Dear Healthy Friend,

Taking a decision to have a baby is a big step. There are a lot of financial, emotional and physcial factors to consider before you bring that beautiful, bouncing baby into the world. And for those of us who are successful in conceiving on first try, what an awesome feeling. My heart goes out to couples that desperately want to have a baby, but struggle to fall pregnant. But at least now days there are so many options to help them fall pregnant.

Wonderful, right? Wrong... Christine O'Brien reveals the dangers of infertility drugs on your unborn child. Keep reading...

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Inflammation on the stomach lining could lead to cancer of the oesaphagus and it seems that mainstream's best way to fight this is by popping prescription anti-inflammatories! But, as a regular Health Bytes reader, you'll know Dr Wright has an alternative to this... keep reading to find out Dr Wrights solution to fighting inflammation...

Infertility treatment and birth defect link uncovered
Christine O'Brien
Contributor, Nutrition & Healing

Desperate to conceive a child, couples trust their doctors to give them the best possible treatment and guidance.

Instead, three out of 10 women seeking help for infertility are given a drug that's linked to a THREE-FOLD increase in the risk of birth defects.

Yes - an infertility treatment that evidence suggests puts the unborn child in harm's way. Are you outraged? I know I am. I think of my friends who have struggled to start families, of countless women who have been given the gift of hope, only to face heartbreak as they find their babies have birth defects.

How in the world does something like this happen? The main drugs used in infertility treatment, containing letrozole, is intended for the treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women. It has NOT been approved as a treatment for infertility.

Heck, the FDA even classifies the drug as posing a pregnancy risk. Sure, it's been studied as an infertility treatment, but there hasn't been enough evidence that shows it's safe and effective. But there's one thing there IS evidence of - a Canadian study in 2005 (2005! How many women have taken this drug in the five years since that study was conducted?) found nearly a three-fold increase in the risk of birth defects in a group of babies born after treatment with letrozole. Based on that study, doctors have been warned against using letrozole to treat infertility.

Still, a shocking 30% of women being treated for infertility are unknowingly given what might as well be poison by their doctors. "Off-label" use strikes again!

There are enough potential risks associated with using drugs to treat the conditions for which they're intended. But a whole new can of worms is opened once we start spiraling out with "it might work for this" and "oh, hey, let's try it for that". We're talking about a drug that nobody's been able to show actually has anything to do with treating infertility. But, hey, these women are desperate, right? They're the perfect guinea pigs. It's disgusting.

Once a drug is approved by the FDA, doctors can basically use it for whatever they want to. And even faced with the results of the Canadian study, some doctors are saying they'll still prescribe it.

Doctors at one clinic use it to treat women with ovulation problems. They say the Canadian study was too small and flawed. Okay, but what about the fact that it hasn't been proven effective AND has been classified as posing a pregnancy risk?

Why in the world would you give a woman who wants to become pregnant a drug that introduces risk into that potential pregnancy? Can someone please explain this to me?

In the meantime, all we can do is spread the word. Do you know a woman who is trying to get pregnant? Please share this with her. And, as always, ask lots of questions in the doctor's office. If you have to be put on a drug, ask about the evidence behind it. If you don't get an answer that satisfies you, it's time to make a choice.

Fighting inflammation to stave off cancer

Q: A little over a year ago, my doctor told me I have chronic inflammation of the stomach lining and the lower oesophagus. He said if I don't get it under control, I could be staring down stomach cancer. Of course, he's been trying to get me to take prescription anti-inflammatories, but I want to know if there are any natural alternatives I can try first.

Dr. Wright: The first thing to try for any type of chronic inflammation is cod liver oil, 1 1/2 tablespoonsful twice daily. The omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil are "nature's anti-inflammatories". Make sure to accompany each tablespoonful of cod liver oil with 400IU of vitamin E, as mixed tocopherols. Also, look for a cod liver oil formula with 1,000IU of vitamin D per tablespoonful, since vitamin D has its own anti-cancer properties.

Next, consider trying deglycyrrhisinated liquorice (DGL), which has been shown in numerous studies to ease inflammation in the lining of the stomach and oesophagus. Chew and swallow two tablets, three to four times daily on an empty stomach and make sure not to eat anything for an hour before or after. If you can't stand liquorice, try aloe vera gel (not liquid) instead.

Zinc carnosine, 30 milligrams twice daily with meals; L-glutamine, 1,000 milligrams daily; and sodium ascorbate (not ascorbic acid), 1,000 milligrams twice daily, can also help heal an inflamed stomach lining. Make sure it's zinc carnosine, though - other forms of zinc have not yet been found to have this effect. Contact Health Works on (011) 325-5168 for these, and other difficult to get, supplements.