Big Pharma’s endless vicious cycle added another loop recently when the Food & Drug Administration approved a med to treat the side effects of another med.

The crazy thing is, most people didn’t need that first drug to begin with. But don’t expect to hear about that from the FDA.

Glucocorticoid medications are steroids commonly used by folks who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

But like most of these meds, using them comes at a price, and a pretty high one at that. Glucocorticoid medications are one of the leading causes of secondary osteoporosis. In fact, an estimated 50 percent of the patients on glucocorticoids will eventually end up with an osteoporosis-related bone fracture.

Enter Big Pharma, which is always ready to offer up a pricey solution to the problems it has created.

Their latest move expands the use of another steroid to treat this form of osteoporosis.

But you can avoid the need for any of these drugs and their side effects. What most people don’t know – what most doctors don’t even know – is that rheumatoid arthritis is most often caused by a food allergy.

I wrote all about it in the June issue of Health Revelations, and if you subscribe now you’ll get to read that article in our online archives, along with my simple three-step plan for reversing joint damage.

You won’t hear about this anywhere else because there’s no drug to sell here and no big money on the line – only a real cure for your condition, no strings attached.

The alternative is drugs, such as those glucocorticoid medications. If your doctor starts you on those, or if you’re already on them, chances are now he’ll encourage you to take this new drug to deal with the side effects.

But this drug comes with plenty of risks of its own.

Some of the folks who have used it developed bone cancer. Although there’s not enough data out there to say for sure if the drug caused the cancer, it does have enough established side effects to make anyone think twice: decreased blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, nausea, leg pain, cramps, joint aches and more.

And then, you can ride that endless crazy train of meds, side effects, meds to deal with the side effects and more meds to deal with the side effects of the meds you take for the side effects of the first med.

I can’t think of anything more unnecessary than that.

Call this one more benefit killed in action during the indiscriminate war on fat.

When the mainstream convinced everyone to stop eating all fats, millions upon millions of Americans quietly began losing out on omega-3 fatty acids.

Those essential fats have a number of well-established benefits. And the latest research shows that they may help prevent a top cause of blindness among older folks: age-related macular degeneration.

The study on mice, published in August in the American Journal of Pathology, found that when the rodents were given diets rich in omega-3s, they had fewer of the retinal lesions that damage the vision.

Not only that, but it slowed the progression of lesions already present and even reversed some of them.

This confirms the findings of two studies done on humans and published in 2006 in the Archives of Ophthalmology. These studies found that folks who ate plenty of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

One of those studies shows that the fatty fish lowered the risk by as much as 40 percent.

Sounds great, right? The problem is that most Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids, and it’s become incredibly difficult to get enough from diet alone, as I mentioned just a few months back.

Most of the naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids in our diets were processed right out of our foods generations ago because of how the animals we eat are fed. You see, only animals that eat greens instead of grains accumulate these important oils. So unless you eat a lot of wild game or wild fatty fish, chances are you’ll need to take a supplement to ensure you’re getting the right amount.

While omega-3 fatty acids are finally starting to get their long-overdue attention as manufacturers race to put them into everything from peanut butter to orange juice, there are entire generations who got far too little for far too long.

That can help explain the 25 percent jump in age-related macular degeneration between 2002 and 2008. Expect those numbers to rise even more, in part because our population is getting older, but in part because they’ve been given the wrong advice about nutrition for decades, and now they’re paying for it.

But whether you’re concerned about your eyes or not, make sure you get those omega-3 fatty acids into your system. They’re easy to get and will protect you in many ways – eye health is only the beginning when it comes to the amazing omega-3s.

Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your risk for heart disease, improve cholesterol levels, manage blood pressure, and fight arthritis and mental illnesses such as depression. And that’s not even the complete list.

All that and with no side effects, too – no wonder they’ve been trying to keep it from you.

The one thing most new mothers wish they could have is the one gift they never quite get: more sleep.

Now comes word that the missing sleep so common in homes with new babies may actually be keeping mom from losing all that weight she gained during pregnancy.

There have been several studies out on this recently, with still more under way, and they all seem to point to a connection between poor sleep habits and obesity.

A recent study carried out by the healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente found that new mothers who weren’t getting a good night’s rest had a three-fold risk of holding onto those pregnancy pounds than women who averaged seven dreamy hours per night.

I know that much sleep really would seem like a dream to most new mothers, especially those who have to wake up throughout the night for regular feedings.

But the effects of those extra pounds gained during pregnancy can haunt women for decades. Not long ago, I told you about one of the bigger problems facing older women today: They may live longer than men, but they’re actually less healthy in those later years.

And one reason for that, according to a study presented at the American Geriatric Society’s annual meeting, is weight gained during pregnancy but never lost afterward. So now, senior women are 2.5 times more likely to be disabled than men of the same age.

(Click here to read, “Don’t just live longer, live better.”)

As this latest study shows, simply getting better sleep can help you get your weight back under control.

Other small steps may also help. A study out of Finland found that new mothers who work probiotics into their diets have less belly fat and a lower percentage of overall body fat.

That study was presented at the 17th European Conference on Obesity, held in May in the Netherlands.

While a little more sleep will always help and probiotics are beneficial on a number of levels, a longer-term strategy will require a bit more work. That means eating right, avoiding carbs and getting some exercise. With a new baby in the house, I can’t think of a better time to bring some healthy new habits into your life.

Not only will you live better, but your children will grow up with healthy habits, too – lowering their risk for a lifetime of poor health and obesity.

Do it right, and you’ll give yourself more years to watch them grow, fulfill their dreams and raise healthy families of their own.

Is there a better incentive than that?

When was the last time someone spoke to you about insulin levels?

Unless you’re a diabetic, you probably don’t hear much about it. And that’s a problem, because so much of our poor health can trace its roots back to insulin levels that were allowed to spin out of control.

One new study even links high insulin levels in postmenopausal women to an increased risk for breast cancer.

I touched on this startling information just a few weeks ago, when I mentioned how the high-carb lifestyle can increase your risk for breast cancer.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York looked at data on 5,450 women. The researchers found that postmenopausal women in the upper third of insulin levels were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as women in the bottom third.

Not only that, but because the researchers had access to insulin readings on these women taken repeatedly over a number of years, the connection appears to be especially strong.

Some folks might say that women with high insulin levels are more likely to be overweight, and obesity is already known to be a risk factor for breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

But in this study, the researchers found that the link to high insulin levels and breast cancer was actually stronger in thin women – a clear indication that the insulin levels are a risk factor of their own.

The results of this study were published in July online in the International Journal of Cancer.

All the mainstream diet advice revolves around fat and calories, but none are willing to talk about the role of insulin and the importance of keeping those levels in check. Poor diets high in carbs – including those worthless low-fat diets – lead to high insulin levels and a host of health problems, starting with obesity and diabetes.

As this new study shows, it can even increase your risk for breast cancer.

I’ll have more details on the role of insulin in your body in the September issue of Health Revelations, including five simple things you can do to slash your insulin need. Subscribe now, and you’ll get complete access to our online archives, too.

There, you can look at my article in the June issue on the body’s fat-making switch – and how to turn it off for good.

As the latest research shows, high insulin can harm you even if you’re not overweight. Whether you’re a man or woman, get those levels under control today to save yourself from a world of hurt tomorrow.