|
The sick reason why some remedies are kept from you...
3rd August 2007
Imagine this...
For years you've suffered severe rheumatoid arthritis, and nothing much has helped.
Then, on a routine visit to the doctor's, he tells you about a breakthrough new drug that might help you.
'This drug,' he tells you excitedly, 'has proven benefits. In fact, studies have shown it has a massive positive effect on sufferers, and that half of them respond well to this drug. So there's a really good chance this could help you!'
Then, with a theatrical swish, he pulls back a curtain to reveal row upon row of bottles of this wonderdrug.
Excitedly, you go to take a bottle off the shelf, only for your doctor to block your way, while government officials armed with clipboards and calculators burst through the door, clear all the bottles off the shelves, and slap a REJECTED sticker on your head.
'Sorry,' the doctor says with a helpless shrug, 'I'd love to prescribe you this drug. I think it could really help. But it's just too expensive.'
And with that you're shown the way out.
'Try moving less,' a government calls out, as the door slams shut in your face.
Sounds horrendous doesn't it? Like something from an Orwell novel (if Orwell had been a slightly overweight writer who liked doughnuts that is...)
But the shocking thing is, this little tale is a true one. Maybe you wouldn't have a 'rejected' sticker slapped on your head, but this ruling has actually happened!
Health or profits... heads or tails?Basically a powerful arthritis drug called Abatacept could be the answer to about 3,500 people's prayers.
That's the number of severe rheumatoid arthritis sufferers that could benefit from this drug.
But instead of making the drug available, the government have decided to block it.
Not on the grounds that it's too dangerous (oh no... those sorts of drugs seem to get past with flying colours)...
No, the ONLY reason that Abatacept has been ruled out by the NHS is that it'll cost too much.
Hmmm... that might be a valid reason for a healthy accountant, but try explaining that to a bewildered arthritis sufferer... someone who's in constant pain.
Now, I know it's unlike me to stick up for a prescription drug, but this sad story just highlights how profits have become the goal for mainstream medicine.
Your health, it seems, is just a secondary consideration.
That's why sources of information like The Good Life Letter are so important.
After all, I can't imagine a fruit or a herb being denied you because it's too expensive, can you?
|
So, if the mainstream can't, or won't, help, here are some tips from past issues that you might want to look into...
Could this ancient therapy, used by Hippocrates, cure chronic back and joint pain for good? As some of you already know, my Rugby injury is something that's been with me for years.
Luckily, it doesn't affect me that much on a day to day basis.
I just grin and bear it, like so many people who suffer from aches and pains.
But there's a little-known treatment that, according to reports, can end the pain of strained muscles, back pain, and even acute joint problems.
It's called prolotherapy... a cutting-edge treatment that encourages the body to heal and repair itself.
Hippocrates - the original GP - would treat soldiers with dislocated and torn shoulder joints by sticking a hot iron on the injury to stimulate new tissue growth.
Ouch.
Luckily, the treatment has moved on a little since then...
Why causing more injury with nasty chemicals can help you get betterNowadays, the injured area is injected with a controlled mixture of chemicals, maybe three or four times, until the treatment starts to take affect.
'Hold up there... did you say chemicals?'
Yes I did, and as I've already said, I'm usually dead against the use of chemicals.
But this therapy has got me interested.
You see, rather than pretend that these man-made chemicals are doing you good, they are harming you on purpose!
The chemicals are used to cause 'micro-traumas' to the ligaments, so that your body's natural healing processes are triggered.
Clever eh?
First, millions of little white cells swarm over the evil chemicals and clean them up, then another gang of cells (called fibroblasts) start to construct new tissue and repair the ligaments... all 100% naturally!
Apparently prolotherapy is successful 80% of the time... and offers a much better chance of a lasting cure than other alternatives such as physiotherapy.
Okay, it involves injections, and it involves chemicals... two things I'd usually rant about till I was blue in the face.
But this treatment seems to be harnessing the nasty elements in chemicals in a most ingenious way.
Suffer from arthritis? This tree may be able to help you...Indian Frankincense (or Boswellia) comes from the serreta tree found in India, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
The tree produces a gummy resin that local medical practitioners use to treat joint pain and inflammation... but as per usual it's taking the West a couple of thousand years to catch up!
Now, men in white coats have conducted dozens of tests to confirm what the Indian healers knew all along - that Boswellia is a potent anti-inflammatory that treats joint stiffness, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and lower back pain.
And of course, this being a natural remedy, there are no nasty side effects.
So it looks like a winner. But of course, as with any remedy, check it through with your doctor first.
Okay. That's it for today.
Have a smashing weekend, enjoy yourself, and I'll be back again in no time.
In fact, I'll be back on Sunday, with one of the most personal letters I've ever written to you...
So don't miss it!
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
|
|
|
|
