The diabetes drug debacle… Diabetes, especially the Type 2 (adult onset) variety, is one of the top killers of Americans - number 3 on the list behind heart disease and cancer. But if we don't soon change the way we live and eat, it may occupy the top spot before very long. As usual, the mainstream's response to this disease has been utterly backward. Instead of focusing on prevention by aggressively educating us about the dangers of the sugar-saturated, high-carbohydrate diet we've had crammed down our throats (in TV commercials for candy, soda pop, sports drinks, and breakfast cereals), they've put their might and main into developing NEW DRUGS to combat the disease! In other words: Treating the symptoms instead of eliminating the causes of the disease. Again. After all, that's how we treat heart disease and cancer, so why not diabetes? It's enough to make a doc like me scream bloody murder! But that's the way of today's conventional medicine, and we should all be used to it by now, right? All except the people WHO MAY HAVE DIED because of these drugs, that is. That's right - people aren't just dying of diabetes, but also from the "safe" drugs our selfless and beloved FDA has approved for the treatment of it. The most egregious example of this happened recently, when one pharmaceuticals giant pulled its diabetes drug from the market after their "safe" drug was linked to nearly 100 deaths or transplants caused by liver failure… But the drama doesn't end there. According to a recent Reuters online article, two more of today's most popular diabetes medications are suspected of causing HEART FAILURE AND FLUID IN THE LUNGS among certain patients. Turns out that these drugs increase blood volume, which stresses the hearts (and kidneys) of patients with advanced heart dysfunction. What I'm wondering is this: If people with Type Two diabetes are far enough along in their condition to need these drugs, they're already very likely to be risking major heart problems. So why would drug makers develop and market products that could make the most deadly aspect of the condition they're designed to treat EVEN WORSE? And why would the FDA approve such medications? Odd, but not surprising… It's a moot point, though. At the rate we're going, diabetes drugs are like a band-aid on a bullet wound. Until the truth gets out about the sugar and carbohydrate menace (not to mention the absurd "Food Pyramid" they're teaching our children in school), the side effects of these drugs are the least of our problems… Unless, of course, they kill you. ******************************* The pen is mightier than the sore… For as much as I rail against pop psychology as pseudo-science gobbledygook, I must give credit where credit is due. After all, the mind's power over the body cannot be denied - consider the well-documented "placebo effect," or the connection between spousal behaviors and perceived pain levels I told you about (Daily Dose, 2/22/03)… Along these lines, some recent British research about how higher levels of stress or psychological distress can affect healing shows this connection more plainly than any other study I can recall. Here's how it worked: Two different study groups of equal size were instructed to spend 20 minutes per day writing. One group was to write about trivial things - the day's events, shopping, etc. The other group was told to write about the most upsetting and troubling experiences of their lives.
Following the exercises, each participant was given a small puncture wound on the upper arm… After 2 weeks, the group that wrote about the worst things they've ever been through had measurable smaller wounds than the "trivial" group. The researchers' conclusion: That people who express and deal with emotional trauma - whether on their own or at the behest of others - have a stronger healing and immune response than those who don't. Makes sense to me - I have long believed in a correlation between state of mind and recovery rates from physical trauma (like surgery). If I ever need to go under the knife, maybe I'll start keeping a diary so I can heal up as quickly as possible… With an open mind (literally!),
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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