Dr Bate's newsletter 7/14 - Big Ph;arma in Australia?

[Guest guest]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 25, 2012

The Forces Against Health in Australia

Nutritional medicine could save hundreds of millions of lives, but vested interests actively pursue the opposite.

Commentary by Ian Brighthope, M.D.

(OMNS June 25, 2012) Health practice in

Australia is still focused on treatment of disease as opposed to its

prevention and the optimization of health. Although the scientific

literature has recently shown an

increasing awareness of the importance of lifestyle factors in

preventing disease, mainstream medical professionals continue to be

trained to react to disease and pursue drug treatment. This " drug and

disease " paradigm is costly, not only in monetary terms but also the

human toll of pain and suffering and its impact on productivity and

quality of life, and widespread illness and death caused by medical

treatment.

Iain

Chalmers, director of the UK Cochrane Centre, has said that " Critics of

complementary medicine often seem to operate a double standard, being

far more assiduous in their attempts to outlaw unevaluated complementary

medical practices than unevaluated orthodox practices . . . These

double standards might be acceptable if orthodox medicine was based

solely on practices which had been shown to do more good than harm and

if the mechanisms through which their beneficial elements acted were

understood. "

Unfortunately, neither of these conditions hold true. [1]

The Australian government has made

investent in the prevention of disease a priority in its $7.4 billion

comprehensive reform package to the nation's health system. Yet

prevention has been a secondary consideration in most medical schools

and practices. A huge amount of disease and death could be prevented by

addressing the use of tobacco and alcohol [2]. There remains an enormous

void in the government's health policy because it does not encourage

and support the medical profession to practice nutritional medicine.

Changing Attitudes

" Individuals

are ceasing to be mindless consumers of drugs and services, becoming

more discriminating and aware in their choices. They are also bringing

their new options back home to their family physicians, and contributing

to an awareness among doctors of the existence and potential of natural

therapies. "

[3]

Research in the field of nutritional

medicine is growing at a phenomenal rate, and now that the human genome

has been sequenced, the science supporting nutrition in preventing

disease is more impressive than ever. Many general practitioners and

academics are open to the use of diet and nutritional supplements as

viable alternatives to drugs. However, there are still too few to make a

significant impact on public health. There will always be resistance,

even hostility from the nutritional " flat-Earthers " - those who believe

that " if you eat a balanced diet then you cannot be deficient in

essential nutrients " (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) [4]

- and the academic medical power brokers. But I believe the system will

eventually change in line with the accumulating evidence.

Recently, leading economic forecasters

Access Economics announced that expanding the use of

complementary/nutritional

medicines could maintain excellent patient outcomes while saving

hundreds of millions of dollars a year in healthcare costs. They studied

the cost-effectiveness of common nutritional treatments for common

chronic and serious conditions. They evaluated acupuncture for chronic

lower back pain, St 's Wort for mild to moderate depression, fish

oils in the prevention of heart disease and for the treatment of

rheumatoid arthritis. The director of Access Economics, Lynne Pezzullo,

said that analysing each treatment on a case-by-case basis showed

patients could save a considerable amount of money by using nutritional

medicines. In the case of St 's Wort, for the 340,000 Australians

who are being treated for mild to moderate depression with drugs that

don't work well, she estimated a saving of $50 million per annum.

The potential savings from the use of vitamins C, D, and E and fish oils

in heart disease is in excess of $2 billion.

The executive

director of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine who

initiated the study, Professor Alan Bensoussan, commented " I think

governments should ... look more closely at what implications this might

have in the context of national health reform. " [5] I agree

wholeheartedly, and have been pushing for similar reforms for many

years. I hope this will mark the beginning of a new endeavor to change

our overburdened health care system. Politicians and regulators are very

cautious about such change for fear of reactions from the medical and

pharmaceutical establishment, who may perceive competition for the

health dollar as a threat. But there is enough work to do in the goal of

optimal health to keep every doctor, hospital, naturopath, and

nutritionist busy for decades. That is, unless a miracle occurs and

megadose vitamin C and a few vitamins and minerals become widely used.

For these supplements can prevent widespread

deficiencies that are responsible for many age-related

diseases.

The " Wellness Model " of health attempts

to prevent disease and optimise health by encouraging people with the

proper nutrition and lifestyle tools. This can achieve the maximum level

of health, physical and mental, for each individual. It creates an

optimal environment for the expression of that individual's genetic

potential. The keys to achieving optimal health include the judicious

use of nutrition and nutritional supplements, regular physical exercise,

the avoidance of environmental pollutants, and the practice of positive

outlook through simple techniques such as meditation. This concept of

optimising health for everyone is foreign to most traditional doctors

and is glaringly absent from medical school curricula and training.

Lobbying for Disease

In this

debate there are insidious influences. A powerful lobby group called the

Friends of Science in Medicine (FOSM) is actively discouraging

the federal government from supporting universities with funding if they

conduct courses in what they personally regard as unscientific.

Shamefully, the FOSM don't have members trained in NM and the

nutritional sciences. FOSM is predictably against nutritional

supplements, regarding them as expensive and wasteful. Could the money

spent on nutritional supplements be better spent in more hospitals by

treating the sick with drugs? In effect FOSM insists that universities

should only teach what it defines as " correct " knowledge - emphasizing

the treatment of disease, not the promotion of health. FOSM and the

medical establishment would do well to become aware of the vast

literature on nutritional medicine and the clinical experience of

scientifically trained

nutrition-aware doctors and nutritionists.

Nutritional Supplements in Medical and Pharmacy Practice

Most

drug prescriptions are unnecessary, an estimated 80% in Australia. [6]

The list is

long and includes antibiotics, statins, antidepressants, and many more.

Yet through the best education, lifestyle, fitness, dietary change and

the proper use of nutritional supplements and herbal medicines, patient

health outcomes can be optimised and hospital admissions and adverse

drug events significantly reduced. In 2009, government expenditure on

the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) amounted to $6.9 billion [7]

and it is estimated that in 2009-10 it grew a further 9.3%. [8] I

believe that at least $3 billion could be wiped off the total PBS

expenditure and that these savings could be used to promote better

nutrition, physical fitness and safe, effective natural therapies. For

example, use of more cost-effective niacin or St. 's Wort as

antidepressants could free up more

money to psychiatrists for proper counseling and to orthomolecular

nutritionists for feeding the mind. Overall this would lead to greater

knowledge, more support for the most appropriate research, and an

economic benefit to the world's population.

" There

is an angry scornful tone used in leading textbooks of medicine

regarding the discussion of micronutrient supplementation; an arrogance

and ignorance concerning the evidence for the possible benefit of

supplementation. " [9]

Doctors and pharmacists play a major role

in informing consumers about the safety, efficacy and correct use of

nutritional supplements. A recent Australian study evaluated the use of

both nutritional and prescription medicines by pharmacy customers. 72%

had used nutritional supplements within the previous 12 months, 61% used

prescription medicines daily, and 43% had used both [10]. The most

popular nutritional supplements were: multivitamins, fish oil

supplements, vitamin C, glucosamine, vitamin B complex, probiotics,

Echinacea, coenzyme Q10, Ginkgo biloba and St 's Wort. The authors

of the

study explained that customers or patients want more information, ask

more questions, and no longer blindly accept the authority of health

care providers. This new class of customer differs drastically from the

gullible consumer of nutrition supplements often characterized by the

mainstream media. According to this study, nutritional

supplements were selected by the majority of people themselves, although

pharmacists and pharmacy assistants were helpful in this choice. From

only a few bottles of vitamins in the 1980s to shelves of vitamins and

essential nutrients lining the pharmacy walls, there has been a massive

change in the retail pharmacy. The demands of an informed public plus

the need for profits drove the pharmacy industry into selling

nutritional supplements.

The study also highlighted that some

customers currently feel pharmacists are ill-equipped to counsel them

about nutritional supplements. Many don't even refer to pharmacists as

an

information source. Pharmacists also felt ill-informed about

supplements, and experienced frustration when dealing with inquiries

about nutritional medicines and natural health products.

" We

must act on the facts and the most accurate interpretation of them,

using the best scientific information. That does not mean that we must

sit back until we have 100% evidence about everything. When the state of

the health of the people is at stake, we should be prepared to take

action to diminish these risks even when the scientific knowledge is not

conclusive. [11]

Unfit to Practice

There is not a

single medical school in Australia teaching adequate nutritional science

to future doctors to ensure that they are fit to practice in proper

health care. This applies equally to general practitioners and

specialists. Most of any doctor's patients are going to die from a

nutritionally based disease, yet for years before they die they have

formidably obvious nutritional deficiencies that go undiagnosed.

Fortunately in Australia, we have highly qualified nutrition-aware

health scientists in the profession of Natural Therapists who can help

to correct these deficiencies.

Medicine stands on two feet - the science

and the clinical art. Take away either one and it is going nowhere.

Science on its own doesn't work because people aren't widgets; we all

have different needs and different strengths, but medical research finds

it easiest to treat us all the same. Got arthritis? Take this

painkiller. But painkillers may destroy the joints, and in the case of

the most common, paracetamol, cause damage to multiple internal organs -

while simple things such as changing the diet, movement, vitamins,

glucosamine and turmeric, among many others, have been shown to be very

safe and effective.

Clinical skills also need to be advised

by good science, the constant quest for understanding. In reality

nutritional biochemistry holds the answers to most of our health

problems, but movements such as FOSM actively seek to censor our

knowledge of this.

Alternate Health News Digest

From NaturalNews:

---

   

'Nourishing our children' documentary blows away illusions about processed food vs. traditional diets

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036462_Nourishing_the_

Children_food_documentary.html

---

   

The end of privacy: Government to deploy laser-based 'molecular strip-search' devices across airports and roadside checkpoints

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036452_laser_scanner_

molecular.html

---

Monsanto could pay $7.5 billion settlement to millions of Brazilian soy farmers

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036451_Monsanto_Brazil_soy_

farmers.html

---

   

92 percent of Americans want the FDA to label GMO foods - Sign this labeling petition if you're one of them

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036450_GMO_food_labels_

petition.html

---

Has big business overused " organic " to turn a profit?

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036447_organic_standards_big_

business_profits.html#

ixzz20cMTzeEV

---

Discovery

of magnetic sensors in fish and rats may explain why some people can

'feel' wi-fi, smart meters, power lines and electropollution

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036440_magnetosensory_cells_

electro-smog_EMF.html

---

Activist mom launches national movement boycotting GMOs

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036427_GMO_boycott_activists.

html

---

   

The 'Monsanto Rider': Are Biotech Companies About to Gain Immunity from Federal Law?

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036425_Monsanto_biotech_

immunity.html#ixzz20cNSGTyb

---

Addictive painkiller OxyContin being tested on U.S. children

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036426_OxyContin_children_

clinical_trials.html

---

   

Anti-obesity vaccine shot offers false promise of staying slim even on a junk food diet

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036423_obesity_vaccine_junk_

food.html

---

Mystery meat in America? WTO strikes down country-of-origin labeling in U.S. grocery stores

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036405_mystery_meat_country_

of_origin_labeling.html

---

   

GlaxoKline pleads guilty to criminal fraud charges, pays massive $3 billion in fines

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036416_GlaxoKline_fraud_

criminal_charges.html

---

   

Big Pharma criminality no longer a conspiracy theory: Bribery, fraud, price fixing now a matter of public record

http://www.naturalnews.com/

036417_Glaxo_Merck_fraud.html

---

From Dr Mercola:

---

Monsanto Promises Pain to EU, Assault Underway

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/10/drop-gmo-zero-tolerance-

policy.aspx?e_cid=20120710_

DNL_artNew_2

---

Merck Accused of Lying about Vaccine Effectiveness

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/10/merck-lying-about-

vaccine-effectiveness.aspx?e_

cid=20120710_DNL_artNew_1

---

Surprising Cancer-Fighting Benefits of Pineapple Enzyme

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/11/bromelain-enzyme-aid-

cancer-treatment.aspx?e_cid=

20120711_DNL_artNew_1

---

Even If Your Doctor Diagnosed You - Odds are, You Never Really Had This Illness

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/09/pandemic-bird-flu-

evolution.aspx?e_cid=20120709_

DNL_artNew_1

---

Pfizer 'Cherry-Picked' Celebrex Data, Memos Say

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/09/lawsuit-against-pfizer-

celebrex.aspx?e_cid=20120709_

DNL_artNew_2

---

Gaea on Safer Breast Cancer Screening

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

07/08/gaea-powell-on-

thermography.aspx?e_cid=

20120708_SNL_Art_1

---

'60 Minutes' Reports on the Dangers of Sugar

http://articles.mercola.com/

sites/articles/archive/2012/

06/30/excessive-fructose-

causes-obesity-and-cancer.

aspx?e_cid=20120708_SNL_MV_1--

-

From Alliance for Natural Health:

---

Urgent Action Alert on TWO GMO Amendments!

http://www.anh-usa.org/urgent-

action-alert-on-two-gmo-

amendments/

---

Sugar Dumbs Us Down

http://www.anh-usa.org/sugar-

dumbs-us-down/

---

Acid Blockers Also Affect Your Brain

http://www.anh-usa.org/acid-

blockers-also-affect-your-

brain/

---

And Yet Another Brain Threat: Statin Drugs

http://www.anh-usa.org/and-

yet-another-brain-threat-

statin-drugs/

---

From Easy Health:

---

How A Spice Can Speed Weight Loss

http://www.easyhealthoptions.

com/alternative-medicine/how-

a-spice-can-speed-weight-loss/

---

Iodine, Breast Cancer And Heart Health     Iodine, Breast Cancer And Heart Health »

http://www.easyhealthoptions.

com/alternative-medicine/

iodine-breast-cancer-and-

heart-health/

---

Magnificent Magnesium    

http://www.easyhealthoptions.

com/alternative-medicine/

magnificent-magnesium/

---

The Many Ugly Signs Of A Gluten Problem

http://www.easyhealthoptions.

com/alternative-medicine/the-

many-ugly-signs-of-a-gluten-

problem/

---

Testing For Early Insulin Resistance

http://www.easyhealthoptions.

com/alternative-medicine/

testing-for-early-insulin-

resistance/

---

From Dr Bate:

---

How to stop PMS problems without drugs

http://drbate.com/content/pms.

shtml

---

That's it for another week.  Hope it helps you or yours.  Feel free to copy any part or all and send it to anyone.

 ---

Phil Bate PhD - Orthomolecular Psychologist  (30 plus years) Inventor of NT Therapy - An inexpensive, effective approach &

" at home " therapy for ADD- autism, insomnia, depression etc

http://drbate.com                   -                    drbate@...