The Medical Advisor

The Food and Drug Administration’s drive toward salt substitutes, aimed at reducing dietary sodium, faces mounting skepticism from top health experts. Salt has been in the FDA’s crosshairs for some time. Since October 2021, the  federal agency has notably urged  restaurants and food manufacturers to take voluntary measures to reduce salt use, targeting reductions in sodium across more than 160 food categories. The FDA is advocating for a transition from traditional salt to potential lower-sodium alternatives, a notable deviation from prior guidelines, as outlined in its  proposal , “Use of Salt Substitutes to Reduce the Sodium Content in Standardized Foods.” FDA’s Salt Swap Initiative The FDA is currently revising the “ standards of identity ”—essentially the official blueprints that determine the ingredients and processes required for a product to bear a specific label, such as “bread” or “mayonnaise.” With these updates, the agency proposes that certain foods can now include “safe an

What do physicians and stent companies have to say for themselves, given that they are promoting expensive, risky procedures with no benefit? Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. Angioplasty and stent placement continue to be frequently performed for patients with non-emergency coronary artery disease, despite clear evidence that it provides minimal benefit. For example, it does not prevent heart attacks or death, yet as many as 9 out of 10 patients mistakenly believed that the procedure would reduce their chances of having a heart attack. But at the same time—the cardiologists weren’t stupid— those who referred them for the stent and those who performed the procedure didn’t believe that. Okay, then why were they doing it? Focus groups of cardiologists have documented a chasm between knowledge and behavior. While aware of the evidence to the contrary,

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on the highly profitable world of cholesterol meds, which in my opinion, is a great example of big pharma malfeasance. Remember that scene in The Godfather: Part 3 when Michael Corleone exclaims, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” so it was with a national news story involving “polypills” and WHO. Let’s dig in. The News Story This story appeared on my morning news feed: “Heart drug combining 3 medications in one is added to World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines”. The gist of this report was that the WHO added the “Polypill” which contains a statin, aspirin, and an ACE inhibitor blood pressure medicine, to its list of approved medications. This is a big deal, given that this means that many developing countries will now add purchasing Polypills to their national health strategies.  This was based on this quote from the story gleaned from a press release put out by Mount Sinai: “The polypill also reduced cardiovas