Public Citizen is urging the FDA to ban the drug Victoza because of links to thyroid cancer, pancreatitis, and severe allergic reactions.

In addition, Public Citizen says patients who take this injectable med have quadruple the risk of acute pancreatitis of those who take other diabetes meds. The group estimates that up to 2,000 patients have gotten the condition from the drug since it was approved in 2010.

Naturally, the company that makes the drug insists that it’s safe. What else would they say? I’ve haven’t seen a drug maker yet respond to a safety warning with an apology.

But the drug’s own label tells me this stuff is bad news. It says right on it that it has caused thyroid cancer in lab animals — and while it also says it’s unclear whether that risk extends to humans, that’s clear enough for me.

If you’re a patient taking this med — and with $1 billion in sales last year, I know plenty of patients are — talk to your doctor about your other options.

Of course, most doctors will just shift you from one bad med to another. And if you have diabetes, odds are you’re taking several bad meds at the same time.

That’s why I recommend that diabetics work with a holistic doctor instead — because in many cases, holistic doctors can help their patients find the natural alternatives that can reduce their meds.

Considering the risks of these meds, fewer is better. But there’s something even better than fewer — and that’s none at all.

You’ve heard that you can’t cure diabetes, but you heard wrong. By committing to healthy lifestyle changes, you can reach the point where you’ll no longer need meds or even insulin.

I know you can, because I’ve seen it happen in my own clinic time and again.

It’s called Stendra, but don’t bother remembering the name. You’ll be hearing it in commercials soon enough now that the feds have signed off on it.

Like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, the new med is a PDE5 inhibitor. The only real difference is that this new drug promises to work faster than the old ones — supposedly getting things going in as little as 15 minutes, compared to an hour or more for the drugs already on the market.

That might sound great — but the side effects of PDE5 inhibitors are decidedly UN-sexy.

They can cause headaches, forcing you to say “not now” just when you’re ready. They can also give you back pain, which will really limit your bedroom activities, and even cause cold-like symptoms.

Not exactly Harlequin romance material.

These drugs have even caused men to go blind and deaf, which would really make it a challenge to use that drug-induced erection. And by the way, the famous “four-hour erections” mentioned in the commercials for these meds is a dangerous condition where blood can’t leave the penis.

It’s called priapism — and it requires an immediate trip to the emergency room, where the fastest way to relieve that pressure is to drain the blood with a needle, apply an ice pack, or inject a medication.

Ouch!

But forget all the side effects (if you can — I’m not sure it’s possible to forget that last one). There’s another reason to skip the meds when it comes to sexual health, and that’s because the problems themselves are almost always a sign of another problem in the body.

For example, the most common cause of erectile dysfunction is atherosclerosis. That’s when your arteries get stiff from too much plaque — and when your arteries get stiff, you can’t get stiff in other places.

Since atherosclerosis is also the leading cause of heart attacks, stroke, and more, it’s something that needs to be fixed urgently. But if your only warning is erectile dysfunction and you can “fix” it with a sex med, you can ignore it… until the day your wife has to call the ambulance.

In other cases, erection problems are caused by diabetes, poor nutrition, hormonal imbalances (especially low testosterone levels), stress, and even many prescription medications.

A holistic doctor can help find the real cause of erection problems and correct it without the drugs or the risks.

So naturally, it’s coming under attack.

In a stunning display of ignorance, the American College of Medical Toxicology is urging doctors to reject time-tested chelation therapy. And at a recent conference hosted by the CDC, the group actually called on its members to report doctors who use it.

I’m not sure what they’re supposed to report, since chelation isn’t illegal. In fact, it’s the FDA-approved treatment for the removal of heavy metals such as lead from the body.

The fact that they want doctors to start tattling on other doctors who use this perfectly legal treatment is bad enough. But what makes this so much worse is the fact that the Federation of State Medical Boards sent representatives to the conference, according to a report from the Alliance for Natural Health.

That’s a sign that other states could soon follow Kentucky’s lead and put a backdoor ban on chelation therapy by forbidding doctors from discussing it with their patients.

In Kentucky, simply talking about this legal treatment can get your license yanked — so if you’re a patient who lives in that state and actually needs chelation, be prepared to drive a long way (or move).

What’s amazing about all this is that there isn’t a single doctor — mainstream or alternative — who will claim mercury, lead, arsenic, and more belong in the body.

There’s total agreement that they’re poisons.

The disagreement comes over what they do at what levels. The mainstream takes an all-or-nothing approach here, claiming that very high levels of metals are toxic and deadly and should be removed through chelation.

But lower levels — even levels just below that “poison” threshold — are perfectly safe and require nothing at all.

That’s what they say, anyway. But science (and common sense) tell us otherwise: A toxin dangerous enough to kill you at high levels could hurt you at lower ones, and studies have implicated even low levels of these metals in everything from osteoarthritis to heart disease to autism. And clinical experience tells me that everyone’s genetic ability to detoxify these metals varies greatly.

If you’re battling a chronic illness that your own physician hasn’t been able to solve, visit a holistic doctor who can test your levels of these metals.

You might be surprised by the results — and how quickly you can be cured. But you’d better hurry… this cure might not be around much longer.

I told him of course he needed the surgery.

He was relatively young, had no strong family history of the disease and no exposure to any major source of radiation… except for one. As we spoke, I found out he was using his cellphone for buying and selling for 8 hours or more every day!

Keep in mind the thyroid gland is in the throat region, right next to where he was holding that cellphone — blasting it with electromagnetic radiation all day long.

I presumed all that cellphone use played a role in his cancer, and the studies since then have only made me even more certain.

Now, Britain’s Health Protection Agency claims its own review of the research finds no link between cellphones and cancer — but I just don’t buy it. They don’t seem to buy their own conclusion, either, since they also cautioned against excessive cellphone use by children.

If cellphones are so safe, why would they need to caution anyone against using them?

Answer: They’re not safe. One major study found that people who use cellphones the most over a decade have a 40 percent increase in the risk of a potentially deadly brain tumor called a glioma.

Another study found that cellphones change brain activity in the region closest to the phone. It’s not clear what this means yet — but it’s proof they do something to the brain.

There are enough question marks now that the World Health Organization added cellphones to its list of possible carcinogens.

Despite all that, I know most people will give up their cellphones when they give up their cars, hairdryers, and credit cards. In other words, it’s just not going to happen.

If that’s the case for you, then take a few simple steps to protect yourself (and make sure the rest of the family follows suit).

First, never hold the phone right against the ear. I know some people use Bluetooth devices to separate the phone from the ear, but those give off their own signals.

Instead, use the speakerphone or at least a pair of wired headphones with a microphone in them. Some new phones come with these.

Don’t keep them right against your body when you’re not using them, since there’s evidence they might actually weaken bone, which could increase your risk osteoporosis.

And since studies have shown they can affect sperm quality, men should never keep them close to their privates.

Finally, when you get to your office or home, turn the phone off completely and switch to the landline.