F. Paul Wilson
[Continued from page 5]
PAUL: It's pretty well proven that, on average, people with high cholesterol don't live as long as people with low cholesterol. The treatment of choice (if diet and lifestyle changes don't cut it) is the statin class of drugs. If you read the patient information sheets on these you'll think your muscles are going to dissolve and your liver's going to self-immolate. The side effects scare a lot of patients away or into imagined side effects. Every little ache or bit of indigestion is due to the drug. So ... I've got a guy on lovastatin and he's got all these complaints, but the only change in his bloodwork is that his cholesterol is down to normal -- no sign of liver or muscle effects. He should stay on the med but he wants to go off it and try something "natural." I say, okay, try red yeast rice. He does. He comes back and he's feeling great and his cholesterol is down. Man, that natural stuff beats the prescription stuff every time. That's when I tell him that the active ingredient in red yeast rice is lovastatin. He's not having any problems because he doesn't expect any from something "natural." I don't point out that hemlock is natural too.
So the next question is, why don't I start patients off on red yeast rice instead of a lovastatin pill? Because the levels of active ingredients in these so-called natural cures aren't standardized. The amount of lovastatin per cap or teaspoon can vary wildly from brand to brand and even batch to batch within the same brand. Consumer Lab has done assays on a lot of these herbals and found anywhere from 125% to 0% of what was stated on the label (plus a lot of nifty extras like lead in ginkgo supplements). With the 20 mg tablet I'm pretty sure -- nothing's 100% -- that he's getting 20 mg per day. With Joe Blow's Super Duper Red Yeast Rice capsules, who knows? So the herbal has to be a back-up strategy to insure that the patient is getting something into him to lower his lipids.
SUNNI: Good points, Paul. I should point out that I'm not advocating all alternative or natural medicine over prescription meds -- I'm trying to understand, and choose what's best for me, like anyone else. And right now the line between natural and synthesized chemicals is one I've been thinking about a lot.
PAUL: Vitamin C is ascorbic acid -- C6H8O6 -- and your body can't tell if it originated in an orange or a stainless steel vat. But we're coming to see that getting your vitamin C via the orange or its juice is better because then the vitamin C comes with a lot of other goodies that may complement or enhance is benefits. That's probably true of most vitamins.
SUNNI: I've been reading that too, but mostly in places you'd likely call alternative. Nutrition and medicine is something I'd like to explore more with you, but I have lots of other subjects to touch on, so it'll have to wait. There's no doubt that the American medical system is already socialized medicine, and is becoming more so with each law and mandate that comes out of D.C. Do you see any way of turning that around, short of letting the system implode first?
PAUL: We'll go the way of Canada. I feel sorry for my children and grandchildren, but the sheeple want the illusion of being protected. They won't see that it's going to lead to rationing. Canada's rationing system is the queue. If you know somebody or can pay somebody, you'll go to the head of the queue. If you don't, you wait your turn for treatment and hope you don't die before they call your name.
Wanna hear a conspiracy theory? The zillions of managed care systems put tremendous strain on doctors' offices: we've got to hire extra people and install computers to keep up with the billing. The idea is to make it so onerous and complicated for doctor and patient alike that everyone will welcome a single-payer system like national health insurance.
SUNNI: Heh. I've seen that in action myself, so it does ring a little true as a conspiracy theory. Sounds like you don't see alternatives like SimpleCare as doing much to counter the tide. How does it feel to have been as prescient as you were with Lipidleggin', which was first published in 1978?
PAUL: Not good. That was written with tongue firmly in cheek. Now it's happening. I can't believe it. [pauses] Okay, yes, I can.
