XTEND-YOUR-LIFE Newsletter
4 February 2004
Doctors being misled, Sp'm and more...
There are a few things that make me mad from time to time... OK, maybe more than just a few! But for today I'll only touch on a couple of issues. The first one is something that we all have to put up with in our email inbox everyday. Although I'm not going to dwell on the subject of sp'm I have to say that I find it irritating that such a problem exists when it could be eliminated so easily... virtually overnight. If only people would realize that no sales = no sp'm!
But, sadly there are a large number of people who don't realize this and they continue to buy from these uninvited solicitations and in the process hurt themselves and their pockets. Let me give you a health related example.
Several times a week I receive emails from someone calling themselves 'The American Society for the Treatment of Aging'. These emails come from a variety of email addresses and subject lines. The one I had yesterday had a subject line 'Re: Physicians weekly news'.
They do not exist...
The American Society for the Treatment of Aging does not exist other than in the imagination of the anonymous marketers.
This email which looks very official goes on to talk about a revolutionary new Growth Hormone Releaser that can increase HGH output naturally by 402% over a 6 month period. Wow! That's impressive if it wasn't for the fact that an increase of this level would be highly dangerous for most people. Anyway, the email directs you through to a very slick website which explains why this product is so much superior to all the other HGH products on the market today. (Note: These types of products are grossly misleading at the best of times.)
The website refers to clinical studies but who carried them out is not revealed which is in keeping with the entire site... no names, no phone numbers, no addresses, just a vague reference to a fulfillment house. Even the contact link does not contain any contact details but goes to the 'about us' page which tells you nothing.
But it does give Doctors testimonials so I guess it must be OK then? WRONG... the testimonials are nonsense. For example, there is one from Dr Daniel Rudeman who has been a long time dead... many years before this product came on the market. He did a study on HGH in the early 90's using injectable HGH which was in those days extracted from human cadavers and in no way relates to this or similar products although he is quoted extensively by marketers of these products. If you check our newsletter archives you will see an article about this. Refer to the March 03 issue of Xtend-15sec-News.
What about the product?
I then looked at the product itself which is a blend of amino acids, some glandulars and 400mgs of what they call Homeopathic HGH which is absolute nonsense and pure hype! They sell it for $69 per bottle, or a little less if you buy larger quanties. It is no better than a simple amino acid mix which should retail at no more than $18. But they present a convincing story. Want to have a look? Go to http://www.stomnedr.com/ghr/.
A word of warning though... don't be tempted to buy! Although I cannot say with certainty I suspect that the promoters of this site may be the same as those who were marketing 'HGH' products under the name of Harvardwellness.com. I checked this out a couple of years ago when the 'HGH' craze begun. They had a photo of a high rise building in Orange County, California and it looked very impressive. Because I had received a number of emails from people who had purchased from them and they had ignored their refund requests I decided to visit them when I was next in the US.
Their address was a Mailbox Etc store and the people at the store would not reveal who their customer really was. Soon after they closed down the Harvardwellness.com website and resurrected their site under a different name and address.
Why do I raise this issue?
For a couple of reasons! One, is it makes me mad when people take money from others under false pretences. Secondly, is that this type of questionable activity does serious damage to the credibility of the entire dietary supplement industry. It indirectly also supports opponents of natural remedies who would like to see dietary supplements banned and the use of pharmaceuticals expanded. Guess who encourages these people?
This brings me to the second thing today that makes me mad!
Over recent months I have noticed a marked increase in the number of people who have been emailing us concerned about their cholesterol. Nothing wrong with this, as it is important to be aware of your cholesterol and keep it at reasonable levels. Most of these people say that their Doctor is insisting that they go on a statin drug but before they do so they are wondering about our natural cholesterol lowering supplement because they have heard about the negative side effects of the statin drugs.
Fair enough... nothing there that makes me mad as it usually results in a new customer! BUT... so often when I ask for details of their cholesterol I find that although their total cholesterol may be a little on the high side, they are not really in a risk category because their HDL is so high and their ratio to LDL is good. I then ask what are their Triglycerides, Homocysteine and C Reactive Protein levels like?
So often the answers are similar...
Their triglycerides are normal, but they don't know their Homocysteine and C Reactive Protein levels because they have never been checked! This is when I get mad at their Doctors (not that they or anyone else knows!). The reason! Slightly elevated cholesterol on its own is not a serious problem PROVIDED all the other markers of pending heart disease are OK.
In other words if your triglycerides are normal, AND so is your homocysteine and C Reactive Protein then your risk of having a heart 'event' solely due to elevated cholesterol is remote indeed!
There is mounting evidence from well conducted clinical studies that prove homocysteine and C Reactive Protein are even more important markers of a potential heart 'event' than cholesterol, and yet a large percentage of Doctors do not even arrange these tests, but rather get their prescription pads out and insist that their patients start on statins immediately!!
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Simple, because the medical profession have been conditioned over the years to target cholesterol as the worst villain when it comes to heart attacks! But, the facts don't support this! Increasing evidence is becoming available that a high percentage of heart attack victims do not have high cholesterol levels at all. Instead they have high levels of triglycerides, homocysteine and C Reactive Protein.
You are probably aware that the goal posts for 'dangerous' levels of cholesterol have been shifted down over recent times and a lot of publicity given to the 'dangers' of cholesterol. This is not by accident, but part of a carefully thought out and executed strategy which has made the statin drugs the biggest cash cow in history for the pharmaceutical companies. Hundreds of thousands of healthy people are being prescribed statin drugs needlessly and as a result are suffering side effects and possible long term irreparable damage to their livers.
Lack of publicity on other markers...
Do you hear much about homocysteine and C Reactive Protein which is an indicator of inflammation in the blood, or for that matter triglycerides? Of course not! This is because there is no one to pay for the news releases as these three markers can be brought into line quite easily by a combination of diet and natural supplementation.
Now, if you have been prescribed a statin by your Doctor and your levels are only slightly elevated don't give him or her a hard time because they are only acting on the information that is supplied to them and they are treating you in the 'official' manner and thus sticking to the rule book. It is just a shame that the rule book is written by the pharmaceutical giants and endorsed by the medical colleges who they so greatly influence.
I will however finish off this article on a positive note by saying that many Doctors are becoming more enlightened. We are seeing more cases of Doctors recommending our Cholesterol formula to try, prior to prescribing a statin drug.
On a final note...
If you feel that your cholesterol levels are a bit high I would recommend one of three hings:
If your budget is limited try our natural cholesterol lowering formula. If contains a high potency policosanol which is one of the most effective means to naturally lower cholesterol levels.
If you can manage it, use the full daily dose of our Total Balance (6 caps or two bottles per month). Even though the policosanol in Total Balance is only a very small percentage of all the nutrients, the full dose of 6 caps per day contain the same amount of policosanol as in the daily dose of our Cholesterol formula, so you don't need both. But, by taking Total Balance you will receive a wealth of other benefits, such as helping normalise your homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein as well as helping normalize hormonal levels naturally, which includes HGH.
Don't forget to add our Omega 3/DHA product to either our Cholesterol or Total Balance formula.
Sorry, I rambled on a bit today but I don't want you to fall into either of these 'traps'.
Until next issue...
Info about the editor.
P.S. Please pass this newsletter on to a friend. Thank you.
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Important notice: All material provided within the newsletter XTEND-YOUR-LIFE 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.
