A Focus on the Heart & Vaccination Updates

This month's blog focused on heart health. In it, I discussed integrative tips for preventing disease beyond controlling numbers with medications. One example was the link between social connections and mortality risk.  In the below excerpt, Dr. Hyman explains how community offers health benefits beyond heart health:

An Unexpected Solution to Diabetes, Obesity and Chronic Disease

So one year ago, on January 15, 2011, in partnership with Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in Orange County and two other doctors (Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mehmet Oz), we launched The Daniel Plan - a social experiment to learn if community support was more effective than medication or conventional medical care for treating and reversing disease and creating health.

In the first month 15,000 people signed up, and over the last year they have lost an estimated 250,000 pounds - or the equivalent of 10 tractor-trailer trucks loaded with soda. Over 6,000 people spontaneously joined from around the country. There have been over half a million visits to our Daniel Plan website from 189 countries.   Hundreds of churches from around the country have called to participate and build programs for their own churches.  Rick cast a vision to scale this through faith based communities to 1 billion people.

The results appear to be more effective than conventional medical care for chronic disease. The program is based on functional medicine - a way of treating chronic disease through lifestyle based systems solutions - not just treating symptoms. It is the science of creating health, not treating specific diseases.  Disease goes away as a side effect of creating health. That delivered within small groups via The Daniel Plan was the lever than moved mountains - of donuts, ribs, soda and more!

Not only were there estimated weight reductions of 250,000 pounds but also equal reductions in medication use, hospitalizations and doctors visits. And it was free.

In a survey after 10 months of the program, participants reported the following:

·         An average weight loss of 13.5 pounds (and 18 pounds for those who said they followed the program closely)

·         72% of those who wanted to lose weight did

·         53% reported increased energy levels

·         34% reported better sleep

·         27% improvement in blood work

·         20% reported improvement in blood pressure

·         11% reported reduction in medications

·         31% reported improvement in mood

We didn't treat disease.  We didn't create a weight loss program.  We taught people self-care and combining that with caring for each other they created a small miracle - something heath care or health care reform has not been able to achieve.  In the most unlikely place, a large Church in Orange Country, led by Pastor Rick Warren and a Christian, Jewish and Muslim doctor we showed that community based solutions are more effective at treating and reversing chronic disease than our health care system.  People helped each other create health.

Statins & Nerve Damage

In continuing the theme of heart health, here's an expert on the side effects of heart medication. Although statins can be helpful in secondary prevention of heart disease in males, they don't come without risk. Anytime you shut down a product in the body, there are side effects. Dr. Mercola explains:

·         A new study found treatment with statin cholesterol-lowering drugs caused a clinically silent but still definite damage to peripheral nerves when taken for longer than 2 years

·         At least 88 other studies further link statin drugs to neurotoxicity (nerve damage), including 12 studies on statin-induced peripheral neuropathy

·         A separate study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed statins increase the risk of diabetes for postmenopausal women by 48 percent, adding to an already established body of research on their diabetogenic properties

·         More than 255 million prescriptions were dispensed for cholesterol-lowering drugs in 2010, making them the most commonly prescribed type of medication in the United States; however, for the vast majority of people they are unnecessary, often causing more harm than good

·         Your body needs cholesterol, and using drugs to lower it as low as it will go is not usually beneficial for your health; you can optimize your cholesterol levels so they're working in the proper balance with your body using natural lifestyle modifications

Source: Mercola, J. Is Nerve Damage The Rule, Not the Exception With Cholesterol Meds? January 25, 2012.

OSHA Says "No" to Flu Shot Mandates Without Exemptions

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a statement opposing mandatory flu shots for health care workers that do not contain exemptions for medical, religious and persona/philosophical belief reasons. OSHA stated:

OSHA Says "No" to Flu Shot Mandates Without Exemptions

 " While we are supportive of the Healthy People 2020 goal of a 90% vaccination rate, we have seen no evidence that demonstrates that such a high rate is in fact necessary. Furthermore, the current influenza vaccine is no magic bullet. The current state of influenza vaccine technology requires annual reformulation and revaccination and the efficacy is quite variable. Every year there are numerous circulating strains of influenza that are not included in the vaccine. In years where the antigenic match is good, the vaccine only provides protection against the 3 strains in the formulation. In years when the antigenic match is poor, the vaccine may provide no protection at all. The limits of current influenza vaccine technology are especially problematic in the context of a mandatory influenza vaccination program that results in job loss. Lastly, reliance on a mandatory influenza vaccination policy may provide healthcare workers, health care facility management and patients with an unwarranted sense of security and result in poor adherence to other infection control practices that prevent all types of infections, not just influenza. Influenza vaccination has always been just one part of a comprehensive multi-layered infection control program."  

OSHA's complete position statement was submitted to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) last September and appears in the NVAC's certified minutes as Appendix B on page 25 here. 

Source: NVIC January Newsletter. NVIC Defends Vaccine Exemptions. January 26, 2011. 

Should Pediatricians Be Allowed to Fire Patients?

Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated? It's a hot topic and people are wavering in their support of mandatory vaccinations for public health to refusal of vaccinations from parents and denial of health coverage. An article on this topic summarizes the controversy:

AAP policy states, "Families with doubts about immunization should still have access to good medical care, and maintaining the relationship in the face of disagreement conveys respect and at the same time allows the child access to medical care."

A national survey published in Pediatrics in 2010 concluded that "more than 1 in 10 parents of young children use an alternative vaccination schedule" and 22% have serious safety concerns about the vaccine schedule that doctors recommend.

A national poll by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that 9 in 10 parents rank vaccine and drug safety as their top priority for child health research.

A recent survey of 900 doctors conducted at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, found that 21% of doctors stopped seeing patients, who refused vaccines or asked for alternative vaccination schedules. This past summer, the Chicago Tribune reported that doctors are refusing to treat unvaccinated children and described a letter eight doctors in a big pediatric practice sent to families informing them they would no longer see children, whose parents declined to follow the CDC-­recommended childhood vaccination schedule.

"In addition to families with healthy children, who want to make selective vaccine choices, there are lots of families, whose children have severe allergies or have experienced previous vaccine reactions, and want to reduce vaccine reaction risks," said Fisher. "When pediatricians threaten parents, families may stop seeking regular check-­‐ups and may end up not vaccinating at all instead of delaying or spacing out the vaccines."

American Medical Association (AMA) guidelines state that a doctor may refuse medical care only after giving the patient enough notice to find another physician. State rules vary, but doctors generally must document the behavior, inform the patient what the problem is, give him or her a chance to change and, finally, send a certified letter stating the relationship is over. However, they must continue to provide medical care, as needed, for an additional 30 days. The AAP has also published guidelinesfor pediatricians electing to dismiss families if they do not follow AAP and CDC vaccination recommendations.

Source: Lainie Gutterman. Should Pediatricians Be Able to "Fire" Parents? Baby Gizmo Blog. January 11, 2012. http://blog.babygizmo.com/2012/01/should-pediatricians-be-able-to-fire-parents/