Archive for April, 2010

FDA Warns of Muscle and Kidney damage from high dosage Zocor

Muscle Injury Risk With Higher Zocor Doses, Certain Other Drugs

Based on review of data from a large clinical trial and data from other sources, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning on March 19, 2010 about an increased risk of muscle injury in patients taking the highest approved dose of the cholesterol-lowering medication, Zocor* (simvastatin) 80 mg, compared to patients taking lower doses of simvastatin and possibly other drugs in the “statin” class.

The FDA also warned that mixing Zocor with certain other drugs also increases patients’ risk of muscle injury, including the rare but serious complication known as rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis can sometimes result in fatal kidney damage.

“Other drugs” includes incidental exposure to niacin-containing products as innocent as breakfast cereal.

The combination products Vytorin and Simcor also contain simvastatin, the active ingredient in Zocor. Zocor is a member of the class of drugs known as statins. All statin drugs carry a risk of muscle damage, but new data suggest that this risk may be particularly high for the 80 milligram dose of Zocor.

The data come from the SEARCH study, in which muscle damage was seen in nearly 1% of patients taking the 80 milligram dose of Zocor but in only 0.02% of patients taking the 20 milligram dose of Zocor.

Rhabdomyolysis was rare in the SEARCH study. It happened in only 11 of 6,031 patients (0.02%) in group taking the 80 milligram dose of Zocor, but was not seen in patients taking the 20 milligram dose.

Source : FDA

As always, consult your physician before altering your prescribed medication routine.

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Food Recommendations for Aging Gracefully

Direct link to Food Recommendations for Aging Gracefully at mercola.com

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How to Best Test for Undiagnosed Diabetes

With our sedentary lifestyles, hyper stress levels, and fast/processed food diets, a lot of us are probably borderline Diabetic 2′s. I thought the following health article by Dr. Mercola to be on point for addressing this potentially epidemic problem that is running as a undercurrent to public health.

From mercola.com :

A simple test that measures long-term blood sugar may help identify millions of people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

The test, known as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), provides information on a person’s average blood sugar (glucose) over the past 2 to 3 months and does not require fasting. Although the fasting plasma glucose test is still considered the most accurate measure, HbA1c may be more pragmatic because it does not require patients to fast for several hours beforehand.

More than 5 million Americans have undiagnosed diabetes.

If not controlled, the disease can lead to serious medical complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney damage and amputations resulting from damage to nerves.

Currently, however, there is no clear evidence to support widespread screening at the doctor’s office. While the new findings do not show that the HbA1c test is a cost-effective way to do routine screening, they do suggest that more cases of diabetes can be caught.

The test was particularly effective at detecting new cases of diabetes in obese individuals, those with high blood pressure and individuals with a family history of the disease.

An estimated 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but medical experts say the figure is actually higher.

Journal of General Internal Medicine January 2002;17:1-7

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

I routinely perform the hemoglobin A1c test in diabetics, but I have not found it as useful, or even as sensitive, as another wonderful screen for diabetes, which is the fasting glucose and insulin test.

The absolute best test for diagnosing diabetes truly remains the eight-hour fasting blood sugar. It is absolutely amazing how powerful and sensitive this test is.

The ideal fasting blood glucose should be around 87. I become nervous when my patients have numbers over 100. Traditional standards state that diabetes is formally diagnosed at 120.

With insulin levels, the lower the better. I like to see them below 5, but 2 or 3 would be far better. Any fasting insulin level over 10 is a major problem and is a huge risk factor for diabetes.

Fortunately, diabetes can be treated and prevented. Here is a three-step plan that should help you gain control over your diabetes if you have it, and protect you from getting it if you don’t.

* Eat foods that are right for your nutritional type
* Exercise
* Get enough sleep

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Organic Foods in a Nutshell

From Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Specialist :

So, if I were to give my overall recommendations to save yourself from the inherent health dangers of pesticides and herbicides, while also eating food that contains the highest levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, it is this:

1. Choose organic over conventional most of the time, when it’s available

2. Choose local foods over organic if the organic food came from very long distances away (although frozen organic fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious as local)

3. Don’t forget that choosing organic also helps to protect the environment from chemical fertilizer and pesticide pollution that can harm ecosystems and your own drinking water supply.

4. Don’t fall for “organic junk foods” — I’ve been seeing this trend lately — Just because crackers, cookies, cakes, and corn chips may be labeled “organic”, doesn’t mean they are healthy… junk food is still junk food! And these are still overly processed foods that can make you fat!

Remember that forcing change for responsible agriculture starts with your choices as a consumer. The more we demand responsibly grown and raised foods by choosing those foods in our shopping carts, the more that producers and suppliers will respond to that demand.

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