Prescriptions for Health "Fastrack" October, 2011
Monday October 3, 2011
Use of proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix, Aciphex and others were associated with a 320% increase in C. diff enterocolitis after just 30 days of treatment. PPIs block the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron and B12 and increase the risk for osteoporosis, senile dementia, and cardiac rhythm disturbances as well.
Tuesday October 4, 2011
Seniors who take daily aspirin have twice the risk for wet macular degeneration (not for the dry form). The risk increases from 2 cases per 100 people to 4 cases per 100 people. The authors stated that they felt the benefits of fewer heart attacks and strokes outweighed the visual issues. However, no mention of other forms of anticoagulation were considered such as nattokinase, lumbrokinase, ginkgo bliloba, and fish oil. We desperately need comparative clinical trials.
Wednesday October 5, 2011
Many MD's Believe they Overtreat
A survey of US primary care MDs revealed that 42% believe they administer too much medical treatment. The reasons are related to malpractice concerns, clinical performance measures, inadequate time with their patients. They believe that are paid more to do more and exposed to legal punishment if they do less. Medicine is now a business first and a service when convenient or when there's no other choice.
Thursday October 6, 2011
Potatoes are the Richest Veggie Source of Potassium
The potato has gotten a bad rap! It is good for lowering blood pressure and it is the richest and most economical veggie source of potassium. It has many other vitamins, minerals, and nutrients such as vitamin C and catalase. The cost of potassium rich white potatoes was half that of most other veggies. It is what we put on the potato that can get us into trouble. We don't need the trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and other unhealthy condiments. What I like on a potato is a bit of organic butter, flax seed oil, minced garlic, sea salt, and different herbs and spices. One medium sized potato several times a week is a very healthy delight.
Friday October 7, 2011
Serum B12 Levels Do Not Assess Deficiency Adequately
A new study documents that poor vitamin B12 status is a risk factor for brain atrophy and cognitive impairment and highlights the importance of its metabolites that are not routinely assessed. Higher levels of several markers of vitamin B12 deficiency, especially methlmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine, 2-methycitrate, and cystathionine, are associated with low B12 activity. Vitamin B12 is intimately related to energy production, red cell metabolism, protection against cancer and in immune function. Elevated levels of these metabolites was associated with decreased brain volume at 5 years.
Monday October 10, 2011
Health Insurance Premiums Are on the Rise
According to a Kaiser Foundation study, the cost of health insurance premiums continues to climb for companies and workers, with annual family premiums this year (2011) growing at a pace triple of 2010 and outpacing wage increases. Family premiums in employer sponsored health plans increased 9% in 2011 and single premiums increased 8% compared to3% and 5% last year. Since 2001 premiums have increased 113% and now average more than $15,000 per year! 31% of those insured are paying $1000 before insurance even kicks in. One of the few benefits is that young adults under age 26 can still get health insurance under their parent's family plan.
Tueesday October 11, 2011
Severe spinal cord injury recovery times can be significantly shortened by using acetyl l-carnitine early after the injury. Damaged mitochondria can be resuscitated and begin making ATP by speeding the delivery of long chain fatty acids across the mitochondrial cell membrane, where they can be used for making cellular fuel.
Another mechanism to consider to resuscitate mitochondria is to also add near infrared light therapy at about 870 nm because this has been shown to stimulate cytochrome C oxidase and increase the production of ATP. When I read this article I forwarded an email to the authors of this publication...no response so far.
Wednesday October 12, 2011
The Role of Spirit in Healing
Mainstream medicine does not take into account the role of spirit in healthcare. In fact is discounts it because it cannot be understood in scientific language. By doing so it deprives the practitioner from considering the spiritual aspects of patients. Our reductionistic approach cannot consider the wholeness of each human being let alone the wholeness of everything in the universe.
Mainstream medicine also cannot understand that physical disease is the physical expression of psychospiritual dysfunction. It is not clear that the body reflects our psychospiritual function and provides us with somatic issues that are intended to reflect our deeper psychospiritual challenges. When we see our physician often times our symptoms are resolved, but the deeper inner healing is rarely even addressed.
There is a big difference between curing symptoms and healing the whole person. Until we include this aspect of the practice of medicine we are undoing the messages of the universe that have offered physical disability as a reflector of deeper issues we're not able to resolve without growing spiritually.
Thursday October 13, 2011
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Leaky gut syndrome is defined, its diagnosis, and mechanism of action described. The role of the microflora of the intestinal tract in maintaining normal sized intestinal pores is reviewed. The physiology and pathology of leaky gut syndrome is reviewed.
Friday October 14, 2011
A Return To Healing Chapter 1: A Surprise Healing of My Wife's Illness
"A Surprise Healing of My Wife's Illness" describes the factors leading to a turning point in my relatiohship to medical practice. I can no longer restrict my practice to conventional medicine and begin a new journey of natural healing of the whole person.
Monday October 17, 2011
Occupy Wall Street: Effects on Health Care
Occupy Wall Street is now a global movement to stop the greed of corporate America that is oppressing 99% of the middle class and poor. The effects of this greed on health care are reviewed as Dr. Len points out that even though there are 30 million more Americans who'll quality for Medicaid, that the quality and extent of services are being soundly compromised. Health care has never been more expensive and corporate profits have never been higher.
I have witnessed the systematic dismantling of health care as HMOs and hospitals have purchased nearly all doctors' practices. The practice of medicine has become a business where the good of the patient is no longer the primary factor.
Tuesday October 18, 2011
Environmental Toxins Linked to Heart Attacks and Strokes
Environmental toxins such as dioxins, PCBs, and pesticides can increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes. These fat soluble toxins accumulate in blood vessel walls and are slow to be excreted. We need to clean up our environment and practice intelligent detoxification if we want to deal with this potentially massive issue.
Wednesday October 19, 2011
Medical Buzz Words Signal Economic Take Over of US Health Care
When the buzz words of medical practice change, they reflect a change in how it works. Today's medicine now looks at hospitals as factories and office visits as economic transactions. Patients are no longer patients but consumers or customers. Doctors and nurses are considered providers. Reducing medicine to economics makes a mockery of the bond between the healer and the sick. Further treatment protocols are created subjectively and work as factory blueprints far too often. Who is left to listen and care to us when we're sick?
Thursday October 20, 2011
Can Supplements Cause Cancer
In previous studies it has been shown that certain vitamins and minerals can lower the risk of prostate cancer. Now a study shows that vitamin E at 400 IU/day for several years actually increased the risk of prostate cancer by 17%.
We tend to assume that supplements are entirely safe when the data is not in. This thinking is no different from big pharma's position that drugs are safe. Granted there's a major difference in the annual mortality from supplements (about 50) and pharmaceutical drugs (about 400,000). So it still pays to be on the conservative side about the use of supplements. Lifestyle is our most powerful medicine...and its completely safe!
Friday October 21, 2011
Mammogram Overview
There is considerable confusion about the role of mammograms in breast cancer detection in premenopausal women. The US is the only country in the world making the recommendation that they be done on women under the age of 50. The people standing to profit from doing mammograms in this age group are the mammogram industry, Big Pharma in the sale of chemotherapy, and health care practitioners who treat people for cancer. Too many early cancers are found that do not progress and which do not kill are found and unnecessarily treated (DCIS). Recent data shows that it is necessary to do 1800 mammograms to save a single life. This would lead to far too many biopsies and treatment.
Monday October 25, 2011
The Aids Blunder with David Rasnick PhD
Is AIDS caused by HIV? There is a longstanding debate between scientists and clinicians about the cause of HIV/AIDS that relates to what causes it. HIV is a retrovirus; none have ever been shown to cause disease in humans. All known viral disease have demonstrable viral particles that can be isolated and shown to infect other humans. This has never been done with AIDS. The HIV virus is a passenger virus that is a marker of AIDS, but it is not its cause.
Retroviruses are not sexually transmitted. There is a selective population of people who get AIDS that makes it difficult to conclude it is an infectious disease. There are no scientific studies showing that AIDS is sexually transmitted.
Tuesday October 25, 2011
Autoimmunity
There is an epidemic of autoimmune diseases that include hay fever, asthma, diabetes, collagen vascular diseases, and hypothyroidism. The causes of this epidemic range from heavy metal toxicity to drugs and environmental toxins. Our immune system attacks our tissues and we use drugs to suppress our immune system. There are other options for treatment that relate to GI immunity (leaky gut syndrome), lowering the antigenic load (discussed), preserving a high antioxidant load, balancing pH, and supporting a healthy lifestyle.
Wednesday October 26, 2011
What You Should Know About Blood Pressure Pills
The goal of Big Pharma is to sell drugs, whether safe or not. It is always advertising new on-patent drugs because they have the greatest potential for profit. The most effective drug for blood pressure control has been around for 50 years, is off-patent, is about $10 per month; it is called hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). Even HCTZ causes problems that include elevated cholesterol, insulin resistance, loss of potassium and magnesium, and an increased risk for gout.
Thursday October 27, 2011
Chiropractic Care Superior to Medical Treatment with Physical Physical Therapy
A recent study conducted by medical professionals outside the chiropractic profession concluded that chiropractic care is more effective for common, work-related, low back pain when compard to treatment by a physical therapist of physician. Overall chiropractic patients had lower medical expenses, fewer disability recurrences, and shorter initial periods of disability. It also uses less medication and results in fewer surgeries.
Friday October 28, 2011
Aloha my friends... I don't agree to interviews all that much as you know... but when Lilou Mace of www.JuicyLivingTour.com approached me - with several friends making a good case for it - I conceded... Here's what this amazing woman just posted... You'll see that Nana enjoyed the experience too! I pray we always do our best to inspire others to rise to their personal potential and empowerment... Keep dreaming... wide awake... Peace... Francesco
Monday October 31, 2011
Wellness Buffer
The "wellness buffer" is a range on a spectrum between ideal / perfect health and when the symptoms of disease begin. It takes loss of considerable reserve function before things deteriorate to the point where you first develop symptoms. We should all be working hard to preserve this buffer between perfect functionability and where dysfunctionality begins to become apparent. Unfortunately we've been convinced by the business of health care to wait until we get sick before we take action to preserve our wellness.
Prescriptions for Health Radio Show: Fastrack Archives
This archive is a work in progress. At the end of every week, the most recent editions of Prescriptions for Health, Fastrack edition, will be posted on the DoctorSaputo.com Radio page. Shows from the previous week are then archived. There can be as many as 40 shows archived for a month.
All "Fastrack" Archives starting in June are in video!
Fastrack Archive September 2011