Month: March 2010

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Act Now To Protect Your Supplements And Avoid Health Care Disaster!

"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." — Thomas Jefferson

Because a few highly-paid professional athletes took dietary supplements that were illegally spiked with steroids, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and his partner-in-crime Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have introduced Senate Bill 3002 this month to require: (1) comprehensive registration of all manufacturers, distributors, and holders of supplements; (2) prohibition of sale of any dietary supplement not on an FDA-approved positive list; and (3) burdensome reporting of each and every adverse event, whether serious or trivial, affecting dietary supplements.  The National Health Federation issued a press release and call for action even before the Bill was introduced (see http://www.thenhf.com/press_releases/pr_04_feb_2010.html).  As we said then, overreaction and overkill don’t even begin to describe McCain’s “solution” to a minor problem.

 Now, suppose, as scientist and author Durk Pearson has suggested, that after the failed attempt of Richard Reid (the terrorist shoe bomber) to blow up a transatlantic airplane, the government had reacted in the same way as McCain is proposing to do now.

         That is, did Reid’s attempt mean that the U.S. needed to register shoe stores and shoe salesmen?  Did it mean that the U.S. needed to create more regulations on shoe manufacturers?  Did it mean that all new shoe designs had to be approved before sale by a shoe-design czar?

         No, of course not!  It simply meant that more testing needed to be done at airports to make sure that people were not walking on board airplanes with bombs on their feet disguised as shoes rather than legitimate shoes.  Had the government followed the McCain “solution,” the law would have done nothing to prevent the next bombing attempt.  Shoe bombers would have simply violated the law and added already illegal explosives to their shoes.

         If McCain’s intentions were truly honest, and if his bill were not simply a pure power grab, then the government would test for anabolic properties all products advertised to increase muscle mass or size.  This kind of testing would not interfere with legitimate dietary supplements.

         How do you test for new synthetic anabolic steroids?  Put out a bid for a test that costs under $10 per test and that quantitatively measures activation of the human testosterone and dihydrotestosterone receptors on genetically-engineered bacteria.  If the material has testosterone receptor activation properties stronger than 0.1% of testosterone, it is banned as an ingredient in dietary supplements.  If it doesn't activate the human testosterone or dihydrotestosterone receptors, then it is not an anabolic substance.  End of problem.

         Above all, do not use a shotgun when a rifle is the proper tool.  To save a handful of well-paid athletes, McCain’s scattergun approach would seriously harm the health of millions of supplement users and erase from the health world most of those as-yet undiscovered supplements.

SIGN OUR PETITION TO THE U.S. SENATE!

         Many thanks to all of you who have already signed our Petition against S.3002.  For those of you who have not yet done so, please go at once to http://www.thenhf.com/press_releases/dietary2010_petition.htm and sign the Petition.  Lee Bechtel, our NHF Lobbyist in Washington, D.C., will be hand-delivering the Petition soon to the U.S. Senate.  This is important, as we must overwhelm the Senate with our numbers!

 

AND MAKE THESE ARGUMENTS TO YOUR SENATORS!

When visiting or calling your Senators, or e-mailing or writing them, use our prepared list of bullet point arguments in discussing S.3002.  Go to www.thenhf.com/press_releases/McCain%20Bill_Flyer.pdf and print out this handy one-page sheet for your use.  Feel free to distribute it far and wide to all of your interested contacts as well for their use.

 

(Click Here For The Online Petition)

(Click Here For A Suggested Letter)

(Click Here For The Opposition Handout)

 

Senator McCain
Office phone number: (202) 224-2235
E-mail Senator McCain: http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

Senator Dorgan
Office phone: (202) 224-2551
E-mail address: http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/contact_form.cfm

 

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ACT II

DISTRACT THE MASSES WITH MCCAIN WHILE PASSING “DISEASE CARE” REFORM

         Despite what you may hear from the establishment media and its talking heads, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi have not ended their quest for a complete government takeover of health care.  In fact, while the health-freedom community is distracted with the McCain power grab, they all hope to push this massive pork-fest through – soon!

         And unlike with previous Congressional attempts, the current political and legislative atmosphere plays right into the hands of the Waxman/Pelosi and Durbin/Reid anti-supplement axis of evil.  The Democratic Party’s tight control of both House and Senate legislative procedures greatly increases the prospects for Congressional passage unless health-freedom advocates proactively and immediately make their opposition known.

         As a matter of fact, the group “Organizing for America” is claiming on its website that its volunteers have pledged over six million hours to work for candidates who support this intrusive bureaucratic nightmare.  But as Dr. Jane Orient has already pointed out, this Disease-Care bill is not about your health at all.  If it were, then why would not the benefits kick in immediately so as to benefit the people?  No, the taxes and excruciatingly-heavy payments will go on for three years before any health-care benefits start to flow!  No, the Federal government needs your money to save its financial rear-end.  That is what this is truly about – finance the Federal government’s bailouts and bloated civil service and in three years’ time you will start benefitting from genuine Third-World health care.  What a deal!

         Right now, re-contact your Senators and Representatives and let them know that you are watching them and that you still oppose this nightmare legislation!  Go to www.thenhf.com/government_affairs_federal.html (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) for contact information, sample letters, and our on-line Petition.

         Your urgent and persistent action is needed now to stop this Disease-Care bill from being passed.  Act now!

 

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Click on this address to find your U.S. Senators:  http://www.senate.gov

Contact Information to E-mail Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

The Senate main number is (202) 224-3121

lick on the following link below for individual mailing addresses for
letter writing and other contact info for Congress Members:

Senate

House of Representatives

Fax List for House of Representatives

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As the oldest and best-respected health-freedom group on Capitol Hill, the NHF continues to be the credible source of objective assessment of, and proactive actions on, Congressional legislation and FDA matters that have material impact upon our freedom-of-health choices and access to dietary supplements and nutritional foods.

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A Date That Should Live In Infamy

"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." — Thomas Jefferson

by: Christopher C. Barr

Bu$ine$$ as u$ual
This past week Senator John McCain (Arizona Republican) announced a not yet relased bill with Byron Dorgan (North Dakota Democrat) titled 'Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010'.  Though promoted as bipartisan this bill is not good news.

"This bill has as much to do with safety as pigs with space travel," noted a press release from the National Health Federation which has been looking out for consumers and their dietary supplements for more than 50 years.
 
"Now, this bill would create a Euro-style ‘positive list’ of ‘acceptable’ new dietary ingredients.  And by ‘acceptable,’ the bill means acceptable to an appointed bureaucrat.  This is completely unacceptable," stated Scott Tips, president of the National Health Federation.
 
Bureaucrats don't bite the hands that feed them and they are very well fed by Big Pharma.  The vast majority of all dietary supplements come from Big Pharma by way of their USP (government sanctioned) man-made, synthesized nutrients.
 
However, the market share of Big Pharma is being increasingly decreased the past few years by 100 per cent whole food nutrients and herbal products outside the confines of Big Pharma.
 
FDA bureaucrats promoted as watchdogs for the public against Big Pharma have in practice acted as watchdogs for Big Pharma against the public.
 
One need look no further than the 7th day of this month for a notable — and deadly — example of this.  That is the 6th anniversary of the sudden death of a young woman with everything going for her.
 
Tragically, little if any attention has been placed on the virtually anonymous Traci Johnson who was a healthy and happy teenager.  In fact, it is specifically being healthy and happy that brought this Indiana Bible College student volunteer who was a leader of her church youth group to her most untimely death.
 
Teenaged Traci Johnson died during the final “safety trial” of a new drug seeking FDA market approval.  Testing of the drug on healthy and happy individuals was required before it could be approved for those sickly and unhappy individuals targeted for its use.
 
Drug company officials immediately noted that they did not believe the drug was related to the young woman's death. The hastiness of the company statement did not sit well with family and friends as well as with others.
 
“All the pathological reports, the toxicity reports, those things don't come back for weeks. And I am shocked that they have taken such a deliberate defense to distance themselves from any responsibility," said Joel Barnaby, pastor of the church where Traci Johnson served as a youth leader for several years.
 
“I am troubled to the core of my spirit that Eli Lilly has taken such a defensive posture and been so quick to deny any responsibility," Barnaby said.
 
Weaving a tangled web
 
The pharmaceutical company spokesman said the drug being studied was “a treatment for stress, urinary incontinence and depression”.
 
The final item the spokesman mentioned — depression — was actually the primary purpose for the drug study though it was mentioned last. That at least appears deceptive. Factually speaking the study was for a planned replacement for that company's drug for which their patent was running out. This new drug was projected to take the place of the wildly profitable psychotropic drug Prozac.
 
The safety trial was the last step before marketing the drug in this year with annual sales then projected – and since met – in the amount of billions of dollars.
 
The company assured stockholders that this death would not delay release of the drug.
 
How could they know that?
 
A half-truth
 
The company spokesman immediately noted that Traci Johnson's death "took place while she was taking sugar pills". That makes it sound like her death had nothing to do with the drug as perhaps a part of the placebo group in the study.
 
The company spokesman did not reveal the whole truth. A primary purpose of the drug trial was to test reactions when the drug is stopped. Traci Johnson was given six times the normal dosage of the drug and then quickly weaned off that exceedingly high level over only four days.
 
On the third day off the overdose level of the drug, Traci Johnson, a previously happy Bible college student, hung herself leaving no note. This was right within the period of time that reactions are most expected. Traci "was taking sugar pills" at that time to check for withdrawal reactions. Is hanging oneself without a suicide note or even so much as a mention a normal occurrence?
 
The company spokesman told a half-truth, and half of a truth is a whole lie.
 
Turning a blind eye?
 
Slightly more than six months later the FDA announced that the drug, named Cymbalta, could not be linked to the suicide of Traci Johnson and granted approval to the drug for immediate marketing.
 
The FDA declined (or refused) to release written documentation of its investigation.
 
Cymbalta is yet another of the multi-billion dollar drugs in the Eli Lilly stable highly profitable drugs.
 
SINbalta may be a more appropriate name for that variety of this drug.
 
WElie Really may be a more appropriate name for the company grimly reaping blood money at the expense – both financially and otherwise – of countless numbers of untold people.
 
The giant New York Times (NYT) is credited with breaking the news on teenaged suicide links to antidepressants even though their story came out several days after this column wrote on the same matter.  However, there was no mention of the Traci Johnson portion of the story in the NYT piece.
 
Sometime later the NYT even lauded Eli Lilly for forthrightness regarding study details on antidepressant clinical trials.  Yet Traci Johnson  and others are not included in those “details”.
 
It bears repeating over and over and over again that the unholy trinity of BIG Government, BIG Pharma and BIG Media continue to act together as one for their own vested interests without regard for the very best interests of you and yours.
 
Mourn, America, for Traci Johnson, and for the vast majority of Americans deluded in a pharmaceutical gulag of phantasy rather than being firmly based in reality.
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FDA Approval of Medical Devices Based on Complete Science Fraud

by: Ethan A. Huff

(NaturalNews) The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the American Journal of Therapeutics (AJT) have both published papers criticizing the way in which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves medical devices. Citing a lack of legitimate safety and effectiveness studies, the papers allege that the FDA is approving medical devices without proper scientific evidence proving that they work and will not harm patients.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, pored over seven years worth of FDA public summaries concerning approved medical devices. Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston wrote the AJT piece, concluding that the FDA's safety and effectiveness data for medical devices is inconsistent and unreliable. William Maisel, one of the researchers, indicated that the FDA needs to improve its clinical trial standards for medical devices.

When drugs are approved, they typically go through a series of studies prior to even being evaluated by the FDA. A medical device, however, can be approved based on the results of a single study which may or may not contain important specifics such as who participated in the study. Critics note that, since a medical device is usually a permanent addition to someone's body, it deserves even more intense scrutiny than prescription drugs which can be discontinued if found to be harmful. This is especially true with heart devices that are necessary in order to keep a person alive.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, acting director of the FDA's device division and co-author of one of the studies, conceded that the FDA's process for evaluating medical devices is inadequate. He explained that the FDA is working on creating stronger standards for evaluation and approval but that device manufacturers need to work more closely with them to establish study goals.

Janet Trunzo, an executive vice president of AdvaMed, an advocacy group for the medical device industry, defended the FDA's current approach to approving medical devices. She expressed that device manufacturers submit extensive data to the FDA who spends 1,200 hours reviewing it all prior to approving a device.

Many approved medical devices have been recalled over the years for safety reasons. The FDA maintains a list of the most serious medical device recalls for which the products in question may cause "serious health problems or death." There are over 30 devices on the list from 2009 alone. Since 2004, there have been 137 medical devices recalled by the FDA.

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200,000 Americans Killed Each Year in Hospitals by Medical Error

by: David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) According to "Dead By Mistake," a report detailing the findings of an investigation by the Hearst Corporation, approximately 200,000 people die in the United States every year from hospital infections and preventable medical errors. To make matters worse, the situation has not changed from 10 years ago, when the recommendations of a similar report by the federal government went ignored.

Car accidents, often classified as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, kill fewer than 50,000 people per year.

"Ten years ago, the highly-publicized federal report, 'To Err Is Human,' highlighted the alarming death toll from preventable medical injuries and called on the medical community to cut it in half in five years," the new report says. "Its authors and patient safety advocates believed that its release would spur a revolution in patient safety. But … the federal government and most states have made little or no progress in improving patient safety through accountability mechanisms or other measures."

According to "Dead By Mistake," only 20 states require that medical errors be reported, and even among these, standards vary widely and enforcement is inconsistent. Five states are implementing mandatory reporting systems, five have voluntary systems, and 20 have no error reporting systems at all.

The Hearst report accuses lobbyists of working to ensure that the 1999 report's recommendation of a nationwide mandatory error reporting system was never implemented.

Common medical errors include prescription errors and surgeries or other procedures conducted on the wrong organ or the wrong side of the body. Common causes of medical errors include sleep deprivation by care providers, poor patient-doctor communication, insufficient nurses, poor documentation and illegible handwriting.

The report recommends that patients look after their own safety by becoming better informed about procedures and medications they are being given, which includes actively asking questions of health care providers. Specific measures, such as having a doctor mark the site of an operation in permanent marker, can also decrease the risk of certain errors.

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Beat and Treat ADD and ADHD without Drugs

by: Tony Isaacs

(NaturalNews) ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder) are similar conditions. ADD is now often known as ADD/WO, meaning "attention deficit without hyperactivity"). Fortunately, such conditions may be prevented or improved with diet and supplementation instead of risky mainstream drugs.

Though ADD and ADHD may in part be syndromes created to describe age-old problems and publicized in order to sell drugs, it is also likely that modern living conditions are resulting in an increase in childhood and adult behavior and attention problems.

The suspected culprits for increased behavior and attention problems are multiple: excessive sugar and high fructose corn syrup, lack of vital nutrients, increased environmental toxins, increased vaccinations, food additives such as MSG, GMO crops, and exposure to microwaves and other electro magnetic radiation. In addition, lack of proper nurturing and parenting likely plays a big role as well.

One must remember that the brain is a vital organ just like the heart, lungs, liver, etc., and it needs optimum nutrition to function properly. Sadly, today's SAD diet of fast foods, snacks & junk foods, microwavable meals and processed foods on the grocers' shelves has left most of our kids, and us, woefully deficient in a great many nutrients the body was designed to utilize. Sometimes the consequences manifest themselves early on, and other times it is down the road a ways. But you can bet that there will be consequences if not addressed and corrected.

The first thing to do is to cut one's consumption of sugar to a minimum. Excessive refined sugar has been linked heavily to ADD, ADHD, bipolar, depression and other mental disorders. Also avoid alcohol, caffeine, and refined foods.

Eat good sources of lean protein, such as cold water fish, including salmon, herring, and mackerel and free range organic chicken and turkey. Include plentiful Omega 3s.

Though low-carb and no-carb foods and diets have been popular in recent years, carbohydrates are an essential energy source for the body and mind. The key is to insure that you are receiving the right kinds of carbohydrates. Unhealthy carbohydrates result in too much sugar which causes the problems we are trying to prevent. Healthy carbohydrates can be found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Examples are: apples, oranges, peaches, grapefruit, carrots, Brussels sprouts, beans, and whole wheat bread.

Supplement with magnesium (a 1-2 ratio with calcium) if you are unsure that you are getting enough of this vital mineral. Various studies have indicated that anywhere from 80 to 95% of us are deficient in magnesium and symptoms include mental disorders, light or restless sleep, daytime sleepiness, and inability to concentrate.

Some other suggested supplements:

* GABA (Gamma-amino-butyric acid) – calms the body
* Pycnogenol and/or Grapeseed Extract – powerful antioxidants offering cellular protection for the body and brain
* Quercetin – prevents allergies from aggravating symptoms
* SAMe (S-Adenosylmethionine) – aids in relieving stress and pain (Note: do not use in the event of manic-depressive disorder or if on prescription antidepressants)
* Gingko – enhances blood supply to the brain and improves nerve cell function
* Colloidal gold – can improve mood and focus
* Valerian root extract – has been used for ADD with dramatic results and no side effects

Lastly, consider a good all around whole food vitamin, mineral and other essential nutrient product. Some of the many benefits of getting regular optimum amounts of essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients include:

* Neuro-cognitive brain function
* Focus and concentration
* Mood regulation
* Short and long term memory
* Sleep and wake cycle
* Sugar control
* Brain growth and development

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Added Sugar can Wreak Havoc on Your Health

by: Deanna Dean

(NaturalNews) Sugar may give you a temporary energy boost, but too much sugar exacts a toll on your health. This is not breaking news. So why did the American Heart Association issue a new scientific statement on "Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health?" Linda Van Horn is professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She chairs the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee, and states, "We know that sugars contribute to obesity, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes." Great concern over excessive sugar consumption and the "worldwide pandemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease," led to the association's issuance of a new statement.

Added sugars are an integral part of the American diet today. We are on a sugar binge. Sugar consumption is 22 to 30 teaspoons per person, per day. Our hedonism packs on 350 to 480 worthless calories that we cannot afford.

The heart association's new recommendations are 100 calories a day (about 6 1/2 level teaspoons) of added sugars for women and 150 calories (9+ level teaspoons) for men

Added sugars include high fructose corn syrup, table sugar, honey, syrups, and all other sweeteners with calories.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been demonized as the villain of added sugars. But HFCS and sugar are essentially the same when broken down in the body. HFCS is about 50% fructose and table sugar is 50% fructose, so they are essentially the same in composition.

Suzanne P. Murphy, Ph.D., R.D., is a research professor at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii. She summarized the results of a conference held in March 2008 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the International Life Sciences Institute of North America. "Considering the evidence presented by 22 researchers," Dr. Murphy concluded, "…[HFCS] and sucrose are similar. One is not 'better or worse' than the other." "Added sugars are added sugars," adds Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont, who chaired the heart association's new regulations.

University of California Davis found very different health results, though, in their participants when they compared glucose and fructose consumption. For 12 weeks, thirty two overweight or obese people drank either a fructose- or glucose-sweetened beverage that made up 25 percent of their daily calories. Both groups gained a similar amount of weight. However, those drinking the fructose beverage had health problems that were not experienced by the other group- including:

– An increase in visceral fat; the kind that lodges between tissues in organs
– Less sensitivity to insulin; one of the first signs of diabetes
– Increased fat production in the liver
– Elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol
– Increased levels of triglycerides; can increase heart attack risk

Many experts believe that HFCS, particularly in soft drinks, is partly responsible for the obesity epidemic in America.

Another study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, found that every additional 8-ounce soft drink in a day increased school kids' risks of being obese by 60 percent.

Another study at the University of Minnesota found that fructose "produced significantly higher [blood] levels" of triglycerides in men than did glucose.

A USDA study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, found that fructose may alter the body's balance of magnesium, leading to increased bone loss.

Regardless of the disparate conclusions surrounding HFCS , one thing seems certain: the typical American cannot continue to consume an extra 350 to 480 calories from added sugars and hope to protect their health.

Your healthmate,
Deanna Dean

Nutrition Action Health Letter/January February 2010
Curbing America's Sweet Tooth/Bonnie Liebman

http://www.sweetsurprise.com/scienc… USDA Scientific Conference

http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/di…
USDA/mypyramid.gov

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