Posts Tagged ‘tobacco’
Something We Can Agree On
Friday, August 7th, 2009
On June 22, the government passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Public health organizations from all sides had nothing but praise for this measure. According to ADA President, Dr. John S. Findley, “Dentists are the first line of defense in the war against cancer and many other tobacco-related diseases. The American Dental Association heartily commends Congress for passing the FSPTC Act.”
Tobacco is responsible for a myriad of diseases, from emphysema, heart disease and severe peripheral artery disease, to lung cancer and probably the most fatal of all, oral cancer. One person dies every hour from oral cancer in the U.S. Other diseases manifested in the mouth, such as gum disease, decay, leukoplakia and diabetes are either aggravated or caused by smoking or chewing tobacco. Dr. Kathleen O’Loughlin, the ADA executive director, was invited to attend the signing of the bill, and had this to say: “The passing of this bill speaks to the power of broad-based support from very different and unique advocacy organizations coming together from different places and perspectives yet united by a common urgent public health issue.”
The mantle of the control of tobacco will now pass to the FDA from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, BATF ( I suppose now they will just be the BAF). So what will the FDA do with their new responsibilities? At least for now, they are inviting health agencies and even public opinion to help implement the new laws. It’s nice to see everyone on the same page. Of course, this will mean much higher tobacco taxes. I’m never in favor of higher taxes, but maybe we could just call this one “tough love.”
Tags: ADA, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, chewing tobacco, decay, Dr. John S. Findley, emphysema, Family Smoking Prevention and Tobcco Control Act, FSPTC Act, gum disease, heart disease, Kathleen O'Loughlin, leukoplakia, lung cancer, oral cancer, severe peripheral artery disease, smoking, tobacco, tobacco taxes, tobacco-related disease
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A Hard Subject
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Did you know that bone is considered an organ? I don’t know if each individual bone is an organ or the skeletal system as a whole, but it is an interesting and complex tissue that plays an important role to your teeth as well as the rest of your body. It might seem like a hard, inert substance, but it is actually a live and vital tissue. It houses many types of cells, a blood supply and nerves, and it is in a constant state of flux and regeneration. There are basically four types of bone tissue in the body: 1) compact or cortical bone which comprises the thick outer covering, 2) trabecular bone which is the honeycomb inner bone, 3) marrow, which is the soft middle that produces blood cells, and 4) a specialized type of bone tissue called alveolar bone which supports the teeth. We will cover alveolar bone next time.
As a tissue, bone is subject to disease and should receive the proper care and maintenance. To appreciate this, it might help to understand what goes on in there. Your bone is constantly being remodeled in response to its environmental conditions. Cells called osteoclasts dissolve the calcium phosphate structure of the bone and return it to the blood. Osteoblasts are cells which deposit the calcium back into the bone. In this way, the shape and density of the bone can be altered as the body’s demands vary. For instance, if you do a lot of weight-bearing exercise, as well as your muscle mass increasing, your bone density will also increase to meet the requirement for more strength.
This touches on the subject of the most common disease of the bone, low bone density, or osteoporosis. The cause is simple chemistry. If the blood becomes too acidic, it will dissolve the minerals out of your tissues, the most common one being the calcium phosphate in your bones. The reason for acid blood is another easy one to figure out; it’s just what goes into your body. Different things have been shown to have an effect on the blood pH, or acid level.
Let’s start with the things that make your blood too acidic. At the very top of the list are drugs. I’m not just talking methamphetamines, but over-the-counter and prescription drugs also. The mechanism by which drugs enter your muscles, nervous system and brain is called a pH gradient. The blood must become more acidic than those other tissues in order to ‘download’ the drug. To be very effective, every drug must cause the blood to become acidic, and the more acidic, the faster and more potent the drug’s effects will be. Obviously, psychotropic drugs like meth and LSD are quite destructive. The constant and prolonged use by the meth addict leaves him emaciated, literally dissolving him from the inside. But caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol are also very potent drugs associated with constant and prolonged use. They all cause the blood to become very acidic. I might be sounding a little picky, but remember where we’re going with this. That acidity in your blood must be neutralized, and your body does it with the calcium from your bones!
A close second on the list of things that make your blood acidic is soda pop. The carbonation, caffeine, sugar, and phosphoric acid drive your blood acidity through the roof. Diet soda is every bit as bad, and energy drinks like Red Bull and Rock Star are the absolute worst in that category. So called “soft” drinks are so harmful that they should only be available by prescription, and then no doctor in his right mind would prescribe it for you. So you need to be your own doctor and don’t give yourself permission to buy soda for you or your children.
Constant exposure to fluoride replaces the calcium in your bones making them more brittle. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is an increase in hip fractures in areas with water fluoridation.
Food wise, you can pretty much guess how they affect your blood pH. Sugar, artificial sweeteners, additives, and processed foods will make your blood more acid. Conversely, natural raw fruits, vegetables, whole milk, and eggs will not only reduce the acidity, but provide a natural source of minerals that will replenish your body.
Who gets osteoporosis and what do you do about it? You don’t wake up one day and BAM, you have osteoporosis. That last Coke didn’t just push you over the edge. It’s a disease of the elderly because it takes a lifetime of sodas, coffee, cigarettes, martinis, and finally, that shopping list of prescription medications. Of course, the sooner in life you break the pattern, the better chance you have to preserve the integrity and health of your bones. But it is never too late to take charge. Take responsibility for your health! Eat properly and exercise. Look up your prescriptions on the internet and see if they interact with each other, and you decide if you want to gamble on the side effects. It’s appalling to see drug companies try to induce people to use drugs they don’t even need on TV and tragically comical to listen to the required disclaimers. “You might turn blue and burst into flames, but go ahead and try it. It may be just what you need!” Most of my patients that take aspirin are self-medicating because of a TV ad. Don’t do that!
Many physicians have gone drugless and have written books to expose the drug companies’ control of American health care. In Dr. Jerry Avorn’s book, ‘Selling Sickness’, he talks about how drug companies invent diseases so they can sell more drugs. In his book, ‘Taking Control of Your Health’, Dr. Joseph Mercola says, “the most common cause of death in America is the fatally flawed medical system that focuses on using toxic and expensive pharmaceutical band-aids that in no way, shape, or form treat the underlying cause of the disease.”
I believe there certainly is a place for drugs such as medical emergencies, serious infections and high blood pressure, but not as a way of life. The price tag is too high. They are poisonous to your body. Their side effects are usually much worse than any benefit or relief they claim to give. They are pulling the calcium out of your bones and redistributing it into your kidneys, gall bladder, and joints, leaving your bones weak and crippling your body.
Next week we will talk about what drugs are being peddled for osteoporosis and their alarming effects.
Dr. Moulton’s article was published in the Desert Valley Times, December 2007
Tags: acid level, alcohol, alveolar bone, artificial sweeteners, blood acidity, blood pH, bone tissue, caffeine, calcium, calcium phosphate, carbonation, compact bone, cortical bone, Dr. Joseph Mercola, eggs, fluoride, hposphoric acid, Jerry Avorn, Journal of the American Medical Association, low bone density, LSD, marrow, methamphetamines, milk, natural raw fruits, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, Osteoporosis, pH gradient, prescription drugs, processed foods, psychotropic drugs, Red Bull, Rock Star, soda pop, tobacco, trabecular bone, vegetables
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