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How to End America’s Opioid Addiction

Prescription for Change — How to End America’s Opioid Addiction

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Story at-a-glance

More Americans now use prescription opioids than smoke cigarettes. Opiates such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl and morphine also kill more Americans than car crashes each year
In 2015, 27 million Americans used illegal drugs like heroin and/or misused prescription drugs. Addiction to opioids and heroin is costing the U.S. more than $193 billion each year
Native Americans and Caucasians have the highest rate of death from opioids; 8.4 and 7.9 per 100,000 people respectively. African Americans and Latinos have a death rate of 3.3 and 2.2 per 100,000

By Dr. Mercola

The MTV production “Prescription for Change” highlights the struggles of drug addiction and includes interviews with President Obama, in which he urges users to seek help, and discusses the need for more and better treatment programs, regardless of the user’s ability to pay.

The video also discusses the history of opioids that led to the current addiction epidemic. Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, lied to doctors and patients, convincing them that OxyContin — a narcotic pain killer — was safe and non-addictive when prescribed for pain.

Starting in 1996, Purdue unleashed more than 20,000 “educational programs” to encourage long-term use of opioids to control non-cancer pain,¹ even though there were no studies to support the use of opioids long-term in patients with non-fatal conditions.²

In the first year (1996) sales of Oxycontin reached $45 million. By 2000, that number had ballooned to $1.1 billion.³ Ten years later sales had tripled to $3.1 billion, gobbling up 30 percent of the market.⁴

Addiction Epidemic Was No Fluke

Misinformation and manipulation of scientific facts by drug makers have led to a drug crisis of truly astounding proportions, with more Americans now using prescription opioids than those who smoke cigarettes.⁵

In Alabama, which has the highest opioid prescription rate in the U.S., there are 143 prescriptions for every 100 people.⁶ Clearly doctors bear a significant responsibility for creating this situation.

Surgeons also need to reevaluate current practices of routinely sending surgical patients home with a powerful painkiller.⁷ In fact, many of today’s addicts became hooked after being prescribed a narcotic pain reliever following dental surgery or a relatively minor injury.

Heroin use more than doubled in 18- to 25-year-olds between 2002 and 2011,⁸ and this rise in heroin addiction was a direct result of prescription opioid addiction among young patients.

Crazy enough, just last year — in the midst of rallying cries to get a better handle on the burgeoning crisis — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of opioids in children as young as 11.⁹ I shudder to imagine what this might do to an entire generation of children!

Opioids Top the List of Potentially Lethal Drugs

In 2015, 27 million Americans used illegal drugs like heroin and/or misused prescription pain killers. Oxycontin and other opioid pain killers have been identified as the primary gateway drugs to heroin¹⁰ — something every person out there needs to be fully aware of.

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine,¹¹ while most opioid drug abusers obtain the drug from a friend or relative, (23 percent pay for them; 26 percent get them for free), individuals who are at greatest risk for drug abuse are just as likely to get them from their doctor.

Addiction to opioids and heroin is now costing the U.S. more than $193 billion each year. Opiates such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl and morphine
also kill more Americans than car crashes each year.¹²

As noted by Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “We know of no other medication routinely used for a nonfatal condition that kills patients so frequently.”¹³

He has also warned that “Patients given just a single course may become addicted for life.”¹⁴ Doctors and patients simply must become fully cognizant of this immense risk.

Studies Do Not Support Use of Opioids for Long-Term Use

According to Frieden, studies show that addiction affects about 26 percent of those using opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. Worse, 1 in 550 patients on opioid therapy dies from opioid-related causes within 2.5 years of their first prescription.

Most studies investigating long-term use of opioids have lasted a mere six weeks or less, and those that lasted longer have, by and large, found “consistently poor results.”

Several of them found that opioid use worsened pain over time and led to decreased functioning — an effect thought to be related to increased pain perception.

3 Factors That Make You More Prone to Opioid Addiction

Opioid painkillers work by interacting with receptors in your brain resulting in a decrease in the perception of pain — at least temporarily. As mentioned, over time they can result in increased pain perception, setting into motion a cycle where you need increasingly larger doses, making a lethal overdose more likely.

Oxycontin’s high rate of addiction is the result of a short half-life (the amount of time the drug stays in your system before you are left wanting more). Opioids also create a temporary feeling of euphoria, followed by dysphoria, that can easily lead to physical dependence and addiction.

However, why certain people become addicted while others don’t has remained a mystery. Researchers from the University of Derby set out to determine what might be influencing painkiller addiction by conducting an anonymous survey of people who had pain and had used painkillers in the last month.

The three predictors that identified those most at risk of developing painkiller dependence included those who:¹⁵

Used prescription painkillers more frequently
Have a prior history of substance abuse (often unrelated to pain relief)
Are less accepting of pain or less able to cope with pain

According to the authors “Based on these findings, a preliminary model is presented with three types of influence on the development of painkiller dependence: 1) pain leading to painkiller use, 2) risk factors for substance-related problems irrespective of pain and 3) psychological factors related to pain.”

From Prescriptions to Street Drugs

The transition from prescription opioids to street heroin is an easy one. Physical addiction to the drug drives behavior to seek more of the same drug.

When a prescription runs out, a physician refuses to renew, or the cost of the prescription becomes too high to manage, many addicts turn to heroin. Chemically, these drugs are very similar and they provide a similar kind of high.

Without additives, street heroin is as dangerous as Oxycontin, and just as addictive. However, when dealers cut the drug with other drugs, the result may be deadly. In just six days in August 2016, 174 overdoses of heroin were recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, the largest number of overdoses in one week on record.¹⁶

On average, the city records between 20 and 25 overdoses each week. This unprecedented number of overdoses was precipitated by heroin cut with carfentanil.¹⁷ Meant to deliver a stronger and more extended high, it resulted in greater overdoses and deaths. This is to be expected, when you consider the drug was originally developed as a tranquilizer for large animals, such as elephants.

Carfentanil is the strongest commercially prepared opioid. Dealers find it delivers a stronger and more addictive high. Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan told Channel 9 WCPO:¹⁸

“These people are intentionally putting in drugs they know can kill someone. The benefit for them is if the user survives it is such a powerful high for them, they tend to come back … If one or two people die, they could care less. They know the supply is so big right now that if you lose some customers, in their eyes there’s always more in line.”

Drug Addiction — a Crime or a Disease?

As noted in the video, drug addiction has long been treated as a crime. Views are now changing, and in his recent report on substance abuse, U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy stresses the importance of recognizing drug addiction as a disease.¹⁹ He recently told NPR:²⁰

“We now know from solid data that substance abuse disorders … affect the rich and the poor, all socioeconomic groups and ethnic groups. They affect people in urban areas and rural ones … For far too long people have thought about substance abuse disorders as a disease of choice, a character flaw or a moral failing.

We underestimated how exposure to addictive substances can lead to full blown addiction. Opioids are a good example. Now we understand that these disorders actually change the circuitry in your brain … That tells us that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain, and we need to treat it with the same urgency and compassion that we do with any other illness.“

While this is good news for addicts and their families, this change did not occur until the victims of addiction were primarily Caucasian. Prior to the opioid epidemic, most people were convinced heroin was a problem relegated primarily to communities of color, and heroin users were viewed as a criminal element.

In 2001, 45 percent of Americans supported tough drug laws where users were simply sent to jail, and most of the federal spending relating to drug abuse was spent on law enforcement. Today, Native Americans and Caucasians have the highest rate of death from opioids; 8.4 and 7.9 per 100,000 people respectively. African Americans, Latinos and Asians are far less affected by this epidemic, with 3.3, 2.2 and 0.7 per 100,000 dying from pain killers respectively.

This shifting demographic of users has led to a change in how people view drug addiction. In 2015, 67 percent of Americans said they support treatment over incarceration for drug addicts, and the 2017 federal budget now includes $14.3 billion for treatment, compared to $9.5 billion for drug law enforcement.

Ending the Epidemic

At present, only 1 in 10 drug addicts receive the help they need, and those who do get into treatment typically face long wait times. About one-third of those who need treatment cannot afford it, or don’t have insurance coverage. There’s still an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to turn this epidemic around, but part of the answer is to become an educated patient, and to never fill that opioid prescription in the first place.

The drug industry and prescribing doctors must also acknowledge their role and take responsibility for its resolution. As noted in the video:

“We need big pharma to be honest about the products they’re selling us. We need doctors to prescribe opiates only when they’re absolutely necessary. We need to think of addiction as a treatable medical condition so people can openly ask for help, like they would for any illness.

We need to improve treatment, so it’s scientific and long-term. We need to shift money away from incarceration and into expanding treatment, so everyone has access as soon as they need it. If you or a friend are struggling with drugs or alcohol, visit halfofus.com for ways to get help.”

Eliminate or radically reduce most grains and sugars from your diet

Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels and decrease insulin and leptin resistance, which is one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.

Take a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat

My personal favorite is krill oil. Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work, by manipulating prostaglandins.)

Optimize your production of vitamin D

Optimize your vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.

Medical cannabis

Medical marijuana has a long history as a natural analgesic. Its medicinal qualities are due to high amounts (up to 20 percent) of cannabidiol (CBD), medicinal terpenes and flavonoids. Varieties of cannabis exist that are very low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the psychoactive component of marijuana that makes you feel “stoned” — and high in medicinal CBD.

Medical marijuana is now legal in 28 states. You can learn more about the laws in your state on medicalmarijuana.procon.org.²¹

Kratom

Kratom (Mitragyna speciose) is another plant remedy that has become a popular opioid substitute.²² In August, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a notice saying it was planning to ban kratom, listing it as Schedule 1 controlled substance.

However, following massive outrage from kratom users who say opioids are their only alternative, the agency reversed its decision.²³

Kratom is likely safer than an opioid for someone in serious and chronic pain. However, it’s important to recognize that it is a psychoactive substance and should not be used carelessly. There’s very little research showing how to use it safely and effectively, and it may have a very different effect from one person to the next.

Also, while it may be useful for weaning people off opioids, kratom is in itself addictive. So, while it appears to be a far safer alternative to opioids, it’s still a powerful and potentially addictive substance. So please, do your own research before trying it.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

EFT is a drug-free approach for pain management of all kinds. EFT borrows from the principles of acupuncture in that it helps you balance out your subtle energy system. It helps resolve underlying, often subconscious, and negative emotions that may be exacerbating your physical pain.

By stimulating (tapping) well-established acupuncture points with your fingertips, you rebalance your energy system, which tends to dissipate pain.

Among volunteers who had never meditated before, those who attended four 20-minute classes to learn a meditation technique called focused attention (a form of mindfulness meditation), experienced significant pain relief — a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness.²⁴

K-Laser, Class 4 Laser Therapy

If you suffer pain from an injury, arthritis, or other inflammation-based pain, I’d strongly encourage you to try out K-Laser therapy. It can be an excellent choice for many painful conditions, including acute injuries. By addressing the underlying cause of the pain, you will no longer need to rely on painkillers

K-Laser is a class 4 infrared laser therapy treatment that helps reduce pain, reduce inflammation, and enhance tissue healing — both in hard and soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments or even bones. The infrared wavelengths used in the K-Laser allow for targeting specific areas of your body and can penetrate deeply into the body to reach areas such as your spine and hip.

Chiropractic

Many studies have confirmed that chiropractic management is much safer and less expensive than allopathic medical treatments, especially when used for pain such as low back pain.

Qualified chiropractic, osteopathic and naturopathic physicians are reliable, as they have received extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate healthcare training, which lasts between four to six years. These health experts have comprehensive training in musculoskeletal management.

Acupuncture

Research has discovered a “clear and robust” effect of acupuncture in the treatment of back, neck and shoulder pain, osteoarthritis and headaches.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy has been shown to be as good as surgery for painful conditions such as torn cartilage and arthritis.

Massage

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Pain Medicine included 60 high-quality and seven low-quality studies that looked into the use of massage for various types of pain, including muscle and bone pain, headaches, deep internal pain, fibromyalgia pain and spinal cord pain.²⁵

The review revealed that massage therapy relieves pain better than getting no treatment at all. When compared to other pain treatments like acupuncture and physical therapy, massage therapy still proved beneficial and had few side effects. In addition to relieving pain, massage therapy also improved anxiety and health-related quality of life.

Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is one of the most effective fat-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs. Higher doses are typically required and you may need 8 milligrams (mg) or more per day to achieve this benefit.

Ginger

This herb has potent anti-inflammatory activity and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.

Curcumin

In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 milligrams (mg) of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility. A past study also found that a turmeric extract composed of curcuminoids blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the overproduction of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.²⁶

Boswellia

Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients. This is one of my personal favorites as I have seen it work well with many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Bromelain

This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form but eating fresh pineapple, including some of the bromelain-rich stem, may also be helpful.

Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO)

This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a “joint lubricant” and an anti-inflammatory. I have used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mildly annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.

Evening Primrose, Black Currant and Borage Oils

These contain the essential fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is useful for treating arthritic pain.

Cayenne Cream

Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.

Methods such as yoga, Foundation Training, acupuncture, exercise, meditation, hot and cold packs and mind-body techniques can also result in astonishing pain relief without any drugs.

Grounding

Walking barefoot on the earth may also provide a certain measure of pain relief by combating inflammation

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Nutrients for Epilepsy

A ketogenic diet is good for Epilepsy as it is contains healthy brain food. The medicines that control seizures may interfere with the body’s ability to use certain nutrients including vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium, magnesium, manganese and folic acid. Vitamin B complex, Vit D and E and calcium, magnesium and potassium are important vitamins and minerals.

I recommend AgeLOC future serum for epilepsy dietary supplementation:

Use Distributorship ID #: USW9578356 when ordering as consumer or distributor (first time).

https://www.nuskin.com/content/nuskin/en_US/products/shop/shop_all/ageloc/01003883.html

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

The diagnosis of pyridoxine dependency should be suspected in every infant with convulsions in the first eighteen months of life. Certain clinical features may be indicative, including:

Seizures of unknown origin in a previously normal infant without an abnormal gestational or perinatal history.
A history of severe convulsive disorders, in both the family and the individual.
The occurrence of long-lasting focal or unilateral seizures, often with partial preservation of consciousness.
Irritability, restlessness, crying and vomiting preceding the actual seizure.*

If large amounts of B6 alone are given, the need for other B vitamins, particularly vitamin B2 and pantothenic acid, is so increased that harm can be done unless they too are supplied.

*Morello, Gaetano. (1996) “Treating Epilepsy Effectively,” American Journal of Natural Medicine (October), 14-20.

Calcium

Calcium is a very important mineral for the normal functioning of brain cells, and low levels of calcium can cause seizures. A deficiency of magnesium, a mineral that interacts with calcium, may cause low blood calcium and therefore seizures.*

*Ibid., 151a

Carnitine

Carnitine is not an amino acid in the strictest sense; it’s actually related to the B vitamins. But because it has a chemical structure similar to that of amino acids, it is usually grouped with them. It helps transport fatty acids into the mitochondria, part of the cell that contains enzymes responsible for the conversion of food into usable energy.

Carnitine deficiency is not uncommon in patients with epilepsy. Research has found carnitine levels to be lowest in patients taking sodium valproate (epilim), but levels may be low in those taking other anticonvulsants, too. This can be a cause of concern because more than one hundred people have died from valproate-induced hepatic (liver) failure.*

About 90% of total body carnitine is in muscle tissue, much higher than in the blood, so a normal blood carnitine level reading may be misleading. Symptoms of carnitine deficiency include listlessness, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), heart failure, and muscle weakness. People low in carnitine benefit from supplementation. Many nutritionalists believe that acetyl-carnitine has better brain penetration than L-carnitine and also enhances brain levels of acetylcholine.

*Konig, S., et al. (1994) “Severe Hepatoxity During Valproate Therapy: An Update and Report of Eight New Fatalities,” Epilepsia (35) 1005-1015.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important both in its own right and as helping the absorption of calcium. Anticonvulsant drugs interfere with vitamin D and calcium metabolism in some manner not well understood.*

Vitamin D is found in most oily fish and some animal products, especially in cheese and fortified milks. It is important to expose your child to sunlight (about half an hour daily) as it is an excellent source of vitamin D. In one study, supplementing the diet of twenty-three people with epilepsy with vitamin D resulted in a significant decrease in the number of seizures, indicating a possible theraputic effect.**

*Flodin, N. W. (1988) Pharmacology of Micronutrients. New York: Alan R. Liss.
** Christiansen, C. (1974) “Anticonvulsant Action of Vitamin D,” British Medical Journal (ii), 2589.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is important for oxygen flow round the body. In a double-blind trial, twenty-four children with epilepsy received vitamin E or a placebo. There was a significant reduction in the number of seizures in ten out of the twelve patients given vitamin E, compared to none of the twelve given a placebo.*

This study suggests that adjunctive treatment with vitamin E can be of value for people with difficult to treat epilepsy. At Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, a study conducted on children found that shortly after specific food allergies had been identified and the allergen(s) removed, migraine headaches and epilepsy disappeared in 78% out of 88% children.**

The exact mechanism is unknown, but vitamin E is non-toxic and should perhaps be considered for those whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by conventional treatment. Such therapy might also allow reduction in doses of anticonvulsant medications.

*Ogunmekan, A., and P. A. Hwang. (1989) “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of D-alpha-tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) as Add-On Therapy, for Epilepsy in Children,” Epilepsia (30) 84-89.Â
**Marshall, Fiona (1999) Epilepsy: The Natural Way. Boston: Element Books, 78.

Folic Acid

Folic acid deficiency appears to play a role in seizure activity, but there is conflicting information. While some anticonvulsants can deplete your body in folic acid, please be aware that folic acid supplementation may cause and increase seizure activity. You must ensure that you discuss any concerns you have on folic acid deficiency with a qualified health practitioner.

Magnesium

Magnesium deficiency can result in lowered immunity, improper muscle function, and impaired digestion. Without adequate magnesium, your nerves can become ragged and ultra sensitive to pain and production of new protein is impaired. Magnesium requires adequate amounts of vitamin B6 in order to be absorbed by the tissues. (Testing the blood for magnesium levels is not an accurate way to determine tissue and brain levels of magnesium). People with epilepsy have been shown to have significantly lower serum magnesium levels as compared to the general population, with seizure activity correlating with the level of hypomagnesemia. Magnesium has been shown, in uncontrolled trial studies, to be of benefit in the control of seizures. Carl Pfeiffer, M.D., found that a magnesium deficiency induces muscle tremors and convulsive seizures; he reported success in controlling the seizure activity of thirty patients with epilepsy using magnesium.*

30 children with epilepsy experiencing tonic-clonic or absence seizures were given 450mg of magnesium daily, and their anticonvulsant medications were discontinued. 29 reportedly showed significant improvements in seizure control. One 13 year old child who had a ten year history of uncontrollable seizures had shown signs of retardation. After receiving magnesium, his seizures stopped and his mental capacity improved.**

*Pfeiffer, Carl. Mental and Elemental Nutrients. New Canaan, CT: Keats, 278, 402-408.
*Barnet, L. B. (1959) Journal of Clinical Physiology (I), 25.

Selenium

Since selenium and vitamin E function synergistically, both must be taken to correct a deficiency in either. Because studies have shown that people with epilepsy have low levels of selenium, supplementation with selenium and vitamin E results in fewer seizures. Selenium is an excellent antioxidant. One study found that patients with epilepsy had significantly lower selenium levels than any other group except those with cancer.*

* Smith, Op. Cit.

Taurine

This is an amino acid that helps inhibit neuronal activity and some people with epilepsy are found to be deficient in this. Dr. Atkins also says some patients have discontinued seizure medication while using taurine.*

*Atkins, Robert C. (1998) Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature’s Answers to Drugs. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Zinc

Zinc plays an important role in blood sugar balance, protein synthesis, brain function, and the immune system, as well as other aspects of health. Children with epilepsy have been found to have significantly lower levels of serum zinc, especially those with West or Lennox-Gastault syndrome. More important, it appears that people with epilepsy may have elevated copper-to-zinc ratio. Seizures may be triggered when zinc levels fall, as in the absence of adequate taurine.* Although the exact role of zinc, or the copper-to-zinc ratio, is not clearly understood, it appears that anticonvulsants may cause zinc deficiency, either by reducing zinc absorption in the intestines or by causing diarrhoea. Therefore, zinc supplementation may be warranted.

* Barbeau, A., and J. Donaldson. (1974) “Zinc, Taurine, and Epilepsy,” Archives of Neurology (30) 52-58.

Excitotoxins

The following two categories are not vitamins or minerals but we have decided to include them in this section as we felt they fell under the area of nutrition, of sorts!

Aspartame , an excitotoxin

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, found in enormous amounts of sugar free products. Please be aware that Aspartame can trigger seizures in some children, due to the fact that it excites the brain cells. Each time I gave Daisy something with this product in she would seize within half an hour of eating/drinking it. So just be aware and please be very careful. Even people who don’t have seizure disorders have had seizures after eating foods containing aspartame. More than six hundred commercial airline pilots have reported symptoms, including some reports of tonic-clonic seizures in the cockpit, after eating food containing aspartame.*

*Gold, Mark. (1995) “The Bitter Truth About Artificial Sweeteners,” Nexus (December-January), 71-75.

Monosodium Glutamate , an excitotoxin

There’s a class of chemicals used as food additives that neuroscientists have dubbed excitotoxins, so named because they over stimulate neurons in the brain. This poses a distinct danger, especially to people with epilepsy. The most common excitotoxins are glutamate, found in monosodium glutamate (MSG), and aspartate, found in aspartame products. When the amount of glutamate and aspartate rises above certain levels, too many neurons get excited and fire. Without inhibitory transmitters to balance their firing, they fire and fire until they are damaged or die. This is especially worrisome because a child’s developing brain is four times more sensitive to excitoxins than an adult brain.*

*Olney, J. W. (1988) “Excitoxic Food Additives: Functional Teratological Aspects, ” Progressive Brain Research (18), 283-294.

Is Pot Linked to Blood Pressure Deaths?

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By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

Latest High Blood Pressure News

THURSDAY, Aug. 10, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Marijuana use may triple your risk of dying from high blood pressure, a new study suggests.

A review of U.S. health survey data found that marijuana users were three times more likely to die from causes related to high blood pressure (hypertension), said lead researcher Barbara Yankey.

“Prolonged marijuana use may increase the risk of hypertension [high blood pressure] mortality,” she said. “It’s important that recreational use of marijuana is approached with caution, because we don’t have all the information.”

Yankey is a doctoral student with the Georgia State University School of Public Health in Atlanta.

However, a heart doctor said the study was flawed, mainly because it relied on survey data that failed to answer key questions about the possible link between pot and high blood pressure.

“If there’s any value in it [the study], it’s that it is thought-provoking,” said American Heart Association spokesman Dr. Willie Lawrence. He is an interventional cardiologist in Kansas City, Mo.

“It’s hard to believe they’ve added much to our understanding, other than to suggest there may be some increase in mortality and that mortality may be related to hypertension,” Lawrence said.

For the new study, the researchers tracked more than 1,200 participants in the 2005 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is part of an ongoing series of surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Participants were asked whether they had ever used marijuana. Those who answered yes were considered marijuana users. The researchers said they established how long the participants had been using marijuana by subtracting the age they first tried pot from their current age.

The researchers then referred to a 2011 federal database on deaths to see how many participants had died and why.

Marijuana users who had died in the intervening years were three times more likely to have a cause-of-death code indicating that high blood pressure had played a part in their demise, compared with nonusers, the investigators found.

However, the researchers found no association between marijuana use and death from either heart disease or stroke.

And they found no proof that marijuana caused deaths attributed to high blood pressure.

Yankey said the sample size of her study was too small to capture the associations between pot use and specific heart-related conditions such as stroke.

“We are saying the primary cause is hypertension, but hypertension is an underlying cause of many chronic diseases,” Yankey said.

Marijuana possibly could increase blood pressure due to its active ingredient, THC, which intoxicates people but also interacts with receptors in the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system, Yankey said.

Lawrence said that’s a plausible reason why marijuana might affect blood pressure. But he added that this study has too many problems to effectively prove an association.

The study relied on people’s self-reporting of marijuana use, at a time when only a handful of states had legalized medical marijuana and none had approved recreational use, Lawrence said.

This self-reporting did not include any information about the amount of marijuana people used, or how long they had used it, Lawrence said.

“Everything in life is dose-dependent and duration-dependent, and those kind of questions are not answered in a study like this,” Lawrence pointed out.

There’s also no way to tell whether a person had been using other drugs that could affect their blood pressure, or whether their pot was laced with another substance, Lawrence added.

“It could be these elevations in blood pressure are a manifestation of marijuana being laced with other things that are more cardio-stimulating,” Lawrence said. “There are so many unknowns.”

Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, an advocacy group calling for the reform of marijuana laws, said it has been established that cannabis can influence blood pressure. Therefore, he said, “it is reasonable to advise that certain potential high-risk populations may wish to refrain from cannabis inhalation because of these concerns.”

However, Armentano noted that other studies have found no link between marijuana use and heart-related diseases.

“Based upon the findings of prior studies, the [new study] authors’ interpretation with regard to the degree of this risk potential appears to be sensational, and the methods used in this particular study appear to be highly questionable,” Armentano said.

The study was published Aug. 9 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

SOURCES: Barbara Yankey, doctoral student, Georgia State University School of Public Health, Atlanta; Willie Lawrence, M.D., interventional cardiologist, Kansas City, Mo; Paul Armentano, deputy director, NORML; Aug. 9, 2017, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology

Former GOP senator calls for Trump’s removal

3 step daily skin cleaning

1. Clean your skin. Choose your skin cleanser based on whether your skin is dry or oily. If you have dry skin, choose a mild cleaning agent (such as Dove, Cetaphil, or Aveeno soaps or cleansers) and avoid products such as toners, which contain alcohol. For oily skin, choose a soap that removes the oil and clean your skin more frequently throughout the day.

I use wash water with apple cider vinegar or pinch of Vitamin C powder, left over tea bags and lemon.

2. Protect your skin from the sun. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and wear it every day. Higher SPFs are useful if you plan to spend hours outdoors, but if you spend most of your time indoors, SPF 30 is generally sufficient. If you have sensitive skin, choose a sunscreen product designed for sensitive skin.

I use sunblock SPF 30.

3. Treat your skin’s particular needs. For dry skin, there are plenty of effective and inexpensive moisturizers from health food stores or you can also DIY.

I moisturize with Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and coconut.

For face mask, I mix honey, coconut oil and baking soda.

Foods that kill germs

Raw Honey

Honey is one of the first natural anti-microbial medicines to be used. It contains live enzymes that release hydrogen peroxide, which is known to kill germs and unwanted foreign elements that enter our body. Start your day with a teaspoon of honey and warm water.

_{Start your day with honey and warm water.}

2. Garlic

Garlic is a powerful anti-bacterial that can fight yeast infections, fungus and candida overgrowth. It may taste repulsive but a traditional remedy to maintain health and protect yourself from diseases is to have raw garlic on an empty stomach. Garliccontains a natural protective compound called allicin and other volatile oils, which are released on chewing and crushing it.

_{Chewing raw garlic is considered to be good for your health. Photo Credit: Istock}

3. Turmeric

This super spice from granny’s treasure trove has become the talk of the town owing to its medicinal properties. Turmeric has always been known as a great antiseptic used to heal wounds and cuts, but it is also a wonderful anti-bacterial that keeps your internal systems clean. Drinking a glass of turmeric milk (haldi doodh) every day is one of the best ways to bolster your immunity.

_{Drinking a glass of turmeric milk daily is the best way to build your immunity.}

4. Coconut Oil

The anti-bacterial properties of coconut oil come from the presence of medium chain fatty acids or triglycerides (MCTs) found in it. The two most potent medium chain triglycerides found in coconut oil are lauric acid and caprylic acid. Research has shown that it can inactivate several types of bacteria, fungi, yeast and viruses. It is a great remedy to fight skin infections.

_{Coconut oil is a great remedy for fighting skin infections. Photo Credit: Istock}

5. Lemon

The anti-bacterial and ant-fungal properties of lemon enable it to fight bacteria that cause acne. It is full of Vitamin C, which also acts as an antioxidant that fights disease-causing free radicals in the body. You must drink a glass of nimbu paani made with the juice of two lemons to get your daily dose of Vitamin C.

_{Lime water is a great way to get your daily dose of Vitamin C. Photo Credit: Istock.}

6. Pineapple

You may have not known about the health benefits of this sweet and juicy tropical fruit, but it acts as an amazing anti-bacterial that specially helps to fight invading cells in the mouth and throat. Fresh pineapple juice is known to cool the blood and reduce inflammation of the nose and the sinuses.

_{Fresh pineapple juice is known to cool the blood. Photo Credit: Istock}

7. Ginger

Ginger is an effective home remedy for throat infections. Sucking a piece of raw ginger and taking in all its juices is known to cure cough and kill the bacteria that has caused the infection. Ginger also contains a group of chemical compounds called sesquiterpene that are known to kill rhinoviruses, agents that cause cold.

_{Ginger is known to kill rhinoviruses, agents that cause cold.}

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