Your Cholesterol Medication May Be Making You Sicker

Statin drugs are being prescribed in higher and more potent doses to increasing numbers of people (even those with normal cholesterol levels) for “hypercholesterolemia” - which some doctors call a non-illness. What most physicians often overlook is that patients on statins deplete their Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplies, which often leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and eventually heart failure!A petition has been issued to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to label statin packages with a warning regarding statin-induced CoQ10 depletion along with a review of animal and human studies supporting the issue. Experts are not sure that the warning will be heeded however.The Truth about StatinsStatins have become the drug of choice for millions of people. If the recommendations issued by experts two years ago are to be believed, nearly 40 million Americans should be on statins by now. What you don’t realize is that, statins kill people! And cause complications in many more. Patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10. The elderly and patients with heart failure begin to show symptoms of CoQ10 depletion in as short as six to twelve months! Younger patients can tolerate the drug longer, but they eventually develop CoQ10 depletion symptoms after several years.When you get to the heart of matters, treating the symptoms of high cholesterol with a drug doesn’t treat the cause. Not only doesn’t it treat the cause, artificial drugs may even cause serious side effects!Don’t risk your health when you can normalize cholesterol levels by observing some simple steps:Normalize your insulin levels by eliminating sugar and grains. Eliminating sugar and grains will ultimately have beneficial side effects, such as normalizing your weight, increasing your energy and lowering your blood pressure and triglycerides. Take a high-quality fish oil that is rich with beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Find a fish oil that is independently tested by a lab to conform to purity guidelines. Regular exercise may further reduce your risk of heart disease!You can also think of a potent enzyme called nattokinase, from the food natto. It has been used for circulatory problems for decades, and it is found in CardioEssentials, a supplement often recommended to those who have been diagnosed with heart disease.

Medicines and Drugs Used in Amoebiasis and Other Protozoal Infections

Tinidazole (Tinagyl, Tridazole, Tiniba, Tini) This is a related drug to metronidazole but has the advantage of a longer duration of action, thus reducing the frequency of intake. The duration of treatment is shorter. Its adverse effects and precautions are similar to metronidazole but the cure rate is higher. It has a few adverse effects like metallic taste and nausea. It is given in a dose of 600 mg, twice a day for 5 days, or 2 g, once a day for 3 days. Secnidazole It is effective in a single dose and as a one-day treatment. The adult dose is 2 g (4 tablets of 500 mg each) taken once only. Ornidazole (Dazolic, Ornida) This drug works like tinidazole but less disturbance of taste is reported. Satranidazole (Satrogyl) It is a longer acting drug and can be taken as a single dose of 2 g (4 tablets of 500 mg each). It does not cause nausea, vomiting and metallic taste. Diloxanide Furoate (Furamide) It is an effective drug to kill active organisms in the intestinal lumen and is given along with metronidazole in intestinal disease. Its usefulness in acute amoebiasis with dysentery is doubtful. It is useful in the treatment of asymptomatic cyst passers. Dose for adults is 500 mg, 3 times a day for 5 to 10 days, and for children above 2 years, it is 20 mg/kg for 10 days. Adverse Effects: The drug is generally well-tolerated. It may cause flatulence, occasional nausea, and itching. It is a drug of choice for mild intestinal and asymptomatic amoeabiasis. Diiodohydroxyquin (Diodoquin) and Lodochlorhydroxyquinoline (Enteroquinol) These drugs are useful in the treatment of asymptomatic cyst passers. They act against the amoebae in the intestines but are not effective against acute amoebic dysentery. These drugs are used for eliminating intestinal organisms along with or after a course of metronidazole or tinidazole (preferred regimen). Of these diiodohydroxyquin is preferred because of its relatively less adverse effects. Diiodohydroxyquin may be given in a dose of 600 to 650 mg, 3 times a day after a course of metronidazole or tinidazole. Iodochlorhydroxyquinoline is given in a dose of 250 to 500 mg, 3 times a day, for 1 to 2 weeks.Adverse Effects: In the dosage mentioned above, occasional adverse like nausea, abdominal cramps, aggravation of iodine-induced pimples, and allergic reactions, such as skin rashes and itching may occur.Larger doses than recommended may cause SMON SYNDROME (subacute myelo-optico neuropathy), characterized by muscle pain and weakness, specially in the legs, diminished vision leading to blindness due to damage of the nerves of the eye. Although these symptoms regress following discontinuation of the drug, they are not always completely reversible. Such cases occurred mostly in Japan. Precautions These drugs should be avoided by patients allergic to iodine or with thyroid disease. If pain in the muscles or difficulty in vision occurs, doctor must be consulted. Never use them for prevention of diarrhoea.Children should not be given these drugs.These drugs should not be used for more than two weeks.

How Alcohol And Drug Affect Depression

If you are depressed you don’t feel good. You may tend to self medicate using drugs or alcohol or both. Alcohol can be a strong anti depressant at first but then when the use continues, alcohol becomes a depressant. Alcohol is like many other drugs that act on the brain. If you drink it regularly, you find that it has less effect on you. You need to drink more and more to get the effect you want. This is called ‘tolerance’ and is a powerful part of the problem you can develop using alcohol to deal with depression. It is so easy to get alcohol- you don’t need to talk to a doctor or get a prescription- that it is the drug of choice to deal with depression more often then not. The problem is, alcohol can really make the depression worse. It definitely interferes with your ability to deal with the problems which caused your depression in the first place. Many people who have trouble sleeping start using alcohol as a sleeping pill and it causes no end of problems. In the end, alcohol abuse will really interfere with sleep. In low doses, alcohol makes you feel relaxed and more able to talk to and be around people if you are shy or lack confidence. Taking small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine seem to be good for our hearts. But there is a big difference between drinking a glass of wine and downing a six pack to back off the pressure. Even a few drinks can be a depressant for you. Some of the effects are: -Impaired judgment and decision making -Vision disturbance, especially peripheral vision -Less coordination -Problems with depth perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness -At moderate-to-high doses, alcohol also causes: -Feelings of sadness and despair -Impaired coordination -Impaired perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness to the point of dropping off And here are health problems you stir up with over alcohol use: -It can lead to obesity -It can cause kidney and liver problems -It is involved in one half of suicides -It plays a role in many auto accidents -It is often a part of domestic violence -It is often a part of assaults and homicides -It can allow unacceptable behavior -It can become an addiction -It can ruin relationships and families -It can cost your job As you can see, I am really suggesting to you that alcohol is not the way to deal with your depression. Alcohol is cheap and easy to get and you don’t have to talk over your problems with someone to get it. But it can and will cause you to become more depressed if you are using it to treat yourself. The same can be said for abuse of street drugs. If you use cocaine or heroin or amphetamines to solve your emotional pain, your pain will only get worse and then you will have not only problems with depression but also problems with addiction.

Drugs for Treatment of Common Skin Disorders

The skin may not appear to be as vital as the heart or the brain, but, nevertheless, a healthy skin is essential for life and a skin disease can make life unbearable. A person with an apparent skin disease avoids meeting people, while others keep away due to the fear of infection. In the last few years, in India, like in the west, a multicrore rupee industry has come up to manufacture skin care preparations, so much so that some years ago the Indian Parliament had to amend the Drugs Act of 1940 to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to include cosmetics in the Act, the use of which has been growing at a very rapid rate. Scabies Scabies is a contagious disease caused by a mite (Sarcoptes scabiei). This mite lays eggs in the burrows of the skin. The disease spreads through contact with infected individuals, clothing, bedding, or furniture. The commonly affected parts are the finger webs, the palm, wrist, front of the arm, the soles, areas around the nipples, and the groin and inner upper legs causing severe itching (pruritus), specially at night. A person suffering from itching in these areas and not suffering from allergy or pruritus (severe itching of the skin) can be suspected of scabies. This infection may cause small papules and there may be a rash.The incubation period for the mite is long - about a month - and it can easily be transferred by normal social contact among a group of people living together. All members of the house, whether afflicted or not, should be treated. The clothes, linen, towels, and so on, should be thoroughly washed and ironed. Gamma Benzene Hexachloride (Emscab, Gammaderm, Gab, Lorexane, Scarab)It is also called lindane and is the drug of choice for scabies and lice infestation. In adults single application of its 1 % lotion or 2% cream may be necessary to provide a complete cure. If needed it may be repeated after one week.Adverse Effects: It is an irritant to the eyes and mucosa. It may cause skin irritation if used excessively or for a prolonged period. Such overuse may cause the adverse effect of irritating the brain. In rare cases due to excessive use resulting in absorption into the body, convulsions may occur.Precautions Do not apply it on the eyes and cuts on the skin as it may cause irritation.Do not apply it repeatedly without consulting a doctor. If skin irritation occurs, which may be due to an allergy, wash it off and don’t apply again.Do not apply more than 3 g of the lotion or cream at a time.Wash the body thoroughly after an overnight (8 to 12 hours) application.Avoid its use during pregnancy and in infants.If skin is broken due to scratches or ulcers do not apply either the lotion or cream. Permethrin (Perlife, Permite) A 5% cream and 1% lotion is considered to be highly effective and safe. It has to be applied only once and if need, repeated after one week. It can be used in children also. Crotamiton (Crotorax) It is less effective than gamma benzene hexachloride as it has to be applied for 2-4 night heights. Its irritant effect is, however, less than gamma benzene hexachloride. It is available as 10% cream and lotion. It reduces itching.Benzylbenzoate (Scabalcid lotion, Scabindon ointment)Its irritant effect on the skin is more than that of gamma benzene hexachloride and may cause a burning or stinging sensation on the area of application. It is applied for 2 days. Itching may continue for a few days. This drug is used in difficult cases only. Sulphur OintmentThis is messy, but an inexpensive remedy. It has a bad odour, and stains clothes, but is very safe. It is preferred in infants, young children, and pregnant women. A 5% sulfur cream (Persol Forte) contains benzoyl peroxide 10%. Lice InfestationThis is also called pediculosis as it is caused by common lice - pediculus capitis (head louse). Although lice infestation is not injurious to health, it is very annoying due to the itching sensation caused by it. Excessive scratching and excoriation may lead to secondary bacterial infection. The itching is caused by the saliva of the parasite deposited on the skin. If eye lashes are involved, plain vaseline is applied twice a day for about a week.Permethrin 1% is applied to the scalp and hair and left for 30 minutes to 8 hours before a rinse. Gamma Benzene Hexachloride (Emscab, Gammaderm, Gab, Lorexane, Scarab)MalathionA 1% lotion is very effective and takes 8-12 hours time to kill the lice. However, it has been banned in the USA due to its slow action and toxicity to nerves. It should be applied in a very well ventilated area, lest the vapours be inhaled.

What is he thinking?

For once, I%26rsquo;m going to put on my physician%26rsquo;s hat and give you the view from the other side. So my patient has walked through the door and, in the same breath as blurting out that he%26rsquo;s suffering erectile dysfunction (ED), he%26rsquo;s also into the knee-jerk questions about where to buy Viagra, should he risk buying Viagra online, and so on. I know Pfizer Inc. did a wonderful thing when they invented Viagra, but that medication so dominates the public consciousness that many men seem have never even heard about Cialis or Levitra, let alone all the other treatments that are available and may be necessary. Still even though my patients are predictable, they are at least coming through the door to get treatment. Ten years ago that did not happen. The world is a better place thanks to Pfizer Inc. So what was I thinking during the question-and-answer session and the physical examination? Well, my first step was to review the medical records to see if there were any immediate clues. If there are existing diseases or one of the medications currently on prescription has an ED side effect, we have solved the case before we start. I should let you in on a small medical secret. About a quarter of all the cases that we see are drug-related. Usually, we simply change the medication and the ED goes away. Alternatively, we have to counsel lifestyle changes because the excessive alcohol consumption or recreational drug of choice is not doing the patient any favors. The next most obvious possibility is Type 2 Diabetes. This is growing more common but this patient isn%26rsquo;t complaining about any increase in thirst or appetite, his weight looks much as it was the last time we met. During the physical, I%26rsquo;ll look for acanthosis nigricans which are darker patches of skin in the arm pit or round the neck. I may also do a blood sugar test just to be thorough. Blood pressure tests out in the normal range, so that%26rsquo;s another good sign. The questions are designed to establish whether we%26rsquo;re dealing with problems of desire (which could be psychological or physical), whether it%26rsquo;s purely ED or there are also problems with ejaculation and orgasm, and to check up on those lifestyle choices which could be the real problem. The physical examination tries to cover as many possibilities as possible in as short a time as possible. Most men find an examination deeply embarrassing so keeping it short is a %26quot;good thing%26quot;. I%26rsquo;m looking for anything that might suggest a systemic problem. So, I%26rsquo;m obviously going to start with the penis. Some of my questions have probed whether the penis has changed shape in any way or perhaps the erection is painful. A physical examination could find evidence of lumps or the answers to the questions may reveal that the penis now bends or curves when erect, all of which could suggest Peyronie%26rsquo;s disease. Similarly, if the penis is not sensitive when I touch it, this may indicate possible problems in the peripheral nervous system. If the testicles feel slightly smaller than I would expect, this can suggest a low testosterone level. Following the same idea and taking a quick overview of the body also allows me to look for any changes to the usual distribution of body hair or any enlargement to the pectorals (a polite way of suggesting that my patient may be developing small breasts). Any such abnormality can indicate problems with the hormone balance or the endocrine system. I%26rsquo;m also testing the pulses in both the wrists and ankles. If there are any circulatory problems, I%26rsquo;m likely to find a decrease pulse at the extremities. So these are all the quick and easy explanations. In most cases, there is little to suggest the need to go on to further tests and I can then get into a discussion of the medication options. This is when the patient finally begins to look more comfortable again. We have finally come back to his original questions, except that I%26rsquo;m also telling him about Cialis and Levitra. Viagra may have the name, but Cialis in particular does have some interesting characteristics.

How Alcohol And Drug Affect Depression

If you are depressed you don’t feel good. You may tend to self medicate using drugs or alcohol or both. Alcohol can be a strong anti depressant at first but then when the use continues, alcohol becomes a depressant. Alcohol is like many other drugs that act on the brain. If you drink it regularly, you find that it has less effect on you. You need to drink more and more to get the effect you want. This is called ‘tolerance’ and is a powerful part of the problem you can develop using alcohol to deal with depression. It is so easy to get alcohol- you don’t need to talk to a doctor or get a prescription- that it is the drug of choice to deal with depression more often then not. The problem is, alcohol can really make the depression worse. It definitely interferes with your ability to deal with the problems which caused your depression in the first place. Many people who have trouble sleeping start using alcohol as a sleeping pill and it causes no end of problems. In the end, alcohol abuse will really interfere with sleep. In low doses, alcohol makes you feel relaxed and more able to talk to and be around people if you are shy or lack confidence. Taking small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine seem to be good for our hearts. But there is a big difference between drinking a glass of wine and downing a six pack to back off the pressure. Even a few drinks can be a depressant for you. Some of the effects are: -Impaired judgment and decision making -Vision disturbance, especially peripheral vision -Less coordination -Problems with depth perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness -At moderate-to-high doses, alcohol also causes: -Feelings of sadness and despair -Impaired coordination -Impaired perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness to the point of dropping off And here are health problems you stir up with over alcohol use: -It can lead to obesity -It can cause kidney and liver problems -It is involved in one half of suicides -It plays a role in many auto accidents -It is often a part of domestic violence -It is often a part of assaults and homicides -It can allow unacceptable behavior -It can become an addiction -It can ruin relationships and families -It can cost your job As you can see, I am really suggesting to you that alcohol is not the way to deal with your depression. Alcohol is cheap and easy to get and you don’t have to talk over your problems with someone to get it. But it can and will cause you to become more depressed if you are using it to treat yourself. The same can be said for abuse of street drugs. If you use cocaine or heroin or amphetamines to solve your emotional pain, your pain will only get worse and then you will have not only problems with depression but also problems with addiction.

Information on Legionellosis

Legionellosis is an infection that is caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila. These bacteria are found naturally in the environment and thrive in hot water and warm wet places. They are generally found in lakes, rivers, creeks, hot springs and other bodies of water. They can also be found in soil and potting mix. They do not seem to grow in car or window air-conditioners. An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people get legionellosis in the United States each year. Infections have been traced to mist-producing devices, such as certain air-conditioning systems. Legionellosis takes two distinct forms. Legionnaires’ infection is the more severe form of the infection and produces pneumonia. Pontiac fever is caused by the similar bacterium, but produces a gently respiratory disease without pneumonia which looks like acute influenza. People of any age can get legionellosis but the disease most often affects the elderly. People with underlying illnesses such as cancer or those with lowered immune system resistance to disease are also at higher risk. It rarely occurs in otherwise healthy people. The most common symptoms of legionellosis are fever, chills, and a cough. The cough may either be dry or produce sputum. Several patients also have muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite and, rarely, diarrhea. These symptoms usually begin 2 to 14 days after being exposed to the bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease can be very grave and can cause death in up to 5% to 30% of cases. Legionnaires’ disease is treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics used most often have been levofloxacin and azithromycin. Macrolides are used in all age groups while tetracyclines are prescribed for children above the age of 12 and quinolones above the age of 18. Erythromycin is currently recommended as the drug of choice. Pontiac fever requires no exact treatment. Prevention of legionellosis is based upon proper maintenance of heating, cooling and plumbing systems. Smoking is an important risk factor for developing symptomatic infection in those exposed to Legionella bacteria, and it is presumed cessation of smoking reduces an individual’s risk of infection. Persons with hot tubs and whirlpool baths should take special care to keep them clean and free of Legionella bacteria. To minimize the risk of infection through potting mix gardeners should be advised to wear gloves and wash hands after handling potting mix even if gloves have been worn.

What is Energy and where can I get more of it?

How often have you been in the presence of some child that is running around the room like the energizer bunny rabbit and someone has commented that they would love to have that kind of energy again? One of my favorites is, how can we bottle some of that energy? I heard that one often when growing up.While I would love to talk about all of the gory details about where energy starts, how it is created and why we seem to have less and less of this precious commodity as we get older, I’ll spare the details. However, with that said I can tell you emphatically that energy does NOT come from caffeine and it certainly does NOT come from refined carbohydrates and/or refined sugars. Why do I bring this up? Well how often do you or someone you know pick up an Energy drink or stop at their favorite coffee shop to get a boost during the day? Caffeine has become the number one drug of choice in the US and my guess is (based on my travels) that is the case pretty much world wide. Unfortunately caffeine is little more than a chemically induced stress which our bodies misinterpret as energy. The serious part of this equation is that stress is the number one killer in the US. Now for those of you that are looking at a list of the top diseases, or causes of death you are not going to see stress listed there. Why? Basically it boils down to the fact that stress is a silent killer. Stress is Mother Nature’s way of weeding us out without having to rely on a catastrophic event to wipe out a large number of people. The reason behind this very effective tool that Mother Nature has is that stress simply provides the environment in which our bodies are not at their peak thereby allowing a multitude of diseases to take root, setting us up for a Heart-attack, a stroke, and this list goes on. In short stress drains our immune system (and a multitude of other bodily functions) to the point where we can no longer fight off things that should be of little to no consequence. To make matters worse Energy Drinks are one of the hottest items on the market today. Now you can rest assured that those with the added vitamins and nutrients are much better for you – NOT! What little nutritional value they have is so far out weighed by the caffeine, the sugars, etc, etc that their nutritional value is non-existent. What’s more is that they give you a false sense of energy for a short period of time until you coming crashing back to earth. What do most people do once they hit this low? Reach for another energy drink and I really use that term loosely and only because that is the popular term that they are marketed under. If you hear nothing else, hear this: ENERGY DRINKS DO NOT GIVE YOU ENERGY. Primarily due to the fact that your energy level is not low because of a caffeine deficiency.In short energy drinks are little more than a typical soda that you have been drinking your whole life. What do energy drinks provide you with:- Large amounts of caffeine- Large quantities of sugar- Other herbal stimulants such as guarana and ginseng- A roller coaster ride that severely stresses your adrenals, The possible health risks involved with the consumption of energy drinks is very lengthy. The stimulating properties of these drinks typically boost the heart rate, increase blood pressure, add to the dehydration of the body, and, like other stimulants, prevent sleep. Unfortunately, there has been little testing with regards to some of the biggest concerns. In short it is not nearly enough is known about the effects caused by the combination of ingredients in energy drinks. To further complicate matters there are many of these drinks that are used in combination with alcohol as mixers. Natural Energy As you may or may not know, energy is created via a very complex process known as the Kreb Cycle and as we age our Kreb cycle begins to be less efficient at that energy creation process. The good news is that recent scientific research has discovered the rate limiting factors that prevent us from creating energy the way that we did when we were kids. If you really would like to have the unlimited supply of energy that we all had at one time it is now possible. Maybe not to the point of being 5 years old again, but what about simply not feeling like you need to take a nap in the afternoon. What if you could get to the end of the day and still have energy to spend on your favorite hobby, take a walk with the love of you life, or …….. you fill in the blank?You in fact have millions of energy factories throughout your body and they are a section within the cells of your body known as the mitochondria. What has been discovered is that over time the by products of the energy creation that we so desperately need to get through the day actually begins to damage the mitochondria and as such the energy creation process becomes less efficient. One of the biggest causes of this slow down in the creation of energy is caused by free radicals that are those by-products that I just mentioned. Research has shown that by increasing the amount of acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid available to your cells our energy production can be rejuvenated. Now please take note that I have very much simplified the discussion of what needs to take place here in order to get the full benefits of these two supplements, but what I really wanted to point out is that you do NOT have to rely on huge doses of sugar and caffeine to fool you body in to thinking it has energy. Further more to get the maximum benefits available to you in a well planned anti-aging regimen you want a product that is going to provide the nutrients that are needed and any additional components required for you body to fully utilize what you are putting into it. Personally, for me the best thing on the market is AgelessXtra.References:1) Wikipedia Website (Kreb Cycle) - Citric_acid_cycle2) Wikipedia Website (Energy Drinks) - Energy_drink3) Alternative Medicine Website - energy_drinks4) Brown University: Health Education Website - energydrinks5) Stephen Cherniske, M.S., The Metabolic Plan, The Random House Publishing Company, 2003, ISBN: 0-345-44102-8

Every day across America, nearly a million American kids age 12 to 17 abuse a pain reliever for the very first time just to get high. If you do the math, that’s nearly a million kids a year risking their lives — or at the very least, risking a life interrupted or ruined by prescription drug addiction. Teenagers are abusing more prescription and over-the-counter drugs than all illegal and illicit drugs except marijuana, according to federal statistics. In 2006, more than 2.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 reported abusing prescription drugs. And kids as young as 12 and 13 told researchers that prescription drugs are their “drug of choice.” The drugs that lead to prescription drug addiction for thousands of these young people are powerful narcotic painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet. These are the heroin-in-a-pill type drugs that can cause breathing collapse and coma, that have led to tens of thousands of cases of prescription drug addiction across the country. OxyContins were responsible in part for the death of actor Heath Ledger, and literally thousands of other “just plain folks” across the country in recent years. Anti-anxiety drugs and depressants, especially the benzodiazepine drugs — Xanax is a popular brand, as are Valium, Librium and many others — are particularly dangerous. They rapidly create dependencies that can lead to prescription drug addiction — some people are hooked after just a day or two on Xanax — and they are really difficult to get off of safely. And benzos can cause death when mixed with other drugs or alcohol. Stimulants are another type of drug that kids are abusing to get a buzz, particularly the kinds prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Adderall and Ritalin are two of the most abused, and these, because of their side effects, are basically cocaine-in-a-pill. Kids are trading and selling their ADHD prescription drugs with other kids, and stupidly risking their friends’ lives. Speed drugs can cause seriously abnormal heart rhythms, seizures and death. Meanwhile, a recent University of Texas study showed conclusively that methylphenidate, the active ingredient in Ritalin, causes chromosomal damage — the organized structures of DNA in our cells. No one has a clue yet what damage that will do long-term, but messing with someone’s DNA can’t be harmless. But while that research continues, millions of parents keep feeding these drugs to children. It’s time for a reassessment. Teens are also abusing over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, such as cough and cold remedies, which contain dextromethorphan and other drugs which are, like those prescription drugs, extremely deadly when combined with other drugs or with alcohol. OTC drugs can cause blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, coma, and even death. And they’re a stepping stone to prescription drug addiction, too. Thousands of kids wind up in hospital emergency wards every year fighting for their lives because they overdosed on prescription or OTC drugs mixed with alcohol — all for fun! These drugs are readily available from home medicine cabinets or from friends, and even from on-line pharmacies. A lot of kids still think they’re a safer way to get high than street drugs, and many of them who wouldn’t touch cocaine or heroin don’t realize they are abusing almost identical drugs, and risking prescription drug addiction or death. What’s needed is for parents to start talking to their kids, and to clearly spell out all the very real dangers of prescription and OTC drugs. And they need to show strong disapproval of drug experimentation and abuse, and create and enforce anti-drug rules. Parents need to be firm, but they need their kids to understand that rules are to protect them — kids should be healthy, not in the morgue with a tag on their toe or in medical drug detox recovering from addiction.

Statin drugs are being prescribed in higher and more potent doses to increasing numbers of people (even those with normal cholesterol levels) for “hypercholesterolemia” - which some doctors call a non-illness. What most physicians often overlook is that patients on statins deplete their Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplies, which often leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and eventually heart failure!A petition has been issued to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to label statin packages with a warning regarding statin-induced CoQ10 depletion along with a review of animal and human studies supporting the issue. Experts are not sure that the warning will be heeded however.The Truth about StatinsStatins have become the drug of choice for millions of people. If the recommendations issued by experts two years ago are to be believed, nearly 40 million Americans should be on statins by now. What you don’t realize is that, statins kill people! And cause complications in many more. Patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10. The elderly and patients with heart failure begin to show symptoms of CoQ10 depletion in as short as six to twelve months! Younger patients can tolerate the drug longer, but they eventually develop CoQ10 depletion symptoms after several years.When you get to the heart of matters, treating the symptoms of high cholesterol with a drug doesn’t treat the cause. Not only doesn’t it treat the cause, artificial drugs may even cause serious side effects!Don’t risk your health when you can normalize cholesterol levels by observing some simple steps:Normalize your insulin levels by eliminating sugar and grains. Eliminating sugar and grains will ultimately have beneficial side effects, such as normalizing your weight, increasing your energy and lowering your blood pressure and triglycerides. Take a high-quality fish oil that is rich with beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Find a fish oil that is independently tested by a lab to conform to purity guidelines. Regular exercise may further reduce your risk of heart disease!You can also think of a potent enzyme called nattokinase, from the food natto. It has been used for circulatory problems for decades, and it is found in CardioEssentials, a supplement often recommended to those who have been diagnosed with heart disease.