The US FDA now requires the manufacturers of cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins to add warning to their labels.  This will affect the popular brands such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor as well as the generics. The reason!  The FDA has finally officially recognised what has been known for years…statin drugs can cause memory loss and more recently that they may raise levels of blood sugar and thus promote diabetes.  Some analyst’s suggest that they could contribute to around 100,000 extra cases of diabetes a year. The FDA does warn patients not to be scared into stopping taking their drugs “because they have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of heart attack or heart disease”.  ‘Significant’ is a debatable point as there are many groups of people who receive no benefit from these drugs at all. Recent studies have indicated that any benefit that may be derived from the statin drugs does not come from their ability to lower cholesterol but rather the beneficial effect on inflammation in the blood as measured by C-Reactive Protein.  Interestingly for years we have argued that C-Reactive Protein is a more important marker for heart disease than cholesterol.  This is now being gradually accepted by mainstream medicine as a fact. However, you can reduce the inflammation in the body by using high quality Omega 3 fish oils along with a quality multi-nutrient supplement such as our Total Balance.  My own levels of C-Reactive Protein is testimony to that.  They are at the levels of a healthy child not a 65 year old man. Back to the statin drugs…I wonder when the FDA will require manufacturers to put a warning on the label about the potential of impotence in men which is also common with users of this drug! There is some more info about this on a Reuters article which you can access by clicking here .

As strange as it sounds, there’s no need to panic. Zombies still only exist in horror movies even if you may feel like the ‘walking dead’ the next time you’re low on nutrients, vitamins and energy. Nevertheless, it seems that according to this article on the Time website, zombies have become the inspiration to help get lazy gamers and other couch potatoes off their butts and onto their feet. ‘Zombies, RUN!’ is an iPhone app that puts an exercise aspect to what is essentially a zombie game. Users have to complete various audio missions by listening to clues and stories through their headphones, running around to collect supplies and ultimately avoiding brain-eating zombies. Because everything is audio, there’s no need to look at the app, meaning you don’t have to worry about running into obstacles like the neighbor’s cat or worse…oncoming traffic. The zombies app records all sorts of data like time, speed, calories burned and total distance. The exercise app is proving to be rather popular with people who either haven’t exercised before or those who have hit a plateau in their training regime and would like to try something different and fun, yet still effective. I personally can’t see myself using this app as I prefer to run and exercise without any external distractions. I’ve got a habit of thinking too much…especially in social situations, so I try to do most of my thinking while exercising

Hospitals… most of us have been to one, either to visit a close friend or relative, or to get administered as a patient. Either way, they’re not exactly the kind of place one gets excited about considering the reason why you’re there in the first place. Nevertheless, regardless of what happens to the patient, high hospital costs seem to occur more often than not. Sure, hardly anything is free in this world, but when it comes to exorbitant hospital bills, not everything may be as it seems…the hospital could either be deliberately or accidentally overcharging you. The worst thing about this is that most people never know that they may be paying more than they actually should. The mindset seems to be one of “But I don’t know anything about the medical industry…how do I know what needs to be charged or not”. I understand that this is a common perception among many people but like your local mechanic, you owe it to yourself to check that the ‘work’ you’re being charged for is not only legit, but also that it actually happened. Regardless of whether hospitals are intending to overcharge you or not, the fact of the matter still remains…you could very well be getting ripped off by the hospital. This article on the Daily Finance website, looks at the “5 Signs You’re Getting Robbed at the Hospital”: Double Billing – Like any big business, hospitals have many different departments, specialists and people who may bridge the professional gap between different departments

It’s been a long time coming but soon the US government will force drug companies to reveal the various payments they make to doctors for various ‘services’ including research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment. This article in the New York Times explains this new health care law in more detail…a standard that will no doubt see better decisions made by doctors where only the best interests of their patients will be considered…not whether the doctor’s luxury SUV should be black or silver. I’m sorry for sounding a bit cynical but I truly believe that when a medical practitioner takes the Hippocratic Oath, he/she dedicates themselves to practice medicine ethically. The following excerpt from the article highlights the bad apples that apparently lurk in the medical fraternity: “Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug and device companies every year – sometimes into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars – in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures. Analyses by The New York Times and others have found that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments from drug or device makers and that nearly two-thirds accept routine gifts of food, including lunch for staff members and dinner for themselves. The Times has found that doctors who take money from drug makers often practice medicine differently from those who do not and that they are more willing to prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for children.” Under the new law, drug companies must disclose all payments made to doctors…regardless of whether the payment is for the promotion of new products or if a sales rep from a drug company brings lunch to a doctor’s office for a ‘meeting’. All the disclosed data will then be put on a web site for the public to see. Those drug companies who fail to report their payments will be heavily fined, with the top senior executives being held liable for the accuracy of each payment report. Patients deserve to know whether the advice they’re getting from their doctor is based on actual medical fact or financial favors and other monetary benefits. As expected, some people in the medical fraternity are opposed to the new bill.

I just recently received a link to an article that I unfortunately read whilst eating my lunch. As someone who has a ‘cast-iron’ stomach, even this article made me feel a little nauseous. It’s written by a member of the Yahoo News team, Eric Pfeiffer, who went with the following headline: “McDonald’s confirms that it’s no longer using ‘pink slime’ chemical in hamburgers” The fast food company has announced that it has stopped using ammonium hydroxide in the production of its hamburgers. ‘That seems quite nice of them’, one would think…until you realize what ammonium hydroxide is also used for. This chemical is found in fertilizers, cleaning detergents and believe it or not…even homemade explosives! Why was it in the hamburger meat to begin with?! Apparently, this chemical acts as an anti-microbial agent in meat. Again, it’s hard to use the words ‘chemical’ and ‘meat’ in the same sentence. Pfeiffer’s article also lists six other chemicals found in our foods. However, some of them are OK and in that regard the author is over dramatizing, but the ammonium dioxide is a problem considering why it is used. The rest of the article contains a video where a popular UK chef shows the process of how this chemical is used in meat

So who hasn’t overindulged these past festive weeks? Wherever I look, ‘big bellies’ seem even bigger than usual! What can be done? Especially as both Dean and  I point out, zillions of sit ups and the conventional low fat diet will make little difference. To blast belly fat permanently, you need to understand the Real underlying causes. Key Belly Fat Causes In essence, belly fat signifies hormonal and metabolic imbalances characterised by inflammation, estrogen dominance and insulin resistance. Let’s start with inflammation. Inflammation You saw in an earlier blog how inflammation results from toxins, oxidative stress, free radicals, injury, infections, lack of exercise, heredity and especially diet. Regarding diet, it’s mainly the imbalance of fatty acids and oils, with focus on Omega 6 rather than Omega 3 which leads to the metabolization of chemicals causing chronic inflammation. This imbalance is starkly seen when we compare our prehistoric ancestors’ omega-6 to omega-3 ratio with ours.

Do you sometimes despair at the condition of your skin? Perhaps you’ve tried all the so called ‘miracle’ potions and lotions. Or resorted to heavy make-up, big shades or, worse, hiding at home!   What is your skin trying to tell you? Usually, the message is that unless the cause of the skin issue is external, such as a cut or insect bite, an external remedy will almost never properly correct an internal problem. You see, our skin is the largest organ of our body, with more area exposed to the elements – internal and external – than any other organ. It receives one third of all the blood that is circulated in the body, helping it to protect, absorb and excrete wastes. So if you don’t ‘feed’ and ‘water’ it correctly, with the right nutrition, adequate pure liquids, proven natural supplements , and natural topical ingredients , it gets sick! And if it can’t excrete toxins because the digestive and excretory systems are impaired, leading to chemical and hormonal imbalances, aging and degeneration , the skin becomes even sicker! Indeed, the skin is a vivid fingerprint of what’s going on inside. According to Chinese medicine, skin is the ‘third kidney’: it rids the body of excess moisture and toxins. Oily, dry, blotchy, itchy, inflamed red skin, acne, psoriasis and other skin disorders very often indicate that the organs which eliminate toxins from the body, such as the liver, kidney or colon are not working properly

NDI’s stand for new dietary ingredients. If you have been reading this blog for some time you will be aware that last year the US FDA came out with a bombshell for both industry and consumers alike when they issued a ‘guidance’ document for NDI’s.  This document was seen by many as a direct attack on the supplements and much of it was without justification and some aspects of it were technically impossible to comply with. If you are not aware of how ominous this document is, then you may wish to have a look at some of my earlier blogs which can be accessed from the links below. Is this the beginning of the end for Supplements? An Update on the FDA’s ‘attack’ on Dietary Supplements… An Update of NDI’s… Update of FDA proposed NDI regulations As a result there has been a significant uproar by consumers and industry alike.  The ‘guidance’ if passed would severely undermine the integrity of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) as well as restrict the availability of supplements.  It would deal a ‘death blow’ to the industry and provide a major victory for the pharmaceutical industry. The two US Senators who were the prime authors of the DSHEA legislation have come out solidly opposed to the proposed ‘guidance’ document for NDI’s.  They have written to the FDA Commissioner requesting that they withdraw the current document and start again.  Fortunately they have the support of other influential politicians, but then they have a real fight against those politicians supporting the pharmaceutical lobby. You can read the letter to the FDA by Senators Tom Harkin and Orrin G. Hatch by clicking here .

I recently wrote a blog entry about the poor quality of hospital food in the UK after watching a reality-based TV series about a world renowned chef trying to improve the nutrition and quality of food served to patients… especially children. It seems the trend of serving unpalatable (and probably low quality) meals to patients has spread to a hospital in New Zealand. According to this article , a woman is claiming that she was served poor quality food during her recent admission to a hospital. Now this may just be a case of one person’s opinion versus the hospital’s menu…the article also doesn’t reveal any comments from other patients at the same hospital. Whether the hospital in question does actually serve bad food or not cannot be verified. However, the issue itself should be something that every hospital catering service needs to take seriously. A patient’s recovery should be a hospital’s primary objective…so when it comes to the patient’s meals, this objective shouldn’t be diverted for any reason. Sorry for sounding a little cynical, but a part of me cannot help but wonder if some hospitals insist on serving poor quality food that’s low in nutritional value to simply get the patients back in. I know this is probably far from the truth but it does make you think doesn’t it?

Are you aware that last year the FDA actually issued a warning to limit the doses of simvastatin as at the highest recommended levels of 80mgs they now deem it to be unsafe for most people? This is because people on that higher rate have an increased risk of muscle injury (myopathy) . In some people, the myopathy progresses to a more serious disorder called rhabdomyolysis, which can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure and death. This safety announcement was made by the FDA last June.  If you are on a high dose of a statin, particularly if it is around the 80mgs then please bring this warning to the attention of your Doctor.  The full bulletin can be read on the FDA’s website by clicking here . Bear in mind when talking to your Doctor that statin drugs at any dosage carry the risk of myopathy. The symptoms of myopathy include weakness, muscle pain or tenderness, and fatigue.  If the myopathy progresses to rhabdomyolysis, it can cause dark or red-colored urine. If you are taking a statin also check the list of other drugs on the FDA bulletin that you should not be taking at the same time as the statin.  If you are taking any of those talk to your Doctor urgently. Question the need to actually be on a statin.  What are your triglycerides like?  Are your homocysteine levels OK?  But most importantly do you have any inflammation in your blood?  That is measured by the level of your C-Reactive Protein.