I have been trying to clue the people I know and love in on the severe conflict of interest the government and big pharma are involved with for a long time, but I get the feeling there is going to be more and more bell ringers exposing this kind of deceit. Just last month it came out that drugmaker AstraZeneca “buried” unfavorable studies on its antipsychotic drug Seroquel that showed it may cause diabetes and other health problems.

You and only you are responsible for you and your families health. Be very cautious toward prescription drugs, don’t always rely on your doctor or medical journals. If your gut instinct says “beware” then search for alternatives because most likely there are always a better ways lurking out there, only you won’t usually find them within mainstream medicine…

Read more below and for the entire story from Dr. Mercola

Scott S. Reuben, a prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist, allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies that claimed to show benefits from painkillers like Vioxx and Celebrex.

Baystate Medical Center said Reuben had faked data used in the studies, which were published in several anesthesiology journals between 1996 and 2008. The hospital has asked the medical journals to retract the studies. The studies reported favorable results from the use of painkillers Bextra and Vioxx — both since withdrawn — as well as Celebrex and Lyrica. Dr. Reuben’s research work also claimed positive findings for the antidepressant Effexor XR as a pain killer.

The retractions, first reported in Anesthesiology News, have caused anesthesiologists to reconsider the use of certain practices adopted as a result of Dr. Reuben’s research. His work was considered important in encouraging doctors to combine the use of painkillers like Celebrex and Lyrica for patients undergoing common procedures such as knee and hip replacements.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal March 11, 2009

Corn, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, HFCSPundit George Will has joined the ranks of those who have noticed that the U.S. government’s treatment of corn is wrecking the health of Americans.

Ever since Nixon, government policy has been to sell large quantities of calories as cheaply as possible — especially calories coming from corn. Now, a quarter of the 45,000 items in the average supermarket contain processed corn, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup.

The result?

Rates of chronic diseases like cancer and Type 2 diabetes are much higher today than they were in 1900. Type 2 diabetes is a $100 billion a year consequence of, among other things, obesity related to a corn-based diet. Four of the top 10 causes of American deaths — coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer – have well-established links to diet as well.

Making matters worse, by now you may have seen “crystalline fructose” as an ingredient in beverages.

If you’ve been wondering what it was, it turns out that crystalline fructose “is produced by allowing the fructose to crystallize from a fructose-enriched corn syrup.” This information is from the sugar producers themselves. So, it is made from corn syrup, and not only corn syrup, but “fructose enriched” corn syrup. Sounds like another name for high fructose corn syrup.

Fructose and glucose are metabolized differently in the body. Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body, but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. When a diet includes a large amount of fructose, then it creates a fatty liver, and even cirrhosis. Crystalline Fructose contains a 99.5 percent minimum of fructose assay, which is an even higher percentage of fructose than regular HFCS!

Another ingredient of crystalline fructose is arsenic. Additional chemical compounds that make up crystalline fructose are heavy metals, lead, and chloride.

Sources:

Smokinchoices March 10, 2009

Cleaner Plate Club May 23, 2008

The Fit Shack March 28, 2007