Month: July 2008

60% HIGHER rate of heart failure. In case you don’t fully grasp that… heart failure is bad. It usually leads to rather permanent death. Sorry to be so factious… but this is just amazing to me! So called “health care professionals” giving patients a drug that increases heart failure by 60%! This is criminal!

Avandia Study Shows 60 Percent Increase in Heart Failure Risk Among Diabetics who Take the Drug

“(NaturalNews) Seniors who take the popular Type 2 diabetes drug Avandia have a 60 percent higher risk of heart failure than patients who take other diabetes medications, according to a new data analysis conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science in Toronto and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ‘Our study suggests that at least in this high-risk population, the harms of the drug may outweigh the benefits,’ lead author Lorraine L. Lipscombe said. Researchers conducted an analysis of the health data for 159,000 people over the age of 64 who had been treated for Type 2 diabetes in the Ontario public health system, including 2,268 who had been given Avandia. Patients treated with Avandia had a 60 percent higher heart failure risk, 40 percent higher risk of experiencing a heart attack, and a 30 percent higher chance of dying during the study period than patients given other oral diabetes drugs. This means that for every 100 people taking Avandia, there would be five more deaths, four more heart attacks and three more heart failure episodes over the course of four years than if those people had not taken the drug.”

The FDA and the sugar and artificial sweetener lobbies have fought hard to keep us from using and being able to buy stevia. Now, they have approved a Cargill product for general use! Wow! Cargill’s “Truvia” went on sale yesterday in New York, is available on-line, and their site says it will be generally available in the Fall of 2008! This looks promising! Truvia is a combination of stevia and erythritol, another sweetener derived from natural sources. Erythritol is produced by a natural process, and is also found in fruits like grapes and pears. Cargill is billing their product as “Nature’s Perfect Sweetness.” Having watched the battle over stevia use, and having used it myself for a very long time, I am looking forward to general availability of a nature sugar alternative for sweetening my tea in restaurants!

Truvia Product Web Site

A blurb from the web site about Truvia: “It’s time to feel good about sweet. And Truvia, a natural sweetener is something to feel good about. It starts with stevia, renowned for its sweet taste. But that’s only the beginning. The stevia plant that Truvia, natural sweetener originates from has been used in South America for sweetening foods and beverages for more than 200 years. And though stevia has been commonly used to sweeten foods, it often contains a bitter aftertaste. The difference with Truvia, is the key part of the stevia plant, which is rebiana. By taking the best-tasting part of the stevia plant, rebiana gives Truvia a brand-new way to enjoy life’s every day moments. Nature has never tasted so sweet. Stevia leaves were discovered centuries ago by the native people of South America and used to flavor hot drinks. But it isn’t just South America. Stevia, and products derived from stevia, is used all over the world, including the United States, Japan and parts of Europe. And with Truvia, you’ll get all of that, zero calories and a clean, pure taste to match. Now that’s universal sweetness.”