NEW RESEARCH ON CHOLESTEROL DRUGS (STATINS), THE WORLD-WIDE OBESITY EPIDEMIC, AND SLEEP AIDS
Over the past few days, there have been some intriguing studies released to the public — all showing that current health trends are much worse than we’ve been led to believe. The first study is not so much a study but an indictment against BIG PHAMA and EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE concerning something I have shared with you previously —- Sleeping Pills.
As astounding as it may sound, Sleeping Pills are probably related to as many deaths in America as any drug out there. Case in point, the short post I wrote over four years ago called SLEEPING PILL DEATH TOLL MAY TOP HALF A MILLION. A recent piece by Johnathan Cohn for HuffPo (Drugs You Don’t Need For Problems You Don’t Have: Inside the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Campaign to Put Us All to Sleep) shows once more why you simply cannot trust the FDA to protect you from a pharmaceutical industry who views you as a commodity — a living, breathing, dollar sign (HERE). But there’s more.
STATINS are one of the most-prescribed classes of drugs in America. For almost as long as I can remember, people have been complaining that these drugs cause muscle and joint pain. In this study from the latest issue of JAMA (Efficacy and Tolerability of Evolocumab vs Ezetimibe in Patients With Muscle-Related Statin Intolerance), a Statin was compared against a placebo.
Nearly 43% of those who had previously had pain reactions against Statins showed pain reactions in this study. This not only tells us how widespread this problem is, it provides a glimpse into the reality of SIDE EFFECT UNDER-REPORTING —- something estimated to be in the 95% range, meaning that only 5% of side effects ever make it into physician’s notes or get reported to the proper authorities. The author’s solution to this problem? Injectable Statins
The study went on to compare injectable anti-cholesterol drugs against standard pill-form Statin drugs. Although the injectables worked better than the pills and resulted in significantly less muscle pain, there was a huge cost increase associated with them. Try 1,400%) on for size. Gulp! Another new study pulled back the curtains to reveal just how bad things really are when it comes to a related problem —- the OBESITY EPIDEMIC.
The latest issue of the oldest medical journal on the planet (Lancet) published a study in their April issue called Trends in Adult Body-Mass Index in 200 Countries From 1975 to 2014. This study concluded that, “Over these four decades, age-standardized global prevalence of underweight decreased from 13.8% to 8.8% in men, and from 14.6% to 9.7% in women.” During that same time frame, “Global age-standardized mean BMI increased from 21.7 kg/m2 in 1975 to 24.2 kg/m2 in 2014 in men, and from 22.1 kg/m2 in 1975 to 24.4 kg/m2 in 2014 in women.”
In other words, we have a much smaller percentage of the earth’s population that is underweight, and a much greater percentage of the earth’s population that is overweight than we did when I was in grade school. Just how bad is this problem?
“If post-2000 trends continue, the probability of meeting the global obesity target is virtually zero. Rather, by 2025, global obesity prevalence will reach 18% in men and surpass 21% in women; severe obesity will surpass 6% in men and 9% in women.”
What does all this mean folks? Remember what I said recently about SUSTAINABILITY IN HEALTHCARE (it’s not)? We are there. We simply do not have the financial wherewithal to continue on our current path. The day is rapidly approaching when you are going to be largely on your own as far as chronic health issues are concerned. If you are interested in seeing what it would take to start pulling you out of the pit that is your health, HERE is where you start creating your own “Exit Strategy”.
