Conflicting media messages: How ads for pharmaceuticals and dangerous foods have infiltrated health publications

A February 2006 issue of Prevention magazine features a young, fit, happy looking couple on its cover, surrounded by headlines like, "How to be (and stay) happy" and "18 best foods to fight disease." Taken at face value, the approximately 4.5 by 6.5-inch, full color booklet appears to be a publication dedicated to exactly what its title implies: "Preventing" disease and health problems. It's when you crack open the cover that the magazine begins to contradict itself.

Herceptin hype: Big Pharma's new "miracle cure" for breast cancer is inferior to free, natural cures

The drug industry is happily jumping up and down, shouting about what it considers to be a new, amazing, miracle-class breakthrough drug for breast cancer. The drug is called Herceptin, and the words being used to describe this drug include "amazing" and "unprecedented." It's even been called "a cure" for breast cancer. When it was presented at a medical conference last year, the attendees gave the presentation a standing ovation, and almost every breast cancer charity is now loudly screaming about how this drug needs to be prescribed to every woman who has breast cancer.

Positive health trends accelerated by consumer education and champions of health freedom

I have a lot of optimism in 2006 in terms of health trends. I think things are actually starting to turn around out there, especially with public awareness about the dangers of prescription drugs and the dangers of specific food ingredients such as hydrogenated oils. I'm seeing major shifts in consumer demand reflected in the inventory at retailers. For example, at Price Costco warehouses, you can now buy free-range organic chicken broth, which is something that certainly wasn't there a couple of years ago. And guess what? It doesn't even have yeast extract or MSG in it. This is non-toxic chicken broth (that is, if you're willing to eat chickens).

Study shows alarming spike in prescription drug deaths at the beginning of each month

David Phillips, Ph.D., has conducted a number of studies on mortality in his career, but one of the most recent has gained significant attention, as it shows the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs climbs roughly 25 percent at the beginning of each month. The study is notable not only for its revelations about the dangers of prescription drugs, but also for the uncommon amount of media coverage it has received.

Where's the health in health care reform?

In the months and years ahead, you're going to hear a whole lot of talk about health care reform, but most of what you're going to hear is about reform, not health. You see, there's this great lie out there, this huge misconception, this big shell game, where all these politicians and power-hungry people think they can convince the public that health care reform is just about shifting paper around and deciding who pays.

FDA accused of suppressing drug safety information

Here's a report on the FDA that could only come from outside the United States. I'm reading to you from The Independent, a British newspaper, that says, "Vital data on prescription medication found in millions of British homes has been suppressed by the powerful U.S. drug regulators, even though the information could potentially save lives." An investigation by The Independent states that, under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, the American Food and Drug Administration routinely conceals information it considers commercially sensitive, leaving medical specialists unable to assess the true risks.

The raw (and ugly) truth about the war on drugs

Drugs are bad. Drugs destroy peoples' lives. Didn't you know that marijuana turns regular everyday people into zombie pot smokers? That's why we have a war on drugs in America: to protect our children from potheads.

The great direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising con: how patients and doctors alike are easily influenced to demand dangerous drugs

A cute, animated ball bounces around very sadly until he takes a magic potion; suddenly, it becomes happier than ever. No, that isn't the plot of a new children's movie. On the contrary, it's the storyline of a Zoloft commercial – yes, Zoloft, a powerful antidepressant drug. In the 1990s, direct-to-consumer advertising like this increased at a compounded-annually rate of 30 percent, according to Ian Morrison's book, Health Care in the New Millennium. In fact, by 1995, drug companies had tripled the amount of money they formerly allotted to consumer-directed advertising, writes to Gary Null in Death by Medicine. Since then, pharmaceutical advertising has grown to an entirely new, pop culture-savvy level.

If the auto industry operated like Big Pharma: fifteen things you might notice

1. Your average car would cost $4.5 million, representing a 30,000% markup over cost, which is typical for prescription drugs. Automakers would justify this price by saying they needed the money to fund research and development, but in reality, most of their research would be funded by taxpayer dollars through government grants and university research centers.

Nutritional products from New Chapter and other health innovators

In the world of nutritional supplements and healthy foods, there are some wonderful companies out there providing some outstanding products for the marketplace. They're being quite innovative with the products they bring to the market. I'd like to talk about some of those companies and what they're doing that can benefit you in terms of health and disease prevention. None of these companies have paid for this. This is an unsolicited review. I'm not into payola. So this is just the straight truth about some companies that are doing great work and deserve to be mentioned here.