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Sources/Comments

June Russell's Health Facts

Sources and Comments

I regularly subscribe to the following newsletters:

Alternative Medicine Advisor
American Family Association
BottomLine Health
Beyond Pesticides
Consumer Reports on Health
Chemical Injury Network
Discover
Health Alert (Dr. West)
Environmental Nutrition
Focus on Healthy Aging - Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Food and Fitness Advisor
Harvard Health Letter
Harvard Heart Letter
Health Counselor
Health & Healing (Dr. Julian Whitaker)
Health & Nutrition Letter (Tufts University)
Health Gazette
Health Sciences Institute
HealthNews (from publishers of The New England Journal of Medicine)
Johns Hopkins Medical Letter (Health after 50)
Lark Letter
Life Extension
Life Enhancement
New Choices - Reader's Digest
Nutrition Action News
Optimum Wellness, Self Care
Our Toxic Times
Public Citizen
People's Medical Society
Self Healing (Dr. Andrew Weil)
Tuft's Health and Nutrition
The Natural Activist - Citizen's for Health
To your Health - Dr. Allan Spreen (formerly Dr. McDougall's)
Women's Health Advisor - Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ.
Women's Health Advocate
Women's Health Connection
Women's Health Letter - Dr. Nan Katherine Fuchs
Women's Health Watch - Harvard Medical School
University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter
Vitamin Research News
Well Mind Association of Greater Washington
Wholehealthmd advisor

Note: I get dozens of free health e-mail newsletters weekly. I would highly recommend the one by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

...and the following magazines:

Alternative Medicine
Delicious!
GreatLife
Health
Let's Live
Longevity
Natural Health *****
Prevention
Spectrum
Taste for Life

(I have discontinued over a dozen other newsletters in the recent past because they were too biased, did not cover the subject accurately, too expensive and/or did not meet my needs)

I also get information from monthly magazines at health food stores, booklets/ pamphlets from drug stores, also from library and purchased books, newspaper articles (especially Washington Post Health News), government materials (especially on tobacco and alcohol), and over a dozen health websites that send weekly updated health information by e-mail. I regularly listen to two health radio talk shows; People’s Pharmacy - with Joe and Terry Graedon, Public Radio (once a week) and Ronald Hoffman, M.D.’s “Health Talk” on WINA (5 nights a week). Reports on recent medical studies are presented on both these radio programs, and often they have guests who are authors and/or experts in the health field.

Comments

My purpose in writing articles is to educate the public about health issues and to balance some of the facts that are deceptive, inaccurate, or biased. Individuals cannot make responsible choices when they are not told the truth about health issues, and I am increasingly aware of the political and monetary influences on what is reported - or not reported.

In May 2000, the National Toxicology Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its ninth report on carcinogens and announced that alcoholic beverages are ‘known to be a human carcinogen,’ along with arsenic, asbestos, benzene and others. This was intentionally ignored by the media, and of all the material I received, only the alcohol policies division of the Center for Science in the Public Interest gave this information. However, the news media did announce that saccharin was removed from the list as a carcinogen.

The studies of the effectiveness of zinc lozenges in lessening the severity and duration of colds/sore throats seemed to be inconsistent. A closer look revealed that the negative studies were only using half the amount of zinc as the ones as the studies that were positive. Often one or two negative -or positive - studies are reported with no mention of any opposing studies - or the flaws/limitations of the studies mentioned.

The Finnish study on smokers and beta carotene reported that not only did the supplement offer no protection but actually increased the risk of lung cancer. Many reports neglected to mention that synthetic (not natural) beta carotene was used, and the risk was only among those who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day and/or drank above average amounts of alcohol. The Finns have one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption by smokers, and alcohol interferes with utilization of vitamins - both vitamin E and beta carotene.

Both smoking and consuming alcohol will result in 15 times the rate of cancer. Beta carotene needs adequate amounts of Vitamin C and E to produce its antioxidant effect, and the smokers’ Vitamin C is used up inactivating the free radicals from cigarette smoke, so there is little left.

Garlic not actually lower cholesterol? Studies used supplements, not fresh garlic; and the study of 500 mg. of Vitamin C damage to DNA (essentially this was a letter to the editor)? - ‘bad science’ cried the medical community.

You can see from just a few examples that no matter how large the study, how efficient the testing mechanisms were (double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, etc.), the public can still be easily deceived when significant variables about studies are excluded. The media coverage can even be different from the conclusions of the researchers who did the study, and statistics can be manipulated so as to guarantee a favorable outcome.

Having many reliable sources ensures that there will be a more accurate coverage of a subject. It takes more than reading a few health newsletters, occasionally listening to a news report on T.V., or even reviewing a study in a medical journal, to be knowledgeable about health issues.