The Medical Advisor

The Food and Drug Administration claims to follow the science. So why is it attacking ivermectin, a medication it certified in 1996? Earlier this year the agency put out a special  warning  that “you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.” The FDA’s statement included words and phrases such as “serious harm,” “hospitalized,” “dangerous,” “very dangerous,” “seizures,” “coma and even death” and “highly toxic.” Any reader would think the FDA was warning against poison pills. In fact, the drug is FDA-approved as a safe and effective antiparasitic. Ivermectin was developed and marketed by Merck & Co. while one of us (Mr. Hooper) worked there years ago. William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering and developing avermectin, which Mr. Campbell and associates modified to create ivermectin. Ivermectin is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Merck has donated four billion doses t...

Information related to the COVID-19 ('CO' stands for corona, 'VI' for virus, and 'D' for disease) pandemic has been overwhelming and confusing as well. Information is all over the place and various groups are giving conflicting statements. How do you make sense from all these fragmented information? As of August 2021, there are more than 6,000 studies that have been launched to investigate various treatments for COVID-19. You can review the details of these trials on  ClinicalTrials.gov . New ones are being added every day. The aim of this article is to organise and summarise relevant information in one place. Below, we look at the most studied categories.         McCullough et al. Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2020 Most doctors know the need to focus now on early treatment as the most immediate and practical way to reduce hospitalisations and death. This is your guide to help you know your options, and to use with your personal physician. Below,...

Some doctors and media channels argue that there is very little evidence to support the use of drugs and dietary supplements to prevent or treat COVID-19. As of August 2021, there are more than 5,500 studies that have been launched to investigate various treatments for COVID-19. You can review the details of these trials on  ClinicalTrials.gov . New ones are being added every day. The aim of this article is to organise, track and summarise relevant information in one place.  This guide is based on dynamic review of various references to scientific literature and hopefully, can help you make sense of the options and to separate the facts from fiction. Below, we look at the most studied and most watched categories for COVID-19 prevention. McCullough et al. Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2020 Note: This is a highly dynamic...

Consuming a balanced diet composed of fresh, whole and organic foods is the best health strategy that everyone should implement. However, not everyone is able to eat healthy at all times. For example, some people, despite their best effort, are unable to prepare home-cooked meals daily, meaning they sometimes have to resort to processed foods or restaurant meals. Another reason is that there is problem with our current food supply – something that many health experts refuse to consider. Due to poor agriculture practices, plus the abundance of toxic pollutants in soils and waterways, the food we’re consuming right now is no longer as nutritious as it was many generations ago. In both these cases, taking a supplement may be a wise decision. Be Warned: Not All Supplements Are Good (or Even Effective) for You Weight loss supplements are particularly notorious for producing negative publicity for the supplement industry. Not only are these generally ineffective, but they can put your health...