Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby's Total Health Newsletter #42. Week ending Mar 21st, 2010
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Menu:
- What Are Clinical Trials Really For?
- Anything On Parkinsons Doc?
- Did MS Originate Centuries Ago?
- Classic Shifting The Blame
- My Son's Carrot Halva Recipe
- What's In A Word?
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This Week's Quote:
"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much."
Oscar Wilde, Victorian wit and writer.
1. What Are Clinical Trials Really For?
Did you know that less than one-third of drug studies published in major medical journals ever address the question: what is best for the patient?
This fact was hammered home yet again by an article published March 10th 2010 in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). It found that only 32% of the drugs studied were evaluated for patient effectiveness among existing drugs. And predictably, very few studies (11%) compared an existing drug to non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercize, diet and lifestyle changes.
The majority of clincial trials were simply to try to demonstrate some effect from newly developed compounds. Perhaps that's what you thought clinical trials were for: testing new drugs. But why just that? Medical knowledge is so scant and primitive, we could spend decades just trying to establish the relative merits and the most effective uses for what we've already got!
You know why the push for testing new substances, of course: profits. But isn't medicine supposed to be about patient care, not pharmaceutical company care?
A focus on comparative effectiveness follows the US government's attempts to gain the most from scarce health-care dollars, and in 2009 Congress earmarked over $1 billion for this type of research.
But they are going to have to shake up the way things are done and I wouldn't hold my breath for it.
The important point is that new-drug research doesn't help the frontline doctor make decisions.
In a press release from the Cambridge Health Alliance, the study author Dr. Michael Hochman, of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, explained that "Research on new therapies is critical for scientific advancement, but we also need data that will help doctors use existing therapies appropriately. We need research that addresses questions such as: Which of the more than 30 blood pressure medications on the market works best and in whom? Are certain diets and exercise regimens as good as medications for controlling cholesterol? Is it safe to aim for normal blood sugar levels when treating patients with diabetes? Such information is critical for day-to-day medical decision-making."
Sensible doctors are saying "Let's stop merely addressing whether medication 'x' is better than medication 'y' and turn to a wider look at things, such as: How can we use this medication more effectively? When is this medication better than surgery? Which among two effective approaches is the safest?"
Well, to that I would add: does this patient need drugs? Or would diet and lifestyle changes fix the problems? 99% of the time, the answer is yes.
[asource: Cambridge Health Alliance, news release, March 9, 201]
2. Anything On Parkinson's Doc?
Correspondent Al Marsan asked if I have anything on Parkinson's. Yes I do.
I used to treat Parkinson's with IV glutathione. I saw crippled cases get up out of their wheelchair, walk around for a few hours and then relapse into paralysis. It is startling to observe.
I got the idea from Dr. David Perlmutter, in Florida. You can check out his book "Brain Recovery.Com" and his website www.brainrecovery.com
It was a difficult treatment for me to maintain. The glutathione had to be flown over from the USA, kept chilled (not frozen) and was a problem at customs. The end-result cost was too much for most patients to bear and I wasn't getting paid much either. But it was a fascinating time and has told me a lot about Parkinsonism.
We now know that it is highly associated with chemical poisoning, particularly pesticides. Parkinsonism is very prevalent in rural communities where farmers spray crops a great deal.
Couple that with the fact that glutathione is our #1 detox molecule and you'll see there is the beginnings of a theory here. I just wish I had research money to pursue it. Big Pharma, with the dollars, isn't going to spend money investigating a natural, unpatentable molecule.
Meantime, in this toxic overloaded world of ours, everyone needs scad loads of glutathione in circulation. One glutathione molecule is lost for every toxic molecule removed. So everyone PLEASE take a minimum of 100 mg of alpha-lipoic acid and 250 of N-acetyl cysteine as precursors to glutathione.
SAMe is another good source but expensive and I believe Americans can't get it easily, even though it occurs naturally in our bodies! It's used as a major anti-depressant in Europe and elsewhere, where Big Pharma hasn't got a grip on everything. Take 200- 800 mg, depending on what you can afford. For depression, you can double those doses.
Swallowing glutethione just doesn't work, as we found out in the 1980s. Liposomal administration of oral glutathione is being touted. I'm not convinced and wouldn't rely on it.
3. Did MS Originate centuries Ago?
Saint Lidwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) is a Dutch saint. At age 15, Lidwina was ice skating when she fell and broke a rib. She never recovered and became progressively invalid for the rest of her life. She was beatified and became the parton saint of skating. The American Figure Skating Association has a medal featuring an image of St. Lidwina.
Her biographers state that she became paralyzed except for her left hand and that great pieces of her body fell off, and that blood poured from her mouth, ears, and nose. To me this sounds like a natural detox process (sneezing, diarrhea, pus and at times bleeding are all basically Nature's way of eliminating toxins).
For 34 years after her injury, Lidwina's condition slowly deteriorated, although with apparent periods of remission, until her death at the age of 53. Together these factors suggest that a posthumous diagnosis of MS may be plausible, therefore dating MS back to the 14th century. Logically, MS discoordination may have led to her fall in the first place.
But I believe that she actually had lead poisoning. Not classical but far more likely in The Low Countries at that time. In the 15th century and for long afterwards pottery glazes contained massive amounts of lead. Glass crystal was up to 25% lead crystal. Pottery glazes may contain over 40% lead by weight.
Alcohol and fruit (which is acid, despite what the alkalinizers claim) easily dissolved lead from the pottery or leaded crystal. That's a warning which remains true today, by the way. Take care. Americans should know to avoid Mexican pottery for cooking, because of it's lead content.
Of course, it could have been deliberate lead poisoning. The advantages of the metal as an invisible and slow-acting poison were not lost on the Lucrezia Borgias and Catherine de Medicis of Renaissance Europe. Lead was known to be extremely useful for eliminating inconvenient relatives. In fact, the world-weary French jokingly referred to the metal as poudre de la succession -- or succession powder.
Bleeding from the orifices is not consistent with MS as a diagnosis. But lead interference with metals in metabolism, notably enzyme cofactors, can certainly result in a bleeding tendency. Lead interacts with iron, calcium and zinc and can displace these metals. Calcium is essential for blood clotting.
You've probably read me saying that MS appears to have started in the 1820s, about the time mercury dental amalgams came into the ascendancy. There is no verified diagnosis before that time.
I'd love to play "historical detective" - but where's the market in that?
For a full on metal detox, including getting out lead and mercury, you need Intestinal Metal Detox (IMD), a brilliant new product developed by Chris Shade. I'll cover that next week.
4. Classic Shifting The Blame
Never admit your drug is crap; that's the Big Pharam rule. No matter how many people get hurt, stick to your guns and try to deflect blame.
Except for citizens of the Planet Zod, everyone knows that bisphosphonates (drugs like Fosamax) cause jaw necrosis. Why would ANYBODY take that stuff? Do doctors force them at gun point or are patients just stupid?
Now it emerges that, far from enhancing bone strength, it causes unusual fractures of major bones. Was it withdrawn on the instant? Was it hell... That would hurt the poor, suffering share holders, who have a lot to endure in this economic downturn.
Let's deflect the concern and blame onto some other drugs, says the Women’s Health Advisor newsletter from Weill Cornell Medical College (bought and paid for by drug company funds, no doubt). There could be effects from other medications on your bones (true, by the way, but that's no excuse in this context).
For example, corticosteroids inhibit calcium absorption, impair bone formation and accelerate bone breakdown. Anticonvulsants can cause vitamin D deficiency.
Other drugs linked to bone loss include synthetic thyroid hormones, aluminum-containing antacids such as Maalox and Mylanta, proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium and Prilosec, some diuretics and some antibiotics.
Then there are sugary soda drinks with phosphoric acid. Let's face it, our bones are under siege.
Throw in the fact that tranquilizers, antidepressants, blood pressure medications and sedatives can increase your risk of falling and so hurting yourself and bisphophonates suddenly seem pretty innocent!
What these stupid dodos will not admit is that bone density is mainly a nutritional matter. I don't mean calcium; I mean magnesium, boron, strontium, then maybe calcium and all the other nutrients that feed bone, which is a living, growing tissue. Bone needs good food to perform well, like any other part of our bodies.
The other factor is physical activity. So it comes back, as always, to lifestyle!
5. My Son's Carrot Halva/Fudge Recipe
My son is in town for a couple of weeks. He's a top professional chef, having worked in Michelin starred restaurants. We are keen to see what new recipes he has for us.
The first I'm pleased to share with you. It's carrot halva. Halva (or halawa, aluva, chalwa and many other names) refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, the Balkans, and the Jewish world. It's based on farina or ground nuts and tahini (tahini is sesame seed paste).
Magnus' treat is totally different and based on a vegetable. Actually, it's a kind of carrot fudge! It's delicious, trust me!
Carrot Halva/Fudge Cake
2lb/1kg Grated Raw Carrot
4oz Butter
4oz Sugar
1 tbsp Ground Cardomon
400ml Tin Coconut Milk
4oz Ground Cashew Nuts
Nutrition: This is a great way to turn a healthy vegetable, such as the carrot, into a very tasty sweet treat which is ideal for a packed lunch or picnic. It can also be eaten as a coffee or tea snack. Packed with carrots rich in vitamin-A and lutein, both very good for eyesight and protecting against macular degeneration. Carrots are also rich in beta-carotene, an excellent anti-oxidant. Even more powerful are the anthocyanins found in purple carrots. They are also rich in glutathione, calcium and potassium. There aren’t many fudge recipes that could be said to be good for you……. Or as tasty!
Method:
1. Put the carrots and the butter into a good size heavy bottom saucepan over a low heat.
2. You need to cook the carrots slowly until they are very soft.
3. Add the sugar, coconut milk and cardamom and continue cooking at barely a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. Once all the liquid has been absorbed and you are left with a kind of carrot paste it is ready. Don’t worry if it appears ‘oily’. This is because of the fats in the butter and coconut milk.
5. Lastly stir in the ground cashews which will help the halwa set.
6. Line a loaf tin with cling film and squash the halwa into it fimly. Fold over the cling film and refrigerate for several hours or until set.
7. Turn out and cut into squares or slices with a sharp knife.
Store in the refrigerator or it goes soft.
Note: you could probably use erythritol (sugar alcohol), xylitol or (if you dare!) sucralose, for less calories.
Magnus' new website is: HealthyNutritiousRecipes.com
6. What's In A Word?
Inimical
Means cold, hostile and unfriendly. Things inimical to our health we don't like, do we?
Dictionaries point out it comes from the Latin inimicus, unfriendly. That's correct. But none point out that this word in turn comes from in + amicus. Amicus is a friend, as in amicable: friendly, congenial. Amicus gave the Spanish their word amigo, Italian amico and the French ami.
For fun I decided to put inimical into Google and take the first non-dictionary entry. It was a group who are just releasing their latest EP, "FUBAR". That's one word (FUBAR) that I won't be defining in this column. Nasty bunch of dead heads.
So, that's all for this week!
Be well; find the sacred in all you do, otherwise don't do it!
Prof.
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