Why almost half of us are on prescription drugs and another ‘benefit‘ for statins

As it is often said that what America does today Britain will do tomorrow I worry when the latest statistics show that nearly half of all Americans now use prescription drugs on a regular basis and that one in five children are being regularly given prescription drugs. If you are over 50 then it is even more worrying as nine out of ten adults in the age group are on drugs. What concerns me more however is the fact that nearly a third use two or more drugs, and more than one in ten use five or more prescription drugs regularly.

That last statistic shows what can happen when you treat a condition on a symptom by symptom basis with the original need overlaying the subsequent responses and side-effects to each consequent drug. For example, if you need anti-migraine medication but it gives you severe stomach upsets then the second drug will help with that but unfortunately it may also have side-effects of its own for which you could easily be given yet a further drug.

The most commonly-used drugs were:

• Statin drugs for older people
• Asthma drugs for children
• Antidepressants for middle-aged people
• Amphetamine stimulants for children

Statins:
I have said my piece, probably all too often, on the widespread use of statins for what appears to be little perceived benefits and some serious side-effects but — as often happens when a drug is under attack — a perceived benefit has come to light. It appears that regular statin use is associated with a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. It reminds me of that other great drug HRT that always comes up with a new use for a specific condition when negative press appears linking it to a serious drawback for health.

I have no problem with people being given drugs that they need and will cure or alleviate their condition, but unfortunately this is just not always the case. Many of the drugs people take actually cause the very things they claim to prevent: osteoporosis drugs are linked to hip fractures, cancer drugs can cause cancer and antidepressants bizarrely enough have suicidal thoughts listed as a side-effect.

Now that the pharmaceutical industry is global, we are just as much at the mercy of the drug companies without any direct influence on them. We know that the drug companies have falsified research, distorted facts in studies and deliberately suppressed negative information about new drugs. You can’t blame your doctor, as they often as much in the dark as we are, but what you can do is get yourself the very best health insurance — by which I mean taking the very best pro active care of yourself through diet, exercise and stress management together with the all-important enthusiastic positive approach to life which will enhance your chances of an active and healthy life.

So before you rush off to the doctor for a prescription, ask yourself first whether you really need that drug or whether it is something that you can handle with the use of time and some sensible home treatment. In the winter most people get colds, some get flu, and many others are not affected at all so let’s try and make this the winter where your body is so healthy those infections just cannot take hold.

One way to do this is to increase the amount of “super foods” such as chlorella, spirulina and wheat grass in your diet and although I have to confess that none of these have a great taste I have found that adding chlorella and spirulina to a fruit or vegetable juice drink (though turning it an unattractive shade of green) does mean you get the benefit without the taste.

Wheat grass is now making a comeback as years ago (certainly here in Brighton) there were several wheatgrass juice bars with trays of the green stuff growing live and ready to be juiced. Happily — as again it is not top of the pops for taste — you can now buy it in supplement form from Natural Greens as capsules and you will also be helping the charity YES TO LIFE, which helps support people with cancer in the UK in accessing Complementary & Alternative Medicine as they are giving a percentage of the company’s profits to them.

One ‘prescription’ that could help treat emotional and physical pain – with no side-effects
Music is not only the food of love and the healer of the soul but now it seems from new research that it could benefit the treatment of depression and the management of physical pain.

Butter Is Still Better

If there is anything better than butter in a baked potato or on a scone that I haven’t yet come across it, but I know that the margarine industry has spent a lot of time and money in persuading as that it is bad for our health. As I keep on saying (or nagging, if you prefer) there is nothing wrong with butter it’s all about the quantity you are using and if you want a healthy heart then switching to the new range of margarines that have been enriched with omega-3 fatty acids will not make a difference — in fact could make it worse.

A study carried out by Wageningen University in the Netherlands over a three-year period showed that using such margarines did not prevent second heart attacks in older men and women at risk for worsening heart disease. The initial results appeared to show that switching to such margarines did initially reduce cardiac events, but by 30 months the evidence of that benefit had disappeared, said Daan Kromhout, MPH, PhD, the lead researcher. He reported their results at the recent European Society of Cardiology meeting and their findings were simultaneously published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

These findings have surprised some cardiologists as most of the data on omega-3 fatty acids come from epidemiologic studies and those were positive. Alfred Bove, MD, of Temple University in Philadelphia has likened the situation to hormone therapy, which had been widely recommended to reduce cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women based on data from epidemiologic studies. Subsequent evidence however showed that HRT can be a major risk factor for heart attacks in women are relying solely on research — in whatever field — is never a good idea.

The margarines used in the trial were supplied by Unilever, and included the well-known “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter,” which I have to confess I have no trouble believing as I can see no resemblance in taste at all. This research should not be used to downplay the role of Omega 3 in the prevention and treatment of not only heart disease but also Type 2 Diabetes and depression, because it is clearly an important element in our diet. However this definitely indicates that margarine is not the vehicle to introduce it to your diet. Better sources include oily fish such as salmon and Flax seeds and walnuts.

How Probiotic Barley Can Improve Your Health

In order to be fully healthy you need to pay attention to your digestive system and that means paying attention to your diet. As very few of us — and I certainly include myself here — have a perfect diet all, or even some, of the time then helping your body with a course of probiotics can make a huge difference to your health.

There are certainly plenty of varieties of probiotics available from pills, powders and capsules to flavoured drinks and most of these contain freeze dried bacteria. Unfortunately, this process deactivates the bacteria and can damage or kill many of these delicate microorganisms. When looking for probiotic supplements always go for a live version and one I have just tried is Symprove which contains four varieties of live, activated probiotic bacteria.

It comes from barley and you drink it on an empty stomach and of course is free from lactose, artificial sweeteners colours or flavours so is a good supplement for those who are lactose intolerant or have allergies. To be honest, I didn’t find the taste particularly pleasant and is slightly sharp so I downed mine in fruit juice which helped with the taste. Because the probiotic bacteria are active in the drink they go to work within 20 minutes (unlike freeze-dried products which can take several hours to start multiplying) and its liquid form means it does not trigger the same release of stomach acid as other products do as you digest them. Each small serving gives you over 10 billion live, activated probiotic bacteria which will help to rebalance your digestive system, which is the foundation of good health.

Personally, I always take probiotics before and during any period away from home where a strange environment, and exposure to a greater number of health hazards, can make you more predisposed to illness such as when you are away on holiday. People have also reported that probiotics are very helpful for those who suffer from IBS, IBD, and other gastrointestinal conditions. If you want to know more, or where to buy Symprove, visit their website at www.symprove.com

Revolutionary Improvement in Stability for All Walking Devices

Of course when I say all walking devices I am excluding legs, but this British invention is a great boon to everything else you might use to help you from zimmer frames to shower stoolls and Nordic Walking Poles. Flexyfoot promises to do for them, and crutches and walking sticks, what Dyson has done for the vacuum cleaner, but sadly without the eliminating of the dust bunnies.

If you have ever used any of these devices you will know that they can have two disadvantages: impact as they strike the floor and a tendency slip on some surfaces. Flexyfoot is designed to replace the old fashioned ferrule (or rubber tip) on these aids as it claims to give 50 per cent more grip on floors and ground surfaces than ferrules, particularly on wet areas, and eases the significant aches and pains associated with constant stress and impact on joints.

If you like to know how it works then Flexyfoot uses suspension technology to provide improved grip and shock absorbency. When the user leans on their aid, small bellows pivot to maximise the surface area of the foot with the ground. This dramatically improves friction and reduces slippage. At the same time the air in the bellows is progressively pressurised to absorb impact and shock that would otherwise be transferred to the user.

Another important feature is its patented air-sprung technology, which means that it bends and can rotate 360 degrees independently, enabling the user to twist and turn to reduce the stress applied to arm and shoulder joints.

The designer, David Goodwin, was motivated to create this because he has a sister with MS, and his 95 year old mother complained to him about the difficulties and discomfort of using their walking sticks, particularly that the rubber feet wore down much too quickly and were difficult to change. Developed over three years, it has been trialled via a pioneering orthopaedic surgery unit and tested to destruction and is designed to perform perfectly at temperatures of -25 degrees Celsius should you happen to live north of the border, or in Scandinavia.

It is simple to fit, even for weaker hands, and has a non-marking, easy-to-clean tread designed to eliminate stones and mud, meaning less mess inside. And when they do finally wear down, replacement feet are screwed on in seconds.

If this sounds like something that would help you, or someone you know, Flexyfoot is available from www.flexyfoot.com, freefone 0800 0285 888 and selected retailers, chemists and mobility shops. It’s not expensive either as the recommended retail price is £12.99, which is a small price to pay such a big improvement in safety and comfort.

Home Device For Detecting Breast Abnormalities

A new hand held device for women to use at home as part of their regular monthly self examination can actually view the inside of their breasts to detect abnormalities and cancers. Developed in the UK, is now commercially available, and could prove invaluable for early detection and particularly useful for women with a family history of breast cancer.

A trial recently took place at the symptomatic breast clinic at Sunderland City Hospital which involved 300 women and was designed to assess whether a UK device, Breastlight, could accurately detect abnormalities and cancers. It works by shining a very bright but harmless red LED light through breast tissue where veins and other blood vessels show up as dark lines, often referred to as the ‘map’ of the breast. This is normal, but if a woman detects other dark spots or shadows, this is generally an indication that there is an abnormality. Of course there may be nothing to worry about such as a benign lesion like a bruise or blood filled cyst or it may require further investigation

The researchers found that it could detect malignancies as small as 7 mm and presented this data at the European Institute of Oncology’s 12th Milan Breast Cancer Conference. confirms that Breastlight, a device for women to use at home when carrying out their breast health awareness routine, detects malignant tumours, picking up lesions as small as 7mm.

The women in the trial had all been referred by their G P for a breast assessment and they were examined with Breastlight before their standard clinical assessment. The findings were then compared to those seen with mammography, ultrasound and biopsy. Breastlight was highly effective as it:

• detected 12 out of 18 malignant tumours which were then confirmed as positive using biopsy (giving a sensitivity of 67%)

• correctly identified as negative 240 out of 282 breasts (giving a specificity of 85%)

• detected malignant tumours as small as 7mm (it is generally accepted that malignancies below 1.8cm are non-palpable)

• detected a number of variants of cancers regardless of age or density of breast tissue or menopausal status of women1

The researchers were impressed with the sensitivity and specificity of the Breastlight device though of course it should not in any way replace mammography but that can provide an early warning as part of an early warning screening routine as it can reliably pick up abnormal lumps which can be further investigated to assess whether benign or malignant. It could also be extremely useful for women who have confirmed recurrent benign cysts and find it difficult to examine themselves.

In addition to trial in Sunderland, Breastlight usage has been evaluated at-home in a User Study involving over 1,200 women that reported it encouraged breast examination, at recommended frequency levels, and gave women confidence in their breast examination. 80% of women said they felt more confident when using Breastlight in addition to their existing routine and it increased the frequency of examination considerably.

It is not intended to replace but to augment regular self examination, backed up by regular mammograms. You should find it in major Boots stores, online at www.breastlight.com or at www.boots.com with a recommended price of 84.99 – not cheap, but as an early warning system for cancer it could prove priceless.

Why Cider Vinegar Should Be In Your Medicine/Kitchen Cabinet

If you only ever use vinegar on your chips, or open the balsamic bottle to make a salad dressing, then you are missing a trick. Diabetes, bad breath, constipation or weight loss are all on the list of conditions that have been helped by using this simple kitchen. As economy is the watchword for all of us at the moment it makes sense to go back to tried and trusted – and well established- folk remedies and this one goes as far back as Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, in ancient Greece. He was the first to discover and record that natural apple cider vinegar is a powerful cleansing and healing substance that can promote health, vigour and a longer life.

He used it to treat coughs and colds as well as a variety of illnesses as did the Babylonians, the Egyptians and the Chinese for its ability to eliminate germs and as a medicinal and cleaning agent. Students of the Bible will probably remember that it was used to flavour foods, and as medicine and, like tea tree oil, it has been much favoured by armies including that of Julius Caesar and soldiers in the American Civil War.

The very best kind to use is natural, organic, raw vinegar which is made from fresh, crushed apples which are then allowed to mature naturally in wooden barrels as wood seems to boost the natural fermentation. This type of organic, apple cider vinegar contains 30 important nutrients, 12 minerals (including potassium), over six vitamins, essential acids, and enzymes. As a folk remedy it has been used for insect bites, sunburn, digestion and bowel functions, headaches, arthritic pain, weight loss, urinary tract infections, itching and other skin conditions.

Certainly it has been extremely popular as a weight loss aid, being mentioned even in Georgette Heyer novels as remedy for obesity. If you want to try it, then dilute 2 spoons of apple cider and 1 spoon honey in a big glass of warm water and drink it after breakfast. That might seem odd, but skipping breakfast is never a good idea and an empty stomach is not best equipped to handle the acidity of the vinegar.

If you have been buying expensive, chemical, mouthwashes to combat bad breath then try adding 1/2 tablespoon vinegar to a cup of water and gargle the mixture in your mouth for 10 seconds at a time until the cup is empty.

For diabetics, cider vinegar is said to help control the rise in blood sugar levels that occur when you eat a meal. To counteract this, mix 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a pinch of salt in it and mix it in a glass of water and drink it before you have a meal.

Constipation is a regular feature in many people’s lives and the cause can often be found in our Western diet. Apple cider vinegar contains significant amounts of pectin, which is a water soluble fiber that helps to improve digestion by normalizing the acid levels in the stomach and so helps restore natural bowel movements. A simple remedy is add 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar to a glass of water, and drink three times a day. If you don’t like the taste, though I find this particular type of vinegar quite palatable, you can add it to Apple or grape juice and some additional sweetness.

The fragrant way to a good night’s sleep

I am not a fan of sleeping pills, except in extreme need and for short term use as their side effects can outweigh the benefits.

There are many natural ways to help sleep from herbal concoctions to specially designed light systems, but now there is an entirely fragrant way that apparently can soothe, relieve anxiety and promote sleep with the same mechanism of action and strength as the commonly prescribed barbiturates.

Just what is this miracle worker? It is the aroma of jasmine from Gardenia jasminoides and has been researched by Düsseldorf  University where they have discovered that the two fragrances Vertacetal-coeur (VC) and the chemical variation (PI24513) have the same molecular structure as barbiturates.

Who said you can’t make money out of nature? Well it appears that these researchers will as they have been granted a patent for their discovery, as they reported in the current online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Sedatives, sleeping pills and relaxants are the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs and strange as it may seem the difference between calming and hypnotic effect depends solely on the dosage, not on the drug itself. Benzodiazepines, which are now among the world’s most widely prescribed drugs, are given to help relax the body so that it can drift naturally of sleep. Unfortunately, they are not only potentially addictive, but can also cause serious side effects including depression, dizziness, hypotension, muscle weakness and impaired coordination.

The researchers carried out a large screening study in which they tested hundreds of fragrances but it was just the two mentioned that proved to be effective. Of course this is something that serious aromatherapy student have known for many years but it is good to see science catching up and acknowledging that fragrances have a definite, measurable effect on the body. We absorb fragrance throughout skin and through the air breathed in, and the scent molecules go from the lungs into the blood and then transmitted from there to the brain.

The researchers concluded that their results can also be seen as evidence of a scientific basis for aromatherapy, so all you fans of aromatherapy massage have been vindicated — as if you needed it. So rather than the traditional lavender or camomile that you may have been using to ease yourself into sleep you could now try adding the rather more exotic fragrance of jasmine.

A Healthier Way To Fry?

Carotino oil comes from red palm fruit – the world’s richest natural plant source of carotenes – and gives the oil a slightly reddish hue. I was a little startled by this on first using it to cook, but this shows it is an entirely natural product and that the Pro-Vitamin A hasn’t been processed out. When used in cooking can make a substantial contribution towards the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of both Pro-Vitamin A and Vitamin E for adults. The vitamin E is important as it helps to rid the body of free radicals and protect it from cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease and other serious illness.

However there are two forms of vitamin E that each serve a unique purpose: tocopherols and tocotrienols. While tocopherols are the most common form, tocotrienols are just now beginning to emerge as being approximately 50 times more potent than tocopherols. Recent studies have shown that they distribute themselves more evenly than tocopherols do in the fatty layers of cell membranes and are effective at preventing and treating serious degenerative diseases like cancer, stroke-induced injuries, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Many foods and oils are rich in tocopherols, but few contain significant levels of tocotrienols. In fact, most of the popular oils used in food preparation – olive, soybean, safflower, sunflower, corn, cotton and peanut – contain only tocopherols. The only oil that contains significant levels is palm fruit oil which is composed of 30 percent tocopherols and 70 percent tocotrienols. The oil is extracted from the flesh of the palm fruit, and is said to be the most widely used oil in the world, and althoughit may be new to the UK market, is well established in Malaysia, Japan, the USA, Australia and South Africa. You don’t need to go quite that far afield as I found it in the natural foods section of my local Co-op supermarket and can report that if you are frying food, particularly sautéed potatoes, it does give them a lovely golden colour.

Natural Help For Arthritis from Rosehips

I am showing my age here, but as a child at school we used to collect rose hips every autumn and were paid a vast sum – a penny a pound I think – to hand them in. Child labour laws no doubt prevent that now, but with their very high level of antioxidants and vitamin C they have a range of uses – and a new one is in treating arthritis.

With 1 in 4 adults being diagnosed with either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, and it accounting for 1 in 5 GP consultations, it is obviously a serious problem with up to 9 million people being affected in some way. Trials have confirmed the effectiveness of rosehips to help with the side effects of arthritis such as inflammation, reduced movement, and associated pain. Research supports the benefit of taking a rosehip supplement whether you suffer from the general wear-and-tear, or the potentially more crippling rheumatoid arthritis, which occurs when the immune system attacks the joints.

Three short-term clinical trials confirmed the benefits of rosehips as an effective pain reliever in those suffering from osteoarthritis and additional research in Denmark and Germany established that those with rheumatoid arthritis showed a marked reduction in the number of joints experiencing pain or discomfort.

We don’t know exactly why rosehips benefit those with arthritis but rosehips in general are known to help maintain a healthy heart, and to lower cholesterol levels. We do know that because rosehips are an ultra-rich source of anti-inflammatory glycosides, which along with the antioxidant properties they have seem to beneficial to those experiencing joint problems, such as arthritis.

If you want to give it a try, and I am certainly doing so, then there is a new Rosehip Extract supplement from Lifeplan that provides 100mg of rosehip extract, equivalent to 2000mg of dried rosehip fruit. These high strength capsules are approved by the Vegan Society and should be in your local health store, if not visit the website at www.lifeplan.co.uk and don’t forget the other two key arthritis elements: a good diet and regular exercise. An excellent book for arthritis sufferers is ‘Say No To Arthritis’ by Patrick Holford which will give you plenty of tips and ideas on coping – and alleviating – the condition.

Diabetes Help from the Baby Jackfruit

The figures for diabetes in the UK are worrying, and increasing. There are currently 2.3 million people diagnosed with diabetes and more than 500,000 believed to have the condition but aren’t aware of it. Within 15 year, at the current rate of increase, it is thought that there will be an additional 1.3 million people with the condition which is the equivalent of a 46% increase.

Like many conditions, diabetes can be helped by a dressing diet and lifestyle. One new element on the horizon is the Baby Jackfruit – an unusual and interesting red skinned fruit from Asia which has been seen to have potential health benefits for diabetes sufferers.

Baby Jackfruit, is known as the ‘fruit from heaven’, and is used for food and medicinal purposes across Southeast Asia. It is hardly ever seen in Europe because it fruits only once a year and so is found mainly in local markets at the right time of year.

Recent studies have shown that Baby Jackfruit has been found to be very high in a molecule called beta-carotene, which is a vegetable form of Vitamin A and it is thought that many diabetics suffer from a lack of this nutrient due to poor diets. There are a number of studies that indicate vitamin A may be beneficial for those suffering with diabetes and a clinical trial on 52 healthy volunteers showed that there is a distinct relationship between the amount of Vitamin A you have in your body and the speed at which the body can dispose of glucose. This could potentially be valuable for type 2 diabetes sufferers as it is the inability to break down glucose, and hence its high levels in the blood, that can cause health problems.

Jackfruit contains by far the highest content of beta-carotene of any known fruit or vegetable, 10 times higher than carrots for example and research has confirmed that the beta-carotene (Vitamin A) it contains is highly bioavailable to humans. In a double-blind study, based on 185 subjects, people were either given 3.5mg of beta-carotene from Baby Jackfruit, or an identical looking preparation of 5mgof beta-carotene powder. After 30 days, the former group, eating natural beta-carotene from the Baby Jackfruit, had significantly greater plasma (blood) levels of beta-carotene than the latter, who used synthetic beta-carotene.

Another benefit of eating vegetables rich in carotenoids, such as beta-carotene found in Baby Jackfruit, is that they are thought to help protect against raised blood glucose levels and may well be a preventative factor in hyperglycemia. This benefit of the metabolism of glucose from eating carotenoids from fruit and vegetables has also been shown in men at high risk of type 2 diabetes, and so may well help in the disease developing in the first place.

You may well struggle to find it in your local supermarket, though if you have a good Asian market you may be lucky enough to find it there. If you are interested in trying it, then a supplement is probably going to be your best bet. If your local health store can’t help you, then the first one available in the UK can be obtained at www.drinkherbaltea.co.uk as capsules that contain baby jackfruit oil that is naturally extracted.

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