Grass fed beef, liver failure, diabetes, Lipitor lawsuit, Sucralose

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By: Mike Furci (mike@bullz-eye.com)

08/16/2006

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A column by Mike Furci that brings you research, trends and other info to help you with your fitness, health and nutritional needs.

…there is a growing demand for grass-fed beef? During the past five years, 1,000 ranchers have switched their herds to all-grass diets. Sales of grass-fed beef has reached 120 million and is expected to increase more than 20% per year for the next decade. Why the increase? Grass-fed beef is lower in saturated fat and higher in omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid, vitamin A and vitamin E. All in all, pasture-based ranches are better for the animals, environment and, most of all, humans. (Time.com)

…liver failure is on the increase? This increase is mainly due to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in products like Tylenol. Data was analyzed on 662 patients treated for liver failure at 22 U.S. care centers between 1998 and 2003. During that time, liver failure cases due to acetaminophen rose form 28% to 51%. According to researchers, the range between the effective dose of acetaminophen and a dangerous dose is narrow. In 1998, the UK restricted OTC sales of acetaminophen to 16 grams, which led to a subsequent 30% drop in hospital admissions for liver failure. (“Caustic Commentary.” Wise Traditions. spring 2006; 7(1).)

…diabetes raises the risk of death in young adults by 300%, according to a British study? The study, involving 264,000 subjects between the ages of 35 and 54, found those with type II diabetes had a much greater probability of early death. Lead researcher Dr. Henrietta Mulnier said the results show just how dangerous type II diabetes is. She also feels that, with people being diagnosed with Type II diabetes at younger ages, the figures are going to get worse. (“Healthy Living.” Newsmax. July 2006)

Americans had better wake-up. Type II diabetes is a lifestyle disease almost always linked to obesity. All you fat people who preach that's it's okay to be fat and that you need to accept yourself the way you are, need to get a reality check. Also, if you choose to remain fat and unhealthy, you should have to start paying proportionally more for health insurance.

…consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Pfizer, maker of the popular cholesterol-lowering statin-type drug Lipitor? According to the lawsuit, Pfizer misled consumers by engaging in a massive advertising and promotional campaign to convince both doctors and patients that Lipitor is a beneficial treatment for nearly everyone with elevated cholesterol. Sales of the popular drug in 2004 were $10 billion and an estimated 74% of these sales came from people for whom there is no evidence the drug is needed. There are no studies showing the drug is effective for those over 65 and for women at any age. (Lipitor-ClassAction.com)

In order for one to believe statins are effective at lowering the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), one has to believe that “higher’ levels of serum cholesterol cause CVD. There are mounds of data showing cholesterol has little or nothing to do with CVD. Says Anthony Colpo in “LDL Cholesterol: Bad Cholesterol, or Bad Science”: “The concept that LDL is ‘bad cholesterol’ is a simplistic and scientifically untenable hypothesis. Independent thinking practitioners must look at the readily available evidence for themselves, instead of relying on the continual stream of anti-cholesterol propaganda emanating from ‘health authorities.’ By doing so, they will quickly realize that the LDL hypothesis is aggressively promoted for reasons other than public health.” I have a feeling that, in the not-so-distant future, Pfizer and other statin producers are going to be in a world of shit. (Bullz-Eye.com)

…in order for a 160lb man to reach an amount equivalent to the highest no-adverse-effect level (HNEL) seen in animal studies for the artificial sweetener Sucralose,, he’d have to ingest 1,500 twelve-ounce sodas every single day? This is just one of many facts you’ll find in the article “The Truth about Sucralose” by Cy Wilson. In this well-cited article, Cy discusses toxicity, and debunks statements like: Sucralose is structurally similar to DDT and thus is fat-soluble and gets stored in your body fat where it’ll cause deleterious effects. In short, Cy comes to the conclusion there just isn’t any data supportive of the idea that sucralose is harmful when used by humans. A very interesting read. (T-Nation.com)

Questions or comments? Send them to mike@bullz-eye.com.