When it comes to good health, "choices made" are extremely important. One of the things that make each of us human is the ability to make choices. Many times daily we are making choices. In health these choices can determine if we are healthy or unhealthy. For example everyone "knows" smoking cigarettes is deleterious to good health, yet every day people make the choice to smoke cigarettes. Everyone "knows" that eating vegetables is healthy, but many people choose not to do so. So, today let's look at choices and how a little shift in what you choose can result in better health.
(Instead of) (Choose)
(Margarine) (Butter)
(Canola Oil) (Olive oil)
(Beef) (Wild Salmon)
(Coca cola) (Fresh fruit juice)
(White rice) (Brown rice)
(Peanuts) (Walnuts/pecans)
(Tap water) (Reverse Osmosis water)
(Prune juice) (Prunes)
(Bourbon) (Red wine)
(Green olives) (Ripe olives)
(Velveeta cheese) (Fresh cheese)
(Mouthwash) (Salt water rinse)
(White sugar) (Dark sugar or Stevia)
(Commercial eye drops) (Distilled water eye drops)
(Fast Food) (Fresh green salad)
(Commercial salad dressing) (Balsamic vinegar/olive oil or, lime juice over salad)
(Cake or pie) (Bowl of blueberries, or raspberries)
(Fried fish) (Baked or broiled fish)
(White rice) (Cous cous, quinoa, barley)
(White bread) (Whole wheat/rye/multi-grain)
(Boxed cereals) (Oatmeal, granola with fresh fruit)
(Canned vegetables) (Fresh or frozen vegetables)
(Baking Potato) (Sweet potato or yam)
(Table salt) (Sun dried Sea Salt (Celtic)
(Iceberg lettuce) (Arugula, mixed baby greens)
So basically, I am advocating a slight shift in food perceptions. There is not much distance between healthy and unhealthy foods. Stay away from processed foods and eat whole foods (foods that you actually prepare). There is a type of Zen in actually purchasing and preparing your own meals instead of opening a box of processed food that your open and pop in the microwave.
I read somewhere, someone stated, "read the food labels...if it has ingredients listed that you cannot pronounce...don't buy it or consume it". Easy enough, I suppose.
I have always told my patients to stay away from white foods (rice, sugar, potatoes, pasta, white bread) as these are simple carbohydrates, and will cause insulin spikes and will quickly be converted into fat and stored. Instead choose "colored" foods (reds, blues, green, yellow and orange). Make your plate "look like a rainbow" and the food choices will be much healthier. So the goal of today is to look at food choices a little differently. Choose healthy instead of
non-healthy.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Folklore and Home Remedies
Today, let's have some fun. I want to write about medicinal folklore and various home remedies.
Some time around 1988 I was given a book, due to my intense interest in the subject, titled Folkology and Home Remedies, by "treeologist" Dick Frymire. It was published by the author, L. H. "Dick" Frymire of Irvington Kentucky. I've read this book frequently in the 20 years since receiving it (I even consulted it a few times while I was in medical school).
Now, Mr. Frymier was a student of reading nature and weather forecasting using nature's help. In this book he explains how he became interested in weather forcasting and he compiled a wealth of knowledge on home remedies. I give the credit for this article to Mr. Frymier. He was frequently a guest on radio shows and frequently gave presentations to the public. The following information was gathered from Dick Frymier's book.
Some time around 1988 I was given a book, due to my intense interest in the subject, titled Folkology and Home Remedies, by "treeologist" Dick Frymire. It was published by the author, L. H. "Dick" Frymire of Irvington Kentucky. I've read this book frequently in the 20 years since receiving it (I even consulted it a few times while I was in medical school).
Now, Mr. Frymier was a student of reading nature and weather forecasting using nature's help. In this book he explains how he became interested in weather forcasting and he compiled a wealth of knowledge on home remedies. I give the credit for this article to Mr. Frymier. He was frequently a guest on radio shows and frequently gave presentations to the public. The following information was gathered from Dick Frymier's book.
Colds:
- drink lemon juice with sugar (use freely while cold remains).
- For cough due to colds, mix some honey with cooked onions for a cough syrup.
- You'll be free of colds all winter if you catch a falling leaf in your hand in autumn. It sounds so easy but just try catching one in your hand.
- At the first sign of a cold, drink one quart of orange juice a day, take garlic capsules. Chew vitamin C tablets for a sore throat.
Chest Cold:
- Take 5 drops of cinnamon oil in a tablespoon of water four times a day.
- Drink raw sauerkraut juice once a day.
- Peel and crush six cloves of garlic. Mix this in with 1/2 cup of white lard. Spread this mixture on the soles of the feet and cover with a cloth towel. Place paper towels under the feet to absorb the grease. Apply a fresh batch of garlic and lard every four hours.
- Combine three tablespoons of honey and the juice of one lemon with five teaspoons of rum. Then add this to six ounces of hot water and drink before going to bed.
- Place an ice cube on the bottom of both big toes. Cover with an ace bandage or piece of cloth to keep in place. This will treat "points" that can help a cold. Do this morning, noon and night.
- At the first sign of a cold start gargling with vinegar and salt and take a gram (1,000 mg) of vitamin C, followed by 500 milligrams every half hour until bedtime. Then a gram every time you wake up at night. That should do it.
Cough compound:
- For the cure of coughs, colds, asthma, whooping cough and all diseases of the lungs: 1 spoonful of common tar, 3 teaspoon of honey, yolk of three eggs and half a pint of wine. Beat the tar, honey and egg yolks well with a knife and bottle for use. A teaspoon morning, noon, and night before eating.
(just a thought, you might consider beating the tar, honey and egg yolks together, then throw that mixture away and just drink the wine. ed.)
Cough syrup:
- Take 2 large spanish onions and slice them thinly. Pour two cups of honey over them, cover and let stand over night. The next day, strain off the syrup and add a jigger of brandy. Take one teaspoon of the syrup every three hours, keeping the syrup bottled and refrigerated between uses.
- Mix honey and horseradish together. Take as needed.
Faithfulness:
- To make sure your future husband or wife will be faithful, you must both lick your thumb. Then press them together in promise of faithfulness.
Hiccups:
- Swallow a teaspoon of fresh onion juice.
- Gently inhale a little pepper, just enough to make you sneeze.
- Place an ice cube right below the adams apple and count to 100.
- Breathe into a brown paper bag.
- Plug your ears while you drink some water.
- Splash some cold water on the back of your neck.
- Eat a teaspoon of peanut butter.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of sugar with one teaspoon of vinegar. Take as needed.
Tonsils:
- Your appendix and tonsils should not be removed if at all possible. They act as the focal point for poisons, gathering them and sending out through the proper channels.
Toothache:
- A small piece of cotton saturated with ammonia and placed next to the bad tooth, will in a lot of cases, cure the toothache.
- Apply bruised or grated horseradish to the wrist.
- To cure a toothache, drive a nail into an oak tree (I'm not sure how the process of healing works with this one).
- Place ice on the web of the skin between thumb and index finger on the same side of body as the toothache. This should help relieve the pain.
Finally, the following is a home remedy for any type of muscular or skeletal injury or pain that my father, W. B. Pece, Jr., taught me from childhood. This concoction came from his father, W. B. Pece, Sr., who in the early 1920's studied naturopathic medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Sorry, dad, for revealing one of your most precious secrets, but I think the world needs to know).
Take a 16 ounce bottle of Isopropyl alcohol and pour out 4 ounces. Add a 2 ounce bottle of camphor oil and a 2 ounce bottle of Spirit of Turpentine to the alcohol. Shake well. It should turn a milky white. For any type of muscular pain or arthritis rub solution well into the affected area. It can also be used for any other injury like bee stings, fire ant stings, bruises, etc. My father even uses it for chest colds by rubbing his chest with the solution and covering it with a cloth. I used it as a teenager for those pimples that always came up on the day you had a date...
These are some of the folklore and home remedies that often worked for our parents and their parents. Perhaps the old timers knew more than we have given them credit.
I will post other home remedies at a later time.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Explaining Atherosclerosis
Heart disease is one of America's greatest killers. It also is one of the American medical establishments greatest source of income. Many country club dues, private schools for the children and around the world vacations are funded by patients with heart disease.
Most of the establishments method of treating heart disease is palliative not curative. The method of treating heart disease is an assurance to the doctors and hospitals that you'll be back for further treatment and bearing gifts of more money to the doctors and hospitals.
Atherosclerosis is a fancy name for what most lay persons would call "hardening of the arteries". This condition usually makes its appearance in middle age, although autopsies of young people reveal it is usually already occuring in the 20's...only asymptomatic-no signs of it yet.
Let me explain how atherosclerosis forms...
Blood flow in the veins and arteries is tightly controlled by the body. Veins return unoxygenated blood from the periphery of the body to the heart and arteries take blood that has been oxygenated by the lungs away from the heart to the tissues in the body. Veins are thin vessels that are not under pressure and arteries are thick muscled vessels that are under the pressure of the heart.
As blood flows through the arteries it should flow smoothly, like deep water in a river. No ripples or eddies. The body system is an elaborate system who's purpose is to keep things working smoothly. Due to health care choices made by a person this smooth system can be damaged. Smoking cigarettes, breathing foul air, drinking alcohol to excess, eating saturated fats on a regular basis and many other things, can cause the formation of free radicals. A free radical is an unbalanced molecule (missing an electron) that then goes and steals an electron from another atom which makes it a free radical. This goes on millions of times a second and the end result is damage.
These free radicals, will go and nick the interior (intima) of a blood vessel. The result of this nick is a disruption of blood flow. Instead of flowing smoothly, the nick causes the blood to become turbulant as a rock in the river. The body wants everything to flow smoothly some it will lay down a thin layer of plaque. Plaque will be composed of calcium, cholesterol and othe molecules for the purpose of eliminating the rough blood flow. This will smooth out the flow for a while, but if nothing is done to prevent free radicals, then the smooth plaque will be nicked again by the free radical molecules. The blood becomes turbulent from the unsmooth surface. The body again lays down a smooth layer of plaque and the blood flow becomes smooth a. If the free radicals continue this smooth plaque will become damaged over and over again and the body continues to build up the plaque layer trying to keep everything flowing smoothly until one day...the blood flow is so restricted that the heart muscle begins screaming out for oxygen and symptoms occur...angina (lack of oxygen to the heart), heart attack (not enough oxygen to the heart and some of the heart muscle dies), a stroke (a piece of plaque breaks off and damages the heart), or other damage.
What does modern medicine do?
Bypass operation, where a vein (usually from the leg) is place to by-pass the blockage.
A stent might be put in to keep the artery open.
But do you see the fallacy of this?
The bypass, the stent is a temporary fix. The doctors have not dealth with the cause of the blockage to start with. If nothing changes in the patients diet, exercise, stress level and if he/she does not stop smoking, drinking, etc. the cause of the atherosclerosis will cause the vessel graft or the stent to close up as before. Then the patient can go through the same procedure in 3 to 5 years and the doctor can continue to pay the annual fee to the country club or the private school for his kids.
Usually nothing is taught to the patient about proper diet, exercise, which supplements may be helpful in reducing free radical damage, or helping blood flow. These are the changes which can prevent the free radical damage from occuring. Nothing is mentioned to the patient about chelation therapy, which can limit free radical damage, reduce the plaque buildup and maybe prevent the need for open heart surgery ot stent placement. Nothing. Thus the patient does not know of alternatives to what the doctors tell him and the cycle goes on.
Simple message...stop the free radical damage, stop atherosclerosis.
Most of the establishments method of treating heart disease is palliative not curative. The method of treating heart disease is an assurance to the doctors and hospitals that you'll be back for further treatment and bearing gifts of more money to the doctors and hospitals.
Atherosclerosis is a fancy name for what most lay persons would call "hardening of the arteries". This condition usually makes its appearance in middle age, although autopsies of young people reveal it is usually already occuring in the 20's...only asymptomatic-no signs of it yet.
Let me explain how atherosclerosis forms...
Blood flow in the veins and arteries is tightly controlled by the body. Veins return unoxygenated blood from the periphery of the body to the heart and arteries take blood that has been oxygenated by the lungs away from the heart to the tissues in the body. Veins are thin vessels that are not under pressure and arteries are thick muscled vessels that are under the pressure of the heart.
As blood flows through the arteries it should flow smoothly, like deep water in a river. No ripples or eddies. The body system is an elaborate system who's purpose is to keep things working smoothly. Due to health care choices made by a person this smooth system can be damaged. Smoking cigarettes, breathing foul air, drinking alcohol to excess, eating saturated fats on a regular basis and many other things, can cause the formation of free radicals. A free radical is an unbalanced molecule (missing an electron) that then goes and steals an electron from another atom which makes it a free radical. This goes on millions of times a second and the end result is damage.
These free radicals, will go and nick the interior (intima) of a blood vessel. The result of this nick is a disruption of blood flow. Instead of flowing smoothly, the nick causes the blood to become turbulant as a rock in the river. The body wants everything to flow smoothly some it will lay down a thin layer of plaque. Plaque will be composed of calcium, cholesterol and othe molecules for the purpose of eliminating the rough blood flow. This will smooth out the flow for a while, but if nothing is done to prevent free radicals, then the smooth plaque will be nicked again by the free radical molecules. The blood becomes turbulent from the unsmooth surface. The body again lays down a smooth layer of plaque and the blood flow becomes smooth a. If the free radicals continue this smooth plaque will become damaged over and over again and the body continues to build up the plaque layer trying to keep everything flowing smoothly until one day...the blood flow is so restricted that the heart muscle begins screaming out for oxygen and symptoms occur...angina (lack of oxygen to the heart), heart attack (not enough oxygen to the heart and some of the heart muscle dies), a stroke (a piece of plaque breaks off and damages the heart), or other damage.
What does modern medicine do?
Bypass operation, where a vein (usually from the leg) is place to by-pass the blockage.
A stent might be put in to keep the artery open.
But do you see the fallacy of this?
The bypass, the stent is a temporary fix. The doctors have not dealth with the cause of the blockage to start with. If nothing changes in the patients diet, exercise, stress level and if he/she does not stop smoking, drinking, etc. the cause of the atherosclerosis will cause the vessel graft or the stent to close up as before. Then the patient can go through the same procedure in 3 to 5 years and the doctor can continue to pay the annual fee to the country club or the private school for his kids.
Usually nothing is taught to the patient about proper diet, exercise, which supplements may be helpful in reducing free radical damage, or helping blood flow. These are the changes which can prevent the free radical damage from occuring. Nothing is mentioned to the patient about chelation therapy, which can limit free radical damage, reduce the plaque buildup and maybe prevent the need for open heart surgery ot stent placement. Nothing. Thus the patient does not know of alternatives to what the doctors tell him and the cycle goes on.
Simple message...stop the free radical damage, stop atherosclerosis.
Why Low Fat Diets May be Harmful
For 2 decades or more we have been indoctrinated by doctors and researchers that fats are bad. This is an example of the partial truth being paraded as The Truth. The simple fact is one cannot accurately state that "fats" are bad and a "low" fat diet is good.
It is erroneous to label fats as a single entity. There are many types of fat consumed in the diet...some are very good for you, some are neutral and other fats may be detrimental to your health. The body uses fats in many ways: as a source for energy, transformed into hormones, warmth, lubricating joints and keeping the skin supple and many other uses.
To keep it simple just remember that fatty acids (fats) are, depending on its molecular structure, placed in one of three groups.
1. Omega 3
2. Omega 6
3. Omega 9
Although, physiologically it much more complicated than the following, this will be simple enough for you to understand the difference.
Omega 3's are considered anti-inflammatory. They are converted into structures that can help stop tinflammatory processes. Inflammatory processes include: Osteo-arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), diabetes, lupus, etc. By ingesting Omega 3 oils it can help slow down the inflammatory process. Sources of omega 3's include fish oil, salmon, chicken, flax oil, primrose oil etc. These are considered the good fats.
Omega 6's are considered pro-inflammatory. That is, too much omega 6's can increase the inflammatory processes and incite problems as listed above. Omega 6's are in high ratio's in red meat, especially farmed red meat as from our cattle industry and pork (not the "other white meat"). Also vegetable oils such as corn oil, canola oil, etc. usually have a high ratio of Omega 6's to omega 3's.
Omega 9's are generally believed to be neutral in the inflammatory process, neither inciting or slowing down the inflammatory response. Olive oil generally has high levels of omega 9. By using olive oil instead of corn oil or canola oil, you will ingest less of the pro-inflammatory omega 6 and increase the neutral omega 9 fatty acid.
Although omega 6 is considered pro-inflammatory it is still necessary for proper physiological uses. The important thing to remember is it is all about the ratio! The proper ratio between omega 3, 6, and 9 is important for your health. It has been estimated that our predecessors the "cave-man" had a 6 to 1 ratio between omega 6 and omega 3. That is, in their diets our predecessors ate 6 times more omega 6 than omega 3. By studying the bones of these predecessors it has been found that they were not affected by diseases such as arthritis, joint problems, etc.
Today it is estimated that with the Standard American Diet (the SAD diet), we are consuming a 20 to 1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3's. The result of this imbalance is the pandemic of inflammatory diseases in our society. We are becoming overwhelmed by diseases that can be prevented with proper diet.
The way a person can lower the ratio between omega 6 and omega 3 is by swithching to a more plant based diet. Limit the amount of red meat in the diet. Increase salmon and other high fat fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, blue fish) or use fish oil capsules. The danger of increasing fatty fish intake is the heavy metals that may be in the fat of the fish (mercury in particular). Therefore, eat fish once a week and take fish oil capsules. Fish oil capsules are usually tested for toxicity and the good company's will place a buyers assurance on the label.
Take flax oil. Flax oil has a healthy ratio between omega 6 and omega 3. It will increase the levels of omega 3 in relation to omega 6. The best flax oil is the liquid that needs to be refrigerated. Take 1 or 2 tablespoons a day. Another is the flax seed itself. By in bulk, keep in the refrigerator and using a clean coffee grinder grind 1/4 cup at a time and spread on salads, oatmeal, cereal, etc. In this manner you will consume the extra fiber the seeds offer plus all the other vitamins, minerals that a whole seed contains.
The least desirable way to take flax seed oil are the capsules. These are highly processed and you must take about 9 of the horsepills a day to get maximum benefit.
Each of these methods will help you bring the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 down to a more desirable 6 to 1 ratio. By doing so you should feel better, look better and be less prone to the debilitating effects of inflammatory diseases.
It is erroneous to label fats as a single entity. There are many types of fat consumed in the diet...some are very good for you, some are neutral and other fats may be detrimental to your health. The body uses fats in many ways: as a source for energy, transformed into hormones, warmth, lubricating joints and keeping the skin supple and many other uses.
To keep it simple just remember that fatty acids (fats) are, depending on its molecular structure, placed in one of three groups.
1. Omega 3
2. Omega 6
3. Omega 9
Although, physiologically it much more complicated than the following, this will be simple enough for you to understand the difference.
Omega 3's are considered anti-inflammatory. They are converted into structures that can help stop tinflammatory processes. Inflammatory processes include: Osteo-arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), diabetes, lupus, etc. By ingesting Omega 3 oils it can help slow down the inflammatory process. Sources of omega 3's include fish oil, salmon, chicken, flax oil, primrose oil etc. These are considered the good fats.
Omega 6's are considered pro-inflammatory. That is, too much omega 6's can increase the inflammatory processes and incite problems as listed above. Omega 6's are in high ratio's in red meat, especially farmed red meat as from our cattle industry and pork (not the "other white meat"). Also vegetable oils such as corn oil, canola oil, etc. usually have a high ratio of Omega 6's to omega 3's.
Omega 9's are generally believed to be neutral in the inflammatory process, neither inciting or slowing down the inflammatory response. Olive oil generally has high levels of omega 9. By using olive oil instead of corn oil or canola oil, you will ingest less of the pro-inflammatory omega 6 and increase the neutral omega 9 fatty acid.
Although omega 6 is considered pro-inflammatory it is still necessary for proper physiological uses. The important thing to remember is it is all about the ratio! The proper ratio between omega 3, 6, and 9 is important for your health. It has been estimated that our predecessors the "cave-man" had a 6 to 1 ratio between omega 6 and omega 3. That is, in their diets our predecessors ate 6 times more omega 6 than omega 3. By studying the bones of these predecessors it has been found that they were not affected by diseases such as arthritis, joint problems, etc.
Today it is estimated that with the Standard American Diet (the SAD diet), we are consuming a 20 to 1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3's. The result of this imbalance is the pandemic of inflammatory diseases in our society. We are becoming overwhelmed by diseases that can be prevented with proper diet.
The way a person can lower the ratio between omega 6 and omega 3 is by swithching to a more plant based diet. Limit the amount of red meat in the diet. Increase salmon and other high fat fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, blue fish) or use fish oil capsules. The danger of increasing fatty fish intake is the heavy metals that may be in the fat of the fish (mercury in particular). Therefore, eat fish once a week and take fish oil capsules. Fish oil capsules are usually tested for toxicity and the good company's will place a buyers assurance on the label.
Take flax oil. Flax oil has a healthy ratio between omega 6 and omega 3. It will increase the levels of omega 3 in relation to omega 6. The best flax oil is the liquid that needs to be refrigerated. Take 1 or 2 tablespoons a day. Another is the flax seed itself. By in bulk, keep in the refrigerator and using a clean coffee grinder grind 1/4 cup at a time and spread on salads, oatmeal, cereal, etc. In this manner you will consume the extra fiber the seeds offer plus all the other vitamins, minerals that a whole seed contains.
The least desirable way to take flax seed oil are the capsules. These are highly processed and you must take about 9 of the horsepills a day to get maximum benefit.
Each of these methods will help you bring the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 down to a more desirable 6 to 1 ratio. By doing so you should feel better, look better and be less prone to the debilitating effects of inflammatory diseases.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A Berry for Life?
In January 2006, the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences published a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry about the effectiveness of a berry from Brazil that apparently triggered a death response in 86% of leukemia cells.
The berry is called Acai (ah-SAH'-ee) berry. Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed. The rush now will be to determine what beverages, supplements and other products can be made from this berry.
Since the berry is a dark purple color, it would obviously be a good antioxidant. The blue pigment (carotinoids) in fruit and berries are very helpful with preventing and reversing damage to the heart, blood vessels and eyes. When I treated patients who had AMD (Macular Degeneration), I would strongly suggest they increase their intake of "blue/red foods". These would include blueberries, blackberries, pomagranets, cherries and currant. These "colored" foods are helpful in protecting the eyes and reversing damage to them.
I wonder, though, if the selling of this newly "discovered" berry will be over-hyped and over sold by unscrupulous companies. This is a danger when a new, improved product is brought out as a heal-all product. What may happen to this berry is what we've seen before with other products:
1. Coral Calcium: In the 1990's this product swept the nation like a California wildfire. Coral Calcium was touted as superior to any other form of calcium. Multi-level salespersons promoted this product as curing almost everything under the sun...heart problems, cancer, sexual problems, hormonal problems...you name it and a MLM salesperson would pronounce coral calcium as the treatment. It came from the coast of Japan and although was actually Calcium Carbonate-which is the "cheapest" form and least absorbable yet this product cost was 2 - 3 times the price of regular Calcium Citrate. FDA studies later showed the product to be high in lead toxicity. So much for this ballyhood miracle product.
2. Also in the 1990's a miracle of miracles came on the market as "Sea Silver".
Sea Silver was touted as a must have for anyone looking for good health. It contained microscopic amounts of minerals, yet the MLM folks had everyone believing this microscopic amount (colloidal) was much better absorbed and assimilated and thus would cure cancer, colds/flu, provide energy, _________ (you fill in the blank). Again the FDA investigate the claims and the products and the product quietly disappeared from the shelves and home MLM parties.
3. Goji berries! Along came these little red wonders. Touted in magazines and radio ads as an absolutely necessary berry to eat for its many fine vitamins and minerals. Again, the benefits touted were far more than the little berry could actually perform. Being a red berry, it probably had antioxidant properties and had a decent level of vitamin C, which made it a good berry to eat. Yet the promotors of this vastly overstated the benefits, all in an effort to take money out of peoples pocket.
4. Noni Juice! In my opinion this is (besides coral calcium) the biggest scam of the past 15 years. There is not one disease, or medical condition that Noni Juice won't completely cure; if you listen to the MLM purveyors of this juice. I tried a couple of bottles to see what the hype was about. I admit it was a pleasant tasting liquid, probably had a decent amount of vitamin C and minerals in it. I would even say it is a nutritious drink. But it is not a cure all! It has been sold to people as curing anything they have. This over-hype is simply wrong!
The problem is when the Multi-level Marketers (MLM) get involved with a product and then recruit people who usually have no medical or health training and the promotors send this army out to sell the products and recruit other sale persons (who usually do not have medical or health training, either). These people are out hustling a product that has not been tested or used by trained medical people to see if it has any value, much less if the product will actually do what the MLM companies claim! Instead by exagerrated magazine and radio ads, and fraudulant word of mouth praises, the product ends up being a cure all and unsuspecting people become entraped in this pyramid scheme. Only the MLM owners make any money, all the sales people and buyers lose out.
People, if a product sounds too good to be true, if it promises to cure the world...please put your hand over your wallet and run like hell!
I hope this new berry that has a promise of being effective against some cancer cells does not end up like coral calcium, sea silver, goji berry, and noni juice. I hope if the studies show it does have health benefits that the MLM companies do not got their grubby little greasy hands on it.
I very much want people to have choices in their healthcare, but I want the people not to have to wade through the muck to find it. The industry needs to police itself closer and shut down the snake oil salesmen and MLM hucksters who prey on the latest "cure-all" to a gullible public.
The berry is called Acai (ah-SAH'-ee) berry. Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed. The rush now will be to determine what beverages, supplements and other products can be made from this berry.
Since the berry is a dark purple color, it would obviously be a good antioxidant. The blue pigment (carotinoids) in fruit and berries are very helpful with preventing and reversing damage to the heart, blood vessels and eyes. When I treated patients who had AMD (Macular Degeneration), I would strongly suggest they increase their intake of "blue/red foods". These would include blueberries, blackberries, pomagranets, cherries and currant. These "colored" foods are helpful in protecting the eyes and reversing damage to them.
I wonder, though, if the selling of this newly "discovered" berry will be over-hyped and over sold by unscrupulous companies. This is a danger when a new, improved product is brought out as a heal-all product. What may happen to this berry is what we've seen before with other products:
1. Coral Calcium: In the 1990's this product swept the nation like a California wildfire. Coral Calcium was touted as superior to any other form of calcium. Multi-level salespersons promoted this product as curing almost everything under the sun...heart problems, cancer, sexual problems, hormonal problems...you name it and a MLM salesperson would pronounce coral calcium as the treatment. It came from the coast of Japan and although was actually Calcium Carbonate-which is the "cheapest" form and least absorbable yet this product cost was 2 - 3 times the price of regular Calcium Citrate. FDA studies later showed the product to be high in lead toxicity. So much for this ballyhood miracle product.
2. Also in the 1990's a miracle of miracles came on the market as "Sea Silver".
Sea Silver was touted as a must have for anyone looking for good health. It contained microscopic amounts of minerals, yet the MLM folks had everyone believing this microscopic amount (colloidal) was much better absorbed and assimilated and thus would cure cancer, colds/flu, provide energy, _________ (you fill in the blank). Again the FDA investigate the claims and the products and the product quietly disappeared from the shelves and home MLM parties.
3. Goji berries! Along came these little red wonders. Touted in magazines and radio ads as an absolutely necessary berry to eat for its many fine vitamins and minerals. Again, the benefits touted were far more than the little berry could actually perform. Being a red berry, it probably had antioxidant properties and had a decent level of vitamin C, which made it a good berry to eat. Yet the promotors of this vastly overstated the benefits, all in an effort to take money out of peoples pocket.
4. Noni Juice! In my opinion this is (besides coral calcium) the biggest scam of the past 15 years. There is not one disease, or medical condition that Noni Juice won't completely cure; if you listen to the MLM purveyors of this juice. I tried a couple of bottles to see what the hype was about. I admit it was a pleasant tasting liquid, probably had a decent amount of vitamin C and minerals in it. I would even say it is a nutritious drink. But it is not a cure all! It has been sold to people as curing anything they have. This over-hype is simply wrong!
The problem is when the Multi-level Marketers (MLM) get involved with a product and then recruit people who usually have no medical or health training and the promotors send this army out to sell the products and recruit other sale persons (who usually do not have medical or health training, either). These people are out hustling a product that has not been tested or used by trained medical people to see if it has any value, much less if the product will actually do what the MLM companies claim! Instead by exagerrated magazine and radio ads, and fraudulant word of mouth praises, the product ends up being a cure all and unsuspecting people become entraped in this pyramid scheme. Only the MLM owners make any money, all the sales people and buyers lose out.
People, if a product sounds too good to be true, if it promises to cure the world...please put your hand over your wallet and run like hell!
I hope this new berry that has a promise of being effective against some cancer cells does not end up like coral calcium, sea silver, goji berry, and noni juice. I hope if the studies show it does have health benefits that the MLM companies do not got their grubby little greasy hands on it.
I very much want people to have choices in their healthcare, but I want the people not to have to wade through the muck to find it. The industry needs to police itself closer and shut down the snake oil salesmen and MLM hucksters who prey on the latest "cure-all" to a gullible public.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
She Was My Friend
Today, I am telling a true story of someone who was a close friend of mine. The point of this story is...is...well I'm not quite sure what the point is. There are several lessons which can possibly be taken from this story and I leave it to each of you to find your own.
Carol Cooper was my friend.
Dr. Carol and I met five or six years ago when she came to our office for treatment of an eye condition. Carol was in her sixties, unmarried and had her own health practice. Although she was not a licensed physician she was trained and certified in Oriental Medicine (DOM), a licensed acupuncturist and a certified homeopath. Carol was a "true believer" in alternative medicine. Her practice reflected this.
In homeopathy parlance, Carol would be known as a "sulfur" type person. One look at her office and you would see every inch of space occupied by some medical instrument, magazine, papers or "treasure" from which she could not part. Her car reflected the same "sulfur" personality. Papers, cups, pairs of shoes and heaven knows what else were strewn all over her car. Sometimes when she exited her car, papers would roll out with her onto the pavement below.
Carol fit the sulfur personality perfectly. She was not amused when I called her a sulfur type person and would unconvincingly try to argue she wasn't.
Then again she would chide me for not being naturopathic enough, in her mind. She felt I should not write prescriptions, or do any invasive therapy, or refer patients to MD's when I felt it was necessary. To Carol, this was taboo.
But, Carol was my friend.
When I was assaulted and suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), Carol was quick to try to help me. She had a hyperbaric oxygen chamber that she would have me climb in for an hour or so, whenever I could make it to her office. She carefully helped me in and out of the tube before and after treatment. She encouraged me to drink the ozone treated water made from her ozone machine to increase the oxygen in my system to try and "feed" the brain so it could heal. She made me homeopathic remedies to help with my recovery. She also encouraged me to refrain from the allopathic treatments that I was concurrently receiving which I did not follow. Such was her strong belief in alternative medicine.
Dr. Carol and I would sit in her office, or in my office and we would discuss medicine and how best to help our patients. She felt strongly that natural medicine was the most effective modal of treatment and all that was necessary. I would argue that each modality of medicine had pros and cons. That a physician should use whichever modality that he/she felt was best for the patient. We would talk about our dreams of life after our practices. We also had similar political views and we would run the gamut with this also. They were all interesting and enlightening discussions.
Carol, like me, wanted out of the US, as we saw nothing but "a bad moon arising" for the future. We discussed which country would be the best to live. We talked about each of the countries of Latin and South America and the pros and cons of each. We both ruled out Costa Rica as too expensive and too many Americans there, already. If we wanted to live amongst Americans we could stay in the US.
Finally, Carol bought a house in Panama. Carol joyfully sent pictures of her new home out by email to her friends and was very excited about the opportunity to spend her retirement years in Latin America. She hoped to move into her new home within two years after having closed her practice down and sold her home in Arizona. She was making plans for the future.
One day Carol came by my house and told me she was hemorrhaging, and asked me what I thought the cause could be. When a sixty five year old woman begins hemorrhaging it is not good news. I told Carol, it may be significant or possibly the cause could be some hormonal dysfunction. We would need tests to find out. I ordered lab tests for her and awaited the results.
When the results came the indications were as I was expecting; anemia, white blood cell dysfunction and other indices elevated. I encouraged her to go to an oncologist for testing to determine if there was cancer, if so-what type, stage, location and any metastases.
As with many people facing further testing, Carol was reluctant to go and postponed it for several weeks.
Finally she went to an oncologist and after numerous tests she was told there was cancer cells in the uterus and ovaries and it had metastasized to her liver and lung.
She came to my house and we talked. She asked what I could do for her and I honestly told her at this stage there wasn't much I could do, but was willing to try everything in my arsenal for her. I encouraged her to talk with with her oncologist and consider options such as chemotherapy, radiation or possibly a combination of surgery and one of the others.
This of course went against everything she believed.
I told her I would work with her from a naturopathic perspective to help keep her strong and improve her immune system. I gave her some laetrile (vitamin B-17) and instructed her how to take it. I gave her supplements to strengthen her physically and help fight the cancer. She asked if I could give her IV vitamin therapy, but after the head injury I developed a tremor in my dominant hand and could no longer start IV's. I reluctantly told her I could not, but I could ask some of my doctor friends to do so. She turned me down.
Carol decided to utilize my help, but also chose to be treated by other "alternative healers" whom she knew and trusted. These "healers", whom I had not met, worked with Carol using "energy", "muscle testing", "laying of hands" and other methods of which I was not familiar. Carol read a book on vegetarian diet treatment for cancer and went vegetarian with emphasis on juicing and green vegetables. I encourage her with this diet as juicing and vegetables would keep her in an "alkaline" state which is conducive to healing. I also encouraged her to consume cruciferous vegetables as they are known to be detrimental to cancer cells. I told her she needed protein to rebuild tissues, though. She took whey protein to ensure her protein intake.
One day Carol came to the house and announced she was going to California for three week stay at a "cancer clinic" that treated cancer patients with vegetarian diet, juicing, meditation and exercise. She brought me a brochure and asked if I wanted to go with her as she felt it would be helpful for my TBI, also.
Carol went alone and during her stay I received several emails from her praising the clinic and treatment she was receiving. She felt it was exactly what she needed in her fight against cancer. After her time at the clinic, she came by the house still enthusing about it. She still thought I should go. I noticed Carol was looking weaker and her color was more of a gray color. Carol said she was tired, but from the trip, not from the illness. Anyway, Carol stated her other "healers" had muscle tested her and told her she was getting better ("her muscle testing numbers were improving, her tiredness was temporary and she would get well").
The next time Carol came to the house she was so weak she could hardly walk. As she exited her car papers spilled out ino the driveway. She was shivering and my wife got her a blanket to warm her. Carol still told me her other "healers" had stated she was improving. She was not following my advice or that of her oncologist, rather she was relying on the vegetarian diet and these other "healers" who through muscle testing had convinced her she was recovering.
I did not hear from Carol for a week or so, and then she called and said she was in a hospice. We immediately went and visited with her. She was in a small room in a hospice that was in a residential neighborhood. From the outside the hospice looked like any other house in the area. Inside, each room was occupied by a patient awaiting death. Carol was jovial as always, and happily told us about the garden outside her room and how peaceful it was, and how nice the doctors, nurses and aides were to her. She was comfortable. Carol did not talk about death, but nor did she talk about living. She accepted her fate. Not once, did Carol express sadness, fear or anger. She faced her destiny with grace and dignity.
Carol died about a week later in April 2007. We read her obituary in the paper and wept. I do not know what happened to her office, medical equipment, her house in Arizona, or her house in Panama. She said she had her "affairs" in order and I respected that. Carol always kept some of her cards close to her chest and these I did not press to see. We respected each other's privacy as friends often do.
Shortly thereafter we moved to Latin America.
As time went on, anger built up in me. Why had Carol listened so faithfully to those "healers" who had convinced her she was getting better when all signs indicated she was getting worse, quickly? Who the hell were these people who were not qualified to treat her cancer and through their lies and deceit accelerated her death? Carol truly felt she only needed natural medicine to fight her cancer and that was her right to choose and I respected that. I suppose Carol made her decisions, and handled it the way she wanted.
But you see, that is a danger that people who are ill may have to face. Natural healing is effective in many instances. Yet people who practice "natural healing" must be properly trained, licensed with follow up training and as with allopathic doctors followed by a medical board to protect the public from unscrupulous practitioners. In my opinion, the people who go to a weekend course and learn some technique like muscle testing, "vibrational" healing, or other such nonsense should not be allowed in a position of determining the life and death treatment of a person. Not only are they dangerous, they give properly trained natural healers a bad name. These are the people that the AMA refer when their "healing" goes wrong. But then again, I believe strongly the patient has a right to choose their treatment options, as Carol did.
Maybe no therapy would have helped Carol and she died the way she wanted. I don't know. Carol had a choice in her health care and she stood by her beliefs. This situation is why at the beginning of the article I stated I wasn't sure what the point of this article is. There are several that each reader can find if they so choose, I suppose. Or none if they choose.
But in the end I wanted to say...Dr. Carol was my friend.
Carol Cooper was my friend.
Dr. Carol and I met five or six years ago when she came to our office for treatment of an eye condition. Carol was in her sixties, unmarried and had her own health practice. Although she was not a licensed physician she was trained and certified in Oriental Medicine (DOM), a licensed acupuncturist and a certified homeopath. Carol was a "true believer" in alternative medicine. Her practice reflected this.
In homeopathy parlance, Carol would be known as a "sulfur" type person. One look at her office and you would see every inch of space occupied by some medical instrument, magazine, papers or "treasure" from which she could not part. Her car reflected the same "sulfur" personality. Papers, cups, pairs of shoes and heaven knows what else were strewn all over her car. Sometimes when she exited her car, papers would roll out with her onto the pavement below.
Carol fit the sulfur personality perfectly. She was not amused when I called her a sulfur type person and would unconvincingly try to argue she wasn't.
Then again she would chide me for not being naturopathic enough, in her mind. She felt I should not write prescriptions, or do any invasive therapy, or refer patients to MD's when I felt it was necessary. To Carol, this was taboo.
But, Carol was my friend.
When I was assaulted and suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), Carol was quick to try to help me. She had a hyperbaric oxygen chamber that she would have me climb in for an hour or so, whenever I could make it to her office. She carefully helped me in and out of the tube before and after treatment. She encouraged me to drink the ozone treated water made from her ozone machine to increase the oxygen in my system to try and "feed" the brain so it could heal. She made me homeopathic remedies to help with my recovery. She also encouraged me to refrain from the allopathic treatments that I was concurrently receiving which I did not follow. Such was her strong belief in alternative medicine.
Dr. Carol and I would sit in her office, or in my office and we would discuss medicine and how best to help our patients. She felt strongly that natural medicine was the most effective modal of treatment and all that was necessary. I would argue that each modality of medicine had pros and cons. That a physician should use whichever modality that he/she felt was best for the patient. We would talk about our dreams of life after our practices. We also had similar political views and we would run the gamut with this also. They were all interesting and enlightening discussions.
Carol, like me, wanted out of the US, as we saw nothing but "a bad moon arising" for the future. We discussed which country would be the best to live. We talked about each of the countries of Latin and South America and the pros and cons of each. We both ruled out Costa Rica as too expensive and too many Americans there, already. If we wanted to live amongst Americans we could stay in the US.
Finally, Carol bought a house in Panama. Carol joyfully sent pictures of her new home out by email to her friends and was very excited about the opportunity to spend her retirement years in Latin America. She hoped to move into her new home within two years after having closed her practice down and sold her home in Arizona. She was making plans for the future.
One day Carol came by my house and told me she was hemorrhaging, and asked me what I thought the cause could be. When a sixty five year old woman begins hemorrhaging it is not good news. I told Carol, it may be significant or possibly the cause could be some hormonal dysfunction. We would need tests to find out. I ordered lab tests for her and awaited the results.
When the results came the indications were as I was expecting; anemia, white blood cell dysfunction and other indices elevated. I encouraged her to go to an oncologist for testing to determine if there was cancer, if so-what type, stage, location and any metastases.
As with many people facing further testing, Carol was reluctant to go and postponed it for several weeks.
Finally she went to an oncologist and after numerous tests she was told there was cancer cells in the uterus and ovaries and it had metastasized to her liver and lung.
She came to my house and we talked. She asked what I could do for her and I honestly told her at this stage there wasn't much I could do, but was willing to try everything in my arsenal for her. I encouraged her to talk with with her oncologist and consider options such as chemotherapy, radiation or possibly a combination of surgery and one of the others.
This of course went against everything she believed.
I told her I would work with her from a naturopathic perspective to help keep her strong and improve her immune system. I gave her some laetrile (vitamin B-17) and instructed her how to take it. I gave her supplements to strengthen her physically and help fight the cancer. She asked if I could give her IV vitamin therapy, but after the head injury I developed a tremor in my dominant hand and could no longer start IV's. I reluctantly told her I could not, but I could ask some of my doctor friends to do so. She turned me down.
Carol decided to utilize my help, but also chose to be treated by other "alternative healers" whom she knew and trusted. These "healers", whom I had not met, worked with Carol using "energy", "muscle testing", "laying of hands" and other methods of which I was not familiar. Carol read a book on vegetarian diet treatment for cancer and went vegetarian with emphasis on juicing and green vegetables. I encourage her with this diet as juicing and vegetables would keep her in an "alkaline" state which is conducive to healing. I also encouraged her to consume cruciferous vegetables as they are known to be detrimental to cancer cells. I told her she needed protein to rebuild tissues, though. She took whey protein to ensure her protein intake.
One day Carol came to the house and announced she was going to California for three week stay at a "cancer clinic" that treated cancer patients with vegetarian diet, juicing, meditation and exercise. She brought me a brochure and asked if I wanted to go with her as she felt it would be helpful for my TBI, also.
Carol went alone and during her stay I received several emails from her praising the clinic and treatment she was receiving. She felt it was exactly what she needed in her fight against cancer. After her time at the clinic, she came by the house still enthusing about it. She still thought I should go. I noticed Carol was looking weaker and her color was more of a gray color. Carol said she was tired, but from the trip, not from the illness. Anyway, Carol stated her other "healers" had muscle tested her and told her she was getting better ("her muscle testing numbers were improving, her tiredness was temporary and she would get well").
The next time Carol came to the house she was so weak she could hardly walk. As she exited her car papers spilled out ino the driveway. She was shivering and my wife got her a blanket to warm her. Carol still told me her other "healers" had stated she was improving. She was not following my advice or that of her oncologist, rather she was relying on the vegetarian diet and these other "healers" who through muscle testing had convinced her she was recovering.
I did not hear from Carol for a week or so, and then she called and said she was in a hospice. We immediately went and visited with her. She was in a small room in a hospice that was in a residential neighborhood. From the outside the hospice looked like any other house in the area. Inside, each room was occupied by a patient awaiting death. Carol was jovial as always, and happily told us about the garden outside her room and how peaceful it was, and how nice the doctors, nurses and aides were to her. She was comfortable. Carol did not talk about death, but nor did she talk about living. She accepted her fate. Not once, did Carol express sadness, fear or anger. She faced her destiny with grace and dignity.
Carol died about a week later in April 2007. We read her obituary in the paper and wept. I do not know what happened to her office, medical equipment, her house in Arizona, or her house in Panama. She said she had her "affairs" in order and I respected that. Carol always kept some of her cards close to her chest and these I did not press to see. We respected each other's privacy as friends often do.
Shortly thereafter we moved to Latin America.
As time went on, anger built up in me. Why had Carol listened so faithfully to those "healers" who had convinced her she was getting better when all signs indicated she was getting worse, quickly? Who the hell were these people who were not qualified to treat her cancer and through their lies and deceit accelerated her death? Carol truly felt she only needed natural medicine to fight her cancer and that was her right to choose and I respected that. I suppose Carol made her decisions, and handled it the way she wanted.
But you see, that is a danger that people who are ill may have to face. Natural healing is effective in many instances. Yet people who practice "natural healing" must be properly trained, licensed with follow up training and as with allopathic doctors followed by a medical board to protect the public from unscrupulous practitioners. In my opinion, the people who go to a weekend course and learn some technique like muscle testing, "vibrational" healing, or other such nonsense should not be allowed in a position of determining the life and death treatment of a person. Not only are they dangerous, they give properly trained natural healers a bad name. These are the people that the AMA refer when their "healing" goes wrong. But then again, I believe strongly the patient has a right to choose their treatment options, as Carol did.
Maybe no therapy would have helped Carol and she died the way she wanted. I don't know. Carol had a choice in her health care and she stood by her beliefs. This situation is why at the beginning of the article I stated I wasn't sure what the point of this article is. There are several that each reader can find if they so choose, I suppose. Or none if they choose.
But in the end I wanted to say...Dr. Carol was my friend.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Why?
Why do medical doctors take hope away from patients?
A physician's duty is to provide the best care possible for their patients. Sometimes this means thinking "outside the box". This means going beyond their training in school or conferences, and not following the pathway thinking of "if a, then b". Perhaps the answer to a patients need is d, or k. Maybe the answer is beyond a. This is thinking outside the box.
One thing I noticed early in my career is that patients who visit naturopaths have often spent months or years going to MD's and due to a lack of improvement in health, they, as a last resort, come to a naturopath. The patient has exhausted all the tricks the MD has and now comes to me for a miracle after having wasted months or years on "accepted" medical care and no improvement. Naturopaths are often the doctor of last resort.
Frequently, these patients would tell me, "My doctor told me there is nothing that can be done to help me"; "My doctor told me my only hope is chemotherapy/radiation therapy"; "My doctor said I had to have my gallbladder/ovaries/uterus removed". "My doctor told me there is nothing wrong with me, he wants me to go see a psychologist".
These patients would come to me for help and hope.
Hope is a major aspect of healing. The worst thing a doctor can do is remove hope from a patient. Studies show that when an oncologist tells a patient that "you have six months to live", most of the patients who are told this will die within six months. Why? Is it because the oncologist is such a wizard he knows how long a patient will live? No, it's because he has put that time frame in a patient's mind and that becomes a powerful truth for that person (a self-fulfilling prophecy). The mind is a powerful healer. If you take the hope away from the patient you take a powerful healing option away. Doctors do not have the right and should not assume the right to do so.
A doctor should not lie to a patient, but should never take hope away. Patients have a right to their hope; and hope can heal.
As a doctor I always respected the "four" bodies of each patient. These are:
1. The physical body
2. The mental body (mind)
3. The emotional body
4. The spiritual body
All four must be addressed by a physician. If any one of the bodies become "out of balanced" then illness, or "dis-ease" will occur. Therefore all need to be in balance for health. This is part of the mind-body connection. At various times a physician must be able to treat one or multiple for health to return.
I always looked at the four bodies when my patients came to see me, and worked to balance them, usually with outstanding results even after a patient had been ill for a long time and treated by other doctors with no positive results.
Patients would often comment, "You are the first doctor to give me hope", "Why did my other doctor say I could not get better?" "All the other doctors just wanted to put me on dialysis..."
Good questions.
My point today is it is the patient's right to have hope in being healed from a disease. A doctor does not have the right to take that hope away from a patient. Hope can go a long way in the healing process and must be nurtured by all parties involved. If you have a disease, one of the strongest medicines available...is hope.
A physician's duty is to provide the best care possible for their patients. Sometimes this means thinking "outside the box". This means going beyond their training in school or conferences, and not following the pathway thinking of "if a, then b". Perhaps the answer to a patients need is d, or k. Maybe the answer is beyond a. This is thinking outside the box.
One thing I noticed early in my career is that patients who visit naturopaths have often spent months or years going to MD's and due to a lack of improvement in health, they, as a last resort, come to a naturopath. The patient has exhausted all the tricks the MD has and now comes to me for a miracle after having wasted months or years on "accepted" medical care and no improvement. Naturopaths are often the doctor of last resort.
Frequently, these patients would tell me, "My doctor told me there is nothing that can be done to help me"; "My doctor told me my only hope is chemotherapy/radiation therapy"; "My doctor said I had to have my gallbladder/ovaries/uterus removed". "My doctor told me there is nothing wrong with me, he wants me to go see a psychologist".
These patients would come to me for help and hope.
Hope is a major aspect of healing. The worst thing a doctor can do is remove hope from a patient. Studies show that when an oncologist tells a patient that "you have six months to live", most of the patients who are told this will die within six months. Why? Is it because the oncologist is such a wizard he knows how long a patient will live? No, it's because he has put that time frame in a patient's mind and that becomes a powerful truth for that person (a self-fulfilling prophecy). The mind is a powerful healer. If you take the hope away from the patient you take a powerful healing option away. Doctors do not have the right and should not assume the right to do so.
A doctor should not lie to a patient, but should never take hope away. Patients have a right to their hope; and hope can heal.
As a doctor I always respected the "four" bodies of each patient. These are:
1. The physical body
2. The mental body (mind)
3. The emotional body
4. The spiritual body
All four must be addressed by a physician. If any one of the bodies become "out of balanced" then illness, or "dis-ease" will occur. Therefore all need to be in balance for health. This is part of the mind-body connection. At various times a physician must be able to treat one or multiple for health to return.
I always looked at the four bodies when my patients came to see me, and worked to balance them, usually with outstanding results even after a patient had been ill for a long time and treated by other doctors with no positive results.
Patients would often comment, "You are the first doctor to give me hope", "Why did my other doctor say I could not get better?" "All the other doctors just wanted to put me on dialysis..."
Good questions.
My point today is it is the patient's right to have hope in being healed from a disease. A doctor does not have the right to take that hope away from a patient. Hope can go a long way in the healing process and must be nurtured by all parties involved. If you have a disease, one of the strongest medicines available...is hope.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
What is Happening to North Americans Health?
North Americans (U.S.) have with each generation increased life expectancy. Each passing generation could generally expect to live longer and with better health than the preceding generation. I am afraid the "baby-boom generation" will be an exception to history.
Why do I say this?
The "baby-boomer generation", those born between 1946 and 1964, are the first complete generation in which science and allopathic medicine have had unfettered access. This is the first generation to have been exposed to nuclear experiments. In the 1950's atmospheric nuclear blasts were routine in Nevada. The scientist studied the effects of the blast's radiation on the people in the area of the nuclear blasts. They would then study the movement of radiation as it was carried across the country by the prevailing winds. Radiation was such a novelty to those studying the effects thereof that in the 1950's in shoe stores there were little boxes in which you could place your bare feet and actually see the x-ray of the bones in your foot! Wow, free foot x-rays...what a novelty!
I remember as a child in the 1950's and 1960's, the warning from the radio announcer, not to eat the snow which occasionally fell in Atlanta, as it may be radioactive.
We still do not know the full effects of these nuclear tests, except the incidence of cancer rose dramatically in areas affected by these tests.
The "baby-boomers were exposed to a uncontrolled unleashing of chemicals in all aspects of our lives. In the 1950's, Dow Chemical Company ran television ads with the motto of "Better Living Through Chemistry". This was a time after WWII when the US could do no wrong. This was a "go-go" time. Chemicals added to the food supply to keep meat red longer, vegetables to have better taste, food not deteriorate while on store shelves. When it became fashionable to strip all the nutrients from flour and rice (and sell them for other uses), then add back a few vitamins and call it enriched.
A time when chemicals were used to spray for fire ants from airplanes over neighborhoods, malathion aerial spray to control mosquitoes, flies and insects that may harm the farming industry. When after killing all the beneficial insects with aerial spraying farmer then had to spray to kill invasive insects that then took over. Spray to kill weeds and grasses, defoliate plants for easier harvesting, to kill certain fungus's that could occur on plants that were no longer healthy, spray fertilizer on depleted soil all in the name of good science. With all the spraying of chemicals is it not really surprising that farmers die from liver cancer and other cancers, develop Parkinson's disease more readily than non farming workers?
But these chemicals get into the food and water supply and slowly destroy human health and lives.
The baby boomers were the first generation to be inoculated with many improperly tested vaccines. It was felt vaccines would save the world. In some circumstances vaccines have been helpful. But what it does is to circumvent the body's on ability to deal with diseases and long term reduces the effectiveness of the immune system. Many of the diseases from which vaccines are to protect us are diseases that are mild in duration and the immune system would prevent further infection naturally. Now, medical science are making even more vaccines mandatory on the population. A child born today will need over 35 vaccines by his/her fourth year to meet the medical requirements set by doctors and schools. It forbodes a further destruction of the current young people.
Stress has played a large part in the baby boomers lives. Starting in the 1950's nuclear war became a distinct possibility. The Soviet Union was determined to destroy our country! I remember in elementary school of having drills to hide under the desk in case of a nuclear attack by the Russian Bear. Like the desk was going to protect you in case of nuclear war! The 1962 Cuban Missile Crises. I grew up in Atlanta and it was told to us that if the Soviet Union were to launch the missiles toward us, we would be incinerated within an hour. I remember as a 11 year old, one evening, going out to the front yard and watching the sunset thinking it would be my last. I felt sad watching the sun set. Then there were the race riots of the summers of 1964 - 1968 as civil rights were fought to bring down the Jim Crowe Laws. Viet Nam wasted no time in becoming a major issue for the boomers. Some were drafted and went and fought an unpopular war, others stayed behind to protest and try and bring an end to it. We lived with the assassinations of John Kennedy, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy. On and on stress of surviving confronted the boomer generation.
Presently there is a "so called" war on terror. This new stressor comes complete with "easy to understand" color coded "threat levels" to ensure Americans, who might believe such childishness, will continue to live their lives afraid and depending on "Big Brother" to protect them from "all the terrorists".
The assault on citizens by the government continues.
After a life time of the physical and mental stressors listed above, new diseases began appearing in the 1970's. Disease conditions such as herpes, HIV, Autisim in children (naturally treated with anti-psychotic drugs since autism must be a deficiency of Prozac), hepatitis C, West Nile Virus, flesh eating staph, Bird Flu, untreatable TB, rare cancers that exploded such as renal carcinoma, lymphatic cancers, immune suppressed diseases such as SLE, IgG deficiency, and obesity.
Is there any reason not to understand what has happened to the health of the people in the US?
In future topics I will discuss these life conditions in further detail.
Why do I say this?
The "baby-boomer generation", those born between 1946 and 1964, are the first complete generation in which science and allopathic medicine have had unfettered access. This is the first generation to have been exposed to nuclear experiments. In the 1950's atmospheric nuclear blasts were routine in Nevada. The scientist studied the effects of the blast's radiation on the people in the area of the nuclear blasts. They would then study the movement of radiation as it was carried across the country by the prevailing winds. Radiation was such a novelty to those studying the effects thereof that in the 1950's in shoe stores there were little boxes in which you could place your bare feet and actually see the x-ray of the bones in your foot! Wow, free foot x-rays...what a novelty!
I remember as a child in the 1950's and 1960's, the warning from the radio announcer, not to eat the snow which occasionally fell in Atlanta, as it may be radioactive.
We still do not know the full effects of these nuclear tests, except the incidence of cancer rose dramatically in areas affected by these tests.
The "baby-boomers were exposed to a uncontrolled unleashing of chemicals in all aspects of our lives. In the 1950's, Dow Chemical Company ran television ads with the motto of "Better Living Through Chemistry". This was a time after WWII when the US could do no wrong. This was a "go-go" time. Chemicals added to the food supply to keep meat red longer, vegetables to have better taste, food not deteriorate while on store shelves. When it became fashionable to strip all the nutrients from flour and rice (and sell them for other uses), then add back a few vitamins and call it enriched.
A time when chemicals were used to spray for fire ants from airplanes over neighborhoods, malathion aerial spray to control mosquitoes, flies and insects that may harm the farming industry. When after killing all the beneficial insects with aerial spraying farmer then had to spray to kill invasive insects that then took over. Spray to kill weeds and grasses, defoliate plants for easier harvesting, to kill certain fungus's that could occur on plants that were no longer healthy, spray fertilizer on depleted soil all in the name of good science. With all the spraying of chemicals is it not really surprising that farmers die from liver cancer and other cancers, develop Parkinson's disease more readily than non farming workers?
But these chemicals get into the food and water supply and slowly destroy human health and lives.
The baby boomers were the first generation to be inoculated with many improperly tested vaccines. It was felt vaccines would save the world. In some circumstances vaccines have been helpful. But what it does is to circumvent the body's on ability to deal with diseases and long term reduces the effectiveness of the immune system. Many of the diseases from which vaccines are to protect us are diseases that are mild in duration and the immune system would prevent further infection naturally. Now, medical science are making even more vaccines mandatory on the population. A child born today will need over 35 vaccines by his/her fourth year to meet the medical requirements set by doctors and schools. It forbodes a further destruction of the current young people.
Stress has played a large part in the baby boomers lives. Starting in the 1950's nuclear war became a distinct possibility. The Soviet Union was determined to destroy our country! I remember in elementary school of having drills to hide under the desk in case of a nuclear attack by the Russian Bear. Like the desk was going to protect you in case of nuclear war! The 1962 Cuban Missile Crises. I grew up in Atlanta and it was told to us that if the Soviet Union were to launch the missiles toward us, we would be incinerated within an hour. I remember as a 11 year old, one evening, going out to the front yard and watching the sunset thinking it would be my last. I felt sad watching the sun set. Then there were the race riots of the summers of 1964 - 1968 as civil rights were fought to bring down the Jim Crowe Laws. Viet Nam wasted no time in becoming a major issue for the boomers. Some were drafted and went and fought an unpopular war, others stayed behind to protest and try and bring an end to it. We lived with the assassinations of John Kennedy, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy. On and on stress of surviving confronted the boomer generation.
Presently there is a "so called" war on terror. This new stressor comes complete with "easy to understand" color coded "threat levels" to ensure Americans, who might believe such childishness, will continue to live their lives afraid and depending on "Big Brother" to protect them from "all the terrorists".
The assault on citizens by the government continues.
After a life time of the physical and mental stressors listed above, new diseases began appearing in the 1970's. Disease conditions such as herpes, HIV, Autisim in children (naturally treated with anti-psychotic drugs since autism must be a deficiency of Prozac), hepatitis C, West Nile Virus, flesh eating staph, Bird Flu, untreatable TB, rare cancers that exploded such as renal carcinoma, lymphatic cancers, immune suppressed diseases such as SLE, IgG deficiency, and obesity.
Is there any reason not to understand what has happened to the health of the people in the US?
In future topics I will discuss these life conditions in further detail.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
What is the Difference Between "Allopathic" and "Naturopathic" Medicine
"Allopathic" medicine is what most people refer to when they talk of going to the doctor. This is the model of medicine in which most insurance and medicare will pay. In this model you call and set up an appointment with a doctor, you go to the office and wait, 30 minutes past your appointment time you are called in to an exam room where a nurse takes your blood pressure and temperature, she leaves the room, and you continue to wait for the doctor, he/she finally comes in and asks what is wrong with you, you have one or two minutes to tell the doctor your complaints, the doctor, without looking up from your chart, writes out a couple of prescriptions for you and leaves the room. You go to the front desk and pay your co-pay and off you go to the pharmacy. This is medical practice in the 21st century. In a naturopathic medical visit, you will spend considerably more time with the doctor. He/she will ask the patient many questions...some seem "strange". The purpose is to get the whole picture of the conditions surrounding the patient. Not some symptoms that the patient has. The naturopathic doctor will try to find the "cause" of a disease, not simply the symptoms. Allopathic doctors treat "symptoms": you have a headache, "here take this painkiller"; you have a fever, "take aspirin to break the fever"; you have diarrhea, "take kaopectate to stop it"; you have a cough, "take this cough suppressant". All these are treating symptoms. A naturopath will try and establish why you have a headache and they will then treat the cause. They will find the cause of a fever and perhaps they may try to push the fever higher (fever is the body's way of trying to kill off the bacteria or virus). Diarrhea? This is the body's way of flushing out toxins that are making you ill (why stop the diarrhea and leave the toxins in the body to continue to make you sick?). Same for a cough...the body is using mucus and a cough reflex to try and eliminate something that does not belong in the lung or throat. Now a naturopath may try and limit the fever, diarrhea or cough to prevent damage but will not try to prevent the body response as it tries to restore your health. Naturopaths works with the body, we do not see illness as a battle between good and evil. It should not be a war. A naturopath will find the root cause of an illness and treat the cause of an illness. We do not treat the symptoms, which are actually the body's attempts at healing. We work with the body, not against it. Quite a different attitude as the "allopaths"., In my first year of medical school, I had a professor explain to the class the difference between natural healing and "allopathic" healing. Suppose you are in a hotel and it is late at night. Suddenly the fire alarms go off indicating a fire has broken out. The alarms are signalling that there is a fire in your building. Smoke begins coming into your room under the door. The windows are locked and cannot be opened. All the while the alarms are loudly ringing warning you of danger. An allopathic doctor would look at this situation and decide to silence the alarms (the most obvious signal that something is wrong). Then they would cut the wires to the alarm and suddenly it becomes quiet. Unfortunately, the fire is still raging, but now there are no warnings. A Naturopath would asses the situation and determine the fire alarm is a warning of something deeper going on. They would find the source of the fire and put the fire out. Once the fire is out, the alarm will be silenced and the smoke cleared. This is treating the cause and not the symptoms. A final look at the difference between allopathic and naturopathic doctors is simply to look in any medical dictionary under "A". Go down and look at all the "anti" words. Anti-biotic, Anti- viral, Anti-rheumatoid, Anti-helmetic, Anti-pyretic, etc. This is the allopathic view of ill health as a war... us against the bacteria, virus, protozoa, fever, cough, diarrhea... actually, their view is us against the natural world. The is a better way for health and that is making Smart Health Choices (SHC).
What is Health?
The term "health" is often confused with "an absence of disease". This is incorrect. One can be without an active disease and still be in an unhealthful state. When I had my practice, someone would come in for a visit and state, "Doctor, I have not had a cold in five (or ten) years. I am very healthy". But were they? Upon asking questions, I would discover that they were not sleeping well at night, often had to get up during the night five or six times to urinate, had problems with depression, and hated their next door neighbor! Are these signs of good health? Good health is not simply and absence of disease but living a full and energetic life. The answers to the questions from the patients (above paragraph) are not indicative of any particular disease state, rather they are signs and symptoms of an unhealthy state. Healthy persons sleep soundly and well at night (they awaken refreshed and ready to start a new day), frequent night urination can be a sign of some underlying disease state (BPH, diabetes, etc.), depression can be caused by many conditions from physical illness to injury or emotional turmoil, and hating your neighbor-well heavens, is this the sign of ability to handle stresses? So true health includes many things. Not simply the absence of disease. This is the mindset I wish to get across to you.
Health Blog Initial Thoughts
In writing a blog on health issues, determining how to present information accurately and simply is of primary importance. I shall attempt to accomplish this by writing about health issues in a simple and direct manner. As a former professor of medicine I love teaching. I love seeing that "light" come on when a student suddenly understands whatever concept we are covering. When I was a medical student, I loved the moment understanding came to me in a "aha" moment. Suddenly, what had seemed complex became a part of my understanding, "yes, now I understand!". This understanding is not limited to medical students, engineering students or other complex studies. Rather understanding can be universal and should be. If a person reads many of the medical websites, blogs or articles, it seems most try to complicate their knowledge to appear to be beyond the understanding of the public. They seem to try to communicate only with others in the complex, medical jargon that doctors and researchers often communicate. The non-medical person will have difficulty understanding the information. I will attempt to communicate what is known in health and medicine, in a more understandable manner. So you, the reader, can make smart choices in regards to your health. I welcome your questions and comments and together we can help each other in making Smart Health Choices.
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