Probiotics

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Did you know that 80% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract? Allergies, Psoriasis, Colitis periodontal disease, high blood pressure, weight control and mental health are all indicated and linked to our normal gut flora.

Your GI tract contains some 100 trillion bacteria - or at least it should –which can weigh 2-3 pounds. The bacteria outnumber all the other cells of your entire body by 10 to 1.

These bacteria are the major component of your immune system. Contrary to the vaccine industries apparent dysfunctional theory that antibody titers are all we need for disease suppression. Their underlying premise is that vaccines give you higher titers of antibodies to fight off a disease. They do that, temporarily, and no long term benefit remains. Hence, your child needs “booster shots” to redo the entire process. But I digress.

Back Pain & Humira

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Back pain is such a common ailment in most people. It is estimated that over 80% of the population will acquire back pain at some point in their lives. Of those, over 90% will have multiple recurrences.

If lots of people have any particular problem, drug companies make pills to be pushed on them. Back pain is no different.

One of the latest ads about back pain I’ve been seeing of TV is for the drug Humira. The ad shows a diverse group of people all saying they have finally found the cause of their chronic back pain. It is called Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is a real disease, but it is extremely rare. How rare you ask? In my twenty plus years of practice, I have seen less than 5 patients with this condition.

The drug is extremely expensive, costing upwards of $20,000 a year. The direct to patient marketing must work to deliver a bunch of new drug users, or the drug companies wouldn’t do it. The ads act like there are many people who have this as a primary back pain problem, when in reality it is very rare. At $20,000 a year, I suppose they only need to add a few users per commercial to pay for the ads. Don’t be a sucker; find a qualified back pain practitioner to find your problem.