Dear Healthy Friend,

A painkiller here, a cast there and a tablet to knit your bones together faster... and voila. Your broken bone is healed. Technology has advanced to the point where we can actually speed up the process of healing broken bones. Sounds incredible.

But...

Is getting your cast off earlier really worth risking a malignant tumour?

That's right, I said malignant tumour. See below for the scary truth Christine O'Brien uncovered.

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Anybody that's experienced cysts will know how painful they are! Most will undergo surgery to relieve the pain. But Dr Wright has an all-natural, surgery-free formula to help combat this problem. Read below.

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Sticks 'n Stones 'n Broken bones, oh and a tumour
Christine O’Brien
Contributor to Nutrition and Healing

"Broken bones heal faster with drugs!" proclaims an earnest headline.

Well, that sounds great, doesn't it? Cut down on healing time and get back to normal life... But what if it means that you could be trading in that broken bone for a malignant tumour?

Wait, what? That's right - in all the excitement surrounding a pharmaceutical-sponsored study on the osteoporosis drug teriparatide, researchers and reporters alike have left out one little fact.

First, the study - 34 post-menopausal women receiving daily injections of a standard dose of teriparatide healed their fractured wrists in 7.4 weeks, versus the 9.1 weeks it took for women taking a placebo.

Sounds good, sure. But I thought "okay, there has to be a catch."

Start poking around for side effects of teriparatide, and the news isn't so good. Among people reporting adverse effects in clinical trials, over 21% have reported pain. A good number of people have also reported hypertension, headache, nausea and dizziness.

And then there's the big, bold warning in the scary gray box: In male and female rats, teriparatide caused an increase in the incidence of malignant bone tumours. The rats were given doses quite a bit higher than those used in humans, but the warning does state that teriparatide should only be taken when "the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks".

With the facts mentioned above, I'm not sure of the benefits getting a cast off a week and a half early hold.

Of course, the researchers seemed excited by the results, and I'm sure the women in the study group were glad to have their casts off a bit sooner. And you know the execs at the pharmaceutical company are already drawing up the marketing strategy.

But I have to wonder - is the constant search for new applications for these drugs (especially drugs with such alarming possible side effects) really worth it?

I definitely wouldn't risk a tumour for anything, especially a short-term benefit such as this!

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Dissolve cysts with iodide?

Q: I have suffered for seven years with fibrocystic breast disease and ovarian cysts. What can I do to get rid of them?

Dr. Wright: I generally recommend a formula made up of iodide and potassium, called SSKI, for fibrocystic breasts and ovarian cysts. Eight drops in a glass of water daily usually works in a matter of just two to five months. There's one important thing to remember though: High doses of iodine or iodide can sometimes reduce thyroid function.

Fortunately, the thyroid gland is very resilient and almost always completely recovers once you stop taking the iodide or iodine. I've hardly ever seen this happen in women using SSKI for the problems you're having, but it's still best to have your thyroid function checked periodically whenever you're using it - just to be on the safe side. SSKI (potassium iodide) is available from health shops. In case of difficulty contact Health Works - (011) 325-5168.