Medications Side Effect - Case Study

This article is one of thousands of reports on the side effects of medications. And people get onto me for being anti-prescription drugs. It's not that I am anti-prescription drugs - many of them save lives each and every day - it's just I think we should live a healthy life and doing so will reduce the need for prescription drugs....and therefore side effects which can be as simple as joint pain, headaches, or as devastating as baboon syndrome - which I never heard of until this article.

A 40-year-old man with a sore throat and fever was diagnosed with tonsillitis, and was prescribed penicillin, a common antibiotic. But several days later, the man developed a rash over his armpits, groin and buttocks — an unusual condition known as "baboon syndrome."

An article by Tanya Lewis of Live Science:

The condition, more formally called symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE), is known as baboon syndrome because the rash on the patient's buttocks resembles the red hindquarters of some monkeys.

Because doctors often prescribe penicillin antibiotics to treat tonsillitis and other bacterial infections, it is important to be aware that baboon syndrome is one of the medication's possible side effects, wrote the researchers who reported the man's case online Nov. 28 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

The condition is usually caused by an allergic reaction to penicillin drugs, but can also be caused by exposure to mercury or nickel, said Dr. Andreas Bircher, a dermatologist at University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland. (He was not involved in the study but has reported other cases of baboon syndrome.)

In the present case, during the man's initial examination, he had enlarged and inflamed tonsils, according to the physicians at the NHS Lothian hospital in the United Kingdom who reported the case. His regular doctor had prescribed penicillin for him two days earlier, but the patient became unable to swallow.

The emergency-department doctor who saw the man started him on a course of intravenous benzylpenicillin (a different type than the oral penicillin) four times a day and gave him a single dose of intravenous dexamethasone, a steroid medication used to treat inflammation.

By the next day, the patient had developed a rash over his groins and inner elbow. Assuming it was a reaction to the penicillin, the doctor changed his antibiotic to clarithromycin (which is in a different class of antibiotics).

On the third day after being seen at the hospital, the patient's throat was much better, and he was able to swallow liquids and soft foods, but his rash had spread and become painful. At that point, the rash covered his armpits, buttocks, lower abdomen and upper thighs, and his groin showed signs of necrosis (dead tissue).

The doctors had to determine whether the patient was having a severe drug reaction, which would get better on its own, or a dangerous infection of flesh-eating bacteria (necrotizing fasciitis), which would require immediate removal of the dead or infected tissue.

The team started the patient on non-penicillin broad-spectrum antibiotics, which act against a range of bacteria, and took a tissue sample from his right groin. The sample tested negative for flesh-eating bacteria, so the patient was diagnosed with baboon syndrome.

"It's not a very common condition," Bircher told LiveScience. For unknown reasons, it's more prevalent in males, and usually seen in postpubescent people.

The patient stopped taking antibiotics, and used oral and topical steroids to treat his rash. He was discharged from the hospital 11 days after being admitted, and the rash disappeared.

"It's a true allergy," Bircher said. With steroid treatment, the rash usually fades within a week, but re-exposure to the drug or allergen can cause a relapse within one to two days, Bircher said.

Baboon syndrome typically appears a few hours to two days after a person takes an antibiotic. The syndrome rarely affects small children, but cases have been reported in an 18-month-old and a 5-year-old, the researchers noted in their case report. Recovery can sometimes take up to three weeks.

Exposure to penicillin, nickel or mercury are the most common causes of the syndrome, but it has also been linked to certain heartburn drugs, biological agents and chemotherapy.



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Makers of tainted supplements have criminal pasts

An article by Alison Young posted on USA TODAY details a USA TODAY investigation finds that a wide array of dietary supplement companies caught with drug-spiked products are run by people with criminal backgrounds and regulatory run-ins.  I still receive calls and e-mails from people to sign petitions against the FDA regulating supplements more than they do now.  I just have no dog in that fight.  I don't take anything that isn't made to pharmaceutical grade standards in a FDA registered lab.  While it is against the law in many cases to dupe consumers, I think consumers have the responsibility to educate themselves and research their choices, they are, after all, responsible for their own health and those choices they make. 

Like many pills and powders sold as dietary supplements, Dr. Larry's Tranquility pills were not what they seemed.

And neither was Dr. Larry.

The pills promised insomniacs a great night's sleep with an all-natural blend of ingredients such as figwort root and licorice.

Then, earlier this summer, these particular pills — out of an estimated 85,000 supplement products on the market — happened to get tested in a lab by regulators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency is budgeted to run just 1,000 tests a year in its limited oversight of the $30 billion industry.

The tests showed Tranquility was spiked with two powerful prescription drugs: an anti-psychotic medication best known as Thorazine, and the anti-depressant and sleep medication called doxepin.

Research by USA TODAY shows that Larry LeGunn is a convicted criminal and not a licensed doctor. He's a former chiropractor who had to give up his Florida license in 2010 after being charged with grand theft and insurance fraud relating to his treatment of auto accident victims, according to court and licensing records. LeGunn ultimately pleaded no contest to an amended charge of misleading solicitation of payments.

Far from an isolated case, a USA TODAY investigation finds that a wide array of dietary supplement companies caught with drug-spiked products are run by people with criminal backgrounds and regulatory run-ins. Consumers buying products from these firms are in some cases entrusting their health and safety to people with rap sheets for crimes involving barbiturates, crack cocaine, Ecstacy and other narcotics, as well as arrests for selling or possessing steroids and human growth hormone. Other supplement company executives have records of fraud, theft, assault, weapons offenses, money laundering or other offenses, the investigation shows.

• Jeffrey Bolanos, who runs Beamonstar Products in Queen Creek, Ariz., has twice been convicted on drug charges, most recently in a 2008 case that notes possession of crack cocaine and a relapse with methamphetamines, court records show.

In May, his company, which has received industry awards for its sexual enhancement supplements, recalled three supposedly all-natural products after FDA tests found that two contained tadalafil, the medication in the prescription erectile dysfunction drug Cialis. The third was potentially spiked. One of Beamonstar's tainted supplements was marketed for women. Bolanos had no comment.

• Martin McDermott, president of Kilo Sports in Phoenix, was indicted in 2004 with three felony counts of dangerous drug possession involving the steroid boldenone and testosterone, and one felony count of possession of prescription drugs, specifically human growth hormone, for sale. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and received probation.

In 2009, three Kilo Sports products were recalled for ingredients the FDA said should be classified as steroids. The company recalled another supplement in 2010 because of concerns it contained an anti-estrogen drug. McDermott didn't respond to interview requests.

• Barry Nevins, who runs DrBarrysVitamins.com, isn't really a doctor and under an agreement with prosecutors isn't supposed to represent himself as one in his vitamin store. Yet as recently as this week, his website touted "Dr. Barry" — whose only Florida health care license was as a massage therapist — as "a leading formulator, developer and manufacturer of natural pharmaceuticals."

In 2011, Nevins was charged with unlicensed practice of the health care profession, a felony, records show. While facing those charges, FDA tests found one of Barry's Vitamins & Herbs' products, Virility Max, was secretly spiked with a drug that's a chemical cousin to Viagra. Prosecutors in Palm Beach County, Fla., said they are now reviewing the website to determine whether Nevins has violated a deferred prosecution agreement reached in March in the 2011 case. Nevins declined to be interviewed.

In November, IQ Formulations recalled its Hydravax weight-loss supplement after the FDA told the company it contained a prescription-only diuretic drug. A company spokesman said the recall was the result of a supplier providing a tainted ingredient.

USA TODAY scrutinized about 100 companies that have been caught selling supplements secretly spiked with drugs and potentially dangerous chemicals since 2007. The examination found that at least 14 were run by people with criminal records beyond traffic infractions. The newspaper researched corporation records to identify the company executives and owners, then examined police, court and professional licensing records, ordering files from across the country to determine what they had done in the past.

There are likely many more supplement company executives with criminal records. The FDA's tainted-supplements database lists 123 companies that have been caught selling about 460 spiked products in the past six years, but the corporate records of nearly three dozen of the companies couldn't be located. For about 150 spiked products, the FDA's database doesn't list a manufacturer, in many cases because it was unclear to the agency who made them. And many companies selling sketchy products aren't listed in the FDA's database.

Supplement executives with criminal records who granted interviews generally said their pasts had nothing to do with their ability to make good supplements and they often blamed suppliers for putting drugs in their products without their knowledge.

"China will lie, just lie and tell you it's all herbal and they slip in a little trace of something," LeGunn said, adding that he no longer has supplements made there.

But most didn't respond to interview requests or refused to talk about their backgrounds.

"I'm not going to discuss anything. I have the right to remain silent," said Gisselle Lopez, a partner in Svelte 30 Nutritional Consultants LLC in Kissimmee, Fla., when a reporter asked about a 2003 theft conviction and why her staff referred to her as "Dr. Gisselle." Florida records don't show her as having a medical license. Her company recalled one of its weight loss supplements in 2011 after FDA tests showed it was spiked with sibutramine, the active ingredient in the prescription weight loss drug Meridia that was pulled off the U.S. market because of heart attack and stroke risks.

'A TALE OF TWO INDUSTRIES'

USA TODAY's ongoing investigation has shown that consumers of tainted diet supplements have paid dearly in some cases, suffering side effects ranging from severe bleeding and dangerous effects on diabetes control to liver damage, strokes and death. Athletes have had their sports careers jeopardized after testing positive for ingredients laced into sports supplements.

Dallas-based USPlabs has been linked to a recent outbreak of serious liver injury cases among people taking its OxyElite Pro weight-loss supplement. Its CEO, Jacob Geissler, has a criminal history involving anabolic steroids and has clashed repeatedly with the FDA. USPlabs recalled OxyElite Pro in November. Until recently, Geissler served on the board of trustees of the American Herbal Products Association, a major industry trade group.

Driven Sports Vice President Matt Cahill, whose pre-workout powder Craze has been found by teams of scientists to contain a methamphetamine-like compound, is a convicted felon with a history of putting risky products on the market.Craze was named 2012's "New Supplement of the Year" by Bodybuilding.com, a major online retailer of sports supplements.

"All industries are going to have people with criminal problems in their background," said Steve Mister, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement industry trade group that lists major corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Bayer HealthCare and Abbott Nutrition among its members.

Histories of financial fraud or violent behavior may not have much relevance when it comes to making supplements, Mister said. "But I do think when you talk about people with a history of criminal convictions with controlled substances and illicit drugs, and they are making products where they have the opportunity to bring that prior background into their product, that is concerning."

"It is unfortunately a tale of two industries. There's a mainstream, responsible industry," Mister said of the supplement business. "Then there is this sort of shadow industry, the smaller guys playing around the fringes. The problem is how we distinguish between the two."

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, known by the acronym DSHEA, the FDA must show that a product is unsafe before it can take any action to restrict its use or seek its removal from the market. Nutritional supplements such as the vitamins, minerals, protein powders and herbal blends used by more than half of Americans are treated like foods and assumed to be all-natural and safe — unless proven otherwise. Although supplements are often sold and used as remedies for various conditions, they aren't required to prove their safety and effectiveness before being put on the market, as is required with medications.

"Supplements are under-regulated by the FDA," said June Rogers, director of drug program and policy at the NFL Players Association, whose members are tested for a variety of performance-enhancing drugs. "Anyone is allowed to go out and make a supplement and basically sell it until the FDA comes knocking at your door. But before that happens, there's a lot of profits to be made."

Loren Israelsen, a top supplement industry association official who is credited as a key architect behind the DSHEA supplement law, said that 20 years ago nobody envisioned the kinds of rogue players, advanced chemistry and drug-spiked products being seen today.

"It is so counterintuitive and opposite to the really fundamental principles of what this industry is about that we probably didn't fully recognize it because it was so not a part of us," Israelsen, president of the United Natural Products Alliance, said in an interview this week.

Israelsen was convicted in 1997 of conspiracy to defraud the United States, for a scheme that involved falsifying documents to import evening primrose oil despite an FDA ban on its importation. The documents falsely declared that the shipments were such things as "Vitamin E" to avoid seizure and sought to conceal that Health Products International was the company importing the material, federal records show.

During the conspiracy, Israelsen was a vice president and general counsel at Health Products International, which he described as the manufacturing arm of Nature's Way, where he also was a top executive. He said his actions should be viewed in the context of a time when the industry felt the FDA was taking overzealous and unjustified actions against natural products.

"I was much younger and breathing more fire," he said. "In retrospect, would we do it that way again? No."

Israelsen said there's a difference between standing up for evening primrose oil and supplement company executives fighting the FDA over substances with questionable chemical origins. He said recent media coverage of supplement makers like Cahill and Geissler and their potentially dangerous products has altered the way the industry views calls for additional regulation.

"It has been fundamental. Things have changed. That's a reality," Israelsen said. "We have to just look at where we are and what needs to be done to best address it — because it's in our best interest to address it."

In what could be considered an important conciliation for his industry, Israelsen said he's open to having discussions about whether new tools are needed to make it easier and faster for the FDA to take action.

In the past, the industry has opposed and defeated legislation that would require supplements to be registered with the FDA, arguing that criminals wouldn't register and that good companies would be overly burdened.

But Israelsen says he now thinks it's possible that requiring registration could give the FDA a "faster, easier way to say they're not in compliance."

A bill reintroduced this summer by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would require supplement firms to register products with the FDA within 30 days after being marketed, including providing a description of each product, its ingredients and a copy of the label.

Other supplement industry trade groups emphasize that better enforcement would address the industry's bad actors. Under existing laws, any person who markets a supplement that violates the law can be found guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines, notes the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

Such criminal cases appear to be rare, however, and they can take years and can involve more complex felony charges. The FDA has so far not provided data, requested under the Freedom of Information Act, on how often the agency has sought criminal prosecution of supplement makers.

"More executives should be subject to these misdemeanor cases," said Mister, who heads the council. "That would send a very strong message to the industry." Supplement makers also can be subject to individual and corporate fines of up to $500,000 for a series of violations in a case, Mister noted. "If you don't have a cop watching the speed limit, people will speed."

Daniel Fabricant, director of the FDA's dietary supplements division, said: "We're doing all we can with the tools we have." He noted that limited resources at the agency are a factor, along with competing priorities among the many food and medical products regulated by the agency.

In some recent cases, the FDA has used its authority to detain and seize adulterated or misbranded dietary supplements, as it did this year with supplements made by USPlabs and Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals that contained the controversial stimulant DMAA. The FDA has the authority to order a recall of supplements if a manufacturer refuses to do so, and the agency threatened this in a letter to USPlabs that prompted the company to recall OxyElite Pro last month.

But the FDA still should do more, argues Patrick Arnold, who was convicted in 2006 as the Illinois steroid chemist in the "Balco" scandal that involved distributing performance-enhancing drugs to high-profile athletes.

"Obviously, we want to avoid regulatory interference as much as we can because it never ends up being a good thing," Arnold said. But without better FDA oversight, Arnold said, it will become increasingly difficult for supplement makers to compete without spiking their products.

He pointed to the lack of any public action by the FDA to address repeated findings by independent labs — including by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in June 2012, and various teams of international researchers — of undisclosed amphetamine- and methamphetamine-like compounds in Craze. This week, another peer-reviewed journal article reported tests showing similar findings in additional samples of Craze, as well as in Detonate. Driven Sports says the tests are wrong; Gaspari officials have not responded to interview requests.

"When stuff like this happens with Craze and Detonate, that just makes people so pissed off that they're ready for some regulation," Arnold said. "That's so unfair to competitors and it's a public health issue."

Arnold pointed out that there have been people with criminal backgrounds making supplements as long as he's been in the business. "When I first got started in the 1990s, just about every major supplement owner was an ex-steroid dealer," he said. "You make money selling steroids, then start your supplement company."

With the Internet, he said, it doesn't take much to start selling the pills and powders. "It's a very low barrier of entry," Arnold said. "And you don't have to be that smart. You just pretend that you know science."

Arnold says prison time, his notoriety and the increased scrutiny his products have drawn from regulators have changed the way he does business. But his products still have pushed into gray areas. In 2009, two of his products — Ergopharm's 60-OXO Xtreme and 6-OXO — were the subject of a recall after the FDA said they contained substances that should be classified as steroids. In recent years, Arnold has taken credit for being the first supplement maker to put the controversial stimulant DMAA into his products. He says he removed it after the FDA crackdown and after more scientific evidence emerged raising questions about whether it's naturally in geraniums.

HIDING DANGEROUS INGREDIENTS IN PLAIN SIGHT

The problem of supplement adulteration is significant, whether it occurs with criminal intent or is the result of lax quality control and insufficient oversight of suppliers.

Just over half of all Class 1 drug recalls in the USA from 2004 to 2012 — those that could cause serious health problems or death — involved supposedly all-natural dietary supplements that were spiked with hidden pharmaceuticals, according to research published this year in the scientific journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Of the 237 supplements recalled for hidden drugs, 40% were sold for sexual enhancement; 31% for bodybuilding and 27% for weight loss, the researchers said.

But hidden drugs have been found in other categories of supplements as well, including diabetes and arthritis remedies. This summer, Purity First Health Products recalled various lots of Vitamin B50 capsules, Vitamin C capsules and multi-mineral capsules after FDA tests indicated the presence of steroids.

With minimal testing being done by the FDA, a growing number of private companies are doing their own tests to identify problems that aren't being detected and addressed by regulators.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency tests and reviews labels of supplements of interest to athletes, and maintains a list of "high-risk" supplements, many of which have not been subject to FDA action.

Sometimes troubling ingredients hide in plain sight on the products' labels under names most consumers would never recognize.

"At least 200 different names are being used for testosterone," said David Black, founder of Aegis Sciences Corp. in Nashville, which has created a database of supplements to help clients at 140 universities, the NFL Players Association and other sports organizations. A mobile Aegis Shield app has recently been made available to the public.

While there are about 2,475 ingredients in the products in the Aegis database, more than 35,000 aliases are used for the ingredients on their labels. For example, there were 167 aliases for marijuana and 82 aliases for methylhexanamine, better known as DMAA.

Aegis also found other ingredients that might make consumers think twice, including "Wu Ling Zhi" — which is flying-squirrel feces, and "Putrescine," which is also known as the foul odor of decomposing flesh.

"In our experience, we've seen so many products out there that are not what they're represented to be," Black said. "If a product has a great claim and actually does what it claims to do, it probably has an ingredient that shouldn't be in there."

And the people who pay the price, ultimately, are those who — knowingly or unknowingly — indulge. U.S. Olympic Committee athlete ombudsman John Ruger noted in an e-mail to USA TODAY this week that "despite our aggressive efforts to educate them on the potential pitfalls, the harsh reality is that we will have athlete(s) who miss the Olympic Games because they take a supplement that includes a banned substance."

To read more articles in USA TODAY's Supplement Shell Game series, go to: http://www.supplements.usatoday.com

To report an adverse health event involving a dietary supplement, contact the FDA's MedWatch program online or call 800-332-1088.



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Popular Antacids Could Cause Vitamin Deficiency

People taking acid-inhibiting medications, such as Prilosec, Zantac, Pepcid, or Nexium, could be short on Vitamin B12, writes Kristen Fischer on Yahoo! Health.

According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) suppress gastric acid production, which can mean that the Vitamin B12 in food is not properly absorbed into the body. Vitamin B12 deficiency is linked to serious health complications, such as anemia, nerve damage, and dementia.

“Vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common, especially among older adults; it has potentially serious medical complications if undiagnosed," the authors wrote.

Scientists from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif. examined data from 25,956 patients with a new Vitamin B12 deficiency diagnosis between January 1997 and June 2011, and 184,199 patients without Vitamin B12 deficiency. They compared the two groups based on exposure to acid-inhibiting medications.

Among those who were newly diagnosed with a Vitamin B12 deficiency, 12 percent had been on PPIs for more than two years and 4.2 percent had been on H2RAs for more than two years; 83.8 percent were not on any of the medications. In the control group, 7.2 percent had been on PPIs for two years or more and 3.2 percent had been on H2RAs for more than two years; 89.6 percent were not taking acid-suppressors.

MyAchingKnees comment: I believe the major cause B12 and other deficiencies stem from eating nutrient poor foods and not taking quality supplements which are necessary to ensure your body receives the nutrients it needs to function properly.  Of course, taking OTC and prescription medications  can cause side effects, some very significant, as many Doctors treat the symptoms of a patient's health issues rather than trying to build that patient's health.

The researchers concluded that those on PPIs and H2RAs ran a higher risk of Vitamin B12 deficiency. And the higher the dose, the greater the risk.

They also discovered that the deficiency was more common in women and younger people. Once people stopped taking the medications, their risk went down.

“We cannot completely exclude residual confounding [factors besides the drugs] as an explanation for these findings, but, at minimum, the use of these medications identifies a population at higher risk of B12 deficiency, independent of additional risk factors,” the authors wrote.

Should Patients Stop Taking Acid-Inhibitors?

While their findings do not indicate that people should stop taking these medications, the researchers encourage physicians to be aware of the findings.

The strength of the association between acid-suppressors and vitamin deficiency increased with the medication dose, but not with the total length of time a person takes the medication, noted Dr. Douglas A. Corley, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

Knowing that Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possibility, should patients taking acid-suppressors ask for screenings? Talk to your doctor, Corley said.

“These results raise the question of whether patients on long-term acid suppressing medications should be screened at least once for vitamin B12 deficiency,” Corley said, noting that his statements refer to those who've been on the medications for more than two years.

The most commonly used PPIs are Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Protonix, and Aciphex. The most popular H2RAs include Zantac, Pepcid, and Tagamet.



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Case Is Closed: Multivitamins Are a Waste of Money, Doctors Say

This is a recent article posted on LiveScience.comhttp://news.yahoo.com/case-closed-multivitamins-waste-money-doctors- 150811128.html , by Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer, trying to make the case that "People should stop wasting their money on dietary supplements, some physicians said today, in response to three large new studies that showed most multivitamin supplements are ineffective at reducing the risk of disease, and may even cause harm." I think this is total crapola and have a lot to say concerning this misinformation.

The Article,....

The new studies, published today (December 16, 2013) in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine —including two new clinical trials and one large review of 27 past clinical trials conducted by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — found no evidence that taking daily multivitamin and mineral supplements prevents or slows down the progress of cognitive decline or chronic diseases such as heart diseases or cancer.

"The message is simple: Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified and they should be avoided," the physicians wrote in an editorial published along with the studies.

This message is especially aimed at people who have no signs of nutritional deficiency — meaning most supplement users in the United States, the researchers said.

MyAching Kees comment: Who are the "people who have no signs of nutritional deficiency"? It is basically impossible to receive your necessary daily nutrients through today's food supply, therefore practically everyone has a need for supplemental nutrients. It could take years even decades for obvious signs and symptoms of chronic disease associated by nutritional deficiencies to become apparent. Many people will simply accept their reduced health and chronic conditions as just the process of getting old. I am saying don't accept that without a fight and high quality nutritonal supplements are one of your main tools in your arsenal in the fight.

"Study after study comes back negative — yet people continue to take supplements, now at record rates," said Dr. Edgar Miller, one of the five authors of the editorial and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

MyAching Kees comment: These studies are flawed. They use people in various states of health and lifestyles, giving them a incomplete mix of low quality supplements often in lows doses. These studeis are also done by the conventional medical community who have a stake in seeing patients with chronic diseaes so they can prescribe various solutions to their ills, often with side effects, and chalking that up to the lesser of two evils.

There may be a psychological component to taking supplements, Miller said. Despite evidence showing supplements hold no benefit for the general population, some people may rationalize they need supplements because their diets lack necessary nutrients, Miller told LiveScience.

MyAching Knees comment: Lets talk about evidence. Me. A 45 years old man, BP constantly around 138/96. Cholesterol at 210. Rising PSA, A1C, and homecystine levels. Knee pain upon climbing stairs to boot. Start taking high quality nutritional supplements in doses considerably above the 70+ year old Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Six months later and continuing today (9 years later) my routine blood pressure around 118/84; cholesterol at 151. PSA, A1C and Homocystine continuing to drop. Last blood lab results stated that my chances of developing chronic heart disease are 0.5 on a scale where 3.0 is half the average risk. Not only will I not take prescription medication, but my Doctor say's none is indicated.

The new findings are in line with those of previously published studies that have found no benefits from dietary supplements, including B vitamins and antioxidants, and even suggested possible harms. Results of clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people have shown that beta-carotene, vitamin E and possibly high doses of vitamin A supplements actually increase death rates, the researchers said.

MyAching Knees comment: Again, flawed studies with the "possible harm" scare. If these studies were conducted on a set of people exactly the same with exactly the same lifestyle (cloned people for example) AND gave them all the nutrients, just not cherry picking a few nutrients, and gave them quality supplements in the right doses - then these types of studies may begin to have meaning.

"We believe that the case is closed — supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with most mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful," the researchers wrote in their editorial.

The use of multivitamin and mineral supplements among Americans has increased to about 50 percent in the mid-2000s, up from 40 percent in the early 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For some supplements, such as beta-carotene and vitamin E, studies have found declines in use, following reports of their negative effects on lung cancer and mortality.

MyAching Knees comment: Cancer? My wife had surgery to remove a cancerous turmor in her sinus and frontal lobe. Doctors all recommended she stop taking supplements. She enters into seven weeks of radiation treatment being told that she will lose 30-50 lbs, be have continious nausea and fatigue, head aches, sore skin around head associated with the radiation and some other side effects. She was told to quit taking her supplements, but refused. She never had nausea,...did not lose any weight,...and the Doctors told her that have never had a patient breeze through surgical recovery and radiation treatment like she has.  You would think these Doctors would like to know what she did to be different,.....what she did to keep her health through the cancer treatment. But,...no.  As good as they are in what they do - surgically remove tumors and irradiate the affected site - they don't understand the simple connection between nutrition and health.  

In contrast, sales of multivitamins and other supplements have not been affected by major studies that didn't find benefits, the researchers said. The U.S. supplement industry continues to grow, and reached $28 billion in annual sales in 2010. Similar trends have been reported in the United Kingdom and in other European countries.

The dietary-supplement industry maintains that for many Americans, diet alone may not provide the necessary vitamins they need daily, Miller said.

"The industry tries to create the impression that we are deficient, but randomized trials show that we are not all deficient and we don't benefit from supplements," Miller said, adding that clinical trials include people with varied diets from the general population.

The new review study looked at clinical trials that included a total of 450,000 older adults. All together, the researchers didn't find clear evidence of a beneficial effect of supplements on cancer and heart diseases.

MyAching Knees comment: Look the terms this article is using,....."clinical research,...new studies,...randomized trials",......kind of leaving off the who, what, when and where aren't they?

In another study, researchers looked at the effects of taking a daily combination of nutrients —including vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene and B vitamins — in 6,000 men ages 65 and older who were followed for 12 years. The cognitive performance and verbal memory of participants who took multivitamin supplements didn't differ from those of participants who took placebo.

In the third study, the researchers examined whether high doses of multivitamins and minerals could prevent heart attacks, strokes and death in 1,700 people who have already had a heart attack. After an average follow-up of five years, the results didn't show a difference between participants who took dietary supplements and those who didn't.

MyAching Knees comment: "no difference between participants who took dietary supplements and those who didn't",......what supplements are they talking about anyway? The low quality food grade off the shelf supplements? Or the pharmaceutical grade supplements containing all the nutrients in the right doses? These un-named physicians can keep their "clinical research,...new studies,...randomized trials",.........we're going to keep doing what we are doing and that is take the best supplements we can find, avoid toxins as much as we can, and live a physical lifestyle which has been possible these last 9 years since my knee pain is gone. We're just going to maintain our healthy lifestyles trying to live long and die short which is the opposite of most Americans.

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5 Surprising Immunity Boosting Foods for Cold and Flu Season

Timely `on winter colds and flu, given the cold fronts that just have passed through, by Epicurious.com and posted on Healthy Living

According to the CDC's weekly FluView report, "flu activity continues to increase in parts of the United States." Additionally, my super-scientific Sneezers on the Subway observations indicate that colds are also on the rise. And while the CDC stresses that the best ways to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated against it and wash your hands properly, there's evidence that certain foods can help boost immunity and might help ward off colds and the flu. Here are a few you might not know about:

Organic, Whole Milk: The findings of a just-released study on organic milk and fatty acid composition, published in the reputable peer-reviewed journal PLOS one, indicate that organic milk contains a better balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids than conventional milk. And omega-3s have been linked to tons of benefits, including boosting immunity by increasing the activity of phagocytes, "cells that fight flu by eating up bacteria," says Prevention. You'll also get the most omega-3s from whole, rather than skim, milk though you'll have to weigh whether the extra total fat and calories are worth it to you.

Pickled Turnips: "Scientists have discovered that eating a traditional Japanese pickle could have 'protective effects' in preventing people from catching the flu," according to The Independent's recent article on the immunity boosting properties of a friendly bacteria in the pickles called suguki. If you can't find suguki, consider adding sauerkraut and kimchi to your menu -- the lacto-fermentation process by which these and some other traditional pickled products are made produces probiotics (those good-for-you bugs most associated with yogurt).

Red Grapes and Blueberries: These fruits may have "a significant benefit for immunity," according to a New York Daily News article reporting on an Oregon State University study. "Findings published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research showed that two compounds, resveratrol found in red grapes and pterostilbene found in blueberries, when combined with vitamin D, could boost the bodys ability to fend off illness." (Findings of a separate study, published in BMJ, linked blueberries, grapes, and apples to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.)

Golden Kiwifruit: You might want to keep your eyes open in exotic fruit section of the grocery store for this sweet, yellow-fleshed kiwi, as a small study (funded by a fruit exporter, so take it with a grain of salt), suggested that this fruit could help with congestion and sore throats. (See The New Zealand Herald's "gold kiwifruit 'wonder drug' for colds" for more.) But if you can't find the gold kiwis, don't worry: Regularkiwi is an excellent source of vitamin C.

"Five a Day": While many studies have drawn associations between certain nutrients (e.g. vitamin C or E) and increased immunity, the article Healthy Diet Fights Infection by Boosting Immune System from the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter cites a study in which participants who increased their produce consumption from two to five servings per day of any fruit and vegetable saw increased immunity. Yet another reason to eat a balanced diet filled with whatever fruits and vegetables you love.

MyAchingKnees comment: Pickled Turnips? No thanks. But it IS possible to protect yourself from seasonal colds and flus.....and I don't mean by getting a flu shot. Something is wrong with your immune system if you get sick several times a year. I used to put up with being sick,..getting the occasional cold or bout with flu with headaches and racking joint pain. I even have had pneumonia three times. Once it was so severe that the Doc's thought I was having a heart attack. But in the past 8 years, going on 9, I have no been sick once. Not once. Sure is nice to use your work sick days for something other than lying in bed.  Eat right - low glycemic,.....take quality supplements, avoid toxins and live a physical life. 

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The Truth About Your Metabolism

The Truth About Your Metabolism From Men's Health, .....well maybe not the whole truth, but interesting enough to post. 

People talk about their metabolism a lot. You'd think they actually understand it. But often that's not the case. Here are four things you should know about the M-word:

Burning Truth No. 1: Skinny People Have Fast Metabolisms

VERDICT: Sometimes

"There are slim people with slightly low metabolisms who just don't eat very much," says Michael Jensen, M.D., an endocrinologist with the Mayo Clinic. "And there are heavy people with really high metabolisms who eat a huge amount."

Burning Truth No. 2: Lean Tissue Burns More Calories Than Fat Does Even While You're Asleep

VERDICT: True

"Your brain, heart, liver, and kidneys use a lot of energy, even when you're lying still," says Dr. Jensen. Muscle and the GI tract don't use much at rest; fat burns practically nothing. His estimate: You burn about a calorie per minute at rest. A quarter of that is torched by muscle, and 1/50th of it is burned by fat.

Burning Truth No. 3: Some Guys Can Only Slim Down By Slashing Calories

VERDICT: False

"In 30 years I've never seen anyone with a truly low metabolic rate," says Dr. Jensen. "People who think they need an 800-calorie diet often have resting metabolic rates of 1,500 calories."

So why can't they slim down? They're often eating many more calories than they realize. His fix: Accurately record everything you eat for two weeks. Unhealthy trends may emerge.

Burning Truth No. 4: Cutting 500 Calories A Day Means You'll Lose A Pound A Week

VERDICT: Not Quite

A pound of fat does equal 3,500 calories, and you may lose a pound the first week. "But when you eat less, you lose lean tissue, so your basal metabolic rate goes down," says Dr. Jensen.

Surprise: You may gain more than a pound after a 3,500-calorie pig-out, since calories stored as sugar cause you to retain water.

MyAchingKnees Comment: You can spend your time trying to figure out Metabolism rates, what foods may increase it, and what doesn't. You can try the latest fat burning tablets from the local pharmacy. Or you can just accept that diet and exercise, minimizing the bad foods you eat and increasing your physical activity is the most assured way to lose weight.

If you try some of those well advertised diet plans out there just be aware that most of these diets fail because they do not provide the nutrients your body needs. That's why some people get sick during their diets as their immune system is depressed from the lack of nutrients, and that's why some people gain weight after the diet as they are nutrient starved when they come off their diets.

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Beware of Faulty Supplement Studies

NBC News produced a report titled "Vitamins don’t prevent heart disease or cancer, experts find" by Maggie Fox. This is one of the poorest articles I have ever read. I am in no way reluctant to post it because I believe in letting the "buyer beware". Make your own decision and if it works for you then good, keep doing it. However, I must say that many supplement studies are just B.S. because of many reasons or combinations of reasons: poor quality supplements for test; testing single nutrients; testing nutrients in small RDAS level doses; testing nutrients on subjects with widely diverse ages and health where a common baseline is impossible. Anyway, like I said, let the buyer beware!

The article: 

There’s not much evidence that vitamins can prevent heart disease or cancer – the two leading killers of Americans, experts said Monday.

Even though half the U.S. population pops vitamins in the belief they can help people live longer, healthier lives, a very extensive look at the studies that have been done show it may be a waste of time when it comes to preventing the diseases most likely to kill you.

The findings, by a team at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., being used as the basis to update recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), aren’t clear-cut. They are likely to add to confusion over the benefits of vitamins.

"A healthy balanced diet is critical for good health, and that's probably the most important way that we get the nutrients that are essential," says Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a heart disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco who's a member of the Task Force.

“The USPSTF reviewed 24 studies of individual vitamins, minerals, or functional nutrient pairs. Across all the supplements studied, there was no evidence of beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease, cancer, or all-cause mortality," they wrote.

That doesn’t mean people don’t need the nutrients. It’s just that a multivitamin might not be the best way to get them.

There are two clear exceptions, the researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Beta-carotene can raise the risk of lung cancer in smokers, and vitamin E does no good at all in preventing cancer or heart disease. “The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that the net benefit of vitamin E supplementation is zero," they wrote.

And it’s also clear that vitamins can help pregnant women ensure they have healthy babies. The benefits of folic acid are so clear that flour is supplemented with it.

Vitamins are a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States. “Americans spend an estimated $11.8 billion each year on vitamin and mineral supplements,” the researchers wrote. But study after study has returned mixed evidence, at best, that they help most people in any way. The exceptions are people with vitamin deficiencies.

The team did what’s known as a meta-analysis, pooling the evidence of many different studies.

Evidence is clear that “fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood may play a role in the prevention of cancer or cardiovascular disease,” the researchers wrote. The American Heart Association agrees in its latest statement. "We recommend that healthy people get adequate nutrients by eating a variety of foods in moderation, rather than by taking supplements," the group says.

Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who criticizes the supplement industry in his book “Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine,” says he is not surprised by the findings.

But he doubts that the millions of Americans who buy vitamins will stop because of this recommendation. “They are constantly hearing information from those who market these products that they are good for you, that they boost your immunity, that they reduce stress,” Offit said in a telephone interview. “Many celebrities endorse them. One cannot imagine how they could hurt you because you need vitamins, you need vitamins to live. The notion is the more, the better.”

Offit said the review could have done more to highlight some of the dangers of overdosing on vitamins. Vitamin A, for example, can cause liver damage if taken in high amounts. “I wish they had taken on the issue of taking megavitamins in excess," he said. “I would like to see someone step forward and say there’s harm.”

There is evidence that taking too many vitamins may be harmful. One study found that too much vitamin E may raise the risk of prostate cancer. And one study of 40,000 women found a slightly higher risk of death in women who took supplements.

Even studies showing benefit have mixed results. Last year, a study showed that men who took a specific multivitamin had a lower risk of death. But the benefit didn’t extend to women.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association and lobbying group for the supplement industry, said the findings show the benefits of vitamins. “Your multivitamin provides you those missing nutrients that are missing from poor diet or busy travel schedules and that's really what the importance of a multivitamin is,” said Douglas MacKay, VP for scientific and regulatory affairs at the group.

But Madelyn Fernstrom, NBC's Diet and Nutrition Editor and a professor of psychiatry, epidemiology, and surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, disputes this.

Consumers should know that taking vitamins does not offset poor lifestyle choices," she says. "Many people fool themselves into 'bartering' for self- selected lifestyle factors. Smokers who take vitamins to support heart health, or sun-worshippers who take antioxidant vitamins to prevent skin cancer, are only fooling themselves."



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