Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself

In a year-end review of bestselling health related books, the Med Page Today website published a list of the top titles. Among them, "Clean;" this is what the website had to say about the book and author:

Among the celebrities who used and/or promoted various cleansing or detox regimens were Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Beyonce, Blair Underwood and especially Gwyneth Paltrow. Health claims derive from the belief that many chronic medical conditions occur when the body becomes a victim to a build up of “toxins.” As Dr. Alejandro Junger, designer of the Clean detox program, said: “When our systems are overtaxed, they begin to break down in a multitude of ways. Allergies, headaches, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, weight gain and insomnia are just a few of the symptoms that can result. The majority of these common ailments are the direct result of toxin build-up in our systems that has accumulated during the course of our daily lives.” Most mainstream physicians, such as complementary and alternative medicine expert Dr. Edzard Ernst (pictured) say that this is nonsense and there's only one substance reliably removed from people using detox/cleanses: “Money from their bank accounts.”

Read that full article here. See the book and author's promotional webpage here.

667 Dealing with Depression Podcast from The People's Pharmacy® Radio Program

Depression is debilitating and surprisingly common. Scientists have found that 5 percent of the people in a large survey reported symptoms of depression during the previous year. Nearly 13 percent of Americans experience depression at some point during their lives. The big question is how to treat depression? It’s hard to get a good picture of the effectiveness of antidepressants from the published medical literature, because many studies that show little or no benefit don’t get published. Dr. Erick Turner explains how unpublished studies may skew medical opinion. Dr. David Mischoulon discusses the pros and cons of antidepressant medication and many alternative treatments for this devastating mental disorder. Guests: David Mischoulon, MD, PhD, is the Director of Research, Depression Clinical and Research Program, at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry. He is also an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. He is currently working on the second edition of his book, Natural Remedies for Psychiatric Disorders: Considering the Alternatives. (Photo is of Dr. Mischoulon.) Erick Turner, M.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and in the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology. He is the Medical Director of the Portland VA Medical Center Mood Disorders Program, where he acts as site principal investigator (PI) on several multicenter clinical drug trials. His article, "Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy," was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 17, 2008.

Download the podcast here.