------=_Part_18297_15919835.1220735196725-- --

        

As reported by Drug Topics Magazine June 18th 2008:

The U.S. Senate has now introduced a resolution calling on the Food & Drug Administration to reverse its policy barring estriol from being used in compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. The resolution, S. Con. Res.88, was introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R, Texas) and Jim Bunning (R, Ky.) and follows a similar House resolution, introduced in May. The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists applauded the new Senate resolution. Meanwhile, the House resolution has gained a total of 32 members of the House as co-sponsors.

Thank you to all our patients, pharmacists and readers who have supported your rights to customized compounded medications!  To stay informed on attacks to our personal freedoms visit www.savemymedicine.org
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I just got this email from Dr Yaffa about the upcoming Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Summit that is taking place on May 14th to June 2nd online.  If you don't already know about this you can learn more here http://www.BHRT1.com/d.asp?idAff=1441   For everyone else who is already signed up for the seminars you will be thrilled to see the new speakers added at no additional charge!  See the email below:

Dear Friend,
 
Thousands of people have already registered for the BHRT World Summit-an audio internet seminar.
 
We have recently added 2 speakers:
Anna Cabecca DO---Female Sexual Dysfunction-How Bio-Identical Hormones Can Make Life Much More Pleasant
CW Randolph MD----Belly Fat-Belly Flat-Are Your Hormones Making You Fat?
 
There is a possibility that the recognized top expert in the world in BHRT, Dr. Jonathan V. Wright may be joining us also!
 
This is certainly not to be missed.
 
I urge you to please tell your family and friends about this educational opportunity.
Please email your address book, your community lists and forums and chats, your neighborhood compounding pharmacist the link to attend:  http://www.BHRT1.com/d.asp?idAff=1441  
 
Together we will help BHRT be accepted as a Conventional Therapy.  Through education, they will just have to listen to us.
Medical research is not the issue.  We have it.  You'll hear about it and see it during the seminar.  Please help all of us spread the word.
  
1 week until we meet at the Summit,    http://www.BHRT1.com/d.asp?idAff=1441  

--
Brad White RPH
Compounding Pharmacist --

        

I have been enjoying Timothy Ferris' book the Four Hour Work Week and one of the principles he mentions is Pareto's Principle sometimes better known as the 80/20 Rule.  One of the great things about the 80/20 rule is that if you are familiar with it in the business world you have heard many times that 80% of your business volume is done by 20% of the people.  Other ways to apply this concept is to look at your productivity.  Your best work comes from 20% of your effort and 80% is wasted.  I came across a blog post from lifehacker that applies this concept to your health.

Here is another application for the 80/20 rule. 

How about we apply the rule to our daily diet and food consumption.  How could we improve our dietary intake if 80% of the foods we eat are fresh fruits, vegatables, and organic products like meats and fish. Then we could spoil ourselves with eating "treats" 20% of the time.  I am a firm believer in decreasing consumpiton of refined and processed foods.  But we all need a "free meal" or a slurge if you will.  My wife and I have been successful in losing weight mainly by increasing our physical activity and decreasing our crummy food consumption.  But we still have pizza night each week. 

How can you apply this rule to your diet?  What would you do different? 

--
Brad White RPH --

        

I am going to share with you a simple way to save $1000 this year.

Drink more water.

Carbonated beverage companies estimate that the average American consumes 3 soda pops a day. 

Lets do some math:

3 bottles a day purchases at your local convenience store for $1.09 x 365 days a year = $1193.55

WOW!

Water is essential for life, but we often take it for granted.

The Academy of Integrative Medicine has reported:

• 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated
• 37% of Americans  the thirst mechanism is so weak it is mistaken for hunger
• Lack of water is the Number ONE trigger of daytime fatigue
  

Water is such a simple thing that we overlook.  How many people feel that afternoon drag
around 3pm (or in the middle of your workday)?  There are no water reservoirs in the body,
therefore, appropriate intake is a necessity.  Currently dry mouth is the only recognized and accepted
sign of dehydration, but this signal is the last outward sign of extreme dehydration.  Basically, that means
if you are thirsty right now you are really dehydrated and should go get a glass of water. 

Now make no mistake just because a beverage is wet does not mean it counts as water.  Soda pop, coffee, tea
all are wet but they don't count as pure water and you should factor that in to your daily consumption.

Lets review some benefits of water:

• Water is a solvent for digesting food
• carries nutrients to and waste from cells
• required for breathing
• a cushion for the joints
• a lubricant for moving parts
• a regulator of body temperature
  
• Metabolic rate increases with water consumption (1)
  
• After drinking 17 ounces of water the subjects' metabolic rate increased 30% within 30-40 minutes (1)
  
• People drinking more than five glasses of water per day were less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank fewer than two glasses a day (2)
  

(1) Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism; December 2003
(2) American Journal of Epidemiology; May 1, 2004

Common signs of dehydration are:

• Headache
• Pain
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• High blood pressure

How much water do we need?
Most experts agree that we need to drink at least six to eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day.
There are some methods of figuring out water requirements:

• divide the body weight by two, that is the number of ounces that you should consume per day. 
  
• For a 160 pound person that is 80 ounces of water a day or ten 8 ounce glasses
• You can aslo check out www.bottledwater.org for a hydration calculator

I know what you are going to say, are you out of your mind!  I hate water! 

Tell me how much water you consume in a day.  Do you have any tips for people that have trouble
converting from carbonated beverages or coffee to pure water?  What did I miss that you feel is important?


--

        

Nothing like a nice 60 degree day in the Midwest to remind you that our winter weather has probably not done yet.  Makes you wish it was though!  Warmer weather can also cause us careless humans to shed our coats and cold weather gear, sometimes to extremes.  These spells of warmer weather can cause bouts of cold and flu viruses to multiply, especially in school age children and those with weak or compromised immune systems. 

So what can you do?

The common cold is caused by over 200 different viruses.  Probably one of the reasons we don't have a vaccine. 
Most people get one or two colds per year and the symptoms include sinus drainage, watery eyes, aches, pains, cough sneezing, and headache.  Occasionally colds can develop into bronchitis or pneumonia, or flu.   Flu symptoms are generally more severe with nausea, vomiting, dehydration, etc... 

The immune system is an essential component to keeping up your defenses against colds, flu, and other viruses. 
Proper nutrition, exercise, hydration, sleep, and stress management are all important keys.  Smoking, alcohol consumption, chemicals, and other pollutants. 

You can give your immune system a boost by drinking eight 8 ounce glasses of water each day, supplementing with Vitamin C, and a high quality Multi Vitamin for starters.  Supplements like elderberry, beta 1, 3 glucan, colostrum and astragalus are also helpful.
For more information visit my site above at White's Premium Supplements

        

Well here in Northeastern Ohio and many regions across the USA we are at or reaching peak flu season.  Are you aware that your Gastrointestinal System is responsible for over 80% of your immune system?  What can you do?

The wonders of probiotics!  There are many uses of probiotics.  The most common uses of probiotic therapy in our pharmacy is use in conjunction with antibiotic treatment.  Antibiotics are very effective at killing bad bacteria that cause illness.  The bad thing is that antibiotics also kill the good bacteria that help us digest our food and maintain our first line of defense.  Side effects of antibiotic therapy are often diarrhea, or yeast infections.  When this first line of defense is weakened, it gives the opportunity for opportunistic organisms to overgrow, leading to recurrent infections due to a weakened immune system. 

The good news is that probiotics can be obtained easily in a daily nutritional supplement.  Yes, it is possible to get probiotic cultures in yogurt.  But you would need to consume on the average of 10 cups of yogurt to equal one capsule of a high quality probiotic. 

The best probiotic we have at our pharmacy is called Florajen.  You can get this high quality probiotic from us at the  Medicine Shoppe

If you would like to learn more about the Gastrointestinal System's role in The Immune System sign up for my seminar on February 28th at 6PM.  Register today, for more information Medicine Shoppe Events

        

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that cloned livestock is safe to eat, and approved the sale of meat and milk from healthy cloned animals, despite a paucity of safety studies, congressional roadblocks and a clear consumer mandate against such products in the food supply.   I don't know about you, but I can tell you that I will not knowingly eat meat or milk from cloned animals.  But guess what, the FDA has not mandated that suppliers label the products as such!  Thanks for watching out for us FDA.  In my opinion I am far from an expert in the effects of cloned food products on people, let alone cloned animals.  What I am aware of from any google search regarding this announcement is that cloned animals are often unhealthy or have developmental issues.  It is my opinion that the safest course to take is to stick with Organic products for meats and milks.  I would encourage all readers to examine and shop the organic aisles in your grocery store. 

You can read more about this subject here and here

        

This is a copy of a press release from the International Association of Compounding Pharmacies.  This is a response to the latest FDA action that contradicts Congressional law. 

FDA Asserts New Policy to Restrict Women’s Access to
Bioidentical Hormones
Agency Warns Pharmacies Not to Compound Commonly Prescribed Hormone
Treatments, Use the Term “Bio-identical”
MISSOURI CITY, Texas – In a series of warning letters to compounding pharmacies
across the country, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asserted a policy that
would deny hundreds of thousands of women access to many commonly compounded
bioidentical hormones, substituting its judgment for that of doctors. Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals, the number one manufacturer of synthetic hormone products, petitioned
the FDA to do so in October 2005. More than 70,000 doctors, patients, and pharmacists
filed comments with the FDA opposing Wyeth’s petition, the vast majority of whom
opposed the petition.
“Under this policy, patients will suffer while Wyeth profits,” said L.D. King, executive
director of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP). “Thousands
of doctors are making patient-by-patient decisions that compounded hormones are
medically appropriate, sometimes because Wyeth’s products are found to be ineffective
or produce side effects. This is a decision that should be left to doctors.”
In the letters, the FDA states that it will “halt” compounding of medications containing
estriol, an estrogen produced by the human body. Estriol is one of the most widely
prescribed hormones and is regularly compounded with other bio-identical hormones
pursuant to doctors’ prescriptions for women suffering from symptoms of menopause.
Like many commonly prescribed drugs, estriol has a monograph from the U.S.
Pharmacopeia (USP), but is not a component of an FDA-approved drug. When it passed
the FDA Modernization Act in 1997, Congress clearly indicated that drugs with a USP
monograph could be compounded.
The FDA also stated in its letters that pharmacies may not use the term “bio-identical” to
characterize compounded hormone therapies, even though the chemicals used in such
compounds are chemically identical to what is produced by the human body.

Furthermore, manufacturers of drugs containing the same bio-identical hormones
commonly use the term to characterize their products. The chemical structure of these
drugs is indisputable.
Pharmacy compounding is a long-standing, state-regulated and medically vital practice.
Millions of Americans have unique health needs that off-the-shelf prescription medicines
cannot meet. For them, customized, compounded medications prescribed or ordered by
licensed physicians or veterinarians and mixed safely by trained, licensed compounding
pharmacists are the only way to better health.
About IACP

The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP) is a non-profit
association founded in 1991 to protect and promote the art and skill of the compounding
pharmacy profession. We represent more than 2,000 pharmacists, physicians, technicians
and patients who are committed to the safe practice of pharmacy compounding. We are
committed to ensuring the rights of physicians to prescribe, of pharmacists to prepare and
of patients to take customized medications that meet their unique, individual needs.

IACP Press Release Link

        

It is not unusual for us to think we are invincible.  Even I was guilty, until a year and a half ago I was on a life flight helicopter to a regional hospital with the diagnosis of a heart attack at age 32.  It turns out that was not the diagnosis but it was an eye opening experience.  The goal of my blog entry today is not to lecture you on what you should be doing, but just to make you think about some things that could change your life, your health, and the lives of your loved ones.  All I could think about it that helicopter was my 4 year old little boy.

Developing New Habits

No matter what you do, you will always have some unhealthy habits.  You can not change them all at once.  How about starting with one.  Every year since I can remember I have always made audacious goals of New Year's Resolutions.  I enjoy reflecting on the year that has past, and I enjoy planning for the new year.  Up until 2007 I almost always failed at what really would make an impact as far as health and wellness goes. 

After my life altering experience half way through 2006, I decided that 2007 was finally going to be the year that I lost the 10 pounds I had planned to lose since 2000.  That was my main personal goal for 2007.  (Yes there were and always are other goals - personal, financial, family, etc...) 

Plan in Advance
You need to think about your resolution long before December 31st or January 31st.  (Who says it has to start on January 1st anyway).  Think about the pros and the cons of any behavior change.  Plan times and places that you will be doing the activity to work toward your goal.

Set Goals
Your goals have to be written, attainable, believable to you, and specific.  How will you  measure progress?  Weight loss is pretty easy, you can measure your weight once a week each Saturday morning.  What help might you need to attain these goals?  For example, professional help, trainer, nutritionist, pharmacist, internet, etc...

Break Down the Goal
Every goal can be broken down in to smaller steps that make the task less daunting.  You have better momentum when you have many small victories and build upon one another.  If your goal is 10 pounds.  Set your goal of losing 1 pound in the first two weeks.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but if you lost 1 pound every two weeks you would be at your goal in less than 5 months.  Not bad!  Think of how great you will feel when you get there.  Will you hit stumbling blocks (weeks) sure.  But that is ok, you will learn how to work within your limits. 

Identify Obstacles to Attaining the Goal
Again, written data will help you have your mental survival kit available to work through these and avoid them as much as possible. 

Set a Time Frame
How long should your goal take 1 month, 6 months, more.   Mark your calendar with the dates for completion and immediate goals.

Take Responsibility for your Actions
Only you can make it happen.  Will you need help, maybe.  Will you benefit from blaming others for failure, unlikely.  If your goal seems overwhelming, break them down and go for smaller pieces. 

Short Term and Long Term Goals
This could be as simple as I will cut down on one cup of coffee each day for a short term goal.  A long term goal may be that you eliminate coffee from your daily diet.  Moving slowly will help you change your behavior in incremental steps.

Reward Yourself
Just because your goal may be to lose weight does not mean that you can't reward yourself.  My reward daily was two or three Dove Dark Chocolate pieces.  Not alot of calories, but super rich tastes to curve that sweet tooth.  Oh and we did  still have pizza one day a week at our house. 

Check Your Progress
All told the most fun can be to reflect and look at how you did.  2007 was a great year for me and my family.  My wife and I made a game of our weight loss goal.  Both of us made changes in our behavior that over the course of the year rewarded her with over 20 pounds lost, and me over 19.   This achievement helped me attack other goals that before I couldn't accomplish.   I figured, If i can do this......  there is nothing that is going to stop me from doing this.....    

What will your this be in 2008?

Happy New Year.