The World Health Organization recently reported that U.S. residents are 24th  in the world in their lifespans. The United Nations report says that we are only 38th in longevity.  The United States Census itself says the very worst… only 42nd in longevity.

Billions of dollars are spent every year in the United States on health care. The U.S.A. is arguably on the cutting edge of innovation and health research; yet we have terrible longevity compared to the rest of the world.  Cancer has increased in spite of 70 billion dollars spent on research since president Nixon.  We are 5 % of the world’s population yet we consume approximately 50% of the world’s prescription drugs.

Large drug companies have revenues that exceed the total income for many of the world’s countries. For instance Pfizer Drug Company, which produces over 12 billion dollars per year from just one drug, Lipitor, is a good example.  Never mind there are well documented studies that show lowering cholesterol with statin drugs like Lipitor is highly controversial.  They were recently fined 2 billion 300 million dollars for misleading advertising on several drugs. In the past 10 years over 11 billion dollars were levied in fines against various drug companies.  They typically spend 25% on marketing and only 7% on research.  They seem to “have money to burn”.

With drugs dominating the health care system due to influences with advertising, biased research paid by drug companies, “education” of medical doctors with skewed information… their influence is enormous.

Health care, dominated by huge drug companies,  influences medical doctors, the senate and legislature as well as the public. They reportedly have over 600 lobbyist in Washington D.C.  There are proven alternatives for health care that get squashed.  My goal is to publish proven health measures that promote wellness and longevity where mainstream medicine has failed.  I welcome comments and posted concerns about our U.S. health care system…Denis Van Loan DDS

Technorati Tags: Lipitor, longevity, U.S. health care

Here is the problem I have with this. I believe evidence indicates it is unnecessarily expensive, unhealthy and a drug “rip off”.  Lipitor is reportedly the largest selling drug in the world, generating over 12 billion dollars for its parent company, Pfizer.

According to an alternatives researcher Gary Null, PhD., the ingredients of the pill cost 5.8 cents per pill.  It typically sold for $2.72.  Some doctors say more like $3.00 to $5.00 per pill.

If it were a scarce commodity, I could understand the enormous profit, but it is not.  If its benefits outweighed the negatives I probably would not complain. They do not. I see the sum total of good benefits are far outweighed by the bad ones. There is compelling evidence that statin drugs like Lipitor are a health hazard…studies show no significant co-relation to reduction in heart disease.

Many well controlled studies show muscle weakness in two thirds of those on cholesterol lowering drugs. (The Co enzyme, CoQ-10, is taken out with the statin drugs, causing muscle weakness especially for the heart.) According to cardiologist Steven Sinatra any slight improvement in heart attack from cholesterol lowering drugs can be explained by its mild anti-inflammatory effect. There are other more potent, less expensive, anti-inflammatory supplements.

The many cortico-steroid hormones from the adrenal cortex…testosterone, estrogens, cortisol (stress hormone) and dozens more… manufacture their hormone using the core molecule of cholesterol. Excessive depletion of cholesterol reduces these hormones as well as one of the most important vitamins to your bone health and immunity…vitamin D.

According to board certified cardiologist, Steven Sinatra, M.D., he reports that the heart failure rate of people on statin drugs (like Lipitor) is twice that of the rest of the population.

I should explain the rationale of why the idea of cholesterol lowering seemed like a good idea in order to reduce the incidence of heart disease.  Cholesterol plaque that chips off from blood vessels and plug the coronary vessels in the heart, are found in heart attack victims.  Also those plugs of plaque that block cerebral vessels of the brain cause stroke.  The simple reasoning was that lowering circulating cholesterol would lower heart attack and stroke.  Wrong!

Plenty of creditable studies have shown that the amount of circulating cholesterol does not determine whether you have a stroke or heart attack. Half the people who have heart attack are supposedly in the safe, low range statistically. Numerous studies have shown that the amount of blood cholesterol does not co-relate with a stroke or heart attack.  People with high cholesterol sometimes have no more, or can even have fewer, heart attacks than those with low cholesterol. (That includes the high ratio of LDL…the “bad kind”). The real culprit is inflammation in blood vessel linings…which  attracts cholesterol.

For more information on this subject, keep in touch through this free blog for more valuable information on heart disease and health in general. From time to time I will make posts that mainstream medicine does not address. Forward this to a friend or give them my blogsite @ http://naturalhealthsecrets.ws Denis Van Loan, DDS

Technorati Tags: cholesterol, heart attack, heart disease, heart failure, high cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, Lipitor, low cholesterol, statin drugs, stroke