Dr. Mercola July 10 2004 2,187 views
Despite warning signs against the overuse of beta-agonist drugs, physicians continue to prescribe them.
Speculations have been raised over pharmaceutical companies that make beta-agonists and support their use, which could be compromising the health of the 16 million Americans battling asthma. One study revealed that people who used beta-agonists were in a higher risk bracket for asthma attacks than the people who didn't take the drug.
Another study showed that using beta-agonists increased the likelihood of cardiac problems such as heart attacks over the people who took a placebo.
Researchers explained that beta-agonists work in the lungs by easing the muscles surrounding the airways that begin to narrow in the event of an asthma flair-up. Researchers also stated that short-term use of beta-agonists helped decrease asthma symptoms brought on by asthma episodes, however overuse of these drugs were found to lead to a resistance for the drugs, which rendered them a weak alternative in emergency situations.
Studies That Neglected to Include Negative Findings on Beta-Agonists
Studies funded by pharmaceutical companies left out "poor quality studies."
Researchers claimed that these studies didn't involve a placebo-control group, therefore shouldn't be considered as conclusive findings regarding the use of beta-agonists.
Beta-agonist use among patients with both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were at higher risk of experiencing heart attacks than those taking a placebo.
Annals of Internal Medicine May 18, 2004;140(10):802-13
Once again some more disturbing evidence that the pharmaceutical companies are covering up negative findings concerning these drugs because of their ulterior interests--profits. You can avoid becoming part of their ploy by taking control of your health and implementing much safer and healthier alternatives to taking these drugs.
If you suffer from asthma there are some very simple changes you could make that will profoundly improve your ability to breathe.
Here are my recommendations:
Following the nutrition plan is one of the first steps--avoiding sugar, fruit juices, most grains and pasteurized dairy products is nearly always helpful.
Replacing commercial milk with raw milk from grass-fed cows is also usually well tolerated and highly health promoting.
Making certain that enough long-chain omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA) from fish oils are included in your diet is also helpful. I find Carlson fish oil and cod liver oil to be one of the most superior brands available as it conforms to the strictest guidelines for purity and freshness. It is available in most health food stores, and Carlson fish oil and cod liver oil are also available in our online store.
For more severe and resistant cases of asthma, allergy skin testing can be appropriate. Traditional allergy treatments are one of medicine's safer and better approaches, however it has great room for improvement. My experience with conventional allergy testing, whether done through the blood (RAST) or skin is that only 20 percent to 30 percent of patients do exceptionally well with it. It is also highly inconvenient, as patients need to go to the doctor's office every week for months or years. It clearly does not work for the majority of patients.
For the past several years, I have been using a much improved version of this testing, which is taught by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, called Provocation Neutralization (PN). The success rate for this approach is in the 80 percent to 90 percent range and patients can receive their treatment at home.
The system is time consuming and expensive though. A course of PN treatment and testing can run about $1,000 to $2,000. However, this is less than many patients are already spending on one year's worth of allergy medicines, and it is a long-term solution that will, in most cases, provide a permanent treatment. There are also virtually no side effects with the treatment, unlike with conventional drugs.
It is important to remember that the allergy desensitization program is in addition to, not a replacement for, a comprehensive nutritional approach.
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