Pulse Beat

Prof Dr BM Hegde 02 September 2014

FDA’s About Turn on Aspirin

For years, I have been saying that giving aspirin to healthy people, in the hope of preventing heart attacks, could end up killing them instead of saving them. Aspirin is capable of inducing fatal brain or gut haemorrhage, but that didn’t seem to have bothered any doctor. I am happy that the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), which is under the clutches of the drug lobby, has now made a 180-degree turn by publishing this latest advice:

“FDA has concluded that the data do not support the use of aspirin as a preventive medication by people who have not had a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular problems, a use that is called ‘primary prevention’. In such people, the benefit has not been established but risks—such as dangerous bleeding into the brain or stomach—are still present.”

Blood Thinner Fraud

Dabigatran, a new blood thinner in the market, widely prescribed by doctors in metropolitan cites in India, is really a potential killer. One of the leading German drug firms, which produced and tried to market it vigorously even in the USA, deliberately lied to the US FDA about the drug’s capacity to result in fatal bleeds. These bleeds were found almost impossible to control. British Medical Journal’s researcher, Deborah Cohen, has now found that an internal document was not shown to the drug regulators deliberately. This document proves that they knew even before releasing the drug, that it had serious side-effects, like severe bleeding. The company has recently settled a whopping 4,000 lawsuits (state and Federal) over the drug, agreeing to pay out $650 million in damages. My humble advice to doctors is NOT to prescribe newer drugs without having seen the real documents about the drug in question.

Natural Control of Cholesterol Levels

Oatmeal, avocadoes, fish and walnuts are all heavily advertised as natural cholesterol-lowering foods. Although I cannot vouch for their efficacy in reducing cholesterol, I dare say that they are all good foods, nonetheless. But what escapes me is why people are desperate to lower their blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol, which is also produced by our liver, has some good functions in the body too. What lies at the root of many of our problems is not cholesterol but a sedentary lifestyle.

Meditation and Relaxing Techniques Are Good for Overall Health

For those who need scientific persuasion about the benefits of yoga, the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com) lists a range of meditative techniques, from tai chi and mantra meditation to yoga and visualisation, that may provide health benefits. They feel that, “during meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.”

How Do Trees Help Keep People Healthy?

This is what Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1862: “I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” Most of us cannot afford to do that in today’s world. In a wonderful book, Blinded by Science, Mathew Silverstone, a scientist in London, explains how his only son’s fatal chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) got completely cured by hugging a tree in their garden daily for two hours!

This is anecdotal information you might say. But science says that trees take away a lot of air pollution in any area. This may be one reason why we feel good in their company.

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