(Part 2) Top products from r/Health

>why do so many doctors stand behind these drugs, the money?

That's one big reason among several, yes. Maybe not money directly, but there are always the nice little gifts, the friendly sales rep with his helpful "research" to save them time chasing down and analysing debate between researchers, and the corporate-sponsored medical conferences in exotic countries etc (I personally know a doctor who loves going on these every year). There's also the little item that if your research funding comes from corporations and "non-profit" organisations with funding links to the corporate world, you are less likely to want to bite the hand that feeds you.

Re the logic, isn't it pretty obvious? You have a drug that is supposed to promote heart health which actually puts it at risk. I feel sorry for the trusting people who suffered or perhaps even died before it was realised that statin-induced Co-enzyme Q10 deficiency causes serious harm. And the problems of statins aren't just related to CoQ10. Statins suppress one of the precursors of CoQ10 and cholesterol, HMG-CoA reductase. That enzyme is a precursor about half a dozen steps prior to cholesterol - which means that about five other substances besides cholesterol are suppressed when a statin drug is present. Cholesterol of course is used to make other things, like the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Like bile, which helps with the absorbtion of fat and the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Like the "stress hormone" cortisol. Cholesterol is also a precursor for the body's synthesis of Vitamin D (so lowering it not only retards absorbtion of Vitamin D through food, but also retards your skin generating Vitamin D when sunshine hits it). Vitamin D is needed for proper bone mineralisation, and is also believed to have an anti-cancer effect. As well as the liver, the brain manufactures cholesterol but Lipitor can cross the blood-brain barrier and stop production there too. As cholesterol comprises a significant portion of the brain and is necessary for proper mental function, it is no wonder that slowness, forgetfulness, and even transient global amnesia are known symptoms of statin use.

I am related to someone who is taking Lipitor right now. He is taking co-enzyme Q10 and still suffering muscular aches and pains, and cannot raise his arms above shoulder-level any more, the pain is so great if he tries. He also suffers from an overwhelming tiredness shortly after taking his fix, and becomes a little slow at following the thread of conversations. His faith in his personal doctor is absolute, and no matter how many books written by DOCTORS I place in front of him to read, his faith in Lipitor and his Medical Priest sustain him like some sort of cult, even though I see it wearing him down before my despairing eyes. Interestingly, the white-coated Priest has been presented with Dr Graveline's first book on Lipitor, and did not choose to contend with it at all. His response to his patient was that "the choice to stop or continue taking it is yours".

When you learn from members of the international medical community that high cholesterol has not been proven as the cause of heart disease and how the stated reason for using statins is flawed by politics, profit and junk science, and there is no medically useful reason to take these dangerous statin drugs at all, you tend to want to boil over in fury.

Some books for you to check out:

The Great Cholesterol Con, by Malcolm Kendrick MD (2007)

The Cholesterol Myths, by Uffe Ravnskov MD PhD (2000, 2002)

The Great Cholesterol Con, by Anthony Colpo (2006) - forward by Ravnskov & contains nearly 1500 citations to medical journals and research trial reports.

Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol, by Mary Enig PhD (2000) - a bit dry for the lay reader, plunges into lipid chemistry, but highly informative. Enig was among researchers who became concerned about trans fats way back in the 1970s.

The Heart Revolution: The Extraordinary Discovery That Finally Laid the Cholesterol Myth to Rest, by Kilmer Mccully MD & Martha Mccully (2000)

Lipitor: Thief of Memory, by Duane Graveline MD (2006)

Statin Drugs Side Effects and the Misguided War on Cholesterol, by Duane Graveline MD (2008)

Those books have plenty of academic and scientific citations for you to seek further.

Just a few points:

1. they are "patentable", every innovative pharmaceutical or biotech product is.
   
2. oncology business is already pretty big, they don't want to destroy or shake too much this booming market. That's why development is pursued to treat and not to cure.
   
3. the majority of people expect to have magic pills for everything when actually everyone should be more or less capable to be their own doctor, meaning to have common sens when it comes to being healthy.
   
   You should read "the truth about drug companies"

First, let me say, I cannot really provide a solution for you, but I can share what has worked for me. I have not been as overweight as you but I have at times in my life been significantly overweight (not in mass but in % body fat) and as I am becoming older, I had found it increasingly difficult to control. My point is, you need to try things to see what works for you. Keep a daily journal of how you feel (energy, attention, brain function, etc) so you can do some experiments on yourself.

What has worked for me is adopting (what appears to be the latest fad) the paleo/evolutionary fitness model for diet and exercise. I eat little or no processed foods (e.g. read Pollan, and other rules of thumb...if it doesn't spoil, don't eat it, never shop in the inside area of the supermarket, if it comes out of a box, don't eat it, etc.). I don't drink soda, juice, or anything with sugars (just unsweetened coffee or tea, water). I eat a lot of meat, eggs, fish (no worries on fat content...my favorite lunch is a sandwich from the local deli called the Three Little Pigs, without the bread, it is smoked ham, pork bbq, and bacon). I eat some dairy, primarily full fat and fermented, like Fage Total plain yogurt (with a little fresh fruit and shredded raw coconut). I eat all my favorite vegetables slathered in full fat butter (from the farm if I can get it). This may sound like a low-carb, Atkins type diet, but it isn't. That isn't to say going low carb won't help you lose fat quickly. Nevertheless, it isn't the main point. The main point is to eat as our ancestors did some 10,000 or more years ago, as evolution has not caught up with our recent use of grains in our diet and certainly not processed foods. Another thing I do is intermittently fast. At first somewhat forced, but now just because I am not hungry. I can typically eat dinner (say around 5pm) and not eat again until around lunch the next day.

As far as exercise, I avoid long aerobic activities unless in pursuit of yard work, handling the kids, or sport (like tennis). No treadmills, distance running, or biking. I do walk or ride a bike for transportation, but I am not getting winded. I do lift weights, usually once a week, using only large muscle groups and free weights, and very intensely. It takes about 20 minutes, but given its intensity it is brutal...but over quickly. I introduce a bit of randomness into the exercise frequency and variety of exercises (e.g. maybe twice in one week, maybe I will do a bunch of pull-ups one night or push ups). Sprints are intermingled with this, sometimes just as part of playing with the dog. Again, the point is to expose the body to stresses in an irregular but intense pattern, as perhaps were encountered by our ancestors.

The result is that I am probably a month away (after approximately 9 months total) from having washboard abs, I have great energy levels, stamina and focus. I no longer wake up with aching joints. I don't get low energy levels after eating (unless I really stuff myself). Keep in mind, I am in my 40s. I was 210 and very soft and pear shaped when I started, now I am 185 and back to a youthful V shape.
The only negatives I can speak to is a diminished ability to find quick and convenient food sources and missing bread, pasta and a pizza once and a while. I really don't miss sweets, but I don't think I was that hooked on them in the first place.

Finally, let me give the sources that drove me in this direction. Take a look and see if you are interested in trying it. As I said, I can't say that it will work for you, but it has worked for me.

Websites:

Art Devany http://www.arthurdevany.com/ Evolutionary Fitness

Keith Norris http://theorytopractice.wordpress.com/

Mark Sisson http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Richard Nikoley http://freetheanimal.com/

Seth Roberts http://blog.sethroberts.net/ (more about self-experimentation and the value of fermented foods)

Weston A. Price Foundation http://www.westonaprice.org/

Books:

Gary Taubes, Good Calories, Bad Calories

Little, McGuff Body by Science

Weston A. Price, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

Mark Sisson The Primal Blueprint

Why do people think that local food is better for the environment? Haven't we moved past this?

> Just look at the cultures in which it is most prevalent, e.g. Israel. Yuck

According to the WHO: Of all men who have been genitally mutilated by what is called 'circumcision':

• 0.8% are Jews
  
• 12.8% are Americans non-{Jews,Muslims}
  
• 68.8% are Muslims
  
  Nevertheless, the Jewish influence in the medical fields and entertainment industries in the U.S. are part of the reason genital mutilation is so rampant there[0][1][2][3]. Of course, the Victorian Christians got the ball rolling on genital mutilation in the U.S., because they wanted to curb masturbation.

Check out this book before going into any cleanse. It's loaded with information regarding what exactly is going on inside your body during a cleanse. It also includes a 3 week cleanse that allows one solid meal and two blended meals, allowing you to continue to hit the gym and go on with normal life. Highly recommended.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062201662/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/182-7828804-4311439?ref_=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us

Read these books: The Field, The Holographic Universe and Hands of Light.

As for you, please provide citation for your side of things.

I'm not a doctor, so I'm not disagreeing with you, but my little booklet about AS says that sacroilitis revealed by STIR MRI has both sensitivity and specificity of 90%. It's also from 2009.

I just recall my rheumatologist that glanced at my MRI evaulation for no more than 5 seconds (before asking me about anything else), and said "It's Bechterew's. 100% certain." :-)

By the way, I paid full price (no insurance involved) for my MRI, but it was not a contrast MRI.

No becuase as the book "Listening to Prosac"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140266712?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

pointed out way back in the 90's the antidepressants actually work whereas there has been no study showing psychotherapy actually effects a positive outcome overall.

Thus most insurance plans dropped or made psychotherapy prohibitively expensive in insurance plans.

Relevant.

This book is for you

Fuck.

FTFY

http://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Oil-Sunscreen-Amazing-Book-ebook/dp/B01D8KGZT8/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Moderate drinking has been shown to extend life.

It is not recommended that you begin drinking a moderate amount, due to the risks of alcoholism.

Citation.

Yes, before work or school would not be the appropriate time to medicate.

You may find this following book helpful The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain. It is certainly different but Howard Stern raves about it having cured his 20+ years of back pain.

I used hyperbole and satire on purpose. At some point I realized I cant even convince people in person, with sources. They WANT to believe the pills will work as it gives them a sense of hope and security. On the surface it appears to be cognitive dissonance, but in reality I have come to believe ignorance is bliss. It is too much a leap of the imagination to even entertain the idea that consumers and their doctors have been mislead for the sake of obedient workers and corporate profits. On a side note, Prozac LITERALLY turns people into zombies, that is not hyperbole.

But fuck it, I can try again. Lucky for the lazy, 2 of 4 sources are videos.

Article 1) The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect (video)

Article 2) Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration


>Conclusion: Drug–placebo differences in antidepressant efficacy increase as a function of baseline severity, but are relatively small even for severely depressed patients. The relationship between initial severity and antidepressant efficacy is attributable to decreased responsiveness to placebo among very severely depressed patients, rather than to increased responsiveness to medication.
Ergo: Antidepressants are no more effective than placebo except in the most statistically extreme cases. In those cases, drugs do not perform better but placebo performs worse.

Article 3) Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America by Robert Whitaker

Article 4) RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson (video)

IF you think I am a crazy loon, click article 4 first, and just watch.

I suggest everyone considering the possibility that their doctors opinion is bought and paid for. Said doctor may not realize they are a pawn and may honestly believe they are helping you. Also understand there is little law requiring they stay up to date on modern studies after they receive their certification. You may be receiving information which has long since been disproven, yet the drug companies have no reason to spread such information.

A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not following you.

Your alternative option is to believe there is no conspiracy. Because they clearly know what they are talking about, and I am a kook/crank. If you cannot even hypothetically enter into a though experiment on the subject and temporary accept my premise for the sake of a socratic dialog, I have wasted my time for the system has already won and you are no longer a free thinker.

tldr: I give up, satire is the only way to push peoples buttons enough to even get them to look into the issue. Even then no one on pills cares enough.

I would like to recommend this book, for anyone who has suicidal thoughts or know some one who tried to commit suicide. It has given me an insight in what a person with suicidal thoughts goes through. It also shines a light on how someone who seems perfectly normal suddenly tries to commit suicide.

http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Alive-Richard-Heckler/dp/0345400356

EDIT: SUICIDE IS NOT AN SELFISH ACT!!

Every other modern industrialized country in the world has had universal healthcare for many years. They all spend half (or less) than the United States on their healthcare -- whether measured as a percent of their country's GDP or measured as a percent of average income. Measurement of quality of healthcare and health is much more subjective, but nearly all studies indicate that the U.S. falls behind these other countries in this area also. Nobody is forced to go bankrupt because of medical situations in these countries. Nobody has to worry how to get medical care for their loved ones who are kicked off of policies after getting sick. There is virtually no organized effort in any of these countries to move toward a system such as we have in the U.S. because they know our system is sick and broken and will never achieve what they have achieved. Their systems were designed and developed by intelligent forward-thinking people. Their various systems work much better than our money-driven, corporations-first system works. For some real information on the subject, please read:

The Healing of America by T.R. Reid

Money-Driven Medicine by Maggie Mahar

*UPDATE - IT IS NOT EBOLA!! - LOCAL PAPER, The StarPhoenix, REPORTS:

"Update: A suspected case of ebola in Saskatchewan has tested negative. The World Health Organization tweeted the results Tuesday morning. "#Canada #Ebola suspect tests NEGATIVE for Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, CCHF, RVF @WHO @pahowho at Winnipeg BSL4 lab," tweeted Gregory Härtl, WHO's head of public relations.

"Lab results from Winnipeg will be officially confirmed by Canada," he also wrote."

Had the patient had Ebola Zaire, as first believed, this could have been a major cluster fuck. Had an Ebola Zaire patient been on an airplane with a group of people then it would be necessary to both isolate and quarantine them.

Early on the patient was incorrectly believed to have the Zaire strain of Ebola, a hemorrhagic disease. The body bleeds out and then turns to a bag of liquid virus. The fatality rate for Ebola Zaire is 9 of 10, there is no known cure and no known effective treatment. It spreads via contact and via aerosol (cough, breathing). Few hospitals have been able to contain Ebola Zaire; lots of nurses and doctors have died trying. Luckily the patient does NOT have Ebola Zaire.

Just finished reading "Virus Hunter" by C. J. Peters and this incident at first read like one of the potential disaster scenarios Peters' describes.