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Bill Sardi
the vitamin supplement answer man
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Posted April 15, 2013: by Bill Sardi
Is Avandia (rosiglitazone) going to rise from the grave? Avandia is the one-time $3 billion blockbuster anti-diabetic drug that plunged into disuse in 2009 when a study published in 2007 showed, when used with other anti-diabetic agents, it increased fractures in women as well as the risk for heart failure.
Suddenly, the FDA says it is going to revisit the data on this drug. It wants to reassess safety risks. A Wall Street Journal report says: “it is too early to know what opinions the FDA will be seeking.” Is the FDA going to put Avandia back on the market without restrictions it placed earlier?
Posted in Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted April 12, 2013: by Bill Sardi
British physician Ben Goldacre, said to be a specialist at picking apart the bogus claims of pharmaceutical companies, speaks out in a recent oral presentation that can be viewed here. His new book, Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients, documents the problem.
For example Dr. Goldacre points to clinical trials for 12 antidepressant medications, 38 that were positive studies and 36 that produced negative results. Of the 36 negative studies, 33 were never published (22 studies) or published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome (11 studies), compared to 37 of the 38 positive studies that were published.
Posted in Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted March 17, 2013: by Bill Sardi
It is predictable that some know-it-all physician would warn the public away from my health articles, and suggest people should not take dietary supplements without a blood test-confirmed nutrient deficiency. Why must I educate physicians? Everyone knows they are dumbbells when it comes to dietary supplements.
This MD demands I provide him with references that would require hours of work. I’ll send him a copy of my book THE NEW TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS & MINERALS.
But let’s briefly take a look at some science to answer an important question. Do we really need a blood test before we supplement our diet with vitamins and minerals?
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Health Care System, Modern Medicine, Vitamins ; No Comments »
Posted December 16, 2012: by Bill Sardi
Systolic (pumping 1st number)/ Diastolic (resting 2nd number)
Note: Natural remedies have not been found to reduce blood pressure among individuals with normal-range pressure.
|
Fish oil1 |
Magnesium2 |
Beet Root3 |
Vitamin D4 |
Vitamin C5 |
Quercetin6 |
Resveratrol7 |
Garlic (Kyolic)8 |
|
|
-4.40 |
-3.00-4.00 |
-4.00-5.00 |
-6.80 |
-3.84 |
-7.00 |
-11.80 |
-17.00 |
|
|
4000 mg |
370+ mg* |
500 mg |
3000 IU |
500 mg** |
730 mg*** |
250 mg |
4 caps**** |
|
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted November 28, 2012: by Bill Sardi
Heart doctors are circling the wagons in defense of digoxin which has now been found to increase the relative risk for death from any cause by 41% among patients being treated for atrial fibrillation (fluttering heart muscle in the top chambers of the heart). About one in six patients taking digoxin for an abnormal heart rhythm will die from the drug rather than their heart rhythm disorder over a 5-year period says the report published in the European Heart Journal.
Digoxin (digitalis), first approved for heart failure in 1998, was originally derived from the herb foxglove and used traditionally since the late 1700s.
Posted in Heart, Modern Medicine, Vitamins ; No Comments »
Posted November 25, 2012: by Bill Sardi
A report published at the New York Times Online Magazine op-ed pages is startling because it says more than its words. It says American medicine hid from view the ineffectiveness of mammography and still does today, with impunity.
There is no medical board to de-license doctors who remove women’s breasts without just cause. Physicians prey upon women’s fears and disfigure them. Worse, there is only public outcry that any less mammography would represent rationing of care. So over 1 million American women undergo needless screening (mammograms) and subsequent invasive care.
When healthcare costs are a front-page issue, 1 million over-diagnosed and over-treated American women @$20,000-50,000 per head would = $20-$50 billion of needless care. Mammography costs $5 billion alone. That is no small stack of money.
Posted in Health Care System, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted November 22, 2012: by Bill Sardi
A revealing report published in the Wall Street Journal indicates heartburn is on the upswing in America with 44% of Americans reporting the problem at least once a month and 7% report daily symptoms.
The rising number of cases of heartburn (a 46% increase in visits to doctors’ offices for gastro-esophageal reflux disease or GERD since 2004) parallels the rise in obesity in the adult population. More than 100 million prescriptions are written for heartburn drugs annually at a cost of nearly $14 billion.
These antacids result in nutrient malabsorption (most lettered vitamins and essential minerals require stomach acid for absorption) and compromise the immune system as stomach acid is the last line of defense against germs that are consumed in foods. (Yep, we don’t eat sterile foods, there is a low bacteria and fungal count in most foods unless heated.)
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted November 16, 2012: by Bill Sardi
A typical overweight, diabetic patient with high blood pressure and joint pain is likely to be taking an anti-diabetic drug like metformin that depletes vitamin B12; a water pill (diuretic) that depletes potassium, magnesium and vitamin B1; a liver-toxic cholesterol-lowering statin drug that depletes coenzyme Q10 and mimics the biological action of vitamin D; an ACE inhibitor that depletes zinc and thus results in copper overload; a beta blocker that depletes coenzyme Q10 and induces asthma, fatigue, impotency and impaired circulation; a steroid like prednisone that depletes vitamin C, calcium and magnesium; and a baby-sized aspirin tablet that depletes vitamin C, folic acid and iron. There is no way such a patient will ever get well taking such a regimen, which is common in the over-drugged population. These drugs cause so many side effects, such as chronic heartburn and mental depression, that even more drugs are required to deal with these side reactions. All this simply represents disease substitution rather than disease elimination. This is what the FDA drug approval process promotes. A bonanza for pharmaceutical companies but a travesty for naïve Americans, who have been misled that America has the best health care system in the world. (It’s actually a disease-care system.) – Bill Sardi
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted November 15, 2012: by Bill Sardi
How much evidence will it take before modern medicine backs away from beta blockers? Beta blockers slow the heart rate by about 8 beats per minute and are most often prescribed in cases of high blood pressure. About 20 brands of beta blockers vie for 200 million prescriptions written annually. But evidence that beta blockers are of little value in reducing mortality from strokes or heart attacks goes back as far as 2004. In fact, there is evidence that beta blockers actually increase the relative risk for a stroke by 26%.
Now the most conclusive evidence against the use of beta blockers, a 3.5-year study involving almost 45,000 subjects says beta blockers do not work as intended. Another recent study shows there are other drugs that work far better than beta blockers. The New Scientist has written the best slamdown of beta blockers, which can be accessed here.
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Heart, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted August 15, 2012: by Bill Sardi
Timeline: important dates
Posted in Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
11
17
52
95
14
24
237
6
56
43
10
116
15
66
105