Torrential Feedback To Reader's Digest Anti-Vitamin Article

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, April 8, 2010

Torrential Feedback To Reader's Digest Anti-Vitamin Article
No, You Can't Fool All the People All the Time

(OMNS, Apr 8, 2010)
More than half of America now takes nutritional supplements. Here's some of what the vitamin-taking public had to say to Reader's Digest about their anti-vitamin scaremongering:
"The more your readers digest the lies presented in "5 Vitamin Truths and Lies", the sicker they will become. But no need to fear because your sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies, provide the remedy: drugs and lots of them, which are readily available within the pages of your magazine. Seems to me a good return on their investment."
"I'm very disappointed to find out that a reputable publication such as yours would put out such a slanted and biased article about nutritional supplements. I grew up reading Reader's Digest, and used to enjoy it tremendously before it was apparently taken over by pharmaceutical ads. Then, the articles were pure and touched the heart. Now, it seems that they are biased and are only written to support Big Pharma."
"Antioxidants did not cause death from cancer among smokers that you attributed to vitamins. Smoking did."
"So what are you going to follow this with in your next issue Reader's Digest? 'Bacon and Hot Dogs are Actually Good For You' or '10 Ways to Serve Gravy as a Beverage'? I mean, could you BE any more of a disservice to humanity?"
"Can't wait for Reader's Digest's next '5 Truths and Lies' article. Laughter is the best medicine."
"The research demonstrating that vitamin supplements are beneficial in thwarting and healing heart disease, inflammatory disease, Alzheimer's disease, mental illness, diabetes, and more is solid and growing. If the article were accurate, the author might have stated the astonishing discrepancy between the number of deaths per year related to the pharmaceutical industry vs that of the nutraceutical and vitamin industry. ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/deathmed.html ) But then, those facts do not support the ad on the back cover of the magazine."
"The Reader's Digest article 'Vitamin Truths and Lies' is simply an outright lie. The only part missing is the TRUTHS."
"I have personally witnessed the healing effects of therapeutic doses of cheap and common vitamin supplements, such as vitamin C, niacin, and others. I think you will find many other readers who echo this sentiment."
"Reader's Digest insults its readership with this type of propaganda. Add another check to the growing list of people who won't be reading any longer."
"If supplement companies advertised in your magazine instead of Big Pharma, the article might have read differently. Needless to say, this was the last Reader's Digest I'll ever read."
"I've been taking vitamins successfully to cure colds and prevent them for the past year. I also feel much better, lost 30lbs, and have more energy than ever. My wife used to have seasonal allergies that are no longer an issue. Vitamins do work when taken in proper doses, with virtually zero side affects, I might add."
"The pharmaceutical companies are trying to protect their monopoly on healthcare by bashing supplements. The alternative to boosting your nutritional intake is to live your life on a large number of prescription drugs and poor food, while 'enjoying' a debilitated existence."
"The Reader's Digest has joined the Flat Earth Society. Shame on you!"
"For seven years I was a regular clinic/hospital visitor due to either severe colds or inflamed tonsils. For my tonsillitis, two EENT specialists had recommended surgical removal. Three years ago, while browsing the internet I came across websites and articles about orthomolecular medicine where I have learned the importance of supplements. In my desperation, I megadoses of vitamin C up to 23,000mg, vitamin E 800 IU, B-complex 300mg, and niacin 600mg. My tonsil inflammation was gone in 5 days."
"How do sleep well at night after these awful lies, misleading the people again? Maybe with some pills from the pharmaceutical industry?"
"When health issues are at stake, I would much rather put my trust in vitamin supplements than have to rely on pharmaceuticals. How many people have died from vitamins? ( http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n04.shtml ) How many have died from drug complications?" ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/deathmed.html )
"As I read their amazingly biased information regarding vitamins, I realized Reader's Digest does publish some nice fiction stories."
"Basic biochemistry and a review of the literature support the benefits of supplementation. Not all supplementation helps. Much supplementation does. Reader's Digest discussed only science that it chose to discuss. Cherry-picking science is bad science. "
"Why did you miss reporting on large studies showing vitamin supplements improve IQ scores in children?" ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/downs.html and http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v04n15.shtml )
"Having made mistakes in my own health column years ago when a reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper, I know how easy it is to disseminate false information. However, with fact checkers and common sense use of the Internet and PubMed I believe your reporter could have discovered many thousands of scientific studies on the health benefits of vitamins and minerals."
"I challenge Reader's Digest to contact the doctors on the Editorial Review Board of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and submit 'Vitamin Truths and Lies' for its critical review, and publish their response in its entirety. "
"I sent a message to the Reader's Digest, lambasting them for the misinformation they had the gall to publish about vitamins. Their reply said that the author is a prize-winning writer who is known for thorough research prior to publication. I asked the Digest for references and citations. I received none."
"Please see ( http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n12.shtml ) to read the statements from doctors refuting your article on vitamins. At the very least I hope to see Reader's Digest interview some of these researchers and physicians that have been studying and using vitamins/supplements in their practice for years, and write another article with both sides represented. You can also go to http://www.clinicalpearls.com/ which is a website that summarizes current research in nutrition and integrative medicine."
"It works for Prevention magazine, so why not Reader's Digest? I once opened a Prevention magazine and counted 18 drug ads and articles before I came to one on nutrition. Should we expect more from Reader's Digest?"
"You have got to be kidding. You have ignored a flotilla of articles, peer reviewed as well, on the benefits of vitamins for a variety of conditions including macular degeneration. I know this field well as I am an ophthalmologist. The only explanation I can think of is that you have been unduly influenced by your pharmaceutical advertisers."
"I am a registered nurse and read many articles on health. I feel that your recent article on vitamins was very misleading. Please ask the author to research more thoroughly and write a new article."
"Ignorance may be bliss, but when ignorance is reported as if it were a truth in this case it is not bliss but close to a crime. Ignorance accompanied by 15 pages of drug advertisements is closer to a racket."
"For a full and comprehensive research on what vitamins can do you need to go to http://www.orthomolecular.org and http://www.doctoryourself.com where you can find real research, not the kindergarten stuff reported in your April 2010 issue. I have been following the impeccable reporting of the orthomolecular people for years now and will give them an A+ on their content, and you a flat F."
"Your slamming of vitamins and minerals is truly tragic. For those who look to Reader's Digest as a valued resource, you have let them down. You neglect of the thousands of therapeutic nutritional research studies and articles from universities and from other research teams worldwide that you can find easily in Medline, and the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Bad journalism (telling half the story) can result in poor health for millions. I hope your own families weren't reading this article."
To post your comments at the Reader's Digest website, or to read their original biased article if you missed it: http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/5-vitamin-truths-and-lies/article175625.html
To send your thoughts directly to the Reader's Digest editors: RDEditorial_RDW@ReadersDigest.com
To learn more about how vitamins safely and effectively fight disease: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (Canada)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, PhD (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, MD, Ph.D (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org
To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

This article may be reprinted free of charge provided 1) that there is clear attribution to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and 2) that both the OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html and also the OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml are included.

Link to resources at Orthomed.org


This is the 500th post at Pharmaceuticals Anonymous!

Omega-3 may boost brain function in boys: Study

Maybe there's nothing wrong with hyperactive kids... maybe it's nutritional~! Fish oil is better than Ritalin. Cheaper, too. Our brains are 60% fat by dry weight... makes sense...


Omega-3 may boost brain function in boys: Study
By Stephen Daniells, 24-Feb-2010

"Supplements of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) may alter the function of the brain associated with working memory, according to results of a new study with healthy boys.

Scientists from the University of Cincinnati showed for the first time using neuro-imaging that supplementation with DHA alters the functional activity in cortical attention networks in humans.

“The present findings add to an emerging body of evidence from preclinical and clinical imaging studies that suggest that dietary DHA intake is a robust modulator of functional cortical activity,” wrote lead author Robert McNamara in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

European support

The study follows hot on the heels of, and vindicates, backing from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for DHA-related brain and eye health claims for infants.

EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) said DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) levels of 100mg of per day were appropriate for 7-24 month-old infants along with 200mg per day for pregnant and lactating women.

The DHA claims relating to brain health stated: “DHA intake can contribute to normal brain development of the foetus, infant and young children”

Another shorter chain, omega-3 fatty acid, ALA (alpha linolenic acid), was affirmed as important for the normal brain development of children up to the age of 18 but no levels were specified.

Study details

While there is a growing body of evidence linking DHA to cognitive function, Dr McNamara and his co-workers note that it is unkown how DHA supplementation may affect functional cortical activity in humans. In order to fill this knowledge gap, they recruited 33 health boys aged between 8 and 10 and randomly assigned them to receive one of two doses of DHA (400 or 1200 mg per day, Martek Biosciences) or placebo for eight weeks.

Brain activation patterns were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a test of sustained attention (playing video games). The results showed that DHA levels in the membrane of red blood cells (erythrocytes ) increased by 47 and 70 per cent in the low and high dose DHA group, while the placebo groups experienced an 11 per cent drop in DHA levels.

The “main finding” from the fMRI data was an indication of significant increases in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain in the DHA groups – an area of the brain associated with working memory. Changes in other parts of the brain, including the occipital cortex (the visual processing centre) and the cerebellar cortex (plays a role in motor control) were observed.

“These findings suggest that this imaging paradigm could be useful for elucidating neurobiological mechanisms underlying deficits in cortical activity in psychiatric disorders associated with DHA deficiencies, including ADHD and major depression,” wrote the researchers.

The study was co-funded by Martek, the National Institutes of Health, and the Inflammation Research Foundation.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28549
“Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation increases prefrontal cortex activation during sustained attention in healthy boys: a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, functional magnetic resonance imaging study”
Authors: R.K. McNamara, J. Able, R. Jandacek, T. Rider, et al."

"Omega-3 fatty acids
Overview:
Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids: They are necessary for human health but the body can’t make them -- you have to get them through food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood including algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. They have also become popular because they may reduce the risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon) at least 2 times a week...."

More on Omega-3 and your health from the excellent site of the University of Maryland here

Test to predict lung cancer in smokers?

"Test predicts lung cancer for smokers
Available within a year, a new screening technique can determine which smokers will develop the disease."
Interesting
but we have not seen enough to be convinced. Anyone can make a prediction.
Link

Inside the beautiful mind of a schizophrenic psychologist

From Canada's NATIONAL POST

"Schizophrenia gripped the mind of Frederick Frese in the usual fashion, with an abrupt psychotic break in his early twenties that felt like terrifying insight.

Now a prominent clinical psychologist and mental health advocate, who is still afflicted by his field's most mysterious delusional pathology, Dr. Frese was then a U.S. Marine captain with an advanced math and science education, fluent in Japanese, and assigned to guard nuclear weapons at the Jacksonville, Fla., naval base....

...his singular medical accomplishment, which is to provide psychiatry with a first-hand scientific account of psychosis, one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted medical conditions.

He understands, for example, why the bizarre writings of the prophet Ezekiel, "one of our people, no question," are most often favoured by schizophrenics, followed by the naked preacher Elijah. As for angels, he reports that Muslim schizophrenics tend to prefer Gabriel, and Judeo-Christians prefer Michael.

Dr. Frese cites the question of suicide in schizophrenia -- often by falls from a great height -- as a particularly misunderstood phenomenon, with so many investigations lacking the kind of sympathy his personal experience provides. He means that if someone believes he can fly, jumping off a bridge is not suicide, and in cases such as former U.S. Defense Secretary James Forrestal, who jumped out of a 16th-floor hospital window, what looks like suicide might in fact be medical negligence. Ever since that death, in 1949, windows on U.S. psychiatric wards are fitted with "Forrestal screens."

Link

We would be interested in knowing Dr. Friese's thoughts on diagnosis of the physical causes of mental illness.

We don't think Dr. Frese's desire to dance - cited in the article - is a sign of mental instability; we think it is a sign of mental health.

CBC: Pfizer ordered to pay $142M in damages

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/03/25/gabapentin-ubc.html

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has been ordered to pay $142 million US in damages for fraudulently marketing gabapentin, an anti-seizure drug marketed under the name Neurontin.

Wachovia Bank - Money Laundering, Plea Bargain

This is a bit off our usual path, but Wachovia handles NAMI's money. Links:
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Money Laundering, Plea Bargain

WACHOVIA ENTERS INTO DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENT
March 17, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bank Agrees to Pay $160 Million

Wachovia Bank, N.A. (“Wachovia”), one of the largest banks in the United States, has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida and the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to resolve charges that it willfully failed to establish an anti-money laundering program. Today’s agreement is the result of an investigation into Wachovia’s transactions with Mexican currency exchange houses, commonly known as “casas de cambio” (“CDCs”), announced Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (“IRS-CID”), John C. Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and James H. Freis, Jr., Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The agreement also resolves Wachovia’s admitted failure to identify, detect, and report suspicious transactions in third-party payment processor accounts.

A criminal information, filed March 12, 2010 and unsealed today, charges Wachovia with willfully failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program from May 2003 through June 2008, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). According to the information and other documents filed with the court today, including a detailed Factual Statement and a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“the Agreement”), Wachovia failed to effectively monitor for potential money laundering activity more than $420 billion in financial transactions with the CDCs.

As part of the Agreement filed today, Wachovia has agreed to forfeit $110 million to the United States, which represents proceeds of illegal narcotics sales that were laundered through Wachovia. FinCEN also assessed a $110 million Civil Money Penalty that is deemed satisfied by the forfeiture to the U.S. government, for serious and systemic BSA violations. Moreover, pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and the OCC’s separate Cease and Desist and Civil Money Penalty Orders, Wachovia has agreed to pay an additional $50 million fine to the U.S. Treasury. The total sum of $160 million is due within five days from the date of the Agreement.

In light of Wachovia’s willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions and omissions, its cooperation and remedial actions to date, and its promised continued cooperation and remedial actions in the future, the government has agreed to defer prosecution of the criminal charge in the information for 12 months. If Wachovia fully complies with its obligations under the Agreement, the U.S. agrees to dismiss the criminal information at the end of the 12 months. Earlier today, the Agreement was accepted in federal court in Miami by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard.

According to the documents filed with the court, Wachovia was aware, as early as 1996 and through 2004, of the high risk that drug money was being of laundered through the CDCs. Wachovia was also aware that other U.S. banks had stopped doing business with the CDCs because of these concerns. Wachovia, however, continued to expand its business with the CDCs. Indeed, from at least May 2004 through December 2007, Wachovia provided correspondent banking services to various Mexican CDCs, including wire transfer, bulk cash, and pouch and remote deposit capture services, among others.

According to the documents, Wachovia allowed CDCs to wire transfer funds through accounts at Wachovia to recipients throughout the world. Wachovia also offered a “bulk cash” service to CDCs, through which the CDCs collected large sums of dollars that would be physically transported to the United States for deposit. In addition, Wachovia offered a “pouch” deposit service and later, a “remote deposit capture” (“RDC”) service, which allowed the CDCs to deposit at Wachovia items drawn on U.S. banks, including checks and traveler's checks, presented by their Mexican customers. According to the documents filed today, Wachovia did not have an effective anti-money laundering policy or procedure to monitor these transactions to detect and report potential money laundering activity, as required by the BSA. As a result, from May 1, 2004 through May 31, 2007, at least $373 billion in wire transfers were made from the CDCs to Wachovia accounts; more than $4 billion in bulk cash was transported from the CDCs in Mexico to accounts at Wachovia; and approximately $47 billion was deposited at Wachovia accounts through the RDC service. These monies included millions of dollars that were subsequently used to purchase airplanes for narcotics trafficking operations. Ultimately, more than 20,000 kilograms of cocaine were seized from these airplanes.

According to court documents, Wachovia also maintained account relationships with certain third-party payment processors for the telemarketing industry from 2003 to 2008. These processors deposited more than $418 million using remotely-created checks into Wachovia accounts on behalf of the telemarketers. Remotely-created checks are created when the holder of a checking account authorizes a payee to draw a check on that account but does not actually sign the check. In place of the account-holder’s signature, the remotely-created check generally bears a statement that the customer authorized the check. These checks were often returned as “unauthorized” resulting in return rates that, in some cases, exceeded 40 percent of the deposited checks. Wachovia admitted that it failed to identify, detect, and report the suspicious transactions in the third-party payment processor accounts, as required by the BSA, due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program. Specifically, Wachovia failed to conduct appropriate customer due diligence by delegating most of this responsibility to business units instead of compliance personnel. Wachovia also failed to monitor high return rates for remotely-created checks and report suspicious wire transfer activity from the processors’ accounts.

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman stated, “On the heels of the UBS international banking case, in which we held accountable the largest bank in Switzerland, today we announce the deferred prosecution of Wachovia, one of the largest banks in the United States. Wachovia’s blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations by laundering at least $110 million in drug proceeds. Corporate citizens, no matter how big or powerful, must be held accountable for their actions. Today’s historic agreement makes it clear that such conduct will not be tolerated and imposes the largest penalty in any BSA case prosecuted to date.”

“As this case demonstrates, financial institutions - no matter how large - will be held accountable when they allow dirty money to pollute the U.S. banking system,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. “With billions of dollars flowing through our financial institutions each day, it is imperative that banks maintain robust anti-money laundering controls to identify possible illegal activity.”

“A narcotics investigation always involves two things: drugs and money,” said Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division. “DEA Agents and our law enforcement partners investigating a multi-national drug trafficking organization were able to seize drugs and identify the associated financial trail. Diligent investigative work exposed how this organization capitalized on weak anti-money laundering practices at Wachovia to further their drug trafficking abilities.”

Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CID in Miami, stated, “The law requires all banks, including Wachovia, to notify the Department of Treasury when they detect suspicious activity. By failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program, Wachovia disregarded numerous financial transactions that should have raised "red flags" and caused their bank to act a as conduit to launder money.”

“The practices targeted by today’s enforcement actions reflect a totally unacceptable breakdown in the standards expected of banks’ anti-money laundering systems and compliance. Today’s actions by the OCC and other agencies demonstrate our firm commitment to the highest standards of compliance in this arena and the success of continued coordinated efforts by the Department of Justice, OCC, and FinCEN to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act,” said John C. Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency. “Financial institutions must maintain anti-money laundering compliance programs and policies that are adequate to identify, analyze and report suspicious activity and are commensurate with the risks being undertaken. With these actions, we are sending another strong message that we will not tolerate use of the U.S. financial system to launder illegal monies.”

“In the recent past, Wachovia was the fourth largest commercial bank in the United States, and held itself out as a global leader in correspondent banking,” said James H. Freis, Jr., FinCEN Director. “During FinCEN’s joint investigation with our law enforcement and regulatory agency partners, it became evident that, despite such a prominent role in the domestic and international banking sectors and accompanying resources, Wachovia did not institute systems, controls and other measures to manage risk commensurate with the scope and magnitude of its products, services and business lines, particularly foreign correspondent banking.”

Wachovia Bank will merge into Wells Fargo Bank later this month. The Agreement binds Wells Fargo, as Wachovia’s successor, to continue to implement remedial measures to fully bring Wachovia into BSA compliance.

The CDC-portion of this matter was investigated by the DEA’s Miami Field Division, IRS-CID’s Miami Office, FinCEN, and OCC. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea G. Hoffman and Jared E. Dwyer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The investigation of the third-party payment processors was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Constantine Lizas and Matthew Haslinger of the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. This portion of the case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division.

Attachments:
Information (PDF)
Agreement (PDF)
Statement (PDF)
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.

...
Senator Charles Grassley is investigating NAMI's funding ties,
three-quarters of which may come from Pharma.
...

Now we look at this NAMI PDF on donations in a different light...

Aluminum and neurologial disease

We always suspected that the "Alzheimer's" of our dear aunt who used M****** deodorant for years was due to aluminum... but in this video interview with Dr. Mercola, scientist Dr. David Ayoub reveals that aluminum can cause many other neurological disorders - and from a very early age.
Dr. Mercola's site is at http://www.mercola.com

We use Epsom Salts dissolved in water as a deodorant. It's magnesium, so it is healthy - and makes skin silky like talcum powder.