New Antibiotic Causes Liver Damage and Death

The antibiotic drug Ketek is the thought to be the cause of several cases of severe liver failure including several deaths. The drug is thought to be the cause because the deaths could not be attributed to any other factor. Think what you may of the FDA, but for all of the unknown good they do it only takes one OOPS like people dying from a drug they approved to bring large amounts of public criticism down on their collective heads. Not that it is undeserved as the Vioxx fiasco proved or the so-called morning after pill brought into question the political neutrality of the FDA. In this wired world, we all know just what is going on at the FDA. It is no different than what goes on in any other department of the government. So with that as a backdrop, you need to know how to stay away from antibiotics in the first place.

There are several natural antibiotics readily available to you at Tri-Valley Health Foods. They are Goldenseal, Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE), Oregano Oil, Colloidal Silver, Olive Leaf Extract and Xylitol. Goldenseal is probably the most widely known of all of the antibiotic herbs. The active ingredient beribine has mild antibiotic properties. It is usually found in combination with other herbs like echinacea. The active ingredient of Grapefruit seed extract is called citricidal. It has been tested against and found to kill hundreds of types of bacteria. Oregano Oil is a fatty based substance that has only been commercially available for a few years. It has fast become one of my best selling herbal products because it is not only an antibiotic, but it is effective against fungi and viruses as well. Colloidal Silver is an ancient remedy. It supposedly can be traced back to Greece during the Helenistic age. Whereever it was discovered, silver does have some antibiotic properties. It has fallen out of favor in the last few years as better products have emerged on the scene. Olive leaf can also trace it heritage back to the Greeks. The active chemical in olive leaf is called oleuropein. Olive leaf has very strong antiviral properties. Lastly the sugar alcohol Xylitol has some very surprising antibiotic properties. Discovered in WWII in Finland as a sugar substitute, the Finnish noticed that their children had fewer dental cavities using Xylitol than when they were using sugar. Testing hs shown that xylitol kills the bacteria that causes periodontal disease. It is also useful as a nasal rinse for sinusitis. These are all very useful and less toxic ways to kill bacteria instead of using new unproven antibiotics.

I posted the entire article about Ketek below for you to read.

Thanks for spending a art of your day here with me,

James


WASHINGTON (June 29) - The label of a novel antibiotic will be updated to reflect reports of severe liver problems, including several deaths, associated with its use, the drug's maker and health officials said Thursday.
Sanofi-Aventis' Ketek will carry a bold-type warning about the rare reports of liver failure and severe injury, some of them fatal, in patients treated with the drug. The company also is providing additional information to patients and doctors.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Ketek in 2004. The drug is used to treat respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia. Both the FDA and Sanofi-Aventis believe the drug's benefits still outweigh its risks.
Through April, the FDA has received reports of 12 cases of acute liver failure, including four deaths, among people treated with Ketek. A fifth required a liver transplant.
"In certain of these cases, it appears there are no other likely causes of liver injury, so it does appear they were linked to the use of the drug," said Dr. John Jenkins, director of the Office of New Drugs in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The FDA will continue to monitor the safety of Ketek and take further action if necessary, said a second agency official, Dr. Gerald Dal Pan of the Office of Epidemiology and Surveillance in the drug center.
There have been two further cases of acute liver failure reported since April, though details were not immediately available, Dal Pan said.
The FDA also knows of 23 other cases where patients had serious liver injuries after receiving the antibiotic, which also is called telithromycin.
The rate of reported liver problems associated with the drug is 23 per 10 million prescriptions filled, according to the FDA. In a previously disclosed internal memo, the FDA said the rate appeared higher in comparison with similar antibiotics.
But a study published in January that detailed several of the liver cases associated with the drug may have stimulated the reporting of further problems. That can skew perceptions of the risk of Ketek compared with older but similar antibiotics.
"At this point we cannot conclude the risk is higher than with other antibiotics used to treat these conditions," Dal Pan said.
Dr. Bruce Lavin, vice president of internal medicine for Sanofi-Aventis, said Ketek remains an option needed by doctors when they treat people who are infected with bacteria that have developed resistance to other antibiotics.
The label change comes as the Senate Finance Committee investigates allegations of fraud connected with trials of Ketek, as well as how the FDA has handled safety issues associated with the drug.
"There are questions about whether this drug should stay on the market, and there's great legitimacy to those questions. Ketek is another example where the FDA accommodated a drug maker and turned a blind eye to serious safety concerns," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee's chairman, said in a statement.
The updated label for Ketek warns doctors and patients to watch for signs of hepatitis such as fatigue, malaise, anorexia, jaundice and nausea. Patients with signs or symptoms of hepatitis should stop treatment with Ketek immediately and seek a medical evaluation, including liver functions tests, according to the label.
The label was updated to warn of cases of death and life-threatening acute respiratory failure seen in Ketek-treated patients with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder marked by muscle weakness and fatigue. The FDA knows of three such deaths. Patients with the disorder should not be given Ketek unless other options aren't available, the company said.
This month, Sanofi-Aventis stopped enrolling children in trials of the drug. The company said it had not identified any safety reason that would merit the "pause," but that it wanted to confirm the trial conformed with FDA guidelines.
U.S. sales of Ketek were an estimated $50 million in the first half of 2006, the company said.

Vitamins and Cancer

Did you read or hear the latest news? The medical establishment says that vitamins may not prevent cancer. Well, duuuuhhhhh! No self-respecting alternative medical provider would ever say that vitamins would prevent cancer. A vitamin could not prevent cancer because that would imply alopathically that a vitamin could kill a cancer cell. If a vitamin could kill a cancer cell, it would be dangerous to normal cells just like chemotherapy is dangerous to normal healthy cells.
I think we need to understand what cancer is as it pertains to the human body. A cancer cell is a non-differentiate juvenile cell that is dividing and growing at an uncontrolled rate. The process by which the body replaces damaged cells with healthy cells is called differentiation. The body creates a cell that will go to the heart to replace a worn out heart cell. The problem occurs when the cells created to replace worn out cells are themselves damaged. This is the beginning of cancer. As cancerous cell continue to divide, they start using more and more resources form the body until the cancerous cells are using more resources than the body can supply. At this point the body is no longer able to sustain itself and stops living.
Cancer is not an invading organism. It is your own body growing out of control. The only way for the body to continue to live is by killing the non-differentiated cells. This can only be done by the immune system. The immune system is the body's way of controlling non-differentiated or otherwise damaged cells. The immune system like every other part of your body is dependent upon macro and micronutrients to sustain itself. Vitamins are the micro nutrients that the body extracts from the macro nutrients we eat. Oranges contain vitamin C, eggs have vitamins A and D, greens contain B vitamins and minerals. Our digestive system extracts these micronutrients so our body can use them to maintain itself. Still not convinced? Remember rickets? Rickets is a vitamin D defiance disease. Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency disease. There are others but I think you get the picture.
The clearest example I can think of are the roles of folic acid and B-12 in human cell mitosis and transcription errors. Think of your body as a copy machine. Now think of what happens when you make a copy of a copy many times. The same thing happens in your body. As more copies are made, errors in copying the DNA and RNA may happen. This is call transcription errors. As more genes are damaged, the cells may die or worse become carcinogenic. Our body has a mechanism for dealing with transcription errors. It uses folic acid and B-12 to repair the damaged genes. Vitamins may not play a direct role in the prevention of cancer, but they are needed so the body can use them to repair itself.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James

AMA says Salt is not safe

Over the last ten years I have had many people come into the store asking about sodium free foods. This mostly happens when a person is diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) and their doctor tells them to stop eating salt. The doctor is half right. Before I explain why the doctor is half right, I want you to read what the AMA has said about salt.

The American Medical Association said last week that salt should not be "generally recognized as safe" and has urged the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its GRAS status and to develop safe upper limits for sodium in processed and restaurant foods.

"Cardiovascular disease remains the No. 1 killer of Americans," said Dr. J. James Rohack, a cardiologist and AMA board member. CVD accounts for about 40 percent of all U.S. deaths. "There is overwhelming evidence that excessive sodium intake is a risk factor for the development or worsening of hypertension, and may be an independent risk factor for other CVDs," such as aortic stiffness, according to a report by the AMA. In 2006, CVD costs are expected to reach a heart-stopping $400 billion in the United States.
The AMA issued new guidelines at its annual meeting, calling for a 50 percent reduction over the next 10 years in the amount of sodium in processed foods, fast foods and restaurant meals.

"Despite the recommendations of leading scientific authorities and government agencies … manufacturers can add substantial amounts of sodium to processed foods," the report said. "Revoking the GRAS status would not ban salt, but require industry to petition the FDA to approve the use of salt as a food additive at specified levels in various types of food, and would establish a process and procedures for establishing and regulating these amounts."

The medical group also called for improved labeling to highlight the amount of sodium in processed foods.
According to the AMA, Americans consume an average 4,000 mg of sodium daily, and about 75 percent of that comes from processed foods and foods eaten away from home. Numerous governments and scientific groups recommend limiting salt intake to 2,300 mg. More than 95 percent of American men and 75 percent of American women regularly consume more than that, the group said.

The AMA and the individual doctor as I said previously are half right in their accessment that excess sodium is one of the causes of hypertension. The extact cause of hypertension in this instance is the imbalance of the sodium/potassium ratio in your body. We need about 4700 mg of potassium everyday. Our kidneys recycle potassium back into the body. When consume too much sodium and not enough potassium we unbalance the body. The paragraph below was taken form the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension website on the role of potassium in the body:

"Potassium works with sodium to maintain the body's water balance. One possible explanation for potassium's protective effect against hypertension is that increased potassium may increase the amount of sodium excreted from the body. "

Potassium is easily obtained in most foods we eat like milk, meats, fruits and vegetables. The problem is when we eat excessive amounts of processed foods that use sodium as the main seasoning. The problem with trying to eat your way out of high blood pressure is you cannot absorb enough potassium fast enough to correct the imbalance. This is where potassium supplements are useful. One of the best is Potassium Aporotates form Solaray. It is easily absorbable even on an empty stomach.

I hope you see that you need to not only reduce the sodium in your diet, but you need to increase the potassium as well.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James

When the kindness of friends is bad for you

Wednesday, a regular customer came into Tri-Valley Health Foods and complained to me of having heavier than normal menstrual bleeding. After talking with her for a few minutes and explaining what was happening inside her uterus, she told me a friend had suggested she take Wild Yam capsules because it was helping the friend feel better.

This customer is premenopausal and had not complained about any hot flashes, night sweats or other menopausal symptoms. She told me that her heavy periods started after she began taking the Wild Yam. She seemed to recognize what was going on but continued to take the Wild Yam.

Let me explain what this customer did to herself. She ingested a herb that has a high isoflavone content. Isoflavones are chemically similar to estradiol and can act like estradiol. So in effect, this customer causes herself to become estrogen dominant. This caused the uterus to develop a thicker than normal lining because the isoflavones interrupted the normal estrogen/progresterone cycle in her body.

My suggestions for her were these: 1) stop taking the Wild Yam capsules. 2) take a Dong Quai supplement for two months which will normalize her estrogen/progesterone cycle. 3) Do not listen to her friend about health concerns.

She is one of many customers that I have had in my store over the years who listened to a friend about some health concern only to end up more problems than they started with. Your friends are trying to help you out of concern. Your friends are there to play with, go out to eat with and cry on their shoulder. Please do not take advice about supplements or any other medical advice from your friends. Please talk to someone who knows supplement and can advise you on the proper way to use them.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James

What is your health worth?

Everyday I see people in my store that complain about the perceived high cost of staying healthly. I agree that there are some supplements like CoQ10 that are expensive. If you are one of the thousands of people who have liver damage that results in fibromylagia, Parkinson, or congestive heart failure the price of taking a supplement that will keep you alive with virtually no side effects is priceless. This is all leading towards a couple of articles I read recently that address the problem of the notion of wanting something for nothing. In an article published in the Journal of Agriculture & Food Chemistry (54 9:3242-53, 2006) the article showed that out of 11 bottles of black cohosh supplements purchased between 2002 and 2004, 3 did not contain any black cohosh. The products in question contained a different variety of cimicifuga (Astaea spp.) from China instead of the proper herb cimicifuga racemosa. These are different plants with different chemical characteristics. The two plants can not be substituted for one another. This is why you need to know not only what the front of the bottle says is correct but also what plant species the product is made from.

The other article I read ran on a similar theme. The problem this article pointed out is not a new one in the health food industry, but is becoming more prevalent as more companies are trying to compete on price alone for your supplement business. Many of you may not know how supplements are made. The company whose name is on the bottle does not usually grow the plants that are in the bottle you are buying. Most of the companies use other companies called bulk suppliers. Bulk suppliers are the companies that import and do the initial processing of many of the herbal supplements that you buy at Tri-Valley Health Foods. What you do not know is that some of the bulk suppliers can and do cut corners to try and keep the cost of the bulk herbs low. This has led to many of the larger companies like Nature's Way, Nature's Plus and Nutracuetical (Solaray and Kal) to create their own laboratories to test and measure the bulk herbs when they are received. Many of the bulk herbs these companies measure in their labs are rejected and sent back to the bulk supplier. The reason is the bulk supplier has sent a batch that contains an unknown powder spiked with a synthetic copy of the active ingredient. (Hmmm...eyesbrows go up, light bulb goes off, enlightenment is achieved) After all this background information, what you need to understand is that the bulk supplier does not simply throw this batch of powder away. The supplier will continue to ship this batch until a company that does not have a lab to check the quality or a company that is only looking for the cheapest bulk product it can find, uses this supplier powder in their finished product. Exactly where do you think the powder from this bulk supplier ends up. Places to look are in your local dollar store or a mass merchants' private label product. There is a reason that these stores sell what you believe to be the same product cheaper than anyone else. It is not about them being good guys giving you a deal. It is about them selling a substandard product. All high quality raw material have a price that insures you are getting what you are paying for. When you see a company selling something for what appears to be too good to be true, guess what, it is. When you buy a product from these companies you are saying to them you don't care about the quality. You are robbing yourself of your hard earned money by purchasing a substandard product. You may also be compromising your health by taking a product that is not what it claims to be.

Caveat Emptor. Remember it. Practice it. Never buy on price alone.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James

What is High Cholesterol?

I went to my doctor to have some blood tests. I had all the standard tests and everything came back normal except in his opinion my cholesterol. I would like to use my cholesterol numbers as an example of how to determine if your cholesterol is high.

My total cholesterol is 205. My HDL is 45. My LDL is 145. My triglycerides are 105. I will go over each of these numbers and tell you what each of them means in relation to risk factors for heart disease, coronary heart disease and stroke.

First off total cholesterol is a meaningless figure. Most alternative doctors and some allopathic doctors no longer use this number. There are too many variables that can influence the total cholesterol number like triglycerides, VLDLs, amount of saturated fats in your diet, smoking and heredity. If you would like to know how to the lab calculates total cholesterol the equation is this:
Total cholesterol=HDL + LDL +(triglycerides/5)

The main problem with this calculation is that as HDL go higher, TC also goes higher. While higher levels of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, does in fact reduce your risk for coronary artery disease, it appears that your risk is increasing because the TC number is also rising. This doesn't make a lot of sense. In the last five years, a new way of thinking about cholesterol is taking hold. Many doctors now use the ratio of HDL:TC and HDL:LDL to determine risk factors.

Lets take my HDL of 45 and use the ratios above to see where my risk factors are. The ratio of HDL to TC should be 1:4. That is TC should be no more that 4 times HDL. Multiply 45 x 4 and we have 180 for a TC number. We compare that to my TC of 205 and we find that my ratio is a little high. Now lets determine my upper limit of LDLs. The ratio of HDL to LDL should be no more that 3 times HDL. Multiply 45 x 3 and we have 135 for the upper limit of LDLs. My LDL are 145. Again my ratio is a little high.

Now that we know all of this how do I improve my ratios which may help to decrease my risk for coronary artery disease. My regimen includes the following supplements that have been shown to increase HDLs and conversely lower LDLs. I am currently taking 3000 mg of omega-3 fish oil per day. I am also taking 2 capsules of the herb Guggul. This has been used in India for over 5000 years to help lower cholesterol. About ten years ago, the active ingredient in guggul was identified and given the name guggulsterones. A study showed that guggul taken for 60 days increased HDL, lowered LDL and TC without the side effects of cholesterol lowering drugs.

I am scheduled for a follow-up blood test in 90 days. I will post the results of my cholesterol tests when I receive it.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James

An Upper Limit For Soy Isoflavones

If you remember the post on 5/25, (please read it if haven't) I mentioned some of the problems with soy. One problem I mentioned is the potential for hypothyroidism in women and children. It appears that the Japanese have taken notice and may be ready to do something about the over use of soy isoflavone supplements. An article in the February 2nd edition of Asahi Shimbun stated that Japans Food Safety Commission has issued a warning about excessive soy consumption. The commission is suggesting that the upper limit for isoflavones be 70-75mgs and the maximum daily intake of isoflavones should be 30mgs for both men and women.

The commissions recommendations are not without it critics. The Japan Health Food and Nutrition Food Association questioned the data used by the government to reach its conclusions. While the Japan Health Food and Nutrition Food Association has a point, they have not offered any data of their own to show where soy isoflavones are "safe" to use.

In my opinion, please be conservative in the use of non-fermented soy products. Soy isoflavone capsules are generally safe because the isoflavone content is restricted. The same thing cannot be said for all other soy products. I have personally seen soy protein powders with 3 times the suggested upper limit for soy isoflavones. The only way that can occur is when the manufacturer spikes the protein powder with extra isoflavones. Be an intelligent consumer, know what you are putting in your body. Know what the supplement is supposed to do and if there are any potential side effects you need to be aware of.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James