Tag Archives: medicine

A Pharmacist’s Insights : Just how ‘clean’ are your daily supplements?

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According to Mintel, “Over two thirds of UK consumers take vitamins and supplements”. In 2023, the global market in vitamin and mineral supplements was valued at almost 135 billion, and is predicted to grow by just shy of 10% each year between now and 2030.

With the awareness of ultra processed foods now coming to the forefront, there is a growing awareness that not all ‘healthy supplements’ are as beneficial as they appear. Many supplements contain various additives such as fillers, glues, binders, preservatives, and colourants, which can impact their overall health benefits. It’s important to read between the lines of ‘ultra-processed’ supplements like liquid collagen and tablet formulations, to ensure you’re receiving what you pay for.

We’ve become pretty good at spotting unnecessary additives in our food and beauty products, but when it comes to checking how ‘clean’ our supplements are, do we really know what’s good for us? Pharmacist and Co-Founder of INGENIOUS collagen & wellness supplements, Pupinder S. Ghatora, lists the top 5 ingredients to avoid below.

Just how clean are your supplements?

1. Magnesium stearate

“Magnesium stearate is simply a ‘flow agent’ that is used to facilitate smooth processing in factory machinery and within the body. It serves no health benefits and will simply cause the supplement to pass through you without being absorbed. Brands often use it to bulk out supplements so that they can reduce the amount of the more expensive active compound. In large amounts it can even negatively affect the gut microbes in your digestive system.”

2. Carrageenan

“At first glance, you’d think carrageenan, AKA Sea Moss, is beneficial for health as it’s derived from seaweed. It’s often found in gummies and liquid supplements as a gelling agent, stabiliser and thickener. However, research indicates it can have adverse effects on digestion, triggering inflammation, ulceration, and elevating blood sugar levels while exacerbating glucose intolerance. Similarly, vegetable gums like Guar and Xanthan exhibit similar properties and can also lead to digestive disturbances.”

 3. Titanium dioxide

“You’ll often see titanium dioxide listed on ingredient lists, also identified as E171 on labels. Worryingly, research has suggested that the ingredient may have a carcinogenic effect. Although the European Commission has banned its use as a food additive, this does not extend to the UK or US, so it’s still widely used as a white pigment and colour enhancer in supplements.”

4. Talc

“Talc has garnered attention recently due to concerns about contamination in industrial-grade talc, which can include impurities and even asbestos. Surprisingly, it’s used as both an anti-caking agent and a tablet brightener, mostly present in tablet supplements.”

 5. Sweeteners and sugars

“Sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, and sucralose are all artificial sweeteners known to cause gut issues when overconsumed. They’re not limited to fizzy drinks and ‘diet’ snacks but are also present in gummies, drinks, and powders. Sucrose, dextrose, and glucose syrup add sweetness to gummy or liquid supplements and, as we know, increased sugar intake has been linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Aspartame is another artificial sweetener found in many supplements and so called ‘diet’ food and drinks. Although some studies confirm it is safe, there are new emerging studies showing that it can have a negative impact on our body’s oxidant/antioxidant balance, which has a knock effect on many of the body’s functions.”

Pupinder S. Ghatora, Co-Founder of INGENIOUS

Pupinder S Ghatora, pharmacist and co-founder of INGENIOUS has paved the way forward in the collagen industry since 2014. Unlike its counterparts laden with bulking agents, artificial flavourings, and preservatives to mask the bitter taste, INGENIOUS patented capsules stand tall with their commitment to purity. Formulated by a team boasting over 25 years of combined scientific expertise, these capsules contain only pure active ingredients, no fillers, flow agents, preservatives, or flavourings. This means that when taking INGENIOUS supplements, you’re not wasting your money or endangering your health with chemicals and ultra-processed.

Why Not Try Essential Oils For Some Common Medical Problems? by Dr Kathleen Thompson

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Some plants have therapeutic properties, and some modern medicines are derived from plants – for example digoxin, and anti-cancer drugs, such as taxotere and vincristine. Ayurvedic medicine draws on the many medicinal plants in the Indian rainforests and our grandmas all knew of herbal remedies, such as peppermint for an upset stomach and camomile for a good sleep.

If you have a serious illness you should consult your doctor. Modern medicines have been rigorously tested, and are formulated to deliver a consistent, safe and effective dose.

However, for some conditions you could consider essential oils as an alternative – and why not enjoy Mother Nature’s help, when it is safe to do so?

Puressential invited Frost to a lunch and presentation on their essential oils, which, importantly are high quality, natural and/or organic and are classified as botanically and biochemically defined (EOBBD)).  Some of their products are described below:

Purifying Air Spray

Purifying Air Spray contains 41 essential oils and, in a laboratory setting, kills various viruses, bacteria, fungi and mites. Although this testing doesn’t translate directly to the home, the spray could benefit room atmosphere. It certainly smells lovely and I would rather use this than a chemical-based home fragrance.

Rest and Relax Air Spray

I have used lavender sprays for jet-lag in the past.  The Rest and Relax Spray contains twelve essential oils, chosen to sooth, relax, and aid sleep. I tried my sample before bed and it I certainly felt well-rested the next day.

Anti-Lice and Lice-Repellant

If you’re reading this on the tube, this is the moment where you lift your head from the head-rest and sneak wary looks at your neighbours’ heads.

I remember the misery of having to coat my young children’s hair in a noxious-smelling chemical, for hours, only to find it often hadn’t even worked. And this is the problem – head lice develop resistance very quickly.

Puressential repellent spray contains ten essential/plant oils and no synthetic pesticides. It killed lice, larvae and the eggs during laboratory testing. It is necessary to use it with a ‘nit comb’ (supplied) for best effect. As with any lice treatment, there are no guarantees, but at least it is a natural, pleasant product, and an alternative worth considering.

Interestingly, ‘selfies’ are contributing to an increase. Lice only spread when heads are in close contact – just a gap of 6 cm seems to protect. Puressential sell a repellent spray, which, in laboratory tests, repelled 2/3 of lice by that critical 6cm, 95% of the time. The effect lasted up to 24 hours, so you could use as a daily protective spray for your kids’ hair, particularly when there is a school outbreak. It doesn’t give 100% protection, but may reduce infestation risk.

Puressentials make other products too, including for muscular pains – which can be found on their website http://www.puressentiel.com/uk/

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice

 

 

Snake Oil or Medicine? by Dr Kathleen Thompson

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Every day we read on the Internet, in newspapers or in magazines about wonder drugs. With all these miracle cures around it is surprising that so many of us still suffer illness. Surely we just need to pop one of these pills and all will be well?

But maybe, just maybe, some of these potions can’t cure cancer, can’t make people with arthritis dance in the streets and can’t make you lose ten inches off your waist-line in a week?

If you have incurable cancer, or constant arthritic pain, you wouldn’t want to miss a useful treatment. So how can you know whether claims are genuine or snake oil?

Approved medicines are tested in numerous clinical studies, usually in thousands of people. Study data are scrutinised by regulatory authorities (FDA in USA and EMA in Europe) before doctors can prescribe them.  Thus there is firm evidence that they work, and a great deal is known about side-effects or safety issues.

However, anything can be advertised on the Internet – Google has no truth filter.  Impressive-sounding study results may not be scientifically sound. So here are some clues to help you assess them (See Table): Snake Oil or Medicine? by Dr Kathleen Thompson tableplacebo

1. Has the ‘medicine’ been tested against placebo (dummy medicine)? If people believe they are receiving a beneficial treatment, they often feel better, regardless. Most studies should include some patients who only receive placebo, to make sure any benefit is due to the real medicine.

2. Measures of benefit (endpoints) should be chosen before a study starts. Eg an influenza medicine may measure fever. If fevers don’t improve, one can’t then change the endpoint to, say, sore throat, just because these improved more. Some symptoms will improve by coincidence, and it isn’t valid to cherry-pick the best results. This is often done in unregulated ‘studies’ and can make a treatment look better than it is.

3. Always check how many people were tested. If a study only had two patients, and one received real medicine and one placebo, even if the patient on the real medicine did better, it could have been due to chance. Statisticians calculate how many patients are needed to give a reliable result. Unregulated studies rarely include enough people.

Unapproved studies are not always checked, so there is more opportunity to ‘cheat’—results may be changed, ‘patients’ invented, or data from any patients who didn’t improve may be removed. Where the study was performed, and by who, may give reassurance on this, or not.

A respectable study will be written up as a report, and will be published in a good scientific journal. Be careful though – some ‘journals’ have impressive titles but are not what they seem. You can check them on Cite Factor (see below) to be sure.

I hope this helps you decide what you can believe. If in doubt, do ask your doctor’s opinion. And remember, if something seems to good to be true – then it may well be exactly that.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Further information:

http://www.citefactor.org

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/understand

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice

 

 

Do Medicines Cost Too Much? By Dr Kathleen Thompson

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The UK Cancer Drug Fund, which funds non-NHS cancer treatments, has removed twenty-five drugs off its list recently, to combat a £100 million (and rising) overspend. This highlights a recurring dilemma of modern healthcare.

Medical science is advancing with cosmic speed. Patients with desperate diseases have new hope. Genetic advances allow personalised medicine for enhanced individual benefit.

However, drug costs are becoming frighteningly high, and, as people live longer, health budgets rise further. To be cynical, it was cheaper when people simply didn’t survive.

In response, many governments have attempted to force medicine prices down. Politically a quick win. But what are the consequences?

Let’s examine the drug development process. 

picture2drugarticle180915

First a drug target is chosen – often a protein molecule (receptor) on the surface of some of our cells.

Thousands of chemicals are then screened. If they bind to this receptor, they could influence how that cell works, and hence affect disease activity.

Chemicals which do bind are further narrowed down to those with additional potential drug properties—those likely to be well-absorbed, lack toxicity, and remain in the body long enough to work.

A lead candidate is chosen, and then modified further, optimising its chances of success.

Next, as required by government regulations, it is tested in animals and in the test-tube, for potential safety, effectiveness, and suitable dose.

Finally, clinical trials can begin. Often in healthy volunteers first, then small numbers of patients and finally in many patients. Thousands of people are usually tested before a drug can be marketed, and the size and duration of clinical trials has increased, as regulatory requirements have increased1.

Consequently, the typical cost of a new drug development is US$350 million according to a recent study by Forbes2.

But it’s worse than that—the development path is littered with booby-traps and precipices. Fledgling drugs frequently fail, and the Tufts Centre study found that, even those medicines which make it as far as clinical trials, have only  approximately a 12% chance of eventually reaching the market3.

Thus, including the costs of failed developments, the actual cost for each successful drug is nearer US$2.6 billion3, and for many smaller companies, if the roulette wheel isn’t kind, the cost is failure and liquidation.

Pharmaceutical companies are not angels, nor are they demons. To survive, they must make enough profit from their marketed drugs to fund their development pipeline, in addition to returning some profit to shareholders. Long drug-development times, mean they may only have a few years of patent-protection left to achieve this. If governments force prices down, companies sometimes react by reducing development risk – choosing drugs more likely to succeed in preference to innovative but riskier developments for difficult diseases.

A typical drug development takes around ten years – so we won’t see this effect immediately, and when we do, it will be too late – it could take another ten years to correct.

So there’s the problem – health bills cannot continue rising exponentially, but forcing drug prices down has serious consequences too. What to do?

Further Information and References:

1. http://www.phrma.org/sites/default/files/pdf/rd_brochure_022307.pdf

2. http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/08/11/how-the-staggering-cost-of-inventing-new-drugs-is-shaping-the-future-of-medicine/

3. http://csdd.tufts.edu/files/uploads/Tufts_CSDD_briefing_on_RD_cost_study_-_Nov_18,_2014..pdf

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice

 

 

How Socialised Medicine May Affect Nursing Jobs in the U.S.

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imagesWith health care reform a major, continuing topic of debate, anyone who wears nurse scrubs is no doubt concerned about the future of their profession. The suggestion of socialized medicine and the variable permutations of it already implemented in other countries beg the question of how such an enormous change would affect nursing jobs.

There are only hypothetical answers, since any model that can be studied, such as those in Britain, Australia, Canada, and France would be significantly different than anything employed in the U.S. The word “socialized” confuses the question, bringing up concerns of threats to capitalism. The Obama administration is looking for reforms in health care, not to change the American economic philosophy, and socialism isn’t remotely what the end product will be.

What has become apparent is that the current system fails to guarantee all the medical needs of the population, but as of now, no other system currently in operation anywhere in the world can suffice. Nurses and everyone else in healthcare in the United States also understand that capitalism also produces the incentives for competition to perform the best service possible.

One of the concerns of nurses in America is that cost reductions from healthcare will dramatically cut their salaries since labor is the largest part of health expenses. The American Journal of Nursing claims there are many avenues for cutting costs without decreasing nursing pay including decreasing insurance company profits, tort reform for malpractice claims, and smaller corporate profits.

Whatever else is on the horizon, the U.S. Department of Labor gives a good job outlook for nursing; by 2020, jobs for RNs are expected to have increased by 26% since 2010, better than average for every occupation. This growth is due to expanded preventative care, projected advancements in medical technology, and the enormous baby-boomer population that will be requiring more healthcare services because they’re remaining active and living longer. So far, expectations are for 711,900 new positions for RN’s with associate degrees between 2010 and 2020.

On the All Nurses forum, a Canadian RN who has worn nurse scrubs for fifteen years of experience in their healthcare system, proffers that in America, it will be doctors rather than nurses whose salaries and fees would be regulated, and that the earning for nurses would not be greatly affected.

She is quick to point out that her wage is anything but Socialist, as she makes a commensurate amount to American nurses, as well as evening, night, and weekend premiums. In addition, 75% of her vision and dental care, life and disability insurance, RRSP and pension contributions, and other extended healthcare benefits are paid by her employer. She also reports that she does not work for the government, but for the local health region in which her hospital is located.

One thing that may be in the offing for nurses is a slightly increased workload. Healthcare professionals in Quebec recorded that income controls did negatively impact the work incentives of general practitioners, who spent on an average of 11 percent less time with their patients, shortening their working year by two-and-a-half weeks. Those in nurse scrubs, on the other hand, were still fairly paid but also took up some of the slack for the doctors, an inequity that still seeks a solution by the Canadian healthcare system.

Pay Less For Your Prescriptions.

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Check if you qualify for free prescriptions

People in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all have free prescriptions. People who live in England are not so lucky. However, if you are on some benefits, are pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months then you will be entitled to free prescriptions. Check with your pharmacist.

Use An Alternative

Check that the medicine you have the prescription for is not available over the counter. It could be cheaper to buy it without the prescription. A lot of commonly prescribed medicine is available over the counter.

Prepay.

You can get something called a prescriptions prepayment certificate. It covers all of your NHS prescriptions for a certain period.

For example, if you need four prescriptions in a three month period, you would be better off buying a three-month certificate which costs £29.10. You can get these from the NHS Prescription Pricing Authority website nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx or call 0845 850 0030

Ask Your Doctor To Buy in Bulk

You can ask your doctor for a single prescription to cover a certain amount of time. It is not well known but this means that a 1-3 month prescription would only cost £7.65. Instead of buying four different prescriptions over that time, which would cost £30.60. Talk to your doctor about prescription charges and how you can save money.

Other ways to save on medical bills it to take out temporary medical insurance. Your health is the most important thing in life so invest in it as much as you can.