"Is Freedom From Diabetes Around the Corner?" Scientists Finally Answer...

REVEALED: The Root Cause for Diabetes - And How To Slowly But Surely Trigger Your Body To Produce More Insulin! Get the Diabetes Miracle Breakthrough, lower your blood sugar levels, watch your units of insulin drop... and eventually be free from shots altogether.
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Important information on diabetes management and sugar control go to Diabetes and Sugar Management

Avandia Meeting Monday

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration will meet Monday to discuss Avandia a diabetes medication. They will also discuss the safety of Actos a diabetes drug, reported the USA Today.

They will hear from Steven Nissen of Cleveland Clinic whose study touched off a firestorm about the safety of the two drugs. The panel could recommend no change up to withdrawal of the drugs from the market. Glaxo-Kline continues to hold steadfast their drugs are safe.

Avandia Linked to Bone Fractures in Men

This from medtrackalert.com:


"A small clinical study suggests that the diabetes med Avandia may increase the risk of bone fractures in men as well as women. This analysis of 32 patients' data follows a 2006 study that suggested Avandia was linked to fractures in older female diabetics. Critics of the study say that the study group is too small and the data too old to be accurate. (The Times) UPDATED 2007-07-03"

Avandia Dangers Exposer Takes the Hit

This excerpt is from a report on the Weblo Do Fraga blog http://weblogdofraga.blogspot.com/2007/06/potentially-incompatible-goals-at-fda.html

A series of drug-safety scandals has led many on Capitol Hill to question whether the Food and Drug Administration has failed to strike the right balance between speed and safety. A clear sign of this imbalance, these critics say, is the increasing number of F.D.A. drug-safety officers who say they have been punished or ignored after uncovering dangers of popular medicines.
The latest to suffer this fate is Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang, 42, who recommended more than a year ago that the diabetes drug Avandia carry the agency's strongest possible safety warning for its effects on the heart.

Dr. Johann-Liang spent Friday sadly winding down her nearly seven-year career at the F.D.A. She turned in her BlackBerry, laptop and office key, and she went to the agency library to make sure she had no overdue books. She wished her colleagues well.
A pediatrician and expert in infectious diseases, Dr. Johann-Liang joined the agency in December 2000 and rose through the ranks. For four years, she reviewed drug applications as a medical officer and then team leader.
Two years ago she became a deputy division director in the agency's office of surveillance and epidemiology, the group that examines the safety of already-marketed drugs.

In February 2006, one of her safety reviewers, Lanh Green, went to her with a problem. The agency's Office of New Drugs had asked Ms. Green to determine whether eye problems that sometimes resulted from taking Avandia and a similar drug, Actos, were a serious issue. But Ms. Green noted that visual deficits were just one part of a drug-induced swelling problem that could lead to weight gain, ankle swelling and, if left untreated, heart failure.
Alerts about some of these problems were scattered throughout the two drug's labels. Ms. Green suggested consolidating them and highlighting the heart risks with a boxed warning, the agency's most severe. After a week long review, Dr. Johann-Liang agreed.
There's no doubt these problems are caused by these drugs, and there's no doubt that patients are continuing to suffer bad outcomes, Dr. Johann-Liang said.
A week later, top officials from the new drug office walked by Dr. Johann-Liang's office and into the office of her boss, Dr. Mark Avigan, she said. Nearly an hour later, she said, the door opened, the officials left and Dr. Avigan called her in.

"Mark told me that they were upset with our recommendation," Dr. Johann-Liang recalled. "They decided to act like the review never happened."
Dr. Avigan took over the supervision of the safety review of Avandia and Actos and told Dr. Johann-Liang that she could no longer approve strong safety recommendations without his say-so, she said. Over the next year, she was increasingly excluded from crucial safety reviews and meetings, which contributed to her decision to leave the agency on Friday, she said.
In an interview, Dr. Avigan said that he did not intend to punish Dr. Johann-Liang.
"My view was simply that when there were conversations going on about important safety issues that were likely to garner a lot of attention, that I needed to be in the loop," he said.
On Wednesday, the F.D.A. commissioner, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, announced that the agency had asked for boxed warnings on Avandia and Actos, more than a year after Dr. Johann-Liang's recommendation.

FDA Knew About Avandia Dangers 5 Years Ago

???

Public Citizen, (http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7523), a national non-profit public interest organization reported today that the US Government as far back as 2002, knew about the potential of Avandia to lead to heart failure.

Public Citizen was able to secure a FDA memorandum, (http://www.citizen.org/documents/AvandiaMemo.pdf), from Health and Human Services Team Leader and Drug Safety Evaluator, Lahn Green to David Orloff, Director of Metabolic and Endocrine Drug Products at HHS that warned of the connection between rosiglitazone, commonly known as Avandia(registered trademark) and congestive heart failure.

Yet we the public (victims?) are just finding out about the dangers of the drug today. In a war, the fatalities that one comes to expect is known as an, "acceptable risk". Apparently, the government was willing to wait five years and create an acceptable risk of death by not fully advising patients of the potential risks of Avandia. What other chemicals approved by the FDA are killing us today with their full knowledge and acquiescence. Is the profit and kickback motive that strong?

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Wonder Drug Avandia in Question

CBS, the Associated Press and other news sources reported today that Avandia the diabetes, "wonder drug", may not be so wonderful after all.

Although Glaxo Smith Kline, the developers opf Avandia, say the benefits outweigh the risk, the New England Journal of Medicine reports that people taking Avandia to help lower their blood sugars may face a 43% higher chance of heart problems, and a 64% higher chance of cardiovascular problems while taking the drug.

It is reported that last year the Avandia developer changed the medicine's label to reflect this higher risk. They are recommending that patients who take Avandia not stop taking the drug on their own because of possible uncontrolled rises in blood sugar. Such patients should confer with their doctors.

We agree with the advice that patients not cease taking Avandia. However, people have to begin to put pressure on their doctors to recommend natural treatments for diabetes and other chronic conditions. We simply are getting tired of revelation after revelation about these chemically manufactured "cures".
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Get the Diabetes Miracle Breakthrough, lower your blood sugar levels, watch your units of insulin drop... and eventually be free from shots altogether.Click Here!

"Is Freedom From Diabetes Around the Corner?" Scientists Finally Answer...

REVEALED: The Root Cause for Diabetes - And How To Slowly But Surely Trigger Your Body To Produce More Insulin! Get the Diabetes Miracle Breakthrough, lower your blood sugar levels, watch your units of insulin drop... and eventually be free from shots altogether.
Click Here!

Natural Ways To Treat Diabetes by: Gray Rollins

Diabetes is a disease caused when the body does not properly produce insulin. Seven percent of the population in the United States has diabetes. There are two types of the disease. Type one diabetes is where the body does not produce insulin and type two is where the body resists insulin. The majority of people diagnosed with this disease have type two. Symptoms of diabetes include extreme thirst, hazy vision, excessive hunger, weight fluctuation, fatigue and frequent urination. Diabetes is often controlled with insulin and prescription drugs, but diet and exercise play a large part in the ability to control the disease. There are also herbs that can help reduce the effects of diabetes.

Ensure a healthy diet by concentrating on foods such as vegetables, grains, fiber and legumes. These foods will help regulate sugar in the blood stream. Avoid junk food and foods that contain sugar such as cakes, cookies and other sweets. Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine should also be avoided to maintain a nourishing diet.
Exercise helps promote good health and combats against the negative effects of diabetes. It is important to exercise regularly and keep an appropriate weight. People who are inactive or overweight have a higher risk factor for diabetes and are prone to suffer from more side effects caused by the disease. It is especially important to exercise to build muscle. Starting a weight program will increase muscle mass which will increase sensitivity to insulin.

There are many herbal remedies recognized for their therapeutic properties of treating diabetes. They are commonly found in pharmacies and grocery stores and can be a great natural remedy. Prickly pear cactus has shown positive results in the treatment of this disease and was recently recognized by the International Diabetes Center as a viable natural remedy. Bitter Melon has been used for years in Asia, Africa and South America for treatment. Garlic will reduce sugar levels and is a healthy way to add flavor to food while benefiting from its curative traits. Other common herbs are ginseng, psyllium, fenugreek, bilberry, dandelion and burdock.

Vitamin supplements are frequently used to help treat diabetes with the most commonly recommended ones being vitamins B6, C and E. Also, zinc, selenium, alpha lipoic acid, chromium and vanadium are commonly used. Rather than take individual supplements, some patients opt for a multivitamin to add to their diet.

Diabetes is a disease that affects a large portion of the population. The risks associated with it are serious but can be controlled with lifestyle change. Ensuring a well balanced diet and good exercise routine will help in preventing side effects. Also, proper use of herbs, vitamins and natural remedies will help prevent the necessity for more traditional means of medication.

About The Author
Gray Rollins is a featured writer for MyDiabetesInfo. To learn more about Diabetes Treatment, visit http://www.mydiabetesinfo.com/diabetestreatment/ and http://www.mydiabetesinfo.com/naturalcurefordiabetes/

Gymnema Sylvestre Gum

Whether or not one has diabetes many people have a difficult time controlling their sugar cravings. Sugar, especially refined sugar can have a number of negative effects on the body. For those with diabetes sugar can be particularly damaging. A rare Indian herb known as Gymnema sylvestre gum may reduce sugar cravings in those with and without diabetes.
Known as gurmar in its native India, gymnema sylvestre is a tropical plant of the milkweed family. Its ancient Sanskrit name means "sugar destroyer." It is a totally natural substance that has been used for years
Gymnema leaves have been used for centuries in the traditional Indian system of Ayurvedic medicine. The term "destroyer of sugar" is traditionally used for Gymnema because chewing the leaves will abolish the taste of sweetness. After chewing gymnema sylvestre gum, sweet foods and drinks can’t be tasted because it temporarily blocks sweet receptors on the tongue. The effects of gymnema sylvestre last about thirty minutes. Participants in studies tended to consume fewer sweet-tasting foods and drinks after using gymnema sylvestre.

See http://www.squidoo.com/gymnemasylvestregum/ for more information