Category Archives: Opinion

Heliobactor Pylori – Beneficial as Well as Pathogenic

In my recent lecture swing around the U.S., I mention that H pylori, a common bacteria which has been implicated in stomach ulcers and cancer, may have a number of beneficial relationships to the human body. Another one has just been found that is a bit surprising.

According to a study led by Dr. Martin Blase of NY University School of Medicine, children who had H pylori in their stomachs, were 53% less likely to have asthma than those without the bug. Turns out, the overuse of anitbiotics may be killing the bacteria which our bodies may use as a primer for our immune systems early on in life.

My theorm is that many of these so-called pathogenic bacteria, may in fact be an intricate part of what makes us humans and that instead of killing them all, we need to control their overgrowth but allow some amount of them to help us control our health. The newest field of endeavor that has this belief is part of the Microbiome Project where researchers are looking into the symbiotic relationship between parasites, bacteria and viruses and human evolution and health. Turns out we are more than just a single entity but a conglomoration of many organisms working together. The research was published recently in Nature magazine.

Go for the Cure Instead of Stop the Cause – Misused Money in the Fight Against Breast Cancer?

Most of us have been affected by breast cancer. Whether you are a survivor, know someone who has had it (my mother) or have a friend who has or did have it, breast cancer is a devastating disease. Major corporations such as the makers of Campbell’s soup have jumped on the “Go For The Cure” bandwagon to help raise money to find a cure for the dreaded disease. Is this money going to the right place? Could it go to a better cause and help more people?  I think so.

According to all of the research I have seen, environmental toxins are one of the main causes of many cancers. I would spend the money trying to eliminate environmental causes of breast cancer.  The other area would be to teach about simple dietary habits that would reduce the risk.

The Bush Administration Pulls Another Fast One

President Bush and his cronies wouldn’t know what the the idea of independent science meant if they were forced to sit in on a lecture about it for a week. Instead of allowing Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Atlanta-based CDC, freedom to tell the truth about global climate change, they “eviserated” the report forcing her to leave out much of what we need to know about the consequences of global warming.

This is why the denialists have pulpits with which to hoist their “don’t worry, be happy” nonsense. This administration refuses to allow the CDC or the Surgeon General the independence they need to protect the public. They hide the truth and feed the media conflicting data to protect the polluters who fund their campaigns.

Read more about this abomination here at CNN.com. President Bush is the most “anti-science” President in our nation’s history. He needs to be replaced.

Chemicals Found In Children – No Problem If You Believe Professional Denier

Elizabeth Whelan, the President of the American Council on Science and Health said in response to a report by CNN about levels of dangerous chemicals being found in children “My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it’s leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false.” Huh???

Dr. Whelan is the same women who claims that nutritional supplements are wastes of money and dangerous while working with the well-known anti-supplement Dr. Fredrick Stare, is a shill, for major corporations wanting the public to continue to be blissfully unaware of the toxins being dumped on each of us. All you need to do is look at who funds her so-called public health advocacy organization. As long as you define public as polluting corporations and health as sick people being treated with drugs, well then I guess that’s ok.

Money pays for the “experts” to continue to deny reality. Big tobacco claimed that cigarettes were safe for decades (and guess who ratted them out, yup she did), now Elizabeth Whelan tells you to stop worrying. Remeber she worked for many years for the Chemical Manufacturers Associtation so her opinion is highly biased. Don’t listen to her, it does matter. Stop buying toxic substances and go green. Your children will thank you.

Veto Spending by the Democrats but Not the Republicans

I find it quite unbelievable that President Bush would veto the SCHIPs insurance bill to help people pay for medical care for children because it’s too expensive but when the Republican’s were in control and spending money like drunken sailors on their last day on dry land, he didn’t seem to worry about our money. When Senator Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska put a multi-million dollar appropriation for a bridge in the middle of Alaska that would have served around 100 people; the President didn’t use his line-item veto power to save us money. No this self-proclaimed “compasionate conservative” who would watch over our money and bring back fiscal responsibility, is the most politically motivated President we have ever had.
If a Republican wants to spend billions of tax payer dollars is that somehow different than when a Democrat does it? Apparently. Giving billions and billions of dollars to the pharmaceutical industry via the Medicare reform bill which stopped negotiated pricing for drugs is okay but spend the same money to help insure children isn’t? Compassionate? You be the judge.
Spend hundreds of billions of dollars on wars in foreign countries is ok, but helping our citizens live better lives is not ok. Enrich Halliburton but not our citizens is what this administration is all about. Corporate handouts, not aid to the people.
How can any self-proclaimed Republican or conservative stand by and not ask for his immediate resignation? No wonder recent polls show that Americans are not optimistic about our future. We don’t think we’re moving forward because we’re not. Our once great nation has seen the most disastrous Presidency’s ever.

Men, Before You Get A Biopsy – Run This Test First

In America, thousands of men get prostate biopsies after getting a PSA (prostate specfic antigen) test that registers over 4.0. Problem is, 80% of the biopsies show no cancer which is means that the test was highly non-specific, which quite high for any type of procedure. Because this is an invasive procedure, having an 80% failure rate is unacceptable. There is an alternative.

If your PSA is between 4-10, and you are over the age of 40 a free-PSA is the next step and should become the standard of care. If you are under 40 and your PSA is over 2, all bets are off and there may be a need for a biopsy. PSA comes in two types, one is bound to proteins, the other is free.

The higher the percentage of free-PSA, the lower the likelihood that there is prostate cancer present. If the free-PSA is under 10%, then there is a high likelihood of cancer. If it is over 25%, there is a 5% chance that it is cancer if you are between 40-64 and 9% if you are between 65-75.

If your doctor insists on doing a biopsy before doing a free-PSA and you fit in the categories above, find another doctor.

Food Porn – Hardee’s Shows No Corporate Responsibility

The burger chain Hardee’s which has a history of producing artery clogging garbage has now introduced a breakfast burrito that not only has 920 calories but 60 grams of fat. Their Monster Thickburger is 1420 calories and even their chicken salad has 1,100 calories and an astonishing 83 grams of fat. Talk about heart attacks on a plate!

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocate for nutrition and health, has called the Hardee’s line of Thickburgers “food porn.” I heartily agree.

This is a company with no conscience, no care for their stakeholders and no respect for the people they serve. It’s all about money with no corporate responsibility at all. Legislation is needed to make companies like Hardee’s pay a health tax to help pay for their health damaging garbage. Just like smoking and alcohol, meals like this should be taxed and taxed heavily. Their marketing Brad Haley, has no shame and makes no apologies for pushing these meals. Shame on Hardee’s.

Give the Gift of Life – Make Sure You’re an Organ Donor

In many states like Nevada, when you get or renew your drivers license, you can sign up to become an organ donor in case of unfortunate circumstances like brain trauma injury in an accident. I have signed up for it as has my wife. So did a brave young man named Jason Ray who attended the University of North Carolina.

The story told by writer Wayne Drehs and posted on EPSNs website about Jason’s life, death, and rebirth is one that should bring tears to anyones eyes and smiles to all who read about this remarkable young man. He changed the lives of many around him in life, and in death, saved four people. In the United States, 97,000 people are on the organ donor need list. That is way too many. We can do better. Become an organ donor today. Hope you never need to become one but if you do, you will make an important improvement to the world you leave behind.

Another Source of Lead – Lipstick

Just when you thought the lead news couldn’t get any worse, it does. Women need to be aware that their lipstick may contain unacceptable levels of the neurotoxin, lead. In a report from The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, over 61% of all the lipstick brands out there contained lead. The industry and their spokespeople use the age old excuse that “lead is naturally occuring” instead of recalling their products and vowing to never allow their products to contain lead.

What is disturbing is that children who innocently play with lipstick can ingest levels of lead that can lead to brain damage that may not be able to be reversed. There needs to be tighter restrictions on lead in products as well as other heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Also, industry has to step up and take some damn responsibility instead of acting like a kid who accidently broke the cookie jar and blames it on the dog.

Alcoholism Cure? Media Nonsense and Poor Medical Research

The latest in a series of research papers being published by once respected journals has reared its ugly head today.  According to the lastest issue of JAMA and the media, you would think that the drug Topamax, can help cure alcoholism. Turns out that the reality calls for a much different read on things.  Not only was the drug also known as topiramate not that much better than placebo, there was a 20% dropout rate amongst the rather small 371 person study.

Now comes the real news about the drug and the study. I won’t embellish anything, I’ll quote the study which is available free of charge here and let you decide whether this treatment modality is worth pursuing.

“Adverse events that were more common with topiramate vs placebo, respectively, included paresthesia (50.8% vs 10.6%), taste perversion (23.0% vs 4.8%), anorexia (19.7% vs 6.9%), and difficulty with concentration (14.8% vs 3.2%).”

Hmmmm, increases in paresthesia a sensation of tingling or numbness is 5 times higher in those who take topiramate versus placebo, taste perversion 5 times higher, anorexia, a very serious disorder occurred 3 times more in the drug group and a 4 1/2 times higher rate of mental concentration difficulties in those taking the drug. Now let’s think about this. Those taking the drug had lots of side-effects and all they got was an 8% improvement over placebo. That isn’t very good.

Of course, the papers authors all belong to the Topiramate for Alcoholism Advisory Board and/or the Topiramate for Alcoholism Study Group which are funded by Ortho-McNeil, the makers of Topamax which goes for $350 a month. Save your money and look into nutritional ways of reducing alcohol intake at a much lower cost with far fewer side-effects.