ADHD, Stimulants & A New Concern

Knowing that approximately 2.5 million children take medications like Ritalin or Adderall for ADHD; I feel this email needs to be passed along.

Albert Einstein was often considered inattentive, confused, disorganized, and he often daydreamed. What would these drugs have done to him?

Stimulants that can kill?

Last week I got an e-mail blast from the FDA. Yet another FDA-approved drug is causing problems. And this time, it's a class of drugs prescribed to millions of kids and adults across the country. But they might not be as safe as we've been led to believe. In fact, a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that these drugs may actually increase a child's risk of dying suddenly by 500 percent!

But the FDA is already backpedaling, due in no small part to enormous pressure from the drug lobbyists I'm sure.

You see, these drugs are Big Pharma's bread and butter. Kids get started taking them as young as six or seven years of age. They take them throughout their school years. And guess what? Many continue to take them well into adulthood. So we're talking about 20, 30, even 40 years of potential pill popping by every patient! So when you consider that 30 million prescriptions are written for these drugs each year, it's no wonder Big Pharma's circling the wagons.


Scary statistics


So what drugs am I talking about?

Of course, I'm talking about Ritalin (methylphenidate) and other stimulant medications used to treat Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. These drugs already carry the FDA's strongest "black box" warning, but this new study makes me think that's just not enough. In my opinion, parents should avoid giving these drugs to their children at all costs.

Here's why...

Researchers examined the medical histories of 1,128 children. Half of the children had died suddenly and half of them died in car accidents. Turns out that 10 of the 564 children who died suddenly had been taking stimulant drugs, like Ritalin. But only 2 of the 564 who died in car accidents had been taking stimulants. This lead study authors to conclude that there may be a six- to seven-fold increased risk of sudden death among healthy kids taking stimulants.

But as I said earlier, the FDA is already backpedaling. Just three days after the first e-mail from the FDA, I got a second e-mail, this time from MedScape (the unofficial PR "mouthpiece" of the FDA in my book).

This second e-mail told me that I should use "caution in interpreting the results of a new case-control study that shows that stimulant medications, specifically methylphenidate, are associated with a six- to seven-times increased risk for sudden death in children and adolescents." Evidently, the FDA is now pointing out holes in the study to soften the blow.

At a press conference, the FDA trotted out a happy mouthpiece to make the case. Robert Temple, M.D., director of medical policy for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said, "I don't think it makes the case that there is real risk here."

Nah. A six- to seven-fold increased risk of sudden death... that's hardly a "real risk" at all!


"Real" worries about sudden death


Here's the thing... worries about sudden death in kids using stimulants have been around for a while. That's mostly because we know that stimulants can cause an increase in blood pressure, heart rates, and arrhythmias... in children as well as adults!

The NY Times ran a story back in 2006 questioning the safety of stimulants such as Ritalin, stating "F.D.A. should study them more closely and warn patients and doctors about the potential risks to the heart."

Well, here we have an actual FDA-funded study (yes, the new study was funded by the FDA) saying that stimulant meds cause a six- to seven-fold increased risk of sudden death, but it's disregarded.

In that same NY Times article, the reporter quoted Dr. Thomas R. Fleming, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington. Dr. Fleming made the case against stimulants pretty clearly. He said that stimulants like Ritalin might even be more dangerous to the heart than drugs like Vioxx or Bextra. You may remember these drugs were yanked off the market because they caused heart damage in many users.

Due to this very real concern, some doctors now require an ECG (electrocardiogram) to rule out pre-existing heart problems in kids before they start taking stimulants like Ritalin. In fact, that's what the authors of the AJP study recommend.

But don't worry. The FDA says it's sponsoring "a large epidemiological study that will provide further information about the potential risks associated with stimulant medication use in children." Translation? They're drumming up more data to make us all forget about this scary little study showing that stimulants put kids at risk. Evidently, they're moving swiftly too. The study will be ready later in 2009.


The real cause of ADHD


Here's the bottom line, folks: Parents of kids with ADHD don't have to resort to drugs like Ritalin to control symptoms. Hyperactivity in children is very often a direct response to an unknown food allergy. Even kids who are labeled as "slow learners" or "day dreamers" or "high strung" may have an underlying food sensitivity.

First, you'll want to remove all refined sugars as well as artificial flavors, colors, preservatives (except vitamin C), and enhancers (MSG) for at least a week from the child's diet. If the child's behavior gets worse for the first three to four days after eliminating these foods, you're absolutely on the right track.

If that doesn't do the trick, I'd suspect an allergy to cow's milk. This can include yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, butter and even packaged products. (Read all packaged food labels carefully to see if they contain milk.)

Unfortunately, it's tough to eliminate milk from a child's system. The effects of drinking milk linger longer than other foods. So you have to stay off the stuff for longer than a week. I'd recommend cutting out all cow's milk products for at least two to three weeks and see how the child does. Look for improved sleeping patterns and eating habits, as well as improvements in attention span and behavior.

After milk, the top five offending foods are wheat, corn, eggs, citrus, and sugar. Try eliminating these foods one at a time to zero-in on the problem. There are lots of websites out there geared to helping parents through elimination diets. Also, for further reading about food allergies (adults have them too!), look at books by noted authors such as Lendon Smith, M.D., Ben Feingold, M.D., or William Crook, M.D.

It may take a little work to get a handle on a child's food allergy, but it's well worth the extra effort... and much safer than taking a drug like Ritalin for the next 20 years!

Until next time,

Allan Spreen, M.D.
NorthStar Nutritionals

All Natural Help for Gastritis

A friend of mine (this is really for her) recently ended up in the Emergency Room d/t what appears to be an upset stomach. After several hours of psychological trauma, multiple overpriced tests and some scratching of their heads (the doctors of course), they labeled her with Gastritis and sent her home to follow up with a specialist.

My answer is quite different, as you all know I despise doctors (at least most).

Assess your life and what you eat.
*Are you extremely stressed?
*What kinds of foods do you eat?
*Do You eat a lot of junk & processed foods?
*Do you eat a lot of meat with very few fruits and vegetables?
*Do you eat Non-Organic foods?
*Do you eat in a hurry or late at night (maybe even eating before taking a nap)?
*Do you consume alcohol or lots of caffeine?
*Do you smoke?
*Do you take a lot of prescription or OTC meds.

The list above are all things someone must look at before running off to another doctor, for yet another prescription. We can make changes in our lives to heal ourselves and fix the problem at the core. Prescription drugs work at easing a symptom while causing yet another problem.

Check out the information below, make changes as needed and know that things don't change over night.

Gastritis is a term used to describe a group of conditions with one thing in common: inflammation of the lining of your stomach. The inflammation of gastritis is often the result of infection with the same bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers. However, other factors — such as traumatic injury, regular use of certain pain relievers or drinking too much alcohol — also can contribute to gastritis.

Gastritis may occur suddenly (acute gastritis) or it can occur slowly over time (chronic gastritis). In some cases, gastritis can lead to ulcers and an increased risk of stomach cancer. For most people, however, gastritis isn't serious and improves quickly with treatment.

The most common symptoms of gastritis are stomach upset and pain. The following are other symptoms of gastritis.

* Indigestion (also called dyspepsia)
* Heartburn
* Abdominal pain
* Hiccups
* Loss of appetite
* Nausea
* Vomiting, possibly of blood (called hematemesis) or material that looks
like coffee-grounds
* Dark stools

Preventive Care;

***********Remember Organic Foods***********

Making lifestyle changes, such as avoiding the long-term use of irritants (aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, coffee, black tea, smoking and alcohol) will go a long way to preventing gastritis and its complications like ulcers. Stress reduction through relaxation techniques including yoga, tai chi, and meditation can also be quite helpful.

Natural Cures (at left) list several options;
*Chamomile Tea -- Drink a fresh cup 4 times a day
*Peppermint Tea
*Probiotics -- An all natural product containing at least four billion organisms
*Aloe vera -- 1/4 Cup three times a day
*Licorice Root -- Chew 500 - 1,000 mg twenty minutes before meals
*Zink -- Promotes healing
*Vitamin A -- Stimulates the growth of intestinal cells & improves the imune
*Vitamin C -- Acts as an Antioxidant and has been shown to reduce the growth of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).
*Flaxseed & Fish Oil -- Shown to heal the stomach lining
*Fresh Garlic -- Works to decrease H. pylori

**********Remember All Natural Organic Foods**********

List created by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Healing foods for gastritis*
Coconut milk
Figs
Cabbage

Healing herbs for gastritis*
Wild cherry bark
Wormwood
Loquat
Golden seal
Pau d'arco
Alfalfa
Slippery elm
Licorice root
Chamomile
Barberry

Healing nutrients and phytochemicals for Gastritis*
Arginina
Vitamin A
Beta-carotene
Vitamin C

Why Moxxor makes fish oil, krill oil and many painkiller medications obsolete

Every once in awhile I will share a product with information that I truly believe in. A product that I personally take and believe others may be interested in, or benefit from.

I believe education is the key, and that our optimal health is or should be our number one concern.

Each year in the United States, 70 million prescriptions are written for anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)(1). In 2006, the estimated cost to consumers of pain management drugs around the world was $30 billion (2).

In the United States, osteoarthritis is responsible for 4.9 percent of all medical expenditures (3), and due to the fact that 5.4 percent of NSAID users develop serious bleeding conditions requiring hospitalization (4), each year 103,000 Americans are hospitalized and 16,500 die due to long-term NSAID use.(5)

The annual medical cost of NSAID-related GI complications is $3.9 billion dollars(6). The 16,500 deaths each year caused by NSAID drugs is more than five times greater than the number of Americans killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and it accounts for one-third of the total cost of treating arthritis (11).

Just one FDA-approved anti-inflammatory drug, Vioxx, was estimated by senior FDA drug researcher Dr. David Graham to have caused between 88,000 and 138,000 serious heart events, including heart attacks and strokes leading to death(7). In sworn testimony before the U.S. Senate, Dr. David Graham described the Vioxx disaster as "...the rough equivalent of 500 to 900 aircraft [each containing from 150 - 200 passengers] dropping from the sky. This translates to 2-4 [airline crashes] every week, week in and week out, for the past 5 years."

NaturalNews has calculated that the number of Americans killed by Vioxx exceeds the number of Americans killed in both the Vietnam War and the War on Iraq, combined! (8)

Remarkably, up to 42% of physicians in the United States and the United Kingdom remain unaware of the dangerous side effects of anti-inflammatory medications (12). In one study, patients visiting physicians complaining of hip pain were prescribed medically unnecessary NSAID drugs more than 41% of the time, and nearly 52% of those patients were not offered medicine to protect their gastrointestinal health, despite showing obvious histories of peptic ulcer disease (13).

NaturalNews asks the question:

Do so many people have to die from taking dangerous prescription painkiller medications?

The answer is NO!

The safe, natural way to ease inflammation

Moxxor is a concentrated superfood supplement made primarily from the extract of green-lipped mussels grown in aquaculture farms near the coast of New Zealand. It has been eaten for hundreds of years by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand who are well known to exhibit a very low incidence of arthritis symptoms such as pain or joint swelling.

A study on green-lipped mussel oil published in the journal Inflammopharmacology(9) shows the remarkable ability of green-lipped mussel oil to ease signs of inflammation.

In this study, a formula containing 4mg of green-lipped mussel extract and 16mg of olive oil (referred to as "GLM Formula A"), and administered at the dose of 20mg per kg of body weight, was shown to exhibit astonishing anti-inflammatory properties far greater than typical fish oils, salmon oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil and even aspirin and ibuprofen. Table 1, below, reveals the methodology:

TABLE 1 - Potency of green-lipped mussel oil vs. other nutritional oils and common painkillers

Treatment	Dose (mg/kg)	Inflammation Symptoms Score	Potency Relative to GLM Formula A	Potential Side effects
None	n/a	2.8	n/a	none
GLM Formula A*	20	1.5	100%	Healthy heart
Olive Oil	1850	2.7	0.6%	Healthy heart
Fish Oil	1850	1.8	0.9%	Healthy heart
Salmon Oil	1850	2	0.8%	Healthy heart
Flaxseed Oil	1900	1.7	0.9%	Healthy heart
Evening Primrose Oil	1900	1.5	1.1%	Healthy heart
Aspirin	300	1.5	6.7%	Gastrointestinal bleeding
Ibuprofen	50	1.4	42.9%	Liver damage

* "GLM Formula A" is formulated with 4mg of green-lipped mussel oil and 16mg of olive oil. We believe Moxxor to be far superior to this formula, as every 20mg of Moxxor contains more than twice the amount of green-lipped mussel oil found in "GLM Formula A," combined with deep marine fish oil as the second ingredient.

Although we do not yet have the clinical trial data documenting this, we believe upcoming clinical trials will show Moxxor to be at least two times the potency of "Formula A" that was used in this study. Moxxor is made only with raw, fresh green-lipped mussel oil and is never freeze-dried or heated. Moxxor is planning clinical trials that we believe will show these higher potency scores, and the results of those studies will be made public as soon as they are available.

20% Green-lipped mussel oil is 123 times more potent than 100% salmon oil!

For the full story visit; Moxxor Science
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com

A Little Pill and it's BIG Toxic Effect

The planet Earth is becoming a toxic dump. We see it when we look across the evening sky or over any near-by city. It’s there as we drive down the street and a gust of wind blows trash across our path or the semi next to us belches out a cloud of nauseas fumes. It even meats me at the door because Mr. Pest control man has sprayed his beautiful yellow toxin around my townhouse. I know, I know, the association believes this will keep me safe from scorpions, spiders and all the rest of our desert creatures. Little do they care that I keep my place clean, have a cat (who can tolerate eating scorpions), use ALL Natural pest control and the smell of Mr. Pest man makes me GAG!!

This makes me wonder. How can anyone hope to clean up the Toxic Planet when a large majority of the people can’t even take care of their own Toxic bodies. Chemicals, Toxins and Environmental Hazards are everywhere and some we may not be able to get away from. The Off-Gassing of fumes from the carpet and paint where you work, the dry cleaners that opened across the street from your home and other things that would make you have to live in a bubble.

There are things though that we can do. Things that may seem like they are for our good or our health, but in the end also help the environment. You stop using the micro wave because it’s bad for you health and decrease energy used. You stop using Teflon pans because they cause cancer and you improve air quality.

You can also think about what you put in your body. Remember what goes in, must also come out.

Science News reported in December 2008 that, “At least one in 25 older adults, about 2.2 million people in the United States, take multiple drugs in combinations that can produce a harmful drug-drug interaction, and half of these interactions involve a non-prescription medication”.

Now once again Science News is reporting that, “more than 80 percent of adults age 57 and older take at least one prescription drug a day and that about half of them regularly mix drugs with over-the-counter medications and supplements”.

An older Gallop Poll from December 2005 reported that about half of Americans were currently taking prescription medication. They also reported that they were, “more likely to take medication for a long-term rather than short-term medical condition, and to take it for a physical rather than psychological or emotional condition”.

With that being said, we have to remember that expired medications that are sent to the landfill leach into our ground water. Medication flushed down the toilet end up in our water system, whether it be dumped there or from the bodies own form of excretion. The media has also reported that tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals; including antibiotics, hormones, mood stabilizers, and other drugs have been found in our drinking water supplies.

My goal for today is for you to stop thinking about saving the Planet. I want you to think about saving yourself. Now don’t get all excited or angry because what you do for your self will in the end affect others. Think about what you put in your mouth, in the form of pills.

Can that cold or flu be shortened by taking Vitamin C, Zinc, drinking extra fluids and rest instead of Over The Counter Meds and Antibiotics? Can you get rid of that head ache by taking a 15 min. nap/walk or listening to relaxing music instead of popping Ibuprofen? Can those aches and pains be dealt with by taking (or eating) an all natural anti-inflammatory like an Omega 3? Can you reduce your cholesterol or your blood pressure with diet instead of meds?

Try not to be one of the statistics above. Work on saving your self. In the end, the neighbor kids next door that dink the city water will thank you. In fact the wild life that picks through the landfill will thank you and even the plants and animals that you eat which are nourished by the ground water will thank you.

What a big roll that little pill, has on EVERY THING!!

Pollypill, Who's Better Off

A blue pill, a red pill and a yellow pill. Oh so this one must be a rainbow pill?

What do you get when you cross an aspirin (to thin the blood), two anti-hypertensive drugs (to lower blood pressure), and a statin drug (to lower cholesterol)?

Well according to Dr Reddy’s Pharmaceutical company which boasts; “Headquartered in India, we are a global pharmaceutical company with a presence in more than 100 countries. We have wholly-owned subsidiaries in the US, UK, Russia, Germany and Brazil; joint ventures in China, South Africa and Australia; representative offices in 16 countries; and third-party distribution set ups in 21 countries”. (found on their “about us page”) You get a Polypill.
But, I say you get Big Parma with even BIGGER pockets.

They claimed that such a pill could prevent 80% of all heart attacks and that anybody with cardiovascular disease could take it, as could everybody over 55. ‘‘It would be acceptably safe and with widespread use, would have a greater impact on the prevention of the disease in the Western world than any other single intervention,’’

Reports also state that 2053 patients aged 45 to 80 years without cardiovascular disease but with one risk factor—type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, smoker within past five years, increased waist-to-hip ratio, or abnormal lipids—at 50 centers in India were enrolled. They also report that those who took the Polypill in the study had no more adverse effects than eight other groups enrolled who were taking one of the components of the Polypill.

Points to think about;

1)“No more adverse effects”. Well we all know these drugs have adverse effects, so how about something that has NO Adverse Effects.

2)This study was funded by the pharmacy company that wants to sell it.
3)It was conducted in a low income country where fewer lawsuits would result from harm or deaths and the testing cost less. Guess this is more cost effective than American guinea pigs.

4)The people tested had one risk factor, but did they actually live longer, did they suffer fewer heart attacks or have better blood flow? They never studied this because they are only concerned with numbers that over simplify a disease. Remember elevated blood pressure is not a disease but a symptom of some other problem. Elevated cholesterol is not a disease but a by-product, remember the liver makes cholesterol because the body NEEDS it.

5) March 2009: Polypill Coming To America

6)Moral of this study per big Pharma is: The more medications in your system the better.

My thoughts on this is, It’s HOG WASH. I’m trying to help clean up this world, get the toxins out the the air, eat organic foods with less chemicals. I buy Eco-friendly cleaning products to save the ozone and decrease pollutants in the water and soil. Even the President is supporting solar and wind power yet the FDA could OK a Pollypill that incense pushes legal drug use for anyone over 55 and with a risk for something. Did they forget about or just choose not to acknowledge all the drugs already found in city water, lakes and fish.
Push for chemical free foods, clean water, no irradiated foods, fewer toxins and exercise. Then I bet everyone's blood pressure, cholesterol, and quality of life would be better.

Today's Health Care is, NOT mine.

Yesterday was another day where I can honestly say, I am not proud to work in what America calls, “Health Care”. I took care of a almost 90 year old man (his birthday is next week) whom was transported to the hospital from Hospice because they were unable to get his pain under control. This man has lung cancer and only wants to die in comfort. He knows he is terminal, he knows he has very little time and that there is no cure. He only wants to spend what little time he has in comfort and with his family, which he had a lot of. I say BRAVO!! Take all the narcotics you want and enjoy this day.

What makes me angry, is that doctors have become “Gods”. They take this man and put him on IV blood thinners (a possible clot somewhere) and then wonder why they have to give him two units of blood. From there they order a CT of his brain with IV contrast because, “He might have cancer that has metastasized to his brain“. The doctors do little to explain why they are ordering this test or even to ask if it is something that is wanted. They just order it, get upset if it’s not done and move on to the next patient. Fortunately I had time to spend with this patient and his family. We went over what the test was, how doing the test itself would affect this elderly man. How laying flat on his back on a hard metal table would affect his breathing, which was hard enough sitting up with oxygen on. We talked about how the dye would affect his struggling kidneys and heart. And in the end we talked about what they would do if the test showed he now had brain cancer. The answer of course was nothing, he only wanted pain control and that we had already achieved.

One of the family members mentioned that the doctors order things (tests, meds, etc.) and they (the patients and family) really have little to control over what is done. This is where I got on my soap box. I reminded him that doctors are there for them, not the other way around. The patient is or should be the “boss” of what and how they are taken care of.

We use the term health care, which in all reality is false advertising. We are not taught how to take care of our health. We are not taught what to eat, what (toxins, chemicals, McDonald’s etc) to stay away from . Instead we are encouraged to do as we like and then a doctor will take care of us. This brings us to the next term I have heard used a lot in the recent months, “Sick Care” which after yesterday really doesn’t fit either. If we can’t honor a mans wish to die in comfort, in his own time, we have no compassion for the sick or their care.

The term Health care is in the news everywhere you look. We worry about who should have it, how much it should cost and what it shouldn’t cover. Doctors and Pharmaceutical companies want to poison us, and the FDA only wants to give us half the story. Maybe we should consider the fact that everyone has the right to be healthy, and remember as Ben Franklin once said; “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure“.

I say;
Put Health, Prevention and Compassion back in Health Care and give the control back to the individuals. Make it cheaper to pay for an organic orange compared to a package of ding dongs, cover my all natural vitamins instead of toxic medications if I choose and acknowledge my treatment from my Naturopath as being better or equal to any primary care physician.