By bsekula, on November 21st, 2009
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming (Top 10 non-generic and generic prescription drugs) to bring you this, what appears to be a concerted effort on the part of Big Pharma to keep their precious statins high on the list of prescribed drugs. (can you blame them? Between Lipitor and Simvistatin you’re looking at 109.2 million prescriptions and $7.4 billion in sales per year!).
In case you haven’t heard, statins and big pharma took it on the chin in a new study from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The results showed niacin was significantly more effective at reducing carotid artery plaque than statins alone. In fact, results showed plaque continuing to grow in the statins only group while regressing in the niacin group. I’m not going to detail the study and author’s conclusions, Dr. Eades has done a wonderful job of that.
I’m not even going to get into . . . → Read More: statins and niacin … a concerted effort?
By bsekula, on November 9th, 2009
In last weeks post I detailed the Top 10 prescription drugs for the US in 2008. And since I was half-way through before realizing it was non-generic only, I decided to complete it and follow up with this one.
In a follow-up post I’m going to get into the metrics a little more, comparing generic and non-generic.
Let me preface the descriptive nature of this post by saying it’s amazing we prescribe drugs at this rate. I knew we took too many prescription drugs. I knew we were too dependent on them. But actually looking at this data and what it says sheds light on the extent of the problem, which is why I’m writing a follow-up. So on with this one…
Forty percent of non-generic drugs are related, one way or another, to hyperinsulinemia. For generic drugs, it’s 50% and for the same conditions – metabolic syndrome. Table 1 shows . . . → Read More: Top 10 Generic Drugs in 2008
By bsekula, on June 11th, 2009
At least that’s the message from top researchers who wanted to set the record straight.
Let’s lay the groundwork. Three top researchers (as labeled by the press release) wanted to correct the inaccuracies and misunderstandings about high fructose corn syrup and it’s impact on the American diet.
At the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting, a session entitled “High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sorting Myth from Reality” was held to set the record straight.
The first quote is telling.
Contrary to its name, high fructose corn syrup is essentially a corn sugar, stated sweetener expert John S. White, Ph.D., president of White Technical Research. "Recent marketing claims that sugar is healthier than high fructose corn syrup are misleading to consumers.
Yeah, sort of like saying stabbing myself with a big knife will hurt more than with a small knife. I can read the headlines already. “Leading researchers have discovered that stabbing yourself with . . . → Read More: You’re confused about HFCS
By bsekula, on June 4th, 2009
CSPI has released their 2009 Xtreme eating awards. The press release is here and their website announcement is here.
Should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I get pissed off? There hasn’t been much sleep this week, pissed off is leading down the stretch.
CSPI does not have the public interest at heart (watch the first video). They think you can’t make a decision on your own. You’re too dumb to decide, so they should decide for you.
This whole idea that I, you or anyone else will suddenly change our mind on what to order at the counter when presented with caloric content is silly. And to blame restaurants and fast food on obesity is further destruction of personal responsibility.
And I’m not so sure McDonald’s is responsible. Sure, there’s Spurlock and Supersize Me. But there are major issues with Spurlock, which I won’t completely detail here but he . . . → Read More: CSPI: not so public interest
By bsekula, on January 18th, 2008
First, you need to get into my boot camp. Today is the last day of the first week, but you can still register – right up until next Friday!
Second, If you’re skeptical of the results you can get from a Boot Camp, read this article.here.
Finally, the best Boot Camps are fun, challenging, rewarding and most importantly, get results. Exactly what . . . → Read More: How Powerful is a Boot Camp?
By bsekula, on January 12th, 2008
January 11, 2008
This article, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association concludes that heart disease risk may increase with a lack of Vitamin D. The benefits of Vitamin D and cancer prevention (bone health too!) have been known for years. In June of last year, I had a blog post regarding this. Actually, the benefits of Vitamin D have been known for a while. Read this excellent post by Dr. Mark Hyman for more details. There are many others who espouse the benefits of Vitamin D – too many to list here. So let’s get to the article. “Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, above and beyond established cardiovascular risk factors,” said Thomas J. Wang, M.D., assistant professor
of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. “The higher risk associated with vitamin D deficiency was particularly evident among individuals with high blood pressure.”
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More than 1,700 offspring . . . → Read More: Is Vitamin D really that important?
By bsekula, on January 7th, 2008
January 07, 2008.
From a recent article posted in the San Jose Mercury News by Melinda Sacks…
I took the liberty of highlighting important benefits in each of the points. The benefits of weight training are numerous and this article does a good job of highlighting some of the more
important ones.
Even though this article is geared toward women, the same benefits listed apply to men. So you guys don’t get off that easy.
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Researchers say that most women who exercise still spend the majority of their time doing cardio, often ignoring the benefits of weight lifting. But unless a doctor advises otherwise, weight lifting can provide enormous advantages for most women, according to studies from such institutions as the Mayo Clinic, Harvard and Stanford universities. As with any new physical activity, check with your doctor if you have any health issues.
Here are the top 10 reasons sports medicine doctors and fitness . . . → Read More: Why Women Should Lift Weights
By bsekula, on August 15th, 2007
go here to find out…6th paragraph . . . → Read More: Uh oh…Baylor gave what to their bears?
By bsekula, on August 9th, 2007
If you are in the health care industry, whether it be pharmaceuticals, medicine, research, administration, or you’re just interested in your own health and wonder what others think, read this article. If you’re somewhat skeptical of medicine, health care and big pharma, and you think the health care system needs revamping, you really should read this. It’s long but very . . . → Read More: Read This!
By bsekula, on July 18th, 2007
From the American Heart Association…
“Research shows that when properly supervised and prescribed in the light of a patient’s history and condition, whether they have cardiovascular disease or not, resistance training increases muscular strength, endurance, independence, and ability to perform a large range of activities. It reduces disability and enhances quality of life. Other benefits include increase in bone mineral density and lean body mass.”In their recently updated public statement (a full pdf version can be found here) on weight lifitng and heart disease, the AHA has recommended doctors encourage their patients to participate in strength training exercise. Anyone in the fitness industry worth their credentials on the wall could have told you this years ago. I don’t know how many older clients I’ve trained that walked at least twice as fast once their session was over compared to when it started – no comments about trying to get away from me . . . → Read More: Resistance training good for heart health?
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