A new study by researchers at the University of Manitoba (UM) in Canada shows that as many as 25 percent of all patients receiving prescriptions for antidepressants were never diagnosed with clinical depression, which is the condition for which the drugs are approved.

The problem is that antidepressants bring a hideous list of potentially devastating side effects. Antidepressants are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of “major clinical depression”. Prescribing antidepressants to patients who don’t meet these clinical criteria is considered “off label” – not approved – and it needlessly exposes them to the considerable number of adverse side effects.

The category of drugs targeted by the study were mainly from the group called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs. Drugs of this type include Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and others. The researchers analyzed data from a representative sample of more than 20,000 U.S. adults interviewed between 2001 and 2003.

Usual side effects of SSRIs include, but aren’t limited to, nausea, dry mouth, headache, diarrhea, nervousness, agitation or restlessness, reduced sexual desire, difficulty reaching orgasm, erectile dysfunction, rashes, increased sweating, weight gain, drowsiness, insomnia, and an increased risk of suicide. Read the rest of this entry »

A unique new study by researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of California, strongly suggests that Acupuncture may stimulate the production of “natural killer” cells, called NK cells, that attack and kill cancer cells.

The study approach is unique because it examined earlier studies, and then applied current biological science to explain the findings.

First, the study surveyed an enormous body of earlier research that has already shown how Acupuncture is helpful in many different aspects of cancer treatment.

Research has demonstrated that Acupuncture reduces the incidence of chemotherapy-induced acute vomiting, for example. Other findings show acupuncture can manage some cancer-related pain. Promising evidence suggests that acupuncture relieves fatigue in cancer patients and survivors. Evidence is also accumulating that acupuncture alleviates cancer-related neurological issues, breathlessness, hot flashes and “dry mouth”.

“In sum,” say the researchers, “there are substantial empirical grounds to assume that clinicians could use acupuncture to help patients better tolerate conventional cancer therapies by reducing associated side-effects. Further, the evidence is very strong that acupuncture is an extremely safe therapy. In short, the research implies that acupuncture is a helpful, versatile and safe treatment modality for patients with cancer.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Although bottled water has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry, most Americans still drink tap water. The rationale is most often “it was good enough for my parents and grandparents, so it’s good enough for me.” While it might be true that some elder family members are in relatively good health, today’s tap water is not the same as the tap water they’ve been drinking most of their lives. In fact, a recent study found out that much of what’s in our tap water is generally found in the bathroom.

The study, conducted in New York – although there’s no reason to suspect that the same is not true for most cities – found the following drugs and chemicals in the city’s drinking water, listed in order of the quantity found:

• Acetaminophen – a nonprescription pain reliever and fever reducer
• Butalbital - a sedative and hypnotic drug, prescribed as a pain reliever
• Caffeine - a stimulant most commonly found in coffee and some types of soda
• Carbamazepine - a prescription anti-convulsant
• Cotinine - a byproduct of nicotine, found in tobacco
• DEET – extremely toxic, the most common active ingredient in insect repellents
• Diltiazem - a drug used to treat high blood pressure and chest pain (angina)
• Gemfibrozil - a prescription drug used to treat high cholesterol.
• Ibuprofen – a non-prescription anti-inflammatory, pain reliever and fever reducer
• Iopromide - a substance used to enhance contrast in X-rays and medical imaging
• Meprobamate - a sedative used to relax the muscles and reduce anxiety
• Paraxanthine - a stimulant that’s chemically related to caffeine
• Primidone - an anti-epileptic drug used to treat seizure disorders
• Sulfamethoxazole - an antibiotic, generally used in combination with other drugs

Even though the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) ensures us that the amounts of these chemicals found in drinking water are too small to harm us, there are several factors that cast doubt on that statement:

• In terms of just these 14 drugs and chemicals, no one knows how they interact.
• In addition to the 14 substances listed in the current report, literally hundreds of other chemicals have been found in drinking water. For most, no safety standards have been set, and no one knows how these hundreds of additional chemicals interact either.
• Chemicals have a cumulative effect, and many are hard to get rid of once they’re in the body. What does it take to get rid of them? What does the cumulative effect amount to? Again, no one really knows.

What we do know is that Americans are unhealthier than they’ve ever been: Nearly 50 percent of American women are predicted to get breast cancer; 287 chemicals were found in the umbilical cord blood of newborns – of these 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests – the evidence of chemical poisoning goes on and on.

Is it realistic to suspect that at least some of these chemicals come from our drinking water? Absolutely. To protect your health, get the best tap water filter and bottled water you can afford.

Sources: CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20095389-10391704.html, Environmental Working Group, http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/reportfindings, http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php

If you’re suffering from heartburn, acid reflux and other digestive problems, you’re not alone. Nearly 100 million Americans have digestive problems, and they account for 37 million doctor’s visits every year. But almost everyone who is taking the drugs most doctors recommend is getting sicker with each pill they take.

When you go to the doctor for stomach problems, the solution offered you is usually a class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). These drugs reduce stomach acid and include Prilosec and Zegerid, available by prescription or over-the-counter (OTC), as well as Nexium and Prevacid, and their generic counterparts, omeprazole and pantoprazole.

Annual sales of OTC Prilosec as of a few years ago were $400 million; Zegerid is over $200 million. There were also 92 million prescriptions written for PPIs in 2010, which made their manufacturers more than $14 billion, the fourth largest sales for a class of drugs.  Numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the money-maker scale, in case you’re curious, are antipsychotics, cholesterol-lowering statins, and antidepressants.

How are these drugs killing you? When stomach acid is reduced, it stops your digestive system in its tracks. Since the proper function of every organ and system is dependant upon the nutrients extracted from the food and liquids we ingest – which process begins with stomach acid - you can count on a deterioration of general health.

Some of the consequences of taking PPIs include:

•low magnesium levels – which can cause seizures, irregular heartbeats, and muscle spasms

•an increased risk of hip, wrist, and spine fractures, especially for patients over 50

•pneumonia

•serious infections caused by the a bacteria that causes inflammation in the intestines

 All of these risks have been the subject of FDA advisories – although it’s doubtful that someone going to a drug store to get Prilosec is aware of them.

  Read the rest of this entry »