How To Save A Drowning Healthcare System - NewsGrabs 13 July 2008

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How To Save A Drowning Healthcare System - NewsGrabs 13 July 2008

_http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/07/13/how_to_save_a_drowning_health

care_system_newsgrabs_13_july_2008.htm_

(http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/07/13/how_to_save_a_drowning_healthca\

re_system_newsgrabs_13_july_2008.htm

)

 

_How To Save A Drowning Healthcare System_

(http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13479.cfm)

Yet as Dr Andrew Weil - an enthusiastic proponent of nutritional

supplementation - has suggested, this is a medical system that is on the verge

of

collapse anyway. He is confident, as many of us are, that when the collapse

finally

happens, a new integrative medical model will emerge. An 'upstream' model,

that encourages individuals to 'express ownership of their own health' rather

than leaving it up for grabs...

 

_Groups urge European Commission to rethink policy on natural health_

(http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/anh-and-irish-delegation-urge-european-commissi\

on-re

think-its-policy-natural-health)

Dr Verkerk stated, after the meeting, " When you consider that the maximum

daily vitamin and mineral levels the European Commission are considering for

food supplements are much less than you’d find in a single, average

meal—you

know there’s a problem. You could find three times the possible maximum

selenium level in a single brazil nut, or three times the beta-carotene level

ins a

single large raw carrot or three times the zinc level in a single 200 g

steak. "

Dr Verkerk added, " The European Commission needs to re-think its

approach... "

 

_Vitamin A for newborns reduces infant mortality_

(http://www.physorg.com/news134617683.html)

" Because childhood mortality is greatest during the first few months of

life, a single dose of vitamin A administered by mouth to a newborn child can

save the lives of an additional 300,000 children in Asia every year, " said

Alfred Sommer, MD, MHS, professor and dean emeritus of the Bloomberg School of

Public Health. " That is on top of the one million lives a year that would be

saved by dosing all vitamin A deficient children twice a year from six months

through 5 years of age. "

 

_Leading worldwide cause of cardiovascular disease may be modified by diet_

(http://www.physorg.com/news134744325.html)

According to the paper, if Americans were able to increase their potassium

intake, the number of adults with known hypertension with blood pressure

levels higher than 140/90 mm Hg might decrease by more than 10 percent and

increase life expectancy. Similar studies show that diets high in magnesium (at

least 500 to 1,000 mg/d) and calcium (more than 800 mg/d) may also be

associated

with both a decrease in blood pressure and risk of developing hypertension.

 

_Are Artificial Sweeteners Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts?_

(http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/67572)

While the diet soda itself does not make you gain weight, it is becoming

clear to researchers that the artificial sweeteners are affecting our natural

ability to control our appetites. Sharon Fowler of the University of Texas

Health Science Center states that for each diet drink consumed per day, the

obesity risk increases by 41%. That´s a compelling argument against artificial

sweeteners. There´s no question that our nationwide obesity problem is

significantly worse than the 1950s. Are artificial sweeteners the hidden

saboteurs of

our weight loss efforts?

 

_The Spin on Aspartame_

(http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/spin-on-aspartame.html)

.... rather than simply rehash everything that has been written about

aspartame, I wanted to take a different approach. I wanted to focus on a small

part

of the debate, and then follow it through to wherever it took me. I wanted to

look at the folks who keep assuring us that it's safe: the experts. Experts

in the government, experts in the medical field, the people who keep patting

us on the head and telling us not to worry, that if aspartame was dangerous,

they'd tell us.

 

_Cargill to market stevia based sweetener_

(http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0930999220080709)

Truvia is made from certain compounds in the leaves of stevia, a shrub

native to Paraguay, and will provide a natural alternative to artificial

sweeteners including Sweet 'N Low, Equal and Splenda.

Truvia is going on sale first at a handful of D'Agostino supermarkets in

Manhattan, and will eventually be sold at grocery stores and big box retailers

across the country...

 

_Why do we need sustainable healthcare?_

(http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns/sustainable-healthcare)

Contemporary healthcare in western countries is presently dominated by use

of pharmaceutical drugs—and most indicators would suggest that these

approaches have had very limited value in dealing with some of the greatest

scourges

facing human health, including chronic diseases, psychiatric diseases and even

certain infectious diseases.

From a cost/benefit perspective, pharmaceutical-based approaches to

healthcare do not fare favourably and a sea change is required if mainstream

western

healthcare is to deal with the ever increasing burden on the healthcare

system...

 

_Sulston argues for open medicine_

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7490384.stm)

Britain's Sir John Sulston says that profits are taking precedence over the

needs of patients, particularly in the developing world.

The Nobel Laureate told the BBC: " Some people would say it is not corrupt

because it is not illegal, and that is true; but I consider that advertising a

medicine that doesn't make clear any disadvantages of the medicine, or, in

fact, the fact that most people don't need this particular medicine - I would

cite, for example, anti-depressants which are hugely oversold, especially in

America. This is the sort of thing I mean by corruption. It's not legal

corruption; it's moral corruption. "

 

_Senior doctors “selling†drugs for $5000 a day_

(http://www.ahf-au.org/200608/doctors.selling.drugs.htm)

A long time drug industry insider in the United States says leading

specialists can earn up to $5000 a day, for “educating†their peers on

behalf of Big

Pharma. The practise, where drug companies pay so-called “Key Opinion Leaders

†to speak at industry sponsored educational events is widespread around the

world.

 

_US Senator Grassley Probes Psychiatrists Over Ties To Pharma_

(http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/grassley-probes-psychiatrists-over-ties-to-pha\

rma/)

The investigation by the Senate Finance Committee, where Chuck Grassley is

the ranking Republican, into the ties between drugmakers and medicine is

expanding. After targeting grants issued to academic psychiatrists, Grassley

now

wants the American Psychiatric Association to open its books for a look-see at

pharma funding.

 

_Big Pharma " Doomed " If It Doesn't Change, Says Eli Lilly Chairman_

(http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com/full-page.php?id=19285818607 & & page=article)

With patents set to expire on major products and no new blockbusters on the

horizon, the pharmaceutical industry must adapt or die, the chairman of Eli

Lilly & Co. has said.

" I think the industry is doomed if we don't change, " said Sidney Taurel.

It is not just the expiry of patents, that besets Big Pharma. More important

is a general loss of faith in pharmaceutical medicine, driven by continuous

scandals of drugs that kill. The much touted " risk/benefit ratio " just isn't

right.

 

_Pharma Must Clean Up Its Act_

(http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/ad-ages-garfield-pharma-must-clean-up-its-act/\

)

“The public relations problems pharma has do not come from nothing. It’s

not from paranoia or the figment of somebody’s imagination. It’s an

industry

that has been repeatedly caught red-handed trying to skew results and to bring

drugs to the market that, perhaps, should not be there ... I would say the

biggest thing pharma can do to improve its reputation is to clean up its act. "

 

_Pharma: Online Medication Sales Fueling Abuse_

(http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/online-medication-sales-fueling-abuse/)

“In spite of those efforts, anyone of any age can obtain dangerous and

addictive prescription drugs with the click of a mouse,†Joseph Califano Jr.,

a

former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, who heads CASA, says in

a statement. “This problem is not going away. It is morphing into different

outlets for controlled prescription drug trafficking like Internet script

mills and membership sites that sell lists of online pharmacies, and different

payment methods like eChecks, COD and money orders.â€

 

_Heart attacks and suicides... yet the dangers were all kept so quiet. So

how CAN you trust your medicine?_

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1033132/Side-effects-include-suicide-\

heart-attacks-So-prescribed-drugs.html)

More recently, an American academic who looked at more than 60 trials found

that other manufacturers had concealed data about the effects of their

antidepressant drugs on adults.

Half of the studies were positive and all of these had been published;

virtually none of the negative ones had.

When the results of both the published and ‘concealed’ trials were

combined, the drugs were shown to be no better than a placebo for mild to

moderate

depression.

 

_Eli Lilly: From Pot To Prozac And Zyprexa_

(http://www.furiousseasons.com/archives/2008/07/eli_lilly_from_pot_to_prozac_and\

_zyprexa.html)

Eli Lilly once made a tincture of cannabis--used for treating muscle spasms

and aches and pains back before marijuana was declared illegal--and so did

many other companies. For fun, here's a pictoral history of where Eli Lilly has

gone in the last 100 years or so in treating depression, psychosis and the

aches and pains of life.

 

_Cholesterol Drugs Recommended For Kids_

(http://www.furiousseasons.com/archives/2008/07/cholesterol_drugs_recommended_fo\

r_kids.html)

New guidelines are due out from the American Academy of Pediatrics later

today, calling for much younger kids to have their cholesterol levels checked

and for statins to be used to treat the kids, despite a lack of evidence for

safety and efficacy in using these drugs in kids.

What's driving all of this is America's obesity " epidemic " -- or alleged

epidemic, depending on how you view these things -- and when public health

officials get on a jihad, then science often goes out the window.

 

_AAP Recommends Aggressive Screening and statins in Children - evidence????_

(http://ahrp.blogspot.com/2008/07/american-academy-of-pediatrics-aap-is.html)

Neither reporters of the Associated Press or The New York Times questioned

what scientific evidence supports the use of statins in children who do not

have heart disease. Cholesterol-lowering drugs were first introduced in 1987

(Mevacor), and are currently the most prescribed drugs in the U.S.

So, why has there been no dramatic improvement in U.S. mortality rates? Why

are more Americans becoming obese, diabetic--and dying of heart attacks

compared to the rest of the world?

 

_8-Year-Olds on Statins? Backlash Bites AAP_

(http://ahrp.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-york-times-reports-that-backlash.html)

" We're talking about potentially treating thousands and thousands of

children simply to possibly prevent one heart attack, " says Dr. Sanghavi, from

the

University of Massachusetts. " That kind of risk benefit calculation is

entirely absent from the A.A.P.'s policy. "

 

_Quote Of The Day: 'I'm Embarrased For The AAP'_

(http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Pharmalot/~3/329796950/)

“To be frank, I’m embarrassed for the AAP today,†Lawrence Rosen of

Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, and vice chairman of an

academy

panel on traditional and alternative medicine, tells The New York Times. “

Treatment with medications in the absence of any clear data? I hope they’re

ready for the public backlash.â€

 

_Mirapex, A Lawsuit & Restless Gambling Syndrome_

(http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/mirapex-a-lawsuit-restless-gambling-syndrome/)

A former Wall Street banker who claims he lost $3 million from compulsive

gambling caused by the popular drug, which is used to treat Restless Leg

Syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, is suing Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim

for

losses he accumulated while taking the pill, Reuters reports.

 

_Anti-Depressants Linked To Internal Bleeding_

(http://www.furiousseasons.com/archives/2008/07/antidepressants_linked_to_intern\

al_bleeding.html)

The study seems pretty straightforward in its findings, but psych

researchers seem torn by the implications, according to the wire service Health

Day

News:

'Certainly, doctors should be advising patients of this finding, but it's

far from definitive,' said Dr. Ewald Horwath, professor of psychiatry,

epidemiology and public health at the University of Miami Miller School of

Medicine.

'The risk of discontinuing antidepressants and getting depression and its

consequences are much greater than this drug.'

 

_Children's suicide attempts raise concerns about ADHD medication_

(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080703.wadhd03/BNStory/spe\

cialScie

nceandHealth/home)

New questions are being raised about the safety of a drug used to treat

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder amid reports that more than 40 Canadian

children have attempted suicide after taking it.

Health Canada said it received 189 reports of adverse reactions associated

with atomoxetine, sold under the name Strattera, from the time it was put on

the market in February, 2005, to the end of last year.

The reports included 55 suicide attempts - 41 of which were among children

aged 6 to 17, and 12 that were adults between 18 and 45.

 

_Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? No, they're just naughty, say

experts_

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1031436/Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity\

-Disorder-No-theyre-just-naughty-say-experts.html#)

Teachers could be labelling children as hyperactive when they are simply

naughty, experts have suggested.

A study reveals only a handful of youngsters believed to have attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, actually suffer from the syndrome.

 

_Children targeted with live flu vaccine_

(http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view & pageId=69006)

Each half milliliter portion of the formula, called FluMist, contains

particles of " live, attenuated influenza virus, " writes Robert Carrillo on his

extensive blog posting about the vaccine. " That means that between 10 million

and

100 million viral particles will be forcefully injected into the nostrils

administered, " he says.

 

Video: _H5N1 DNA in Flu Vaccine?_ (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=zcniJxck0gI)

Flu Mist over the counter live flu vaccine has been found to contain two

H5N1 DNA markers, these markers seem to have been sewn into the flu mist vaccine

to ensure that H5N1 or another strain of Avian Flu goes pandemic.

 

_Top French Bird Flu Researcher Brutally Murdered In London_

(http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1115.htm)

Most interesting about these reports, however, is not just the brutal murder

of Mr. Bonomo, but the area of study he was embarked upon at London’s

Imperial Collage, one of the World’s premier institutions investigating the

deadly

H5N1 Avian Flu Virus, and which is being reported to be the claim made by the

Indonesian Government that this deadly virus has been ‘engineered’ by the

United States.

 

_Pfizer Settlement Talks With Nigeria Collapse_

(http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/pfizer-settlement-talks-with-nigeria-collapse/\

)

The head of the Kano victims’ association, Alhaji Mustapha Maisikeli, said a

series of meetings were held in Abuja, London and in Dubai last week, but

the victims turned down an offer of $10,000 to each victim with minor

deformities and $100,000 to each victim with major deformities or death arising

from

the Trovan drug test of 1996. The state government also rejected the offer.

Maisikeli called the offer demeaning and outrageous. “We want to announce

that talks between us have failed after they discriminatorily offered to give

us $10 million, the same amount offered since the beginning of this year. This

is at a time they equally offered to give the counsel $21 million dollars

for the cost of litigations,†he tells the Trust.

 

_HPV Vaccine Linked To Teen's Paralysis?_

(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/07/earlyshow/health/main4236581.shtml?so\

urce=RSSattr=HOME_4236581)

Soon after getting that third injection, her parents say, Jenny began

experiencing the first signs of a degenerative muscle disease. They say their

daughter is now almost completely paralyzed.

Did Gardasil cause Jenny's condition?

 

_US Congress pressures dentists on mercury_

(http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-08-mercury-dentists_N.htm?csp=34)

The dental industry, asked to testify Tuesday about pollution from mercury

in tooth fillings, found itself under attack from lawmakers who blame mercury

for everything from autism in children to skin discoloration.

 

_Mercury: Chelation study suspended_

(http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-08-autism-chelation_N.htm?csp=34)

 

This article is an ugly testimonial to what happens when the same people who

have for decades denied that mercury may have anything to do with autism or

otherwise negatively impact health are then charged to test whether a

mercury-removal protocol is valid.

 

_HIV/AIDS SCAM: Have antiretroviral drugs saved 3 million life-years?_

(http://hivskeptic.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/hivaids-scam-have-antiretroviral-dru\

gs-s

aved-3-million-life-years/)

The whole article deals not with actual patients but with “hypothetical

patientsâ€. This fulfills the suggestion, reported in a previous post, that one

no

longer needs human beings for clinical studies, computers can conveniently

substitute [VIRTUAL HIV/AIDS RESEARCH AND TREATMENT, 17 June 2008]. The most

convenient thing about this, of course, is that it’s much easier to get the

results you want from a computer model you have yourself designed than from

observations of real people.

The outputs of this model deserve no credence whatsoever. The claim of more

than 3 million saved life-years is utterly bogus. Even were it not bogus, it

would reveal the claimed benefits of antiretroviral therapy to be at best

marginal and procured at egregiously excessive cost.

 

_Rift delays release of study on safety of cellphones_

(http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/29/business/mobile30.php)

" There seems to be a split, " said Lennart Hardell, a participating Swedish

cancer specialist who said the divisions focused on whether the faulty

memories of brain cancer patients skewed the results of the study. " It's not

fair to

the public. This has been paid for by taxpayers and they have a

responsibility to show the results. "

Here's a multi-billion dollar industry trying desperately to prevent us from

finding out that their technology seriously sucks. Or is it just plain

denial? Can't say that there is lack of evidence...

 

_Kansas City: Monsanto intimidates GM farmers_

(http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13511.cfm)

Across rural America, Monsanto is known for aggressive legal efforts to

protect its patent. Farmers who save and replant the patented seeds in

subsequent

growing seasons quickly hear from the company's lawyers - and almost always

lose, or settle out of court before trial.

Now Monsanto is raising the stakes against this so-called seed piracy with

an unprecedented lawsuit against a farm co-op it accuses of aiding the illegal

practice by cleaning seeds for use in future crops. That practice violates

the contract between Monsanto and farmers which prohibits farmers from

stockpiling seeds or selling second-generation seeds.

 

_U.S. War On Drugs - Only Cops & Criminals Benefit_

(http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13437.cfm)

The United States has been spending $69 billion a year worldwide for the

last 40 years, for a total of $2.5 trillion, on drug prohibition -- with little

to show for it. Is anyone actually benefiting from this war?

- - -

More information out there...

There is much I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information

exist and are active.

You can to the Zeus Newsletter _here_

(http://www.internetwebdezines.com/Zeus/_entry.htm) . Appears twice

monthly. If you would like to

see some samples of Louise's collection of informative links, here are the

_archives_ (http://www.zeusinfoservice.com/archive.htm) .

Dr Mercola's _health blog_ (http://v.mercola.com/) and Mike Adams' _Natural

News_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/) have great health information.

The _Alternative Medicine Group_

(http://health./) is a place

where you can discuss and exchange

information on what is happening in the world of natural health.

For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and

other radio emitting devices, check out the _emfrefugee group_

(http://health.emfrefugee/) on .

If you are interested in a different take on the news that isn't health

centered but is certainly fun, check out _Robin Good TV News_

(http://www.robingood.tv/rgtvnews/) .

A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the

stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:

_http://therealnews.com/_ (http://therealnews.com/)

_http://www.whatreallyhappened.com_ (http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/)

_http://www.commondreams.org_ (http://www.commondreams.org/)

_http://www.globalresearch.ca/_ (http://www.globalresearch.ca/)

_http://rawstory.com/_ (http://rawstory.com/)

_http://www.truthout.org/_ (http://www.truthout.org/)

.... and remember:

The individual is supreme and finds its way through intuition

 

__

posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Sunday July 13 2008