Vitamin B3 beats Big Pharma's Zetia cholesterol drug

[Shorty Harris]

(NaturalNews) The utter worthlessness of Big Pharma's cholesterol drugs was demonstrated recently by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine which showed that niacin (a low-cost B vitamin) out-performs Merck's drug Zetia for preventing the build-up of arterial plaque, a symptom of cardiovascular disease.

As the study reveals, Zetia failed miserably. Patients taking niacin showed a "significant shrinkage" in artery wall thickness, while those on Zetia showed no such improvement. At the same time, the rate of "cardiovascular events" in the niacin group was only one-fifth that in the Zetia group, demonstrating that niacin is far more effective at preventing heart attacks and other similar events than Zetia.

But curiously, as soon as niacin started to show a real benefit over Zetia, researchers cancelled the study. The premature ending of the clinical trial stopped the process by which even more useful information about the benefits of niacin might have been learned.

5,800% higher price than niacin
Merck, the maker of Zetia, was likely horrified to learn that a low-cost B vitamin out-performed its blockbuster drug. Sales of its Zetia drug are reportedly over $5 billion. It's no wonder: Zetia sells for as much as $3.89 per pill.

Niacin, on the other hand, costs as little as 6.7 cents per pill, even in a "no-flush" time-release formula from a quality source like the NSI brand from Vitacost: http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-No-Flus...

These price differences make Zetia 5,800% more expensive than niacin. And yet niacin works better.

So if niacin works better, and if modern medicine claims to be serving patients instead of profits, why don't doctors recommend B vitamins instead of expensive cholesterol drugs? As you have already guessed, the reason is because Zetia earns all kinds of ridiculous profits for Big Pharma and B vitamins don't.

The fact that doctors continue to prescribe Zetia, in fact, demonstrates how thoroughly our modern medical system has failed to recognize and embrace things that work to help patients rather than things that make the most money for powerful drug companies. If our modern system were actually based on what works, doctors would be prescribing various vitamins, minerals, herbs, superfoods and nutritional supplements (including anti-cancer mushroms).

But no... our system isn't based on what helps patients. It's based on what makes the most money, and so patients are put on dangerous (even deadly) pharmaceuticals that can cost 5,800% more than low-cost natural remedies that actually work better!

The big question: Does modern medicine help society at all?
It really makes you wonder: Beyond emergency treatments and critical care, does modern medicine offer any net benefit to society at all? More and more people are now coming to the conclusion that no, modern medicine harms far more people than it helps.

The key question to ask is this: What if our medical system disappeared tomorrow? Would we be better off or worse off?

The startling (but true) answer is that we would be better off. Without cancer screening, for example, breast cancer rates would plummet (because screening causes cancer). Without cholesterol drugs, blood pressure drugs, diabetes drugs and chemotherapy, people would live far longer, with less liver damage, kidney damage and brain damage.

In all, pharmaceuticals do not save lives. They destroy lives while making huge profits for drug companies. And yet much of western medicine is based on the administration of these dangerous, over-priced chemicals.

There's a fascinating book entitled What if Medicine Disappeared? by Gerald Markle and Frances McCrea. (http://www.amazon.com/What-Medicine...)

This book explains why modern medicine does far more harm than good. It doesn't explain, however, why doctors who think they're so smart continue to prescribe a patented medication that's 5,800% more expensive than a nutritional solution that works better.

<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/028473_Zetia_Vitamin_B3.html"> Linky </a>

[Shami-Amourae]

*Snickers*

You notice all that fluorine in the chemical formula?

[Serpo]

Here is a good example of why the medical system is not to be trusted, are only in it for the money,is corrupt,is EVIL,is a lot of other nasty things also.It makes me soooo mad. :boom

[PatColo]

Niacin, on the other hand, costs as little as 6.7 cents per pill, even in a "no-flush" time-release formula from a quality source like the NSI brand from Vitacost: http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-No-Flus...


Interesting he recommends a "time-release" vit B. I take a B-complex more days than not (when I think of it!), and there's a distinct, consistent outcome: Vitamin-B-pee. That urine a few hours after taking the pill, is a dark-yellow/orange/gold color, not the pale yellow of the typical urine. The B-pill itself is orange in color. This suggests that much/most of the vit-B is simply being excreted, as perhaps the B-payload is more than the body can absorb/use in a normal digestive cycle, thus it "goes to waste". Next time around I'll look for a time-release formula!

[DMac]

Vitamin's and their natural sources (http://www.essortment.com/all/vitaminssources_rfrh.htm)

Vitamin A and beta-carotene: Vitamin A aids in maintaining good vision, such as preventing night blindness and cataracts, as well as reducing the risk of heart attacks and some forms of cancer. Beta-carotene is a compound that makes up the red, orange and yellow pigments in plants that, when in the body, is converted into vitamin A. Excellent natural sources of vitamin A are raw carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, spinach, and cantaloupe.


Vitamin B1 - thiamine: Helps convert blood sugar to energy, forms red blood cells, maintains skeletal muscle. Sources are pork, sunflower seeds, whole grains, beans, seafood.

Folate: A B vitamin called folic acid, aids in metabolism and all of the body's biological reactions. It has recently been found to be especially important in pregnancy, as it aids in development of the fetus while preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida and incomplete brain formation. sources are beans, spinach and other leafy greens, wheat germ, oranges, and mushrooms.

Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin: Aids in production of body energy. The more active you are the more B2 you need. It also protects against cancer and anemia. Sources of B2 are milk, yogurt, chicken, leafy green vegetables, fruit and almonds.

Vitamin B3 - Niacin: Required for proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein, as well as production of digestive acid. It is also essential for healthy skin, proper blood circulation and the functioning of the central nervous system. Sources are chicken breast, canned tuna, Brewer's yeast, peanut butter, beans, and sunflower seeds.

Vitamin B5 - pantothenic acid: Vitamin B5 has been found to help fight depression, reduce stress, metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and aid in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Its presence is needed to produce healthy red blood cells, antibodies, cholesterol and Vitamin D. Sources are organ meats, fish, grains, egg, peanuts and peas.

Vitamin B6 - Pyroxidine: Often hailed as a wonder vitamin as it aids in the treatment of many disorders, such as: PMS, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, nervous disorders, hyperactivity, diabetes, kidney stones, asthma, skin problems, acne, schizophrenia, and maintains a strong immune system. Sources are bananas, chicken, baked potatoes, chick peas, fortified cereals, oats, and peanuts.

Vitamin B12: Increases energy, reduces stress, improves memory, and aids the digestive system and strengthens the immune system. Sources are fresh fish, dairy products, beef and pork, and eggs.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is known for fighting colds and cancer as well as enforcing strong teeth, healthy gums, and prevention of heart disease and cataracts. Sources of vitamin C are strawberries, melons, citrus fruit, broccoli, brussel sprouts, red peppers and cranberry juice.

Vitamin D: Builds and maintains strong bones and teeth as it aids in calcium absorption. It is also believed to aid in treatment of psoriasis, tuberculosis and cancers. Sources are the sun (5-10 minutes, 3 times per week), egg yolks, fatty fish, fortified milk, and liver.

Vitamin E - tocopherol: Protects cells from damage caused by destructive oxygen molecules (free radicals), aids in prevention of certain cancers, cataracts, and heart disease and improves the immune system. Sources are vegetable oil, mayonnaise, peants, whole grains, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes and yams.

Vitamin K: Vitamin K plays an important function in blood clotting, maintaining healthy bones as well as aiding in the healing of fractures. Sources are leafy green vegetables, fruits, beets, potatoes, eggs, seeds, dairy products, meats, and is also made by bacteria in stomach.

Vitamn P - bioflavinoids: Vitamin P is a group of bioflavinoids that includes hesperidin, citrin, rutin, quercetin, calechin, flavone, and flavonals. They protect the capellary lining which is made up of the tiniest blood vessels in the body, as well as aid in the absorption and processing of Vitamin C. Sources are fruits, as bioflavinoids are actually a group of colored substances that are found in fruit skin and the pulp of the fruit.

[lapis]

This is a pretty good article, but I want to clarify information on some of the nutrients:



Vitamin's and their natural sources (http://www.essortment.com/all/vitaminssources_rfrh.htm)

Vitamin A and beta-carotene: Vitamin A aids in maintaining good vision, such as preventing night blindness and cataracts, as well as reducing the risk of heart attacks and some forms of cancer. Beta-carotene is a compound that makes up the red, orange and yellow pigments in plants that, when in the body, is converted into vitamin A. Excellent natural sources of vitamin A are raw carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, spinach, and cantaloupe.


There are NO vegetable sources of vitamin A.

ONLY animal foods contain vitamin A; the body under optimal conditions and in optimal health, can convert limited amounts of carotenoids into vitamin A.

Good sources of vitamin A include: liver, cod liver oil, butter, and egg yolks.

See: "Vitamin A Saga"
http://trit.us/basicnutrition/vitaminasaga.html



Folate: A B vitamin called folic acid, aids in metabolism and all of the body's biological reactions. It has recently been found to be especially important in pregnancy, as it aids in development of the fetus while preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida and incomplete brain formation. sources are beans, spinach and other leafy greens, wheat germ, oranges, and mushrooms.

Those are sources, but like other mainstream articles on nutrition, this one leaves out one of the best sources of folic acid: liver.

3.5 oz. of chicken livers contain 770 mcgs of folate.

In charts that show the folate amounts in foods, like in the link below, liver is at the top, with vegetable foods trailing considerably behind in the amounts. Why then do most articles leave this nutrition powerhouse out?

"Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet" on folate:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5553.html


Vitamin K: Vitamin K plays an important function in blood clotting, maintaining healthy bones as well as aiding in the healing of fractures. Sources are leafy green vegetables, fruits, beets, potatoes, eggs, seeds, dairy products, meats, and is also made by bacteria in stomach.

There are mainly two forms of vitamin K: K1 and K2. The first one is in vegetables, the latter only in the fat and organs of grass-fed animals (although fermented veggies contain a similar, but not chemically identical, K2).

This is one of the most thorough articles on vitamin K2:

"On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved"
http://www.westonaprice.org/abcs-of-nutrition/175-x-factor-is-vitamin-k2.html

"Although both K vitamins were discovered and characterized over the course of the 1930s, two fundamental misunderstandings about these vitamins persisted for over sixty years: the medical and nutritional communities considered blood clotting to be their only role in the body, and considered vitamins K1 and K2 to simply be different forms of the same vitamin. The first vitamin K-dependent protein relating to skeletal metabolism was not discovered until 1978. It was not until 1997, nearly twenty years later, that the recognition that vitamin K was "not just for clotting anymore" broke out of the confines of the fundamental vitamin K research community.19

Since the amount of vitamin K1 in typical diets is ten times greater than that of vitamin K2,20 researchers have tended to dismiss the contribution of K2 to nutritional status as insignificant. Yet over the last few years, a growing body of research is demonstrating that these two substances are not simply different forms of the same vitamin, but are better seen as two different vitamins: whereas K1 is preferentially used by the liver to activate blood clotting proteins, K2 is preferentially used by the other tissues to place calcium where it belongs, in the bones and teeth, and keep it out of where it does not belong, in the soft tissues.21 Acknowledging this research, the United States Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with researchers from Tufts University, finally determined the vitamin K2 contents of foods in the U.S. diet for the first time in 2006.22"

[Hatha Sunahara]

I always wondered how our ancient ancestors managed to keep themselves healthy. I think they got all the vitamins they needed by eating whole foods. Nothing like sugar and white flour with all the nutrients stripped off.

Today we have food processors who remove the nutrients and sell them back to us as vitamins and minerals.


Hatha