Tuberculosis Returns
It's a disease most of us never give a second thought to. It
certainly doesn't get the PR that comes with the little pink ribbon or the
fear-mongering of measles.
But this killer looks like it's about to make a comeback.
Less than 30 years ago, the federal government promised we were within reach of wiping tuberculosis out of America for good -- a disease so dangerous it was once blamed for one of every seven deaths on the planet.
Now, though, new pockets of tuberculosis infections are popping up all over the country.
Researchers are looking everywhere for answers. But the real culprit? Well, it may be in your medicine cabinet right now.
Marion, Alabama is the kind of small Southern town you could drive through and barely notice. But public health researchers are paying plenty of attention to Marion these days -- because right now, it has a tuberculosis rate higher than some Third World countries.
Twenty-six people -- including four children -- are now carrying the disease. Two have already died. And Marion isn't alone.
Even the CDC admits that for 2013-2014 (the last two years on record), America did a worse job controlling tuberculosis than at any point in the past decade.
During that time, there were 4,000 cases in California alone -- and another 1,200 in Florida. And just this summer in El Paso, TX, another 70 people tested positive for the disease.
So why do we seem to be returning the days of the "Great White
Plague?"
Well, believe it or not, there's a popular class of drugs that can actually give you tuberculosis after just a handful of doses -- and it may even turn you into a disease-spreading machine.
They're called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, but you know them by their brand names like Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, Cimzia and Simponi. They're supposed to control inflammation, which is why they're prescribed for everything from arthritis to Crohn's disease to psoriasis.
But trust me -- they do a lot more than manage inflammation.
You see, about a third of people in the world -- and around 15 million Americans -- are carrying dormant tuberculosis bacteria in their bodies. It's something called a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).
And the only thing that keeps this infection from running wild is that it's trapped by a piece of inflamed tissue called a granuloma. But these TNF blockers actually disrupt the granuloma and can allow the infection to escape.
In fact, that's exactly what happened in the case of a 64-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who developed tuberculosis after just seven treatments with Remicade -- and a 55-year-old man who caught the disease after a year and a half on the drug.
Irish researchers started sounding the alarm years ago that TNF blockers could open a Pandora's Box and create a "continued epidemic" of tuberculosis.
Now if you've seen a commercial for one of these TNF blockers, you've probably heard the announcer rattle off how they can cause tuberculosis and how you should be tested for a LTBI before starting them up.
Well, good luck with that.
Even the CDC warns that the LTBI test is badly flawed and can give a negative result even when there's dormant bacteria hiding in your body. Next stop, tuberculosis.
Listen, I don't have to tell you that tuberculosis is nothing to fool with. Even if you beat it with antibiotics, it can cause lasting damage to your lungs. And beating it is getting a lot harder, thanks to antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis that are now floating around.
If you're taking a TNF blocker, your safest bet is to talk to your doctor about alternatives -- preferably ones that won't breathe new life into one of history's most dangerous diseases.
But this killer looks like it's about to make a comeback.
Less than 30 years ago, the federal government promised we were within reach of wiping tuberculosis out of America for good -- a disease so dangerous it was once blamed for one of every seven deaths on the planet.
Now, though, new pockets of tuberculosis infections are popping up all over the country.
Researchers are looking everywhere for answers. But the real culprit? Well, it may be in your medicine cabinet right now.
Marion, Alabama is the kind of small Southern town you could drive through and barely notice. But public health researchers are paying plenty of attention to Marion these days -- because right now, it has a tuberculosis rate higher than some Third World countries.
Twenty-six people -- including four children -- are now carrying the disease. Two have already died. And Marion isn't alone.
Even the CDC admits that for 2013-2014 (the last two years on record), America did a worse job controlling tuberculosis than at any point in the past decade.
During that time, there were 4,000 cases in California alone -- and another 1,200 in Florida. And just this summer in El Paso, TX, another 70 people tested positive for the disease.
So why do we seem to be returning the days of the "Great White
Plague?"
Well, believe it or not, there's a popular class of drugs that can actually give you tuberculosis after just a handful of doses -- and it may even turn you into a disease-spreading machine.
They're called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, but you know them by their brand names like Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, Cimzia and Simponi. They're supposed to control inflammation, which is why they're prescribed for everything from arthritis to Crohn's disease to psoriasis.
But trust me -- they do a lot more than manage inflammation.
You see, about a third of people in the world -- and around 15 million Americans -- are carrying dormant tuberculosis bacteria in their bodies. It's something called a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).
And the only thing that keeps this infection from running wild is that it's trapped by a piece of inflamed tissue called a granuloma. But these TNF blockers actually disrupt the granuloma and can allow the infection to escape.
In fact, that's exactly what happened in the case of a 64-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who developed tuberculosis after just seven treatments with Remicade -- and a 55-year-old man who caught the disease after a year and a half on the drug.
Irish researchers started sounding the alarm years ago that TNF blockers could open a Pandora's Box and create a "continued epidemic" of tuberculosis.
Now if you've seen a commercial for one of these TNF blockers, you've probably heard the announcer rattle off how they can cause tuberculosis and how you should be tested for a LTBI before starting them up.
Well, good luck with that.
Even the CDC warns that the LTBI test is badly flawed and can give a negative result even when there's dormant bacteria hiding in your body. Next stop, tuberculosis.
Listen, I don't have to tell you that tuberculosis is nothing to fool with. Even if you beat it with antibiotics, it can cause lasting damage to your lungs. And beating it is getting a lot harder, thanks to antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis that are now floating around.
If you're taking a TNF blocker, your safest bet is to talk to your doctor about alternatives -- preferably ones that won't breathe new life into one of history's most dangerous diseases.
Whooping Cough is Back! But How Is That Possible?
By Jenny Thompson au Health Science Institute
It was one of the most frightening whooping cough outbreaks in
years -- and it should be a wake-up call to every parent and grandparent in
America.
Just three years ago, whooping cough tore through a Tallahassee, FL preschool, infecting one out of every four kids. Even their family members and staff came down with the disease in droves. And the epidemic wasn't even over before the mainstream started blaming the whole thing on parents who don't vaccinate their kids.
But it looks like they were dead wrong. Because a new government report is finally admitting something you never thought you'd hear come out of Uncle Sam's mouth.
It's not anti-vaxxers who are causing the dangerous spread of whooping cough all across the country.
It's the vaccine itself.
You don't need to be a doctor or an infectious disease expert to know that the whooping cough vaccine is a dud. You just need to look at the numbers.
According to the government's own data, 95 percent of kids are getting the DTaP vaccine, which is supposed to protect them from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). But there are more whooping cough cases now than there were in 1955.
In fact, over just the past few years there have been more whooping cough infections than in the 1980s and 1990s combined. So it shouldn't have surprised anyone that when the CDC studied the Florida outbreak, they found something that must have made the mainstream's stomach turn.
Nearly every kid in the school -- including the poor tikes who got whooping cough -- had been vaccinated.
But if you've been reading my eAlert for a while, I'm guessing you're not shocked. Because there are two dangerous secrets about the DTaP vaccine that I've been warning you about for years.
Secret #1: The vaccine wears off faster than cheap perfume. That's why most kids are getting six boosters before they even turn 12. In fact, one researcher from Stony Brook University who studied the outbreak said the disease seems to have "overcome any waning immunity present."
In other words, the whooping cough bacteria can actually overpower whatever weak protection the vaccine provides.
Secret #2: The DTaP vaccine can actually make you spread whooping cough! That's due to something called "shedding," and it's a bigger problem with vaccines than the mainstream will ever admit.
What that means is that when you get a vaccine, you can actually spread the disease to others even if you don't have any symptoms. In fact, research from the FDA proved years ago that the DTaP vaccine can shed -- and that's the exact reason they tell people who recently got the shot to stay away from cancer patients with weak immune systems.
"There could be millions of people out there with just a minor cough or no cough spreading this potentially fatal disease without knowing it," said Ben Althouse, a research scientist at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.
And it's bad enough that we're exposing young kids to this junk vaccine over and over again. But they're also surrounded by classmates, siblings, pregnant moms, and grandparents who are all being told they need a booster shot for whooping cough.
This thing might be shedding like a dog in summer!
Now even the CDC is admitting it has "concerns about [DTaP] vaccine effectiveness" in young children. Well, try telling that to the politicians in places like California who are threatening to throw kids out of school if they don't get the shot.
It's just another reminder that decisions about which vaccines are right for your kids or grandkids are best left with you, and not the government.
And that's especially true when we're talking about risky shots that could be causing the very diseases we're trying to prevent.
Just three years ago, whooping cough tore through a Tallahassee, FL preschool, infecting one out of every four kids. Even their family members and staff came down with the disease in droves. And the epidemic wasn't even over before the mainstream started blaming the whole thing on parents who don't vaccinate their kids.
But it looks like they were dead wrong. Because a new government report is finally admitting something you never thought you'd hear come out of Uncle Sam's mouth.
It's not anti-vaxxers who are causing the dangerous spread of whooping cough all across the country.
It's the vaccine itself.
You don't need to be a doctor or an infectious disease expert to know that the whooping cough vaccine is a dud. You just need to look at the numbers.
According to the government's own data, 95 percent of kids are getting the DTaP vaccine, which is supposed to protect them from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). But there are more whooping cough cases now than there were in 1955.
In fact, over just the past few years there have been more whooping cough infections than in the 1980s and 1990s combined. So it shouldn't have surprised anyone that when the CDC studied the Florida outbreak, they found something that must have made the mainstream's stomach turn.
Nearly every kid in the school -- including the poor tikes who got whooping cough -- had been vaccinated.
But if you've been reading my eAlert for a while, I'm guessing you're not shocked. Because there are two dangerous secrets about the DTaP vaccine that I've been warning you about for years.
Secret #1: The vaccine wears off faster than cheap perfume. That's why most kids are getting six boosters before they even turn 12. In fact, one researcher from Stony Brook University who studied the outbreak said the disease seems to have "overcome any waning immunity present."
In other words, the whooping cough bacteria can actually overpower whatever weak protection the vaccine provides.
Secret #2: The DTaP vaccine can actually make you spread whooping cough! That's due to something called "shedding," and it's a bigger problem with vaccines than the mainstream will ever admit.
What that means is that when you get a vaccine, you can actually spread the disease to others even if you don't have any symptoms. In fact, research from the FDA proved years ago that the DTaP vaccine can shed -- and that's the exact reason they tell people who recently got the shot to stay away from cancer patients with weak immune systems.
"There could be millions of people out there with just a minor cough or no cough spreading this potentially fatal disease without knowing it," said Ben Althouse, a research scientist at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.
And it's bad enough that we're exposing young kids to this junk vaccine over and over again. But they're also surrounded by classmates, siblings, pregnant moms, and grandparents who are all being told they need a booster shot for whooping cough.
This thing might be shedding like a dog in summer!
Now even the CDC is admitting it has "concerns about [DTaP] vaccine effectiveness" in young children. Well, try telling that to the politicians in places like California who are threatening to throw kids out of school if they don't get the shot.
It's just another reminder that decisions about which vaccines are right for your kids or grandkids are best left with you, and not the government.
And that's especially true when we're talking about risky shots that could be causing the very diseases we're trying to prevent.
Kidney Stones and Children
They can feel like tiny razor blades are working their way through
your back or stomach. The pain can be so excruciating that sometimes even
morphine won't touch it.
It's the kind of thing you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy -- let alone a small child.
But doctors are warning that the number of young children coming down with kidney stones is going through the roof. Some kids are even being wheeled in for surgery to have their stones removed.
It's a problem that seems to be getting worse every year. And the culprit may be a dangerous sweetener I've been warning you about for years.
For decades doctors hardly ever saw children with kidney stones. Now they're treating them all the time, according to pediatric urologist Dr. Gregory Taisan.
One of those children is Victoria Tappan, who was just 12 years old when she was rushed to the hospital with her first kidney stones. The poor girl has had six surgeries to remove stones since.
Dr. Taisan and his colleagues recently pored through 15 years' worth of medical records on more than 150,000 patients. And they found that the rate at which kids are getting kidney stones is increasing nearly 5 percent every single year.
So what's changed between 30 years ago -- when you practically had to be at least 40 to have a kidney stone -- and now?
Kids are eating more fructose than ever.
I've told you before how processed fructose -- like high fructose corn syrup -- can cause everything from liver damage to aggressive cancer. And it looks like you can add kidney stones to the list.
You see, there are basically two types of kidney stones -- ones that are made of calcium and oxalate and ones that are crystallized uric acid. But fructose doesn't discriminate. It can cause both.
Processed fructose such as High Fructose Corn Syrup or “HFCS”, (not what you'll find in fruit) can cause your body to produce high levels of both oxalate and uric acid, which can send your kidney stone risk skyrocketing.
And this isn't exactly new information, either. One big study out of Harvard two years ago found that people who drink soda, which is usually loaded with HFCS, have a 33 percent higher risk for developing kidney stones.
HFCS has only been in the food supply since the 1970s, which may explain why a generation or two ago kids never got kidney stones. But these days, HFCS and other types of processed fructose are everywhere. You'll find fructose in everything from soda to cookies to even certain types of pickles.
Even drinks you might think are healthy, like Vitamin Water, contain crystalline fructose -- a sweetener that's 99 percent fructose. That makes it even higher in fructose than HFCS!
Whether we're talking about kids or adults, once you have a kidney stone there's a 50 percent or greater chance that you'll have another one in the next five years. And none of us want to go through an ordeal like that again.
That's why, along with avoiding fructose like the plague, these three tips can help prevent another kidney stone incident -- whether you're 8 or 80!
It's the kind of thing you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy -- let alone a small child.
But doctors are warning that the number of young children coming down with kidney stones is going through the roof. Some kids are even being wheeled in for surgery to have their stones removed.
It's a problem that seems to be getting worse every year. And the culprit may be a dangerous sweetener I've been warning you about for years.
For decades doctors hardly ever saw children with kidney stones. Now they're treating them all the time, according to pediatric urologist Dr. Gregory Taisan.
One of those children is Victoria Tappan, who was just 12 years old when she was rushed to the hospital with her first kidney stones. The poor girl has had six surgeries to remove stones since.
Dr. Taisan and his colleagues recently pored through 15 years' worth of medical records on more than 150,000 patients. And they found that the rate at which kids are getting kidney stones is increasing nearly 5 percent every single year.
So what's changed between 30 years ago -- when you practically had to be at least 40 to have a kidney stone -- and now?
Kids are eating more fructose than ever.
I've told you before how processed fructose -- like high fructose corn syrup -- can cause everything from liver damage to aggressive cancer. And it looks like you can add kidney stones to the list.
You see, there are basically two types of kidney stones -- ones that are made of calcium and oxalate and ones that are crystallized uric acid. But fructose doesn't discriminate. It can cause both.
Processed fructose such as High Fructose Corn Syrup or “HFCS”, (not what you'll find in fruit) can cause your body to produce high levels of both oxalate and uric acid, which can send your kidney stone risk skyrocketing.
And this isn't exactly new information, either. One big study out of Harvard two years ago found that people who drink soda, which is usually loaded with HFCS, have a 33 percent higher risk for developing kidney stones.
HFCS has only been in the food supply since the 1970s, which may explain why a generation or two ago kids never got kidney stones. But these days, HFCS and other types of processed fructose are everywhere. You'll find fructose in everything from soda to cookies to even certain types of pickles.
Even drinks you might think are healthy, like Vitamin Water, contain crystalline fructose -- a sweetener that's 99 percent fructose. That makes it even higher in fructose than HFCS!
Whether we're talking about kids or adults, once you have a kidney stone there's a 50 percent or greater chance that you'll have another one in the next five years. And none of us want to go through an ordeal like that again.
That's why, along with avoiding fructose like the plague, these three tips can help prevent another kidney stone incident -- whether you're 8 or 80!
- · Drink more water -- but make sure it's the real deal, the old-fashioned kind that isn't sweetened.
- · Take magnesium and B6 supplements, which have been found to cut the chances of a painful kidney stone recurrence by up to 90 percent.
- · Stock up on phytate-rich foods, like whole grains, nuts, seeds and beans. Research out of Harvard found that they can lower your risk of kidney stones by almost 40 percent.
Common Hip Treatment Can Destroy Your Bone
If you're fighting that battle of painful
arthritis in your hips, I've got a warning for you today -- because a new study
exposes a serious risk linked to a common treatment for hip pain. And it's a
whole lot worse than arthritis.
The new research links common steroid
shots in the hip to the destruction of bone inside the hip itself.
I'm sure you know someone who's had
these shots, if not in the hip then somewhere else. If you're battling some
wear and tear of your own, you may have even had these shots yourself.
But the new study shows why you might
want to try something else -- ANYTHING else -- instead, because this stuff can
destroy your bone! And it does it in two ways.
First, it can cause bone death. That's
just what it sounds like: Your bone tissue dies, right there in your body.
Overall, between 5 and 9 percent of
patients with hip arthritis who DIDN'T get a steroid shot suffered from new
occurrences of bone death when docs checked in on them a few months later. But
among folks who DID get the shots, it was a whole different story.
Up to 24 percent -- or 1 in 4 patients --
suffered some degree of bone death.
Think bone death is bad? It is... but in
this case, there's a fate worse than death. What comes next is when the bone
rots right inside your body and crumbles away like a sandcastle.
It's a condition called bone collapse --
and up to 17 percent of folks who got the shots suffered it at the top of
femur, right by the hip where those shots go in.
In folks with hip arthritis who DIDN'T
get the steroid shots, just 4 percent suffered from collapse. That's some seriously
bad news.
That's the kind of damage that leads to
a walker or even a wheelchair, so think twice before getting this drug punched
into your own hip. Stick to using safe and proven drug-free treatments whenever
you can.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided
for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical
care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or
suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician
(preferably a Naturopath).
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