Category Archives: Evidense Based Medicine

Vitamin D — A Conflict of Science

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“Science in the modern world has many uses; its chief use, however, is to provide long words to cover the errors of the rich.” And more – “Truth, of course, must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for we have made fiction to suit ourselves.” – G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton was all about words and expressions of truth. This early 20th Century writer, philosopher, and humorist used words with great skill in debate and general discussions. I am sure he would be appalled at vitamin D science. Has science and allopathic medicine developed into some form of fiction to enhance the rich? Worse, has the largest sector of the US economy been sustained through production off the illness of the population?

Perhaps you should pause and take the time to read this article from Hank Campbell, published in the Wall Street Journal – The Corruption of Peer Review is Harming Scientific Credibility. There have been thousands of peer reviewed published papers on Vitamin D and its benefit to health. And, our greatest bastion of science, National Academy of Science and its Institute of Medicine, has allowed an error for the RDA for vitamin D to escape into the public domain. They were only off by over a factor of ten too low. Is this a mistake like the crash of the Martian Lander that went down because the conversion from miles to kilometers was in error? The only harm was the cost to the taxpayers. Because of a factor of ten for vitamin D intake, hundreds of thousands die prematurely in North America each year. Here is the recently published paper by Paul J. Veugelers, A Statistical Error in the Estimation for the Recommended Daily Allowance for Vitamin D. Grassroots Health has confirmed the error through testing of thousands of participants in their health initiative for vitamin D.

Many other errors have been made in vitamin D science over the years since its discovery:

  • Vitamin D2 is equal to vitamin D3
  • Selling vitamin D as a supplement in only 50 IU tablets that resulted in conspiracy charges of seventeen multinationals during WW II by the US (this sounds just like the error(?) made by the IOM)
  • Vitamin D is only useful for bone health
  • Dr. Cook’s description of birth defects from vitamin D in the 1960’s during the thalidomide scare
  • There is no warning label on sunscreen for the product preventing the body’s most significant steroid hormone from forming in your skin with exposure to the sun
  • Years of warnings by medical professionals about the dangers of the sun
  • Improper interpretation of findings in vitamin D research

It makes me wonder if it is just bad science, incompetence, idiopathic delusion, or orchestrated intention.

The only thing that I can tell you is from my own personal experience. Grassroots Health has it right. Have your serum 25(OH)D tested and then use the chart on Grassroots Health home page to achieve a level above 50 ng/ml. For more guidance on what level of vitamin D, take the advice of Dr. Mercola through his many years of practice.

And if you want to be proactive, sign the petition for Health Canada and the IOM to reevaluate its findings. – Pandemic Survivor

Okay, so maybe you are into a more poetic description: “Through epigenetic action of nuclear receptors as an orchestra, life is properly conducted by the vitamin D receptor. userprofiletileIn this auditorium, the microbiome listens and sustains life through applause.” Mark Pegram—inspired from discussions with Dr. P.R. Raghavan, developer of policosanol as a nano-emulsion, Metadichol®, a natural nuclear receptor agonist/inverse agonist when animals cannot get enough sunshine.

“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” – G.K. Chesterton ILN, 9/11/1909

Leading in Nutrients – The Affordable Care Act, Part II

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What are the natural or innate characteristics of leaders?   The significant characteristic of leadership is the ability to paint a picture of truth that others can understand. When the picture is false it becomes a lie.   The lie is where great leaders have failed us over the years. Much propaganda delivered in health and nutrition now makes it difficult for anyone to find the truth.   This includes you and your doctor.

The ability to paint a picture in leadership that others can understand is a great gift. It is not a developed gift but a gift or quality that is innate in the leader. Research was used to determine the qualities of a leader. Only one quality of leadership could be found through all ages of test participants. The participants were asked to drink a glass of water with lemon juice added – no sugar. They were then asked to describe how great the lemon water was to drink.   This was started with participants at the age of five. The children were then asked to go play. As they played, the researchers noticed that the children who were able to describe the lemon water as tasty without grimace, became the leaders in play. This test was repeated with groups through middle age with the same result.   Participants who were able to describe the lemon water as great to drink became “natural” leaders.

This gift of painting a picture that others can easily understand is what makes a leader great. There have been many examples of leadership when both the lie and the truth were used effectively. However, when the gift was used as a lie, eventually failure of the led was the result. Compare/contrast the words of leadership during WWII between Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler.

Has this happened to us in health? The immediate example is the Affordable Care Act. A regular citizen, like yourself, has discovered some serious issues of lack of the truth. Richard Weinstein, MBA, Investment Advisor, found that Jonathan Gruber, the architect-advisor to the ACA, used less than truth to help the ACA pass legislation. Rich was frustrated for a year because he could not get the attention of the press. It was only after his findings became part of a legal challenge to the ACA that he found traction. Huffington Post Article: “This Philly-Based Investment Advisor Has Become Obamacare’s Digital Menace.” 11/11/2014

Rich was driven by the words that got the bill passed, “If you like your policy, you can keep your policy.” Last year, his health insurance policy was cancelled. The closest comparable policy was twice as much. He spent his nights researching the words of the architects of the ACA by reviewing videos that were available on the web. This past week, the Obama Administration was embarrassed by the videos and took immediate action. Obama declared that he wanted “Net Neutrality.” To me this sounds like double-speak as an effort to better control the internet. Glen Beck, on his morning radio show, called this declaration a “Trojan Horse” or subterfuge. A fear tactic was used this week with the words, “if you like Netflix, you can keep Netflix with net neutrality.”

Confusing and confounding findings are now included on a regular basis as a method to advance political advantages. Subterfuge is used in economics, in atmospheric science, and in evidence based medicine. The commonality is the complexity of finding truth. Findings by our elite scholars are being used to manipulate the people for the sole purpose of empire building.   Empire building is simply the maintenance and growth of any organization without concern for the stress on society as a whole.

We, as citizens with concern for the health of government and people, have to now take action. The internet is there for you to determine your own truth. However, be careful, the double-speak artists are paid well to paint beautiful pictures. We do need to follow the leadership of a plain citizen, Richard Weinstein. Have you had a health situation that could be healed with nutrients? It is up to you to talk about this with your friends and family and to help our ethical leaders understand what is happening to our society. – Pandemic Survivor

Leadership in Nutrients – Part I

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Leadership is often misidentified as management. Certainly management is necessary to achieve any great goal. However, is it the correct goal? This is where ethical leadership steps in to give clarity to the community in its effort to achieve greatness in that society. There is always tension in what is an ethical goal. The obvious goal in any society for health is to lead long healthy lives with suffering only for very short periods of time before death takes us. When economic principles supersede the desire for health, a very suffering population can result.

The best way to understand the difference in leadership and management is the story that I heard in the 1980’s. We were attempting to add excellence in quality to a manufacturing environment. We listened to many quality gurus describe processes necessary to achieve the goals. But one story clearly differentiated the process of achieving the goal versus defining the goal: There was a team given the assignment of clearing a jungle and building a road to the other side of an island. At one point during the mission, the manager climbed a tall tree that had been cleared from the jungle. He relayed to the workers that the jungle cutters, the brush clearers, the road builders, and the people keeping the crocodiles away were all doing a great job. He could see the other side of the island and exclaimed to the group that they were more than half way there. On a tree that was adjacent, the leader climbed to the top. He raised his arm and shouted, “Wrong Island.”

Is managing health through evidence based medicine that spotlights only drugs, surgery, and other medical procedures the right island?

Where is the leader that stands up and declares, “Evidence based medicine when focusing only on drugs, surgery, and medical procedures is the wrong island?” “Evidence based medicine when focusing on drugs, surgery, medical procedures, and nutrients is the right island,” declares the leader.

And the economics shout back, “who is going to pay for the research on nutrients that will have no return except for health?”

“What will replace all the lost jobs in medicine and medical insurance?” the politicians proclaim.

Who is going to pay for the research on nutrients is answered by, us, the people. We have already paid for the research on drugs, surgery, and medical procedures that allowed the medical industry to achieve huge economic benefits. It is now time for the government to direct the largest portion of money spent on research toward nutrients and their interactions for health. It is interesting to note there is presently enough evidence based medicine for ethical leaders to make decisions on nutrients. But, what has clouded the effort is the desire to maintain the large sector of the medical-economic complex. Government has adopted the policy position that money to support the economy of healthcare is more important to the security of the nation. This has resulted in a population that suffers from a severe chronic disease epidemic. Could the problems of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes as the big three killers be corrected?

It is now time for our government leaders, Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Supreme Court to make ethical leadership decisions. The health of the nation would give a much more thriving, wealth building economy than our present paradigm of the medical-economic complex can ever achieve. Are you going to be the change agent to motivate ethical decision making in health? Only through contacting your leaders at all levels will this ever happen. It is the people’s issue that must develop in a grass roots wave. The other choice is to maintain the status quo and continue with great management of the medical-economic complex.

“Wrong Island!” – Pandemic Survivor

Vitamin D and Prevention of Chronic Diseases

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Below is a video about vitamin D that will change your life and possibly help you overcome serious diseases and medical conditions. This video is presented through the University of California Television, UCTV. Dr. Michael Holick has long been a promoter of vitamin D even at the risk of his career. He has been repeatedly attacked and lost his job at one point. He has become very cautious in his presentations on vitamin D. This video was made in 2009 and there has been much new science published since then on the advantages of vitamin D for health.

The video is about one hour long. It is very entertaining as Dr. Holick helps you to understand the science in a consumable reality. In the video Dr. Holick expresses the need to keep your serum level of 25(OH)D above 30 ng/ml. However, at the end of the video, please note that his average level is 52 ng/ml. This is the bottom of the level typically achieve by the indigenous populations along the equator. I do believe that the best levels to maintain are 60 to 80 ng/ml which is well within the norms of clinical practice of 30 ng/ml to 100 ng/ml. At these higher levels, be sure that you are getting enough magnesium as well.

Dr. Michael Holick Vitamin D and Prevention of Chronic Diseases http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1t9WqOD-0

The only way to know for sure that you have the correct amount of vitamin D is to be tested. Enjoy Health. – Pandemic Survivor

Response to Attack on Evidenced Based Medicine for Vitamin D

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June 1, 2014

Dr. Phillip Autier
Research Director at IPRI
International Prevention Research Institute
Cours Lafayette 95
69006 Lyon, France
Dear Dr. Autier,

I keep stewing over your quote in the Daily Mail and am indeed insulted at your allegations. You were quoted by Jonathan Gornall “The ‘sunshine supplement’ is hyped as a miracle cure, but experts say don’t waste your money on vitamin D pills” Daily Mail, 24 March 2014 as saying: “The vitamin D fad, he says, is just ‘a commercial promotion campaign’ in which sellers of supplements, UV lamps, fortified foods and blood tests are ‘taking advantage of disease-mongering around so-called vitamin D deficiency.’”

Sir, I suffered for almost three decades from what cannot be any other way categorized as other than vitamin D deficiency. I had back pain all during this period as well as much incapacitation. In addition to the suffering from the pain, I had sleep apnea as well as other health issues. After taking vitamin D and other supplements, I avoided more back surgery, after two failed surgeries, and am healed from severe sleep apnea. I no longer need pain meds and take no pharmaceuticals at the blessed age of sixty-three. To insult organizations like GrassRoots Health with its many dedicated life-long expert researchers of vitamin D is an atrocity as millions around the world suffer from the diseases created by vitamin D deficiency.

After reviewing the consortium of IPRI that includes, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Merck, Pfizer, Roche, and Eli Lilly, I can believe nothing else than your sponsors have confused the reasoning of your well educated scientific mind.  I can only state that you are nothing more than a shill for the pharmaceutical companies. I do expect a new paper soon, after your review of the more than forty controlled clinical trials, that refute your original findings. You sir, have shamed the scientific approach of evidence based medicine.

Sincerely,

Mark Pegram
Vitamin D Deficiency Survivor