SeaSilver makers are in trouble with the FDA

Was sent this through Denver Naturopathic's newsletter and thought the timing was uncanny because I too have been asked by patients and fellow practitioners what I thought of SeaSilver. Like Jacob Schor ND below, I stay clear of multi-level-marketing, so Xangojuice, mangosteen, Noni Juice, and all these "cure alls"I will never carry. And usually the people selling them to you have barely any nutritional experience, just want the sales and commission. See what Dr. Schor says in the introduction. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.


SeaSilver makers are in trouble with the FDA

Introduction:
Over the course of a year I get asked my opinion of huncreds if not thousands of 'nutritional supplements' by patients who have spent small fortunes on them. Most of you have discovered that I shy away from suggesting use of products sold through multi-level-marketing schemes as a general rule. One popular product over the last year or so that many patients have brought in to show us is a product called Seasilver. The manufacturers of this product are apparently in a bit of hot water with the Federal Trade Commission as described in this recent news release by Consumer Labs:Marketers of Seasilver Ordered to Pay Almost $120 Million.

On July 24, 2006, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the marketers of Seasilver, an alleged phony cure-all, have been ordered to pay almost $120 million for failing to comply with an earlier order requiring them to pay $3 million in consumer redress. In ads for Seasilver, the promoters claimed the product, a liquid dietary supplement containing aloe vera, phyto-silver sea vegetables, herbs, cranberry concentrate, and other ingredients, was clinically proven to treat or cure 650 diseases, including cancer and AIDS, and caused rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss without dieting.

The FTC alleged that the claims were false and unsubstantiated. In March 2004, the defendants agreed to settle the FTC’s charges. The settlement, filed in federal court, barred the defendants from making false or misleading claims in the future. It also required the defendants to pay $3 million in consumer redress and included a suspended judgment of $120 million, which would become due if the defendants misrepresented their financial status, or did not make the payments as they agreed. To date, Seasilver, USA, Inc. and Americaloe, Inc., and their owners, Bela Berkes and Jason Berkes, have paid less than $1 million of the consumer redress they agreed to pay. Under the Court’s order, entered on June 20, 2006, the Seasilver marketers are now jointly and severally liable to pay the full amount of $119,237,000, plus interest. The FTC has secured liens on the defendants’ assets, including a nursery, an aloe farm, and equipment. The two largest distributors of Seasilver, who were named in the FTC’s complaint and settled the charges, have made their separate court-ordered payments of $1 million and $500,000.

August news

Happy August! Hopefully there will be some break from the record heat soon.

Starting August 21st, office hours will be 5 days a week, (monday- friday) from 9am-4:30pm. The office is also now credit card friendly, accepting both Mastercard and Visa, and supplement orders can always be picked up after hours if 9-5 doesn't work for you.

Hope the last month of summer allows for some real relaxation and as the picture states, some great watermelon!

Ear Stapling...don't do it!

Considering auricular therapy is one of my specialties, I was intrigued when I received a call asking if I did 'ear stapling'. At first I thought maybe the person meant ear needling but I soon found out that was not the case. Just from hearing about what this was from her I knew 1) it was a scam and 2) probably started by a chiropractor looking for another way to massacre our profession. Now that may seem harsh to those of you who know I refer to chiropractors often, but this is really a heinous thing that is being marketed as an easy weight loss fix that could have dire consequences. Not only is there the obvious risk of infection, but to hear that people are able to buy kits online and even taught to take it out themselves makes me shudder.

After doing more research I found so many horror stories, and the success stories I read started to read much like a marketing scheme..surprise, surprise. I even found a website with someone teaching this for a fee so you could do this and make "lots of money", and a website where a CMT trademarked her own technique. The japanese, french and chinese auricular masters must be turning in their graves..at least the ones who haven't reincarnated.

Are there auricular therapies for weight loss? Of course. These often use the appetite control center within the ear, maybe incorporating the NADA protocol especially if food is an addiction. But even that is too simple. There are many aspects to weight gain and weight loss one must address which a certified, professional acupuncturist/nutritionist will hopefully also address.

Why might this work and how is it explained? Well, just like stomach stapling...the person that came up with this decided to staple the stomach repesentation in the ear. Seems simple and obvious doesn't it. Well, no organ in the ear is meant to have a staple in it for 3-4 months. So, how does it work? My sarcastic guess is that you are in so much pain you don't eat as much. Plus the wishful thinking effect can be very effective especially when you read only the pros to allowing someone to do this to you.

I cannot express how horrified I am by this technique and scam. Just like any 'sounds too good to be true' idea....it is. And even worse is that this can have dire consequences.

There just is no fast and easy way to lose weight....and in my opinion this is just another way to make a "practitioner" rich at your expense.

Want to Lose Weight? Try downsizing your tableware.

That's the conclusion of a new study that found that the size of bowls, spoons and other tableware influences how much people eat.
The study, by researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., involved 85 food and nutrition experts invited to an ice-cream social.
Each guest randomly received either 17-ounce or 34-ounce bowls and either two-ounce or three-ounce serving scoops. The participants scooped out the ice cream themselves.

"Just doubling the size of someone's bowl increased how much people took by 31 percent," study lead author Brian Wansink, director of Cornell's Food and Brand Lab, said in a prepared statement. "We also saw that giving people a scoop that was a little bit larger increased things by about 14.5 percent," he said.

He noted that even these food and nutrition experts, who were able to judge the size and calorie counts of their portions, couldn't help themselves when given larger bowls and scoops.
"The fact that even they end up being tripped up by these cues just helps to show how ubiquitous and how subversive these illusions can be," said Wansink, a consumer researcher who studies the psychology of food choice.

He noted that experts have documented a number of environmental factors that influence consumption, including the variety of food, music, temperature, and whether people are dining with a faster or slower eater. The size of tableware also appears to be another factor that influences consumption.
"Four ounces of ice cream in a small bowl may appear an appropriate amount for a mid-afternoon snack, but the same in a larger bowl may appear too small, leading one to over-serve," the study authors said.

The findings were expected to be published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about portion sizes.

ADHD Drugs and ER visits

Study: ADHD Drugs Send Thousands to ERs
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

Accidental overdoses and side effects from attention deficit drugs likely send thousands of children and adults to emergency rooms, according to the first national estimates of the problem.
Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated problems with the stimulant drugs drive nearly 3,100 people to ERs each year. Nearly two-thirds _ overdoses and accidental use _ could be prevented by parents locking the pills away, the researchers say.
Other patients had side effects, including potential cardiac problems such as chest pain, stroke, high blood pressure and fast heart rate.
Concerns over those effects have led some doctors to urge the Food and Drug Administration to require a "black box," its most serious warning, on package inserts for drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall. Yet even doctors advising the FDA don't agree on whether that's warranted.
The issue was discussed in a series of letters in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, including some from doctors worried about the dangers of not treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"The numbers (of side effects) are puny compared to the numbers of stimulant prescriptions per year," said Dr. Tolga Taneli, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. "I'm not alarmed."
An estimated 3.3 million Americans who are 19 or younger and nearly 1.5 million ages 20 and older are taking ADHD medicines. Ritalin is made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. of East Hanover, N.J.; Concerta by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, N.J., and Adderall by Shire US Inc. of Newport, Ky.
Twenty-five deaths linked to ADHD drugs, 19 involving children, were reported to FDA from 1999 through 2003. Fifty-four other cases of serious heart problems, including heart attacks and strokes, were also reported. Some of the patients had prior heart problems.
Still, there hasn't been a clear estimate of the scope of side effects. The CDC report, while not a rigorous scientific study, attempts to provide that by using a new hospital surveillance network.
From August 2003 through December 2005, the researchers counted 188 ER visits for problems with the drugs at the 64 hospitals in the network, a representative sample of ERs monitored to spot drug side effects.
Doctors linked use of stimulant ADHD drugs to 73 patients with side effects or allergic reactions. Another 115 accidentally swallowed ADHD pills, including a month-old baby, or took too much.
"These are cases where a young child took someone else's medication or they took too much of their own," CDC epidemiologist Dr. Adam Cohen said of the second group.
Nearly 1 in 5 patients was admitted to the hospital, 1 in 5 needed stomach pumping or treatment with medicines, and 1 in 7 had cardiac symptoms. Sixteen percent of the side effects involved interaction with another drug.
Besides cardiac problems, common symptoms included abdominal pain, rashes and spasms, pain or weakness in muscles, according to Cohen. No patients died.
Extrapolating to all U.S. hospitals, the researchers estimated 3,075 ER visits occur each year.
In another letter in the journal, the heads of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry wrote they are concerned a black box warning would discourage use of ADHD drugs, raising patients' risks of academic failure, substance abuse and other problems.
This past February, an FDA drug safety advisory panel voted 8-7 for a black box warning. The next month, another FDA panel instead recommended data on cardiac and other risks go in a new "highlights" section the agency plans to add to the top of drug inserts.
Dr. Marsha Rappley, pediatrics professor at Michigan State University, and two other doctors on the advisory panels believe the vote for a black box was premature.
She said studies show the drugs raise blood pressure and pulse rates a bit, but it's unknown whether that would harm children taking them for years, and that cardiac risks may be higher for adults.
Dr. Steven Nissen, cardiology chief at the Cleveland Clinic, who had pressed for a black box warning at the FDA panel meeting, said ADHD drugs are powerful stimulants and inherently risky. Nissen and other doctors say the drugs are being prescribed to some who don't need them.
This week, the FDA said it is "working diligently" on "labeling changes that we feel accurately reflect the available data and the advice of the committees." The agency declined interview requests.
___

Kentucky passes Historic Acupuncture Law

Kentucky Passes Historic Acupuncture Law

On April 24, 2006, after unanimous passage by the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives, Gov. Ernie Fletcher affixed his signature to House Bill 17, one of the first pieces of legislation voted on in the 2006 session. In so doing, Gov. Fletcher has made Kentucky the 43rd state in the U.S., and the second state in three months, to enact a law allowing for the practice of acupuncture by nonphysician acupuncturists.
"I've known people who have been helped tremendously with acupuncture," said state Rep. Denver Butler, chair of the House Licensing and Occupations Committee, who introduced the bill and was instrumental in its passage. "Acupuncture has been around for more than 4,000 years in China. The medical doctor may not be able to explain why, but it does help, and I felt that people deserved that opportunity to try it and be helped."


for more of the article and info go to www.acupuncturetoday.com

Folic Acid

Folic acid (or folate) is one of the few nutrients known to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida, which affects about one in 1,000 pregnancies each year in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control report that women who take the recommended daily dose of folic acid starting one month before they conceive and throughout the first trimester reduce their baby's risk of birth defects such as spina bifida by up to 70 percent.It doesn’t end at spina bifida, some studies have shown that women who don't get enough folic acid may increase their risk of miscarriage, as well as cleft lip and palate, limb defects, and certain types of heart defects in their babiesRemember that folic acid is needed for the production, repair, and functioning of DNA, our genetic map and a basic building block of cells, so getting enough is particularly important for the rapid cell growth that occurs during pregnancy. Folate is also required for a complex metabolic process that involves the conversion of the amino acid (homocysteine) into another amino acid (methionine). If you don't get enough folate, you can end up with too much homocysteine in the blood, which is thought to contribute to some birth defects. Elevated levels of homocysteine in pregnancy also have been linked to blood clots, placental abruption, recurrent miscarriages, and stillbirth. Researchers are trying to find out whether taking folic acid throughout pregnancy decreases your risk for these problems. Finally, folate helps make normal red blood cells, prevent anemia, and produce the nervous system chemicals norepinephrine and serotonin.

-dfh

Just FYI: Article on Pediatric Acupuncture

Below is a link for a 2002 article written by one of my mentors in pediatric acupuncture, Soma Glick. Unfortunately she moved from Colorado last year. I have found Pediatrics to be one of the most fascinating fields to work in and was fortunate to have her as a teacher many years ago.

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2002/oct/10glick.html

Happy Spring / 9 News Heath fair /credit cards

Happy Spring!

Just wanted to give the link and a reminder that the 9news health fair is coming up April 22-30th. Great way of getting inexpensive health assessments done.

http://www.9healthfair.org/

I am glad to be back in the US and lovely to come home to such beautiful weather. But being that it is Colorado and April, I am sure it will snow sometime this week.

On a more business note, the office is now accepting credit cards (visa and MC).

Yours in Health,

Michelle

Health Fair and Upcoming Office Vacation

I will be out of town..actually out of the country... from April 5th-17th. Please call me beforehand if you need any supplements for those weeks. I will be able to return all messages left after April 5th on Monday April 17th. If you need any acupuncture while I am gone, please call Allison Dinn. She is located in Denver near Wild Oats on Washington and her # is 303-733-4500. She does not do pediatrics, but does everything else and is very good. For pediatrics I would recommend Jake Fratkin in Boulder. Still trying to find a good referral here in Denver, so I apologize for not having a Metro area referral for pediatrics yet.

Also here is a link for the 9 news Heath Fair. It is a very low cost way of getting necessary blood tests and physical assessments done. I highly recommend taking advantage of this. If you get any tests done and would like me to go over the results with you, please feel free to bring them to your next visit.
http://www.9healthfair.org/


Yours in Health
Michelle

Ambien and sleep eating

I also heard sleepwalking and sleep driving is being linked to this drug. Here is one article.

Unconscious food forays tied to Ambien sleep aid

The New York Times Salt Lake Tribune

The sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat in some patients, according to emerging medical case studies that describe how the drug's users sometimes sleepwalk into their kitchens, claw through their refrigerators like animals and consume calories ranging into the thousands. The next morning, the night eaters remember nothing about their foraging. But they wake up to find telltale clues - mouthfuls of peanut butter, Tostitos in their beds, kitchen counters overflowing with flour, missing food, and even lighted ovens and stoves. Some are so embarrassed, they delay telling anyone, even as they gain weight. ''These people are hell-bent to eat,'' said Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis and one of the sleep experts researching the problem. He and colleagues are preparing a scientific paper based on their findings - that a sleep-related eating disorder is one of the unusual side effects showing up with the widespread use of Ambien. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., have made similar findings. Most of the people who use Ambien say the drug puts them to sleep, and they wake up without incident. But several doctors and a number of report a variety of unusual reactions to the drug. The reactions range from fairly benign sleepwalking episodes to hallucinations, violent outbursts and, most troubling of all, driving while asleep, a subject explored in an article last week in The New York Times.

Just a Great Story

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2006-02-28-mcelwain-hollywood_x.htm

Make sure and hit the video link attached to the above page.

Heart Health

The heart's main metabolic fuel is long-chain fatty acids, which are "burnt" in the heart muscle cells when oxygen is present. But if the heart can't utilize these fatty acids properly, they build up in the muscle tissue and damage it. Any defect in your ability to use these fatty acids will greatly increase your risk of angina pain if there is even a slight shortage of oxygen. The nutrients carnitine, pantethine and CoQ10 are all essential in the metabolism of fatty acids and prevent their accumulation in the heart muscle. Pantethine is a fundamental component of coenzyme A, which is involved in the transport of fatty acids to and from cells. Heart pantethine levels have been shown to drop during periods of reduced oxygen supply, so this nutrient is also likely to be of great benefit to angina sufferers (Jap. Heart J. 26: 289-96, 1985). Clinical trials have shown, incredibly, that carnitine at a dose of 600 mg a day is as effective as calcium channel blockers and other anti-angina drugs in reducing angina symptoms. (Drugs Exptl. Clin. Res. 10: 213-217, 1984).

Zicam

This is from an email newsletter put out by a naturopath here in Denver. Thought it was interesting enough to post here since I have had many patients sing the praises of Zicam recently.

Zicam claims to be homeopathic Zincum gluconicum in 1 x potency. What this means in English is that it is a 10% solution of zinc gluconate. Typically homeopathic remedies are sold in much more dilute solutions. For example a 6 x potency is one part in a million of the original substance. A 12 x potency is one part in a billion. A 30 x potency is so dilute that there isn’t even a molecule of the original substance left. This is why homeopathic medicines are considered safe; there is little or nothing left to cause harm. In the case of Zicam, by calling it homeopathic and adopting the homeopathic terminology, the manufacturer found a way to market a 10% solution of zinc gluconate without FDA oversight. In other words Zicam is just an intranasal zinc solution. Intranasal zinc has been known to destroy the ability to smell in both animals and people. In the 1930s, zinc compounds were used in attempts to prevent polio. About 10% of the people who received the zinc compounds lost their sense of smell permanently. For years there had been no attempt to use intranasal zinc in humans. However because Zincam products fall under the homeopathic provision of FDA laws, these products are not required to get FDA approval before they were put on the market.By the way loss of smell is called anosmia. It is not even clear that these products are useful for treating colds. While two placebo-controlled trials found that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms two other placebo-controlled studies found intranasal zinc to be of no benefit.In the most rigorously controlled of these studies, intranasal zinc gluconate did not affect the severity or duration of cold symptoms in volunteers inoculated with rhinovirus, a common cause of colds. These studies did find evidence of anosmia and warned about the condition. The reports stated that since zinc-associated anosmia may be irreversible. Earlier this month the manufacturers of Zicam agreed to pay $12 million dollars to settle a class action law suit brought by 340 consumers who had lost their ability to smell after using Zicam products. The company which made $46 million dollars in the first 9 months of 2005 does not plan to take their products off the market. Even with settling the lawsuits the products are still very profitable.Some people have told me they find Zicam an effective aid in treating their symptoms. Yet if we heed Hippocrates’ injunction to, First, Do no harm, we must consider Zicam an unacceptable risk and suggest not using it..

by Jacob Schor ND

Kids Health Link

With the cold/flu season upon us, here is a link for some questions you may have regarding illnesses and their signs and symptoms.
http://kidshealth.org/index.html