A common ingredient in many cold medicines has been shown so ineffective that the FDA recently proposed taking it off the market. The ingredient, phenylephrine, "failed to outperform placebo pills in patients with cold and allergy congestion," say researchers from the University of Florida. "The same researchers also challenged the drug's effectiveness in 2007, but the FDA allowed the products to remain on the market pending additional research," according to CNBC.
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| Mostly placebos. Photo from Pixabay. |
I can attest that phenylephrine doesn't work. Before I stopped eating wheat, I constantly had nasal and sinus congestion. I helped keep Sudafed in business when the active ingredient was pseudoephedrine, but I noticed the PE (phenylephrine) variety didn't work at all. The only other decongestants I've found helpful are guaifenesin (Mucinex) and spicy food. Mucinex is expensive because it works! (The cheaper store brands work just as well, though.)
Surprisingly, I think that my new vibration plate is helping with my tendonitis. After a month's use, the tendonitis in my left achilles heel and lower back are gone, the tendonitis in my chest area is almost gone, and the tendonitis in my right achilles heel is still there but improved. However, about a month before I got the vibration plate, I stopped working out and started taking vitamin C, so those things might have helped, too. But I noticed improvements right after I started using the vibration plate, so I think that it is working. I also haven't been getting the headaches, neck pain, etc. that made me a fan of Dr. Rowe's YouTube channel.
The vibration plate took some getting used to--at first, it felt like riding down a dirt road in a pickup. But I've spent 15-30 minutes a day on it, usually at a high setting like 70. Hopefully, the rest of my tendonitis will go away.
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