Category: Natural Health

Calm hyperactive children with natural fish oils, or risk killing them with the artificial drug, Ritalin? Some choice!

Fish Oil More Effective Than Ritalin

“A daily dose of fish oil is better at treating hyperactivity than Ritalin – the ‘chemical cosh’ linked to the deaths of children, stunning research has revealed. Just six capsules a day of the naturally-occurring oil can vastly improve children’s behaviour without any of the side-effects of Ritalin and related drugs. The controversial drugs can cause heart problems, dizziness and insomnia and have been blamed for the deaths of nine children in the UK and dozens more in the US.”

Dr. Linus Pauling proposed long ago that mega-doses of vitamin C could treat cancers. He was putdown by his peers, of course. Now, a twist on his approach is being re-visited again.

500 Oranges – A Cancer Cure?

“If Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel laureate turned vitamin C zealot, had taken an equally dispassionate stance 30 years ago, who knows where the vitamin would be in oncology today. Surely not where it is: a dubious alternative on the fringes of medicine, despite its continuing links to remissions and cures. This is not about popping supplements. It’s about putting high-dose vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, into a vein, which requires needles and trained professionals. The distinction between oral and intravenous is crucial. The body automatically gets rid of extra C through urine. Levine’s lab has shown that, at high concentrations, the vitamin is toxic to many types of cancer cells in lab dishes. But to get that much C into the body before it’s eliminated, it must be put directly into the blood.”

Bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used to prevent broken and deteriorating bones in cancer and osteoporosis patients, have been linked to a serious side effect called osteonecrosis, in which areas of bone in the jaw die. However, while small, but increasing, numbers of complaints seem to be popping up, along with rising numbers of lawsuits aimed at the drugs’ makers, many unanswered questions remain. One major question is just how many people are suffering from osteonecrosis of the jaw related to bisphosphonates. There are two varieties of the drugs, one taken intravenously by cancer patients (Zometa and Aredia), the other taken in lower-dose pill form by those with osteoporosis (Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva). Incidence of osteonecrosis among cancer patients is estimated at between 1 percent and 10 percent, while incidence among osteoporosis patients is unknown.

Drug for Bones Is Newly Linked to Jaw Disease

“Should cancer patients stop taking bisphosphonates for a year or so and then start again? Should osteoporosis patients stop periodically? ‘The pharmaceutical industry has every desire that a patient who starts on a bisphosphonate would take it for life,’ said Dr. Robert Gagel of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. ‘The bone community, of which I am a member, has always been a bit suspicious of that viewpoint.’ Some patients say they are left unsure of the medical advice they have already been given.”

WHAT?!?! I know, it sounds way off track… but the answer is not as simple as it sounds. Western society (well, American society) stresses taking at least one bath per day, then using anti-bacterial soaps, reducing exposure to bacteria and germs, and use of deodorants. What if the lack of daily exposure to germs and bacteria weakens our immune system, since it doesn’t have to “face” the bacteria? What if the chemicals and additives in the soaps further reduce our immune system’s capabilities? And, finally, what if the deodorants have heavy metals and chemicals that actually promote disease? Some of these possible outcomes are being studied now:

Wild vs. lab rodent comparison supports hygiene hypothesis

“In a study comparing wild rodents with their laboratory counterparts, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found evidence that may help to explain why people in industrialized societies that greatly stress hygiene have higher rates of allergy and autoimmune diseases than do people in less developed societies in which hygiene is harder to achieve or considered less critical. The prevailing hypothesis concerning the development of allergy and probably autoimmune disease is the “hygiene hypothesis,” which states that people in “hygienic” societies have higher rates of allergy and perhaps autoimmune disease because they — and hence their immune systems — have not been as challenged during everyday life by the host of microbes commonly found in the environment. The study suggests that an overly hygienic environment could simultaneously increase the tendency to have allergic reactions and the tendency to acquire autoimmune disease, despite the fact that these two reactions represent two different types of immune responses.”

Last year I took a Certified Natural Health Professionals Capstone course called, “Face, Tongue, and Nail Analysis.” It seems that what we learned about indicators in these areas is now being researched and accepted by many allopathic practioners as well!

Wrinkles: A Sign of Lung Disease

“The body speaks in visual clues revealing the state of our health. For example, a trained practitioner can tell you if you have heart disease by examining how your fingernails grow. Deciphering what the body is trying to say is a continuing learning process for the health community. Now, there might be one more clue that is understood. According to researchers, deep facial wrinkles indicate lung weakness and a sign of lung disease. In a study done at the Royal Devon & Exeter National Health Service in Britain, the participants who had significant wrinkles of the face were five times more likely to have COPD and three times more likely to have severe emphysema. It has been well-established that some, but not all smokers, develop decreased lung function and eventual COPD. Researchers believe the results of this study will alert physicians to the potential for lung disease when treating patients who show extensive or deep wrinkling of the face.”

If you are interested in CNHP courses, you can check out their website here:

Certified Natural Health Professionals

Or, the North Carolina Chapter, here:

Certified Natural Health Professionals of North Carolina

Dr. Linus Pauling introduced us to “Othromolecular Nutrition,” which some would refer to as “Mega-dosing.” Dr. Pauling was advocating much higher than the RDA of Vitamin C. The RDA values are WAY out of date, there is no doubt. Now, it seems, there is MUCH evidence that we need to be consuming much more Vitamin D than we thought!

Vitamin D Has Many Benefits!

“Once seen as merely a defense against rickets, vitamin D has in recent years gained recognition as a major force that acts throughout the body. It improves absorption of calcium, controls the growth of cells (both healthy and cancerous), strengthens the immune system and seems to rein in overzealous immune system cells that cause diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Much of vitamin D’s potential is still just that: potential. But at this moment, to some scientists the potential looks huge. ‘Even if two-thirds of these things don’t pan out, it’s still a blockbuster,’ says Dr. Robert Heaney, a professor of medicine at Creighton University in Omaha, who specializes in osteoporosis. As excitement about vitamin D grows, so does the concern that many people may not be getting enough. In March, an article in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings called vitamin D deficiency ‘a largely unrecognized epidemic in many populations worldwide.’ ‘The daily allowances for vitamin D are outdated,’ says Anthony Norman, a professor of biochemistry at UC Riverside. ‘I would recommend 1,000 IU per day for all ages, with a maximum of 2,000 IU. I’m considering taking 2,000 IU myself.’ And, he adds, current evidence suggests that even 10,000 IU — overkill by anyone’s standards — would probably be safe.”

The BBC stretched a bit to get the headline:

Eating pizza “cuts cancer risk”

“Researchers claim eating pizza regularly reduced the risk of developing oesophageal cancer by 59%. The risk of developing colon cancer also fell by 26% and mouth cancer by 34%, they claimed. The secret could be lycopene, an antioxidant chemical in tomatoes, which is thought to offer some protection against cancer, and which gives the fruit its traditional red colour.”

You could get the lycopene without eating the pizza… but, OK, at least they are giving the credit to the lycopene in the tomatoes! Even though they call it a “chemical” rather than a naturally occurring nutritional component of the herb.

I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of this article! But, beyond what the writer says about “medicalizing” bad behavior, there is also the trend to make every little thing a “medical condition” in order to sell a drug for it! “Restless Leg Syndrome” comes to mind. Right.

Stop “Medicalizing” Bad Behavior!

“It may be hard to recall, but once there was a time when people took responsibility for their behavior, without recourse to the psychiatric and psychological communities. It wasn’t even all that long ago. There was a day when drug addiction, alcoholism and other pathologies were seen for what they were: human failures by individuals who had lost control of their lives. Today, however, is the day of Too Much Medicine. Today, all sorts of bad behavior is being reclassified – as one disease or another. The latest is something doctors are referring to as ‘intermittent explosive disorder’ (IED). They’re tying it to road rage, which erupts when one driver cuts off another and the battle begins.”

“Big Pharma” loves this kind of stuff. Now they can create a drug to sell to “cure” the problem that was invented. It is a shame!

An ancient Chinese herbal remedy for diabetes Type 2 has been found effective in a study.

Chinese remedy “treats diabetes”

“A gardenia fruit extract used in Chinese medicine for centuries to treat adult onset diabetes is effective, scientists have found. The US team found a chemical from the fruit blocks the action of an enzyme which stops the production of insulin. The research, published in Cell Metabolism, could lead to new drugs, the scientists said.”

Do you eat out a lot? Have you noticed that portions at restaurants are getting bigger and bigger? Well, not surprisingly, a study indicates that these factors can increase the chances of obesity.

USA Today: Federal report lays out how restaurants can help take a bite out of obesity

“A new report suggests restaurants should dish food and fight fat at the same time, meaning menus with more fruits and vegetables, smaller portions and better nutritional information. With burgers, fries and pizza the Top 3 eating-out favorites in this country, restaurants are in prime position to help improve people’s diets and combat obesity. At least that’s what is recommended in a government-commissioned report being released Friday. The report, requested and funded by the Food and Drug Administration, lays out ways to help people manage their intake of calories from the growing number of meals prepared away from home, including at the nation’s nearly 900,000 restaurants and other establishments that serve food. The 136-page report prepared by The Keystone Center, an education and public group based in Keystone, Colo., said Americans now consume fully one-third of their daily intake of calories outside the home. And as of 2000, the average American took in 300 more calories a day than was the case 15 years earlier, according to Agriculture Department statistics cited in the report. Today, 64% of Americans are overweight, including the 30% who are obese, according to the report. It pegs the annual medical cost of the problem at nearly $93 billion.”

Further recommendations ask restaurants to consider providing better nutritional information to customers.