XTEND-15sec-NEWSt
26th July 2006
Please click on the link of interest...
Tocotrienols used in Total Balance help protect against stroke-induced injuries …n1
Two NIH-funded studies have found that the oral supplementation with Tocomin / Tocomin SupraBio elevates blood levels of tocotrienol sufficiently to protect against stroke-induced injuries.
For the press release by Carotech the manufacturer of Tocomin tocotrienols please click here (please note this is a .pdf document).
Warren Matthews' comments: We thought that you may find this of interest as tocotrienols are still relatively unknown by the public. They are a crucial component of any professional multi-nutrient supplement. They are much more powerful than Vitamin E and cover a much broader spectrum. When combined with Vitamin E they also enhance the efficacy of that substance as well.
Carotech, who supplied the tocotrienols for this study, produce the highest quality tocotrienols in the world. We have been using these in all versions of Total Balance now for more than five years.
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FDA warns consumers about dangerous ingredients in "dietary supplements" promoted for sexual enhancementn2The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to purchase or consume Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25, Actra-Rx, or 4EVERON. These products are promoted and sold on web sites as "dietary supplements" for treating erectile dysfunction (ED) and enhancing sexual performance, but they are in fact illegal drugs that contain potentially harmful undeclared ingredients. These products have not been approved by FDA, and there is no guarantee of their safety and effectiveness, or of the purity of their ingredients. More…
Warren Matthews' comments: The key point to note here is that these products are not natural supplements, but really are prescription drugs disguised as supplements. If you have a need to take a drug such as Viagra then you are safer to stick with the genuine brand rather than risk purchasing a so called ‘natural’ product that has undeclared prescription drug ingredients.
I must say that manufacturers and distributors who promote these dishonest supplements are doing everyone a disservice including both consumer and the natural products industry.
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American teenagers on anti-psychotics…n3
American teenagers are becoming the lost generation, zoned out on powerful antipsychotic drugs that are being unlawfully prescribed by psychiatrists.
Prescriptions of antipsychotics to children and teenagers have increased by 600 per cent in the past decade - and yet none of the drugs has been licensed for use among the under-18s.
Psychiatrists are regularly prescribing powerful drugs such as Risperdal (risperidone), designed to treat schizophrenia, and Zyprexa (olanzapine), for acute bipolar disorder, for mild cases of 'teenage behaviour'. More…
Warren Matthews comments: I have commented on this situation before a number of times. The use of these drugs at teenage level will ultimately destroy their lives, not help them. No doubt in some cases the use of these drugs may be warranted but they would be rare.
All I can say about this is what are the parents doing about this situation? Why don’t they resist the ready dishing out of these drugs to their children??
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Important notice: All material provided within XTEND-15sec-NEWS is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken solely on the contents of this publication. Consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this newsletter. The information provided in this newsletter is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the editor but the reader is responsible for consulting with their own health professional on any matters raised within.
FDA warns consumers about dangerous ingredients in "dietary supplements" promoted for sexual enhancementm1
2006-07-13 - Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to purchase or consume Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25, Actra-Rx, or 4EVERON. These products are promoted and sold on web sites as "dietary supplements" for treating erectile dysfunction (ED) and enhancing sexual performance, but they are in fact illegal drugs that contain potentially harmful undeclared ingredients. These products have not been approved by FDA, and there is no guarantee of their safety and effectiveness, or of the purity of their ingredients.
FDA advises consumers who have used any of these products to discontinue use and to consult their health care provider. FDA encourages anyone experiencing ED to seek guidance from a health care provider before purchasing a product to treat this medical condition.
"These products threaten the public health because they contain undeclared chemicals that are similar or identical to the active ingredients used in several FDA-approved prescription drug products. This risk is even more serious because consumers may not know that these ingredients can interact with medications and dangerously lower their blood pressure," said Dr. Steven Galson, Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Chemical analysis by FDA revealed that Zimaxx contains sildenafil, which is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Viagra, a prescription drug approved in the United States to treat ED. The other products contain chemical ingredients that are analogues of either sildenafil or a pharmaceutical ingredient called vardenafil. Vardenafil is the active ingredient in Levitra, a prescription drug that, like Viagra, is approved in the United States to treat ED. There is no mention of any of these ingredients in any of the illegal products' labeling.
This deception poses a threat to consumers because the undeclared ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates. ED is a common problem in men with these conditions, and they may seek products like the ones noted above because these products claim that they are "all natural" or that they do not contain the active ingredients used in FDA-approved ED drugs. In addition, because the manufacturing source of the active ingredients in these "dietary supplements" is unknown, there is no assurance that the ingredients are safe, effective, or pure.
FDA Warning Letters to the firms marketing these products state that the products are illegal drugs based on claims made for the products or their ingredients. The letters also state that the products' labeling is false and misleading because it fails to disclose the presence of the chemical ingredients or the potential side-effects associated with the products' consumption. FDA instructed agency staff to stop the importation of Libidus, and the agency recently stopped a shipment of 4 EVERON from entering the United States. Based on responses to these actions, FDA may take additional enforcement steps.
Today's actions follow a first-of-its-kind FDA survey, in which the agency analyzed 17 dietary supplements marketed on the internet to treat ED and to enhance sexual performance in men. "Our survey found that many of the so-called 'dietary supplements' marketed as treatments for erectile dysfunction actually contain non-dietary chemicals, including chemicals used as active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs. The claims made for these products were in fact claims made for the undeclared non-dietary chemicals they contain, which rendered them illegal drugs. FDA is committed to protecting the public health by removing such illegal and dangerous products from the market," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, FDA's Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs.
http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=16094&zoneid=18
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American teenagers on anti-psychotics…m2
American teenagers are becoming the lost generation, zoned out on powerful antipsychotic drugs that are being unlawfully prescribed by psychiatrists.
Prescriptions of antipsychotics to children and teenagers have increased by 600 per cent in the past decade - and yet none of the drugs has been licensed for use among the under-18s.
Psychiatrists are regularly prescribing powerful drugs such as Risperdal (risperidone), designed to treat schizophrenia, and Zyprexa (olanzapine), for acute bipolar disorder, for mild cases of 'teenage behaviour'.
Teenagers who are considered to be 'disruptive', or suffer 'mood disorders', are the most likely to be given an antipsychotic,
researchers have discovered. Even children who displayed a nervous tic were also put on one of the drugs.
Virtually every child or teenager who walked into a psychiatrist's surgery was diagnosed as having some 'mental disorder', the researchers found, and was prescribed an antipsychotic.
This alarming increase, which was tracked from 1993 to 2003, is due to the availability of the newer generations of antipsychotics, which are thought to have fewer adverse affects in the short term, researchers state.
And yet America's drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hasn't approved any of these drugs for children and adolescents, and so nobody can know about their safety in younger people. The psychiatrists are also breaking their code of ethics in prescribing the drugs in the first place.
Sadly, almost none of the children were offered psychotherapy as an alternative to the drugs.
(Source: Archives of General Psychiatry, 2006; 63: 679-85).
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