Illness Is Optional Health Blog

As you know, it is the season for flu vaccines. I wanted to take a moment to answer the question on many people’s minds, “should I get the flu vaccine?”

Let’s set aside the safety concerns for a moment and investigate just how efficacious the vaccine really is. According to published studies on previous vaccines (we can’t provide studies on this years vaccine because there are none…yet), here are the findings:

1.     Flu vaccines provide no benefit to children under the age of 24 months. In those over the age of 2 years, only 1 in 3 children received a benefit. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2008)

2.     Flu vaccine does not prevent asthma attacks. In other words, asthmatic children who receive the flu vaccine do not fare any better than children who do not receive the vaccine. (Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-5)

3.     In healthy adults, vaccinations decrease the risk of flu by 6%, which equates to vaccinated adults missing 0.16 (less than one-fifth of one day) fewer days of work. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2006)

4.     A review of 64 studies in the elderly showed no significant decrease in incidence of flu or pneumonia in elderly inhabitants of nursing  homes. (The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1, 2006)

This brief review of the literature was taken from an article written by Dr. Tenpenny, a physician advocate against unnecessary vaccinations. For the full article, please visit www.drtenpenny.com.

I recently published an article on our website titled, How Not to Get Sick This Flu Season. I encourage you to check it out and implement the recommendations provided.

As this fat builds up it damages the delicate machinery of the cell, ultimately leading to complications and disease. While reading various studies on how this fat gets into places that it shouldn’t, I came across a study that was investigating the impact of high fat versus high carbohydrate intake on the burning of fat. While reading the study I was fascinated and horrified by the method used to block the burning of fat in the healthy subjects who took part in the study. How did they do it? How did they block the healthy participants’ bodies from burning fat?

They gave them a popular blood pressure medication.

That’s right, they gave them a medication called a “beta blocker” that is very commonly prescribed to overweight, obese and diabetic patients with high blood pressure. This class of medication is, more accurately, called a beta adrenergic blocker. This means that the medication blocks certain receptors which bind to adrenaline, a hormone produced by the body which causes the heart to race, the blood vessels to constrict and thus blood pressure to increase. By blocking the beta adrenergic receptors of the body, the heart does not beat as strongly or as fast and the blood vessels relax thus lowering blood pressure. Unfortunately, the beta adrenergic receptors on fat cells get blocked as well and thus a decrease in fat loss occurs as well as an increased propensity to store fat.

Does anyone see a problem with this?

As I mentioned previously, the people who are most prone to high blood pressure are people who already have too much fat in their bodies. These include diabetics, people with pre-diabetes, as well as the overweight and obese. We give these people a medication which further inhibits fat use thus stoking the fire of their metabolic difficulties. Perhaps this is why many studies on these medications have resulted in an increased risk of disease and premature death. That’s right, not only have studies not proven these medications to prolong life, many have even shown them to shorten life.

It never ceases to amaze me how the medical establishment can turn a blind eye to the side effects of their treatments. The use of beta blockers to inhibit fat loss is apparently a standard practice in research studies and yet medicine just brushes it aside and convinces themselves that this class of medication is safe to use in overweight and obese people who are already afflicted with fat-clogged cells.

We need to open our eyes and accept the fact that medications are not nearly as effective as they are made out to be. We need to convince ourselves that the right approach is to take the reins of health into our own hands and although it is not as easy as popping a pill in the morning it is far better than the delusion that there is a medication for every disease…that, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing more than a mirage created by the drug industry.

For those of you who have high blood pressure and may have been prescribed a beta blocker such as propranolol, metoprolol or any other generic medication ending in “olol” I am not recommending that you stop your medication. In fact, to do so may cause a rebound elevation in blood pressure that could put you in the hospital or worse. I am simply saying, perhaps there is a better way to control blood pressure. In our experience, people can start living the right lifestyle can find that the need for the medication decreases or goes away as they get healthier. At this time you can work with your doctor to start weaning yourself from the medication. If you would like to learn more about natural methods for controlling blood pressure, check out our article onHigh Blood Pressure. If you are looking for help developing a healthy lifestyle, learn about First Line Therapy that we offer at our wellness center.

By blocking this enzyme, the medication decreases the body’s internal production of cholesterol. Unfortunately, a well known and fairly common side effect is muscle pain and weakness that can often be debilitating. In addition to blocking the production of cholesterol, it is well known that these medications also block the production of important nutrients such as coenzyme Q10. We have known that a deficiency of coenzyme Q10 can lead to muscle pain and that supplementation can help to reverse this side effect. A recent study sheds light on another nutrient that is closely linked to muscle pain, vitamin D. We have known that vitamin D deficiency can cause both pain and weakness in the muscles, however, research had not linked vitamin D deficiency to muscle pain induced by cholesterol lowering medications…until now.

In a study of 621 patients who were prescribed statin medications, it was found that those who suffered with the muscle pain were significantly deficient in vitamin D. When the patients who suffered with muscle pain were supplemented with vitamin D, 92% of the patients saw resolution of their pain symptoms.
(Transl Res, 2009; 153(1): 11-6)

Dr. Ray’s Notes:

We have always known about statin’s impact on coenzyme Q10 levels and we commonly recommend coenzyme Q10 supplementation in those who take a statin medication. This study, may explain why some people continue to have pain even after supplementation with high doses of coenzyme Q10 and I am now beginning to recommend vitamin D supplementation for those who are taking statins. This makes perfect sense given the fact that your body produces vitamin D from, you guessed it, cholesterol. When cholesterol drops, it makes good sense that vitamin D levels may drop as well. In this study, the participants were placed on the prescription vitamin D at a dose of 50,000 iu weekly. I would recommend using a natural form of vitamin D on a daily basis rather than a synthetic form in high dose once weekly. For the general population I recommend 2,000 iu daily. If your blood is significantly deficient, you may require higher doses. Have your doctor order a blood test for 25-OH vitamin D with your next cholesterol test and to learn more about vitamin D, read our article 15 Facts You Must Know About Vitamin D.

A report from the Journal of the American Medical Association warns that a number of patients who were started on this medication died from bacterial sepsis or viral meningitis. The FDA is warning doctors to monitor patients closely and not prescribe it to patients under the age of 18 for fear of permanent suppression of the immune system.
(Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008; 300: 2359) {moshits}

Dr. Ray’s Notes:
This medication belongs to a class of drug called monoclonal antibodies which is considered an immunosuppressant. This potentially fatal side effect is a class-wide side effect and thus should be extended to other monoclonal antibody medications. It is lunacy to start people on these medications as a first or even second line treatment for psoriasis. Psoriasis can often be treated with diet, lifestyle and certain nutritional supplementation. Please see our psoriasis protocol for details about lifestyle changes that could help to control this health challenge.

When coQ10 levels drop, the body can not function optimally. Certain organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys are highly concentrated in CoQ10 and are often the first organs to suffer when CoQ10 levels drop. Certain medications such as statin drugs, medications used to treat elevated cholesterol, are known to inhibit your body’s ability to produce cholesterol.

In a recent study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers evaluated 14 patients prescribed atorvastatin. Ten of the fourteen patients developed worsening of an indiicator of heart health called “Left Ventricular Diastolic Function” This type of dysfunction can lead to a form of heart failure that translates in an inability of the heart to relax properly in between beats. In this study, research supplemented these patients with coenzyme Q10 and evaluated the change in heart function. After supplementation, the coenzyme Q10 levels returned to near normal levels and heart function improved significantly or normalized.
(American Journal of Cardiology 2004;94:1306-1310)

Dr. Ray Hinish’s Comments:
It is no secret that statin drugs have a negative impact on the body’s coenzyme Q10 levels, and it is great news that Coenzyme Q10 supplementation can actually reverse heart disfunction. It is important to note that statin drugs may inhibit the production of other important compounds that may play very important roles in health. It is also no secret that we at Your Prescription for Health are no fan of statin drugs. Coenzyme Q10 may mitigate some of the negative effects of statin drugs, it may not be enough!