Butt Naked and Mini Trams

For years, I have been preaching about the importance of a healthy lymphatic system. So many in our health care system talk about healthy heart, lungs, etc., but never talk about the lymphatic system. Basically, the lymphatic system is responsible for carrying out the trash your body produces.

I have encouraged people to dry brush (youtube Video)their body every morning before they shower to get their lymph system moving.  Dry brushing has many benefits. One benefit I love is that it helps with cellulite.

 One day, I went to visit a delightful 90 year old lady who had just come home from the hospital. She had been placed on oxygen at home. As I was checking her blood pressure, heart rate, lungs and oxygen sat level, she shared with me that she was 90 years old and this was the first time she had ever been in the hospital her entire life. (She delivered her babies at home, what a woman!) I felt compelled to ask her for the secret to remaining so healthy. She told me that every morning since she was in her 40’s, she has gotten out of bed and jumped butt naked on her mini trampoline for 10 minutes.  She was keeping her lymphatic system healthy using the mini tram.

 I left her home thinking that she would not need the home oxygen for long. There are some people in life that you are grateful for the opportunity to get to meet. She was one of them. A wonderful lady with a great attitude and a zest for life. Oh, and yes, I did go out and purchase a mini tram for myself.

We can all do small things that can make a difference in our health.  Come by and talk with us about your challenges.  We would love the opportunity to assist you in your health goals.

Wellness for Life!

M.C. Pons RN

Guest Blogger

A Nursing Story-Making a Difference

It was Friday May 20^th 1988. My husband picked me up from work at lunch and we headed to the hospital to induce labor for our very first child. I was two weeks over due and the doctor felt like it was time to do something.  The joke at work was I was to have the baby on Friday and be back to work on Monday. Needless to say we did not pull that off.

The oxytocin drip was started and the dosage kept being increased in with no results. The monitor was showing contractions but I told my husband, I felt like a worm was crawling on my belly.  After a while the doctor came in and the decision was made to procede with a C-section.  That evening, my beautiful baby girl was born. I remember hearing her cry until they placed her in my husbands arms.  He then was allowed to carry her to the nursery while they closed my incision.

  The events that followed are a bit hazy so this is combined with what my family told me happened after my daughter’s birth. My mom stayed with me the day after while my husband ran some errands.  She noticed I was not perking up like she thought I should be.  She even mentioned it to one of the nurses. The nurse explained to her that I had just had major surgery, and that it was to be expected.  My mom told the nurse that she did not understand. “This is not like my Mary Carol”.  As hours passed,  mom was becoming more and more concerned. On Sunday evening, a nurse named Susan was assigned to me.  Mom told Susan that something was wrong. This was not like her daughter at all. Susan contacted the doctor on two different occasions and requested that he come and check on me.  Finally after the third call he came in and ordered ortho blood pressure tests.  Those bottomed out and he followed up with an ultrasound that showed a bladder flap hematoma the size of a softball.  They quickly slam dunked two units of blood in me and I was wheeled back in for emergency surgery to remove the hematoma.  Concerned, Susan put a call into our church and requested prayer for me because my life was in the balance. After surgery, I was then admitted to ICU for several days. Days passed before I was moved to the step down unit and finally able to go home with my baby girl.

After that experience in the hospital, I made the decision to go back to school to obtain a nursing degree. I wanted to make a difference in others people’s lives like Susan had made in mine.  Susan saved my life!  Had she not been persistent in calling the doctor, I would have bled to death in that hospital.

 

Fast forward to May 15^th, 2005

I was working as a nurse for a company that contracted with Hospices in Iredell County and several adjoining counties. Part of my job was to administer the IV pain control via a patient controlled analgesic pump for their patients. This particular day, I was setting up a lady in my own county. I got to the home, rang the door bell. Her husband  answered the door. He welcomed me inside and I could hear her voice in the kitchen. I knew that voice!  She walked in the den from the kitchen and her first words to me were, “I know you”.  I laughed and said, funny you say that because I recognize your voice but I don’t recognize your name. She smiled and said, well, I’m Carol.  I was your nurse in ICU after your daughter was born.  

In the following weeks, I learned from Carol that when she found out she was getting an OB patient in ICU, she tried to talk one of the other nurses that had OB experience into taking me.  She told me she was scared to death when I came down from surgery because  I was holding onto life by a toenail.  She said she kept talking to me all thru the shift telling me that I had better not die. I had a baby girl to take care of now and that baby needed her momma. I thanked her many times for the difference she made in my life. Needless to say, we became fast friends and I loved her dearly during those short months of caring for her. Carol passed away from ovarian cancer.

 I will forever feel blessed and thankful that God put these two wonderful nurses in my life.

So this is Nurses week. Thank a nurse that has made a difference in your life. 

Mary Carol Pons RN

Guest Blogger

Holidays, Grief, and Ignatia

One evening my four month old puppy was let out of the kennel as part of my evening routine.  He annoyed his 11 year old sire around the farm as usual.  The pup did not come back.  My wife and I called and looked in the usual places for hours.  We called the neighbors just in case.  He did have a collar with my name and phone number.  At night fall I took the ATV and a spot light and rode the woods and fields.  There was some reason, he could not come home.  Did his collar get hung up on something, did the coyotes get him, or was he at someone's house?  It was hopeless to find him at night.  I went to bed and did not sleep very well.  I got up at 3AM and went back into the woods to look again.  At day light I walked the deep ravines for 3 hours to no avail.   My neighbor called to say his wife saw a dead dog by the highway a half mile away. 

I found him, took him home and buried him.  Loosing a pet it tough.  But it reminds me of the loss of what some experience when they lose a wife, a husband, a father, a mother, or a child.  Someone that is part of that person.

For many, the holidays bring happy times of family gatherings and good food.  However, this time can be difficult for those that have lost loved ones.  Grief is an awful state.  In the initial phase of shock and disbelief comes an emotional roller coaster. 

Grief can be the loss of a friend, relationship, or job.  It can also be the loss of a concept.  The fairy tale world is not like the real thing.  The princess did not live happily ever after.  This is not the way I thought my life would turn out.  What ever the reason, time sometimes helps.

In the world of homeopathy, Ignatia is the premier acute grief remedy.  Key notes of the remedy include:  the emotional state of grief or frustration, suppressed or deep grief with long drawn sighs, ailments from grief, emotion shock, disappointments, quarrelsome, and worse from consolation. 

Some have suggested that it may not be best to give a remedy for grief.  Of course regular prescription medicine may include some anti-anxiety or anti-depressant.  Robin Murphy, ND put it quite well.  "If a child broke his arm would you say let him experience the pain so he could learn from the discomfort?"  Ignatia does not change the process but allows the individual to feel more balanced in the process.  Start with Ignatia 30C as needed.  You can also increase the potency to 200C if needed.

Stay Well.

Winter Weather, Morphine, Milk, and Bread

A recent snow flurry brought joking comments about those who will empty the grocery store shelves of bread and milk.  It is one of those things that people in the South say when it snows.  It never fails that any threat of winter weather produces casein and gluten shoppers.  Of course it is rare that any winter weather stays more than a day or two.

Some consider such behavior as odd.  After all, is it really that important since the roads will be clear tomorrow? Perhaps there is more to the compulsion to shop at the very hint of weather restricted access. It only makes sense if you look at it as a real food addiction. 

As it turns out, the protein casein (link)found in dairy products and the gluten found in wheat can actually turn into weak morphine like proteins. These react with opiate receptors in the brain.  The conversion of these type of proteins will vary from one person to the next. 

In my experience, the most common visual symptom of a gluten or wheat intolerance is fluid retention and inflammation.  The most common symptom of a dairy allergy is chronic sinus congestion.  Both of these can be accompanied by poor sleep.  An "O" blood type can have both allergies.  An "A" blood type is more prone to dairy intolerance. 

Individuals with a gluten or dairy allergy will consume their addictive food on a daily basis.  They also consume that type of food disproportionately compared with the other foods in their diet.  The most common response to the suggestion that one eliminates gluten from their diet along with the deer in the headlights look is:  "What else can I eat?"  It truly escapes them that fruits, vegetables, and meat are possibilities. 

If you suspect a food allergy try a modified elimination diet.  Stop eating that food (wheat or dairy) for 21 days.  On day 22, eat all you wish and stop again.  Notice any symptoms from day 22 to 24.  You may experience anything from a mild runny nose to full blown gastrointestinal upset. 

A food allergy has far reaching effects that include indigestion, inflammation, and hormone imbalance.  Hormone imbalance includes adrenal problems that impacts energy and sleep.  Thyroid hormone can be suppressed increasing weight.  Sex hormones, including estrogen and testosterone can also be suppressed.  Identifying your food allergy can be the most powerful wellness change you can make.

Stay Well!

 

To Heaven and Back

Last weekend marked the birth of my first Grandchild.  I made an airline reservation to fly out the next day to see this new addition to the family.  While browsing the books in the airport, I noticed "To Heaven and Back" (video introduction)...."A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again".

The life account of Dr. Mary Neal is certainly extraordinary.  Her life's journey as a teenager to becoming a well educated orthopedic back surgeon is unusual enough.  On a white water kayaking accident in Chile she was involved in a vertical pin and drowned.  Her faith gave her peace in her death.  She experienced heaven while her friends unsuccessfully tried to free her.  Eventually the force of the water broke both of her legs below the knees and she washed out.  It had been 15 minutes before the start of a  frantic effort to revive the blue corpse. 

Her description of heaven is something you will have to read.  She learned many things of our purpose and the interconnection we experience.  Of angels and God's all encompassing love.  Her purpose here had not yet been fulfilled and she was sent back.  Life came back into her body and she had a long and difficult recovery.  The difficulty was physical, emotional, and spiritual.  How could one experience heaven only to come back to this world?

As I gazed upon my Granddaughter, I was overcome with the joy of seeing a new life.  I watched as my daughter nursed her first child on the first day of her life.  I watched her father carry her around the room whispering things that only he and she could hear.  I held her as she slept.  A miracle of a new life, a spiritual creature here to have a human experience. 

The book offers a different perspective.  It is so easy for us to get caught up in the day and the minor obstacles.  It is easy to respond in anger or frustration.  The book reminds me to respond in love and compassion. 

Stay Well!

I'm Pretty Healthy

While there is a place for medication, by design it exists to suppress symptoms.  Drugs do not heal.  We are trained via culture and media to take one pill for this and one for that.  We live in a drug culture that trains us as children the way of the pill.

I have observed that most people think they are “pretty healthy”.  They can be on six or more prescription medications, have a current cold and they will say, “Overall, I am pretty healthy.”  It often takes a lot for them to make the shift to something is wrong.  How would you define “pretty healthy?  I can still get up in the morning and go to work?  I can make it to the mail box and back?  I go to the doctor and take my prescriptions?

I love positive thinking but it could be an obstacle to making change.  Sometimes we slip toward poor health so gradually that we don't even notice.  For some there may be a feeling of, "this is as good as it will get, or I am getting old".  I am sure that at some point in time, I will be old and it really will be as good as it gets.  However, there is a time before that where something really can be done.

Do we deceive ourselves into thinking we are healthy when we also know we have health problems?  Is it our survival mechanism to keep going, or do we truly believe we are healthy in spite of evidence to the contrary.  Perhaps it is a strong spiritual perspective carries you forward.  Are we intentional or unintentional in our self-deception?  A newsman once said, "we view things thru the prism of our experience".  Interesting. 

Advertising has pounded the message that drugs are good, the flu shot is good, and anything we tell you to do is for your benefit.  Many are sincere in this belief.  We know what we are doing because we are smarter than you are.  We have done all the research so you don't have to.  If you do not do as we say you are just ignorant.  Oh contraire.  Just some thoughts.

Stay Well

Chagas Disease, Kissing Bug, Parasites, Vegetables

I often hear “disease starts with inflammation”!   No it doesn’t.  Ask the question, “Why do I have inflammation?”  “Where does it come from?”  It is because there is a toxin of some type that the body cannot deal with or is in the process of dealing with.  In this world we have a lot of possible toxic voluntary and involuntary “choices”.

As an example, an individual may come in contact with a parasite that uses a living person or animal as a host.  A parasite consumes your resources and creates waste (a toxin) that your body must deal with.  The Triatome (kissing) bug recently came to my attention. Known as the insect “vector” for Chagas disease is a major killer in Latin America.  The Triatomine Beetle is the American version of trypanosomiasis, the carrier for the parasite trypanosomes.  This is similar to the disease carried by the tsetse fly in Africa causing sleeping sickness. 

The normal venue for these beetles is a secretive nocturnal life in the cracks and holes of substandard housing or in any outdoor/indoor environment including doghouses, chicken houses, woodpiles, etcetera.  They like to bite faces, suck blood, and defecate leaving the parasite.  The area itches, is scratched, and unknowingly rubbed into mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth.   Other possible transmissions is thru blood transfusions, organ transplantation, and the ingestion of food contaminated with the parasite.  How much of our food comes from Central or South America?

With the world’s mobile population, you can disregard the old textbook world parasite prevalence maps.  There are currently hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Latin America living in the U.S. 

The worst possible impact is a massive enlargement of the heart causing sudden death (cardiomyopathy).  Have you ever heard of a dog suddenly dying in the kennel?  The scary part is that most are symptom free.  Mild symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, diarrhea and vomiting.  There may also be a swollen eyelid on the side of the bite.

If you are at risk for parasites (blog), consider Verma Comp, Vermasode, and Verma HP.  A preventative for pets is diatomaceous earth(blog) dusted in the kennel.

Stay Well!

Arsenic, Victorian Lace, Draft Teams and Chicken

The old Belgium team survived on oats and arsenic.  Yes, arsenic was commonly fed to older horses to help them maintain their weight.  The old horse trader’s story was that one-month after buying a beautiful team the purchaser, who did not know about arsenic, witnessed his team turning to skin and bones. 

Arsenic is commercially used in insecticides, fungicides, and in treated lumber.  Victorian women consumed it to make their skin paler to show that they did not work outside. It is theorized that Napoleon Bonaparte’s death was due to arsenic poisoning.   I recently learned that it is or has been used as feed additive for poultry and swine production.  It improves weight gain and meat color.  What kind of twisted mind decided arsenic would be good to feed to chickens?  I guess chickens are made to sell and not to eat.

Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with lung, bladder and skin cancers.  It is also associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive problems.  Less associated symptoms include burning pains, diarrhea, anxiety, and restlessness.  The mental impact may include obsessive-compulsive disorder.  These individuals also have a fear of poverty, death, disease, and “germs”.  This is another example of a toxicity having a mental impact.

Ironically, homeopathic arsenic, known as Arsenicum album is a premier remedy that is especially useful for food poisoning.  Remember that a homeopathic is highly diluted and does not contain the element arsenic.  Homeopathy is in the realm of physics.  Arsenicum album 30C is a remedy you should always have available.  I remember being in Phoenix the day before a 6AM flight back to Charlotte.  Unfortunately, about midnight, I discovered that I had made a poor choice of restaurants.  Without the Arsenicum, I would not have been able to leave the motel at 4AM.

Constitutional Amendment-The Remedy?

Gus is a one-year-old male German Shorthaired Pointer that seemed to have that adolescent teen personality.  He has great physique and ability but is entirely bashful in new situations.  Even though he was well socialized he still did not meet people well and would cower with a new person or loud noises.  Conversely, he was completely comfortable with pointing birds and a shotgun blast.  Gus also had a poor appetite and ate the occasional bite all day long.  I decided it was time to give him a constitutional remedy. 

A constitution is the emotional, mental and physical state of an individual.  It is his or her nature or temperament.  This can be genetic and/or acquired.  While most of our focus is on the physical aspects of health, the more important is the emotional or mental health.

A constitutional remedy is one that fits most of the entire person: physical, mental and emotional.  Ideally a constitutional remedy is used on a healthy person to fortify them.  However, most remedies are used when something is out of balance.  When “out of balance”, the remedy selected may not be the individual’s “constitution” but is the remedy picture presented.  Each homeopathic remedy has physical, mental, and emotional aspects.  It is the homeopaths job to select the remedy that best fits the total person. 

While most use homeopathics for a single purpose, such as Arnica for bruising, each homeopathic remedy can influence a number of seemingly unrelated symptoms.  Lycopodium (club moss) is commonly used for gas and poor digestion.  The mental aspect of Lycopodium includes indecision, timidity, loss of confidence or poor self-esteem.  There is a fear of strangers and a fear of being alone.  The key note here is impotence.  This is not a sexual impotence but overall ineffectiveness. 

Gus received one dose of Lycopodium 1M with no results.  With the second dose one day later he made a complete shift.  He was more confident and happy to meet anyone new.  It was as if he thought everyone had a gift for him.  He also began eating all of his food when presented.   The only down side was that he was interested in mounting any other canine of any sex.  No more ineffectiveness of attitude.  Hopefully, better judgment would come with experience.  Pretty amazing.  

(Note:  most homeopaths would not use a 1M potency first and would start with a 30C, but this was not my choice). 

Stay Well!

The Body Electric

The body is electric.  (As an oddity, check out the electric man)  As a matter of fact, practically nothing happens in the body that is not related to electrical charge.  Your body is mostly water containing minerals that are electrically charged.  So it would not be too far fetched to imagine that electromagnetic fields (EMF) could impact the body in a small or large way.  Such EMFs are created by electric current and the magnetic field they create.  This includes any electrical power source: power lines, substations, transformers, wiring, microwaves, lights clocks, computers and cell phones.  Chronic exposure to EMFs can cause DNA damage, increase stress, affect immune function.

A client had experienced unexplained nausea, digestive issues and inflammation for about 3 weeks.  Homeopathic remedies were only briefly helpful.  This is what happened.

“My husband woke around 3AM and couldn't go back to sleep.  I woke up abruptly with the alarm clock ‘hollering’ making a noise that sounded like a ghost in the house. Ed experienced the same thing with the air purifier in the living room. The window air conditioners were also making crazy noises and we could not cut them off.   The light in our master bathroom came on and was so bright it looked like it could explode.  The power had turned the switch on itself.  In the living room smoke was coming from behind the TV.  I called 911 and Ed pulled the plugs from the outlet in that area.  Fire trucks came, and the Electric Company was called.   They discovered the old transformer had lost its ‘neutral’.  If we had not been at home our house would have burned.  But the crazy thing of it all was that my sickness left as quick as it came.  They replaced the transformer with a new one and I got better instantly. “

While this is an extreme case, there are numerous individuals that are sensitive to electromagnetic fields.  This is also a perfect example of actually determining the cause of an illness.  Elimination of is cause is the appropriate treatment.  Neither pharmaceutical, herbal, nor homeopathic interventions are appropriate.

Sleep can be impacted by an electromagnetic field.  This may include a clock radio that is too close to your head, a heating pad, an electric blanket, or an electric outlet.  The extremely sensitive may want to avoid an innerspring mattress that may act as a conductor.  Cell phones and the subsequent earpieces that many wear have been linked to brain cancer. 

While most of us will never experience such an issue, it is helpful to be aware of such an issue and perhaps take steps to avoid problems. 

Stay Well!

The Pill Problem- Nutrition Depletion, Disease, and Decreased Libido

The advent of the oral contraceptive “pill” in the 1960’s certainly changed the female, how do you say it...uh...I will reframe from characterizing this from a male perspective.  From a woman's perspective, "The pill gave women an sense of control, or what we perceived as control."...."In the 1960's men were still telling their wives who to vote for in elections.  Freedom is so incredibly powerful when when you've never had it....to be in charge of our own bodies!"  While there were obvious benefits, there were also problems. 

Ross Pelton, Pharmacist/Certified Clinical Nutritionist, has written a book “The Pill Problem” as a means to educate women primarily in the area of nutrient depletion.  While the medical world is aware of some drug induced nutritional deficiencies the majority are never addressed.  Educated pharmacists have been talking about this for years.  Keep in mind the chemistry of the body requires nutrients to function properly.  It has always bothered me that a folic acid deficiency creates the birth defect of neural tube defects.  At the same time oral contraceptives create such a deficiency which is never addressed until one is pregnant.

“Oral contraceptives cause a depletion of a wide range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants in women’s bodies.  These nutrient depletions increase the risk of depression, sleep disorders, anemia, low energy, migraine headaches, heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, diabetes, a weakened immune system, giving birth to an infant with birth defects, and cancers in the uterus, colon and breast.”          ALARMING!

The most common deficiencies include all the B vitamins, magnesium(calcium/magnesium blog), Co Q 10,Vitamin C, tyrosine and selenium.  Anyone taking these synthetic hormones found in oral contraceptives should consider supplementation. 

Oral contraceptives can also have an impact on overall hormone balance that ultimately results in decreased sex drive, arousal, and orgasm.  The drug that allowed women to have more sexual freedom ironically quelled what they desired.

“The Pill Problem” is an excellent educational tool for the woman that wants to be proactive with her health.  Utmost importance in this is this day and age!

Stay Well!

Deer Antler Velvet, Bone Growth and Sperm Count

Eleven years ago, my female German Shorthaired Pointer produced Buster.  He became a Dual Champion (Field Champion and Show Champion).  His owner called me earlier this year and offered him to me as he was getting out of the dog business.  I really wanted another litter sired by this exceptional dog but that was a gamble due to his age. 

Buster arrived, a little over weight with some joint stiffness.  A trip to the vet to check his sperm count produced the following comment from the vet.  “The port wine color of Buster’s ejaculate is quite alarming…..The good news is that he is producing viable sperm cells.”  The vet recommended a three-month course of antibiotics.  Given my background, she knew I probably would take an alternative approach.  I started him on Prostate Advantage an herbal prostate formula.  Arnica 30C and Phosphorous 30C were added to his water every other day to address the blood issue.  I also added Avinotripin every day.  Avinotropin is a product made from deer antler velvet, which has concentrated growth factors. 

 

 

Three weeks later the prostatic fluid was clear and the sperm count was still low at a few hundred thousand.  One week later the sperm count was 2 BILLION (yes this was done by a lab machine), with 90 percent motility and good morphology.  Buster was also leaner,  moved freely, and could jump in the front seat of my truck.

Buster is back in business.  

Deer antlers are distinguished from horns, as they are re-grown each year.  The velvet is a soft spongy growth that supplies nutrients to growing bone.  This is the fastest growing bone structure in nature.  Growth starts in late spring and is completed by the end of the summer.  At some point in time, usually late winter, the deer shed the antlers.  These become a source of minerals for forest animals.

In Chinese medicine deer antler velvet is valued for the nutrient, minerals and hormone related issues.  The benefits reported are many.  Last year, my wife had a traumatic compound fracture of the ankle and lower leg.  After 2 months, x-ray showed one small bone that was not healing.  After one month of Avinotropin, the bone was healed. 

Amazing stuff!

Safe Weed Killer

The ever popular Round Up weed killer is toxic to humans and the environment.  Here is a cheap and effective way to kill unwanted weeds and grass without the harsh chemicals.  The picture is one day after I sprayed the formula in a strip.  The dying vegetation was the same as the right and left.

One Gallon of Vinegar
1/2 cup of table salt
1 teaspoonful of dish washing detergent.

If you use this in your garden you could substitute Himalayan Salt to add trace minerals to the dirt.

Stay Well!

Chicken Pox Party?

My child has chickenpox, bring your children over for a party!  Such was a common practice since the 50’s; before vaccination, parents had few options.  Exposure to any “wild” virus offers better immunity that a vaccination.  This is a logical assumption since all viruses generally enter the body thru the eyes, nose or mouth and follow a normal immune response verses as a puncture wound.  Getting chickenpox is reported to give permanent immunity to chickenpox while vaccination is only temporary requiring booster shots.  Many of the earlier complications included Reye syndrome that was associated with giving a child aspirin while they had a viral infection.  Never give a child aspirin.

As some parents continue this practice, The Atlantic reports some state health officials are “cracking down on these parents who play Russian roulette with their children’s health.”  They are particularly baffled since a vaccine for chickenpox was approved in 1995.  Having an unequivocal belief that any vaccine is worthwhile could be a barrier to looking at actual risk, benefits, and options.

Varicella zoster (Chickenpox), a member of the herpes family, is a relatively mild childhood disease but can be difficult for adults.  Whether you choose exposure to the wild virus or a vaccination, make sure your child is healthy at the time.  Never vaccinate a child that is sick.  Recently vaccinated children can be contagious so they should not be around pregnant women or individuals with compromised immune systems.

Prior to 1986 the risk of deaths from chickenpox complications was less than 50 children per year, which is 0.0014% (Preblud, S.R. Pediatrics 1986;78:728-735).  These are generally associated with previously compromised immune systems.  Women that contract chickenpox while pregnant during the first 16 weeks have a higher risk of birth defects in their child. 

Complications of the vaccine include pneumonitis (<1%) and seizures (<0.1%) The FDA Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System during the first year of the vaccine reported over 1,500 events, 76 were serious, with 2 deaths.  Vaccine injury information documented a decreased incidence of chicken pox but an increase in the Herpes Zoster (shingles) infection or a reactivation to Herpes Zoster.  Normally the Herpes Zoster does not occur in children.  There are also reported outbreaks of chicken pox in vaccinated children. 

It seems clear that natural immunity is superior.   However, parents should make informed choices about their children's health.  This includes actually looking in to vaccine information concerning risks and benefits.

Stay Well!

 

Got Gravel?

Last Friday, one of my college friends sent me a picture of this big toe that was red and inflamed.  His doctor diagnosed it as gout but drew blood to be sure.  “What can I do about this until the blood test comes back?”  I asked him, “how much water and soft drinks do you consume every day?”  “Little water and 3 Mountain Dews a day.”

The short answer was 80 to 100 ounces of water, stop the soft drinks, Colchicum 30C, and Stinging Nettle tincture.  Also find someone with an ionic footbath to unload some of the toxin.

Most of the individuals with gout, kidney stones and in some cases gallstones consume too many soft drinks and too little water.  This is a great way to create internal gravel that requires drugs and/or surgery to resolve. You must have water for the body to function properly including the dilution of metabolic toxins.  Daily “soft” drink consumption is a form of slow poisoning that creates an acidic environment making you ripe for disease. 

An original family copy of Gunn’s Domestic Medicine (1839), describes gout with grim possibilities.

 “In gouty subjects, whose vital powers have been greatly impaired by frequent or violent paroxysms; by indulgence in spirituous liquors or wines or in savoury dishes, or by any other cause, and especially when the stomach does not perform its office, and general debility prevails.”

“The vital powers in gouty subjects advanced in years, and even in young gouty invalids who have abused their constitutions by intemperance are often in so reduced a state, that life is only kept up by general or local irritation, or what may be termed morbid nervous excitement; and, on subduing it by an anodyne, death suddenly ensues.”

The prescription and homeopathic treatment for acute gout and rheumatism is Colchicum autumnale (Meadow Saffron).  Prescription colchicine was available at least since the 1930 for about 10 cents a tablet.  This was before the FDA and their 2006 initiative to test unapproved drugs.  A generic company did the necessary testing and was granted a patent in July of 2009.  The drug now cost over 5 dollars a tablet.  The FDA’s wisdom took a drug that had been use for hundreds of years in this country and in Europe to require real scientific testing for safety and effectiveness.  Most would agree that this is a ridiculous price increase, and perhaps manipulation of the system.  At the same time manufacturer did invest a lot of money to satisfy the FDA requirements.

Colchicine can be a violent poison with the most common side effect as diarrhea.  The homeopathic Colchicum autumnale 30C is economical and does not carry the same toxicity profile as the prescription drug.

The herb, Stinging Nettle (Urtica urens) is an old treatment for gout as a tea or tincture.  It aids in the breakdown of metabolic waste such as the uric acid.  Homeopathic Urtica can also be used for gout.

Stay Well

Mental Resistance

There have been many times that I am getting on an interstate when the big WRONG WAY sign is all I see.  At that moment, I cringe only to realize the sign is for the other lane.  The next thought is, “I wish they would angle those signs in more so it would not look like it is for the correct lane”.

How we think is vital to our health.  If you do an inventory of your self-talk you may find many negative perceptions that frame your world.  “I can’t lose weight”, or “I have bad knees”.  These types of statements are both self-fulfilling and also not true.  I promise that if I gave you a diet and you followed it-you would lose weight.  Also, your knees may not be those of a 20 year old but they may still work.  If you were to say, “I am not going to eat sugar”, the last thing you actually said was “eat sugar”.  You could say “I will make healthier choices in my diet”. 

A diagnosis can be a curse.  If you hear the words, “You have cancer”, then every thought or experience of that disease is immediately in your mind.  And every time you repeat those words the negative feelings are reinforced.  Even the concept of fighting disease is extremely negative.  Fighting creates resistance, and a mental picture of a struggle and destruction.  More positive statements could be, “I am improving my health”, or “I am living my best”!

Stay Well

Secret Brain Chemistry

My last blog demonstrated either my emotional instability or the fact that the brain is an amazing organ under the complex influence of biochemicals known as neurotransmitters.  The real frontier of medicine lies in the area of this brain chemistry.  How can we change the way we think in order to make a change in our life?  We are impacted on a moment-to-moment basis based on what we experience and how and what we think. If you experience a good thought then you also experience immediate hormone integration.  Just think of someone that has wronged you and the opposite is true.  Negative thoughts are hormonal disruptors that drain our energy.

You might say that the example of impulse buying is a brain out of control scenario.  In fact our brains become hardwired to experience the same emotions and events every day.  It is like we are addicted to the same things that we have experienced all our lives, as if we literally have no choice.  Those with a victim mentality experience just that.  Those that have an anger mentality experience just that.  Those that experience guilt, stay in that frame of mind.  This is the same as an addiction.  Keep in mind, any addiction can be a substance or behavior that makes that individuals brain chemistry feel normal, even if it is just for a moment.  How can we change this brain chemistry to get off the negative life defeating emotions?  Some are successful with a spiritual path.  Others may need another tool.

The book, “The Secret”, gives a clue as to how we can change the way we think, and therefore change our perception.  (See Perception Blog)  The method is to create an intentional fantasy about what we would like to see, and then allow yourself to “feel” how wonderful it is to have what you mentally created.  The positive feelings require different neurotransmitters, create new neural pathways and ultimately a different brain chemistry pattern.  Of course reality may be entirely different but this is irrelevant to the brain because the fantasy is biochemically just as good as actually having the real thing.  Most of us already know how to do this.  If you plan on buying a car, you can actually see yourself driving the car before you actually open the door or take legal possession.  It already happened in your head, it feels good.

I am not advocating living outside of reality as there are many things beyond our control.  But having any passive fantasy about anything is outside of reality.  This is just using fantasy as an intentional tool for change.  The skeptics would say, you cannot fantasize about getting one million dollars and expect it to fall out of the sky.  They are, of course, correct, they are always correct. 

(The next blog will offer insight how physical toxins can create mental disruption.)

Impulse Buying- Natural Insanity

My interest in the Tennessee Walking Horse and field trialing led me to the National Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration.  My horse trainer friend, Earl and I made the seven-hour trip to Shelbyville, TN.  We joined another trainer and started going from barn to barn to look at horses for sale.  I had no interest in buying but the trainers were shopping for clients.  This was a great equine education for me. 

We then went to a horse auction.  Earl told me I should really consider buying one as there were some quality horses going cheap.  He pointed out a nice stallion.  My response: I am not buying a horse this week, I don’t want a show horse, and I certainly do not want a stallion.  While he was outside talking to a client, a jet-black performance horse strolled in the arena.  He immediately caught my eye.  His conformation and graceful movement was a sight to behold.  It only took 3 seconds, and one quick look at his breeding to start bidding.  The energy in the auction had risen, and I lost my mind for the looks and movement of a fine stallion performance horse.  When Earl came back in, I said, “Earl, I am about to buy this horse.”  He took one look and shook his head with a hardy yes.  The lady refused to sell for the bid price and we struck a deal in the parking lot.  Later, Earl also purchased a horse for his client.

This was completely out of character for me.  What just happened?  When I called my wife to give her the “good” news, she did not believe me.  Especially when I told her the details of my selection.  Her shocked response was, “You are never going to Tennessee with Earl again”.  Ok, great, I can blame Earl.  Actually, honesty is the best policy; I just told her I lost my mind.  I guess I could have told her better a horse than another woman but I am positive that would not have helped.  Since I did not bring a trailer, I hired a wrangler to take him to a barn for boarding.  Earl and I drove back to Statesville that night arriving at 2AM, hooked up the trailer and drove back to Shelbyville early the same morning and came back the same day.

Just to recap, I had repeatedly told Earl the three things I would not do in buying a horse.  With only visual stimulus, the neurotransmitters in my brain changed so dramatically that I lost my mind in that moment and went against everything I had said.  This was a compensatory brain chemistry melee of the first order.   If I could bottle that brain chemistry, I could either rule the world or completely destroy it.  Well, maybe not as I did not control myself.  I weathered the fallout of my purchase decision with my wife, and I still have no buyer’s remorse.  It was actually a fine selection of a great horse that has performed and produced excellent offspring.  I am not sure what the remedy is for this but I do know that I should stay away from the horse auction.

Attention Deficit Drugs and Quotas

The seventh grade was a change for me after excelling in the sixth grade.  I lost interest in mathematics and was doing poorly.  My mind was always somewhere else.  My academic testing showed that I was capable of doing the work.  My parents and teachers encourage me to do better to no avail.  I was bored with school and just not interested.  I was a well-disciplined child with no trauma or events to cause my poor classroom performance.  Today, I probably would have been labeled with ADD and given a prescription.  I think my wife would tell you I still have attention deficit but I’m not really sure what she said.

The DEA sets manufacturing quotas for controlled substances based on demand.  In 2000, the amphetamine quota was 9,007 KG and the 2010 quota was 18,600 KG.  The 2000 quota for methylphenidate (Ritalinâ/Concertaâ) was 14,957 KG and the 2010 quota was 50,000 KG.  To put this in real numbers, in 2010 there could be 930 million 20mg amphetamine tablets and 2.5 billion 20mg methylphenidate tablets. This could support approximately 9.34 million individuals taking one tablet daily.  Adderallâ sales alone in 2002 were $520 million.  The United States consumes at least 80 percent of the world’s production of “legal” stimulant prescriptions.  I wonder how that compares with the illegal cocaine consumption. 

There is something wrong with this picture.  Why have childhood diseases increased?  We have more Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and ADD.  There are of course cases that seem to have no other alternatives and take the drug with success.  But are there really millions of such cases?

Keep in mind amphetamines and methylphenidate are stimulants we use to call speed.  The recent death by suicide of a college student raises serious questions.  Without speculation, there are those who take these drugs in order to attain a performance goal for the future- all the while the future risk is real.  As with most drug therapies, the immediate promise of relief outweighs any potential unrealized risk.

These types of stimulant drugs cause changes in brain chemistry.  This is a form of long-term stress where you are pushing your short-term physical assets beyond your long-term capabilities.  There will be a price to pay.

Common effects (not side effects) include headache, insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, delayed growth, and a roller coaster effect of up then down.  Serious effects include addiction, sudden death, dependence, and serious cardiovascular adverse reactions.  Psychological disorders include behavior and thought problems, new or worse bipolar illness, aggressive behavior and psychotic symptoms (hearing voices, believing things that are not true, or manic behavior).  

 

Alternatives to drugs may include homeopathics for the individual.  Combination products include Focus CP (for children),Gaia Kids Attention Daily Herbal drops, Focus HP HP (for adults) and Cerecomp.  Food allergies can make behaviors worse as they can increase cortisol resulting in racing thoughts.  Red and yellow food dyes are known problems in some individuals.  It should be obvious that a sugar and heavy carbohydrates can produce hyperactivity and hypoglycemia.  A successful alternative approach can be individualized without serious risk.