Subject: Re: MLM scams
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 08:35:44 -0700
From: Malcolm Graham
Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes

Yes! Yes! Yes! That's my name! I had considered using NAC to increase the synthesis of glutathione earlier this year (see the May05 note on NAC at my web site http://diabetestype2.ca/). My research indicates that NAC may inactivate insulin; I have concluded that diabetics shouldn't use NAC or the related Cysteine and Cystine directly but rely on the body to synthesize glutathione with the aid of a high-grade Whey protein supplement (I wasn't even aware of Immunocal back then).

Also for your information, Immunocal is Whey and the one used by medical researchers because it is the most effective. Immunocal is not classified as a food in the USA (I believe you have a category for functional foods or nutriceuticals which is covered by Medicare); refer to your copy of the 2000 and the 2001 Edition of the U.S. Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) or the Pharmacists' Red Book for more information and prescribing information. Are you suggesting that its inclusion in both these books indicates that they are promoting a scam? In addition, have you checked out any the patents granted? For example, see http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/details?patent_number=2142277&language=EN_CA for its use as part of a cancer treatment protocol.

William C Biggs MD wrote:
Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm,
Let me clue you in on how PubMed does it's searches. I got 429 hits on Immunocal too. Only three had anything to do with Immunocal. Immunocal is cross referenced as "whey protein" . So when you search for "immunocal" , it actually searches for "whey protein" and Milk Proteins/immunology/isolation & purification/*pharmacology since 1984.

Did you *read* any of those references? Did you notice that *almost half* were from those beacons of cutting edge medical research "Journal of Dairy Science" and "Journal of Dairy Research" ? Why I read those every issue. Cover to cover. (Not!)

How about "Freezability of spermatozoa from Finn and Dorset rams in multiple semen extenders." in Animal Reproductive Science 2001 Mar 30;65(3-4):245-254? Apparently Ram sperm freeze quite well in whey. You can't tell a book by it's cover. And you can't tell a dietary supplement by the number of Medline hits either. Particularly *this* one. Where *are* those 429 "prominent medical researchers"?

Also, if you want a better cysteine donor to increase glutathione levels, there is already a fabulous one available, N-acetylcysteine. The stuff is dirt cheap. I use it all the time, and it's available in pill and liquid form. We use it to protect the kidneys whenever a radiology contrast study is done, and it works great. No cows are harmed. Finally, any Medicare recipient in the US can tell you that Medicare doesn't cover food products. Medicare doesn't cover most drugs either. That's why we have our seniors renting buses to visit you in Canada. (I am quite embarrassed about that too.) It's nice to embrace a fantasy every once in a while. Then reality sets in.
Good luck, William C Biggs, MD