Month: October 2006

“Black Tea” is what we southerners think of as “regular tea.” Now, southerners add a tremendous amount of sugar to it… which is NOT good, but the tea known as “plain ol’ tea” is actually “black tea.” Studies now indicate that this tea reduces stress.

Black tea may speed up recovery from stress

“Drinking black tea could reduce stress hormone levels and help ease the burden of heart disease, says the first randomized clinical trial into the effects of the beverage on stress. ‘This has important health implications, because slow recovery following acute stress has been associated with a greater risk of chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease,’ said lead researcher Professor Andrew Steptoe from University College London. The researchers, from UCL and Unilever Research Colworth, found that drinking four cups of black tea every day for six weeks reduced blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol by 20 per cent more than the placebo group, backing up the ‘old wives tale’ that tea helps people relax. ‘Drinking tea has traditionally been associated with stress relief, and many people believe that drinking tea helps them relax after facing the stresses of everyday life,’ said Steptoe. ‘However, scientific evidence for the relaxing properties of tea is quite limited. This is one of the first studies to assess tea in a double-blind placebo controlled design.’

There is an organization that is offering “free mental health screenings” for SAD (seasonal affective disorder.) “SAD” is supposed to be brought on by the lack of sunlight during fall and winter months, and its symptoms include sleeping and eating in excess, extreme fatigue, weight gain, depression or irritability, and lack of interest in socializing and enjoyable activities. What the screenings really seem to do is sell drugs!

Free mental health screenings designed to promote psychiatric drug use, health author says

“Consumer advocate Mike Adams, author of ‘Take Back Your Health Power,’ calls the free mental health screenings “a thinly veiled patient recruiting scheme organized and funded by drug companies,” and urges patients who believe they are experiencing SAD to seek the advice of a qualified naturopathic physician for safe treatment options. ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder is really just sunlight deficiency,’ Adams said. ‘If you suffer from the symptoms of SAD, all you need is more sunlight or light therapy, not prescription drugs.’ In addition to getting more sunlight, SAD sufferers can consume specific foods and supplements for enhanced brain health, including fish oils that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, raw nuts, oily fish, raw fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.”

Be on the lookout for MORE “sneaky” methods to sell you prescription drugs! They are getting inventive!

When it is a re-packaged drug that claims to shrink cancer tumors, of course! This should be criminal. An old drug called “Taxol” is being “re-branded” as “Abraxane” and is being sold as a drug to shrink cancer tumors at $4,200.00 per DOSE! Yes, that is per dose, not per bottle!

Hope, at $4,200 a Dose

“CHARGING $4,200 a dose for a new version of an old cancer drug has helped make Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong a billionaire. The drug, Abraxane, does not help patients live longer than the older treatment, though it does shrink tumors in more patients, according to clinical trials. And the old and new medicines have similar side effects. An independent review of Abraxane published in December in a cancer research journal concluded that the drug was old wine in a new bottle. Still, Dr. Soon-Shiongs company, Abraxis BioScience, has promoted Abraxane as a major advance in treating late-stage breast cancer that is, for patients who have not responded to other treatments and are now close to death and is seeking approval for patients to use it earlier in their treatment. And, in at least one way, Abraxane is a breakthrough: it costs about 25 times as much as a generic version of the older medicine, which is best known by its brand name, Taxol. Because of the odd economics of the cancer drug market, though, Abraxanes price does not seem to be hurting its popularity. About 20,000 people have now been treated with the drug, and Dr. Soon-Shiong expects its sales to approach $200 million this year. By 2010, Abraxanes annual sales could reach $1 billion, analysts say.”

Now, as to side effects? Well, the article says that, “Both Abraxane and Taxol can kill white blood cells, leaving patients open to infection, as well as damage nerves in the hands and feet. Taxol causes more damage to white blood cells, while Abraxane causes more nerve damage.”

This is a very, very dangerous drug. And, to charge such monsterously high prices to do this kind of damage to people that already have such advanced conditions is inhuman, in my humble opinion!