Dear
Valued Subscriber,
In This Week's Issue: |
-Pill Popping Payola.
-Diet
Affects Acne.
-Father's Day Prostate Plan.
 
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Big Pharma has a great deal for you. When you're
not taking your medicine or forgo it
all together, they'll pay you to be
more compliant.
This
New York Times article
exposes a strategy we knew Big Pharma
was looking into several years ago.
The idea, which is being embraced by
doctors, pharmacy companies, insurers
and researchers, is that paying modest
financial incentives up front can save
much larger costs of hospitalization.
For instance, in a Philadelphia program people
prescribed warfarin, patients can win
$10 or $100 each day they take the
drug - a kind of lottery using a
computerized pillbox to record if they
took the medicine and whether they won
that day.
Aetna has begun paying doctors bonuses for
prescribing medication likely to
prevent problems: beta blockers to
prevent heart attacks, statins for
diabetes sufferers. Currently, 93,000
doctors are in Aetna's "pay for
performance" program; bonuses
average three percent to five percent
of a practice's base income.
CVS
Caremark began by discounting
copayments for employees of some
corporations in its drug plans, to
encourage prescription filling, and is
studying "the 'I'll pay you $10 a
month to be adherent' approach, the
lottery approach," and other
incentives, said Dr. Troy Brennan, the
chief medical officer.
Even the new federal health care overhaul includes
incentives, expanding a program paying
pharmacists extra for helping some
Medicare patients learn to take pills
correctly.
There
are so many aspects of this strategy
that are wrong that I don't know where
to begin. They sure picked a perfect
time to introduce this: when people
are hurting financially.
Do not let any of the stakeholders fool you into
believing that this is anything but a
guaranteed path to achieving a Niagra
Falls-sized financial windfall. Not
taking into account existing patients
on meds, how many millions more will
be brought into the fold with the lure
of financial incentives?
How sad for these patients who will accrue small
sums of money, but fail to realize
that it will be regurgitated back to
the stakeholders in the form of higher
taxes, higher insurance premiums, and
higher drug prices.
The only explanation for this action is desperation
on every front, including the patients
that participate.
The
funny thing is, as much or more money
could be saved by preventing the
hundreds of thousands of
hospitalizations that occur every year
because of the side effects of
medication. In addition, for the first
time, the abuse of prescription drugs
is sending as many to the emergency
room as the use of illegal drugs.
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According to Skin Therapy Letter, published by dermatologists, cow's milk
intake increases acne prevalence and
severity. A positive association also
exists between a high-glycemic-load
diet, hormonal mediators, and acne
risk. Convincing data supports the
role of dairy products and
high-glycemic-index foods in
influencing hormonal and inflammatory
factors, which can increase acne
prevalence and severity.
The study's conclusion states:
"Researchers have found
significant associations between all
varieties of cow's milk and acne. The
relationship between milk and acne
severity may be explained by the
presence in dairy of normal
reproductive steroid hormones or the
enhanced production of polypeptide
hormones such as IGF-1, which can
increase androgen exposure, and thus,
acne risk. Recent findings also
describe an association between a
high-glycemic-index diet and longer
acne duration. In addition, randomized
clinical trials have demonstrated that
a low-glycemic-load diet can influence
hormonal levels and improve insulin
sensitivity and acne."
Bonnie - Given the fact that an American Journal of Gastroenterology study recently linked the
acne drug Accutane to a greatly
increased risk of certain serious
inflammatory diseases (the newest in a
laundry list of adverse effects),
avoiding or moderating the intake of
sugar and cow's milk (especially if it
contains bGH) should be the first step
to avoiding acne.
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Father's Day Prostate Plan.
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Men
are more often delinquent in adhering
to preventative practices than women.
When it comes to prostate prevention,
men should not procrastinate. Click
below for our safe prostate health
prevention recommendations.
Father's
Day Prostate Plan
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Have
a happy, healthy day.
Bonnie,
Steve, and the staff at Nutritional
Concepts
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nutritionalconcepts.com
1535
Lake Cook Rd #204
Northbrook,
IL 60062
847-498-3422
nutrocon@aol.com
Bringing
the wellness
of tomorrow, today.
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Twinlab
Daily One Caps
Integrative Therapeutics
Saw Palmetto Complex
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