A “no” from the FDA never quite means “no” — not when it comes to the agency’s drug-industry pals, anyway.

Case in point: The feds said “no” to the diet drug Contrave earlier this year over its potential for heart risk — even after an FDA panel signed off on it.

But that “NO!” has turned into a “well, maybe…” because the drug is right now headed to market with an estimated arrival date of 2014.

It hasn’t been approved — yet — but the feds have reversed their call for a long-term study to help ensure the drug is safe for consumers and instead OK’d a much less demanding bit of research that could be signed, sealed, and delivered in just two years.

In other words, the drug isn’t being improved to meet strict FDA safety standards. Instead, those already-low standards are being brought down to meet the drug.

Congratulations, guys. You managed to screw up one of the rare times you actually almost got it right.

The drug itself isn’t even all that new — it’s actually a combination of two older meds: the antidepressant Wellbutrin and the anti-addiction drug naltrexone. Since both meds have weight loss (among other things) as a “side effect,” the thinking is obviously to combine them and just call it a “weight loss drug.”

Just one problem: Neither one leads to a whole lot of weight loss, and even when combined the two won’t help most people slim down: Studies have shown that people who take Contrave lose an average of 4 percent more than those who take a placebo.

But here’s what else you could get in the bargain: nausea, headaches, constipation and a potentially dangerous boost in blood pressure that could put anyone — especially an obese person looking for a quick diet fix — at risk for a heart attack or stroke, which is why the FDA wanted that new study in the first place.

Since these types of heart problems could be years in the making, don’t expect the compromise two-year study to close the book on that risk.

If anything, it’ll be just the first chapter.

There are much better and far safer ways to lose weight, starting with a diet devoid of sugar and the rest of the refined carbohydrates. Instead of a higher blood pressure, you could actually lower yours — it’s one of the first “side effects” of going low carb.

Don’t forget to work in a little more movement. Another new study shows how women in particular might get a boost that goes far beyond a slimmer waistline.

Keep reading!

Gout used to be known as “the rich man’s disease” because it usually struck the wealthy — the only ones who could afford to over-consume the foods that cause this painful form of arthritis.

Today, you don’t have to be rich (or even a man) to suffer from gout — just fat. And since more people are fatter than ever before, more people are also battling the foot pain that marks this condition.

New numbers show that 4 percent — or 8.3 million Americans — fought gout in 2008, compared to just 1 percent between 1988 and 1994.

That’s a 400-percent increase inside of a generation — and in the coming years, it could get even worse. Recent government numbers show 21 percent of us have high levels of the uric acid responsible for gout.

That’s an increase of 700 percent from the surveys taken between 1988 and 1994.

But whatever you do, don’t turn to Big Pharma’s solution for gout. Drugs designed to treat the problem have been known to cause nausea, joint pain, and even liver problems. They’ve also been linked to chest pain, vomiting, bruising, constipation, allergic reactions, and even more gout flare-ups.

There are better ways to beat gout, and you can get some of the most immediate relief with something that was often dismissed as a folk remedy — until a recent study found it really worked.

Researchers say 20 cherries eaten over 48 hours can reduce the risk of a gout attack by 50 percent, while cherry extract slashed the odds by 40 percent. I’ve noticed cherry juice popping up on supermarket shelves, so feel free to give that a try. Just make sure it’s 100 percent cherry juice and not cherry-flavored sugar water.

If you don’t have any cherries handy, try celery. Celery can keep the enzyme that produces uric acid in check, and some people have reported gout relief from as little as a single stalk.

Others need more — nearly an entire bunch — and all the peanut butter in the world won’t make it any easier to eat that much. If that’s the case, try 75mg of celery seed extract, twice a day, instead.

You don’t have to be rich to get gout. And since celery — and celery seed — is cheap and plentiful, you don’t have to be rich to beat it, either.

April 2008 PDF The hidden cause of sexual dysfunction (and it’s not a Viagra deficiency) If your sex life is suffering, chances are the root cause is organic in nature, rather than simply psychological. In fact, over 90 percent of ED cases can be traced back to organic origins. And more often than not, nutrient [...]