In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Depression Checklist May Be Misleading
Early Mammograms Questioned
Coffee Wards Off Liver Cancer
Plastic Compound May Raise Risk Of Diabetes
Celebrex Ads Stage A Comeback

---

Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy

We are pleased to announce our new book, Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy. Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy is a how-to for consumers trying to work out which treatments, including diet, home remedies, dietary supplements and drugs, are best for what ails them. Click the link below to purchase a copy at a discount of $21.95 plus $5 shipping and handling!

Note: We are shipping single book orders Media Mail with an expected transit time of 3-9 days from shipment, and orders for two or more books by FedEx Ground. Shipping and handling is $5 per book. We also include a FREE copy of Chocolate without Guilt, regularly $14.95, autographed by Terry, with orders for three of more copies of Best Choices shipped to the same address.

http://secure.peoplespharmacy.com/PPcart.asp?pg=products&specific=joppfog0

---

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

Joe's Blog is back! This week Joe discusses the massive pet food recall, why it happened, and what it means for human medications:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/joes_blog/dog_food_disaster_casts_doubt_on_generic_drugs.asp

Cocoa compounds have been shown to make blood platelets less sticky and to relax blood vessels. Can they improve blood flow to the brain? Garlic has a time-honored reputation for promoting health. One claim, that it can lower cholesterol, was tested in a rigorous double-blind trial. How well did it do? Also, Another look at the Women¹s Health Initiative finds that hormone replacement therapy may be less dangerous for younger women. The People¹s Pharmacy herb expert, Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, offers suggestions for menopausal women coping with hot flashes.
Read a short excerpt of the program or order it on CD by clicking the link below:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/628_health_news_update.asp

Our newspaper columns this week discuss continued problems with Ambien, acupressure bands to prevent nausea, and the skyrocketing cost of cancer drugs:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/editorial/cancer_drug_prices_continue_to_soar.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/new_sleeping_pill_warnings_came_too_late.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/acupressure_for_nausea_and_insomnia.asp

---

Featured Q & A

Q. My husband loves garlic and onions. No one believes me but I have actually caught him making raw onion sandwiches. When he makes a pasta sauce I have to beg him not to use more than three cloves of garlic.

Needless to say, his breath could stop a horse. I love this man dearly but kissing him is a challenge. Is there an herbal mouthwash or home remedy that could calm his dragon breath?

A. Garlic breath goes way beyond mouthwash. The sulfur-containing compounds that cause the distinctive aroma are absorbed into the blood stream, circulated throughout the body and exhaled through the lungs.

The only home remedy we have ever heard about for garlic and onion breath is parsley. Some people maintain that eating fresh parsley can counteract the smell. Others prefer parsley flakes or capsules of parsley seed oil.

---

Featured Home Remedy

I am now a believer in home remedies. Fifteen years ago I had arthritis so bad I could not hold the steering wheel to drive. The pain was unbearable. Then I heard about eating nine gin-soaked raisins a day. I tried it and to my surprise I was free of pain in a few weeks. As an experiment I laid off the raisins and in due time the arthritis came back. I went back on the raisins regularly for a couple of years with good results. I have started reducing the frequency of the raisins but still take them once in awhile, as needed. I am still pain free! Read more about this home remedy:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/home_remedies/gin_soaked_raisins_for_arthritis.asp

You can read more home remedies on our website:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/home_remedies/index.asp

---

Health Headlines:

Depression Checklist May Be Misleading
A surprising number of people diagnosed with depression may not actually be clinically depressed. A new study suggests that many may be down in the dumps for a good reason. A survey of more than 8,000 Americans found that nearly one person in four whose answers on a checklist of symptoms indicate depression were actually reacting normally to an emotional setback like divorce or job loss. Some were feeling sad and having trouble sleeping after losing a loved one. This is generally recognized as a normal response to bereavement. Always treating such symptoms with an antidepressant may not be necessary. Of course serious depression requires careful medical attention. We are learning, however, that there are many ways to deal with this condition. Talking therapy can be highly effective and may even last longer than drug treatment.
[Archives of General Psychiatry, April 3, 2007]
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/64/4/433

Early Mammograms Questioned
Internists are questioning established guidelines that recommend annual mammograms for women under 50. The American College of Physicians has challenged the routine use of this procedure because of concerns about exposure to excess radiation and unnecessary follow up procedures. The organization's stand conflicts with recommendations from the American Cancer Society but reflects concerns that mammograms in younger women may not produce enough benefit to outweigh the potential harm. Of course a woman who has a family history of breast cancer or knows that she carries a genetic susceptibility may decide with her doctor that mammograms are entirely appropriate starting well before her 50th birthday.

Coffee Wards Off Liver Cancer
Coffee is not usually thought of as a healthy beverage, but evidence continues to mount that it has some unique benefits. Italian researchers noted that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop cirrhosis or chronic liver inflammation, conditions that greatly increase the risk of deadly liver cancer. The popularity of coffee in Italy led them to an epidemiological comparison of 185 liver cancer patients and around 400 healthy controls. What they found is that people who drink at least 28 cups of coffee weekly--that's an average of 4 a day--are 60 percent less likely to come down with liver cancer than those who average only 2 cups a day. Even the modest coffee drinkers are only half as likely to develop liver cancer as those who never touch the stuff. Tea and decaf coffee did not seem to offer any protection. Whether it is the caffeine or some other antioxidant in coffee is still undetermined.
[International Journal of Cancer, April 1, 2007]

Plastic Compound May Raise Risk Of Diabetes
In the classic film The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, there was a memorable scene about the future. It boiled down to the word Plastic! How prophetic that scene was, since plastic is now ubiquitous in our society. An ingredient in many plastics is now also ubiquitous in us. Phthalates are found in shampoos, cosmetics, pesticides and plastics. Three fourths of us have detectable levels of phthalates circulating in our bodies. A new study links high levels of phthalates in men to reduced insulin sensitivity and increased waist circumference. Phthalates are also endocrine disruptors and are associated with both lowered testosterone levels and reduced sperm counts. If the results of this study hold up, phthalates may turn out to be yet another factor in the obesity and diabetes epidemic affecting America.
[Environmental Health Perspectives, online March 14, 2007]
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2007/9882/abstract.html

Celebrex Ads Stage A Comeback
Celebrex is back! Remember those TV commercials for this arthritis drug? Gray haired people were seen doing tai chi in an idyllic setting. The implication was that Celebrex would ease pain and allow people to participate in activities that might otherwise be difficult.
After the Vioxx scandal, however, the ads for COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex were pulled. That's because there was such a concern that these drugs could increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
The new TV commercials for Celebrex will address those concerns upfront. The ads will state quite clearly that Celebrex poses the same cardiovascular risks as competitor products like ibuprofen and naproxen. Viewers will hear an announcer warning that "Any prescription NSAID, including Celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death."
Such a clear caution may relieve the manufacturer of legal liability. On the other hand, consumers may want to think twice about any drug that can lead to death.

---

And that's the health news from the People's Pharmacy® this week. Thank you for reading! --Joe and Terry Graedon