Swine Flu Advice

The swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by the type- A influenza virus which is a variant of the usual H1N1 flu virus. The H1N1 virus is the same virus that causes the flu in humans. What is different about this virus is that it contains DNA from bird and pig flu strains. How does a virus have DNA from a pig and bird and yet be able to infect humans? Scientists do not know how this mutation came about. Whether it is a man-made virus (created in a lab) or a spontaneous mutation is not known. However, a spontaneous mutation causing this virus is unlikely. I am not sure how this came about, but, hopefully, when the hysteria subsides, we can have a proper investigation which will point out how this mutation occurred.

But, let’s get to the basics. What should you do? Number one, don’t panic. The vast majority of the people ill with the flu have not died. Presently, no one in the U.S. has died of this flu. That is not to say it could not happen, but we must not let the media create a state of panic.

Next, ensure you are taking adequate amounts of vitamin C. If I had one nutrient available to me, it would be vitamin C. I suggest taking 3-5,000mg/day of vitamin C. If you are becoming ill or are ill, I would suggest increasing the vitamin C intake to bowel tolerance. That is, take as much as you can until you have diarrhea. Then, lower the dose until the diarrhea resolves. When you are ill, your vitamin C requirements dramatically increase. Usually, you can tolerate much higher doses of vitamin C when you are ill versus when you are feeling well.

In my office, we routinely do vitamin C IV’s when people are ill. These nutrient IV’s are a fantastic treatment for acute illnesses, especially the flu. If you have access to IV nutrient therapies, be sure to utilize these in times of need.

Ensure you are taking adequate amounts of vitamin D. I frequently have my patients take short-term, larger doses of vitamin D (10,000-50,000Units/day) for 2-5 days at the first sign of the flu.

Iodine is another nutrient that has potent immune stimulating capabilities to it. No virus has been shown to be resistant to iodine. It is important to achieve iodine sufficiency before you become ill.

Also, eating a good diet, free of refined food products helps every condition, including the flu. Lastly, make sure you are well hydrated by drinking adequate amounts of water.

These are the proper steps to take to prevent and treat the flu.

Back to mom’s question. What about Tamaflu? Tamaflu is fraught with side effects including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue and cough. Sounds like the flu to me. Furthermore, the FDA has put a warning label on Tamaflu stating that it can cause adverse effects such as delirium, hallucinations, or other related behavior. Tamaflu has been banned in Japan (for children 10-19 years of age) as it was shown to cause brain infections and psychiatric problems including self harm in some users.

My experience with viral illnesses, such as the flu has been clear; it is best treated with a nutritional and common sense approach. Rest, keep hydrated and take vitamin C.

That advice was similar to what I received from my mother when I was ill as a child. So, to answer my mother—I will recommend following her advice. Drink lots of fluids (preferably water), rest, and take vitamin C. It is a lot safer than Tamaflu and has worked great for my practice.

posted by Dr. David Brownstein @ 10:30 AM

Important Tips On Eating Out

I read this article by Dr. Oz, and thought it was great advice!
Avoid Restaurant Catastrophes

To us, a restaurant catastrophe isn’t just when a waiter spills something on you or when you accidentally miscalculate the tip. When it comes to your health, a catastrophe is what can happen in the first and last 10 minutes of a meal. But it doesn’t have to. Here’s how to dine out, enjoy your meal, and be trim and healthy, too:

Before You Go

Don’t arrive starving! Eat a little healthy fat -- like about six walnut halves -- before a meal. The healthy fat in walnuts triggers a chain reaction that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, so you’ll feel fuller faster. But the chain reaction takes 30 minutes, so plan for it.

The First 10 Minutes

• Raise a glass. Of water. To your lips. This can fill you up, so you don’t overeat.

• Ask for cut-up veggies instead of bread. Most quality restaurants (including inexpensive ones) provide this option.

• Dip in olive oil. If the restaurant brings you whole-grain bread, dip it in olive oil. People who opt for this over butter eat less bread.

• Request the bottles. Order oil and vinegar on the side. Relying on the kitchen to dress your salad -- even with oil and vinegar -- can deliver as many as 450 extra calories!


The Last 10 Minutes

• Share. Get one dessert for every four or five people, and have just a few bites. If there are just two of you, take half of the dessert home, and freeze it for a special occasion.

• Savor your wine. Ending a meal with a glass of wine lets you avoid the cloying aftertaste of sweets . . . and helps you avoid calorie-bombs, too.

• Go European. Do what many Europeans do: Make salad the last thing you eat.

Exposure to the Sun and Vitamin D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1sTYuL-QsU

Coffee Enema

by Alexandra Astakhov

The use of coffee in enemas for detoxification purposes is well known. It is a common herbalogical remedy that has been suggested by holistic and alternative medicine professionals for many years.
Why Coffee Enema Cleansing Works

The effects of a coffee enema are different than a saline enema. The most important difference between a saline enema and a coffee enema is the presence of caffeine in the coffee. Caffeine, theophylline and theobromine, combine to stimulate the relaxation of smooth muscles causing dilatation of blood vessels and bile ducts. The effects of having a coffee enema are not the same as drinking coffee. The veins of the anus are very close to the surface of the tissue. The caffeine is therefore absorbed more quickly (and in higher concentration) than it is in when coffee is drunk.

Benefits of Enemas and Colonics with Coffee

Enemas and Colonics have been used for hundreds of years, and are generally regarded as safe. Additionally, coffee cleansing enemas have a chemical makeup that is stimulative. The enzymes in coffee, known as palmitates, help the liver carry away the toxins in bile acid. The coffee is absorbed into the hemorrhoidal vein, then taken up to the liver by the portal vein. With the bile ducts dilated, bile carries toxins away to the gastro-intestinal tract. Simultaneously, peristaltic activity is encouraged because of the flooding of the lower colon. Thus, when the colon is evacuated, the toxins and bile are carried out of the body.
Enema and Colonic Supplies and kits

* You will need to buy a re-usable enema kit. See my website.
* Distilled water.
* Organic coffee, any roasting level will do.
* French Press pot.

Coffee Enema Recipe

* Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
* Grind eight heaping spoonfuls of organic coffee. Put it in a french press pot. You can use a drip coffee maker, but be sure to use organic, non-bleached coffee filters.
* Pour the water over the coffee grounds and let it steep then cool for one hour or more.
* After this amount of time, the liquid should be about body temperature. If you stick your finger in the water it should be lukewarm or cool, but not hot.
* Press the coffee grounds to the bottom, then pour the coffee liquid into the enema bag.
* Never utilize flavored coffee, sweetened coffee, or coffee with milk (cafe au lait) for this purpose.

HUMAN PERFORMANCE

The function of the human body can be compared to a finely tuned high performance gasoline engine. Imagine a $3 million race car that runs on a unique and special high performance fuel and oil mixture. The timing is perfect with superbly designed points and plugs with a positively designed manifold and exhaust system. The fuel burns in the cylinders when ignited by the spark from the electrical system and energy or work is performed allowing the vehicle to travel at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. With this expenditure of energy, the waste products must be eliminated through the exhaust system. Now, if any one of these components is slightly altered, the vehicle’s performance is greatly impaired.

An optimum functioning human body is the same. Here, the fuel is composed of the food we eat, and the liquids we drink. The electrical system is under the direction and control of the nervous system and the energy or the body’s performance is effected through the intracellular metabolism of the ten trillion cells in the body. The resulting metabolic waste products are eliminated as a function of the skin, lungs, and bowels that make up the exhaust mechanism. And similar to the high performance vehicle, the body’s ability to function will be impaired if any of these systems are not working at optimum efficiency. Extended impairment of function eventually results not only in poor performance but in ill health and the generation of chronic degenerative disease.

COPABILITY

The moment we are born we begin to die. It is our ability to cope with the stresses of our environment that determines how long we will live. How difficult it is for our body systems to cope on a day to day basis reflects how good we feel and how much we are able to accomplish. The greater the degree of environmental stress (air pollution, atomic radiation, industrial chemical exposure, viral and bacterial invasion, food and chemical insults, preservatives and emotional stress), the greater the susceptibility to pathological changes and disease. When we can no longer endure, function and cope, we die.

When symptoms first develop they often are due to a simple, elementary problem. If the cause is not identified then the problem usually worsens and additional body functions are impaired, even so slightly. Over time, secondary pathogens may enter because of less than ideal immune function. Perhaps drugs are prescribed. Although the symptoms may be alleviated, the underlying cause persists. The problem is “masked,” much like smelling a mild scent of something burning. We can immediately seek the source of the heat and remedy the problem or we can simply wait and see what develops. If the odor is bothersome we might “stuff” our nostrils with cotton, eliminating the odor. Either way, the cause has not been identified and most likely in time, a major portion of the structure will be engulfed in flames and perhaps, the whole house will be destroyed. Remember, cancer begins with one single cell going wrong. If not destroyed, it can multiply into a small tumor the size of a garden pea containing a colony of one-billion malignant cells. To save lives, disease must be caught and eradicated early!

During the Middle Ages, philosophers divided the body into three systems: body; mind; and spirit. The physician attended to the physical ailment; the psychiatrist cared for the emotions and problems of the mind; and the clergy attended to the needs of the spirit and troubles of the soul. Today it is much more complicated. We have doctors who only treat joints, others who treat stomach trouble, and specialists for the nervous system, heart and blood vessels, the kidney, and nearly every organ. Women have gynecologists to add to the list. And of course, the dentist for the tooth. The problem with all these specialty disciplines is that no one is looking at the “whole” person. This, in itself, by lack of integration, has generated and perpetuated to some degree, a hindrance or curtailment of health and wellness in the patients served.

We must determine our patient’s ability to cope by identifying and measuring the biological organic components of her system. We must take a whole or complete approach. The application of “holistic health care” emphasizes a total integration of symptoms, embracing the psychological, mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of the patient. Unequivocally, disease or sickness is the outcome of a complex interaction of factors derived from social, physical, psychological, and environmental influences.

By Michael Cessna D.C.

High Blood Pressure

Did you know that 60% of heart attack victims DO NOT have
clinical high blood pressure levels?

Yet, the fact that 40% of heart attack victims DO have high
blood pressure still shows a clear link between sudden heart
attacks and HBP . . .

Having HBP is definitely a tell-tale "sign" you are at high
risk of heart attack and your odds of developing heart
disease is substantially greater. Similar to having a
fever (high body temperature), high blood pressure is only
an indicator that there is something wrong!

It is important to know that heart attacks and heart disease
are NOT caused by high blood pressure. Still, too many of us
are under the false impression that treating a symptom (HBP)
is the same as treating the cause.

However, it is vital to keep your blood pressure under
control by determining the reason(s) why your BP levels are
elevated and then naturally treating the source of the
problem to normalize your blood pressure.

Just because your blood pressure reading was high at your
doctor's office surely does not mean you have to immediately
run off to take drugs for HBP.

In fact, many people are misdiagnosed with HBP - In some
cases a high blood pressure reading is actually due to
something called "White Coat Hypertension". This is common
phenomenon triggered by psychological factors, such as the
fear of doctors.

Another common problem is doctors and nurses often use an
arm cuff that is too small, which can give an incorrect high
blood pressure reading. "A survey showed that 96% of primary
care physicians habitually use a cuff size too small."
(Thomas G Pickering, 1994).

My whole point is to learn how to "truly care" for your own
health and well being, before you just jump into following
the recommendations of someone else, doctor or not.
Especially when it comes to taking HBP drugs, which may be
linked to increased risk of sudden heart attacks.

People who develop heart disease normally have several
common factors that are present before HBP becomes apparent.
Below are 7 possible causes of the inflammation problem that
can lead to elevated blood pressure:

1. Dehydration
2. High blood calcium levels
3. High blood sugar levels
4. Calcification of arterial linings
5. Neurogenic abnormalities
6. Vitamin D deficiency
7. Magnesium deficiency

NOTE: No where in all the evidence-based research available
have I found where a drug deficiency is the cause of HBP,
heart disease, or heart attack.

If taking drugs was the solution wouldn't you think that
less people would be dying from heart attacks these days?
Yet, sudden death is still all around us . . .

And why are people with NORMAL blood pressure developing
heart disease and having heart attacks? The fact is that HBP
drugs are only good for lowering blood pressure, and do not
reduce your risk of heart attack or heart disease.

If you are clinically diagnosed with HBP, you need to work
with your doctor to keep a watchful eye on it . . . However,
just because HBP drugs may keep your blood pressure
controlled chemically, doesn’t mean the risks are gone.

There is no magic pill that is going to cure you by treating
"the effect" or "the symptom" of a serious core health issue.
Drugs do not work with your body to cure sickness or disease;
they only chemically control parts without helping the whole
person at all.

There is no doubt about it, high blood pressure is one of
the signs that you may be at high risk for heart attack and
heart disease . . . But, if your heart is weakened and your
arteries are damaged you need to know WHY.

By understanding why, you are several steps ahead of current
western medicine. Your body has a natural ability to heal
and correct itself, without harmful drugs. Some call it an
inner wisdom, or innate intelligence, all you need to do is
commit to work with it . . .