Category Archives: Alternate Medicine

A Simple, Inexpensive Trick to Cure a Cold

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Each year Americans catch more than one billion colds, making the cold virus the most common infectious disease in the United States.

It accounts for more school absences and missed work than any other illness, and it’s the number one reason people visit their physicians — even though most physicians have little to offer in the form of treatment.

It’s a widespread misconception that colds are caused by bacteria. Colds are actually triggered by a virus, which means if your physician prescribes you an antibiotic, it will be absolutely useless.

More on this shortly, but before I delve into simple prevention and treatment strategies it’s important you know how colds are contracted in the first place.

How Do You Catch a Cold?

The most common way cold viruses are spread is not from being around coughing or sneezing, or walking barefoot in the rain, but rather from hand-to-hand contact. For instance, someone with a cold blows their nose then shakes your hand or touches surfaces that you also touch.

Cold viruses can live on pens, computer keyboards, coffee mugs and other objects for hours, so it’s easy to come into contact with such viruses during daily life.

However, the key to remember is that just being exposed to a cold virus does not have to mean that you’ll catch a cold. If your immune system is operating at its peak, it should actually be quite easy for you to fend off the virus without ever getting sick.

If your immune system is impaired, on the other hand, it’s akin to having an open-door policy for viruses; they’ll easily take hold in your body. So the simple and short answer is, you catch a cold due to impairment in your immune system. There are many ways this can result, but the more common contributing factors are:

  1. Eating too much sugar and too many grains
  2. Not getting enough rest
  3. Using insufficient strategies to address emotional stressors in your life
  4. Vitamin D deficiency, as discussed below
  5. Any combination of the above

Vitamin D Deficiency: Another Reason You May “Catch” a Cold

It’s estimated that the average U.S. adult typically has two to four colds each year, while children may have up to 12! One reason for the widespread prevalence may be that vitamin D deficiency is incredibly common in the United States, especially during the winter months when cold (and flu) viruses are at their peak.

Research has confirmed that “catching” colds and flu may actually be a symptom of an underlying vitamin D deficiency. Less than optimal vitamin D levels will significantly impair your immune response and make you far more susceptible to contracting colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections.

In the largest and most nationally representative study of its kind to date, involving about 19,000 Americans, people with the lowest vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu – and the risk was even greater for those with chronic respiratory disorders like asthma.

At least five additional studies also show an inverse association between lower respiratory tract infections and vitamin D levels, and you can read about them in detail here. But the research is very clear, the higher your vitamin D level, the lower your risk of contracting colds, flu, and other respiratory tract infections.

It’s not surprising, then, that the average American gets so many colds each year, as current guidelines for optimal intake and normal vitamin D levels are far too low — and since most people do not get adequate sun exposure on a daily basis (which is what produces vitamin D in your skin) many are deficient. I strongly believe you could avoid colds and influenza entirely by maintaining your vitamin D level in the optimal range.

How Long Do Colds Last … and How Can You Make Your Cold Go Away Faster?

Most uncomplicated colds last between eight and nine days, but about 25 percent last two weeks, and 5-10 percent last three weeks. Even the most stubborn colds will typically resolve in a few weeks’ time; this is actually one of the ways you can distinguish a cold from allergies.

A cold will last, at most, a few weeks, but allergy symptoms can last all season.

How quickly you bounce back is typically defined by you and your collective lifestyle habits — and this does not mean popping over-the-counter cough and cold remedies or fever reducers. In fact, as long as your temperature remains below 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius) there is no need to lower it.

Cold viruses do not reproduce at higher body temperatures, so a slight fever should help you get rid of the virus quicker and help you to feel better much sooner.

You should avoid taking over-the-counter pain-relief medications as well, as a study showed that people who take aspirin and Tylenol (acetaminophen) suppress their body’s ability to produce antibodies to destroy the cold virus. Aspirin has even been linked to lung complications including pulmonary edema, an abnormal build up of fluid in your lungs, when taken in excess.

You should only use these medications when absolutely necessary, such as if you have a temperature greater than 105 degrees F (40.5 degrees C), severe muscle aches or weakness.

Hydrogen Peroxide: A Simple Trick to Beat a Cold

I don’t advise over-the-counter medications, but one simple treatment you can try that is surprisingly effective against upper respiratory infections is hydrogen peroxide.

Many patients at my Natural Health Center have had remarkable results in curing colds and flu within 12 to 14 hours when administering a few drops of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into each ear. You will hear some bubbling, which is completely normal, and possibly feel a slight stinging sensation.

Wait until the bubbling and stinging subside (usually 5 to 10 minutes), then drain onto a tissue and repeat with the other ear. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide in 3 percent solution is available at any drug store for a couple of dollars or less. It is simply amazing how many people respond to this simple, inexpensive treatment.

So What Else Can You do to Recover From a Cold, Quicker … and Prevent One in the First Place?

As I said above, the number one way to conquer a cold (or flu) is vitamin D. Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi. So optimizing your levels will not only help send a cold virus packing … it will help ward off cold viruses in the first place.

The best source for vitamin D is direct sun exposure. But for many of us, this just isn’t practical during the winter. The next best option to sunlight is the use of a safe indoor tanning device. If neither natural nor artificial sunlight is an option, then using oral vitamin D3 supplements is your best bet.

Based on the latest research, many experts now agree you need about 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. This recommendation also includes children, the elderly and pregnant women.

However, keep in mind that vitamin D requirements are highly individual, as your vitamin D status is dependent on numerous factors, such as the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis. So, although these recommendations may put you closer to the ballpark of what most people likely need, it is simply impossible to make a blanket recommendation that will cover everyone’s needs.

The only way to determine your optimal dose is to get your blood tested. Ideally, you’ll want to maintain a vitamin D level of 50-65 ng/ml year-round.

For an in-depth explanation of everything you need to know before you get tested, please read my latest updates in Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.

Dietary Strategies to Kick a Cold

If you feel yourself coming down with a cold or flu, this is NOT the time to be eating ANY sugar, artificial sweeteners or processed foods. Sugar is particularly damaging to your immune system — which needs to be ramped up, not suppressed, in order to combat an emerging infection.

So if you are fighting a cold, you’ll want to avoid all sugar like the plague, and this includes sugar in the form of fruit juice and even grains (which break down as sugar in your body).

Ideally, you must address nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress issues the moment you first feel yourself getting a bug. This is when immune-enhancing strategies will be most effective.

So when you’re coming down with a cold, it’s time to address ALL of the contributing factors immediately, which includes tweaking your diet in favor of foods that will strengthen your immune response. Good choices include:

  • Raw, grass-fed organic milk, and/or high-quality whey protein
  • Fermented foods such as raw kefir, kimchee, miso, pickles, sauerkraut, etc, which are rich in probiotics, or good bacteria. Scientific research shows that 80 percent of your immune system resides inside your digestive tract, so eating probiotic-rich foods, or taking a high-quality probiotic, will help support your immune system health.
  • Raw, organic eggs from free-ranging, preferably local, chickens
  • Grass-fed beef
  • Coconuts and coconut oil
  • Animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil
  • Locally grown fruits and vegetables, appropriate for your nutritional type
  • Mushrooms, especially Reishi, Shiitake, and Maitake, which contain beta glucans (which have immune-enhancing properties)
  • Garlic, a potent antimicrobial that kills bacteria, viruses and fungi. Ideally this should be in fresh form, eaten raw and crushed with a spoon just before eating.
  • Herbs and spices with high ORAC scores: Turmeric, oregano, cinnamon, cloves (for more on ORAC, visit www.oracvalues.com)
  • Make sure you are drinking plenty of fresh, pure water. Water is essential for the optimal function of every system in your body and will help with nose stuffiness and loosening secretions. You should drink enough water so that your urine is a light, pale yellow.

And what about the old wives’ tale of chicken soup for your cold?

Chicken soup can help reduce your symptoms. Chicken contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky so you can expel it more easily.

Processed, canned soups won’t work as well as the homemade version, however.

For best results, make up a fresh batch yourself (or ask a friend or family member to do so) and make the soup hot and spicy with plenty of pepper. The spices will trigger a sudden release of watery fluids in your mouth, throat, and lungs, which will help thin down the respiratory mucus so it’s easier to cough up and expel.

Three Cold-Busting Lifestyle Strategies

Vitamin D, check! Hydrogen peroxide, check! Healthy diet, check! We’ve covered several of the primary “weapons” you should have in your cold-fighting arsenal, but there are others, too.

  1. High-Quality Sleep, and Plenty of It Pay attention to how you are sleeping. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, or enough restorative sleep, you’ll be at increased risk for a hostile viral takeover. Your immune system is also the most effective when you’re not sleep-deprived, so the more rested you are the quicker you’ll recover. You can find 33 secrets for a good night’s sleep here.
  2. Regular Exercise Regular exercise is a crucial strategy for increasing your resistance to illness. There is evidence that regular, moderate exercise can reduce your risk for respiratory illness by boosting your immune system. In fact, one study found that people who exercised regularly (five or more days a week) cut their risk of having a cold by close to 50 percent. And, in the event they did catch a cold, their symptoms were much less severe than among those who did not exercise.Exercise likely cuts your risk of colds so significantly because it triggers a rise in immune system cells that can attack any potential invaders. Each time you exercise you can benefit from this boost to your immune system.Ideally, establish a regular fitness program, such as Peak Fitness, now, to help you ward off colds and other illness.However, if you’re already feeling sick don’t overdo it. Over-exercising can actually place more stress on your body, which can suppress your immune system — and you don’t want that either. You might just go for a walk if you are coming down with a cold, or simply tone down your regular workout.Any rise in body temperature will be an unwelcome climate for a viral invader, though, so some exercise is likely to be beneficial.
  3. Address Your Emotional Stress Emotional stressors can also predispose you to an infection while making cold symptoms worse. Finding ways to manage daily stress as well as your reactions to circumstances beyond your control will contribute to a strong and resilient immune system.My favorite tool for this is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a system that helps balance your body’s subtle energies and repair emotional “short-circuits.” EFT may even help you overcome cold symptoms.

Supplements That Send Pathogens Packin’

Supplements can be beneficial for colds, but they should be used only as an adjunct to the lifestyle measures already discussed.

Some of the more helpful options for cold (and flu) — above and beyond vitamin D — are:

  • Vitamin C: A very potent antioxidant; use a natural form such as acerola, which contains associated micronutrients. You can take several grams every hour till you are better unless you start developing loose stools
  • Oregano Oil: The higher the carvacrol concentration, the more effective it is. Carvacrol is the most active antimicrobial agent in oregano oil.
  • Propolis: A bee resin and one of the most broad-spectrum antimicrobial compounds in the world; propolis is also the richest source of caffeic acid and apigenin, two very important compounds that aid in immune response and even fight cancer.
  • A tea made from a combination of elderflower, yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger; drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It causes you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virus from your system.
  • Olive leaf extract: Ancient Egyptians and Mediterranean cultures used it for a variety of health-promoting uses and it is widely known as a natural, non-toxic immune system builder.

Remember This Tip: Wash Your Hands Sensibly

Washing your hands frequently is one of the easiest ways to wipe out germs and viruses and reduce your chances of becoming sickened by them. Thorough hand-washing truly is an important step, as you are at far greater risk of passing on an infection by shaking someone’s hand than even by sharing a kiss.

One report even found that regular hand washing may be more effective than drugs in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza.

When you wash up, plain soap and water will do. Do not make the mistake of using antibacterial cleansers, as their widespread use is leading to strains of resistant bacteria, or “superbugs,” which cause the ingredients to lose effectiveness for the times when they really are needed, such as for surgeons prior to surgery.

Further, the active ingredient in most antibacterial products is triclosan, an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria and inhibits bacterial growth. But not only does triclosan kill bacteria, it also has been shown to kill human cells.

Antibacterial soaps are also no more effective than regular soaps. One study found people who used antibacterial soaps and cleansersdeveloped a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms just as often as people who used products that did not contain antibacterial ingredients. So please avoid making the mistake of using antibacterial liquids and soaps.

Too Much Hand-Washing Can Backfire …

There is another important caveat to remember, and that is your skin is actually your primary defense against bacteria — not the soap.

So resist the urge to become obsessive about washing your hands. If you wash them too frequently you can actually extract many of the protective oils in your skin, which can cause your skin to crack and bleed.

It is rare for a germ on your skin to cause a problem — it is typically only an issue when you transfer that to your nose, mouth or an open wound like cracked skin. So obsessive-compulsive washing can actually increase your risk of getting sick by providing an entryway for potentially dangerous pathogens.

So mild to moderate washing is wise, but excessive washing, especially with harsh soaps, will actually be highly counterproductive.

Avoid the Antibiotics!

More than 300 different viruses can cause colds, so each time you have a cold it is caused by a distinct virus (i.e. adenovirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, coronavirus). A virus is much smaller than a bacteria; it is a tiny cluster of genetic material surrounded by a protein wrapper.

There are currently NO drugs available that can kill these viruses. Antibiotics, including penicillin, do not have any effect on viruses, but unfortunately have been vastly over-prescribed for this very (useless) purpose. That, coupled with the excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture, has contributed to a steep rise in antibiotic-resistant diseases.

Antibiotic-resistant infections now claim more lives each year than the “modern plague” of AIDS, and cost the American health care system some $20 billion a year!

Further, according to one meta-analysis, the health risk from over-use of antibiotics is also a very personal one, as opposed to simply raising the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in the general population over time.

Whenever you use an antibiotic, you’re increasing your susceptibility to developing infections with resistance to that antibiotic — and you can become the carrier of this resistant bug, and spread it to others.

So please, if you have a simple cold remember that an antibiotic will do far more harm than good.

When Should You Call Your Physician?

Sinus, ear and lung infections (bronchitis and pneumonia) are examples of bacterial infections that do respond to antibiotics. If you develop any of the following symptoms, these are signs you may be suffering from a bacterial infection rather than a cold virus, and you should call your physician’s office:

  • Fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius)
  • Ear pain
  • Pain around your eyes, especially with a green nasal discharge
  • Shortness of breath or a persistent uncontrollable cough
  • Persistently coughing up green and yellow sputum

Generally speaking, however, if you have a cold medical care is not necessary. Rest and attention to the lifestyle factors noted above will help you to recover quickly and, if you stick to them, will significantly reduce your chances of catching another one anytime soon.

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This Food Contains 100 TIMES More Probiotics than a Supplement

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a formally trained Russian neurologist whose child developed autism.

As a result of her own research into autism, she ended up developing what might be one of the most profoundly important treatment strategies not just for autism, but for a wide range of neurological-, psychological-, and autoimmune disorders as well.

I believe her Gut and Psychology Syndrome, and Gut and Physiology Syndrome (GAPS) Nutritional program is vitally important for MOST people, as the majority of people have such poor gut health due to poor diet and toxic exposures. We’ve previously discussed how the GAPS program can help those with autism and other neurological- and psychiatric disorders, such as:

  • Dyslexia and dyspraxia
  • Depression
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Epilepsy

What is Gut and Physiology Syndrome?

In this interview, we discuss how your gut affects your immune system, as there’s profound dynamic interaction between them. Dr. McBride covers the problems related to Gut and Psychology Syndrome in her first book by the same name. Her next book will cover Gut and Physiology Syndrome, which relates to diseases that are not located in the nervous system but rather elsewhere in your body, such as:

  • Arthritis
  • Asthma and allergies
  • Skin problems
  • Kidney problems
  • Digestive issues, and
  • Autoimmune disorders

Abnormalities in your immune system are a common outcome of GAPS, and such immune abnormalities are at the root of virtually all degenerative diseases.

“Why is that? It’s because about 85 percent of our immune system is located in the gut wall,” she says.  “This fact has been established by basic physiology research in the 1930s and the 1940s. Your gut, your digestive wall, is the biggest and the most important immune organ in your body. There is a very tight conversation and a relationship going on between the gut flora that lives inside your digestive system, and your immune system…

Your gut flora—the state of the gut flora and the composition of microbes in your gut flora—has a profound effect on what forms of immune cells you will be producing on any given day, what they’re going to be doing, and how balanced your immune system is.”

How Your Gut Flora Directs Your Immune System

There are two primary “arms” in your immune system:

  1. Th1 immunity is responsible for normal reactions to anything in your environment, from pollen to animal dandruff, dust mites, chemicals, food and anything else you come into contact with. Th1 is kept robust and healthy by your gut flora. As long as your gut flora is normal, you will have no adverse symptoms when exposed to these types of environmental influences, but if your gut flora is abnormal, your Th1 become increasingly disabled
  2. Th2 immunity is designed to address immune functions inside your body, and is not equipped to handle environmental influences. However, it will try to compensate if your Th1 becomes disabled. Unfortunately, since it’s not properly equipped for this job, it ends up dealing with environmental influences like pollen and foods in an inappropriate way; the end result of which is allergies and intolerances.

It’s important to realize that food allergies and intolerances are a very different group of allergies from the more acute anaphylactic allergies. Food intolerances caused by disabled Th1 (due to abnormal gut flora) are not mediated by the same immunoglobulin as the true allergies are. Food intolerances can also manifest hours, days, or even weeks later, making identifying food allergies very difficult.

 “Different reactions can also overlap on top of each other. For example, on any given day you can be reacting to broccoli that you have just had for lunch, and to lamb that you’ve eaten yesterday, and to egg that you’ve eaten two days ago, and to a piece of bread that you’ve eaten 10 days ago. All of these reactions overlap on top of each other. On any given day, you have no idea what exactly you’re reacting to,” Dr. McBride explains.

Making matters even more difficult, these food allergies and intolerances can result in all sorts of reactions, from headache, to sneezing, to rashes, or abdominal pains or swollen joints. Or they may result in psoriasis, or cause eczema to flare up.

“Or, it can be an episode of depression, anxiety, or a panic attack. Any kind of symptom can be brought up by food allergies and intolerances,” Dr. McBride says.

At the same time, because your gut flora is abnormal, your gut lining begins to deteriorate, since it is actively maintained by our gut flora. (The beneficial bacteria in your gut make sure the cells that line your entire digestive tract are healthy, well-fed, and protected from chemical- or microbial attacks.) As your gut lining deteriorates, the junctions between the cells open up, causing your gut to become porous, or “leaky.”

“It becomes like a sieve, and foods don’t get the chance to be digested properly before they are absorbed,” Dr. McBride explains.

“They’re absorbed in this maldigested or partially broken down form. When the immune system and the bloodstream finds them and looks at them, it doesn’t recognize them as food. It says, “You’re not food. I don’t recognize you,” and it reacts to them. It creates immune complexes, which attack these partially digested proteins. As a result, we’ll get all sorts of symptoms in your body.”

So what’s the answer?

The key to resolving your health issues is NOT to determine which foods you’re reacting to in order to avoid them. Rather you need to focus on healing your gut lining, because this is the most likely root of your problem. This will also be your most cost-effective strategy, as allergy testing can be quite expensive.

“There are many testing methods developed now for food allergies and intolerances,” Dr. McBride says. “… [But] if you had enough money to test twice a day for two weeks in a row, you would discover that you react to everything you eat… The majority of practitioners who are experienced in this area give up on testing… They recommend focusing on healing and sealing your gut lining instead. Then these food allergies and intolerances will disappear, and you will be able to eventually start eating foods that you could not tolerate before.”

GAPS and Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disorders are a very common side effect of GAPS. Conventional medicine has identified about 200 different autoimmune conditions so far, and the list is continually growing.

“The testing in autoimmunity is fairly expensive, so not many people get tested,” Dr. McBride says. “But the more we test, the more we realize that pretty much every degenerative condition has got an autoimmune component. Why is that? Because 85 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive wall, in your gut wall, and the state of your gut flora has a direct and very profound effect on the way your immune system functions.

… Your immune system is a very hungry organ. It needs to be continuously fed… People with abnormal gut flora – GAPS people – do not digest and absorb their food properly, so they develop multiple nutritional deficiencies; their immune system is starving… At the same time, a river of toxicity is flowing from the gut into the bloodstream of these people, because all those pathogenic microbes sitting in their gut flora are converting the food that comes along into hundreds and hundreds of very toxic substances.

The immune system gets quite a lot of this toxicity, so… we have a poor immune system—it is malnourished; it is intoxicated; it is unbalanced, and, at the same time, it is challenged with a huge amount of work to do. Of course, it cannot function properly. Of course, it cannot react appropriately to various things. Autoimmunity is the result of that.”

Abnormal flora in your digestive tract can easily lead to overgrowth of:

  • Pathogenic bacteria
  • Pathogenic viruses
  • Fungi
  • Worms
  • Protozoa

Once your gut lining begins to deteriorate, these disease-causing agents can be easily absorbed into your bloodstream and circulated throughout your body. Some of them have affinities for certain proteins, and will attach themselves to them. When that happens, it changes the three-dimensional shape of that protein molecule. When your immune system comes across this foreign-looking protein, it will attack it and begin producing antibodies against it.

“This mechanism is particularly at work in multiple sclerosis in patients. We have researched that quite a lot,”  Dr. McBride says.

“Mercury, lead, aluminum, other toxic metals and organic molecules that contain this toxic metal have a particular propensity for getting stored in high-fat tissues such as your brain and the rest of your nervous system, particularly the myelin sheath on your nerves… These toxic metals target your brain and your nerves. But when they get accumulated in those high-fat tissues, these toxins attach themselves to proteins in your myelin, in the white matter of your brain, and other parts of your nervous system. Once they’ve accumulated, once they’ve attached themselves to those proteins, they change their three-dimensional structure. Then the immune system develops an antibody against your protein and your myelin.

That is the number one antibody, which is at work in multiple sclerosis. It is called a myelin-specific protein antibody. It’s an antibody which attacks proteins in your myelin… What the immune system is trying to do is it’s trying to clear out mercury, lead, and other toxic metals out of the nervous system, which got stored in there. Where do they come from? 99.9 percent of anything toxic in your body comes out in the digestive system.”

GAPS and Multiple Sclerosis

Interestingly, when your body is unable to clear a particular toxin on its own, it will invite and employ microbes from the environment to help clear these toxins.

“The microbes in the environment are not our enemies at all. They’re actually our allies. They’re our helpers. Your body employs them when it needs them,”  Dr. McBride explains.

“If you have accumulated certain amount of mercury in your brain and in your nerves… your body might employ a virus… If you got a cold, that virus (many viruses target your nervous system) will go directly to those toxic patches in your brain and your nervous system and attack them. It will start gobbling it up… Of course, your immune system then joins in, trying to attack the virus. It joins in with inflammation, and you [begin to experience] symptoms of multiple sclerosis. You will get tingling. You will get numbness in your face or in your extremities. You might start wetting your bed, or you might get peripheral loss of vision for a while… That’s one of the first symptoms in multiple sclerosis.

in this situation, if you would just feed your immune system properly and leave the work for the immune system to complete, then these symptoms would last for a month or two, and then they would disappear, because… the virus will gobble up the [toxins] and your immune system will clear out the virus. Your nerves will recover naturally.”

Unfortunately, this is not what happens nowadays. Typically, as soon as people get tingling, numbness, and other symptoms, they rush to the doctor, who will immediately put them on some form of medication, which will typically have a dampening effect on the immune system. As a result, the viruses spread and become even more established, and the disease becomes chronic and permanent.

You have Natural Antibodies Against Virtually All Autoimmune Diseases…

“What people have to understand is that we all – 100 percent of humans – have in our bodies antibodies to deal with multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus, or any other autoimmune condition,”  Dr. McBride says.

It all begins in utero.  As soon as the baby’s thymus develops, the proteins floating about in the bloodstream, which is shared between the mother and the baby, begin to educate the baby’s immune system, and allocate a particular responder cell to every protein encountered. Autoimmune conditions develop when your immune system attacks particular tissues or proteins in your body because they’ve been contaminated by toxins or some other environmental influence. And remember, this imbalance, this toxic influence, originates from your digestive system or gut wall.

“Autoimmunity is born in the gut. That’s where it comes from – your gut wall,”  Dr. McBride says. “That happens because your gut flora is abnormal. In order to heal any autoimmune condition – whether it’s multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus, alopecia, psoriasis, or anything else that has got an autoimmune component – you have to focus on healing and sealing your gut lining with the GAPS Nutritional Protocol. And you have to focus on… normalizing your gut flora. You have to drive out the pathogens from the gut flora and replace them with the beneficial flora. Then a lot of healing will happen…’

Unfortunately, conventional medicine is largely ignorant about this research, and does not view autoimmune disorders as digestive disorders, which Dr. McBride is convinced is the case.

The Importance of Fermented Foods

Did you know the number of bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by about 10 to 1? These bacteria in turn are comprised of both beneficial ones and harmful ones. The ideal balance is about 85 percent good bacteria and 15 percent bad. Maintaining this ideal ratio is what it’s all about when we’re talking about the importance of probiotics. It’s important to understand though that probiotics are not a new concept. The only thing that’s new is that you can take them in pill form. But historically, mankind has consumed large amounts of probiotics in the form of fermented and cultured foods, which were invented long before the advent of refrigeration and other forms of food preservation.

“Every traditional culture, when you look at their traditional diet, they ferment their foods. They fermented everything. You can ferment dairy, grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, meats, and fish. Everything can be fermented, and there were fermented beverages in every culture. When the cabbages were ripe in September, you made it a fermented cabbage. Perhaps for a month or two, you were eating fresh cabbage, but then for the rest of the year, 10 months of the year, you ate your cabbage in a fermented form. Quite a large percent of all the foods that people consume on a daily basis were fermented. And with every mouthful of these fermented foods you consume trillions of beneficial bacteria…”

Fermented foods not only give you a wider variety of beneficial bacteria, they also give you far more of them, so it’s a much more cost effective alternative. Here’s a case in point: It’s unusual to find a probiotic supplement containing more than 10 billion colony-forming units. But when my team actually tested fermented vegetables produced by probiotic starter cultures, they had 10 trillion colony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high potency probiotic! So clearly, you’re far better off using fermented foods.

How the Fermentation Process Works

“Mother Nature is extremely wise and extremely kind. It populated all organic fruit and vegetables, the dust on our soils, and all plant matter with Lactobacilli. The fresh cabbage leaves, if it’s organically grown (not the one from chemical farming), will be covered in Lactobacilli—lacto-fermenting bacteria. You don’t need to add anything. You just chop it up. Add some salt in the initial stages. (The salt is added in the initial stage in order to stop putrefactive bacteria from multiplying.) Then as the Lactobacillus stop working and start multiplying, they produce lactic acid. That’s why they’re called Lactobacillus. That’s just lactic acid.

If you look at the research in lactic acid, it is one of the most powerful antiseptics. It kills off lots and lots of bacteria…. So as the lactic acid starts producing, it will kill off all those putrefactive and pathogenic microbes and preserve the food. It’s a great preservative… A good batch of sauerkraut can keep for five to six years without spoiling or rotting, as long as it is covered by its own juice.”

For instructions on how to ferment your own vegetables, which is easier than you might think to do at home, please listen to my previous interview with Caroline Barringer:

This anaerobic process (fermentation) does more than just preserve the food, however. It also makes the nutrients inside the food more bioavailable. For example, according to Dr. McBride, the amount of bioavailable vitamin C in sauerkraut is 20 times higher than in the same helping of fresh cabbage!

“This is because in the fresh cabbage, vitamin C is bound in the cellulose structure and various other molecules, and our digestive system is just not able to cleave it off and absorb it. Lots of it goes undigested and come out right out of you. So despite the fact that cabbage may be very rich in vitamin C, a lot of it you will not be able to absorb. But if you fermented that cabbage and made sauerkraut, all the vitamin C becomes bioavailable,” she explains.

How to Reduce Chances of “Healing Crisis”

There is one precaution that needs to be discussed here, and that is the potential for a so-called healing crisis, or what Dr. McBride refers to as a die-off reaction, provoked by the massive die-off of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other harmful pathogens by the reintroduction of massive quantities of probiotics. It can significantly worsen whatever health problem you’re experiencing, before you get better.

The reason for this is because when the probiotics kill off the pathogens, those pathogenic microbes release toxins. These toxins are what’s causing your problem to begin with; be it depression, panic attacks, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or any other symptom. When a large amount of toxin is suddenly released, your symptoms will also suddenly increase.

“If you’ve never had fermented foods in your life, you need to start very carefully and very gradually,”  Dr. McBride warns.

She recommends starting off with just ONE TEASPOON of fermented vegetable, such as sauerkraut, with ONE of your meals, and then wait for a couple of days to see how you react. If it’s manageable, you can have another helping, and gradually increase your portion.

“But if the die off is too much, then you need to stop. Let the die off subside, and then have a tiny amount of sauerkraut, or even just a teaspoon of juice from it first; not the cabbage itself. Then two teaspoons per day and so on, until enough die off happens in your body, and your gut flora has changed enough for you to be ready for having the cabbage itself.”

It’s important to realize that besides containing massive amounts of beneficial bacteria, fermented foods also contain many active enzymes, which act as extremely potent detoxifiers.

“Healing goes through two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, and one step back,” Dr. McBride says. “But you will find that the next layer is smaller. The die off and the detox will not last as long as the previous one… We live in a toxic world, and many of us have accumulated layers and layers of toxicity in our bodies. The body will clean them out, but you will find that each layer will last shorter and not be as severe… Eventually, you will come to complete, radiant health. You will feel 100 percent healthy, no matter how ill you were before.”

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Correction of This Vitamin Deficiency Shown to Improve Seizure Control in Epilepsy

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Nearly half of people with epilepsy are also vitamin D deficient, but despite this well-known association, only a single study has been published on the effect of vitamin D for seizure control in the last 40 years.

That study revealed that treating epileptic patients with vitamin D2 – the far inferior type of synthetic vitamin D – reduced the number of seizures, and in 1974 researchers concluded that “the results may support the concept that epileptics should be treated prophylactically with vitamin D.“

Now, nearly four decades later researchers have again revealed that “the normalization of serum vitamin 25(OH)D [vitamin D] level has an anticonvulsant [anti-seizure] effect.“

Improving Vitamin D Levels Reduces Seizures by 40%

In the latest study, researchers administered a one-time 40,000-200,000 IU dose of vitamin D3 to patients with epilepsy in order to bring their vitamin D levels out of a deficiency state.

The participants, who ranged in age from 10-42, had vitamin D levels ranging from 4 ng/ml to 34 ng/ml, with a median level of 11.8. This is an absolutely dangerously low level. As you can see in the chart below, anything below 50 ng/ml is a deficiency state.

vitamin d levels

After the treatment dose of vitamin D, the participants’ vitamin D levels did improve to a range of 23-45 ng/ml, with a median of 38 ng/ml. It’s important to note that this is still low according to the latest science … but the improvement still resulted in a decrease in their number of seizures. If their levels were optimized further, it’s likely the results would improve even more.

After increasing their vitamin D levels, the results showed:

  • 10 of the 13 subjects had a decrease in number of seizures
  • Overall, there was a median seizure number reduction of 40%
  • A seizure reduction of greater than 50% was experienced in five patients

The most revealing result, however, occurred among the person whose vitamin D was a dangerously low 4 ng/ml at the start of the study. This person had 450 seizures in a three-month period, but after raising vitamin D level to 43.1 ng/ml, the seizures dropped to 30 in three months! The study did have some limitations, namely the small number of subjects and the lack of a placebo to compare to, but it still highlighted the importance of correcting vitamin D deficiency in epilepsy patients.

Epilepsy Patients are at Increased Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

The findings are even more important given that people with epilepsy face an even greater risk of vitamin D deficiency than the general population (and even the general population is vastly vitamin D deficient). The reasons are two-fold, with the first being that having frequent seizures may interfere with your ability to get outdoors and stay active.

If you spend most of your time inside, you’ll miss out on regular sun exposure, which is key for the natural production of vitamin D. Even exposing your skin to sunlight through a windowpane will prevent the entry of the UVB rays, which are the specific wavelength that produces vitamin D in your skin. So, it is crucial that you get outside and experience direct skin contact with the sunlight instead of sunning in a sunroom, for instance.

Second, anti-epileptic drugs that are often given to epilepsy patients can interfere with vitamin D metabolism, leading to deficiency. If you take these drugs, it is especially crucial  that you actively monitor your vitamin D levels to avoid this side effect.

Why might vitamin D have such a significant impact on epileptic seizures? Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system, particularly your brain. Vitamin D is not “just” a vitamin; it’s actually a neuroregulatory steroidal hormone that influences nearly 3,000 different genes in your body. Vitamin D receptors can be found in your brain, spinal cord, and central nervous system, and may enhance the amount of important chemicals in your brain needed to protect brain cells, for starters.

The Study Used Supplements, But Sunshine is Better

Researchers used a one-time large dose of vitamin D3 to boost the participants’ vitamin D levels. If you’re going to supplement, vitamin D3 is certainly far superior to the vitamin D2 researchers used back in the 1970s.

Today, however, vitamin D2 is still the form typically prescribed by doctors, so be aware of this if you’re taking this nutrient in prescription form. A meta-analysis of 50 clinical trials looking at mortality rates for “doctor recommended” synthetic vitamin D2 supplements versus natural vitamin D3 shows a 6 percent risk reduction among those who used D3, compared to a 2 percent increased risk among those who used D2.

Research also shows vitamin D3 is approximately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D concentrations and produces 2- to 3-fold greater storage of vitamin D than does D2. D3 is also converted into its active form 500 percent faster. So by all means use vitamin D3 if you’re going to supplement, not D2 – but even better, simply get out in the sun, or use a safe tanning bed.

The IDEAL way to optimize your vitamin D levels is through appropriate sun or safe tanning bed exposure. While your skin does create vitamin D3 in response to sunlight, which is theoretically the same as the D3 you get from an oral supplement, there’s cause to believe that the vitamin D created from sun exposure may have additional health benefits. Plus, you cannot overdose when getting your vitamin D from sun exposure, as your body has the ability to self-regulate and only make what it needs. You do, however, need to be cautious and avoid burning.

If you cannot get your vitamin D requirements from sun exposure, I recommend using a safe tanning bed (one with electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, to avoid unnecessary exposure to EMF fields). Safe tanning beds also have less of the dangerous UVA than sunlight, while unsafe ones have more UVA than sunlight. If neither of these are feasible options, then you should take an oral vitamin D3 supplement. It will certainly be better than no vitamin D at all, but you will need to monitor your levels via blood testing to ensure you stay within the therapeutic range.

You can learn more about maximizing your vitamin D from safe sun exposure in the video below. If you have epilepsy, it’s possible that doing so could help you decrease seizure drugs (a very good thing, since all seizure drugs can increase your risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and some of these drugs can make you lose your memory and your hair).

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Courts Slaps FDA and FTC for Unjustified Attacks

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Did you know it’s currently illegal for a food or supplement producer to tell you about their products’ scientifically proven health benefits?

As unbelievable as it sounds, a person can be thrown in jail for telling you the walnuts they grow may slow down the growth of prostate tumors, or cherries ease symptoms of arthritis and gout, even though this is truthful, accurate and helpful information for a consumer to know.

This is why a case that was recently heard before U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa L. Bryant could turn out to be a landmark event, as she ruled that the “FDA went too far” in censoring health claims related to green tea and cancer.

FDA Wording Too Strong, “Effectively Negates” Qualified Health Claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows food and supplement manufacturers to use a qualified health claim (QHC) when “there is emerging evidence for a relationship between a food, food component, or dietary supplement and reduced risk of a disease or health-related condition.”

However, because the evidence is still emerging, the FDA requires “qualifying language” to be included with the claim “to indicate that the evidence supporting the claim is limited.” In the case of Fleminger, Inc., which sells green tea and filed a health claim petition in 2004 to highlight green tea’s anti-cancer properties, the FDA suggested that this disclaimer be added to the health claim:

“FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that green tea reduces the risk” of breast cancer or prostate cancer.

Obviously, this essentially contradicts the health claim.

So, in 2010 (after a petition to review the FDA’s disclaimer was denied), the FDA threatened to seize Fleminger’s products if they did not use the exact disclaimer above.

Eventually the FDA sent a revised claim, which still negated the point of the health claim:

“Green tea may reduce the risk of breast or prostate cancer. FDA does not agree that green tea may reduce the risk because there is very little scientific evidence for the claim.”

This is a major win for natural food and supplement producers alike, as the FDA is being required to revise the disclaimer so as not to negate the health claim being made. At this point, Fleminger took the case to court, where Judge Bryant ruled:

“The FDA’s language “effectively negates the substance–disease relationship claim altogether….There are less burdensome ways in which the FDA could indicate in a short, succinct and accurate disclaimer that it has not approved the claim without nullifying the claim altogether.”

Why Can’t Foods Have Truthful Health Claims on Their Labels?

This is perhaps the underlying question: why must manufacturers petition the FDA to make truthful, science-based health claims in the first place and then have them subjected to disclaimers? This is a serious waste of tax dollars – not to mention an assault on your freedom of access to information (and for the manufacturers, on their freedom of speech).

The fact is, QHCs are currently the only way that companies can make truthful health claims about natural foods or supplements. However, they are not easy to come by (the FDA approved only 12 QHCs from 1999 to 2010). Under current FDA law, if a food or natural supplement makes a medical claim without a QHC, it’s automatically classified as a drug. The Alliance for Natural Health explains:

“Outside of QHCs, food and supplements are not allowed to speak of the specific health benefits of their products because the FDA takes the position that any such statement magically turns them into drugs. And, as drugs, they would have to go through exorbitantly expensive drug trials, a cost which the manufacturer could never recoup, since food and supplements are natural products and cannot be patented. Without a patent, anyone can sell them, so paying as much as a billion dollars for a drug trial is essentially money down the drain.”

Believe it or not, the FDA recently sent a warning letter to Diamond Food for making truthful, science-backed health claims about the omega-3 fats in walnuts. But because the research cited health claims that omega-3 fats in walnuts may prevent or protect against disease, the FDA said walnuts would be considered “new drugs” and as such would require a new drug application to become FDA-approved.

The FDA’s current position is that foods such as walnuts, cherries, broccoli, turmeric, green tea and the like should be subjected to the full FDA approval process. But obtaining a new drug application, as the FDA suggests, can cost billions of dollars. And let’s face it – small food and supplement producers cannot come close to affording that!

In related news, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also suffered a loss in its efforts to hold Garden of Life, the marketer of various dietary supplements, in contempt of a previous consent order.  The FTC alleged that Garden of Life violated the order by making false and baseless claims about its vitamin C and omega-3 fat based products, but the court ruled that the FTC had failed to prove that any of the challenged claims violated the consent order. It’s a small win, but it could have major repercussions for other natural supplement makers who are being unjustly attacked by the FTC or another government agency.

Experts Challenge FDA over Approval for New Dose of Alzheimer’s Drug

It’s ironic that the FDA comes down so hard on truthful health claims about green tea or walnuts, but seemingly gives drug companies carte blanche when it comes to bringing new products to market. Case in point, with its patent set to expire in November 2010, Donepezil, a blockbuster Alzheimer’s drug with over $2 billion in annual sales in the United States, submitted a new dosage for FDA approval.

Four months before the patent expired, the FDA approved the new dose, even though 5 mg and 10 mg doses were already on the market (though set to go generic soon).

The approval also went against the advice of the FDA’s own medical and statistical reviewers and was contrary to scientific evidence, which showed the drug offered “no meaningful added benefit, just more harm.” In fact, a 2010 report published in the journal Seizure found that of the 71,471 adverse drug reactions classified as convulsive events reported by the World Health Organization between 1968-2006 donepezil alone accounted for 8.4% of them, indicating that the drug is not only unsafe but that an increased dosage scheme would likely only cause more seizures in exposed populations.

Adding insult to injury, advertisements for the drug made misleading claims that the higher dose led to important clinical benefits on measures of cognition and overall function, a statement professors Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin of the Center for Medicine and the Media at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice called “stunningly erroneous.” In a BMJ commentary titled “How the FDA Forgot the Evidence …,” the professors detail the more likely reason why the 23 mg dose was approved:

“What is the difference between 20 and 23? If you said three, you are off by millions—of dollars in sales, that is—at least from the perspective of Eisai, the manufacturer of donepezil (marketed as Aricept by Pfizer).

A little context helps make the math clearer. Donepezil, the biggest player in the lucrative market for Alzheimer’s disease treatments, was a blockbuster, with over $2B in annual sales in the United States alone. But the drug, first approved in 1996, had reached the end of the road: the patent expired in November 2010.

Investors call this “going over the cliff,” an anxious reference to plummeting sales as market share is lost to generic competitors. Necessity, however, is the mother of invention. Just four months before the expiry of the patent, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new dose for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease: donepezil 23 mg. Is 23 an odd number? Not really, when you consider that you cannot get to 23 mg using the 5 mg and 10 mg doses that were going generic. The “new” 23 mg product would be patent protected for three more years.”

Support HR 1364 for Free Speech About Science

As unbelievable as it sounds, current law makes it illegal for natural supplement and food producers to share accurate, science-based health information with you.

Congressmen Jason Chaffetz (R–UT) and Jared Polis (D–CO) have introduced the Free Speech about Science Act (HR 1364), a landmark legislation that would allow the flow of legitimate scientific and educational information. The new bill provides a limited and carefully targeted change to FDA regulations so that manufacturers and producers may reference legitimate, peer-reviewed scientific studies without converting a natural food or dietary supplement into an “unapproved drug.” According to Rep. Chaffetz’s website, the provisions of HR 1364 do the following:

  • Allow dietary supplements and healthy foods to cite legitimate scientific research
  • Provide a clear definition of the types of research that may be referenced by growers and manufacturers
  • Ensure that referencing such research does not convert a food or dietary supplement into an “unapproved (and therefore illegal) new drug”
  • Retain the authority of FDA and FTC to pursue any fraudulent and misleading statements

According to Rep. Chaffetz:

“It is important for individuals and families to take charge of their personal health by making the right decisions to get and stay healthy. This includes accessing information so that individuals can adjust habits, eat healthfully, and take appropriate dietary supplements to prevent and even treat health conditions.

The Free Speech About Science Act helps insure their access to legitimate scientific research to make the necessary decisions to improve their personal health and the health of their families.”

Rep. Polis adds:

“Today’s science has shown that vitamins and nutritional supplements can offer successful, natural alternatives to drugs. As we begin to reform our nation’s healthcare system, supplements are an innovative way to help reduce costs.

The Free Speech About Science Act is a common sense act that will make it easier for doctors and consumers to learn about the cheaper, healthier alternatives to costly medicines that food and nutritional supplements provide.”

As of April 2012, HR 1364 was assigned to a congressional committee, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee, so we need your help.

Please lend HR 1364 your support by signing on as a co-sponsor TODAY.

Use the Alliance for Natural Health’s HR 1364 page to send a letter to your representative in support of this bill. And forward or post this article to all of your friends and loved ones who care about their health and their right to full information so they can make an intelligent choice in their health care decisions. With your combined influence we can be a powerful force for much-needed change.

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Discover a Common Yard Weed that’s Proven to Kill Cancer Cells

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By: Paul Fassa
Source: NaturalNews.com

Most natural health advocates know that dandelion is a good liver tonic. But now research is showing that it’s also a cancer fighter. This research discovery occurred at Windsor University in Windsor, Canada.

A Windsor University biochemist, Siyaram Pandey, reluctantly took up dandelion research from a Windsor oncologist’s suggestion. Dr. Caroline Hamm noticed a few cancer patients who had been drinking dandelion tea seemed to be getting better.

Siyaram Pandey was initially skeptical. “She said it could be coincidental but it couldn’t hurt to see if there is anything to it.” So Pandey plunged into the research by working on leukemia blood samples with their own dandelion root extract. He and Dr. Hamm were amazed to find the leukemia cells were forced into apoptosis, or cell suicide.

More amazing to them was the fact that non-cancerous cells were left alone. In other words, the dandelion root extract targeted only the cancer cells, which is not true with chemotherapy pharmaceuticals that kill everything in their paths.

They experimented with other types of cancer cells in vitro (lab cultures) and found the same results. Their initial grant of $60,000 has recently been boosted with another $157,000 grant, bringing their total funding to $217,000.

Don’t expect much from the medical monopoly

The research team has applied for Canadian authorization to proceed with phase one clinical trials. However, there is a high probability that this research will quietly vanish unless Big Pharma can figure a way to synthetically reproduce dandelion’s active cancer fighting ingredients.

This sort of disinterest has already occurred recently in Canada, so don’t expect oncologists to be pushing dandelion teas for cancer. Natural cures cannot be patented. No patent equals no big money for Big Pharma, which equals no interest.

Beyond no interest there can be outright suppression, as there was with Canadian Nurse Rene Caisse’s Essiac herbal tea that cured cancer patients and Laetrile in the USA. Thankfully, there is always knowledge and there will always be dandelions.

Perhaps one of the cancer patients Dr. Hamm noticed was John DiCarlo. He had been admitted to the hospital for aggressive leukemia treatments. All of the treatments failed and he was sent home to die. Someone recommended he try dandelion tea, and within a few months his leukemia was history. He was 72 years old when the cancer clinic pronounced him leukemia free.

Adding dandelion root powder to other natural cancer cures

Another dramatic story involved a USA Midwest farmer who cured his unremittingly painful prostate cancer with homemade dandelion root powder. He wrote up the instructions in a local newspaper, and the newspaper article was copied onto an internet news website complete with typos and all.

The farmer, George Cairns, warns that creating the powder from dandelion roots has to be done exactly according to his instructions. A half teaspoon of the powder in water or juice daily, no sodas or hot beverages, will be sufficient to take care of cancer after a few months.

As you may have noticed, there are contradictions between the two anecdotal cures. One used tea and the other said no hot beverages. That happens occasionally in the world of natural cures.

That’s why it’s important to employ two or three do-it-yourself natural approaches for dealing with cancer. Avoiding sugar, processed foods, and meat is recommended as well. The cancer diet platform is organic vegetarian with juicing.

The freshness and quality of any herbal remedy is vitally important.
Inexpensive and accessible dandelion root tea or powder can be added to any natural cancer protocols for more healing potential

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Alternative Treatments Dissolve Cataracts, Prevent their Return, and Help to Avoid Surgery

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By: JB Bardot
Source: NaturalNews.com

Surgery is usually the only option offered by conventional medicine to people with cataracts; however, there are alternative treatments that may dissolve cataracts preventing their return. Cataracts occur when the eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy, causing vision loss. They are most common in people over 40 and are the main cause of blindness worldwide, according to All About Vision. More than 22 million Americans suffer from cataracts with that number expected to rise to over 30 million by 2020.

Symptoms include blurring of the vision, reduction in night vision, “glare” when looking at artificial light or sunlight, and eventually blindness.

Experts don’t know what causes cataracts, only that the protein in the lens of the eye begins to clump causing small areas of cloudiness. Some studies suggest that cataracts may develop after the eyes are repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet light and radiation, such as that emitted by computers. Certain risk factors are diabetes, taking steroids, tranquilizers or diuretics, using HRT, smoking and heavy metal toxicity.

Although there is no hard scientific research, anecdotal evidence indicates the efficacy of several natural substances in preventing and reducing the severity of cataracts.

Pascalite, bentonite clay

Pascalite is a creamy white-colored form of bentonite clay found only in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming. It’s classified as a calcium bentonite/montmorillonite and was considered a sacred healing substance to the Indians. Pascalite is alleged to have a very high energy level, and its mineral content has been found to heal a wide variety of ailments ranging from brown recluse spider bites, to skin necroses and digestive tract ulcers. Although it may seem far-fetched to some, cataract patients have reported that applying the clay paste to their eyelids and making eye drops from water filtered through the clay has helped to dissolve their cataracts.

Cineraria Maritima

Cineraria maratima, or dusty miller, is a common herb whose juice is known to dissolve cataracts. India’sCentral Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of Health and Family Welfarehas noted thatCinerariatincture can prevent cataracts from developing. Additionally, homeopathic doctor William Boericke, M.D. notes in his Materia Medica with Repertory that Cineraria tincture may reverse existing cataracts. To obtain the full effects of this herb, the mother tincture must be used diluted in saline water. Commercial products are not effective.

Homeopathy

Homeopathic opthamologist, doctor Ed Kondrot, M.D. discusses the first article written about using homeopathy for cataracts. It was published in 1891 by A. B. Norton. The study examined 295 cataract patients, of which 100 were treated with homeopathic medicine for more than a three-month period. Improvement was found in in 58 percent of the participants. Kondrot briefly describes the three homeopathic remedies used in the study.

Calcarea phosphoricum is indicated when there are headaches and eye pains especially in and around the right eye. Patients may also feel a sensation of stiffness around the eyes.

Sepia may be indicated if the patient complains of the sensation of weakness in the eyes and the symptoms worsen as evening approaches. The eyelids may twitch and there may be sharp pains. People needing Sepia may feel better during daytime hours and when eating.

Causticum may be indicated for patients experiencing a feeling of grittiness or sand in the eyes. The eyelids may feel heavy and the eyes feel better when closed. Patients may report feeling pressure in the eyes, burning and itching, as well as having light sensitivity and seeing flashes of light.

For best results in treating cataracts with homeopathy, see a knowledgeable homeopath who will take your case and treat you holistically, not just your cataracts

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Ways to take Stress off the Liver for people who have been Paralyzed

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By Andreas Moritz 

This is a question about people that have been paralyzed or crippled, bedridden, whether there are ways to take some load off their liver, because they obviously… one cannot move the body, the body’s ability to rid itself of toxins and waste products is diminished, and the liver tends to be the organ that accumulates toxins and waste matter, often producing intra-hepatic gallstones which is the liver’s way to trap or hold on to toxins and waste products in order to keep the rest of the body from being damaged by them.

The issue is obviously difficult in this case, but there are some methods or approaches that can take the toxic load off the liver and these obviously include a diet that is not contaminating the body. So using organic foods and drinking enough water, which is absolutely important in all ways for detoxifying the body.

So the foods that are best avoided and that are difficult for any person who is paralyzed, is food like meat products – very hard to digest for people paralyzed – chicken, fish, any high protein foods – and foods that are processed, refined, that have diminished nutritious value. So I will go on a vegan vegetarian diet in order to minimize the toxic load on the liver.

Eating healthy fats, fats that have not been processed, refined, that are whole, like olive oil, expeller pressed oils, natural oils that have not been heated. Canola oil is an unnatural, genetically modified oil that must be avoided.

Eating healthy salts so that these are not refined salts, these are natural sea salts or rock salts like Himalayan rock salt, or salt from Utah mountains, beautiful real salts, there is a name for it: ‘Real salt’ but any natural sea salt that doesn’t come from an area of contamination of the sea, these are very, very good salts and they help with the detoxification of the liver as well. Many people reduce salts because regular salts are toxic, they change the blood pressure, they should definitely be avoided, they are very, very harmful for the liver.

Then anything that can support the liver directly like the liver herbs, the tea that I mentioned in my book “The Amazing Liver And Gallbladder Flush”, that is something that helps with a gentle liver detoxification and allowing the liver to remove toxins. Obviously the tea cannot remove the intra-hepatic gallstones that impact the liver bile ducts, and paralyzed people may not be able to do liver flushes. So in that regard, there is some limit to as much a person can do, but again one can regulate the functions in the liver by reducing the amount of toxic foods or harmful foods.

Also, I would suggest to if possible to do either enemas, ideally however doing colonic irrigation or colemas to also reduce the load of toxins that may come from the large intestine because if waste matter is sitting in the large intestine for too long, a lot of toxins are generated by bacteria that decompose the undigested food sitting there for too long, and these toxins they end up going into the liver and then again overtaxing the liver.

So natural ways, whatever works… I have written a book called “Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation” and most of the things mentioned there applied to people who are paralyzed just as much to a person who isn’t paralyzed, such as sleeping regular hours, making sure you go to bed before 10 o’clock, this helps the liver to remain strong because the liver works most during the night time more than any other time in the 24 hour cycle. So between 10 and 2 – that’s when the liver requires most blood, it can get in order to remove toxins from the bloodstream and when you sleep during this time, the liver is able to get that blood from the back of the brain, the digestive system and the rest of the tissues in the body, such as the muscle tissue, and this allows the liver to directly work with the blood, to filter the blood, remove contaminants, so that the next day you have cleaner blood, and you have a better chance of transporting nutrients to the cells in the body which is diminished when the blood is toxic, or has more waste products in it because the liver was not able to remove that during night time. This is very important.

Also, staying or going out in the sun, having someone to take you into the sun, taking the shirt off, very important for people who are paralyzed in order to keep the immune system as strong as possible, so that enough vitamin D can also help with the cardiovascular functions and the nutrient uptake, particularly minerals from the food that the person is eating. So vitamin D is absolutely essential, unfortunately many paralyzed individuals are indoors, they don’t go out, they don’t sit in the sun, they don’t sunbathe, and this is a very detrimental and it prevents the recovery or more speedy recovery from paralysis.

I don’t believe that paralysis is permanent.

In many cases the paralysis has been reversed and people have completely regained the functions of the limbs even though the medical profession and doctors have told them they would never regain functions of their body. So there are examples that paralysis is reversible and this should be an incentive, an inspiration, for others who are also paralyzed to follow suit and do their best to regain the functions, and nature around us has very powerful benefits if we use it to our advantage.

Sunlight, good fresh air, good drinking water, proper hydration – drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and eating healthy nourishing food… this goes a long, long way to strengthen the body and allow the body to repair itself from any damage that may have occurred as a result of paralysis, so that the body can regain strength and start healing itself.

Thank you.

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Healing Ear Infections – The Root Cause May Be The Gastrointestinal Tract

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By Andreas Moritz 

Hi, this is a question from someone who is suffering from acute ear infection and is wondering whether she should take antibiotics as a last resort.

Basically ear infections have underlying causes that are not directly related to the ears, but to bacteria that evolve and grow in the ears, and in the auditory ducts, but are basically emerging from sections or parts of the gastrointestinal tract.

Most people think that ears are independent from the gastrointestinal tract but this is not the case. In fact there is a duct that’s called the Eustachian tube and that is the duct that runs from the throat all the way up into the ears and that duct, also known as the auditory duct, is connected to the throat centre and the throat is connected to the gastrointestinal tract as we know, are the mouth, the nose, the ears, they are all basically interconnected.

Now when there is lot of trouble in the gastrointestinal tract in terms of undigested food that is being fermented or putrefied, then there is a large amount of bacterial activity and these bacteria which are part of the fermenting team to dispose of undigested foods, these bacteria produce toxins and these toxins are highly irritating, and many of them move up into the chest area and from there to the mouth, into the ear ducts, and then into the ears, and they continue the irritating effect that is also experienced in the lower parts of the body.

So when food is not digested, which is the main culprit here, then it’s better to address the underlying causes while perhaps also addressing the symptoms, because ear infections can be extremely painful.

I would suggest not to take recourse to antibiotics however, because antibiotics can cause more problems than they can rectify, because once an antibiotic has been consumed, the bacteria in the gut which regulate the digestive process and help to absorb nutrients from the foods we eat can be highly disturbed for up to a year after taking one course of antibiotics. So there is a disadvantage taking recourse to such methods as killing germs. It’s better to set the preconditions, clean out the intestines.

I would suggest to have a colonic irrigation, colon hydrotherapy or colema, to clean out the intestine so that there is an outlet for accumulated waste matter that is backing up into the upper part of the body so that the ears and ear ducts can empty, can release whatever has been accumulated there which harbors obviously fermenting or putrefying bacteria.

So bacteria don’t infect healthy tissue. They only infect tissue that has been congested, where toxins have accumulated, where waste matter, metabolic waste and other cellular debris is accumulated, and that’s where the bacteria will accumulate as well, and that’s where they take action.

So we cannot blame the bacteria for causing such infections, but we need to look at what causes the bacteria to assemble there, and to do their so-called dirty job, cleaning up the mess that somehow we have created in our body.

I suggest to make sure in the future to deal with the digestive process, avoiding foods that can cause a lot of fermentation and lead to the proliferation of what is known as the candida bacteria, and these candida bacteria are responsible for fermenting food that we have not been able to digest properly, and in order to stop candida bacteria ending up going into the ears and causing ear infections. It’s important to deal with it at the root cause, not just on the symptomatic level.

However sometimes it is extremely debilitating to have the pain and the congestion in the ears, given the high pressure and the exposure of nerve endings and the sensitive parts of the inner ear that can easily get inflamed and cause a lot of pain. So in that case, I would suggest to take hydrogen peroxide, the solution that you will find in most pharmacies, 3 or 4 percent, which you put in a tiny little bottle and you spray that into the ear a couple of times and you may want to put the head sideways so that the hydrogen peroxide is sitting there for a while taking its action and it will kill bacteria there and this is obviously just to relieve the symptoms, not to cure the problem.

The cure lies in dealing with the underlying issues, i.e. poor digestion, poor diet, poor lifestyle and eating habits that are responsible for that, and perhaps also poor bile secretion because of intra-hepatic gallstones blocking the bile ducts, not allowing you to have enough bile available for the digestive process. Bile keeps the bacteria population in balance and makes sure that food is properly digested and absorbed, and therefore it cannot become a fertile ground for bacterial proliferation and subsequent infection, so it’s good to always use natural ways rather than unnatural ways that just blindly kill germs… doesn’t matter whether they are the good kind or the bad kind.

In my opinion, there are no bad bacteria, there are bacteria for different reasons for different purposes. Some are for constructive purposes like generating… creating vitamins like B12 and then there are others that have to act on food to break it down and to also dispose of waste matter. So all bacteria are actually good bacteria and we should not just indiscriminately kill them off and cause more harm in the body, because once you have taken antibiotics it is very likely that the same issue is coming back, and it is usually worse each time you have used antibiotics, and eventually antibiotics… the bacteria that are involved in these infections… they become resistant to these drugs and there comes a point where antibiotics are no longer going to work, and that causes far, far more serious issues than the initial pain that you may experience with an infection of the ear.

It’s also important to make sure you get enough sun exposure. Vitamin D deficiency is a major reason for infections, infectious disease, because the immune system depends on vitamin D, vitamin D controls the immune system and thousands of genes responsible for natural defenses in the body. So make sure that you expose your skin to the sun on a regular basis. If the sun is too weak to generate vitamin D in the body, then I would suggest to use a vitamin D lamp or UV lamp, you can find them on the internet and use these till the time the sun is not available or capable of producing vitamin D at that time.

So I would suggest you take these measures as a matter of precaution, prevention, so that you don’t have to deal with the painful consequences as such.

Thank you.

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Benefits of Using Ionized Stones

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By Andreas Moritz 

Hi, this is Andreas Moritz, and today I would like to discuss the implications of using an ionized stone such as this one, and these ionized stones they are created by myself. Every ionized stone is handled, selected, and handled by myself and they are shipped throughout the world through my website – ‘Ener-chi.com’

And these ionized stones have particular benefits that help with a number of issues, a person who wants to enhance the healing abilities, I recommend that they put one of these ionized stones right at the middle part of the spinal column. When you bend down and you find that one of the vertebrates is sticking out more than the other, I would put that ionized stone and allow it to touch that particular vertebra or two or three vertebra in that area, and when you do that, within about 40 seconds or so, it will balance all the chakras or energy centers in the body, and that will help with energizing the organs and systems in the body and will allow the energy – the chi or life force – to flow through the body more easily.

In addition to that, I recommend to attach one of these ionized stones to the electrical box or fuse box as it’s called in Europe. Use any stone that is more flat and that somehow neatly fits into that, tape it to the electric box. It doesn’t have to be in a certain area, just around that or external to the electrical box. This will prevent the harmful radiation of the electromagnetic filed in the electric system in the house in the home or office to affect the human body and diminish our own electromagnetic field.

So I found that this has helped me for the last 12 years or so ever since I came across or created these ionized stones. I have always had one stone attached to the electrical box to any or every home that I have lived in, and this allowed me to work on the computer, and I have worked many hours on the computer without ever getting tired doing so. And any kind of electric appliance or being close to an electric lamp, which can interfere with our body’s electromagnetic field, that this no longer happens when you have attached one of those stones to the electric box.

If you don’t have access to such a box you may attach one of the stones to the electric cable that supplies an electric appliance or computer or an electric lamp. Doesn’t have to be a very big stone, it can be like smaller than an inch, even this one is about two inches, so it doesn’t matter… the size… it will work. You can also put one of those in front of the computer, the computer screen, or lay it on top of the computer box wherever there is an electric device that would be suitable, but the best and most effective way would be to attach a stone to the electrical box.

Also you can ionize or activate or energize the plates that you eat in, if they are ceramic or any other natural material. You can ionize, activate, all natural material. Plastic wouldn’t work. So it could be wood, stone, ceramic, glasses that you drink from. When you allow a glass to be held against one of those ionized stones for about 40 seconds, then that glass, whenever you put water in, it will energize the water and make it beneficial for you. It will make the blood thinner more quickly and allow the food to be absorbed more readily, or beverages to be absorbed more readily.

If you are you are into detoxifying the body through using foot baths, I would put an ionized stone into the foot bath, and it will draw toxins out more quickly. It would enhance basically any healing therapy, whatever you choose to use. Some of the stones can be used for massage therapy and that will also benefit.

Many people report back to me by putting an ionized stone on a part of the body that suffers from a illness, like a person who has kidney stones or heart problems or liver problems… just putting the ionized stone over the area, ideally allowing the stone to touch the skin, then some people have reported the stone actually becomes black and dark. This doesn’t mean that the stone becomes destroyed, just that it draws the toxins out and discolors it and sometimes the color reverts back to normal.

You can never, ever, destroy an ionized stone once it has been ionized or activated, then that charge can never be reduced or diminished in any way unless you turn the stone into powder.

The stones can also be used in conjunction with the ener-chi art that I have created about 12 years ago. These are Ener-chi Art Paintings, paintings made in oil. You can find them on my website ‘Ener-chi.com’ and you can view them there, and these are stones… when you hold the stone to a particular area of the body for which there is a particular ener-chi art painting such as for the heart, so holding the stone to the heart while you are looking or viewing the ener-chi art picture for the heart then this will enhance the benefit of the ener-chi art painting.

You can also use the stones for enhancing the growth of plants. Any plant that has, like, an ionized stone close to it, ideally just put a small stone or couple of stones into the pot of the plant, and it will start growing more easily, more beautifully, and its more healthy, requires less water, so there are quite a few benefits for the plants as well.

You can also attach one of those stones to the water pipe that comes into the house and that will also activate and energize the water that you drink.

There are many other benefits that people have reported back to me. There are literally hundreds of applications. So be creative, just think of what else it can help with, and there are some more benefits explained on my website on the ionized stone page.

Ionized stones, maybe ionized, the word ionized may not be the right word. Ionization in physics means that there will be an extra electron charge, which has got ions created, which then creates a temporary unstable condition, which allows that particular atom to react with other atoms. So in this case I am not sure if this can be measured. The word ionization here relates to a higher energy where the stone is actually coming to life. Where the stone becomes conscious. Typically we refer to stones or rocks as being inert, that they don’t have any life or life force in them, but by ionizing them or activating them, through a simple process that was gifted to me after I created the ener-chi art paintings, where one of the paintings for the skeleton system was used to infuse the stones or the regular river stones or stones from the earth where these particular light rays that were contained in the painting, the skeleton system painting, and these energy rays went into the stones and created, basically brought them to life. If you hold one of those stones in the palm of your hands, you find… many people find… that there is a heartbeat to it that can actually be felt, that there is a vibration to the stone. So that it’s actually alive

So these ionized stones have become very useful for me, for a lot of other people, and once you have one, you can ionize any number of stones yourself. What you do is you simply hold one of these stones or the stone that you have received, and hold them together basically together like this for about 40 seconds, and that will allow the original stone to ionize the new stone that you may have. You can also put the original stone that you get from my website and ionize dozens of other stones as long as they touch one another, you can create any number of stones yourself.

When I travel, I usually take one of those stones with me and if I come across any rock formation, boulders, or anywhere in nature, I put them there for about 40 seconds and it will ionize these rocks and activate them, bring these rocks and boulders to life, which makes you feel quite good because they radiate back to you, it’s almost like they speak to you.

It’s not something I can prove. I usually am a very down-to-earth person. This is not something I came across, this was channeled to me, and I just followed directions and created this, and it’s basically a gift that I received and I am happy to pass it on.

Thank you.

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Falling for This Myth Could Give You Cancer

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

How much control do you really have over your own life in general, and your health in particular?

These questions have puzzled many since the beginning of time.

Now, the emerging science of epigenetics is offering some answers that put true control within your reach.

According to some scientists, changing your health may be as “simple” as changing your thoughts and beliefs.

“Contrary to what many people are being led to believe, a lot of emphasis placed on genes determining human behavior is nothing but theory and doctrine,” writes Konstantin Eriksen.

“We are free to make decisions that impact our lives and those of others. …

Our beliefs can change our biology.

We have the power to heal ourselves, increase our feelings of self-worth and improve our emotional state.”

Epigenetics Shatters “The Central Dogma”

Eriksen goes on to discuss something called “The Central Dogma” of molecular biology, which states that biological information is transferred sequentially and only in one direction (from DNA to RNA to proteins).

The ramification of buying into the central dogma is that it leads to belief in absolute determinism, which leaves you utterly powerless to do anything about the health of your body; it’s all driven by your genetic code, which you were born with.

However, scientists have completely shattered this dogma and proven it false. You actually have a tremendous amount of control over how your genetic traits are expressed—from how you think to what you eat and the environment you live in.

You may recall the Human Genome Project, which was launched in 1990 and completed in 2003. The mission was to map out all human genes and their interactions, which would than serve as the basis for curing virtually any disease. Alas, not only did they realize the human body consists of far fewer genes than previously believed, they also discovered that these genes do not operate as previously predicted.

In the featured article, Eriksen describes the experiments of John Cairns, a British molecular biologist who in 1988 produced compelling evidence that our responses to our environment determine the expression of our genes. A radical thought, for sure, but one that has been proven correct on multiple occasions since then.

Eriksen writes:

“Cairns took bacteria whose genes did not allow them to produce lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk sugar, and placed them in petri dishes where the only food present was lactase. Much to his astonishment, within a few days, all of the petri dishes had been colonized by the bacteria and they were eating lactose. The bacterial DNA had changed in response to its environment. This experiment has been replicated many times and they have not found a better explanation than this obvious fact – that even primitive organisms can evolve consciously.

So, information flows in both directions, from DNA to proteins and from proteins to DNA, contradicting the “central dogma.” Genes can be activated and de-activated by signals from the environment. The consciousness of the cell is inside the cell’s membrane. Each and every cell in our bodies has a type of consciousness. Genes change their expression depending on what is happening outside our cells and even outside our bodies.”

Your Emotions Regulate Your Genetic Expression

As if genes changing expression in response to environmental factors such as nutrients wasn’t enough, other researchers have demonstrated that this “environment” that your genes respond to also includes your conscious thoughts, emotions, and unconscious beliefs. Cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, PhD., is one of the leading authorities on how emotions can regulate genetic expression, which are explained in-depth in his excellent books The Biology of Belief, and Spontaneous Evolution.

Science has indeed taken us far beyond Newtonian physics, which says you live in a mechanical universe. According to this belief, your body is just a biological machine, so by modifying the parts of the machine, you can modify your health. Also, as a biological machine, your body is thought to respond to physical “things” like the active chemicals in drugs, and by adjusting the drugs that modify your machinery, doctors can modify and control health. However, with the advent of quantum physics, scientists have realized the flaws in Newtonian physics, as quantum physics shows us that the invisible, immaterial realm is actually far more important than the material realm. In fact, your thoughts may shape your environment far more than physical matter!

According to Dr. Lipton, the true secret to life does not lie within your DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of your cell membrane.

Each cell membrane has receptors that pick up various environmental signals, and this mechanism controls the “reading” of the genes inside your cells. Your cells can choose to read or not read the genetic blueprint depending on the signals being received from the environment. So having a “cancer program” in your DNA does not automatically mean you’re destined to get cancer. Far from it. This genetic information does not ever have to be expressed…

What this all means is that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned “on” and which are turned “off”) is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions!

The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. Since you can’t change your genes, it essentially means that your life is predetermined, and therefore you have very little control over your health. With any luck, modern medicine will find the gene responsible and be able to alter it, or devise some other form of drug to modify your body’s chemistry, but aside from that, you’re out of luck… The new science, however, reveals that your perceptions control your biology, and this places you in the driver’s seat, because if you can change your perceptions, you can shape and direct your own genetic readout.

This new science also reveals that you are in fact an extension of your environment, which includes everything from your thoughts and belief systems, to toxic exposures and exposure to sunlight, exercise, and, of course, everything you choose to put onto and into your body. As Dr. Lipton is fond of saying, the new biology moves you out of victimhood and into Mastery—mastery over your own health.

It is a supreme confirmation of my favorite saying, “You Can Take Control of Your Health.”

How Nutrition Alters Genetic Expression

Two years ago, a study performed by the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University was showcased at the annual Experimental Biology convention. The study demonstrated how “histone modifications” can impact the expression of many degenerative diseases, ranging from cancer and heart disease to biopolar disorder and even aging itself. According to Rod Dashwood, a professor of environmental and molecular toxicology and head of LPI’s Cancer Chemoprotection Program, as quoted in a press release:

“We believe that many diseases that have aberrant gene expression at their root can be linked to how DNA is packaged, and the actions of enzymes such as histone deacetylases, or HDACs. As recently as 10 years ago we knew almost nothing about HDAC dysregulation in cancer or other diseases, but it’s now one of the most promising areas of health-related research.”

In a nutshell, we all have tumor suppressor genes, and these genes are capable of stopping cancer cells in their tracks. These genes are present in every cell in your body, but so are proteins called “histones.” As Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center explains, histones can “hug” DNA so tightly that it becomes “hidden from view for the cell.” If a tumor suppressor gene is hidden, it cannot be utilized, and in this way too much histone will “turn off” these cancer suppressors, and allow cancer cells to proliferate.

Now here’s where epigenetics comes in … certain foods, such as broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, and onions contain substances that act as histone inhibitors, which essentially block the histone, allowing your tumor suppressor genes to activate and fight cancer. By regularly consuming these foods, you are naturally supporting your body’s ability to fight tumors.

Certain alternative oncologists also tap directly into the epigenetic mechanism, such as Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, who uses a three-pronged approach to cancer based primarily on nutrition and detoxification, and Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, who treats cancer with a gene-targeted approach. His treatment uses non-toxic peptides and amino acids, known as antineoplastons, which act as genetic switches that turn your tumor suppressor genes “on.”

A Healthy Lifestyle Supports Healthy Genetic Expression

So the good news is that you are in control of your genes … You can alter them on a regular basis, depending on the foods you eat, the air you breathe, and the thoughts you think. It’s your environment and lifestyle that dictates your tendency to express disease, and this new realization is set to make major waves in the future of disease prevention — including one day educating people on how to fight disease at the epigenetic level. When a disease occurs, the solution, according to epigenetic therapy, is simply to “remind” your affected cells (change its environmental instructions) of its healthy function, so they can go back to being normal cells instead of  diseased cells.

You can begin to do this on your own, long before you manifest a disease. By leading a healthy lifestyle, with high quality nutrition, exercise, limited exposure to toxins, and a positive mental attitude, you encourage your genes to express positive, disease-fighting behaviors.

This is what preventive medicine is all about. It’s not about taking any one particular nutrient as a supplement to fix one specific “part” of your biological machinery… The more people become willing to embrace this simple truth, the healthier everyone will get.

It’s also worth pointing out that epigenetic effects begin before birth.

Epigenetic research from 2009 showed that rat fetuses receiving poor nutrition in the womb become genetically primed for a nutrition-poor environment. As a result of this genetic adaptation, the rats tended to be smaller. They were also at higher risk for a host of health problems throughout their lives, such as diabetes, growth retardation, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and neurodevelopmental delays. Again, while some are tempted to blame such “predispositions” on bad genes, the KEY factor is nutrition, i.e. the cellular environment.

If you’re ready to address your dietary choices, read through my comprehensive nutrition plan, which will give you tips and tools for eating healthy, dealing with stress, and living a lifestyle that will support your epigenetic health.

You can also turn your genes off and on with your emotions too. Many, if not most people carry emotional scars; traumas that can adversely affect health. Using techniques like energy psychology, you can go in and correct the trauma and help regulate your genetic expression. My favorite technique for this is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), but there are many others. Choose whichever one appeals to you, and if you don’t sense any benefits, try another, until you find what works best for you.

Please, remember that ‘You CAN Take Control of Your Health.’

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The Amazing Healing Powers of Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum)

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By: PF Louis
Source: NaturalNews.com

When the famous master herbalist Dr. John Christopher was bothered by stomach ulcer problems as a student, one of his herbal instructors recommended young John drink a solution of cayenne pepper powder in water daily.

At first, Dr. Christopher thought this was a contradiction. How could something so hot help his ulcers? But he bravely took the advice and to his surprise, it did cure his ulcers. Following that experience, Dr. Christopher become a zealous advocate of cayenne for both heart issues and for boosting the efficacy of some of his other herbal formulas.

Christopher has even documented cases where he helped patients come out of heart attacks using only a teaspoon of cayenne powder in a cup of warm water. He isn’t alone; there are several anecdotes of people recovering from serious heart attacks by downing cayenne teas or tinctures.

One of Dr. Christophers interns, Dr. Richard Schulze, ND, MH, took up the cause proclaiming, “If you only master one herb in your life, master cayenne pepper. It’s more powerful than any other.” Both Schulze and Christopher recommend taking a half to full teaspoon of cayenne powder in water two to three times daily as an overall health tonic.

Using cayenne as an herbal medicine or tonic

If you use cayenne, ensure it’s organic. Even organic cayenne is inexpensive and the potential benefits are invaluable. The powder comes from various dried and ground chili peppers, all containing capsaicin (cap-say-sin). The amount of capsaicin is indicated by the cayenne powder’s heat levels, measured in Scoville heat units (SHU) or heat units (HU).

The lowest therapeutic level of SHU or heat units is 35,000. You will often find cayenne powder listed at 40,000, 60,000, 90,000 or 100,000 SHU or heat units. Unless you have a fondness for really hot spicy foods, you may want to start at the 40,000 level. Ultimately, moving up the heat line is recommended for optimum efficacy.

Dr. Christopher liked to use warm purified or distilled water to mix in the fine cayenne powder. One-half to a full cup of water can be used for to mix a half or full teaspoon of cayenne that can be quickly gulped. Allowing the heat to permeate is part of cayenne’s therapeutic value, which a reason why Dr. Schulze disdains cayenne capsules.

Dr. Schulze endorses using a homemade tincture in addition to the cayenne tea. A tincture is easy to carry around and may provide an on-the-spot remedy for heart attack to avoid an ER trip when away from home.

Cayenne’s health benefits

Cayenne powder serves as both a general tonic and a medicine. In addition to potentially helping cease the fatal throes of a heart attack, ingesting cayenne daily also clears clogged arteries while strengthening the whole cardiovascular system and the heart.

It is also a valuable aid for digestion and elimination which can ultimately help heal hemorrhoids and ulcers. Both Dr. Christopher and Dr. Schulze assert that ingesting cayenne powder will boost the potency of the other herbs and supplements you’re taking.

In cayenne studies, scientists have demonstrated an 80% reduction with prostate cancers in mice and in human prostate cancer cells in cultures.The capsaicin in cayenne actually creates accelerated cancer cell apoptosis, or cellular self destruction.

Cayenne pepper contains many beneficial phytochemicals, extremely bio-available vitamins C & E, and minerals, including the vital heart-health mineral magnesium. It cleans the blood, allowing hormonal signals to make their way unimpeded through your system and enhancing the immune system.

You can choose to avoid Big Pharma’s expensive toxic “solutions” for heart and other health issues using all natural solutions like this. Inexpensive, non-toxic cayenne goes well beyond culinary applications.

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Ancient Herb Proven to be a Potential Cure for Alzheimer’s

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Ashwagandha is a small evergreen perennial herb that grows up to nearly 5 feet tall.

Common names used for ashwagandha include: Winter Cherry, Withania somnifera (Latin botanical name), and Indian Ginseng to name a few.

Regardless of the name you use to describe this adaptogenic herb, ashwaganda has been a part of India’s Ayurvedic medical system for thousands of years.

There it’s regarded as a wonder herb.

While often regarded as an herb for stress reduction and improved energy and vitality, there is a robust body of scientific research confiming ashwaganda’s potential therapeutic value in several dozen health conditions.

Now, new research has revealed this herb may also fight off the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Could Ashwaganda Cure Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s disease is currently at epidemic proportions, with 5.4 million Americans — including one in eight people aged 65 and over — living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2011 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.

With no known cure and a terminal prognosis, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with degeneration and death in brain cells, leading to a steady loss of both intellectual and social skills, and, ultimately, premature death.

Researchers at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), however, have conducted studies on mice that suggest ashwaganda extract may reverse memory loss and improve cognitive abilities in those with the disease. Initially, mice with Alzheimer’s were unable to learn or retain what they learned, but after receiving ashwaganda for 20 days, this improved significantly. After 30 days, the behavior of the mice returned to normal. Researchers reported:

  • A reduction in amyloid plaques (amyloid plaques, along with tangles of nerve fibers, contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells)
  • Improved cognitive abilities

Rather than impacting the brain directly, researchers found that the herb worked by boosting a protein in the liver, which enters the bloodstream and helps clear amyloid from the brain. Researchers concluded:

“The remarkable therapeutic effect of W. somnifera [ashwaganda] … reverses the behavioral deficits and pathology seen in Alzheimer’s disease models.”

More Promising Research on Ashwaganda and Alzheimer’s

The featured study is not the first time this humble herb has been implicated in improved brain health among Alzheimer’s disease patients. In 2005, researchers found that withanolide derivatives (withanolide A, withanoside IV, and withanoside VI) isolated from ashwagandha improved neurite extension in both normal and damaged brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease-model mice. This is a key component of treating the disease, as researchers pointed out:

“The reconstruction of neuronal networks in the damaged brain is necessary for the therapeutic treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Separate research in Phytotherapy Research, published in 2010, revealed ashwaganda may help manage cell damage in the brain, offering even more potent antioxidant activity than vitamins A, C, and E. They noted:

“Several studies have revealed that natural antioxidants, such as vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene, may help in scavenging free radicals generated during the initiation and progression of this [Alzheimer's] disease. Therefore, there has been considerable interest in plant phytochemicals with antioxidant property as potential agents to prevent the progression of AD. Our earlier investigations of the Withania somnifera fruit afforded lipid peroxidation inhibitory withanamides that are more potent than the commercial antioxidants.

In this study, we have tested two major withanamides A (WA) and C (WC) for their ability to protect … rat neuronal cells, from beta-amyloid induced cell damage. The cell death caused by beta-amyloid was negated by withanamide treatment.”

Another Ancient Herb for Alzheimer’s…

The compound curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric, is another notable herb for brain health. Recently revealed as effective in helping to stop the protein clumping that is the first step in diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, past research has shown that curcumin may help inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, as well as break up existing plaques.

Researchers determined:

  • Curcumin is more effective in inhibiting the formation of the protein fragments than many other potential Alzheimer’s treatments
  • The low molecular weight and polar structure of curcumin allows it to penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively and bind to beta amyloid
  • Alzheimer’s symptoms caused by inflammation and oxidation are eased by curcumin’s powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

People with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. The compound has been shown to influence the expression of more than 700 genes, and it can inhibit both the activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that modulate inflammation.

Additional Strategies to Significantly Lower Your Alzheimer’s Risk

What is interesting and important to understand about chronic disease is that it very rarely exists in a bubble. What I mean is, if you are developing changes in your brain that are indicative of Alzheimer’s, you’re probably also experiencing signs of insulin resistance, such as diabetes or obesity.

And, meanwhile, you may also be showing signs of heart disease, such as high blood pressure, as, very often, chronic diseases are intricately intertwined; they’re the product of imbalances in your body that are manifesting, likely after years spent festering just below the surface. This can actually be a good thing, however, as implementing a few simple techniques address the underlying causes of multiple chronic diseases, and Alzheimer’s is no exception.

This includes:

    • Optimize vitamin D. In 2007 researchers at the University of Wisconsin uncovered strong links between low levels of vitamin D in Alzheimer’s patients and poor outcomes on cognitive tests. Scientists launched the study after family members of Alzheimer’s patients who were treated with large doses of prescription vitamin D reported that they were acting and performing better than before.

Researchers believe that optimal vitamin D levels may enhance the amount of important biomolecules in your brain and protect brain cells. Vitamin D receptors have been identified throughout the human body, and that includes in your brain. Metabolic pathways for vitamin D exist in the hippocampus and cerebellum of the brain, areas that are involved in planning, processing of information, and the formation of new memories.

Sufficient vitamin D is also imperative for the proper functioning of your immune system to combat excessive inflammation, and, as mentioned earlier, other research has discovered that people with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains.

  • Fructose. Ideally it is important to keep your level below 25 grams per day. This toxic influence is serving as an important regulator of brain toxicity. Since the average person is exceeding this recommendation by 300% this is a pervasive and serious issue. I view this as the MOST important step you can take. Additionally, when your liver is busy processing fructose (which your liver turns into fat), it severely hampers its ability to make cholesterol. This is yet another important facet that explains how and why excessive fructose consumption is so detrimental to your health.
  • Keep your fasting insulin levels below 3. This is indirectly related to fructose, as it will clearly lead to insulin resistance. However other sugars, grains and lack of exercise are also factors here.
  • Vitamin B12: According to a small Finnish study recently published in the journal Neurology , people who consume foods rich in B12 may reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s in their later years. For each unit increase in the marker of vitamin B12 (holotranscobalamin) the risk of developing Alzheimer’s was reduced by 2 percent. Very high doses of B vitamins have also been found to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reduce memory loss.
  • Eat a nutritious diet, rich in folate, such as the one described in my nutrition plan. Strict vegetarian diets have been shown to increase Alzheimer’s risk, whereas diets high in omega-3′s lower your risk. However, vegetables, without question, are your best form of folate, and we should all eat plenty of fresh raw veggies every day.
  • High-quality animal based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. (I recommend avoiding most fish because although fish is naturally high in omega-3, most fish are now severely contaminated with mercury.) High intake of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA helps by preventing cell damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease, thereby slowing down its progression, and lowering your risk of developing the disorder. Researchers have also said DHA “dramatically reduces the impact of the Alzheimer’s gene.”
  • Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to following the diet described in my optimized nutrition plan, you can follow the mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.
  • Avoid aluminum, such as antiperspirants, non-stick cookware, vaccine adjuvants, etc.
  • Exercise regularly. It’s been suggested that exercise can trigger a change in the way the amyloid precursor protein is metabolized, thus, slowing down the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. Exercise also increases levels of the protein PGC-1alpha. New research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have less PGC-1alpha in their brains , and cells that contain more of the protein produce less of the toxic amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s. I would strongly recommend reviewing the Peak Fitness Technique for my specific recommendations.
  • Avoid flu vaccinations as most contain both mercury and aluminum, as well as egg proteins (e.g. myelin basic protein), which the body may produce antibodies against and that cross-react with the myelin coating your nerves, in effect causing your immune system to attack your nervous system!
  • Eat blueberries. Wild blueberries, which have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content, are known to guard against Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
  • Challenge your mind daily. Mental stimulation, especially learning something new, such as learning to play an instrument or a new language, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Avoid anticholinergic and statin drugs. Drugs that block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, have been shown to increase your risk of dementia. These drugs include certain night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, sleep aids, certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers.

A study found that those who took drugs classified as ‘definite anticholinergics’ had a four times higher incidence of cognitive impairment. Regularly taking two of these drugs further increased the risk of cognitive impairment. Statin drugs are particularly problematic because they suppress the synthesis of cholesterol, which is one of the primary building blocks of your brain. As Dr. Stephanie Seneff reports:

“Statin drugs interfere with cholesterol synthesis in the liver, but the lipophilic statin drugs (like lovastatin and simvastatin) also interfere with the synthesis of cholesterol in the brain. This would then directly impact the neurons’ ability to maintain adequate cholesterol in their membranes. Indeed, a population-based study showed that people who had ever taken statins had an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease , a hazard ratio of 1.21. More alarmingly, people who used to take statins had a hazard ratio of 2.54 (over two and a half times the risk to Alzheimer’s) compared to people who never took statins.”

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Bye Bye Coumadin, so long Plavix – Say Hello to Five Natural Blood Thinners that Protect Against Strokes and Blood Clots

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By: JB Bardot
Source: NaturalNews.com

The November 2011 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that most emergency hospital visits for the elderly are caused by side effects and overdosing from taking blood thinners to prevent strokes and blood clots. Conventional doctors wait until you’re at risk of a stroke or have had your first stroke to prescribe blood thinners in hopes of preventing additional strokes. What they don’t warn you about are the serious possible side effects from these drugs including internal bleeding, stomach ulcers, muscle aches and pains, headaches with dizziness, kidney failure and a boat load of other negatives that can destroy your health. However, there are several natural substances that possess powerful anti-inflammatory properties and also help to thin the blood. These herbs can also produce their own side effects and should not be taken in combination with pharmaceutical drugs. Don’t take any unfamiliar medicinal herb unless supervised by a well-trained herbalist or natural health practitioner.

Turmeric

Used in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years, the richly golden spice turmeric is hailed for it’s ability to reduce pain and inflammation. Recent studies have revealed that its pain-killing properties compare with those of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs; however, turmeric does not cause the internal bleeding and digestive upset or toxicity to the liver that is found in some cases of individuals taking NSAIDs.

Bromelain

Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapples that also has anti-inflammatory properties and is especially helpful in reducing pain and stiffness associated with arthritis when taken on an empty stomach. Its action is enhanced when taken in combination with turmeric and ginger. Additionally, bromelain is a wonderful digestive enzyme when taken with meals and helps break down proteins, protecting against the formation of uric acid crystals, which are responsible for causing gout and certain types of kidney stones.

Ginger

Ginger is one of the royal ancient spices of India, China and Japan whose action works to reduce inflammation of the joints and muscles as well as strengthening the immune system and reducing digestive upsets and vomiting. Ginger has been used medicinally for thousands of years and is most effective when used raw in a hot tea; however, it is also helpful when taken in powdered supplements.

Garlic

A favorite spice for many people — and a popular healing agent around the world — garlic is not only a potent anti-inflammatory herb, but has proven antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Eating garlic raw or lightly cooked, or making garlic tea are several of the most effective methods for its medicinal use. Odorless, freeze-dried supplements are available for those who prefer to avoid the strong scent on their breath.

Water

Simple, plain and life’s staple, water is perhaps one of the best blood thinners available. Allowing yourself to become dehydrated thickens the blood, causing it to clump together and form clots. Drinking enough clear, clean water each day helps keep the blood running smoothly through your circulatory and cardiovascular system, maintaining good health. The ideal daily intake for each individual is 1/2 ounce of water for each pound of body weight; in other words, if you weight 150 pounds, you should ideally drink 75 ounces of water daily.

All of these substances have the power to thin the blood. There are other foods as well, such as vitamins B-6, D and E, omega-3 fatty acids, apple cider vinegar and strawberries that act as blood-thinning agents; and when used judiciously under the supervision of your health practitioner, may keep you healthy longer, prevent strokes and blood clots and help keep you off drugs and out of the hospital.

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Research shows Pharmaceutical Side Effects Exceed Adverse Warnings 5X

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By: Paul Fassa
Source: NaturalNews.com

Often no matter how bad you think it is, the reality is worse than imagined. This is the case with pharmaceutical side effects. It’s so bad that even mainstream medical research acknowledges there are more adverse side effects than disclosed.

But their viewpoint still holds pharmaceuticals as the only medicine that works. Nutrition hardly affects health, if at all. Herbs are plants from which labs duplicate active ingredients for synthetic drugs that are the only effective medicines. Homeopathy doesn’t work, etc.That’s the medical monopoly mindset.

A slight crack has appeared in their medical arrogance. Researchers from Stanford Medical School created a couple of data bases that prove there are up to five times more adverse effects from pharmaceuticals than displayed or publicized.

Their research

The Stanford study was reported in the March 14th, 2012 edition of Science Translational Medicine by lead author Russ Altman, MD, PhD and his graduate student assistant Nicholas Tatonetti.

They created a dual data base system to analyze data from the FDA’s adverse event reporting system (AERS). Their premise that safety trials are conducted on the public after a drug hits the market is noteworthy (Stanford report, source below).

They also mentioned that clinical trials for obtaining FDA approval are insufficient for assuming safety for everyone within all situations. However, their viewpoint is still locked into that medical monopoly mindset mentioned earlier.

The Stanford research is an attempt to provide more knowledge for better prescription advice to minimize side effects. But there is no concession to any other modality of medical treatment. In other words, they want to clean up their act a bit, not fold up their snake oil wagons to move on and let others show their wares.

Even cleaning up their act is unlikely

The Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) reported in 1998 that the fourth highest cause of death was properly prescribed pharmaceuticals. Adding those deaths by improperly prescribed drugs puts the death ranking from Big Pharma “medicine” to third place.

These statistics don’t include over the counter drugs. Instead of confronting these statistics, the FDA and AMA engage in marginalizing and suppressing other healing modalities that are safe and effective.

Dr. Ray Strand, author of Death by Prescription explained to Mike Adams in a 2005 interview that the FDA should demand adverse effect reports from medical professionals, the way it’s done in Europe and the UK, and clinical trials should be funded by the government.

Currently, reporting to AERS is voluntary in the USA. Many experts estimate that only five to ten percent of actual adverse effects do get reported. Funding for trials is provided by pharmaceutical companies who pay the FDA for their approval. The very foundation of this system is corrupt.

Oh yes, don’t forget that the USA and New Zealand are the only nations that permit direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising. Also consider how Big Pharma starts wooing and training MDs while they’re still in med school.

So, the Stanford study, while laudable considering it’s from within the medical monopoly system, is based on AERS data that contains a fraction of actual adverse effects. The study also doesn’t address the FDA’s financial angles and conflicts of interest with Big Pharma shills slipping through the government/corporate revolving door.

Nice try guys. It would be better to simply apply anti-trust laws to the medical monopoly, if there are still any anti-trust laws in the books. Allow “alternative” (real) medicine to come to the forefront while your field gets the “quack” flack it deserves.

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Tips for Balancing Altitude Sickness

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Hi, this is question from someone who is wondering if I have any recommendations to avoid or to balance altitude sickness. Many people who are going to places like Peru or to higher regions of mountains where the air is thinner, that means it has less oxygen, and henceforth suffer from altitude sickness which can be severe headaches, shortness of breath, can be poor digestion, many of the functions in the body are diminished when there is not enough oxygen going through the system and reaching the cells.

So, there are a number of things that I suggest in countries that are used to high altitudes and in Peru, for example, I have been there, they will offer you the traditional drink, the cocoa tea that is very, very effective in improving the circulation of blood so that enough oxygen is delivered to the cells.

When I traveled to Peru ten years ago I used that myself and within a day I was basically fine, I didn’t have any negative experiences, however, I noticed that those traveler friends of mine, who were eating meat, they took more than a week to recover, and some never recovered from altitude sickness and they only felt better when we went back down to lower altitudes.

I have been a vegetarian for 40 years and I had really no problem of digesting, and my wife the same. We are both vegetarians, so, the advices, and I have given that advice to others who were meat eaters and I told them to stop eating any animal products for at least 4 to 5 days and then they would also rapidly recover from the altitude sickness.

The reason why the meat or heavy foods are so detrimental for the system when you travel to high altitudes is because the digestive system requires most oxygen, besides the brain, than any other part of the body. And in order to digest food, it really uses up a lot of energy and so, so much of oxygen and glucose get used up by the digestive system and there is just not enough around.

If you eat a lot of meat that requires high energy, amount of energy, to process those heavier foods, then there is not much left for other functions in the body. So these people would feel very low in energy and depleted, and it’s not much fun, even if you go to really beautiful places, it is not fun to drag yourself along because you don’t have enough energy, or if you have splitting headaches.

So I wholeheartedly recommend to do that, avoid any animal products, eat lots of vegetables, drink the cocoa tea, some grain foods, some beans are fine, seeds, salads, fruit, these are all wonderful foods to have when you go into high altitude regions and get, if possible, sun exposure that helps to make your transition to more efficient circulation during those months or weeks that you are living in high altitudes.

UV radiation in high altitudes is very beneficial for keeping infection rates low and to make sure that the immune system stays strong and can protect itself from any bacteria that potentially could cause infections. Because infection can be, infection rates are higher when people move into high altitudes and the water doesn’t boil as well, so any germs that might be in the water will not be killed so you have more than usual numbers of bacteria coming into the body. Again, food cannot be cooked as well and as fast as in lower altitudes.

So once again, keeping the immune system strong is your best bet, otherwise you may go through infections, parasitic infections, bacterial infections, in high altitudes

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How to Deal with a Surgeon who wants to Remove the Gallbladder

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By Andreas Moritz 

Hi, this is Andreas Moritz and this is a question from someone who is asking “How to deal with a surgeon who insists on removing your gallbladder?”

And my answer is quite simple, don’t deal with a surgeon who wants to remove the gallbladder, this is not the right person to deal with your gallbladder, unless of course, the gallbladder is dead is completely damaged, inflamed, and there is no chance for it to be restored.

However, I have seen people with completely filled gallbladders, like my own, after having gone through 40 gallstone attacks, I still didn’t want to give up my gallbladder and I am glad I didn’t.

So when I did my liver and gallbladder flushes, during the cleanse number 6 and 8, I passed all my calcified gallstones, I never had a gallstone attack after I did my first liver and gallbladder flush, and so anyone that can follow suit, anyone can do the exact same thing, it’s just an illusion that we have to take recourse to gallbladder surgery in order to get rid of one or two or three or even five or ten stones that might sit in the gallbladder.

There is just no good reason, as long as there is function in the gallbladder where the gallbladder still secretes or passes bile into the common bile duct and into the small intestine, as long as there is still some function left, you can clean out the liver and gallbladder, and save the gallbladder and make sure you don’t have gallstone attacks.

So there is no reason why we should go to a surgeon to get advice on how to save the gallbladder, because their job is to remove gallbladders, not to save gallbladders. So this is not the right person to ask.

There is a lot of good information in my book “The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush” that gives you more concrete answers, and of course it offers the procedure to clean out the liver and gallbladder.

In any event, I would advise anyone who is in that situation to try it out, it won’t harm you, and so trying it out… and it gives you a better perspective of what you can do, and take charge of your health rather than relinquish your power to another person who is not interested in saving your gallbladder at all to begin with, but wanting to take it out, that’s their job, so find someone else to ask but not a surgeon.

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Healing common Colds and Coughs

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By Andreas Moritz 

Hi, this is Andreas Moritz and today I would like to discuss a question from a person who suffers from colds, coughs and runny nose, and the answer to this question is very simple. Let it come out, support it, don’t suppress it, don’t try to stop it, because the experience of having a cold shows that there is a need for purification, for detoxification, that the body is trying to get rid of something through the mucus discharge.

Mucus as you might know, is part of the immune system, it’s the first line of defense that catches toxins, antigens, harmful pathogens, anything that the body doesn’t want to be absorbed into the blood stream or the lymphatic system, and so the mucus discharge or the secretion of extra mucus is a necessary defensive reaction by the body in order to make sure it stays healthy, clean and healthy inside, and therefore there is really only a need to support the body in this effort, rather than stopping the body in its effort to cleanse itself and purify itself and to enhance the immune system, in fact.

Colds have been known to strengthen the immune system once the body has successfully removed toxins, but if you try to stop that, and there are methods to stop it, then the toxins that the body is trying to eliminate will go deeper into the tissues such as the connective tissues of the organs and systems in the body, and this not something I encourage you to do, because the cold is the body’s retrieval system and the relief valve, so to say, to get rid of some things that have been stored for a season or an entire year or many years, and the cold helps you to clear that from your system which is much, much better than keeping it inside.

So I would encourage you to support the body by drinking extra fluids, water that shouldn’t be cold water like from the refrigerator, it should be at least lukewarm or warm water, you can put lemon and honey in there, if there is cough, cough is often helped by adding a teaspoon of honey to warm water and some lemon. The lemon also helps to break down mucus so that it comes out faster. It’s not to stop it, but to come out faster and more easily because if it’s liquefied or thinned, then it can run out through the nose much faster than before.

Also, if there is cough, you may have to realize that a cough is the body’s way to clear toxins from the lung area, from the bronchial system, we should not take cough syrups or something that suppresses that function, but to support it. So hydration, spending time out in the sun to get vitamin D back up, because we only really catch colds when vitamin D levels are low.

So the other thing is avoid foods that cause mucus discharge particularly during the time of the cold such as sugar, any kind of sugar except honey which breaks down mucus as I said before, sugar is increasing mucus secretions. Also dairy products you want to avoid, because they create congestion in the gastrointestinal tract and dairy particles or protein particles in dairy food are always aggravating the mucus lining so that would create more mucus discharge than is necessary, and drink, have some vegetable soups, some herbal teas perhaps, avoiding heavy dinners in the evening, making your main meal at lunch time, so that you can digest it properly and you don’t have to deal with remnants of undigested foods in the gastrointestinal tract, that means you don’t create extra fermentation and bacteria that have to get rid of or break down these undigested foods, so that this is much easier for the body to handle and it allows the body to get rid of the accumulated toxins speedily, as effortlessly as possible, and you feel much better for it after the cold has diminished and is gone. You feel like… exuberant, even euphoric, once you have gone through it successfully without trying to stop it.

Of course, antibiotics don’t help at all because they are not intended for viruses but only work on bacteria and most colds are related to viruses and viruses are particles, protein particles, that are generated only in order to dissolve some chemical toxins, harmful substances in the body. They don’t come into our body just to infect us, have fun spreading throughout the system. They only come when there is a need for it and sometimes they help the inflamed cells that have been damaged beyond repair and the inflammation helps to restore the body, allow new cells to be generated to replace old damaged cells.

So viruses are not something we need to combat, but again, the focus should be on strengthening the immune system, taking care of the digestive functions, take enough rest, so that the body can do all those different things and not have to spend energy on other things as well.

Thank you.

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How to Starve Cancer Out of Your Body – Avoid These Top 4 Cancer-Feeding Foods

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Dr. Christine Horner began her career as a board certified general- and plastic surgeon, performing breast reconstructive surgeries on women who’d had full mastectomies due to breast cancer.

In this interview, she shares her extensive knowledge about breast cancer—its causes and its cures, and the pro’s and con’s of various screening methods.

Her interest in breast cancer began while she was still in college, when her mother developed the disease.

Thirteen years later, when her mother’s cancer returned, Dr. Horner became very active with the American Cancer Society.

For a time, she was a vice-president and the Kentucky state spokesperson for the American Cancer Society on breast cancer issues.

“We were trained to say that we don’t know what causes breast cancer and we have no known cures; the best things that women can do are breast exams and mammograms,” she says.

“… In my practice, I was watching women get younger and younger when I was doing breast reconstruction on them.

Finally, I was doing women in their 20s. I thought something is way wrong with this picture.”  I thought why don’t we just look through the medical literature and see if there’s anything that research shows that women can do, that’s within our control that will lower our risks. I had no idea what I was going to find… But when I looked, I instantly found thousands of studies that show exactly why we have a cancer epidemic…”

What’s Causing the Cancer Epidemic?

What Dr. Horner discovered was that there are a number of habits we’ve stopped doing in our modern culture that are highly protective. We’ve dramatically altered our diets—shunning our native, whole-foods cuisine for highly processed fare—and engage in very little physical activity, for example.

“We’re telling women that all they can do is mammogram [screening], and it’s extremely disempowering,” Dr. Horner says. “You feel like you have no control over it.  But if you look at epidemiological studies… we know that people that live in Asia have a very low incidence of breast cancer or prostate cancer… [W]e have the studies showing that if an Asian woman moves to the United States and adopts our American diet and lifestyle, within one generation her risk will match that of an American woman’s.  It’s like “Hello? What are we doing or not doing that they’re doing or not doing that’s making such a big difference? “

Dr. Horner was eventually introduced to the system of Ayurvedic medicine, and the more she learned about it, the more she felt there were answers therein that needed to be shared with people on a wider scale.

‘[T]here are so many really simple things people can do that can have a dramatic effect on their health,” she says. “Basically, the more you learn about natural medicine, the more you’ll realize that we’re just telling our patients lies– not on purpose, but from what we have been taught from the pharmaceutical companies and so forth.”

She pitched the idea to television stations in Cincinnati to let her talk about complementary and alternative medicine, and ended up being the first syndicated segment on the news related to complementary and alternative medicine, which ran from 1999 through 2002. At that point, she decided to quit her surgery practice to focus on teaching people how to become and stay healthy naturally, and wrote the book: Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner’s Program to Protect Against and Fight Breast Cancer, which contains all-natural approaches for protecting against and treating breast cancer. Dr. Horner’s book won the IPPY award in 2006 for “Best book in health medicine and nutrition.”

“[W]e have the answers to the breast cancer epidemic,” she says. ”We truly do– and it’s very simple. If you have a terrible diet and lifestyle and you do just one thing, you cut your risk in half. You do more than one thing and they will multiply up together. They don’t add up together. They multiply up together, so it becomes extremely easy to dramatically lower your risk of breast cancer.”

It’s worth mentioning that the same strategies apply for other types of cancer as well. Prostate and colon cancer tumors, for example, are similar to breast cancer tumors, as certain hormones cause them all to grow. Hence, protective strategies that are effective against breast cancer also work on these other types of cancer. Cancer prevention strategies will also virtually eliminate most other chronic disorders.

The Problem with Conventional Cancer Screenings

While diagnostic screenings have their place, some cancer screens are just about worthless… The wisdom of using the PSA test, for example, which checks for prostate cancer, has recently been questioned. Ditto for mammograms.

“Looking at the diagnostic tests that are currently available, none of them are perfect,” Dr. Horner says. “Everything has its pros and cons…  [M]ammography produces radiation, which has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer. It’s like, “Why are you doing the test to look at a disease when it’s actually causing the disease, too?”  … It does pick things up at earlier stages, but the problem is that it’s not very specific. So when it looks and it sees something… that looks suspicious, it is wrong 80 percent of the time. In the United States, there’s roughly a million breast biopsies done per year, and 800,000 of them are unnecessary.”

One of the best cancer screening methods is self-examination. But you need to make sure you’re doing it correctly. For more information about how to do a breast self exam, please see this previous article.

MRI’s, which do not use ionizing radiation, are not a practical tool as they are very expensive, and, like mammograms, MRI scans are not very specific. Ultrasound is another technique used in Western medicine. The traditional ultrasound can see whether a mass is cystic or solid. But while a solid mass is generally considered to be something that might be of concern, this is not 100 percent certain either, as cancer tumors can sometimes have cysts in them.

“Now there’s a relatively new ultrasound that uses a color mode,” Dr. Horner says. “It’s called elastography. But there aren’t very many centers in the United States that use it. I go to the Center of the Hoxsey Clinic, to Dr. Arturo Rodriguez at Tijuana. It has a color scale that measures the elasticity of the cell membranes. Cancer cells are very stiff, whereas normal cells have more fluidity to them. It’ll show up as red if it has a lot of stiffness to it, as a cancer cell, or blue if it has elasticity… It’s a very good tool.”

On Thermography

Another form of cancer screen, which is still considered controversial in conventional medicine, is thermography, which gives you an infrared image of your body. By looking at heat and blood vessel patterns you can determine whether there are areas of concern.

“[B]efore you even get a tumor formation, the very first thing that happens is new blood vessels start to grow into the area where the tumor may form. Those blood vessels grow abnormally. They grow an abnormal amount of patterns and they produce an abnormal amount of heat. That’s what thermography is checking for,” Dr. Horner explains.

As with most new technologies, thermography hit some snags in its earlier stages, and fell out of favor in the early 70s. However, the technology has gotten a lot more sophisticated over the years, and is now computerized; eliminating the need for highly trained technicians to evaluate the results.

“The problem we still have today with thermography is that we don’t have standardization,” Dr. Horner explains. “We don’t have a uniform way that people are tested and trained with uniform equipment, and so forth… But there’s definitely a movement… to do standardization, and to get that technology available for women, because this is a technology that has no health detriments associated with it. It does not use radiation or anything harmful to your body.”

Unfortunately, the advocates of mammography perceive thermography as a threat to their business model. So there’s tremendous pressure against it, including from the federal regulatory agencies.

“It’s unfortunate,” Dr. Horner says, “but our country is run by big business. It’s just is, so anytime we want to shift anything culturally like that, and we’re going against established business, we have trouble because it’s all about money.”

For example, many of the presidents of the American Cancer Society were members of the Radiological Association, which is the industry supporting the mammography component. The entire medical field is littered with massive conflicts of interest.

‘We can see that everywhere. You look in the FDA—there are people from Monsanto that work in the FDA. Unfortunately, people think, “the United States is not very corrupt.” But actually, it’s extremely corrupt,” she says.

Still, there are many good reasons for considering thermography. To ensure you’re getting the highest standard of care, Dr. Horner recommends using a practitioner certified by the International Academy of Clinical Thermography, an independent non-profit organization that provides objective, third-party certifications. Their website lists qualified thermography centers across the US, Canada, and some other countries, such as France, Trinidad, and Zambia.

Most Natural Prevention Strategies Can Reduce Your Cancer Risk by Half…

Through her research, Dr. Horner has gathered a large number of cancer-prevention strategies—about 50 in all! Even more astounding is the rate of effectiveness of many of these strategies.

“[I]f you look at the studies, virtually every single thing that has an influence [causes] almost a 50 percent reduction in cancer risk… and if you combine them, like I said, you’ll get these synergistic results where they’ll multiply up as far as their effect is concerned.

I’d say the most important thing is what you do or do not put in your mouth… because you can have huge influences by the foods you consume– the spices, the herbs, and so forth. And, the things that you avoid, that’s going to give you the biggest results. … Vitamin D cuts your risks in half. Turmeric and anti-inflammatories cut your risk in half. I could go through each thing—and I’m telling you the research shows that there’s about 40 to 50 percent reduction [in risk]—so… to say that one is necessarily better than anything else, that’s a really hard thing to claim.”

The Top Four Cancer-Promoting Foods

Dr. Horner brings up an excellent point, and that is that in order to be effective, you must first STOP doing that which is promoting cancer growth (or poor health in general), and then all the other preventive strategies have the chance to really have an impact. Addressing your diet should be at the top of your list, and rather than adding certain foods, you’ll want to eliminate the most dangerous culprits first.

Naturally, processed foods and soft drinks do not belong in a cancer-preventive diet…

Dr. Horner, believes red meat from animals reared in confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) is also a MAJOR contributor to cancer. These animals are given antibiotics, growth hormones and other veterinary drugs that get stored in their tissues. Additionally, cooking the meat over high heat creates heterocyclic amines, which further add to its carcinogenic effect.

While I do recommend eating meat, I agree that there is absolutely NO benefit to eating CAFO beef. The ONLY type of meat I recommend is organically-raised, grass-fed meats. It’s hard for a lot of people to grasp the difference between CAFO and organic meat, but truly, they are like two different species in terms of their nutritional content. One is health harming while the other is beneficial.

So when we’re talking about the detrimental impact of red meat on your health, especially in terms of feeding cancer, please understand that we’re talking specifically about CAFO beef, aka “factory farmed” meat. Next on the list of cancer-promoters is sugar (this includes ALL forms of sugar, including fructose and grains).

“To me, sugar has no redeeming value at all, because they found that the more we consume it, the more we’re fuelling every single chronic disease,” Dr. Horner says. ”In fact, there was a study done about a year ago… and the conclusion was that sugar is a universal mechanism for chronic disease. It kicks up inflammation. It kicks up oxygen free radicals. Those are the two main processes we see that underlie any single chronic disorder, including cancers. It fuels the growth of breast cancers, because glucose is cancer’s favorite food. The more you consume, the faster it grows.”

Next is the type of fats that you consume. It’s important to remember that every cell membrane is made out of fat, as is your brain. According to Dr. Horner, bad-fats in the diet are a major contributor to ill health and cancer. On the list of fats to eliminate are:

  • Animal fats from CAFO-raised animals
  • Trans fats
  • Partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated fats

Healthy fats of particular importance for cancer prevention are omega-3 and omega-9. According to Dr. Horner, omega-3 in particular serve to effectively slow down tumor growth in estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast-, prostate- and colon cancers. Fourth on the list of cancer promoters is ANY item that contains xenoestrogens (chemicals that mimic estrogen). This can become a rather long list once you start including any food contaminated with such estrogen-mimicking chemicals, such as BPA, found in the linings of canned goods and in plastics. The list gets truly unwieldy when you include personal care products that contain such chemicals as well…

“There are case reports of five- and six-year-olds going through secondary sex characteristics because of the shampoo that they were using… There are all sorts of different sources where we’re exposed to these chemicals from our foods and from the products that we use.

What we’re seeing is younger and younger puberty. Around the world, the average age is about 16  years old. In the United States, it’s 10 years old now, and sometimes even younger. The problem is that with each menstrual period there is a surge of estradiol, which is the strongest, most abundant form of estrogen, and the one that’s most associated with breast cancer. If you start your period very young, you’ll have more periods in your lifetime than what a person would have, obviously, if they started at an older age.

In addition to that, when a girl goes through puberty, her breast cells become really sensitive to environmental toxins, radiation, and so forth. They’re considered immature. They haven’t differentiated– as a more scientific term for it– so there’s a longer period of time that they’re exposed to these toxins where they have a greater sensitivity.”

Dr. Horner reviews a number of other important factors that influence your cancer risk, so for more details, please listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript.

Eating for Cancer Prevention

According to Dr. Horner, the research clearly shows that the one food that is the most important for optimal health is plant foods.

“Plants are packed full of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are crucial for our health. They also have hundreds of phytochemicals in them. These don’t have any nutritional or caloric value, but they are like natural medicines, and some of them behave exactly like chemotherapy,” she says.

“Every plant has some anti-cancer properties to them. There are some that are standouts. Cruciferous vegetables are something that I really recommend. They’re a family of vegetables that include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, and Brussels sprouts…

All of them have several different chemicals in common. They’ve got indole-3-carbinol, Calcium D-glucarate, and sulforaphane. They have big anti-cancer properties to them, and they inhibit the growth of breast, prostate, colon cancer and a variety of other ones. Of all the families of vegetables to consume, [cruciferous vegetables] are the ones to be aware of, so you can make sure you’re including that in your diet frequently.”

Naturally, you’ll want to make sure the vegetables are fresh, and ideally locally grown and organic.  Besides cruciferous veggies, another standout plant for cancer-prevention is flax seed. The lignans in flax seed inhibit the growth of cancer in about a dozen different ways, including the exact same mechanism as the anti-cancer drug Tamoxifen and Arimidex, which shut down an enzyme in fat cells called aromatase that converts androgens into estrogens.

“I hear from patients, “Oh! My oncologist told me not to take flaxseeds, because they’re estrogenic,”" Dr. Horner says.”They don’t understand how plant estrogens or “phytoestrogens” work.

There are all sorts of different strengths to estrogens. Let’s say estradiol, which is the strongest, most abundant form– if it hooks on to the estrogen receptor, it may cause a thousand cell divisions. But if a plant estrogen hooks on, it may cause one. When you flood your system with these plant estrogens, I’d say it’s kind of like a game of musical chairs. There are only certain numbers of receptors, and whoever gets their first, gets it. They’re blocking the strong estrogens from getting on, so that’s why it has an inhibitory effect.”

Other Lifestyle Factors that Influence Your Cancer Risk

Other lifestyle factors that have been found to have an impact on chronic disease and cancer include:

  • Vitamin D—There’s overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. As mentioned earlier, you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial. The health benefits of optimizing your levels, either by safe sun exposure (ideally), a safe tanning bed, or oral supplementation as a last resort, simply cannot be overstated. In terms of protecting against cancer, vitamin D has been found to offer protection in a number of ways, including:
    • Regulating genetic expression
    • Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
    • Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
    • Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
    • Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

    To learn the details on how to use vitamin D therapeutically, please review my previous article, Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.

  • Getting proper sleep: both in terms of getting enough sleep, and sleeping between certain hours. According to Ayurvedic medicine, the ideal hours for sleep are between 10 pm and 6 am. Modern research has confirmed the value of this recommendation as certain hormonal fluctuations occur throughout the day and night, and if you engage in the appropriate activities during those times, you’re ‘riding the wave’ so to speak, and are able to get the optimal levels. Working against your biology by staying awake when you should ideally be sleeping or vice versa, interferes with these hormonal fluctuations. According to Dr. Horner:“If we, for instance, go to bed by 10, we have higher levels of our sleep hormone melatonin; there’s a spike that occurs between midnight and 1am, which you don’t want to miss because the consequences are absolutely spectacular. Melatonin is not only our sleep hormone, but it also is a very powerful antioxidant. It decreases the amount of estrogen our body produces. It also boosts your immune system… And it interacts with the other hormones.So, if you go to bed after 10… it significantly increases your risk of breast cancer.”
  • Effectively addressing your stress: The research shows that if you experience a traumatic or highly stressful event, such as a death in the family, your risk of breast cancer is 12 times higher in the ensuing five years.
  • Exercise—If you are like most people, when you think of reducing your risk of cancer, exercise doesn’t immediately come to mind. However, there is some fairly compelling evidence that exercise can slash your risk of cancer.One of the primary ways exercise lowers your risk for cancer is by reducing elevated insulin levels, which creates a low sugar environment that discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells. Additionally, exercise improves the circulation of immune cells in your blood. Your immune system is your first line of defense against everything from minor illnesses like a cold right up to devastating, life-threatening diseases like cancer.The trick about exercise, though, is understanding how to use it as a precise tool. This ensures you are getting enough to achieve the benefit, not too much to cause injury, and the right variety to balance your entire physical structure and maintain strength and flexibility, and aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels. This is why it is helpful to view exercise like a drug that needs to be carefully prescribed to achieve its maximum benefit. For detailed instructions, please see this previous article.Additionally it is likely that integrating exercise with intermittent fasting will greatly catalyze the potential of exercise to reduce your risk of cancer and stimulate widespread healing and rejuvenation.

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New Study: Nicotine Dramatically Improves and Normalizes Failing Memory in Elders

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By: S. L. Baker
Source: NaturalNews.com

Tobacco is some kind of “devil weed,” only good for making chemical-laden products like cigarettes, known to promote cancer. At least, that’s the current take on this plant. But that’s certainly not the whole truth about tobacco, which has been used historically by many cultures both in religious rituals and also as a natural therapy for various ailments from colds to tuberculosis.

In modern times, science has documented health benefits in tobacco’s compounds. For example, a study performed at Stanford concluded that nicotine can boost the growth of new blood vessels and might lead to novel treatments for poor circulation in diabetics. In addition, Duke University scientists found that nicotine patches could help depression.

So why aren’t these benefits derived from tobacco widely known? The reason, as Mike Adams covered in a previous NaturalNews report is simple: the FDA and mainstream medical doctors continue to equate the dangers of smoking chemically-laced “processed” cigarettes with anything that has to do with natural tobacco and the potentially health-building compounds it contains.

However, a new study just published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, may hopefully change that attitude because it shows nicotine from tobacco seems to do what countless, expensive Big Pharma pills have failed at — it improves mild memory loss in older adults.

Dramatic improvements in memory

According to the new research, previous short-term studies have already shown that nicotine helps improve memory and attention span in people with Alzheimer’s disease. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise because nicotine stimulates receptors in the brain that are important for thinking and memory skills and people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are known to lose some of these receptors.

The new study investigated whether nicotine could help people with mild cognitive impairment — the stage before dementia when people have mild memory or thinking problems but are not disabled. The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine study involved 74 research subjects with an average age of 76 who had mild cognitive impairment and who didn’t smoke. Half of the group received a 15 mg. nicotine patch daily for six months while the other half of the study participants received a placebo. At the start of the study, the research subjects were given tests of their memory and thinking ability and these tests were repeated again at three and six months after they were placed on either the nicotine or dummy patch.

At the end of six months, the results were dramatic. Although the placebo group’s mental abilities had decreased by 26 percent over this time period, the nicotine-treated group had regained a remarkable 46 percent of normal performance for age on long-term memory.

There were no serious side effects observed the people receiving the nicotine patch, either. Vanderbilt’s Paul Newhouse, MD, head author of the study, pointed out in a media statement that the research provides strong justification for further investigation into the use of nicotine for people with early signs of memory loss.

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Chiropractors and Naturopaths – Are They Dangerous?

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

The medical profession has a long history of opposing alternative healing professions.

While always claiming public safety as its reason for the attacks, the true reasons often involve protecting their monopoly of the healthcare market.

Medicine’s opposition to chiropractic was its strongest under the leadership of Morris Fishbein, Secretary of the American Medical Association from 1924 to 1949, who led a 50-year anti-chiropractic campaign in both professional publications and the public media.

Historical Antitrust Lawsuits Against Medical Societies

In 1975 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Goldfarb vs. the Virginia State Bar, that learned professions are not exempt from antitrust suits.

In 1982 the Court ruled that the FTC could enforce antitrust laws against medical societies.

These two suits paved the way for five chiropractors to file an anti-trust suit against the American Medical Association (AMA) and several other heath care agencies and societies in Federal District Court (known as the Wilkes Case).

Judge Susan Getzendanner found the AMA and others guilty of an illegal conspiracy against the chiropractic profession in September of 1987, ordering a permanent injunction against the AMA and forcing them to print the court’s findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Even with success of the Wilkes Case and other anti-trust litigation, the AMA continues to this day to wage a campaign against chiropractic.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has maintained a decades-long battle against “alternative” healing traditions, dating back to the 1920s and arguably even earlier. The courts eventually ruled in favor of the chiropractors in 1987, finding the AMA guilty of a conspiracy to take down the chiropractic profession, as the above article recounts in detail.

But was this the end of it? Has the AMA resigned itself to the fact that chiropractic, as well as other forms of natural medicine, are here to stay? Not a chance.

The AMA’s Bedfellows

Even with the success of the Wilkes Case, the AMA has continued to wage war against natural medicine for the past 20 years—but in more covert ways. It’s the “Cold War” phase of this battle, but every bit as fierce. And now the AMA has rallied up a few significant allies, including:

  • The American Dental Association (ADA)
  • The American Cancer Society (ACS)
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and
  • The American Psychiatric Association (APA)

… not to mention governmental regulatory agencies; all willing to march toward a common goal—a monopoly on medical care in this country. Together, they form a formidable lobbying force that controls just about every regulatory and legislative body in America. The truth is that chiropractic, naturopathic, and osteopathic medicine have PROVEN to be medically effective and cost effective for the patient, and the AMA can’t stomach this, viewing natural medicine as a huge threat to their bottom line.

Federal Courts Rule AMA “Guilty as Charged”

In 1987, the federal courts found the AMA and several other medical groups guilty of seeking to create a healthcare monopoly. Specifically, they were found guilty of the following actions (published in the January 1988 issue of JAMA):

  1. Systematic defamation of naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians
  2. Publishing and distribution of propaganda specifically intended to ruin other healthcare professionals’ reputations
  3. Forcing MDs to refuse collaboration with naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians in the co-management of patients
  4. Denying hospital access to naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians

The attack on osteopathic medicine has largely faded away since then, but chiropractic and naturopathic practitioners, as well as other legitimate natural medicine practitioners, continue to be the targets of suppression and misrepresentation. The war isn’t over, but the rules of engagement have changed.

AMA Declares New War on Natural Medicine in 2006

In 2006, the AMA declared war on natural medicine by publicly stating on its website its intention to forcibly oppose licensure and practice of naturopathic physicians. Although they quickly removed this from their site, the following is a direct quote from that post, according to Naturopathy Digest:

“RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association work through its Board of Trustees to outline a policy opposing the licensure of naturopaths to practice medicine and report this policy to the House of Delegates no later than the 2006 Interim Meeting. (Directive to Take Action) Fiscal Note: Implement accordingly at estimated staff cost of $10,836.”

Translation: Eliminate the competition.

According to The Integrator Blog, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) joined the battle with a statement that their goal was to “thwart the growing threat of expansion of scope of practice for allied health professionals” and included psychologists on the list of medical practitioners who needed to be “thwarted” (in addition to naturopaths, chiropractors, and midwives). The APA pledged their allegiance to the AMA in assisting them with “coordinating research to help medical specialty societies and state medical associations fight expansions in non-medical scope of practice, and improve information sharing among those groups.”

Other medical associations have made similar pledges, such as the Minnesota Medical Association and the New York Academy of Family Physicians. They maintain that their position is based on concern for quality of care and patient safety, but the REAL agenda is just an attempt to destroy the competition.

As Chiropractor Louis Sportelli writes in his 2010 article in Dynamic Chiropractic:

“Just look around and you will see clear and compelling evidence that the long-standing war between the AMA and everyone else who does not come under the AMA umbrella is far from over. Thenames have changed, the venue has changed, but the intent has remained the same: to maintain monopolistic control over the delivery of health care.”

Old Mission, New Tactics: AMA Learns How to Discriminate with Impunity

In 2010, the AMA House of Delegates introduced a resolution regarding scope of practice that contains limitations on who can be considered a legitimate physician, and who can medically diagnose. Specifically, the AMA’s “Definition of a Physician” (H-405.969) contains the following language:

“The AMA affirms that a physician is an individual who has received a ‘Doctor of Medicine’ or a ‘Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine’ degree.”

This is proof, without a doubt, that the AMA as well as individual state medical associations intend to continue doing everything they can to prevent you from accessing natural healthcare. Texas and Connecticut medical associations were the first to join the cause, and others will likely follow. Similarly, the AMA’s “Comprehensive Physical Examination by Appropriate Practitioners” reads as follows:

“…the performance of comprehensive physical examinations to diagnose medical conditions [should be limited] to licensed MDs/DOs or those practitioners who are directly supervised by licensed MDs/DOs.”

State Medical Associations Jumping on Board

In 2010, the Texas Medical Board of Examiners filed an action against the Texas Chiropractic Board of Examiners challenging the authority of DCs (Doctors of Chiropractic) to perform some of their medical procedures, and challenging their authority to diagnose. How can medical associations get away with such shenanigans now, when they were given such a clear message to back off in the injunction of 1987? After all, these are very similar tactics to what they were found guilty of back in 1987.

Well, according to Sportinelli, the AMA has learned some lessons about how to beat the law—loopholes that allow them to go on the attack while sidestepping “restraint of trade” or “illegal boycott” violations:

“It [AMA] now understands that government action is protected under the Constitution, as is action in petitioning the government. It can lawfully petition local, state and federal legislators and attempt to influence any legislation without fear of committing actionable restraint of trade or illegal boycott. (However, the AMA does seem to be getting dangerously close with its resolution regarding the “definition of a physician,” in that it appears to involve hospital action without the intervention of government.)”

And what does one need in order to effectively influence the government? Money. This is something the AMA has—and piles of it.Sportinelli goes on to say that the medical industry is likely gearing up for a 50-state effort to put non-MD/DO physicians out of business. And this means fewer choices about your own medical care.

Profit Motives Cleverly Disguised as Concern for Your Health and Safety

According to Naturopathy Digest, the AMA and other medical groups justify their opposition to natural medicine on the basis of three areas of concern:

  1. Quality of patient care
  2. Patient safety
  3. Quality of education of medical practitioners

As the article so eloquently points out, none of these arguments holds up, and most are based on medical and pharmaceutical industry propaganda. If they were TRULY concerned about patient care and safety, they would not be targeting natural medicine, which has an incredibly low incidence of adverse consequences, but instead going after their own allopathic medical practices that are leaving a trail of death and destruction.

Drug “side effects”, prescription errors, unnecessary surgeries, nosocomial infections, and hospital “errors” are a leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, one estimate is that allopathic medicine kills 493 American patients daily. The number of people who die each week as a result of medical treatments surpasses the number of deaths caused by the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Yes, each and every week!

Many of the drugs advertised in JAMA (the AMA’s scientific journal) are the very same drugs that are killing tens of thousands of Americans each year. This massive funding of the AMA by drug companies is a blatant conflict of interest. If the AMA really cared about your safety, they’d be putting their substantial assets into overhauling the American healthcare system. The AMA is fond of lambasting the education and training of chiropractors, when in actuality, they should be more concerned about the educational qualifications of their own physicians. In their own publications, they have stated:

“Medical education is failing to prepare students adequately for their future practice… medical education is currently being held together with peanut butter and bubble gum.”

At least four consecutive studies have documented that most MDs are incompetent when it comes to diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal problems, something at which chiropractors excel. Another example of an abysmal lack of education of Western physicians is in the area of diet and nutrition. The AMA itself has published research showing that dietary interventions should be used before drugs in the treatment of heart disease. Yet, medical students receive virtually NO training in nutrition. Naturopathic and chiropractic physicians, on the other hand, are usually well versed in the importance of nutrition and exercise.

It’s Not Just the AMA

Perhaps it’s time to take a real look at medical associations, and the concern that they may be doing more harm than good. For groups who claim to exist in order to protect your health, they inevitably end up sabotaging it. It isn’t just the AMA. Other medical associations that claim to exist for the betterment of public health include the following:

  • American Dental Association (ADA): Continues to support the use of mercury fillings and demonizes biological dentists who oppose the use of mercury in dentistry; continues to support fluoridation, in spite of the evidence it does more harm than good.
  • American Cancer Society (ACS): This charity has close ties to the mammography industry, the cancer drug industry, and the pesticide industry; has rampant conflicts of interest; consistently promotes drugs and screening procedures while ignoring environmental causes of cancer.
  • National Cancer Institute (NCI): Has spent billions of taxpayer dollars promoting treatments while ignoring strategies for preventing cancer; abundant ties to the cancer drug industry (for more information, read Samuel Epstein’s new book, National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society: Criminal Indifference to Cancer Prevention and Conflicts of Interest)
  • American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Claiming to be protecting your children, the AAP is largely funded by vaccine manufacturers but refuses to disclose just how much money it gets from them; partners with Congress to protect pediatricians and drug companies from liability for vaccine injuries, while preventing you from getting truthful vaccine information.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

When someone’s words differ from their actions, chances are that their actions more accurately reflect their values—and this is true for organizations, as well as individuals. Although medical associations claim to have your best interests at heart, their actions tell a different story. It’s time to begin holding them accountable for their behavior and stop letting them hide behind the same old tired rhetoric.

You have a right to make your own choices about your healthcare, be it allopathic or naturopathic—whether you see an MD, an ND, or a DC should be YOUR decision and yours alone.

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