Thursday 26 August 2010

proof

think alternative therapies lack scientific research?
read this:
"The Office of Technology Assessment, a branch of the United States Congress, with the help of an advisory board of eminent university faculty, has published a report with the conclusion that, " only 10 to 20 percent of all procedures currently used in medical practice have been shown to be efficacious by controlled trial."
Therefore, 80% to 90% of medical procedures routinely performed are unproven.
That report further points out that the research which purports to prove effectiveness of the remaining 10% to 20% of medical procedures is largely flawed, and " . . many of the other procedures may not be efficacious."

Saturday 21 August 2010

ginger for pain

more useful info from Dr Al Sears MD:
As a doctor, I must warn you: Taking painkillers can have
dangerous – even deadly – side effects. Drugs such as Motrin,
Advil, Aleve, and other NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) have
been linked to kidney damage, anemia, heart palpitations, and
gastrointestinal hemorrhaging.

That'[s pretty scary stuff. Especially when you
consider that tens of millions of prescriptions (not to mention
over-the-counter drugs) are written for NSAIDs each year in the U.S. alone!


But today I want to recommend to you a painkiller that’s not
scary at all. In fact, you probably dont have to look beyond your
kitchen cabinet to find it.

I'm talking about ginger.

For centuries it's been used throughout Asia to treat joint
pain, colds, and even indigestion.
It can reduce pain in the muscles
and joints by as much as 25%.1

And taking raw and cooked ginger daily can be an effective pain
reliever – even for inflammatory conditions like
osteoarthritis.

That’s because inflammation is the root cause all kinds of
problems -from arthritis to back pain to muscle aches.

Ginger contains 12 different compounds that fight inflammation.
Some block the Cox-2 enzyme which triggers it. Some lower pain receptor and
nerve-ending sensitivity. Together they work almost the same as
anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin.

So, if you want to cut back on painkillers and avoid the harmful
side effects, supplement your diet with ginger.

Here are some ways to get your daily doses:

Stir fry food with it: It'll add an invigorating
taste to any meat and vegetable dish. Sprinkle some grated ginger on top
for even more great flavor.


Supplement: Most pharmacies or health food stores sell
ginger powder in pills or capsules. Look for an extract with 5%
gingerols.


Use a ginger compress on painful areas: It’ll
stimulate blood flow and ease achy joints.


Drink ginger tea: It’s cheap. It's easy. It
tastes great. And it heals. Here's a recipe I use:


Ingredients

water, 4 cups
2-inch piece of fresh ginger root
optional: honey and lemon slice

Monday 16 August 2010

dangers of high fructose corn syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is an inexpensive sugar that has essentially replaced cane sugar in almost all processed foods over the last 30 years. It’s no coincidence that diabetes and obesity have increased by over 150% during the same time period. It is my belief that the introduction of HFCS into the western diet has had a direct causative effect on the dramatic increased incidence of these two killers. Here is what Dr. Joseph Mercola has to say about HFCS:

“In case you forgot, or never knew in the first place, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup. Let me say that in different words so you more fully appreciate the impact of this fact. Remember that fat has 250% more calories than sugar, but even with this major disadvantage, the food that most people get MOST of their calories from is sugar from corn, primarily in the form of soft drinks.

Even though I have known this for years, it is still shocking to me every time I reflect on the enormity of this truth. But, like W. Clement Stone, I believe that there is a nugget of good in this horrible fact. The good is that stopping this pernicious habit is one of the easiest things to do. Since this is such a pervasive problem in the US, we could make radically outrageous improvements in our health as a culture if we just simply stopped everyone from drinking soda.

I am HIGHLY confident that the health improvement would be FAR more profound than if everyone stopped smoking because elevated insulin levels are the foundation of nearly every chronic disease known to man, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, aging, arthritis, osteoporosis, you name it, and you will find elevated insulin levels as a primary factor. The evidence of increased triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels is just the latest among countless findings pointing to the dangers in HFCS.

Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form, its negative effects are significantly magnified.

 The delusion that fructose is an acceptable form of sugar is quite prevalent in many nutritional circles. In fact, nearly all simple sugars are metabolized quickly and disrupt insulin levels, which contributes to most chronic illness. Eating small amounts of whole fruit will not provide tremendous amounts of fructose and should not be a problem for most people, unless diabetes or obesity is an issue but fruit juices, sodas and other beverages sweetened with fructose should be avoided.

To add insult to injury, the corn that the high fructose corn syrup is metabolized from nearly all comes from genetically modified corn which is fraught with its own well documented side effects and health concerns.

Sodas, of course, are not the only source of HFCS (though they represent one of the main ones). This dangerous sweetener is also in many processed foods and fruit juices, so to avoid it you need to focus your diet on whole foods and, if you do purchase packaged foods, become an avid label reader!

Saturday 14 August 2010

statins for children!

just got this from Dr Sears MD :

Dear john,


As a doctor, I'm outraged. As a father
I'm even more outraged

For years, doctors have been handing out statin drugs to any
patient with high cholesterol. But they're the most dangerous drugs a doctor can prescribe. They've been linked to fatigue, heart problems,
and even death.

They rob every single person who takes even one pill of energy.
And if you take one for long enough, you're going to feel very tired
and very old.

Now the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is pushing this
poison to a new group.

I'm talking about children. Some as young as 8 years old!


AAP guidelines have just recommended cholesterol screenings for
high-risk children ages two and up. And statin therapy for kids as young as
eight with LDLs over 190mg/dl.1

Now, some are calling for even more aggressive screening measures
to find kids in need of these drugs. All to ensure that
pharmaceutical companies will keep making billions for years to
come.

Consider this: Pediatrics published a new
study a couple weeks ago. Researchers screened all fifth graders in West
Virginia public schools, including 5,798 who wouldn't have met cholesterol
screening guidelines. They found 268 children with cholesterol high enough
to be treated with drugs.2

It frightens me to even think about the
implications
Entire generations getting hooked on drugs with dangerous side
effects. Ones that include:

Muscle pain
Liver damage
Nausea
Lowered mental performance
Chronic fatigue
Cardiomyopathy (deterioration of your heart's function)

Depletion of CoQ10 in the heart (which can cause congestive heart
failure)


Whats more, this could open up the floodgates for
pharmaceutical companies to promote their use in kids. Come to think of it,
thats already happening. I just read that Pfizer introduced a sweet
and tasty gummy-likeversion of Lipitor. I'm sure
it'll boost sales before their patent runs out next year.

The lesson here is, Just say NO to statins.
You cant trust them - or the folks telling you to take
them.

If a child came to my office with high cholesterol, I would tell
him to exercise in short bursts of high intensity for at least 12 minutes a
day, cut carbs, and eat foods that are rich in omega-3s, like salmon, flax
seeds, and walnuts.

For most children, this would solve the problem within six weeks.
Why? Because childrens bodies heal themselves quickly.

And yours will, too IF you treat it right.

Heres what I recommend for driving down LDLs:

Eat fish: They're loaded with omega-3s. And
theyre just as good at reducing the risk of heart-attack deaths as
statins. In fact for some, they can be even better. In a recent
study, omega-3s - not statins - cut hospitalizations and death
rates of heart patients.3,4



Wild-caught salmon is best. It doesn't have all the
pollutants found in farm-raised fish. Or you can supplement. I recommend
anywhere from 700 to 2,000 mg per day.


Take sustained release niacin (vitamin B3):
It&'s been found to increase HDL cholesterol by 20% to 35%.5 But don’t
exceed 500 mg a day.



PACE yourself: Quick, simple, high-intensity exercise
– like my 10- to 20-minute PACE workouts – is the most
effective way to increase your HDL levels.


Avoid grains and sugars: 99% of the time, this alone can
help regulate cholesterol.


To Your
Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Wednesday 11 August 2010

fetal cure

came across this interesting idea for boosting the immune system - am trying it - so will keep you posted
john :

"One just places a piece of a cotton ball in one ear ,
(either ear and you can switch ears for comfort sake)
the size of a small marble (not so big to be
incomfortable, but big enough to cause a little
pressure) and poke it in gently until it stops going
in any more to where you put an ear plug for noise,
next to the ear canal and keep checking it to make
sure it stays in place and wear it there with nothing
in the other ear.

Best results would be obtained by wearing the cotton
24 hours a day even during sleep , checking it every
so often to see if it has slipped out some. Poke it
gently a couple of times again to make sure its in all
the way. Replace it as needed to keep it clean and
dry.

Our immune system I have found cant be stimulated
while exposed to most types of manmade radiation such
as cell phones (even when just being carried) or
within 2 or 3 feet of you) or when using a computer
and it would be better to take the cotton out at those
times. The same problem if you smoke (80 or 90% of the
effect is lost) and some amount will be lost by things
that suppress immunity such as steroids or sythetic
opiate pain killer.

The cotton ball has to be ORGANIC cotton, it must say
ORGANIC on the package because ordinary cotton balls
are either genetically modified now or are synthetic
and neither will work, the body wont respond to them.
Most health food markets sell organic cotton balls. You
would have to call around.
stevelord