Day 285- Yasmin (Yaz) has double the risk of blood clots than any other birth control on the market

I have voiced my opinion on birth control in the blog, "Birth control- not the "magic pill" you though." But for those that you are new to Pura Vida Nutrition or maybe missed that day, I'm completely against it.

A recent story in the NPR health blog, Shots, talks about the controversy on the birth control, manufactured by Bayer called Yasmin or Yaz. Go figure!

The difference that Yaz has than other birth control pills on the market is that it contains a hormone called drospirenone. Drospirenone has been shown to increase sodium levels in the body which can cause damage to the liver or kidneys as well as some cardiovascular issues. Even with the studies that were presented such as a "835,000- women study commissioned by the FDA; that found about a two-fold increase in blood clots for Bayer's pills compared to competitor's products," and multiple testimonials from people that have suffered life-threatening blood clots or even death, still 15 out of the 26 FDA expert advisors voted that the benefits of these birth control pills outweigh the risk of dangerous blood clots.

A write up of Yaz in a drug recall website states:

"Yaz (drospirenone) is a birth control pill that completely prevents ovulation. It changes the cervical lining, which makes it difficult for sperm to reach the uterus, and therefore, reach a fertilized egg. In cases where Yaz is not used for birth control, women take it to treat their symptoms of PMDD, such as anxiety, fatigue, cramps, and mood changes. Serious side effects of Yaz include breast lumps, depression, chest pains, sweating, migraines, and sudden numbness. Less serious side effects such as breast tenderness, vaginal itching, weight gain, and changes in menstrual cycles are all common when taking Yaz. Yaz contains a new type of hormone, known as drospirenone which raises potassium levels. Dangerously high levels of potassium can cause numerous health issues such as heart attack, heart arrhythmias, deep vein thrombosis, blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks.

In 2008, a series of television commercials entitled "Not Gonna Take It" and "Balloons" prompted the FDA to write a warning letter to Bayer for overstating the approved uses of Yaz while failing to address the risks of the drug. The commercials stated "we all know that birth control pills are 99% effective and can give you shorter, lighter periods. But did you know there's a pill that could do more?" Bayer was required to create new commercials which clarified the drug's risk and approved uses.

In 2009, Bayer was cited once again for sending low-quality batches of drosperinone to doctors and pharmacies. Bayer justified the shipments by explaining that they monitor the "average" quality of all shipments, not the quality of each individual batch.

Women throughout the country have suffered numerous adverse effects from taking Yaz. Many lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, stating that they overstated the benefits of Yaz."

Yaz has managed to become the top selling birth control pill in the United States, due to the marketing campaigns that not only promote Yaz as a way to prevent pregnancy, but also as a quality of life treatment; improving depression and acne.

Even if Bayer was to strengthen the warning statement on their birth control, who knows if that would even work to make people take a second look. It seems as if people feel that less acne outweighs the possible risk of fatal blood clots.

To read more of the article on Bayer's birth control in NPR's Shot blog, click here.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 282- 4 out of 10 People in Mississippi are Obese

Although Americans are healthier than they were 20 years ago, obesity and diabetes is taking over; especially in the South. Fried chicken and other fried foods are a staple for many. When money is tight food choices will usually go to what is the cheapest, regardless if it is the healthiest choice or not.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 195- Article in NPR Shots: How to Find out if your doctor and drugmakers are in a relationship

I found a great article today in NPR health blog, shots showing a website that allows you to look up how much money your doctor receives from pharmaceutical companies. Read the article below written by Scott Hensley called, "How to find out if your doctor and drugmakers are in a relationship."

"The nonprofit investigative journalism outfit ProPublica has a tool you can use to see how much money your doctor has received from drug companies. ProPublica is kind enough to share it for all to use, so I've embedded it in this post. Have at it.

ProPublica has just poured fresh figures into its Dollars for Docs database behind the tool, so you can get a better snapshot than ever before of how much money your doctor has taken drugmakers that publicly disclose the payments. A dozen companies do that now.

Starting next year, every company will have to keep track of payments and gifts to doctors worth more than $10 and report them to the federal government, thanks to a provision in the sweeping health overhaul law enacted last year. In early 2013, the information will be made publicly available on the Web.

In the meantime, ProPublica reports that eight drugmakers paid doctors more than $220 million to give promotional talks about various medicines last year. All told, a dozen companies have paid more than $760 million to doctors and other health professionals for speaking, consulting and other services between 2009 and the second quarter of 2011, according to ProPublica's analysis.

In an editorial, ProPublica reporters Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein write:

As it stands, doctors don't have to tell you if they're working with the makers of the products they're prescribing you. They don't have to tell you whether they own stock in those companies or do research on their behalf.

Financial interests have the potential to influence what your doctor decides to do or prescribe for you. While the database ProPublica put together won't answer every question you might have, it's a fine place to start."

This sounds like a great idea to me! I think that this will shock and disgust people to see how much doctors are receiving to prescribe drugs from pharmaceutical companies. I can't wait until 2013 when this will all be mandatory public knowledge.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 181- Run Off Your Beer Belly

An article published recently on NPR health blog, Shots, highlighted a study performed by researchers at Duke University. The researchers conducted a study that showed that aerobic exercise was more beneficial at eliminating visceral belly fat than was strength training.

Here is the article written by Nancy Shute, for NPR Shots. Jogging Fights Beer Belly Fat Better Than Weights:

Weight training is touted as the cure for many ills. But if the goal is to lose belly fat, aerobic exercise is the only way to go, exercise scientists say.

We're not talking about muffin tops, the annoying bit of pudge that rolls over a woman's waistline and is featured in those strange Internet ads. Rather, this is gut fat lodged around internal organs, which could look like a beer belly from the outisde. It's considered a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Surprisingly little research has been done comparing the health benefits of strength training with weights to aerobic exercise such as walking. But that's just what researchers at Duke University did.

They compared changes in visceral fat– the fat that wraps around internal organs – in people who did strength training compared to a group who did aerobic exercise. They divided 198 overweight, sedentary adults into groups, with one group working out with weights three times a week for eight months. A second group jogged 12 miles a week.

The aerobic exercisers lost significant amounts of visceral fat, as well as fat around the liver. They also lost abdominal fat overall, and had improvements in liver enzymes and insulin resistance. By contrast, the people who were pumping iron lost a wee bit of subcutaneous fat, but their stats otherwise didn't improve. The aerobic training burned 67 percent more calories than resistance training. The results were published in the American Journal of Physiology.

"Resistance training is a very good way to increase lean muscle," Cris Slentz, an exercise physiologist at Duke who led the study, told Shots. "And aerobic exercise isn't." But if the goal is to lose fat, then aerobic exercise is the ticket, he said.

There's no easy way to know how much visceral fat a person has; the researchers had to put people in CT scans to measure it. But one good clue is a beer belly. And men tend to carry more visceral fat than women, Slentz says, while white people tend to have more visceral fat than African Americans. And older people tend to internalize fat, while younger people carry fat right beneath their dewy skin.

If you enjoy beer as much as I do, make sure that you make time to lace up your tennis shoes and get out there for a regular jog or cardio session.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP