They must ALL be nuts! 

Primary care physicians (PCPs), formerly known as general practitioners, have been pushed down the economic scale by government regulations, corporate takeovers and their own failure to resist this sabotage. I've been warning them SINCE 1965! 

Now, PCPs are scrounging for new markets to conquer, and brain meddling is as good a field as any. It's nebulous, indefinable, not supported by science, and very lucrative. And since no one knows what they're  doing, you get away with almost anything! Doctors can prescribe a "feel-good" drug without having to listen to the patient drone on about his or her personal problems (which are probably only SLIGHTLY less severe than the doctor's).

A team of self-appointed "experts" called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently published a recommendation in The Annals of Internal Medicine that patients be screened for depression during the PCP's annual medical exam. Are people still doing THAT? Won't they ever learn that if they feel well it's best to avoid doctors?

The AHRQ wants PCPs to diagnose and TREAT depression. There is a powerful preconceived notion that "therapy" for neuroses is effective. But there is NO PROOF that a "professional" is any more effective than your next-door neighbor (or your minister) in treating depression.

The medical market is tight these days. Herbs are capturing a lot of the internal medicine market with vitamin therapy. Meanwhile, the urology market is drying up because  prostate hypertrophy is disappearing due to the widespread use of Saw Palmetto. Even the depression market is shrinking from the success of  St. John's Wort. Mainstream medicine has to do SOMETHING to get back in the game. 

So what do you make of all this psychosocial yowling? It's just another medical scam akin to cholesterol fakery, the sun/melanoma doctor-induced panic, and spinal adjustments.

Depressed? Quit bellyaching. Stop watching television (causes cancer of the intellect). Cut the sugar out of your diet and, if you need to spend the money, just send me the 200 bucks a month. 

Move over aspirin

You're going to find this hard to believe. Pycnogenol  (also known as the herb gotu cola), a pine bark extract from coastal France, has been found to be useful in the treatment of venous insufficiency, wounds and stretch marks. It looks like gotu cola is competing with aspirin as the wonder drug of the century.

In a recent study, 30 patients were given the gotu cola extract while 10 patients were given a placebo. The herb was proven to significantly improve subcutaneous edema, as well as significantly reduce venous pressure, which causes a sensation of heaviness in the legs. Clinically, the herb also reduced capillary leakage and perivascular inflammation.

The conclusion drawn was that gotu cola should be recommended for the prevention and treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. Also, recommending the herb to patients brings no danger of side effects or changes in blood biochemistry.

Other investigational uses are for sedative, analgesic, antidepressant, antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory effects. Do you think gotu cola can do ALL THAT?  I'll follow the research and keep you up to date.