In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Anti-Narcotic Also Conquers Itch
Lyme Disease Rates Soaring
Cinnamon Brings Blood Sugar Down
Short-Term Stress Okay For Blood Sugar
Drug Industry Insiders Gossip Online
Epilepsy Linked To Nutritional Deficits

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://ppcart.fountainshosting.com/p-249-best-choices-from-the-peoples-pharmacy.aspx

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

This Week's Radio Show: 639 Medical Errors
The Institute of Medicine reports that the average patient experiences at least one error every day he is hospitalized. The annual death toll from medical errors is estimated at 44,000 to 98,000 Americans. How can you protect yourself or a loved one from a dangerous mistake? Learn how one woman discovered that her doctors had covered up a serious surgical error they made when she was a teenager.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/639_medical_errors.asp

Natural Approaches to Lower Blood Sugar
Q. I am a type 2 diabetic, taking metformin, glipizide and Avandia. I have begun taking cinnamon, alpha-lipoic acid and chromium picolinate in an effort to get off the drugs. It seems to be working, as I stopped taking Avandia...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/natural_approaches_to_lower_blood_sugar.asp

Grapefruit Intensifies Statin Side Effects
Q. A few weeks ago I could not get out of my chair to go to bed. I was telling my body "stand up" but my back and legs just wouldn't respond. I eventually managed to lever myself up with...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/grapefruit_intensifies_statin_side_effects.asp

How Dangerous Is Brazil Nut Gluttony?
Q. I was taken aback by your remarks about limiting the number of Brazil nuts eaten. Many years ago when I was growing up, my parents bought nuts at Christmastime. Brazil nuts were my favorites and I ate tons of...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/how_dangerous_is_brazil_nut_gluttony.asp

Turbo-Charged Rogaine Grows Hair
Q. I've been using Rogaine (minoxidil) for more than 12 years to slow hair loss. I started taking the oral medicine Proscar when I heard that this drug could also help grow hair. (Proscar was cheaper and stronger than Propecia.)...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/turbocharged_rogaine_grows_hair.asp

Extended Interview with Dr. Bruce Wilson
Listen to our complete audio interview with Dr. Bruce Wilson. An edited version of this interview appeared in our June 16 radio program, Managing High Blood Pressure.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/637_managing_high_blood_pressure.asp

Coumadin Interactions Pose Dangers
Q. Does aspartame affect bleeding if you are taking a blood thinner like Coumadin? I know that cranberry juice poses a potential problem with this drug. How can I keep up with Coumadin interactions? A. Coumadin (warfarin) is a life-saving...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/coumadin_interactions_pose_dangers.asp

Featured Q & A

Banish Jock Itch With Common Cleanser
Q. I liked your article on relieving jock itch by using Cetaphil skin cleanser. I tried it and it works great. My family doctor recommended an alternative to Cetaphil: Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo. Apply it to the affected region and work up a lather. I leave the lather in place for five minutes and then rinse it off. This also works very well.

A. Jock itch is caused by a fungal infection and can pain and itching. There are a variety of over-the-counter anti-fungal creams that are quite effective. They contain the same ingredients as athlete's foot treatments.

Cetaphil contains propylene glycol, which has antifungal activity. The selenium sulfide in Selsun Blue fights the yeast that causes dandruff. Because yeast is a type of fungus, we're not surprised that dandruff shampoo also works for jock itch.

Featured Home Remedy

Prickly Pear Cactus Lowers Blood Sugar
I am a family practitioner and want to share an herbal remedy with you. A 60-year-old male Hispanic diabetic patient has had trouble controlling his blood sugar. Despite intensive diet changes and a prescription for Glucovance, his blood sugar still ran in the 160's to 180's.

One day he came in with his diary showing blood sugars of 90 to 100 consistently. I asked what he was doing differently and he said in a low voice, "I got me a new girlfriend. She's from Mexico, and she makes me tea from nopalito (prickly pear) cactus. She has me drink it three times a day. Now my sugars are doing better."

I did some checking, but all I could find is that possibly the pectin in the cactus may affect the absorption of food. Let me know if you run across any information on this prickly pear remedy.

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

Health Headlines:

Anti-Narcotic Also Conquers Itch
There may soon be a new drug to combat chronic itching. Millions of people suffer unbearable itching for no apparent reason. Until now, there have not been very many good treatments. European researchers now suggest that a drug used to combat addiction may also be helpful against itching. The medication is called naltrexone. It is used to block the effects of powerful narcotics. Doctors can also prescribe this oral medicine under the name ReVia to help alcoholics stay off booze. A cream containing 1 percent naltrexone helped more than 70 percent of patients suffering from chronic itching. In another study, topical naltrexone was 30 percent more effective than placebo. This discovery may offer welcome relief for people who have not found any other way to alleviate this distressing condition.
[Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, June 2007]
http://www.eblue.org/article/PIIS0190962207000722/abstract

Lyme Disease Rates Soaring
Lyme disease is on the rise. This tick-borne illness can cause headache, fever and fatigue in the early stages of infection. Later, people can experience arthritis and cognitive problems and cardiac complications. Because the deer ticks that carry the disease are so tiny, they can be hard to detect. Many people may not even realize that they have been bitten.
Because the deer population has exploded in so many areas, it is not surprising that lyme disease is also on the increase. Approximately 20,000 cases are reported each year, about double the number 15 years ago. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is the most common disease linked to bites in the United Sates. It is especially common in the northeast, mid-Atlantic and north central states.

Cinnamon Brings Blood Sugar Down
Cinnamon has been shown to help lower blood sugar in people with type-2 diabetes. Now research shows that even healthy people react to cinnamon with a reduced rise in blood sugar. Investigators fed subjects rice pudding, which is a high glycemic index food. That means that it makes blood sugar rise very quickly, which is not a good thing. Adding 6 grams of cinnamon to the rice pudding delayed and reduced the rise in blood sugar. It also slowed stomach empyting. The Swedish scientists concluded that a little cinnamon may help keep blood sugar on an even keel.
[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June, 2007]
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/6/1552

Short-Term Stress Okay For Blood Sugar
People with type-1 diabetes depend on insulin for their blood sugar control. Scientists have warned them that chronic stress can make blood sugar control much trickier. A new study shows, though, that short-term stress does not seem to throw blood sugar out of whack. The Swiss investigators came up with a unique experiment to measure the impact of short-term stress on blood sugar. 20 patients were monitored continuously for blood sugar, pulse and blood pressure on two different days. One day they were in the laboratory and another day they were taken on rollercoaster rides.
During the rollercoaster experience, heart rate went from 82 beats per minute to 158. Blood pressure went up from 124/79 to 160 over 96. A stress hormone in saliva also doubled during the roller coaster ride. This proves that riding the rollercoaster was stressful. Even so, blood sugar did not change significantly. The conclusion was that sort-term stress does not appear to have a major impact on glucose control.
[Diabetes Care, June 2007]
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/extract/30/6/1599

Drug Industry Insiders Gossip Online
Ever wonder what drug company insiders say to eachother? There's now a way to find out. The Web site cafepharma.com offers juicy tidbits along with pharmaceutical news and plenty of blogs. Sales representatives for drug companies let their hair down and share insights about marketing strategies and gossip. The only problem is that you have to be a little savvy about the industry to sort out what's puff and what's proven. Because people can post comments anonymously they can tell the truth...or lie through their teeth. Not surprisingly, the pharmaceutical industry is not too thrilled with CafePharma.com. Drug companies normally prefer to keep their dirty laundry well hidden.
http://cafepharma.com/

Epilepsy Linked To Nutritional Deficits
Young children with hard-to-control epilepsy may be suffering from nutritional problems. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania compared youngsters who suffered at least one seizure a month to healthy kids. Those with intractable epilepsy were more likely to have low levels of folic acid, vitamins D, E and K, the fats linoleic and alpha-linoleic acid and the mineral calcium. The scientists urge health care professionals caring for these kids to be aware of these potential nutritional deficiencies.
[Journal of the American Dietetic Association, June 2007]
http://www.adajournal.org/article/PIIS0002822307004397/abstract