Health Confidential by Al Sear, MD

Here are a few excerpts from this issue:

Why Would a Harvard Medical School Teacher Have 47 Ties to Big Drug Companies?

Have you ever watched a TV ad with your favorite actor telling you how taking a pill transformed his life and thought you should ask your doctor about getting a prescription at your next appointment? When you don’t even have osteoporosis, restless leg syndrome, or the inability to produce tears?

Well, those slick, sugary drug ads you see on TV are just the tip of the iceberg.

Doctors on the take, expensive and impressive sounding studies, and other "underground" marketing sell you more drugs than any TV commercial ever will.

You see, big drug companies regularly fund the sources you trust for so-called "honest and unbiased" information.

* By giving perks and special gifts to doctors who prescribe more of their drugs
* By awarding multi-million-dollar "research" grants to universities
* And by bankrolling journalists, radio talk-show hosts and scientists… all designed to "educate" you on the safety of their drug

Make no mistake. This is an investment...

Pfizer’s Prolific Pain Researcher

So far we’ve just talked about Big Pharma’s influence on the doctors you trust for advice to get you well.

But Big Pharma uses secret tactics to hook you on drugs way before you need to visit your doctor’s office.

Let’s take those drug ads, for example.

Have you ever noticed how prescription drugs are always “proven” safe and effective in clinical studies? Do you know who pays for these studies?

Big Pharma does. And when BILLIONS in profits are on the line, the facts get pushed under the rug.

Take the case of Dr. Scott Reuben. Many of his clinical trials found that Celebrex and Lyrica (both Pfizer drugs) were effective against postoperative pain. However, when it was revealed that Dr. Reuben fabricated data in 21 medical journals, the drugs had already been sold for 13 years.

How many Pfizer advertisements used the “proof” of Dr. Reuben’s clinical trials to sell more Celebrex and Lyrica pills? Nobody can know for sure.


Three Ways to Make Sure You’re Not a Victim of Big Pharma’s Deceptive Marketing Practices

First, don't blindly trust your doctor's advice. At best, they’ve only been taught to treat your condition by throwing pills at it. At worst, they could be telling you to take a certain drug solely because they know they'll get a fat commission check.

The best way to test their knowledge is to ask plenty of questions. And don’t walk away until you’re satisfied with the answers.

1. Why are you prescribing this drug for me?

2. How does it work?

3. Are there any side effects?

4. Does it interact with other drugs, supplements, food, etc?

5. Are there any natural alternatives to this drug?

Next, research any prescription drug before you take it.

The simple way to do this is just to type the drug name in Google. This will yield tons of information on side effects, lawsuits against the drug maker, and fines levied against them for illegal marketing.

And even though I’m not a big fan of the FDA, it’s still a good idea to check the FDA website (at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/) to see if the drug is under investigation.

(Word of caution here: It takes the FDA a long time to investigate a drug and have it pulled from the shelves. So this isn’t entirely reliable.)

You can also find information about side effects and reactions to drugs and treatments here:

www.drugs.com
www.Rxlist.com

Finally, the best way to avoid Big Pharma’s tricks is to not put yourself in a position to need drugs in the first place. Ben Franklin's famous quote "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is worth repeating.

Chemical Warfare Camouflaged in Food How to Win the Battle for Your Dinner Table

They’re in every grocery store… brightly colored boxes of prepared foods loudly claiming how healthy they are.
But they’re not what you think.
Unfortunately, nearly all of the prepackaged “low fat,” “low carb,” and “heart healthy” meals lining the shelves at the market are just shadows of real food … with literally no nutritional value.
Yet we’re buying them in droves. In 2006 alone, the combined sales of just the top four brands of diet foods reached a whopping $1.925 billion. Talk about a health disaster in the making!

Today I’ll uncover the hidden dangers of eating these chemically enhanced “health” foods, and how you can stay healthy by eating the way nature intended...
The Chemical ‘Mind Control’ of Packaged Food

...most people assume that strawberry flavor comes from squeezing a bunch of strawberries and extracting the flavor from the concentrate. But the truth is something else entirely. The strawberry flavor found in many diet food snacks and desserts is made up of 50 different chemicals...

Corporate Fat Cats Know…
You Couldn’t Stand Their Food without Tricks

Why do companies have to add “flavors”?
It’s because the act of processing the food strips the flavor right out of it.
...factory-prepared dinner – before added colors and flavors – would taste (and smell) bland, lifeless, and sterile. It definitely wouldn’t make your mouth water...These foods are chemical weapons in a box, plain and simple.

Three Ways to Eat Real Food

Power Up Your Metabolism with Protein – Your body stores fat when it doesn’t get the fuel and nutrition it really needs. And your body relies on protein as the main source of fuel for every function in the body.
Choose Your Carbs Wisely – Most experts miss the point of “low carb”. It’s not about sugar or sweetness. It’s about starch. Starch spikes the blood sugar and triggers insulin.
Eat the Right Fats – Eating the right kind of fat is critical to feeling your best. Fats of all types play vital roles in nearly every function in the body.

• Eat More Omega-3s – Omega-3s protect you from cardiovascular disease. Eat plenty of fish, avocado, walnuts, and olives. Cod liver oil, Sacha Inchi oil, and nuts are also great sources.
  

• Eat More Animal Fats – Saturated fats are not only less dangerous than the media would have you believe, they’re also vital to your health. They help your body absorb calcium8 and boost your immune system9 among many other things.

Choose Whole Foods – A whole food is a food that you can pick right out of the ground or off of the tree and eat it.

To learn more about Wellness Research and Consulting, call (866) 792-1035 or visit, http://www.alsearsmd.com

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