Month: November 2010

by: Jonathan Benson

(NaturalNews) Healthcare spending in the U.S. is higher than that of most other developed nations — totaling roughly $7,290 per person — but the added costs have not translated into better care or quality of life. According to two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, higher spending on drugs does not equal better health, and can actually spur doctors to over-prescribe drugs to patients who do not need them.

Intramax

Yuting Zhang and her colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health evaluated drug spending and prescribing practices at various care facilities across the country. Though there were observable differences in spending amounts, Zhang and her team did not observe a connection between higher spending and improved care.

"[The study] contradicts the idea that high spending leads to better prescription practices," she explained in a statement. "Higher spending can be justified if it's for drugs that are necessary and appropriate and improve patients' health." But much of the time, higher spending actually causes more problems.

Zhang and her team found that in places where per capita medical spending was higher — and particularly in government-funded medical programs like Medicare — doctors were more prone to prescribe dangerous, high-risk drugs to patients. And in a second study conducted at the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. Vanakn Shahinian and colleagues found that when Medicare spending was reduced, doctors prescribed drugs less frequently and more carefully.

High drug spending is also a result of fraudulent billing practices used by drug companies. NaturalNews recently covered the story of Louisiana's lawsuit against 18 different drug companies for robbing the state's Medicaid fund of million of dollars, and 27 other states have also had to battle drug company fraud as well.

In order to look at MSM up close, more knowledge would be required by having some background information. It's not very difficult to understand- when sulfur compounds are released by ocean plankton, they rise and mix with ozone, and there they are turned into DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) and MSM by the action of sunlight.

MSM works in a very unique way on body tissues. It removes toxins from body cells. And what role does sulfur play? It plays important roles in many body systems and organs. There is sulfur in many body parts, like nails, skin and hair. Sulfur is also present in amino acids- the basic units of protein.

Benefits
MSM offers many benefits, but one of the major benefits that it provides currently is joint pain relief. Oral MSM treatment is good against arthritic pain. Researches have also shown that MSM is good against muscle pain. A thing here to keep in mind is that it reduces pain and swelling of arthritis- it does not cure arthritis. It also controls stomach acidity and forms a protective coat on the intestinal tract; thus, parasites are unable to hang on. The result? The body produces more insulin, so carbohydrate metabolism is increased and wound healing ability gets better.

Its Safety Features
MSM is inert in nature, is non pyretic and shows no unwanted pharmacological effects; so it is considered as safe as pure water. The best part of this supplement is that no-one can have an overdose of MSM- the body will automatically flush out the excess amount after 12 hours.

So in the end, why MSM? To say goodbye to the pain. It is an effective therapy and it is generally prescribed by doctors, as it reduces the need for medication. It is getting popular as a natural solution, and many people prefer this supplement as they realize the negative effects of over-the-counter pain relieving medications.

Although no sleep drugs have been approved by the FDA for use in children under the age of 18, "treatment of insomnia symptoms with both over-the-counter and prescription medication is a common clinical practice, particularly for children and adolescents with special needs and co-morbid psychiatric disorders," said lead author Judith Owens.

Researchers surveyed almost 1,300 members of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry about their school-aged and adolescent patients, finding that one in three suffer from trouble sleeping. Ninety-six percent of respondents said they recommend at least one prescription sleep drug in an average month, while 88 percent recommend at least one over-the-counter drug. Medications used include antihistamines, sedatives, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics, and even stimulant drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Prior studies have found that sleep disorders are one of the main reasons for psychiatric drug use in children. Yet behavioral treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques and sleep restriction have been shown to be effective treatments, without the risk of side effects.

The over-sedation of children continues a dark tendency in the history of U.S. psychiatric medicine.

"[In the early 20th century,] bromides were given to pregnant women for 'nerves,' to children for 'overactivity,' and to just about anybody who couldn't sleep well at night," writes Sydney Walker in A Dose of Sanity: Mind, Medicine, and Misdiagnosis.

"By 1930, four out of every ten prescriptions written by doctors were for drugs containing bromides," Walker writes. "It took doctors nearly half a century to recognize (and admit) that bromides were terribly toxic, and that thousands of Americans were suffering from anxiety, dementia, or schizophrenia-like symptoms brought on entirely by 'bromide intoxication.' By then, many of their patients were in mental institutions."

I've actually met Michelle in person, so I know she's a real person and I recognize her voice from the video. She's the customer service person at the Alex Jones studios where I was a guest several weeks ago. She's a regular American mom just trying to go from point A to point B without being sexually assaulted by TSA agents. What TSA agents did to her, according to her interview with Alex Jones, is consistent with a felony crime of "sexual assault."

So now you have a choice at the airport: You can either go through the X-Ray machine, or you can subject yourself to an X-Rated pat-down by TSA agents.

Watch the video in the link above to learn more shocking details about what's happening at TSA checkpoints today.

TSA agent drops cocaine into travelers' bags
In a related story about the criminal behavior of TSA agents, TSA documents released through a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) now reveal that one TSA agent working the security checkpoint at Philadelphia International Airport planted a white powdery substance that appeared to be cocaine in the bags of air travelers. (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/docume…)

This was no entry-level employee, either — released documents reveal he was a "bomb appraisal officer."

He pulled this cocaine stunt multiple times, too. One time he confronted a 22-year-old college girl with the apparent cocaine and asked if she was carrying anything she wasn't supposed to. After the prank, the student broke down in tears from the terror of the event and eventually lodged a complaint with the airline. (TSA agents are the new terrorists, see?)

TSA officers think it's funny to plant cocaine in your bags or feel up your breasts. It's all part of the police state training, of course: It's not merely about getting people to follow orders; it's also about humiliating individuals to make them feel inferior to police state authorities.

The body searches these TSA agents conduct might be described in some cases as sexual molestation and pedophile activities that would land anybody else in federal prison.

Just for the record, however, when I was subjected to a TSA pat-down recently, they did not fondle my testicles at all. (http://www.naturalnews.com/030100_n…) They actually swept my crotch with the back of their hand. I don't agree with it, but I didn't feel as if I was being sexually molested. That was out of the airport in San Jose, California.

So it appears that some TSA agents may be handling this very differently than others. I might have felt different about the crotch sweeping if I were a woman being felt up by a man, of course. I think what the TSA is doing is highly inappropriate, especially when done to women and children. We are not the terrorists here! The TSA needs to stop with these ridiculous "enhanced pat downs" and end the use of naked body scanner.

"This is an egregious abuse of the Medicaid reimbursement system," explained Caldwell in a official statement. "We believe Louisiana has lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of these drug companies' fraudulent pricing schemes."

According to the same official statement, Louisiana doled out more than $850 million in taxpayer funds to drug companies to pay for drugs between 1991 and 2009. But a significant portion of this amount was most likely fraudulent because of the billing scheme drug companies utilize to get reimbursed.

The way it works is drug companies report what are called the Average Wholesale Prices (AWPs) for drugs, and are subsequently reimbursed by state Medicaid programs for these amounts. But the lawsuit alleges that drug companies were marking up these costs as high as 6000 percent above actual costs. And since the drug companies themselves declare the AWPs and other wholesale prices, they can literally put whatever amounts they wish, even if those amounts bear no correlation to the actual cost.

In 2008, NaturalNews covered a similar lawsuit in Texas filed by its Attorney General alleging that drug companies had abused the Medicaid system And Kansas , Wisconsin , Mississippi , and 24 other states have all been involved in lawsuits against Big Pharma as well. Even the federal government has sued drug companies for reimbursement fraud.

Magnesium Deficiency Linked with Diabetes
Magnesium is used by hundreds of enzymes in our body to regulate blood sugar metabolism. The mineral is known to dampen the flames of inflammation that interferes with healthy blood sugar and that can lead to insulin resistance. The results of a study published in the journal Biologic Trace Elements Research shows that as magnesium levels in the blood increase, the risk of Type II diabetes declines in a corresponding fashion. By boosting levels of fat storage hormones such as adiponectin, magnesium plays a critical role in protecting metabolic function and lowering risk of diabetes.

Magnesium Protects Against Sudden Cardiac Death
Sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of heart-related deaths among those 40 and older. More than 250,000 people die each year from this preventable condition. Research that was part of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study demonstrates that those individuals with the highest magnesium in blood circulation had a 40% lower risk of dying from a heart attack as those with the lowest levels.

Magnesium is necessary to relax blood vessels and arteries while maintaining normal blood pressure. Further research has demonstrated the effect of magnesium on dangerous plaque formation. Low levels of magnesium are associated with the development of foamy plaque on the inner lining of the coronary arteries as well as thickening of the artery walls. High levels of magnesium were shown to decrease arterial wall thickness by 42%.

Magnesium from Diet or Supplements
The typical diet of refined foods does not supply sufficient amounts of magnesium to counteract disease. Manufacturers process out most of the nutrients necessary for health, and this diet is a poor choice to optimize health. Good sources of magnesium are nuts, seeds and beans in their natural state as well as organically grown vegetables and leafy greens. Most people will need to supplement to reach the daily intake of 400 mg. recommended by experts.

Magnesium levels are grossly deficient due to mineral depletion from soils and a diet of synthetically produced foods. It`s no coincidence that humans have evolved to be reliant on a natural mineral to prevent heart disease and metabolic dysfunction. Magnesium has been plentiful in our food for generations, and it must be consumed as part of a natural diet or through supplementation to ensure optimal health.

by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) They're about the same age and they've both battled cancer. One person chose the natural treatment route and the other chose toxic chemotherapy. Can you guess which is which?

Natural Cellular Immune Booster Protocol

It's difficult to look at recent pictures of Michael Douglas and not come to the conclusion that he's dying. Or, more accurately, he's being killed by the cancer industry just like countless other victims who have been poisoned, irradiated or surgically harmed by an industry that offers no cures, no compassion and no real solutions. The cancer industry kills more people than it saves, and yet oncologists insist that they alone know how to treat cancer even when the hard science shows their treatments aren't working!

The real answers to cancer come from people who have survived it through healing, not poison — people like Suzanne Somers who is now teaching principles of self healing through her new film called the Suzanne Somers BREAKTHROUGH Tour, opening tomorrow in theaters across the country.

This event is billed as "an honest, engaging and often humorous discussion encouraging viewers to take charge of their health, recapture their youth and maintain their vitality."

An announcement for the event explains: "Suzanne busts open the paradigm of conventional cancer treatments and creates a step-by-step action plan based upon hundreds of interviews with doctors and scientists who are having great success with alternative treatments. She reflects on her own cancer scares with a fervent plea to persuade people to seize a commanding role in their health treatments, urging viewers to ask the questions their doctors aren't asking, to educate themselves about alternative therapies and to seek out information for addressing their health issues rather than merely taking conventional treatments at face value."

In other words, Suzanne is teaching her audience to be more like NaturalNews readers: Educated, responsible and self-healing. It's the only system of medicine that really works. Learn more about where you can see her film at www.SuzanneSomers.com

Michael Douglas, meanwhile, has surrendered his health over to a team of poison pushers called "oncologists." And for taking absolutely no active role in his own healing while subjecting his body to deadly poisons, he is for some reason being called "courageous."

Let me be blunt about this: Selling out your body and your health to the cancer industry is not courageous. It's foolish. What takes real courage is standing up to the cancer industry, telling your oncologist to keep his hands off your body and taking charge of your own healing journey through changes in diet, nutrition, exercise and mind-body medicine. Self-healing takes courage. Chemotherapy does not.

Will Douglas be a chemo survivor?
If Michael Douglas survives the next twelve months, it will only be because his body managed to resist the poisoning he was subjected to by his doctors. He will then be a chemo survivor (not a cancer survivor), because the cancer itself will of course come right back now that his immune system has been so damaged by the chemo.

As with all chemo patients, Michael Douglas has now sadly suffered brain damage, heart damage, liver damage and kidney damage from the chemotherapy poisons. He has paid a steep price for "shrinking a tumor" even though the physical shrinking of a tumor has been scientifically shown to be medically useless in and of itself. Cancer tumors have their own root cells (cancer stem cells) which grow right back unless you change the environment and improve the holistic health of the patient.

How to make better decisions about cancer
I admire Michael Douglas as an actor and as a human being, and I feel great sorrow for his decision to harm his own health at the hands of chemotherapy doctors. Yet just like millions of other cancer industry victims, Douglas has made a poorly informed decision about cancer treatment that may very well cost him his life.

What Douglas needs to see is Suzanne Somers' new "Breakthrough Tour" film. He needs to read NaturalNews and listen to the enlightening interviews Jonathan Landsman has done with cancer experts (http://www.naturalnewsuniversity.co…).

In fact, every cancer patient needs to listen to people like Suzanne Somers, a self-empowered woman who has chosen to invoke her body's self healing capabilities and take a stand against the quackery of the conventional cancer industry.

After all, the photos tell the real story: Suzanne Somers looks a whole lot healthier than Michael Douglas these days. And that's because of a courageous choice she made to stand up to the cancer industry and take charge of her own healing journey.

by: S. L. Baker

(NaturalNews) Here's a common scenario: a young child or even a teenager complains of a tummy ache. But he or she has no fever or few other symptoms. So the doctor says there's nothing wrong with the youngster, other than maybe a little gas. So the little kid or adolescent is suspected of faking a stomach problem to stay out of school. However, a new study just unveiled at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific meeting held recently in San Antonio, Texas, may have a simple explanation for all those mysterious tummy aches many children swear they have. The culprit? Intolerance to fructose.

Enzymes

Unfortunately, the typical American diet contains processed foods and soft drinks that are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, so countless kids are exposed daily to the stuff. And it turns out fructose intolerance, also called fructose malabsorption, is common in children of all ages with recurrent or functional abdominal pain.

Researchers Daniel Lustig, M.D. and Bisher Abdullah, M.D., pediatric gastroenterologists with the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma, Washington, investigated a total of 245 children between the ages of 2 and 18 with unexplained chronic abdominal pain alone or associated with constipation, gas or bloating and/or diarrhea. A breath hydrogen test (BHT), which is a marker for fructose intolerance, was performed in all patients in the study. If a patient's breath hydrogen exceeds 20 points above baseline, then the patient is likely fructose intolerant. And the BHT was found to be positive in 132 of 245 patients – a whopping 54 percent.

All of the 132 patients with a positive BHT for fructose were placed on a low fructose diet and close to 70 percent had a resolution of their stomach pain when they stayed away from fructose.

"With the widespread use of high fructose corn syrup, it is difficult to avoid, so the challenge is finding those foods with low fructose and still maintain a healthy nutritional balance that patients will adhere to, especially teenagers," Dr. Lustig said in a press statement. "But the good news is that over half of patients who are fructose intolerant and are able to maintain a low fructose diet will notice an immediate improvement in their symptoms."

The MHRA released their findings to the news media: "Given the uncertainties in the available information and as with seasonal flu vaccines, a slightly elevated risk of GBS following H1N1 vaccines cannot be ruled out. Epidemiological studies are ongoing to further assess this possible association."

This announcement is too late, however, as thousands of people have already been vaccinated worldwide. Furthermore, cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome have also been reported as a result of the swine flu vaccine. Thousands of children in Oklahoma were also used as test subjects for the vaccination before it was even made available to the public. These children were test experiments to see the functionality of the vaccination before it was released.

The alternative media was the last bastion of truth when it came to reliable news regarding the swine flu vaccine. Alternative media outlets would continually publish new findings that linked the swine flu vaccine with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Even the mainstream media was forced to mention the leaked letters addressed to neurologists from Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the immunization department for UK's Health Protection Agency.

"The vaccines used to combat an expected swine influenza pandemic in 1976 were shown to be associated with GBS and were withdrawn from use," she wrote in the leaked letter addressed to neurologists.

This letter was followed by the news that around 50% of doctors were refusing to take the swine flu vaccine. In the midst of this groundbreaking news hitting the mainstream news, the government was quick to assure citizens that the swine flu vaccine was completely safe. They issued a statement claiming that the vaccine had passed all of the required safety tests, and that it was perfectly acceptable for use.

"Appropriate trials to assess safety and immune responses have been carried out on vaccines very similar to the swine flu vaccine. The vaccines have been shown to have a good safety profile."

Despite claiming that the vaccinations were perfectly safe, vaccine manufacturers were given complete legal immunity. This disabled anyone from suing the manufacturers for any reason. This may have led to even further carelessness on behalf of the vaccine manufacturers, as they could not be held liable for any damages.

The government finally admitting that there is a link between the swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre Syndrome shows that the alternative media has a very strong voice that demands to be listened to. The alternative media exposing the swine flu vaccine has led to mainstream media following along and highlighting the dangers of vaccination. This has led to the government admitting such links exist, and even issuing a statement of warning.