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Consumer Health Digest #12-06
February 9, 2012

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail
newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., with
help from William M. London, Ed.D. It summarizes
scientific reports; legislative developments;
enforcement actions; news reports; Web site
evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended
books; and other information relevant to consumer
protection and consumer decision-making.

###

UK "nutritional therapists" provide poor advice.

Five undercover researchers who made a total of
15 visits to 14 "nutritional therapists" in the
United Kingdom got inappropriate advice from all
of them. [Are nutritional therapists gambling
with your health? Which? Feb 2012, pp 58-60]
http://www.dcscience.net/Which-Nutritional-therapists-Feb-2012.pdf
The investigators noted:

**Six of the visits were rated as "dangerous
fails," eight were rated as "fails,", and only
one was deemed a "borderline pass."

**One researcher, posing as a breast cancer
sufferer, was advised to delay medically-advised
radiation therapy and instead follow a no-sugar
diet for three to six months. The nutritionist
said this would drive away the cancer because
"cancer feeds off sugar. By cutting out sugar we
have a better chance of the cancer going away."
**Another researcher was advised that if the
nutritionist's treatment for severe tiredness
started to make him feel unwell, it showed the
"treatment was working" and he should not contact
his personal physician who "wouldn't understand
what was happening."

**Several of the therapists used
non-evidence-based testing to "diagnose" a host
of symptoms.

**One researcher who said she had been struggling
to conceive a child for a year was told, after
having her iris examined, that she had "a bit of
bowel toxicity" and a 'leathery bowel," both of
which are medically meaningless terms.

**Twelve of the 15 visits resulted in
recommendations for expensive dietary supplement
regimens that cost up to £70 per month.

A similar investigation in 2000 yielded similar findings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/708376.stm

###

New data on access to health care published.

A study of data from the 2009-2010 National
Health Interview Survey has found that the number
and rate of adults aged 18 to 64 years who lack
health insurance has been increasing, in part due
to the historically high unemployment rates.
[Driscoll AK, Bernstein AB. Health and access to
care among employed and unemployed adults: United
States, 2009-2011. NCHS data brief #83. National
Center for Health Statistics, Jan 2012]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db83.htm#summary
However, even having comprehensive health
insurance coverage does not guarantee access to
needed services, in part because of co-payments
and deductibles. The data showed:

**In 2009-2010, 48.1% of unemployed adults aged
18 to 64 years had health insurance compared with
81.4% of employed adults; among the insured, a
higher proportion of the unemployed had public
insurance.

**Unemployed adults had poorer mental and
physical health than employed adults; this
pattern is found for insured and uninsured adults.

**Unemployed adults were less likely to receive
needed medical care or obtain prescription drugs
due to cost than the employed in each insurance
category.

**Uninsured adults were less likely to receive
needed medical care and prescription drugs due to
cost than those with public or private insurance,
regardless of employment status.

###

Contraceptive access will increase.

President Obama has announced a policy intended
to accommodate religious freedom while ensuring
that women have access to preventive health care,
including contraception, at no additional cost,
no matter where they work. The Affordable Care
Act, called for most health insurance plans to
cover women's preventive care services--such as
well-woman visits, mammograms, immunizations, as
well as contraception--without charging a co-pay
or deductible beginning in August 2012. However,
in response to protests from Catholic churches,
President Obama has modified the rules.

**Churches, other houses of worship, and similar
organizations that object on religious grounds to
covering contraception will not have to do so.

**Other types of religious employers will not
have to provide contraceptive coverage, subsidize
the cost of contraception, or refer their
employees to organizations that provide it.
However, free coverage must be offered to women
directly by these insurance companies.

**There will be an additional one-year transition
period for religious organizations while this
policy is being implemented.

Source: President Obama announces new policy to
improve access to contraception. White House
Policy Blog, Feb 10, 2012.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/10/president-obama-announces-new-policy-improve-access-contraception

###

New site to benefit endangered animals.

One of Dr. Stephen Barrett's granddaughters (age
13) has launched a charity web site
(http://www.roarandsqueak.org) to help endangered
animals via the World Wildlife Fund. The site
offers interesting T-shirts and various other
novelty items with all profits going to the fund.

###

Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest12/index.html

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--
---------------------------------------------
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
11312 U.S. 15 501 North
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

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