Common Prescription Drugs Shown to Work Only 14% of Time

Common Prescription Drugs Shown to Work Only 14% of Time

Americans now spend over $250 billion a year on prescription drugs- more than do all the people in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom combined!

Studies show that drugs as a whole, work for as few as 25% of those who take them. And our growing reliance on these ever more expensive “me too drugs” is creating huge profits for drug companies while ordinary Americans are struggling to pay their health insurance premiums. Between 1998 and 2002, the FDA approved 415 new drugs.

Only 14% of these newly approved drugs were actually uniquely different or innovative in their design.

The other 86% were old drug formulas masquerading as new innovative therapies. 

For example, there are six cholesterol-lowering statins on the market right now, five SSRI anti-depressant drugs, and at least nine ACE inhibitors to treat high blood pressure.

The Medicare prescription drug benefit only made matters worse for health care consumers.

The plan prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices, even though those prices continue to rise much faster than inflation.

Representative Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican and former chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (which oversees the drug industry) co- sponsored the drug bill, was rewarded with a high-paying job as chief executive of the pharmaceutical industry's trade association. Go figure.

Notice the cost and profit margin for the following drugs and see some of the over the counter bargains that often work as well.

Celebrex:  100 mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $130

Cost of general active ingredients: $ 0 .60

Percent markup: 21,712%

Over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS like Advil cost $15 for 200, 200mg capsules- a prescription strength dose would be 800mg up to 3 times a day. A bargain.

Claritin: 10mg

Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215  

Cost of general active ingredients: $0 .71

Percent markup: 30,306%

The over the counter antihistamine Zyrtec sells for $14 a month.

Sinupret® by Bionorica, has been the #1 most widely recommended, scientifically tested nasal and sinus support formula in Germany for children for more than 70 years and retails for less than $25.

I recommend Sinupret to my patients with seasonal allergies and it works like a charm.

Lipitor: 20mg

Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272

Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80

Percent markup: 4,696%

Zocor: 40mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $350. 27

Cost of general active ingredients: $8.  63

Percent markup: 4,059%

The natural over the counter lipid lowering herbal, gugulipid, 

reduces total cholesterol by 24%, triglycerides by 23%, and raises HDL by 16 percent.

A month supply of gugulipid costs around $25.

I recommend gugulipid for my patients extremely elevated cholesterol levels.

Paxil: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $220

Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60

Percent markup: 2,898%

Prozac: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $247

Cost of general active ingredients: $0 .11

Percent markup: 224,973%

Zoloft: 50mg

Consumer price: $206

Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75

Percent markup: 11,821%

There are over 100 peer-reviewed studies showing that S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) is a safe and effective antidepressant. It increases the action of several neurotransmitters including serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

A review of 23 randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involving 1,757 people with mild to moderate depression shows that the herb St. John’s Wort is as effective as prescription antidepressants.

And studies comparing the over the counter, amino acid 5HTP, to SSRI’s  and older antidepressants have consistently shown that 5HTP is as good, if not better, than the prescription antidepressant drugs.

Prevacid: 30mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $44

Cost of general active ingredients: $1 .01

Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec: 20mg

Consumer price (100 tablets): $360

Cost of general active ingredients $0 .52

Percent markup: 69,417%

Over the counter Zantac costs $14 a month.

Even better, consider using natural over the counter digestive enzymes $15-$26 a month.

But drugs have to be expensive, right? All that money is needed for

research and development. Right?

Don’t believe it! Only about 14% of Fortune 500 drug-company

revenues are applied toward research and development, while over 30% is devoted toward marketing.

Truth health doesn't come from a drug. No one has a drug deficiency.

If your a health care bargain shopper drug therapy is best avoided when possible.

RDA-Recommended Disease Allowance

Many so-called experts will tell you not to worry about taking vitamins if you are eating a balanced diet. Unfortunately, dieting alone can’t provide enough essential vitamins and minerals to promote optimal health. For instance, you would need to consume 5,000 calories per day (mostly fat) in order to get the recommend minimum (400 IU) of vitamin E, and 12,000 calories per day to get the minimum amount of chromium. Most of our foods are processed and, therefore, the nutrients have been leeched out of them. Could this be one of the reasons pre-senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have increased so dramatically over the last few decades?

Thousands of studies validate the benefits of taking a multivitamin/mineral formula on a daily basis. These studies have been reported in medical journals, popular newspapers and magazines. A good multivitamin/mineral formula offers a broad range of health benefits. Taking a daily multivitamin/mineral formula reduces the incidence of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, glaucoma, depression, macular degeneration, diabetes, senile dementia, and various cancers. 

A Few Vitamin Facts

1. Multivitamin Use Is Associated With Lowering A Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine states that an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, C-reactive protein (CRP), can be reduced by the intake of a multivitamin. An elevated CRP level found in one’s blood serum is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Source: American Journal of Medicine, Volume 115, Issue 9

2. Daily Multivitamin Use May Bring Significant Savings To Older Americans. According to a this study, the daily use of a multivitamin by older adults could bring about more than $1.6 billion in Medicare savings over the next five years.

3. Slash Cancer Odds. Taking 200 micrograms of selenium daily for four and a half years cut cancer rate 42 percent and cancer deaths in half in a group of 1300 individuals. The incidence of colorectal cancer dropped 64 percent and prostate cancer an amazing 69 percent!  University of Arizona Study.

4. Prevent Alzheimer’s. Not a single elderly person who took separate doses of vitamin E (200-800 IU) or vitamin C (500-1000 mg) developed Alzheimer’s disease during a four-year double blind study. Chicago’s Rush Institute for Healthy Aging. 

5. Boost Immune System. Taking 200 IU of natural vitamin E daily boosted immune functioning in older people. A supplement with only 60 mg of vitamin E daily did not improve immune functioning. Obviously, superior immune functioning lessens infections, possibly cancer and heart disease. Tufts University Study 

6. Stop Heart Attacks. A daily dose of 400-800 IU of natural vitamin E cut subsequent heart attacks in men with heart problems by an astonishing 77 percent. Cambridge University, England. 

7. Stop Strokes. High doses of B vitamins decreased the amount of plaque in carotid (neck) arteries by 10 percent during a four-year study. Blocked carotid arteries can cause strokes. Plaque increased by 50 percent in non-vitamin B takers. University of Toronto. 

8. Prevent Fractures. Taking 500 mg of calcium and 700 IU of vitamin D daily for three years significantly cut the rate of bone loss and non-vertebral fractures in men and women older than age 65. Tufts University Study. 

9. Save Vision. Women taking vitamin C supplements cut their risk of cataracts by 77 per cent. Tufts University and the National Institutes of Health. 

10. Prolong Life. Taking vitamin E and vitamin C (in higher doses than in a multivitamin) cut chances of death from all causes by 42 percent. Vitamin E users were 47 percent less apt to die of heart disease and 59 percent less likely to die of cancer. National Institute on Aging.

11. Help Decrease The Risk Of Stroke. According to researchers from Harvard, the long-term dietary intake of folate and vitamin B12 may help decrease the risk of ischemic stroke. Source: Stroke, Volume 35, 2004

12. Vitamin C Deficiency May Be Linked To Respiratory Disorders. In a two-year study, researchers found that vitamin C may prevent symptoms linked to airway diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 101, Number 10, 2004

Almost as unacceptable as not recommending vitamin and mineral supplements is the recommendation of them based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA is the measured amount or dosage of nutrient per vitamin and minerals recommend. The RDA or as I call it the Recommended DiseaseAallowance,  may keep you from getting Scurvy, but it certainly won’t stand- up to the many chronic diseases that continue to plague modern man.

The U.S. federal government sets these levels based on the “average adult.”  The “average person plan” assumes that you are an adult under 60 years old who is in good health, has normal digestion, isn’t overweight, leads a relatively stress-free life, has no medical problems, doesn’t take any medication, eats a balanced diet, and consumes 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Needless to say, most of us don’t fit into the definition of the average person defined by RDA. In fact, most adult women don’t meet the RDA for zinc, Vitamin B, calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin E.  Likewise, most adult men don’t meet the RDA for zinc and magnesium. Fewer than 29% of people eat 5 fresh fruits and vegetables a day. Furthermore, 20% of the U.S. population doesn’t eat ANY fruits or vegetables at all! 

The recommended daily allowance is some fifty years out of date. It was never intended to advance health, only to prevent malnutrition diseases like scurvy or rickets. Taking the minimum amount of a nutrient to prevent gross deficiency diseases doesn’t help those people who want to be truly healthy and not just be free of symptoms. 

The RDA is inadequate if your goal is for prevention and or treatment of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, depression, senility, diabetes, arthritis and other age related disorders. For optimal health and well-being, many health practitioners are recommending many times higher than the RDA on certain nutrients. It’s no secret, for the majority of the U.S. population the diet is poorly lacking in essential nutrients. Additionally, nearly all Americans are deficient even in the minimal RDA requirements, and are therefore exposed to premature death.

Taking an optimal daily allowance multivitamin/mineral formula is the best way to ensure you obtain and maintain optimal health.