" We are learning that being genuine is far more fulfilling than being great."
How true ! I am a genuine doctor. I do not like saying a ' great doctor' I am the doctor for people- humanity. It truly is my G.O.D. given profession.My friend, Ruppert Everett said to Rick, " Patrick is like the ol' country doctors." How true that statement is. I would trade vegetables, fruit and probably chickens ( if we had a farm)
.I enjoy talking to people. This past weekend Rick and I had an invitation as Roosevelt Island residents to see the new Franklin Delano Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. We went to the opening ceremony and speeches. It was moving. To read his " Four Freedoms Speech" from January 6 1941 etched in stone was breath-taking. 1. FREEDOM OF SPEECH
2. FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
3. FREEDOM OF WANT
4. FREEDOM OF FEAR
Do not miss what I feel a momumental park to one of the most fearless leaders of the United States - F.D.R. ,during the most trying times of the United States. !!
The rest of the weekend was devoted to the office except for a 4 hour period of friendship with Barbara. True friends are there for life as is Barbara.
In life there is always bias. This always creates controversy. Recently the September issue of Consumer Reports again had something to say against supplements . The article is biased but I had to read what they had to say. There are supposedly 10 hazard claims against vitamins and supplements, First it states that supplements are not risk free. Well in my humble opinion, nothing in life is risk free. A simple office surgical procedure is not risk free. Taking aspirin is not risk free. Walking across 57th street is not risk free. Lets take the common over the counter Tylenol- there are an estimated 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations and about 450 deaths from Tylenol overdose every year. I didn't read int he article the number of adverse effects from supplements. I know there are some, but very few and very few if any deaths from supplements/vitamins
There is a low number of adverse events from supplements when compared to greater than 3 million adverse reports in conventional drugs from the years 2000 to 2010.
Supplements and vitamins have to state on their labels that they have not been evaluated by the FDA. of course, supplements could go through the FDA rug approval process, but on an average this cost about 1 billion dollars and the supplement companies cannot afford what the pharmaceutical companies can afford. Supplements/vitamin companies provide natural products.
For those of you that do not know this- there are other regulations for vitamins/supplements in different categories. There has to be compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices. These regulations are getting more difficult and should they so. Of yes, fish oils did go through he FDA approval process. It was done by a pharmaceutical company. The product is Lovaza. It is a great product . It contains 1000mg EPA per gel capsule. It passed the process. It cost the consumer 10 times more than a fish oil by great companies as Nordic Naturals. ( with the same dose ) I researched Lovaza and I do use it if patients can get it cheaper than Nordic or on their prescription plan My only difficulty is that the carrier for the fish oils is 4% of polyunsaturated fat versus Vitamin E as a carrier inmost OTC fish oils.
The article in the September Consumer Reports is biased against supplements, It is not fair to the consumer. It states nothing against Pharmaceutical Companies who do have some great products that are needed in medicine, there are some that have been taken off the market due to death rates. If we are to compare--let's compare fairly.
Until tomorrow
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