Vaccines and Money, It’s All About The Profit
By Mark Schauss | March 11, 2008
There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding vaccines and autism as well as whether flu shots really benefit anyone. For years, the pharmaceutical industry has bemoaned how vaccines didn’t make them any money so they were really for the benefit of the people. Oh really? Click on this link to an industry newsletter and find out why this isn’t really the case (you don’t need to buy the report for $1600, just read the abstract).
The “global market” is poised to reach $21 billion dollars by 2010 and they are going from just targeting children to going after adults and the elderly. The U.S. is their biggest market – yeah for us 🙁 – followed by Europe. I guess since they are failing miserably at bringing new, safe and effective drugs to market to deal with real health issues, they need to create a new market to supposedly prevent diseases (cancer being their #1 target). Unfortunately, we won’t know whether these vaccines won’t create other diseases or other problems that will only crop up years from now.
Do you even know what is in the vaccines? Supplements and foods have to list all their ingredients on the label but for some reason, vaccines don’t. While this video is quite humorous, it is a very serious issues. Would you really want to be injected with formaldehyde, mercury and ether? I know I don’t.
Topics: Drugs, Health, Healthcare, Mercury, Opinion | No Comments »
Go for the Cure Instead of Stop the Cause – Misused Money in the Fight Against Breast Cancer?
By Mark Schauss | March 10, 2008
Most of us have been affected by breast cancer. Whether you are a survivor, know someone who has had it (my mother) or have a friend who has or did have it, breast cancer is a devastating disease. Major corporations such as the makers of Campbell’s soup have jumped on the “Go For The Cure” bandwagon to help raise money to find a cure for the dreaded disease. Is this money going to the right place? Could it go to a better cause and help more people? I think so.
According to all of the research I have seen, environmental toxins are one of the main causes of many cancers. I would spend the money trying to eliminate environmental causes of breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Fund, a non-profit organization of health advocates, hasclaimed that 50% of breast cancer cases have no known risk factors aside from exposure to toxic chemicals we are exposed to daily.
We must follow the precautionary principle which basically states that we avoid chemicals with questionable health risks until proven safe. Instead, our government allows anything until there is overwhelming evidence that it is toxic. This way companies can poison us, through confusing tobacco science out there to confuse and delay, and then at the end go, oops, sorry. The European Union is using the precautionary principle and protecting their citizens, the US government is sadly backing big business. Sorry Americans, there is no one to protect us anymore.
Topics: Environment, Health, Opinion, Toxicity | 1 Comment »
Heart Attacks and Cholesterol – Public Policy That Makes No Sense
By Mark Schauss | March 7, 2008
I have touted the book Overdosed America by Dr. John Abramson over and over. It is shocking to me that so few people, especially doctors, know that high cholesterol and heart attacks are only correlated through the age of 40. Lowering weight, eating right, not smoking and exercising have more benefits and reduce heart attack risk more than statin drugs by far. Too low cholesterol increases the risk of other fatal diseases and over use of statin drugs does little but enrich the pharmaceutical industry.
On his blog site, Dr. Abramson has reviews of his book listed which are well worth reading. Here is one such review from the San Diego Union Tribune:
“Abramson, who has a background in statistics and health policy, took the time to read the full 284-page version of the panel’s 2001 report, rather than the 11-page summary that most doctors saw. The results of his careful analysis are enough to shock a healthy heart into failure. He notes that data from the venerable Framingham study – a large, long-term study of risk factors for heart disease – show that elevated total cholesterol levels correlate with an increased risk of death only through the age of 40. Even more astounding is the finding that the risk of death from causes other than coronary heart disease increases significantly with lower total cholesterol levels for both men and women after the age of 50. And that doesn’t even touch on the question of the long-term side effects – both known and unknown – of the statins themselves.”
Buy two copies of the book which is in paperback and give one to your doctor. Physicians need to know that prescribing statin drugs to all but a small percentage of individuals is bad medicine, morally wrong and just plain harmful. Statin drug prescriptions is an industry not true medicine.
Topics: Drugs, Health, Opinion | 1 Comment »
According to Time Magazine – The Top 10 Green Ideas
By Mark Schauss | March 6, 2008
Time Magazine had an article about the top 10 Green Ideas. The health of our environment is critical as our own health is closely tied to it. Here is Time’s top 10:
#1. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – This group of scientists were the ones to come out and show, global warming is real and we need as interconnected humans, to do something and to do it now. We have to stop the denial and move ahead before we are so overwhelmed, we would be unable to make a difference.
#2. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – Since our government is idiotically refusing to lead the charge against global warming, corporations together with the USCAP are taking over. According to the Time article “USCAP called for mandatory cuts of 60% to 80% in carbon emissions by 2050, and a uniform nationwide market for carbon. When big business is this far ahead of government, it’s clearly time for a change.”
#3. The Green Supply Chain – Companies like Wal-Mart, Procter and Gamble as well as Unilever are pressuring their suppliers to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and try to combat climate change.
#4. Avoided Deforestation – This is a no-brainer. We need our forests to save us from ourselves. We need to stop cutting down trees with no thought of tomorrow.
#5. Green-Collar Jobs – Instead of thinking that we cannot become more efficient because we will lose jobs, which is what our present Administration in the White House thinks, we can build jobs by creating new jobs that are green and friendly to the environment like organic biodynamic farming.
#6. Plug-in Hybrids – There is a company that can convert a car into a plug-in hybrid. CalCar is the company and while it is expensive, the technology is moving forward.
#7. E-Flex – Cars that can be made to run on newer technologies as soon as they came out.
#8. Congestion Pricing – Make people pay to use their cars in cities like New York. When I visited there I was astonished at how many people drove cars into Manhattan unnecessarily. It was insane. London and Singapore have already implemented this system.
#9. Carbon Capping – This idea puts a limit to how much carbon burning companies can do. The government would charge a fee for each unit of burning and then refund it to the people most needing help.
#10. Geo-engineering – This idea is to create large projects to help cool the planet. No one know if any idea on the table will work, but there is a sense of urgency to start thinking about ways before it is too late.
What I would add to the discussion is the need for everybody to do something, anything, each and every day to help combat global warming and also to reduce our polluting ways. Stop using pesticides, buy only organic when possible, vote with your dollars and buy ecologically superior products. We can do something, the important thing is to do it and do it now.
Topics: Environment, Global Warming, Health, Toxicity | No Comments »
More Proof Our Health Care System Needs A Major Overhaul
By Mark Schauss | March 5, 2008
The start of the Reagan Administration in 1981 was supposed to bring us something known as trickle down economics whereby giving large tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations would trickle down to the rest of us and make our lives better. While I don’t want to get into a political debate here, what I do want to point out is that the exact opposite is happening based on a study in the recent PLoS Medicine.
Nancy Krieger of Harvard University found that the death rate in people under 65 in the poorest sections of society were 60% higher than among the rich. You might say that this may be caused by a higher murder rate, or other reasoning but the problem lies in the fact that this percentage is double what it was in 1980. Because of the high cost of medicine, failure to prevent disease, and this insatiable thirst by big pharma to excite Wall Street with a new blockbuster drug to treat a disease that they invented to increase profits makes taking care of those of with limited financial resources impossible.
I don’t espouse a welfare state but I do feel that we are leaving a significant part of our society behind and in turn creating anomosity between our citizens. The government should not be in the business of subsidizing people yet we subsidize the wealthy and large corporations such as the pharmaceutical industry on the shoulders of the middle class.
Topics: Health, Healthcare, Opinion, Research | No Comments »
Bye, Bye Dr. Jarvik
By Mark Schauss | March 4, 2008
In one of my earlier blogs, I talk about the insipid ads put out by Pfizer that use Dr. Robert Jarvik to tout its best selling drug Lipitor. I’ve blogged before about who this guy really is and how he should not be the spokesperson as he never practiced medicine and he is no expert on coronary heart disease. Because of pressure from Congress, Pfizer has pulled the plug on his ads.
Pfizer claims, “The way in which we presented Dr. Jarvik in these ads has, unfortunately, led to misimpressions and distractions from our primary goal of encouraging patient and physician dialogue on the leading cause of death in the world — cardiovascular disease. We regret this,” Ian Read, Pfizer’s president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations, said in a statement.
Problem here is that the damage was done and there were no repercussions to Pfizer for having deceived the public yet again. Sadly, money triumphs over medicine and science.
Topics: Health, Opinion | No Comments »
More Tips on Lowering Your Carbon Footprint
By Mark Schauss | March 4, 2008
In an earlier post, I gave you 25 different ways of “greening” your life. Here is a great little pamphlet on how to lower your carbon footprint from the Fight Global Warming website from Environmental Defense . Here is one for your kids to get involved, and a discussion on what the real science says about global warming.
Topics: Environment, Global Warming, Opinion | No Comments »
Combinational Toxicity – The Toxic Soup Within Our Bodies
By Mark Schauss | March 3, 2008
In an article published in the British journal, New Scientist, author Bijal Trivedi reports on how combinations of the toxic effects of the toxins within our bodies can be far greater than the sum of the toxins. Say if the lethality of each of 8 chemical toxicant by themselves was .01 on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being non-toxic and 5 being deadly. Put them together in your blood stream and the toxicity goes to 4, you can see that each alone add up to just .08, but combine them and they become much more toxic, you see why scientists in the field of toxicology are getting nervous seeing that there are an estimated 75,000 artificial chemicals that you and I are exposed to every day.
As Mr. Trivedi point out, “Most toxicity testing has been done on a chemical-by-chemical basis, often by exposing rats to a range of concentrations to find the maximum dose that causes no harm.” Dr. Andreas Kortenkamp from the University of London found that when he added 8 chemicals ranging from plasticisers, sunscreen ingredients and others found in cooling and insulating fluids in quantities that were considered very low or the level toxicologist call “no-observed-effect concentration, something strange happened. The chemical combination created an endocrine disruption which should not have logically happened. The effect is called “the new math – zero plus zero equals something.”
As noted phthalate researcher Shanna Swan said “People can’t keep phthalates [or other chemicals] out of their air, water or food.” So what to do? Make your body an efficient detoxifier. Make sure you eat organic when possible and test yourself for toxins to see if you have high levels in your body. One real good test is the Environmental Pollutants Biomarker from US Biotek, From that test you can find out what detoxification protocol you need to do to the best protect yourself from the inevitable exposures you face each and every day.
Topics: Environment, Health, Laboratory Tests, Opinion, Research, Toxicity | No Comments »
Chemicals Found In Children – No Problem If You Believe Professional Denier
By Mark Schauss | February 29, 2008
Elizabeth Whelan, the President of the American Council on Science and Health said in response to a report by CNN about levels of dangerous chemicals being found in children “My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it’s leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false.” Huh???
Dr. Whelan is the same women who claims that nutritional supplements are wastes of money and dangerous while working with the well-known anti-supplement Dr. Fredrick Stare, is a shill, for major corporations wanting the public to continue to be blissfully unaware of the toxins being dumped on each of us. All you need to do is look at who funds her so-called public health advocacy organization. As long as you define public as polluting corporations and health as sick people being treated with drugs, well then I guess that’s ok.
Money pays for the “experts” to continue to deny reality. Big tobacco claimed that cigarettes were safe for decades (and guess who ratted them out, yup she did), now Elizabeth Whelan tells you to stop worrying. Remember she worked for many years for the Chemical Manufacturers Associtation so her opinion is highly biased. Don’t listen to her, it does matter. Stop buying toxic substances and go green. Your children will thank you.
Topics: Environment, Health, Opinion | No Comments »
Don’t Use Nalgene Bottles
By Mark Schauss | February 28, 2008
According to researchers at the University of Cincinnati, Nalgene bottles will leach the chemical bisphenol A into water at room temperature. I had previously warned people at my lectures to avoid hot water and Nalgene but now it looks like even normal water temperatures will cause leakage. Read this report from the Environmental Working Group.
Topics: Environment, Health, Research, Toxicity | No Comments »