I can’t believe it! Did you see the headlines suggesting that if we take statin drugs prophylactically we will reduce our risk of heart disease? A study out of the New England Journal of Medicine was picked up by the major news outlets that if healthy people without elevated cholesterol but elevated C-Reactive Protein (CRP) take Crestor then it reduces their risk of having a heart attack. Read the rest of this entry

Even though pharmaceutical companies are pushing statins on the general population through physicians – and you may have been pressured to take statins by your doctor you can still “just say no”. First of all there is not much compelling evidence that statins actually reduce your chances of getting vascular disease. However, there is clear evidence that statins can reduce your cholesterol levels. So what statins are doing is treating a number, not reducing chances of a functional disease outcome. There is plenty of information out there about the cholesterol myth so I will not repeat it here. You can read it and decide for yourself. Of course, there are cases where statins are necessary but they are just a small percentage of the number of people that are treated with these potentially deleterious drugs. Read the rest of this entry

There have been many studies showing that acupuncture is very effective at helping reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy. Clinically I can attest to acupuncture’s efficacy as I’ve had many cancer patients come in during their chemo weeks because it helps balance their stomach and GI system and reduce the need for other anti-vomiting medication. Read the rest of this entry

A study out of Japan looked at the effects of acupuncture for patients with dyspnea (shortness of breath) for at least 5 years. There were 2 groups of 30 hospitalized patients, 15 in the acupuncture group and 15 in the control group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture treatments once a week for 10 weeks plus standard care medications. The control group received standard medications. The acupuncture group received the same acupuncture protocol – i.e. everyone received the same exact treatment each week. (In my opinion this is one of the problems with many acupuncture studies. One disease can offer many different acupuncture treatments that are customized to each individual. I feel customized acupuncture treatments offer more effective clinical outcomes.)
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