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Vital Votes Health Blog - Natural Health Articles by Dr. Mercola
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Are You Sure the Drugs You Use Are Safe?
Most U.S. citizens do not realize that the number of drugs manufactured outside the United States doubled between 2001 and 2008. Currently, nearly 40% of all drugs taken by Americans come from overseas. And what’s more, nearly 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make these drugs also come from foreign countries, primarily China and India.
Under current U.S. law, the FDA does not have the authority recall unsafe drugs, to refuse imported drugs -- even counterfeited ones -- or to ensure that drug manufacturers are responsible for quality controls throughout the supply chain.
According to U.S. Representative John Dingell, writing for CNN:
“Even more worrisome is the inability of the FDA to conduct comparable inspections of domestic and foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers. It lacks the necessary funding and personnel. Domestic pharmaceutical facilities are inspected, on average, every two years by the FDA, whereas foreign drug facilities are inspected only every nine years.” 
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New! A Critical Update on Mammograms
The Nordic Cochrane Center has put out a leaflet that every woman should read, explaining the potential benefits and potential harms of mammography. They point out that recent studies suggest that mammography screening is not effective in reducing your risk of dying from breast cancer.
And in fact, screening creates breast cancer patients from among the population of healthy women who would never have developed symptoms. Treatment of these healthy women increases their risk of dying from heart disease and, yes, cancer itself.
According to the Nordic Cochrane Center:
“It therefore no longer seems reasonable to attend for breast cancer screening. In fact, by avoiding going to screening, a woman will lower her risk of getting a breast cancer diagnosis.”
The see their information in full, you can click on the link below.
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How Sugar Accelerates Aging
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a complex group of compounds formed when sugar reacts with amino acids. This can occur both in the food you eat, and inside your body itself. There is mounting evidence that AGEs may be implicated in the development of the chronic degenerative diseases of aging, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
Several studies have shown that restriction of the consumption of AGEs can lead to an increased lifespan in animal models.
According to a paper that summarizes recent research on AGEs:
“... [T]he data are supportive that endogenous AGEs are associated with declining organ functioning. It appears that dietary AGEs may also be related ... As of today, restriction of dietary intake of AGEs and exercise has been shown to safely reduce circulating AGEs, with further reduction in oxidative stress and inflammatory markers.” 
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A New Target in Fighting Brain Disease: Heavy Metals
New research into how metals such as iron, copper, and zinc affect your brain could help to reveal some of the mysteries behind ailments like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. A new study has lent more credibility to the theory that Alzheimer's disease may be caused at least in part by toxic metal accumulation.
It is known that iron and copper accumulate beyond normal levels in the brains of people with degenerative brain diseases. The new research further showed that reducing excess iron in the brain can alleviate Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
“A genetic mutation related to regulating iron is linked to ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Zinc, on the other hand, appears to impair memory if its levels get too low or if it gets into a brain region where it doesn't belong, as it can with traumatic brain injury ... Similar findings link copper accumulation and brain disease, though not as much research has been conducted as with iron”. 
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Chiropractors and Exercise Better than Drug Says New Study
A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that when it comes to neck pain, the best medicine is no medicine. The study tracked patients with recent-onset neck pain who were treated using either medication, exercise, or a chiropractor. After 12 weeks, the patients who used a chiropractor or exercised were more than twice as likely to be pain free.
The patients treated by a chiropractor experienced a 32 percent success rate, while exercise resulted in a 30 percent success rate. Patients treated with medication exhibited only a 13 percent success rate.
According to ABC News:
“The exercises prescribed to patients in the study were simple and designed to be performed at home with the help of instructional photos.”
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