin…

    Bad Science (aka B.S.), Bad Writing, and an obvious bias toward Big Pharma combine to give you…

    A terrible pseudo-news article intended to frighten you away from a natural vitamin and designed to help lay the groundwork for the FDA’s desired abolition of non-prescription vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements.

    The reporter is actually writing about an editorial (i.E.: “opinion”) article published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones of Northwestern University in Chicago. This very same Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones is a paid grand poohbah with the American Heart Association – an outfit very deeply in the pocket of Big Pharma, and dependant upon Big Pharma for funding…

    Lloyd-Jones, in his “editorial” is actually talking about two studies – one done on Niaspan, which has well-known risks and dangers, and the other on Tredaptive, a drug that was never available in the US and has been banned from use in Europe and withdrawn from the market by the drug company Merck. He is using these “studies” with their to-be-expected negative conclusions, to smear by association a vitamin that has a long and honorable history of safe and effective use in promoting healthy cholesterol levels.

    Yes – Niaspan and Terdaptive can be (are) bad drugs. Yes – both these drugs contain the vitamin niacin. So is niacin the cause of the increased risks mentioned by these studies?

    NO!

    While niacin was “found at the scene of the crime” it is Not Guilty!

    The bottom line?

    Niacin works, and works well. It has a long and honorable history of safe and effective use. I causes many people to experience a harmless but annoying, even embarrassing flush when they take it, so Big Pharma has long seen this as an opportunity to find something, anything about it that they can change and patent.

    But it seems that every time Big Pharma gets their greedy paws on something safe and effective and un-patentable (unprofitable) like niacin they manage to turn it into something toxic like Niaspan or Terdaptive.

    So they are left to print deceitful “news” articles maligning natural remedies and defending and promoting their patent medicines.

    For Shame!

    Learn more about Niacin here:

    Learn more about cholesterol and cholesterol control here:

    Learn why you MUST eat healthy saturated fats and cholesterol here:

    Learn about the dangers of using statin drugs to lower cholesterol here:

    Don’t like that “Niacin Flush” but want something natural to help you achieve healthy cholesterol levels? Try this natural herb with plenty of research behind it:

     

    References:

    Merck withdraws Tredaptive: http://www.mercknewsroom.com/press-release/research-and-development-news/merck-provides-update-next-steps-tredaptive-extended-rel

    Wikipedia discusses niacin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin

    New England Journal of Medicine editorial piece: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1406410

    Wikipedia discusses disgraced Merck drug Laropiprant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laropiprant

  • The Amazing Brain Nutrient You Don’t Know About

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Citicoline: The Amazing Brain Health Nutrient You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.

    You know about vitamin C, you’ve heard about vitamin D, you know that CoQ10 is important – but it’s a good bet that you’ve never heard about citicoline. This little-known substance – a member of the vitamin B family  -may just be one of the most important supplements for brain health that we know about.

    How important? It turns out that citicoline is sold in over 70 countries as a drug for cognitive impairment (memory loss) (1) and is approved for treatment in cases of head trauma, stroke, and neurodegenerative disease in Japan and Europe – researchers have found improved clinical outcomes following ischemic strokes. (2)

    So, what else is is good for?

    Clinical and laboratory research show citicoline supports memory function and healthy cognition and there is clinical evidence suggesting that citicoline can improve memory problems associated with aging. (3, 4)

    Citicoline is being studied and found to be very useful in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, allowing significantly reduced doses of levodopa to be used to greater effect.(5) Citicoline enhances brain and nerve cell communication by increasing the availability of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine.

    Our eyes can benefit from citicoline: it improves visual function in patients with glaucoma, amblyopia (lazy eye), and optic neuropathy. (6, 7)

    Given the powerful effect citicoline has on brain chemistry and health it is no surprise that scientists and researchers are exploring other uses for this supplement. Cocaine addicts found their cravings were reduced and mood improved with the use of citicoline. (8)

    Cocaine addicts aren’t the only ones to benefit however – obesity is a huge problem in America and researchers are finding that citicoline has positive effects on the parts of the brain that tell us that we are satisfied and can stop eating – the so-called satiety centers of our brain. High-tech imaging showed that subjects using high dose citicoline (2000mg per day) had much greater responses in the areas of the brain related to satiety and they further reported significant reductions in appetite and hunger. (9)

    Those suffering from depression and even schizophrenia may benefit from citicoline according to two different small but impressive studies. Both studies showed positive improvements occurring within a few weeks of beginning treatment with citicoline. (10, 11)

    And it’s not just brain function, or eye health – citicoline has been investigated and found helpful in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD is increasing in scope as Americans become more and more obese – it may soon be called an “epidemic, the way Type II diabetes is now.) (12)

    So, in summary:

    • Citicoline is essential to the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine which is a major constituent of brain tissue.
    • Citicoline helps to maintain normal levels of acetylcholine, an important brain chemical that regulates memory and cognitive function.
    • Citicoline supports and enhances brain metabolism and healthy brain activity by sustaining the health of mitochondria – the energy generators inside the brain cells.
    • Citicoline helps brain cells communicate by keeping cell membranes in good condition and protecting neural structures from free radical damage.

    Perhaps the best summary can be found in the abstract from the research paper “Citicoline: pharmacological and clinical review, 2006 update.” (13)

    Abstract

    Cytidine 5′-diphosphocholine, CDP-choline, or citicoline is an essential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of structural phospholipids in cell membranes, particularly phosphatidylcholine. Following administration by both the oral and parenteral routes, citicoline releases its two main components, cytidine and choline. Absorption by the oral route is virtually complete, and bioavailability by the oral route is therefore approximately the same as by the intravenous route. Once absorbed, citicoline is widely distributed throughout the body, crosses the blood-brain barrier and reaches the central nervous system (CNS), where it is incorporated into the membrane and microsomal phospholipid fraction. Citicoline activates biosynthesis of structural phospholipids of neuronal membranes, increases brain metabolism, and acts upon the levels of different neurotransmitters. Thus,citicoline has been experimentally shown to increase norepinephrine and dopamine levels in the CNS. Owing to these pharmacological mechanisms,citicoline has a neuroprotective effect in hypoxic and ischemic conditions, decreasing the volume of ischemic lesion, and also improves learning and memory performance in animal models of brain aging. In addition, citicoline has been shown to restore the activity of mitochondrial ATPase and membrane Na+/K+ATPase, to inhibit activation of certain phospholipases, and to accelerate reabsorption of cerebral edema in various experimental models. Citicoline has also been shown to be able to inhibit mechanisms of apoptosis associated to cerebral ischemia and in certain neurodegeneration models, and to potentiate neuroplasticity mechanisms. Citicoline is a safe drug, as shown by the toxicological tests conducted, that has no significant systemic cholinergic effects and is a well tolerated product. These pharmacological characteristics and the action mechanisms of citicoline suggest that this product may be indicated for treatment of cerebral vascular disease, head trauma (HT) of varying severity, and cognitive disorders of different causes. In studies conducted in the treatment of patients with HT, citicoline was able to accelerate recovery from post-traumatic coma and neurological deficits, achieving an improved final functional outcome, and to shorten hospital stay in these patients. Citicoline also improved the mnesic and cognitive disorders seen after HT of minor severity that constitute the so-called post-concussional syndrome. In the treatment of patients with acute ischemic cerebral vascular disease, citicoline accelerates recovery of consciousness and motor deficit, achieves a better final outcome, and facilitates rehabilitation of these patients. The other major indication of citicoline is for treatment of senile cognitive impairment, either secondary to degenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer disease) or to chronic cerebral vascular disease. In patients with chronic cerebral ischemia,citicoline improves scores in cognitive rating scales, while in patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type it stops the course of disease, and neuroendocrine, neuroimmunomodulatory, and neurophysiological benefits have been reported. Citicoline has also been shown to be effective in Parkinson disease, drug addictions, and alcoholism, as well as in amblyopia and glaucoma. No serious side effects have occurred in any series of patients treated with citicoline, which attests to the safety of treatment with citicoline.

    Usual doses of this supplement range from 500 mg to 2000 mg per day – it is extremely safe with no known toxicity and very minimal side effects at even the highest doses – usually mild G.I. upset that resolves with continued use.

    I predict you’ll be hearing a lot more about this important supplement – and yes, Dr. Myatt and I  are both using it!

     

    References:

    1.) Citicoline (Cognizin) in the treatment of cognitive impairment. Fioravanti M., Buckley A.E. Clin Interv Aging. Sep 2006; 1(3): 247–251. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695184/

    2.) Warach, S; Pettigrew, LC; Dashe, JF; Pullicino, P; Lefkowitz, DM; Sabounjian, L; Harnett, K; Schwiderski, U; Gammans, R (November 2000). "Effect of citicoline on ischemic lesions as measured by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Citicoline 010 Investigators.". Annals of neurology 48 (5): 713–22. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11079534

    3.) Spiers PA et al. Citicoline improves verbal memory in aging. Arch Neurol. 996;53:441-48.

    4.) Alvarez XA et al. Citicoline improves memory performance in elderly subjects. Meth Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 1997;19(3):201-10.

    5.) Citicoline in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Eberhardt R1, Birbamer G, Gerstenbrand F, Rainer E, Traegner H. Clin Ther. 1990 Nov-Dec;12(6):489-95.
    It is concluded that the levodopa-saving effect of citicoline could be used to decrease the incidence of side effects and retard the loss of efficacy of levodopa in long-term treatment. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2289218

    6.) Parisi, V; Coppola, G; Centofanti, M; Oddone, F; Angrisani, AM; Ziccardi, L; Ricci, B; Quaranta, L; Manni, G (2008). "Evidence of the neuroprotective role of citicoline in glaucoma patients.". Progress in brain research 173: 541–4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18929133

    7.) Parisi, V.; Coppola, G.; Ziccardi, L.; Gallinaro, G.; Falsini, B. (1 May 2008). "Cytidine-5′-diphosphocholine (Citicoline): a pilot study in patients with non-arteritic ischaemic optic neuropathy". European Journal of Neurology 15 (5): 465–474. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-1331.2008.02099.x/abstract;jsessionid=FA96263B2BE6D0726B206E970BF6AF45.f03t01

    8.) Renshaw PF1, Daniels S, Lundahl LH, Rogers V, Lukas SE.
    Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Feb;142(2):132-8. Short-term treatment with citicoline (CDP-choline) attenuates some measures of craving in cocaine-dependent subjects: a preliminary report. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10102764

    9.) William D. S. Killgore, Amy J. Ross, […], and Deborah A. Yurgelun-Todd. Citicoline Affects Appetite and Cortico-Limbic Responses to Images of High Calorie Foods. Int J Eat Disord. Jan 2010; 43(1): 6–13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3378241/#!po=4.16667

    10.) Salvadorini F, Galeone F, Nicotera M, Ombrato M, Saba P. Clinical evaluation of CDP-choline (Nicholin): efficacy As antidepressant treatment. Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 1975 Sep;18(3):513-20.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/810312

    11.) Deutsch SI, Schwartz BL, Schooler NR, et al. First administration of cytidine diphosphocholine and galantamine in schizophrenia: a sustained alpha7 nicotinic agonist strategy. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2008;31(1):34-39.

    12.) Guerrerio AL, et al.Choline intake in a large cohort of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Apr;95(4):892-900. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3302364/

    13.) Secades JJ1, Lorenzo JL.. Citicoline: pharmacological and clinical review, 2006 update. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 2006 Sep;28 Suppl B:1-56. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17171187

  • Poisoned With Good Intentions ?

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Antibiotic-Resistant bacteria: MERS, Ebola, MRSA, streptococcus, enterococcus, psuedomona, C-difficile, salmonella, e-coli, T.B,  the list goes on… “Superbugs” are a part of our modern world now, and there is little we can do about this unintended consequence of our over-use of antibiotics.

    Even our companion animals have been found to carry “superbugs.” Pets Can Carry Same ‘Superbug’ Strains as Owners cries a headline from the online health news organization WebMD.

    People are getting sick. Some are dying. Everyone is far more aware of the need to avoid these diseases than ever before.

    Hand washing is preached like a religion – and rightly so. It is becoming commonplace to see people out in public wearing surgical masks. Hand sanitizer dispensers are ubiquitous – they are in grocery stores, restaurants, schools, workplaces. Personal hand sanitizers are commonly carried and used when hand washing might be impractical.

    But how safe and effective are those “hand sanitizers”?

    Most commonly available hand sanitizers contain alcohol – and alcohol is indeed quite effective at killing both bacteria and viruses. It is also harsh on the skin – remember how it stung when mom would “disinfect” our cuts and scrapes with alcohol?

    Not only is alcohol harsh on healthy skin, it is also flammable.That’s right, it can catch fire and burn – as one Florida man discovered. That man spent 3 weeks in hospital receiving skin grafts for burns suffered after he spilled hand sanitizer on himself and it ignited.

    Most hand sanitizers also contain perfumes  – which many people can be sensitive to.

    Other hand sanitizers may be alcohol-free, but they contain the chemical triclosan – which was first registered with the EPA as a pesticide in 1969. While it might be marginally effective as an antimicrobial, it is being found to have thyroid and hormone-disruptive effects.

    That might be an acceptable trade-off (to some people – not to us!) if the stuff actually worked – but it turns out that triclosan is not really very effective. Even the FDA is questioning the use of the antimicrobial chemical triclosan and warning of it’s dangers, as is explained in the recent Reuters news article FDA Questions The Use Of Antibacterial Soaps.

    So – your choices; you can slather yourself with alcohol and hope you don’t have any little paper cuts (ouch!) and hope no one lights a cigarette or strikes a spark near you, and hope you are not sensitive to the perfumes, or you can use a pesticide that really doesn’t work all that well but can harm your thyroid and mess with your hormone balance. What a choice!

    Or, you can use Mother Nature’s antimicrobial – silver.

    Colloidal silver has long been recognized as a first class antibacterial – up until the advent of “modern” synthetic antibiotics it was the “go-to” treatment of choice for ancient healers dealing with difficult infections. Even today it is still the first choice as a topical treatment for burns.

    We have written about the use of silver before – Silver – The Antibiotic Of Our Ancestors.

    We are so impressed with the usefulness of silver that we carry tubes of silver gel with us when we travel – we use it as hand sanitizer, without the harsh alcohol or dangerous chemicals.

    ASAP 365 – 24 ppm Silver Gel is a highly effective, safe, everyday, natural healing alternative to chemical-laced hand sanitizers.

    Dr. Myatt recommends colloidal silver gel both for it’s valuable effects in soothing and healing damaged skin and for daily use as a non-toxic hand sanitizer. This gel rubs in quickly and easily, is non-greasy, and contains no perfumes or dangerous chemicals. It is a valuable addition to a natural first-aid kit for treating minor burns, wounds, fungal and bacterial infections – there are even those who swear by colloidal silver fir the treatment of “Cold Sores” and “Fever Blisters”, and scientific research supports their belief in it’s effectiveness!

    ASAP 365 Silver Gel, with it’s non-prescription strength of 24 ppm (parts per million) is gentle enough for everyday use and safe even when used multiple times daily, while being potent enough to be highly effective as an antimicrobial hand sanitizer. This 1.5 fl oz tube is perfect for purse or pocket and is a must-have for your natural first aid kit.

    ASAP 365 – 24 ppm Silver Gel can be found here.

     

    References:

    http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/triclosan_fs.htm

    Robin E. Dodson, Marcia Nishioka, Laurel J. Standley, Laura J. Perovich, Julia Green Brody, and Ruthann A. Rudel, Endocrine Disruptors and Asthma-Associated Chemicals in Consumer Products, Environ Health Perspect. 2012 July; 120(7): 935–943. Published online 2012 March 8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404651/

    Galdiero S, Falanga A, Vitiello M, Cantisani M, Marra V, Galdiero M., Department of Experimental Medicine, II University of Naples, Via De Crecchio 7, 80138, Naples, Italy. sgaldier@unina.it, Silver nanoparticles as potential antiviral agents. Molecules. 2011 Oct 24;16(10):8894-918.

  • Sleeping Pills: It Just Gets Worse

    By Nurse Mark

     

    New Study Shows Doubled Risk Of Death With Sleeping Pill Use

     

    We have been preaching the dangers of sleeping pills for years – long enough now that many readers probably just “tune out” our warnings – “Oh no, it’s just Dr. Myatt or Nurse Mark ranting about sleeping pills again – won’t they ever leave it alone?”

    No, we won’t leave it alone – we feel that these drugs are some of the most dangerous, addictive, deadly poisons that have ever been pushed on people by our legalized drug pushers, the big pharmaceutical companies.

    I’m not going to bore or annoy you by repeating everything we’ve written before – those of you who want to refresh your memory can do so with our previous articles:

  • Kavinace Or The Lunesta Moth? You Decide!
  • Dying For A Good Night’s Sleep?
  • Popular Sleeping Pill Sends Thousands to Emergency Rooms
  • Got PTSD? Want To Make It Worse? Just Take This Drug!

    •  

    I will, however, share with you a very brief quote from a study published in the British Medical Journal in March 2014 regarding sleeping pills:

    In patients who were prescribed these drugs, there was an estimated overall statistically significant doubling of the hazard of death

     

    Any questions? A doubling of death risk sounds very “statistically significant” to me…

    Freebies – From Dr. Myatt ?!?

    In recent HealthBeat articles we’ve discussed using natural supplements to reduce stress and promote sleep: Kavinace, Cortisol Manager, and Lavela.

    We have free samples of both Cortisol Manager and Lavela available.

    Now there really isn’t any excuse left for you to not try something different from the dangerous sleeping pills that Big Pharma pushes.

    References:

    BMJ 2014; 348 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1996 (Published 19 March 2014)
    Effect of anxiolytic and hypnotic drug prescriptions on mortality hazards: retrospective cohort study
    http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1996