Expanding a bit on this topic.....
Its difficult to fully comprehend the numbers of equivalent people from six jumbo jets falling daily out of the skyin the quote Erling brought forth from Death by Medicine and its extremely alarming that a Harvard-educated MD would be offering such deadly mis-advice on Coenzyme Q10. (1, 2)
Its also tragic to consider the 3 million needless cancer deaths (this is 112,000 Americans over 27 years) because it is illegal to promote aspirin as a cancer preventive. Along with that, the FDA dilutes what can be said about the effects of aspirin reducing heart attacks.
The current issue of Life Extension magazine (May 2011) has on the cover an aspirin tablet and the words...Three million needless cancer deaths - Courtesy of the FDA.
The introduction:
Back in 1983, Life Extension strongly advised aging people to take aspirin each day. The FDA responded by threatening criminal charges. A new Oxford University analysis conclusively shows that low-dose aspirin slashes overall cancer death risk by 20%. The result of FDA censorship is that millions of Americans died needlessly of cancer and vascular diseases. (3)
This article goes on to report that researchers found low-dose aspirin therapy reduces risk of cancer death by 20% and colorectal cancer death risk by nearly 40%.
The cancer-preventive benefit increases with age, especially effective for those over 55
The cancer-fighting power increases with time, requiring a minimum of 5 years for benefits to manifest and reaching peak power at 10 years.
Aspirin works by beneficially modulating or suppressing the activity of the pro-inflammatory enzyme cycllooxygenase (Cox 2)
youve all heard of prescription
.Cox 2 inhibitors
They observe that there is a low side effect risk and recommend natural interventions to minimize aspirins potential side effects
including zinc carnosine as polaprezinc and extracts of cranberry and licorice.
Drug companies are already developing pharmacologically similar drugs
no more effective than aspirin and (of course) far more costly than aspirin
and more dangerous than Cox-2 inhibitors. (excerpts from page 53 of the LEF article)
During the requisite colonoscopy, its not uncommon for polyps to be discovered. My initial scope 25 years ago, detected two polyps one was adenomatous, which were removed and on the return checkback a year later, another removed. Never once did the GI MD recommend that I use aspirin as a preventive. Yet
according to this LEF article, in people with adenomatous polyps, aspirin therapy reduces the risk of recurrence. (3)
In another segment, the article refers to the war between the FDA and LEF (for promoting aspirin use as a preventive)
they note
It took the FDA 15 years to acknowledge what was clearly established in 1983 about aspirins ability to reduce heart attack risk. To this day, the FDA continues to censor what aspirin manufacturers are permitted to say about its effects in reducing cardiac and ischemic stroke events.
While preparing the article, LEF found studies indicating anti-cancer mechanisms for aspirin dating back to 1972 with significant data published in 1991. LEF concludes this failure of the FDA to allow widespread promotion of low-dose aspirin for prevention has clearly resulted in millions of premature deaths.
Then as an interesting and refreshing contrast:
An article offered by the Editorial Review Board of Orthomolecular Medicine,
No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs
. Poison Control Statistics Prove Supplements Safety.
(Townsend Letter April 2010) (4)
There was not even one death caused by a dietary supplement in 2008, according to the most recent information collected by the US National Poison Data System (NPDS). The new 174-page annual report of The American Association of Poison Control Centers, published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins, zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D or E and zero deaths from any other vitamin.
The report continues
No deaths from:
Any amino acid or herbal product
meaning bluecosh, Echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, kava kava, St. Johns wort, Valerian, yohimbe, Asian medicine, Ayurvedic medicines or any other botanical
Zero deaths from creatine, blue-green algae, glucosamine, chondroitin, melatonin or any homeopathic remedies
Zero deaths in 2008 from any dietary mineral supplement
. Including calcium, magnesium, chromium, zinc, colloidal silver, selenium, iron or multiminerals
They did acknowledge that two children died as a result of medical use of the antacid sodium bicarbonate and in the Other Electrolyte and Mineral category a death was due to a mans accidentally drinking sodium hydroxide, a highly toxic degreaser and drain opener.
No man, woman or child died from nutritional supplements. Period.
Sixty-one poison centers provide the NPDS cost-to-coast days which is then reviewed by 28 medical and clinical toxicologists.
The report says: "Over half the US population takes daily nutritional supplements. Even if each of those people took only one single tablet daily, that makes 154,000,000 individual doses per day for a total of over 56 billion doses annually. Since many people take more than just one vitamin or mineral table, actual consumption is obviously, considerably higher
and the safety of nutritional supplements is all the more remarkable."
Conclusion: If nutritional supplements are allegedly so dangerous as the FDA and news medial so often claim
then where are the bodies?
Those who wonder if the media are biased against vitamins may consider this: How many television stations, newspapers, magazines and medical journals have reported that no one dies from nutritional supplements?
A year ago in Townsend (April 2010) in his Review of the Literature column, Contributing Medical Editor, Alan R. Gaby, MD, offered an observation based on his extensive medical career in response to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal written by the President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, who said the current shortage of physicians would grow substantially worse as the population ages and as the health-care bill expands coverage to 30 million more Americans. The CEOs solution was for medical schools to increase class size and for the US government to increase funding to support new residency training programs.(5)
Dr. Gabys response was to recall a case history of an 11-year old boy who was being treated by a rheumatologist for rheumatoid arthritis, a gasteroenterologist for severe abdominal pain and a neurologist for daily migraines. Dr. Gabys initial observation was that each condition could be caused by a food allergy and advised this boy to follow a rotation diet followed by individual food challenges. It was found he was allergic to corn and when all corn products were eliminated, the boy became symptom free and no longer needed the three specialists.
Dr. Gabys work with countless other patients seeing multiple doctors for multiple symptoms and has found in many cases, the symptoms are successfully treated with natural medicine approaches such as dietary modifications nutritional supplements or low doses of thyroid hormones which resulted in the reduction of seeing multiple specialists and reduced greatly the need for patients to receive ongoing care.
He concludes One might reasonable argue (with no disrespect intended) that we do not have a doctor shortage, but rather a shortage of doctors who know how to get people well.
Jackie
References:
(1)"As few as 5% and no more than 20% of iatrogenic events are ever reported.[25,27-30] This implies that if medical errors were completely and accurately reported, we would have an annual iatrogenic death toll much higher than 783,936. In 1994, Leape said his figure of 180,000 medical mistakes resulting in death annually was equivalent to three jumbo-jet crashes every two days.[25] Our considerably higher figure is equivalent to six jumbo jets falling out of the sky each day."
These are the guys that through their "practice" of pretended medical expertise kill the equivalent of 6 jumbo-jet loads of patients every single day. Don't believe it? That is the number you get by dividing yearly Deaths by Medicine (very conservatively 783,936) by 365 (= 2,148 deaths-by-medicine/day). Jumbo-jets carry ~350 passengers. Please get smart about what is paraded as "health care":
Death by Medicine
[
www.afibbers.org]
(2) Response to Jeff in the More on CoQ10 post, following are a couple more interesting observations.
<[
www.afibbers.org]>
Here's a response to a question on CoQ10 I could not believe my eyes...!!!
Answer
Dear Barbara,
Cardiologists think CoQ10 is worthless. I wouldn't add it.
Statins may lower the level in the blood, but not in the heart where CoQ acts.
It's o.k. to try stopping the atenolol. Take 25 mg once a day for a week, then 12.5 once a day for a week, then stop. Watch your blood pressure a and pay attention to whether your sluggishness improves. If your blood pressure gets too hign, start the atenolol back at full dosage right away.
Please let me know if your sluggishness improves when you're off atenolol. I kind of doubt it. And of course write back any time you think I could help.
David Richardson (MD) from Harvard
[
en.allexperts.com]
(3)Response to Jake on Lyme Disease, quoted from a recent Life Extension publication regarding aspirin use.
A thought about the FDA approval statement.)
FDA aspirin.
<[
www.afibbers.org]>
[
www.lef.org]
Flossmann E. Rothhwell PM. Effects of aspirin on long-term risk of colorectal cancer: consistent evidence from randomized and observational studies. Lancet 2007 May 12: 369 (9573):1603-13.
(4) No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs
. Poison Control Statistics Prove Supplements Safety.
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients April 2010) page 16.
Subscrptions:www.townsendletter.com
Full article/Report from the NPDS [
www.aapcc.org] See 1052-1053 and 1047-1048
(5) Kirch DG. How to Fix the Doctor Shortage. Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2010:A17