Breakfast- a healthy habit!

December 23, 2007 11:14 a.m. PT

Natural Medicine: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/344356_bastyr24.html


The No. 1 trick sumo wrestlers employ to gain weight is skipping breakfast. It slows metabolism because our bodies mistakenly think we are starving. We operate on a lower level both physically and mentally and, therefore, we require less food, shuttling "extra" calories into fat stores.

v A balanced breakfast includes protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat. Plenty of water upon waking is also key.

As we grab our breakfast on the go, we may overlook balance in favor of quick energy. A plain bagel increases our blood sugar after all night without food and provides us with a quick blast of energy. But it then leaves us lacking energy later in the afternoon and may even result in snack food cravings at night. Adding a good source of protein, such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry, dairy products or beans, to breakfast may end those afternoon doldrums. It also may eliminate the need for the post-lunch caffeine pick-me-up.

Stumped on protein ideas for breakfast? We can borrow a few from other cultures: Scandinavians eat cold salmon and herring, Japanese have fish and miso soup, and other cultures have chapatti with mushy peas, a member of the protein-rich legume family.

If you have lived most of your life avoiding breakfast, it may feel strange to start. However, like anything, a little practice will allow your stomach to adapt. Besides, you also may have the added benefits of extra energy all day and a trimmer waistline.

-- Debra Boutin, MS, RD, dietetic internship director and assistant professor, and Julie Starkel, MS, CN, dietetic intern, Bastyr University

Follow-up the wise body clock!

An experts guide to living by the body clock

By Philip Sherwell
30/12/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...0/nclock130.xml

Millions of us will resolve this new year to lead a healthier life. But do we really understand how best to do so? Philip Sherwell explores a new guide to a day in the life of the body

The Ackerman household knows all about the mysterious rhythms of the body.

Jennifer Ackerman believes our internal body clock dictates the optimal times for rest and excercise

She puts aside time in late morning for her most important work or mulling tough decisions, encourages her family to take a nap after lunch and schedules dentists' appointments for early afternoon.

She prods her husband, Karl, and the girls to exercise or play sport in the late afternoon or early evenings and sometimes allows herself a drink or two at cocktail hour without worrying unduly about the impact.

Mrs Ackerman lives life by the clock with good reason: she is an expert in what she calls "the drama unfolding inside" during 24 hours in the life of the typical human body.

The American science writer has captured that excitement in her newly published book Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream - its fascinating revelations about the secrets of our body's workings are particularly topical as people mull over their New Year's resolutions following the excesses of Christmas.

"We tend to think of ourselves as cerebral creatures, driven primarily by what's going on in our minds,"

Mrs Ackerman told The Sunday Telegraph. "But more often than not, we're also driven by what's transpiring south of our brains - by the hidden ups and downs, the little crises and triumphs of our bodies, which cycle over the course of a day."

Mrs Ackerman began her investigations into our daily body clock after a debilitating case of influenza. "Like most people, I had been a pretty unappreciative owner of my own body and only really paid attention to it when it did me wrong," she explained. "After that attack of the flu, I decided to learn how my body worked."

The result is a guide - mixing science and anecdote - to the body's peaks and troughs, from early morning (when the breed she identifies as "larks" flourish) to the evening domain of "owls". Among the many explanations of those rhythms: our body temperature swings from a low of about 97F (36C) in the early hours, to a high of 99F (37C) or more by late afternoon, affecting performance and function throughout the day.

The book investigates the 24-hour internal body-cycles, known as circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa, "around" and diem, "day"). The formal scientific study of these fluctuations is called chronobiology.

Body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and hormone levels all vary according to the time of day, with profound implications for how we function during the course of 24 hours.

The master clock in the brain is formed by two clusters of 10,000 neurons in the hypothalamus, located just behind and below both eyes, Mrs Ackerman explains, and these control the major circadian rhythms of the body (of which the sleeping-waking pattern is the most obvious).

But, she continues, the system is much more complex than that. "We now know that the body has not one clock, but billions. Circadian timekeepers are ticking away in virtually every bit of flesh, in kidney, liver and heart, in blood and bone and eye.

"Though the master clock oversees the body's cyclical rhythms, the genetic timepieces pocketed in the cells of our outlying tissues and organs may follow their own daily routines, triggering peaks and troughs of activity at different times of the day in their respective locations."

Drawing the sort of comparison that makes the science comprehensible for the general reader, she speaks of these peripheral timepieces as the instrument sections of an orchestra and the master clock as the conductor.

Here is some advice from Mrs Ackerman for those drawing up their resolutions for 2008. The good news is that failures in previous years may owe less to lack of resolve than to ignorance about how our bodies work.

Losing weight

Eat more… in the morning. "Start the day with a large, healthy breakfast," Mrs Ackerman recommends. "Avoid the tendency to skip breakfast or grab a snack for 'desk-fast'. Not only does a hearty morning meal rev up your metabolism, it also better satisfies your appetite.

This may be because the mechanism in the brain that makes you feel satiated is more effective then than later in the day.

The reverse also applies - don't eat late at night for the same reasons."

She cites a series of studies that show that eating a hearty breakfast reduces calorie intake over the day. And she makes sure her family practises what she preaches. Her 15-year-old daughter, Zoe, downs a big bowl of oat-grain cereal with skimmed milk; Nell, 12, prefers toast, eggs and bacon; Karl, typically has a bagel with the all-American combination of peanut butter and jam; while Mrs Ackerman usually has pitta bread with cheese, followed by wholegrain cereal.

Another insider tip for those who want to lose weight is to get more sleep. A lack of sleep reduces the body's supply of leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating appetite, and the drop in those levels produces a craving for calorie-rich food. "Sleep loss is a recipe for weight gain," she explains. "Indeed, some nutritionists contend that America's obesity epidemic is tied to an epidemic of sleep deprivation."

Exercise

Losing weight and getting fit normally go hand-in-hand on the resolution wish-list. And if your regime at the gym has failed in previous years, it might just be that you were working out at the wrong time.

Those, such as the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who kick off the day with a power session on the treadmill are often wasting their energy. "Your body is at its physical peak from about 3pm to 8pm when your body temperature has warmed up, your joints are more flexible and your heart is pumping most effectively," says Mrs Ackerman.

Drinking

If you want to rein in your drinking, then Mrs Ackerman has a simple mantra: "Save cocktails for cocktail hour.

Skip the three-martini lunches and the nightcap." Early evening is the optimal time for metabolising alcohol, as the body's temperature has risen during the day, thus speeding up the chemical reaction that detoxifies the drink and reducing its impact on organs and faculties.

By contrast, drinking at lunchtime exacerbates the natural performance dip that our bodies go through in the early afternoon. And although drinking late at night can make you feel initially drowsy, the alcohol often disrupts sleep during the night as the body processes it.

Sleep, sleep, sleep

For health, mood, work and performance, Mrs Ackerman prescribes a straightforward remedy - more sleep. "Most of us are getting too little sleep and sleep loss has a cumulative impact on our alertness, efficiency and thought processes. Sleep loss also has a negative impact on our immune system so you are more likely to get sick, it impairs the body's ability to process blood sugar and may lead to weight gain."

She insists that she and Karl get seven to eight hours a night, while for her growing, energetic daughters, it is nine to 10 hours. She also encourages a restorative early afternoon nap - her husband follows her advice, but her children, she admits, rarely do. "I am campaigning for the adoption of the siesta," she says. "It's a way to catch up on lack of sleep at night, but also, it's a good way to improve mood and boost productivity and alertness at a time of day when we have a natural rhythmic dip."

Keep life simple

Resolve to cut out the multitasking - Mrs Ackerman's research has taught her that the brain copes much better with concentrating on individual tasks in sequence. "I used to multitask a lot, thinking I was getting more accomplished that way.

No more. I realise now that it's safer, more efficient and more productive to do one thing at a time and devote my full attention to it."

Trying for a baby?

Our sex lives may be out of sync with our body clocks, it emerges. "The timing of sexual activity tends to be dictated by the clock on our nightstand not in our bodies," Mrs Ackerman explains. "It is determined by our family and work cycles, not the rhythm of our bodies.

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The most common time for sex by far is late at night, followed in a distant second place by mornings.

Testosterone peaks around 8am and sperm count in late afternoon. Indeed, some fertility experts recommend afternoon sex to improve chances of getting pregnant."

Mrs Ackerman's book argues that knowledge of our daily rhythms can help us make the best personal choices. So the reason that she schedules interviews and meetings for late morning and also saves important life decisions for that time slot is that our mental performance is normally at its zenith three or four hours after we wake. Dental appointments are early or mid afternoon because that's when our pain threshold is at its height.

Conveniently for most men's morning ablutions, 8am is the best time to minimise bleeding when shaving, as clot-forming blood platelets are at their most abundant and stickiest then. For the same reason, heart attacks peak around the same time.

And the favourite statistic that Mrs Ackerman came across in the course of her research?

By cell count, our bodies are 1 per cent human and 99 per cent microbial (germs, bacteria and viruses). "Our bodies are a composite," she said. "We're more like an ecosystem than an individual organism."

Her journey of discovery through the body's workings has changed her life. "I am far more conscious of how my body's fluctuations - of temperature, stress hormones, blood pressure, heart rate, alertness, among other things - affect the way I function and how I feel," she said.

"I'm more attuned to the importance of timing basic daily activities and I'm far more respectful of the body's needs, from regular exercise - which is good not only for body but for brain - to frequent laughter (which boosts blood vessel health), enough natural light (to keep the body's rhythms in synchronicity with shifting seasonal cycles of light and dark), and especially, adequate sleep.

"Your body is often smarter than you think, and it almost never lies.

You owe it to yourself to get to know it better. By listening to its signals and paying attention to its rhythms, you can boost your health, your productivity, even your mood. Talk about a kick-start for the new year."

Honey and healing

Honey And Healing

By Dr. Gayle Eversole, PhD
12-28-7



In natural healing it was always recommended that dark honey - buckwheat - be used for health. The dark honey contains much more vitamin C but in general honey caontains all of these health promoting benefits

The potential health benefits of bee products include:

· Energy and stamina*

· Benefits to skin/hair/nails*

· May promotes sexual energy and vitality*

· Stimulates the immune system to fight viral and bacterial infection*

· Regulates and balances hormones*

· May work to lower blood lipids and cholesterol*

· Helps to regenerate bone, tissue and muscle growth*

· Supports wound healing, taken as a tonic following some surgery procedures*

· Provides extra physiological support during pregnancy and menopause*

· May helps arthritis pain*

· Improved memory and mental function*

· Reduced stress - anti-depressive, anti-anxiety*

· Contains pollen which can help to suppress cravings and regulate weight*

· Helps to promote longevity*

· Reduces flu and cold symptoms*

· Alleviates respiratory infections*

Vitamins - Provitamin A (carotenoids), Vitamin B-1 (thiamine), Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B-3 (niacin), Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B-7, Vitamin B-8, Vitamin B-9, Vitamin B-12 (cyanoco balamin), Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin H (biotin), Vitamin K, Choline, Inositol, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, Rutin, Vitamin P (nicotinicamide) .

Minerals - Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Copper, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, Silicoa, Sulphur, Sodium, Titanium, Zinc, Iodine, Chlorine, Boron, Molybdenum.

Enzymes & Coenzymes - Diastase, Phosphatase, Amylase, Catalase, Saccharase, Diaphorase, Pectase, Cozymase, Cytochrome systems, Lactic dehydrogenase, Succinic dehydrogenase.

Fats & Oils - Fatty Acid, Hexadecanol, Alpha-amino butyric acid.

Fatty Acids - Caproic (C-6), Caprylic (C-8), Capric (C-10), Lauric (C-12), Myristic (C-14), Palmitic (C-16), Palmitoleic (C-15), Uncowa, Stearic (C-18), Oleic (C-18), Linoleic (C-18), Aracidic (C-20), Benemic (C-22), Limolenic (C-18), Eicosanoic (C-20), Brucic (C-22).

Proteins, Globulins, Peptones & Amino Acids - Tryptophan, Leucine, Lysine, Isoleucine, Methionine, Cystine, Thresonine, Arginine, Phenylalanine, Histidine, Valine, Glutamic acid, Tyrosine, Glycine, Serine, Proline, Alanine, Aspartic acid, Hydroxyproline, Butyric acid.

Carbohydrates - Gums, Pentosans, Cellulose, Sooronine, Starch, Sucrose, Levulose, Fructose, Grape sugar, Reducing Sugars.

Micro-Nutrients - Nucleosides, Auxins, Brassins, Gibberellins, Kinins, Vernine, Guanine, Xanthine, Hypoxalthine, Crocetin, Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, Hexodecanol, Alpha-Amino-Butyric Acid, Monoglycerides, Deglycerides, Triglycerides.

Miscellaneous - Waxes, Resins, Growth Factors, Vernine , Guanine, Xanthine, Hypoxanthine, Nuclein, Amines, Lecithin, Glucoside of Isorhanetin, Glycosides of Quercetin, Selenium, Nucleic Acids, Flavonoids, Phenolic Acids, Tarpenes and many other as yet unidentified nutrients.

from: http://www.leaflady.org/bee_benefits.htm

http://www.leaflady.org/honey.htm and there are two links to more information on the same page.

Nature does Cure!

Drugs reactions kill thousands...

Drug reactions 'kill thousands'

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 09:17 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7161196.stm


Almost 3,000 people have died in the past three years after suffering serious side-effects or allergies to their medicines, say official figures.

More than 13,000 others in the same period had an "adverse drug reaction", but survived with hospital treatment.

The statistics, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, include damage caused by "over the counter" drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen.

Experts said that medicines could not be blamed for all the reported cases.

The figures are drawn from "yellow card" scheme, run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) to gather reports of all adverse reactions from both clinicians and patients.

Last year, there were reports of 964 patients in the UK who died as a result of an adverse reaction, compared with more than 1,000 the previous year, and 861 in 2004.

However, there is evidence that the vast majority of adverse drug reactions are never reported to the MHRA.

Bigger problem

A study published last year suggested that 6.5% of all patients admitted to hospital had experienced a reaction, and that in four out of five cases, the medicines they were taking were to blame.

This adds up to as much as 250,000 cases a year - and an annual cost of £466 million to the NHS.

The MHRA has urged patients to join doctors in reporting drug reactions to them via the NHS Direct phone line.

While in some cases a deadly side-effect or allergy could not have been predicted, Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has conceded that some cases should have been avoided.

"We have to become better at learning from these mistakes," he told a conference last month.

However, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a "full investigation" into the issue.

MP Norman Lamb said: "This is a dangerously escalating problem, which is putting lives at risk and placing a big cost burden on the NHS."

While many of the cases involve drugs commonly prescribed by GPs and in hospitals, such as the blood-thinning drug warfarin and diuretics, a list of common culprits includes some which can be bought without prescription in any high street chemist.

These include aspirin, and the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, both of which can cause gastric bleeding if taken in high doses over longer periods.

Dr June Raine, the Director of Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines at the MHRA said that every medicine carried some risk of side-effects.

"Our role is to ensure that the benefits of medication outweigh the risks. "It is important to note that a report of an adverse drug reaction does not necessarily prove that it was caused by the drug.

"Other factors such as underlying disease or other medicines may contribute to suspected adverse reactions."

Honey is coming back!

If infection is already in the bloodstream then use PLANTAIN!!

Honey making a medical comeback

Potent type used as antibiotic amid fears of drug-resistant superbugs

updated 12:11 p.m. ET Dec. 26, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22398921/


TRENTON, New Jersey - Amid growing concern over drug-resistant superbugs and nonhealing wounds that endanger diabetes patients, nature's original antibiotic — honey — is making a comeback.

More than 4,000 years after Egyptians began applying honey to wounds, Derma Sciences Inc., a New Jersey company that makes medicated and other advanced wound care products, began selling the first honey-based dressing this fall after it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Called Medihoney, it is made from a highly absorbent seaweed-based material, saturated with manuka honey, a particularly potent type that experts say kills germs and speeds healing. Also called Leptospermum honey, manuka honey comes from hives of bees that collect nectar from manuka and jelly bushes in Australia and New Zealand.

Antibiotics becoming ineffective
Derma Sciences now sells two Medihoney dressings to hospitals, clinics and doctors in North and South America under a deal with supplier Comvita LP of New Zealand. Derma Sciences hopes to have its dressings in U.S. drug stores in the next six months, followed by adhesive strips.

Comvita, which controls about 75 percent of the world's manuka honey supply, sells similar products under its own name in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, where such products have been popular for over a decade.

"The reason that Medihoney is so exciting is that antibiotics are becoming ineffective at fighting pathogens," said Derma Sciences CEO Ed Quilty.

Another big advantage, he said, is that the dressings' germ-fighting and fluid-absorbing effects last up to a week, making them convenient for patients being cared for at outpatient clinics or by visiting nurses. They also reduce inflammation and can eliminate the foul odors of infected wounds.

Since receiving FDA approval, Medihoney has brought in sales of $150,000 in 10 weeks and Quilty plans to nearly double his 15-person sales force in 2008 thanks to the two new Medihoney products.

Healing wounds
Honey dressings and gels, as well as tubes of manuka honey, have been gaining in popularity overseas, fueled by scientific reports on their medical benefits and occasional news accounts of the dramatic recovery of a patient with a longtime wound that suddenly healed.

Regular honey can have mild medicinal benefits. A study published Dec. 3 showed it helps to calm children's coughs so they can sleep. But manuka honey is far more potent, research shows.

Dr. Robert Frykberg, chief of podiatry at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix, said the Medihoney product has worked on about half the patients with diabetic foot ulcers who have used it.

He said the Medihoney dressing can also prevent the dangerous drug-resistant staph infection known as MRSA from infecting open wounds.

"It's been used on wounds where nothing else will work," said biochemist Peter Molan, a professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand who has researched honey and other natural antibiotics for 25 years.

He's found manuka honey can kill the toughest bacteria even when diluted 10 times and recommends it especially for people with weak immune systems.

"There's more evidence, clinical evidence, by far for honey in wound treatment than for any of the pharmaceutical products" for infection, Molan said. However, it won't work once an infection gets in the blood. "It's not a miracle."

Some U.S. hospitals and wound care clinics are already using Medihoney dressings to treat patients with stubborn, infected wounds from injuries or surgical incisions and nonhealing pressure ulcers on diabetics' feet, which too often lead to amputations.

Kara Couch, a nurse practitioner at Georgetown University Hospital's Center for Wound Healing in Washington, said it works well for patients who have "wound pain" or infected wounds.

One patient who had an open wound that didn't heal for a few years "healed 90 percent in three weeks," she said, adding that the usual rate for chronic wounds is barely 10 percent a week.

Fewer complications
David Crosby, a retired insurance claims examiner from Hanover, Massachusetts, began using Medihoney two months ago on a 2 1/2-year-old burn on his leg after high-tech treatments did not help. The burn's size has shrunk by half and it continues to heal.

"At this stage, any improvement's better than nothing," Crosby said.

Dr. Craig Lambrecht, a North Dakota emergency physician, started using a paste version of Medihoney while serving with the National Guard in Iraq last winter.

At a military clinic for Iraqi children, he used it on patients with severe burns from cooking fuels, open fires and explosions. He said Iraqi families soon preferred the honey over other treatments because it was natural and because the honey dressings don't need to be changed as often as traditional ones. The children also healed more quickly and with fewer complications, he said.

After seeing its success in Iraq, Lambrecht, who has five children of his own, is a fan.

"I would use the Medihoney on burns on my children, as the first choice, without question," he said.

French green clay- a new penicillin?

(NewsTarget) MRSA is the scourge of hospitals, but now the discovery in France of a volcanic clay with miraculous healing properties raises the prospect of a cure for it, and to other dangerous superbugs (http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3104663.ece) .

Scientists in England have discovered a new and highly effective weapon against deadly superbugs like the MRSA sweeping through dirty hospital wards – green French muck.

The dramatic antibiotic success of agricur, a clay made from ancient volcanic ash found in the mountains of central France, marks it out as a potential rival to penicillin, the wonder drug of the 20th century. In experiments, the clay killed up to 99 per cent of superbug colonies within 24 hours. Control samples of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) grew 45-fold in the same period.

The clay has a similar effect on other deadly bacteria tested, including salmonella, E. coli, and a flesh-eating disease called buruli, a relative of leprosy which disfigures children across central and western Africa. Buruli has been classed as "an emerging public health threat" by the World Health Organization (WHO).

MRSA is also a growing concern. Since the early 1990s, deaths in the UK have risen sharply from fewer than 100 annually to more than 1,600 in 2005. The Government recently announced new measures to deep clean all hospital wards in an attempt to cut the number of infections. US annual deaths from MRSA recently surpassed AIDS deaths - 18,700 people died from this aggressive bacterial infection in 2005. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5220692.html)

Many other bacteria have also developed resistance to medicine's arsenal of antibiotics, largely because patients stop using prescribed drugs when they begin to feel better rather than finishing their course of treatment, allowing the hardiest bugs to survive and spread. Some bacteria are now resistant to a spectrum of drugs. As a result, the developed world is starting to see the return of diseases, such as tuberculosis, that had been all but wiped out a few decades ago.

Scientists have been searching for new antibiotics to replace penicillin, methicillin and their relatives but until now have had only limited success. Agricur's discovery could lead to a whole class of antibiotics to which bugs such as MRSA have no resistance, according to scientists.

Dr. Lynda Williams and Dr. Shelley Haydel of Arizona State University presented the results of their research on agricur and other clays to the Geological Society of America's annual meeting in Denver last week, on October 28.

"We have found several antibacterial clays," said Dr. Williams, a mineralogist who is trying to work out the chemicals that make them special. "We have multiple working hypotheses. Our primary hypothesis is that the clay minerals transfer elements, not yet identified, to the bacteria that impede their metabolic function.

"It is entirely possible that it is not one single element that is toxic to the bacteria, but a combination of elements and chemical conditions that attack the bacteria from different angles so as to overwhelm their defence systems," she said.

Another possibility, less likely but potentially more significant, is that the clays work through a physical rather than a biochemical process. In that case, bacteria might never develop resistance.

Clay has long been used as a health treatment in spas, but that is because it holds heat longer than water, and draws toxins out of the skin. Clay is also sometimes eaten as a folk remedy for nausea. "It's fascinating," said Dr. Haydel, a microbiologist. "Here we are bridging geology, microbiology, cell biology. A year ago, I'd look at the clay and say, 'Well, that's dirt.'"

The effectiveness of the French green clays, which are mostly made of minerals called smectite and illite, was first demonstrated by Line Brunet de Courssou, a French doctor fighting buruli at clinics in Ivory Coast and Guinea.

When she approached the WHO in 2002 with 50 case studies showing how the flesh-eating disease had been halted by her clay poultices, the organisation described her work as "impressive" but denied her funding because of a lack of scientific evidence. After de Courssou's death, her son, Thierry, went looking on the internet for scientists willing to test Agricur and found Dr. Williams, who has specialised in the study of clay.

If human trials prove successful, it could save thousands of lives a year.

Rheumatoid artritis drugs linked to skin cancer risk

"TNF blocker" drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis increase a patient's risk of contracting skin cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Researchers compiled data from twice-yearly questionnaires filled out by 13,001 rheumatoid arthritis patients between 1998 and 2005, and found that those taking TNF blockers had a slightly higher risk of contracting skin cancer than patients not taking the medications.

Because rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, in which the body is attacked by its own immune system, TNF blocker drugs disrupt a critical immune pathway. As a result, the drugs are believed to expose patients to an increased risk of serious infections.

The exact nature of the link to cancer is still being investigated. The current study was the third to find an increased cancer risk associated with the use of TNF blockers.

"Three major clinical trials, in their malignancy data, all have some indication there is a problem with skin cancer with these drugs," said Mayo Clinic rheumatologist Tim Bongartz, who was not involved in the study. "This has huge implications in how we examine [and advise] these patients."

Three kinds of TNF blockers have been approved for use in the United States. Of these, most of the participants in the new study were taking Remicade, with most of the rest taking Enbrel and very few taking Humira.

Lead researcher Frederick Wolfe, the director of the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases, said that even with the increased cancer risk, there is no need for patients who need the medication to stop taking it.

"It is a small overall risk and I don't think people should be concerned," he said.

Bongartz agreed, saying that even the increased risk of infection only means that doctors need to monitor patients who are taking TNF blockers more carefully.

###

Stress, medication involved in Alzheimer's disease

Medications and stress may be contributing to the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In a recent study conducted at the University of California, Irvine, researchers discovered that when genetically modified mice were injected with dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid similar to the body's natural stress hormones, the levels of the proteins beta-amyloid and tau in the brain increased by 60 percent. This is significant because these are the same proteins that form the plaques and tangles which form the hallmark brain legions in Alzheimer's disease.

Frank LaFerla, a prominent researcher and co-author of the paper states, "It is remarkable that these stress hormones can have such a significant effect in such a short period of time. Although we have known for some time that higher levels of stress hormones are seen in individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer's, this is the first time we have seen how these hormones play such a direct role in exacerbating the underlying pathology of the disease."

Another co-author of this study, James L. McGaugh, expressed, "Although we expected that this drug, which, like the stress hormone cortisol, activates glucocorticoid receptors, might have some effect on plaques and tangles, it was surprising to find that such large increases were induced in relatively young mice."

Co-author Kim Green, a postdoctoral researcher in neurobiology and behavior, expresses concern regarding prescription medications commonly prescribed to the elderly. Some of the medications contain glucocorticoids. She states, "This study suggests that not only is stress management an important factor in treating Alzheimer's disease, but that physicians should pay close attention to the pharmaceutical products they prescribe for their elderly patients. These drugs may be leading to accelerated cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's."

Pharmaceutical products aside, this research strongly suggests the value of stress management in preventing dementia. What is stress? Stress is a combination of responses in the body. Stress can be short-term (acute) or chronic. Acute stress is the fight or flight response. If a car is careening toward you at a high rate of speed, you will (or should!) experience acute stress. This is what can save your life. It is when you experience so many common stressors, such as heavy traffic, noise, money worries, illnesses, relationship problems, rising crime rates, or work frustrations, that stress takes a chronic form. In the short term, stress can be vital. Over time, it turns destructive.

How destructive can stress be on your body? Research has shown that prolonged stress can produce actual tissue changes and organ dysfunction. With the new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) techniques, scientists are able to prove visibly that chronic stress can shrink an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. Researchers have found that the brains of war veterans, as well as women who have been victims of childhood sexual abuse, have a marked reduction in the size of their hypothalamus.

Stress also affects your brain by releasing powerful chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (also called adrenaline). The hypothalamic/pituitary-adrenal portion of your brain releases steroid hormones, including the primary stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol affects systems throughout your body, including an increased heart rate. Your heart, lungs, and circulatory system are influenced by the increased heart rate. Blood flow may increase 300 to 400 percent. Blood pressure increases and breathing becomes rapid. Your mouth and throat may become dry. Skin may become cool and clammy because blood flow is diverted away so it can support the heart and muscle tissues. Even digestive activity shuts down.

Once again, occasional stress is normal. Once you have handled the situation, the stress goes away and you heal from the episode. But, if stressors accumulate over time, eventually the body becomes inefficient at handling even the least amount of stress. The brain, heart, lungs, vessels, and muscles become so chronically over or under activated that they become damaged. It is this sort of stress which may trigger or worsen heart disease, strokes, susceptibility to infection, sleep disturbances, sexual and reproductive dysfunction, memory and learning dysfunction, digestive problems, weight problems, diabetes, pain, skin disorders, and accelerates dementia.

"Extensive multidisciplinary studies have presented unequivocal evidence that our psychological responses to stress and our perceptions of stress to a considerable extent affect our susceptibility to disease. In active relationship, the immune, neuroendocrine, and nervous systems respond to the brain and psyche. Virtually all illnesses, from the flu to cancer, are influenced for good or bad by our thoughts and feelings." R. Lloyd, 1990 Healing Brain: A Scientific Reader

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects 4.5 million to 5 million adults in the United States. Considering the numerous recent studies correlating stress and Alzheimer's disease, it seems prudent to encourage our aging population to take stress management more seriously.

By incorporating techniques for physical, mental, and spiritual health, one can create positive physiological changes in the brain. These healing changes may possibly prevent the need for medications in the first place, along with the onset or progression of Alzheimer's disease.

References:

CBSHealthWatch, 2000. (http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/health/main204.shtml)

Cousins, N. 1981. Anatomy of an Illness. New York: Bantam

Cousins, N. 1989. Biology of Hope. New York: Dutton

Dossey, L. 1995. Healing Happens; Utne Reader, no.71 (Sept/Oct)

Elsevier (2007, August 28). Alzheimer's: High Stress And Genetic Risk Factor Lead To Increased Memory Decline.

Pert, C. 1997. Molecules of Emotion. New York: Touchstone

ScienceDaily, (Aug. 30, 2006).Stress Significantly Hastens Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

Selye, H. 1977. The Stress of Life. New York: McGraw-Hill

Humidity at home can cause depression

People living in a moldy home may be more likely to suffer from depression, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the Brown School of Medicine in Providence, R.I., and published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers examined data from World Health Organization interviews of 5,882 adults residing in eight different European cities. They found that those who lived in damp, moldy homes were more likely to report symptoms of depression, including sleep disturbances and lowered appetite or self-esteem.

The reason for the observed correlation between mold and depression is unclear. The researchers speculate that mold may be one factor leading to a perceived lack of control over one's surroundings, which may lead to depression. In addition, mold may cause depression-inducing health problems, such as asthma, coughing and wheezing. Approximately five percent of the population is allergic to mold.

Beyond allergy, molds may induce other health problems.

"Some molds are toxins, and exposure to these toxins may hypoactivate parts of the brain that deal with emotions," said lead author Edmond Shenassa.

"[The study] suggests that healthy homes can lead to healthier lives. The take-home message is that housing conditions can influence health."

Some scientists have challenged the results of the study, criticizing the methodology for relying on self-reports instead of carrying out inspections of houses to objectively assess moldiness.

"The biological link between mold and a neurotoxic effect that might lead to depression is very tenuous, in my opinion," said Pat Breysse, director of the environmental health engineering division at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

But Breysse agreed with Shenassa that there are plenty of other reasons to keep mold out of one's home.

"Bad housing is not healthy for lots of reasons," he said. "That should be the message, not that mold causes depression."

"The homes of most consumers are toxic waste containers," said consumer health advocate Mike Adams. "It's not just the mold, it's the chemicals in air fresheners, furniture varnish, carpet glue, compressed wood furniture and various cleaning products including antibacterial soaps. If consumers want to live in healthier environments, they're going to have to work harder to get the chemicals out of their homes."

###

More about dolphines!

Scientists unravel 'dolphinese' chatter

2007 12 19
By Craig Brown
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Scientist...tter.3602514.jp


Scientists have finally unravelled the meaning of squeaks and whistles that make up dolphin "speech".

According to the Australian researchers who have picked up "dolphinese", the language shows the animals are more similar to humans that previously thought.

The scientists identified almost 200 different whistles that the dolphins make to communicate, and linked some to specific behaviours.

Biologist Dr Liz Hawkins and her colleagues listened to the chatter of wild bottlenose dolphins off the western coast of Australia for three years.

Dr Hawkins, of the whale research centre at Southern Cross University, New South Wales, said: "This communication is highly complex, and it is contextual, so in a sense it could be termed a language."

Dolphins were known to use "signature" whistles to identify themselves to others, but the meaning of the other whistles they make was a mystery.

Dr Hawkins recorded 1,647 whistles from 51 different groups of dolphins living in Byron Bay, New South Wales.

The biologist, who presented her work at a meeting of the Society for Marine Mammalogy in Cape Town, grouped all the whistles into five tonal classes and found that these groups, and even individual whistles, clearly went with different behaviours.

Dr Melinda Rekdahl, of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, said it was too early to know whether whistles might mean something specific, but added: "It is possible. Dolphin communication is much more complicated than we thought."

The research, the scientists claim, will lead to a reassessment of the social complexity of dolphins, raising moral questions over how those kept in captivity should be treated.

Homeopathy lessons!

Homeopathy Lessons by Dennis Hardy, ND

Lesson one

WHAT'S HOMEOPATHY?

Homeopathy is a highly systematic method of powerfully stimulating the body's own
healing processes in order to cure illness. The word Homeopathy comes from two Greek words: Homoios which means similar, and Pathos which means suffering. The word Homeopathy means "to treat with something that produces an effect similar to the suffering". This law of similars "Similia Similibus Curentur", the concept of likes cure likes is the basic principle of homeopathy. It was first recorded by Hippocrates, who noticed that herbs given in a low dose tend to cure the same symptoms as they produce in a large poisoning dose.

In the early 1800's a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, made a similar observation. He spent the next six years systematically testing the observation on himself and fellow physicians. He found that any substance experimentally produce a specific set of symptoms when given to a healthy person, can cure those symptoms when given to a sick person.

Homeopathic medicines (called "remedies") are specially prepared by pharmacists from natural substances, mostly plants and minerals. When a patient's symptoms are similar to those of a particular remedy, that remedy acts as a powerful stimulus to the body's healing mechanisms.

Throughout history, dis-ease has been viewed from two fundamentally different perspectives:
1. As a malfunction of specific components of the body, where symptoms are seen as a dis-ease itself.
2. As a result of a deeper disturbance or imbalance of the person as a whole, of which symptoms are simply the outward manifestation.

The first viewpoint is the basis underlying modern orthodox medicine. Whatever symptoms arise are counteracted by drugs, ( a decongestant for a runny nose, an analgesic for pain, etc.

Homeopathy is based on the second viewpoint. An imbalance in the vital force is considered to be the origin of illness. Symptoms, whether mental, emotional, or physical, are expressions of this imbalance.

In homeopathy, treatment is based on the totality and uniqueness of the person, not solely on the specific condition or dis-ease. The task of the homeopath is to match the total picture of symptoms and individualizing characteristics provided by the patient with a homeopathic remedy. The result is to stimulate the vital force to return it to balance and there-by ameliorating the symptoms. In short, homeopathy treats people not dis-eases.

Homeopathy as a System

The fundamental principles of Homeopathy are embodied in a system of doctrines, laws and rules of practice which were first formulated, named and systematically set forth by Hahnemann in his book the Organon of Medicine. By that Homeopathy was given a name, an individuality and a character which defines and identifies it for all time.

The practical administration of Homeopathy is committed to its personal representatives, whose success will be proportionate to their efficiency. Efficiency in Homeopathy implies and involves native ability, acquired technical proficiency and logical consistency in the application of its principles. The exercise of these qualifications requires Honesty, Courage, Fidelity, to a high ideal, and the right point of view.

Symptoms the Body Produces

All symptoms produced by the body or mind are produced by the body to evoke a response from the body in question to start a reaction in that body that will alter the body's chemistry to enable it to restore homeostasis within that body. If these symptoms are suppressed, by 1. Drug therapy or 2. by missed used Natural Medicine, two things happen

1. the body has lost its method of communication to the central nerves system that receives signals from all parts of the body, so it no longer will respond to the body's need of chimerical and hormonal adjustment there-by rendering the body helpless and unable to heal.

2. We as Homeopaths have lost our method of prescribing, because these symptoms produced by the body are the guide that leads us to the proper remedy. The symptoms are to us the body's method of telling us which remedy it needs to heal itself.

In Homeopathy, we use the symptoms to guide us to a remedy that most closely matches the symptoms produced by the body and mind. This remedy (called the simli) amplifies the signal to the brain (via the nerves system) to get the immune system started. If the immune system is responding to the symptoms produced by the body and mind without the help of a homeopathic remedy, giving a remedy that matches the symptoms, will bring about a faster healing and restore health.

How Homeopathy works

Homeopathy works- not by consumption, but by creating a neurological response caused by the stimulation of nerve endings by the homeopathic remedy, in the same way that any stimulation of the nevus system creates a neurological response.

This neurological response is the adjusting of the body chemistry in such a way as to straighten the body own response to dis-ease so the body can heal itself.
In order to achieve a response from the body, the homeopathic remedy has to touch nerve endings on some part of the body, this can be on the body surface, in the mouth, or by inhalation of the fumes of a homeopathic remedy specially prepared for inhalation.

The immune system is passive and requires the symptoms produced by the body and mind which are amplified by a homeopathic remedy to evoke a response. No symptoms = no response = no healing.

All symptoms produced by the body and mind guide the homeopath to the choice of the homeopathic remedy. If the symptoms are suppressed (by allopathic medicine) the homeopath has no guide to the homeopathic remedy which would ultimately cure.

Sensory Adaptability

As has been previously discussed, homeopathic remedies work by nerve stimulation which invokes a neuralgic response. The chosen homeopathic remedy is useful only as long as it invokes a neuro-responce by nerve stimulation. At any point in the treatment of a patient when a homeopathic remedy no longer invokes a response the homeopath must reevaluate the case and if the same homeopathic remedy is still indicated, the homeopath must change the potency of the homeopathic remedy to get further neuro-response to nerve stimulus. The reason that a homeopathic remedy that still matches the case no longer brings on the desired results is due to the body's ability to adapt to a continued stimulus by desensitizing it's self to that particular stimulus. Examples: living next to an airport, allergy shorts; the body learns to accepts the stimulus as normal, therefore there is no need to respond to it

Lesson two

The Four Fundamentals of Homeopathy

1. All substances used as homeopathic medicine are proved on healthy humans.
2. The so proved homeopathic medicine is selected according to the law of similars.
3. Use a single remedy.
4. Use the minimum dose.

Know the Remedy and Know the Patient

1. Each homeopathic remedy has its own spontaneous, characteristic symptoms, as well as its own general or particular parts affected, that separate it from all others, people are the same.

2. The constant prolonged study of the meterea medica is essential to homeopathy.
Homeopathic remedies establish a state of order in the body, they change the economy from abnormal to normal.

Don't prescribe for the dis-ease, or the out-come of dis-ease, or the cause of disease, prescribe for the patient.

The very nature of the homeopathic remedy must match the very nature of the dis-eased person, mind and body.

What is Health?

Health is freedom of movement, the ability to think abstractly, the ability to communicate intelligently, the lack of painful or annoying sensation of all body parts (the only time we know a body part exists is when it hurts, or is disfunctioning.

What is Dis-ease?

Dis-ease is not an entity, but is named for classification purposes of the departure from health and must be individualized for homeopathic treatment.
Dis-ease is a state of disharmony which involves three factors.

1. A morbific influence.
2. The susceptibility of the person affected.
3. The individuality of the patient modifying the form the dis-ease takes.

What are Symptoms?

Symptoms are the language of the body, expressing its disharmony and calling for a similar remedy to return it to homeostasis.

Acute Dis-ease

A acute dis-ease is one that starts quickly runs its course and ends quickly, either in health or in death.

Chronic Dis-ease

A chronic dis-ease is one that starts slowly (sometimes undetected), and progresses throughout the life of the patient, robbing him of health and finely of life itself.

Herring's Law of Cure

Herring's law of cure states that the body while healing will heal in a certain order, as fallows:
A. From inside to outside (center to circumference).
B. From top to bottom.
C. From last to first.

When patient's are on a remedy we want to see this law in action.

When a patient is on a homeopathic remedy and we observe a symptom that is not part of the case we have taken, we have four possibilities:
1. It was caused by the homeopathic remedy (a proving)
2. It is an old system that is returning according to Herring's law of cure.
3. It is a new acute dis-ease, in which case the original treatment must be stopped and a new homeopathic remedy must be prescribed for the new dis-ease. When this new acute dis-ease is over, we can reinstate the original treatment.
4. The patient forgot to tell us about this dis-ease that have had in the past.


Lesson Three

If the patient is new to Homeopathy the Homeopath must explain to the patient what homeopathy is, how it works, and what you, the Homeopath needs to know to make Homeopathy work for them. This is also the time to dispel any untrues they may have heard about Homeopathy.

Knowing the Patient

1. The Homeopathic Prescription is based on the information obtained form the patient, the observation of the patient, by the patient's family and friends, and the homeopath's inquiring and observations. This information is essential to the Homeopath.

The Homeopath must know his patient physically, mentally, emotionally, sociologically. There are no shortcuts to taking a case, but by prolonged, constant study of meteria medica you may be able to find the simli quickly and accurately by association like you would do when given a set of characteristics and asked to mach them as closely as possible to a person you know well.

2. The Homeopath must be receptive and ask "what brings you to me?" and keep quiet.
3. Don't interrupt the patient, let him tell his whole story, if you interrupt a patient they will lose their train of thought and may leave out vital information.
4. As the patient tells his story the homeopath must write down the symptoms as the story unfolds. Number each symptom and leave a few spaces between them.
5. When the patient is done with his story, you must ask "anything more?" and then write down any new information and again ask "anything more?", and repeat this process until you and the patient are sure there is no more to tell.
6. The Homeopath must now go back and ask for the modalities of each symptom given. The modalities are the aggravations (what makes each symptom worse), and the amelioration's (what makes each symptom better). Modalities can be position, emotions, time of day, cold or hot, motion, or anything that effects the symptom.
7. What happened before the symptom appeared is important.
If a patient is on any medication; natural, over the counter or prescription, you must know how they feel without the medication, this is because the medication does not heel the disease it just surpasses the symptoms. If they plan on staying on this medication while under your care you must treat the side effects of the medication that they are experiencing, as part of the case (totality of symptoms). In this manner you will not be hampered by the medication, and will also be able to rid the patient of any side effects they may have and heal them of the dis-ease at the same time.
8. The homeopath must now asked questions in the Hahnemann order (head to toe) to be certain that he has the totality of symptoms. The totality of symptoms is everything that is happening right now.
9. The Constitution is what is happening now symptomatically to the patient. It is also the patients’ ability to recover from the disease being treated, in this sense, they either have a strong constitution and will be easy to heal or they have a weak constitution and will need extra help to heal.
a. A general symptom is one that effects the whole body.
b. A keynote is a symptom that is distinguishing to a specific remedy.
c. A particular symptom is one that effects a part of the person and not the whole person.
d. A peculiar symptom is one that is unusual.
For acute prescribing, you must have three good symptoms to know the simli, these can all be from the acute dis-ease, or from a combination of the generals and the acute dis-ease.

Layers of Symptoms

If a present symptom (or symptoms) is caused by a past trauma (emotional or physical), such as arthritis from depression or never felt good sense the flu, these past symptoms are either suppressed by the stronger present symptoms, or the present symptoms are a safety release "valve" for the patient, because the former symptom was a threat to the survival of the whole being. The body and mind of a patient will create a outlet at a place on the body that is not necessary to the survival of the whole, the body will sacrifice a limb to save the lungs, it will cause loss of hair or bawl dysfunction to stabilize the emotions. This forms the so called layers of dis-ease.

You cannot base the selection of a remedy on "what was" or on "what might be again". The selection of the simli must be based on what is happening now, sense this is the present state of the patient. If for example the cervical arthritis was caused by depression due to the loss of a loved one, you do not prescribe for the loss, you prescribe for the arthritis (the safety release for the depression), this being healed (this is the first layer of symptoms being removed) will allow the depression the surface (this being the next layer), you then retake the case and prescribe for the new top layer of symptoms, this is continued until the patient in fully healed. On the other hand, if the patient is depressed because of the arthritis, and both are present symptoms, both must be taken into account, and both if present are part of the totality of symptoms.

Some cases will be multi layered, and some will have few or no layers. If we prescribe by the totality of symptoms (the totality of symptoms is what is there now, not what use to be), you will observe Herring's law of cure, and watch the layers of dis-eases being removed, with each new simli you give the patient based on each new totality of symptoms that is allowed to surface by the removal of the present top layer (the only layer that can produce symptoms or ill health).

Lesson four

Finding the Simli

Once the case is recorded, the next step is to find the homeopathic remedy that most closely matches the patient's totality of symptoms.

1. Starting with the motivating factor (what got them to seek a Homeopath), which you use as a "center of Gravity", you began the process of elimination that will lead you to the simli. You turn to the repertory and look under the proper Rubic (symptom), (with modalities when possible), and record under the center of gravity on the case you have taken only those remedies that are a. in italic and b. only those that are part of your master homeopathic remedies list. Sometimes it may take more then one rubic to fully describe the center of gravity. When this happens you must repeat the above process for each rubic and modality. Example; head ache with nausea, head ache with vertigo, head ache better from cold, head ache worse from motion, these are all listed separately in the repertory but are all part of the head ache that motivated the patient to seek help.
2. The next step entails the same process, but with a deferent approach. You look in the repertory under the next rubic that matches the symptom given you by the patient, this time however we only record only remedies that a. are on our master homeopathic list and b. that are also listed for the center of gravity rubic. You continue this same process for each proceeding rubic until the case is complete.
3. The next step is a simple matter of totaling the number of times each of the remedies comes up for the case. The remedy that covers the most rubics is undeniably the Simli.
4. If the patient has some symptoms that do not list a. remedies that are also listed for the center of gravity and b. dose have any remedies that are on our master list, that rubic is dis-qualified as part of the case.
5. If the final tally reveals two (or more) remedies that show the same number of times, you must recheck your work by studding these remedies in the Materia Medica, while asking the patient further differentiating questions.
6. In order to prescribe a homeopathic remedy you must have three rubics that match one remedy, one of these must be the center of gravity, but all three matches can be part of the modalities of the center of gravity.

Lesson 5

The Homeopathic Prescription

Once the Simli has been found, it must be administered in the proper potency at the proper intervals in order to heal (restore health).

Each dis-ease has it's own intensity ( Resonance frequency) that the simli must match. Obtaining this match allows the remedy to extinguish the dis-ease.

The dosage for "C" and "X" potencies is the same. Dosages for the "LM" potencies differ form the "C" and "X" potencies. I will cover the use of the "X" and "C" potencies first.

A. never use any "C" or "X" remedy below 6x or 3c, this avoids toxicity.
B. With Acute or Chronic conditions you administer the remedy at set intervals until we see a change in the symptoms (reduction or intensification). This change is the reaction to the remedy.
C. Do not re-administer the remedy until the reaction of the first dosing has ended, and only if 1. the dis-ease is not extinguished, and 2. only if the symptoms are the same.
D. if symptoms have changed, you must re take the case and find the new simli.
E. Ideally, you use A. low potencies (6x or 3c) for mechanical dis-eases, B. mid potencies (18x or 12c) for physiological dis-eases, and C. High potencies (36x or 30c) for emotional dis-eases.
F. Remedies above 30c were not used by Dr. Hahnemann, he regarded them as needlessly dangerous. Dr. Hahnemann stated "30c was high enough for anyone, and safe for everyone, from infant to adult".
G. In chronic dis-eases, administer the remedy once a day until you get a reaction.
H. In acute dis-eases, administer the remedy any where form four times a day, to every 15 minutes, depending on the severity of the situation.

The "LM" remedies are not a "high C" remedy, they are made by a entirely deferent method, that eliminates any "homeopathic intensity of the dis-ease, plus allows for a constant, slight change in potency so the rate of cure is not hindered by sensory adaptability.

The dosing with "LM" for acute and chronic dis-ease is the same as with "C or X", but the healing (cure) is three times as fast, and gentler.

The degree of susceptibility of the particular patient at a given time determines the potency of a remedy that the patient needs to get a reaction from the simli. A patient that is weak requires a lower potency. A patient that is strong requires a higher potency. As the weak patient begins to respond to the low potency, and becomes stronger, a higher potency of the same remedy may be required to complete the cure. Sometimes a patient must be made stronger by proper nature cure principles so they are strong enough to react to the simli. The potency, like the remedy must be individualized to the patient. Individualization is the principle that governs all practical operations in Homeopathy including remedy, potency, and dose.

Prescribing for Epidemics

Finding the Prophylactics Genus Epidemicus
If there is an epidemic and you see a few patients with the dis-ease, although each may have a remedy that matches their individual case, if you are observant you will see a group of symptoms that they all have in common. By concentrating on these you will see a single remedy that matches every patient that had the same dis-ease. These common symptoms can be used the find the simli that will not only cure everyone afflicted, but will act as immunization for that particular epidemic.

Pay attention to fentanyl usage!

U.S. government warns about fentanyl's usage

12/21/2007 15:43 Source:
http://english.pravda.ru/news/science/21-1...entanyl_usage-0


On Friday U.S. government warned everyone who uses fentanyl about the drug’s effects, appealing to the results and study led but U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

FDA reported that overdoses of the narcotic fentanyl in patients using the fentanyl transdermal skin patches for pain control may lead to death and other serious side effects. Thus, directions for using the fentanyl skin patch must be followed exactly to prevent death or other severe side effects that can happen from using too much fentanyl.

Fentanyl Transdermal System (skin patch) is a prescription medicine that is a federally controlled substance (CII) because it is a strong pain medicine that can be abused by people who abuse prescription medicines or street drugs. It is prescribed only for patients with chronic pain that is moderate to severe and expected to last for weeks or longer.

One should ONLY use the fentanyl skin patch if one has been taking at least 60 milligrams (mg) of oral morphine daily, or at least 30 mg of oral oxycodone daily, or at least 8 mg of oral hydromorphone daily, or an equally strong dose of another opioid for a week or longer before starting the fentanyl skin patch.

The fentanyl skin patch is not for patients who need opioid pain medicines for only a short time. This includes the pain that happens with surgery (such as tonsillectomies), medical, or dental procedures (such as wisdom tooth removal).

The major possible risks and side effects of fentanyl skin patch therapy are:

- trouble breathing;

- extreme drowsiness with slowed breathing;

- shortness of breath (little chest movement with breathing);

- feeling faint, dizzy, confused, or have other unusual symptoms;

- drop in blood pressure

- nausea, vomiting, constipation, dry mouth, sleepiness, confusion, weakness, and sweating;

- sleepiness

There is a chance you could get addicted to the fentanyl skin patch. The chance is higher if you are or have been addicted to or abused other medicines, street drugs, or alcohol, or if you have a history of mental problems.

In order to control the common mistakes, the FDA has ordered makers of all fentanyl patches to create special "medication guides" for patients that spell out the dangers of overdoses and improper use in easy-to-understand language.

Physical activity prevents senility!

Physical activity lowers memory loss

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:24:17
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=3620...ctionid=3510210


Researchers say physically active senior citizens who regularly take walks have a lower risk of developing memory loss and dementia.

According to an Italian study published in the journal of Neurology, moderate exercise in individuals aged 65 years and older greatly reduces the risk of vascular dementia, the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

A four-year follow up on more than 700 elderly individuals show that those who regularly do activities such as walking, gardening and house work enjoy a better memory and cognition.

Researchers claim physical activity may improve the brain's blood flow and lower the risk of brain artery disease.

Ways of "civilisation" habits started in Uganda

Uganda's 'organic viagra' up a tree

MABIRA FOREST, Uganda, Dec 23 (AFP) Dec 23, 2007


In Uganda, citropsis roots are believed to be aphrodisiac and their success has left the so-called "sex tree" on the brink of extinction and its avid male consumers deeply concerned.

"The roots work after three hours," said Kasozi Bruham, a 49-year-old farmer and frequent user of the citropsis articulata, a gnarled, wiry bush found in Mabira reserve, one of the last rain forests in the east African country.

"We are worried about the extinction of that plant. Impotence is a big problem here," he said, predicting that locals will spend their precious income to travel the 30 miles (48 kilometers) to the capital Kampala and buy stimulants in pharmacies.

"We had a lot of citropsis around but people have been using it a lot; it's the local viagra," said Robert Kungujje, a forest guide.

He said that the so-called "sex tree" -- known in Uganda under many different local names -- is fast disappearing.

"People still come and pick inside the protected area," Kungujje added, pointing to one of the few specimens spared by the local potency rush.

Surrounded by the song of a rare speckled tinkerbird and the forest's many cicadas, the guide bemoaned what he saw as the population's lack of respect for the exceptional biodiversity living in Mabira.

Citropsis users tend to uproot the tree for their needs and make no attempt to re-plant.

"With unemployment, poor feeding, diabetes, hypertension linked to stress, erectile disfunctions are on the increase in Uganda, that's why the people go for this plant," said Maud Kamatenesi-Mugisha, a botanist and reproductive health specialist.

Around 80 percent of Ugandans rely on medicinal plants to cure their ailments as modern pharmaceuticals are often too expensive and health centres too few and far between for the rural population.

Kamatenesi-Mugisha explained that several other valuable plants growing in Mabira face extinction, including the Warburgia Ugandensis, which can be used to treat bacterial and fungal infections.

Kungujje pointed to another endangered medicinal species, the African plum tree, whose bark is sought after for properties that can help alleviate malaria and prostate ailments.

To prevent its extinction, the Mabira ecotourism centre created tree nurseries and a nationwide awareness campaign was launched on the sustainable use of the forest's resources.

Judith Ahebwa, a manager at the centre, said efforts are beginning to pay off.

"We have trained the locals to debark (the trees) sustainably. If you debark constantly, all of the tree gets dry and dies... We've been able to see a change in the minds of the people," she said.

Corn Alele Amai, senior researcher at the Natural Chemo Research laboratory in Kampala, stressed that Mabira is a crucial asset that needs to be preserved.

"Mabira is precious for the country. It's also a catchment for River Nile and Lake Victoria (...) there is still a lot of research to be done in that forest," he said.

"Because of population growth, forest destruction, agriculture expansion, unsustainable methods of plants harvesting, destruction of wetlands, there's a general decrease of some indigenous plant species" in Uganda, Amai explained.

Mabira's equatorial flora spreads over 115 square miles (300 square kilometres) and hosts 218 species of butterflies, 312 plant species and 315 bird species, including nine which are found nowhere else in the world.

The reserve straddles the equator and the Albertine Rift and lies where east Africa's sprawling plains and Great Lakes tropical forests meet.

Yet the government floated a project earlier this year to turn a quarter of the forest into sugar cane plantations, but the plan was shelved after fierce protests.

The threat hanging over the "sex tree", the African plum tree and other medicinal plants illustrate the challenge conservationists face at a time when Uganda eyes exponential economic growth.

Isaac Kanyike, 52, is a traditional healer who lives some 10 miles away from the forest in a village of mud huts.

He proudly enumerates the ailments he claims to cure with medicinal plants: epilepsy, ulcers, asthma, intestinal disorders, malaria, AIDS symptoms and impotence.

The sight of the citropsis root powder triggers a ripple of knowing giggles among the village's male population.

"Since I know that a time could come when trees are scarce, I'm trying to use them sustainably," said Kanyike.

"The situation could be much worse because locals cannot afford modern medicine, they cannot afford to go to hospital," he explained.

Working night hours is worse than smoking!

Working night hours is worse than smoking

19.12.2007 Source: Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/19...9-night_hours-0


The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has recently decided to include working night hours into the list of cancer-risk jobs. It already includes ultraviolet rays, carbon-black, engine exhaust, harmful staining agents, etc. Employees will thus have a right to claim a compensation for additional job hazard in the event they are forced to work at night.

Japanese scientists from the University of occupational and environmental health conducted one of such experiments. They observed 14,000 people during ten years. The research revealed that men working flexible hours suffered from prostate cancer more frequently than those males working only day-time hours.

Danish experts from the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology examined 7,000 women from 30 to 54 years of age. It turned out that those women who had to work at least six months of their work experience at night had higher chances for developing breast tumors.

Richard Stevens, a professor of the Connecticut University Health Center was the first scientist to observe the interconnection between night work and breast cancer in 1987.

The scientist investigated the reasons of breast cancer boom during the 1930s, when many enterprises started working 24 hours a day attracting millions of women to day and night-time labour.

Those working night hours develop a greater risk for various heart diseases too. Scientists from the University of Milan examined 22 male metallurgists who had a different number of night shifts every week.

Daily observance of their heart work showed that the heartbeat rate, the nervous system activity and the hormonal background did not undergo any changes during night shifts. In other words, the people were awake and working although their hearts and blood vessels were functioning as if the men were sleeping. It means that the physical and nervous activity was beyond their strength during night hours.

The head of the research Rafaello Furlan believes that the human body can not adapt to night activities, which subsequently results in heart ailments. However, scientists do not know certain mechanisms for these diseases to appear for the time being.

Scientists put forward several theories explaining the negative influence that night working hours have on human health.

First and foremost, a human being is a day-time living creature. Working at night and sleeping during the day upsets daily biorhythms and triggers various diseases.

A human organism produces melatonin, the hormone of sleep, at night. The hormone regulates biological rhythms as well as all other hormones. If a person does not sleep at night, the system malfunctions.

The night style of life is difficult per se. Residents of northern territories often suffer from the polar tension syndrome, caused by long dark winters, lack of vitamins, severe climate conditions and extremely light summers. A lack of sunshine is a serious test for a human being. It develops depression, often an implicit one.

The negative consequences of night-time working do not end here. Nausea, gastric indigestion, abdominal pains, diarrhea and the loss of appetite are the most common complaints of night shift employees. Such people suffer from gastric ulcer much more frequently.

Healthy sleep is a necessary condition for the normal functioning of the stomach. Night shifts frustrate the inner biological clock, which synchronizes food consumption and digestion.

To crown it all, night shifts often isolate the people from their families and friends, creating stressful situations.

Medportal

Translated by Ksenia Sedyakina
Pravda.ru

Syphilis is coming back...or it has always been epidemic!

There is no such virus known as hiv, it's a myth. Syphilis is one of the true problems behind the symptom named AIDS.

Syphilis makes grand return to Europe

21.12.2007 Source: Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/21-1...3084-syphilis-0


Syphilis is considered to be a relatively rare disease of our times. Specialists say, though, that this stereotype may soon be broken. Syphilis is normally transmitted through unsafe sex, especially during homosexual contacts. However, the disease continues to spread among heterosexual men and women.

Syphilis used to be considered the curse of creative individuals. French poet Charles Baudelaire, German composer Robert Schumann and painter Paul Gaugiun died because of this infamous disease. The use of penicillin swept the illness out of Europe in the 1950s. However, syphilis has been gradually returning to Europe during the recent decade. Medics explain it with increasing popularity of unsafe sex in Europe’s largest cities such as London, Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin.

In Britain syphilis cases have increased almost ten times during the recent ten years. There were 3,702 cases registered there in 2006. In Germany the statistics is alarming too: the rate among men was fewer than two per 100,000 in 1991; by 2003, it was six per 100,000. In France, there were 428 cases in 2003 — almost 16 times the number just three years earlier. In the Netherlands, cases doubled from 2000 to 2004. In Amsterdam, up to 31 men per 100,000 were infected, while the rate was much lower in other regions.

Similar trends have been observed in the USA too. The disease was extremely rare in the United States in 2000. Six years later the situation changed when 9,800 people were diagnosed with syphilis. Many doctors were puzzled about the return of syphilis; some of them had trouble diagnosing it.

Though these days it mainly affects urban gay men, experts worry that the disease could also rebound in the general population if stronger efforts to fight it are not taken soon.

Internet has become especially dangerous at this point. Many HIV-positive men seek sex with other HIV-positive men. Since both partners are infected they prefer not to have safe sex and do not even think about condoms. However, it does not protect them against syphilis. As a result, about a half of HIV-positive homosexuals in Britain suffer from syphilis too.

Where is the mankind going...

"If you don't know where you're going, the wind will bring you there..."Tao

GETTING TO THE POINT: THE GOLDEN RULE OF ALL HUMAN ACTIVITY

Release Date 2007-12-23
http://www.nomorefakenews.com/archives/arc...ew.php?key=2703


DECEMBER 23, 2007.. The culture, such as it is, requires investigations of phenomena that arrive at a practical use.

If matter is composed of atoms, can we build a bomb that will wipe out a city?

If germs are the cause of illness, can we develop medicines that kill germs?

If a relationship is formed around 17 keys, can we produce an application form that will link two people in a lasting marriage?

Scientists study mockingbirds with the goal of understanding their screeches, buzzes, croaks, whistles, grinding noises, wails, cheeps, chatterings---it must be all about securing a mate.

It is assumed that action or thought that has no obvious point is: insane, based on superstition, random.

Even after thousands of years of painting, most people believe that its sole purpose is imitation of nature.

If so, then why not glue a real rock on a canvas and have done with it? Why not merely reproduce a photograph?

The more the culture applies pressure of this kind, the closer we come to a critical mass.

On the other side of that mass is the grand entrance of the imagination.

That is the result of the volcano finally blowing.

The human being will not labor forever under the flag of "getting to the point."

Even a human being who claims not to understand what imagination is or how to access it will, in the long run, be forced to ally himself with it.

A chunk of gold can spend a thousand years denying it is gold, but eventually it will come around to the revelation.

You might say that Earth culture is the sum of all stories that avoid and explain away this primacy of imagination.

One such story vectors in on the trials and tribulations of those who have worked from imagination. Van Gogh, Gauguin, Tesla, Bruno, and other so-called heretics.

Another story punches up the fact that we are all heading for the end times and the complete and final destruction of Earth as we know it. Therefore, the idea of tapping into an individual wellspring of power is too late and too little.

"Forces beyond our control" are in charge, and despite our best efforts, they will have the last word.

You would be hard-pressed to add up all the novels, news stories, movies, and TV programs that tout an apocalypse of one kind or another.

Why are these stories so popular?

Because they feed a hidden urge within us to tear down a structure that has omitted imagination, creation, improvisation. These apocalyptic stories give us a chance to feel the outrage. They allow us to, yes, imagine, a moment in which the whole edifice comes crashing down.

That's why, somewhere in the early 1960s, people in theaters began rooting for the monster instead of the hero in horror/sci-fi films.

Fear was replaced by glee.

Underneath all the concern and worry about a flu pandemic, there lies the submerged hope that some virus really will take out a few hundred million people.

Who knows how many citizens of the US want Bush to nuke Iraq?

Certainly in modern industrial societies, as the rich get richer and poor get poorer, and as daily life becomes more highly organized and specialized---as the concept of collective work pushes further into the ant-colony outcome---people feel the closing claustrophobia.

They may not voice the feeling, they may appear to be calm, they may seem to be adjusting, but deep in the psyche another more profound sentiment is arising:

Will I never get the chance to create? Will my imagination never soar? Will I never step outside all the boxes? Is this it?

Sooner or later, need becomes insistence. What is an objection becomes a rebellion.

The first half of the 20th century saw the leading edge of this rebellion among painters and some writers. To name only a few: Kandinsky, Braque, Picasso, Dali, Breton, Ernst, DuChamp.

One of the most reviled (and praised) writers of the 20th century, Henry Miller, wrote a book called Tropic of Capricorn. His pages on "The Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company", for whom he worked in New York, reveal a man who has long passed the point of no return. Miller saw, early on, that the extreme industrialized/technological society was heading for a crack-up.

The individual would not be able to sustain his acceptance of such a system.

It was not about the increased comforts provided by that society. It was about the life of the soul. You could attempt to rule out the psyche as a legitimate entity, you could heap scorn on it, you could call it an outmoded and fanciful idea, but you could not steer the express train of progress away from it.

The individual creative force would not be denied.

Historically, there has always been a make-break point in highly organized civilizations. They eventually implode. They take on wars that will ensure their death. They demand destruction.

At the heart of these suicides is the desperation about IMAGINATION.

Without imagination, no human can truly live. He can only achieve imitations of living. Fronts. Facades.

He can only BEHAVE.

America is currently obsessed about behaving.

Some souls must live a trillion lives until they admit that it is the creative force---their own---that they are seeking.

Others undergo an awakening and slough off the myths that have been holding them in check.

To remain asleep, or to awaken and begin the real voyage---the choice is always there. Even if a person claims to have no knowledge of what the imagination is, or what to do with it, the option, the door, is open.

JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com

A new weapon against malaria

Wormwood is the king at defeating Malaria. It works by making iron into a form of free radical which is deadly to the Malaria. The Malaria simply eat up on the red cells ingesting iron they cannot do anything with. It collects and this iron is changed and scrubs them out basically like a rubber on pencil
Sea cucumber 'new malaria weapon'

Sunday, 23 December 2007, 00:02 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7155398.stm


Sea cucumbers could provide a potential new weapon to block transmission of the malaria parasite, a study suggests.

The slug-like creature produces a protein, lectin, which impairs development of the parasites.

An international team genetically engineered mosquitoes - which carry the malaria parasite - to produce the same protein in their gut when feeding.

The PLoS Pathogens study found the protein disrupted development of the parasites inside the insects' stomach.

Malaria causes severe illness in 500 million people worldwide each year, and kills more than one million.

It is estimated that 40% of the world's population are at risk of the disease.

To stimulate the mosquitoes to produce lectin, the researchers fused part of the gene from the sea cucumber which produces the protein with a gene from the insect.

The results showed that the technique was effective against several of the parasites which cause malaria.

Lectin is poisonous to the parasites when they are still in an early stage of development called an ookinete.

Usually, the ookinetes migrate through the mosquito's stomach wall, and produce thousands of daughter cells which invade the salivary glands, and infect a human when the mosquito takes a blood meal.

But when exposed to lectin the ookinetes are killed before they can start their deadly journey.

Work left

Researcher Professor Bob Sinden, from Imperial College London, said: "These results are very promising and show that genetically engineering mosquitoes in this way has a clear impact on the parasites' ability to multiply inside the mosquito host."

However, he said much more work still had to be done before the technique could be used to curb the spread of malaria.

"Although the sea cucumber protein significantly reduced the number of parasites in mosquitoes, it did not totally remove them from all insects.

"At the current stage of development, the genetically modified mosquitoes would remain dangerous to humans.

"Ultimately, one aim of our field is to find a way of genetically engineering mosquitoes so that the malaria parasite cannot develop inside them."

Professor Sanjeev Krishna, an expert in malaria at St George's Hospital Medical School, London, said new treatments for malaria were vital, as there was some sign that the parasites which cause the disease were developing resistance to the current artemisinin drugs.

He said: "This is a very important first step in developing a potential new way to control this infection."

Dr Ron Behrens, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the technique showed promise in theory - but he warned that introducing genetically modified mosquitoes could be fraught with practical difficulties.

"You would have to get the modified version to become the predominant species, and that has never been done in any setting before," he said.

The benefic role of enzymes for a good health

(NewsTarget) Enzymes may not share the superstar status of certain vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, and other miracle nutrients in the world of conventional health and nutrition; yet a growing number of studies suggest that enzymes very much deserve a standing ovation when it comes to improving overall health and the successful treatment of numerous diseases.

Enzymes perform an all-encompassing function in the development and maintenance of the human body. Dr. Edward Howell, father of enzyme nutrition and therapy, stated that enzymes are the very substances that make life possible. Yet mainstream medicine has frequently ignored this basic fact, undervaluing the enzymes' vital role in health and underestimating their true potential in overall health, including disease management and prevention. Proponents and advocates of enzyme therapy regard enzyme bankruptcy as a lethal health catastrophe, causing countless bodies to shut down prematurely.

Know Your Enzymes

Bodies of research have identified more than 3,000 types of enzymes in the human body. As organic catalysts, enzymes are known to initiate, speed up, slow down, alter or halt about 4,000 kinds of biochemical reactions. Millions of biochemical reactions take place in our body on a daily basis, including respiration, food digestion, assimilation and transportation of nutrients, detoxification of certain organs, blood purification, movement of muscles, production and regulation of hormones, and cell renewal and repair, to name a few. The enzymes make all these processes possible, and they are destroyed once they complete their respective tasks.

There are three types of enzymes: digestive, metabolic, and food enzymes. Digestive enzymes are produced by the digestive organs that aid in breaking down food into more assimilable forms. The four general classes of digestive enzymes are: amylase, which digests carbohydrates, starches, and sugars found in grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables; protease, which breaks down protein found in meat, nuts, and cheese into amino-acids; lipase, which breaks down fats and oils found in dairy and meat products into fatty acids; and cellulase, which helps digest fiber.

Metabolic enzymes on the other hand are manufactured by the body's own cells to perform highly specific tasks required in regulating the blood, tissues, and organs. They are responsible for the production and growth of new cells, the repair and maintenance of tissues and organs, transportation of blood to the different organs, and detoxification of the cells, tissues, organs, and blood. Metabolic enzymes also carry out the delivery and absorption of nutrients in various organs.

The third kind of enzymes is the food enzymes. These enzymes are the vital life force naturally found in raw, uncooked food. By definition, raw food is food heated below 118 degrees F, the highest temperature in which enzymes can still survive and function. There are a lot of well-documented cases that attest to the wonderful benefits and healing power of raw food. The enzymes present in raw food work synergistically with the other nutrients like vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, bioflavonoids, antioxidants, and co-enzymes, allowing your digestive system to take its much needed rest and giving your immune system the necessary boost to successfully carry out its search and destroy missions.

The Enzyme and Disease Connection

The problem arises when the body becomes overburdened in producing enzymes due too poor dietary choices like eating cooked, highly processed and preservative-laden foods. According to research, food enzymes are heat-sensitive and die when heated at temperatures above 118 degrees F. When a person ingests enzyme-less food, his body then diverts a lot of its energy to the production of digestive enzymes to break down the carbohydrates, protein, fat, and other nutrients of the food. If a person has been eating cooked, unhealthy food most of his life, his body's line of defense may already be exhausted in its fight against diseases associated with diets high in sugar, sodium, additives, trans and saturated fat, and carcinogenic substances.

This is further compounded by a person's genetic predisposition to certain diseases. The body then struggles more to achieve homeostasis or internal equilibrium, which is needed for all the organ systems to run smoothly and to function properly. Because a lot of energy gets allotted to the manufacturing of digestive enzymes, the production of metabolic enzymes becomes disrupted. The more important tasks of providing immune system back-up, blood purification, and organ detox needed in fighting off disease all take a backseat to the digestion of cooked food. Nevertheless the body does not stop recognizing an unfriendly invasion when it sees one, and in a greatly strained attempt to set all things back to order, it goes on a red-alert mode and uses all its limited energy to follow its natural tendency - which is to heal itself. The body is not meant to be in a state of emergency for a prolonged period of time. When this happens, the body finally breaks down and serious diseases like cancer develop.

Other diseases linked to enzyme deficiency include heart disease, which is a sign of the body's inability to break down fats. Autoimmune diseases such as allergies and arthritis on the other hand are the results of the body's incapacity to digest protein and carbohydrates.

The Enzyme Advantage

Studies indicate that increasing your raw food intake and taking enzyme supplements can be very potent measures in the prevention and healing of certain diseases including cancer. Although raw food already has its own enzymes to digest its own nutrients, the undigested substances circulating in the blood that are responsible for a lot of diseases would need extra enzymes before they could be broken down for elimination. This is where enzyme support comes in handy. The high concentration of enzymes in enzyme supplements can dissolve all the unfriendly substances floating in the bloodstream that are causing damage to various organs. Since bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells are made up of protein, proteolytic or protein-metabolizing enzymes such as protease would greatly assist in destroying pathogens and cancer cells. White blood cells are also heavily dependent on enzymes; a shortage on their supply would therefore result in impaired immune function. It is for these reasons that a megadose of enzyme supplements is usually required to restore health to cancer patients.

Various experiments conducted on enzymes demonstrate their versatility and efficacy. Combined with a proper diet and other nutritional supplements, enzymes can perform tasks that are nothing short of miraculous. The use of enzymes among athletes suffering from injury and patients who underwent surgery accelerated the recovery and healing of both groups. In one study, a marked improvement was noted among arthritic patients consuming raw food. In another study, a control group of hypertensive and obese outpatients experienced a significant improvement in their conditions on a raw vegan diet. Enzymes have also been shown to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy among cancer patients. Countless allergy sufferers reported relief upon increasing their enzyme intake. Other reported benefits include the elimination of digestive and colon problems, hay fever, asthma, inflammation, hypoglycemia, and Crohn's disease.

With all the positive reports that enzymes are receiving, it is only high time that enzymes get the big publicity they so much deserve, and cease to be the underrated nutrients that they currently are.

References:

"Raw Foodism." Wikipedia. 17 October 2007. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme)

"Enzymes." Wikipedia. 13 October 2007. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism)

"Enzymes and Longevity." 28 May 2006. (www.dreddyclinic.com/online_recources/articles/aging/enzymes-and-longevity.htm)

Elaine Cutler. "Enzymes." N.d. (http://home.comcast.net/~mjharman1/enzymes.htm)

Ellen Cutler. "Why Enzymes Are Essential to a Healthy Immune Function." June 2006 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_275/ai_n16675814)

"Why Enzymes Are Essential to a Healthy Immune Function" Page 2. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_275/ai_n16675814/pg_2)

"Why Enzymes Are Essential to a Healthy Immune Function" Page 3 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_275/ai_n16675814/pg_3)

Mark Rojek. "The Essentials of Enzyme Nutrition Therapy." 2003. (www.think-aboutit.com/health/TheEssentialsofEnzymeNutritionTherapy.htm)

JM Douglass et al. Effects of a raw food diet on hypertension and obesity. Br J Rheumatol. 1998 Mar;37(3):274-81.

OO Hanninen et al. Uncooked, lactobacilli-rich vegan food and rheumatoid arthritis. South Med J. 1985 Jul;78(7):841-4.

Being shy is NOT an illness ! Why do we treat it with drugs?!

Being shy is NOT an illness - so why are we treating it with drugs?

By PAT HAGAN - More by this author »
Last updated at 09:45am on 18th December 2007
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1774


When she was six, Christopher Lane's mother would often pretend to be a horse, galloping around, rather than talking to strangers.

When her parents sent her to boarding school to escape wartime London, the anxiety of the separation caused her behaviour to became odder.

She'd gallop around outside for hours, only going indoors to play the piano alone.

She was shy and a little eccentric. Her parents put it down to a vivid imagination and waited for her to change.

Which she did, eventually becoming a music therapist for children with learning difficulties.

The point of the story, says Lane, an English professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, is that nobody tried to diagnose her as mentally ill or dish out pills to make her better.

Instead, they accepted that her unusual behaviour marked her out as an individual.

But in a damning new book, the academic - who has an interest in the use of drugs in "borderline" mental illness - documents how a handful of psychiatrists, together with leading drug companies, have "rebranded" shyness as a mental illness called social phobia.

As a result, many people are now taking pills daily that they don't need.

An estimated six million people in the UK meet the official criteria for social phobia. The worry is that many will end up on medication.

British experts agree that drugs should not be the first port of call for anyone with a shyness problem, yet the market for drug treatments to cure social phobia has boomed.

Figures compiled for the Daily Mail by independent health data firm IMS Health show the amount spent on prescriptions for social phobia by the NHS more than doubled between 1997 and 2002, from £84 million to almost £189million.

In the past ten years, the NHS has spent £1.46billion on drugs for the condition.

In fact, shyness is one of several "social" problems being turned into diseases. There has been controversy over new drug treatments for restless legs syndrome and female sexual dysfunction, for instance.

According to some experts, these are not illnesses, but lifestyle problems that have been "medicalised" to make more money for the drug companies.

The story of how shyness came to be seen as a mental illness begins in the late Seventies, when a small group of mental health experts in the U.S. was asked by the American Psychiatric Association to rewrite the psychiatry

manual, the Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, or DSM.

This is the psychiatrists' "bible", a publication defining every mental illness. It is updated every ten to 15 years.

Psychiatrists use it to assess a patient's symptoms and behaviour when trying to reach a diagnosis. Mental illness is unlike other medical conditions.

There are no blood tests, scans or X-rays to identify its severity, and symptoms can vary widely.

Originally the manual was a thin handbook, but it has since grown into a tome of 500 pages. The task force documented 300 types of mental illness, including 100 new ones.

Among them was "social phobia", a so-called illness where embarrassment or blushing blight a person's everyday activities. A social phobic was someone too shy to date, chat at a party or be seen eating in public.

Later additions to the symptoms included fear of saying the wrong thing in public and 'bashful bladder' - a condition where people are too shy to urinate in a public loo.

This rise in "mental illness", Lane claims, came despite misgivings within the psychiatric community about the way a small group of U.S. experts created dozens of medical conditions.

Professor Robert Edelmann, a London-based psychologist and author of Coping With Blushing, has tracked the "epidemic" of shyness over the past 20 years.

"When I became interested in this in the late Seventies, there was no such condition as social phobia," he says.

According to Lane, certain drug firms are cashing in by marketing their under-performing antidepressant drugs as a cure-all for shyness.

"In my mother's generation, shy people were seen as introverted and perhaps a bit awkward, but never mentally ill," says Lane.

"But shyness isn't just shyness any more. It's a disease. It has various names, including 'social anxiety' and 'avoidant personality disorder' - afflictions said to trouble almost one in five people, according to some estimates.

"Countless Americans and Britons swallow large doses of drugs daily for routine emotions."

Lane says the rewritten DSM turned ordinary introverts into "the mildly psychotic, whose symptoms included being aloof, dull" or wanting to "be alone".

"Drug companies promoted these disorders, spending millions trying to persuade us that normal behaviours might stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain."

A report last year by researchers at Newcastle University, Australia, accused drug firms of inventing diseases to sell pills.

It said they exaggerated the prevalence of restless legs syndrome, promoted irritable bowel syndrome as more serious than it was and "medicalised" the menopause when it was just part of life.

Patients' Association vice chairman Michael Summers said a minority of patients had benefited from drug treatment for shyness, but added: "Most people can cope much better on their own, without counselling or drugs."

Edelmann shares concerns that too many patients are given drugs, and thinks many might get better through "talking therapy" instead.

"There are lots of people whose symptoms are being treated (with drugs) but whose underlying problems are not."

Yet he insists the manual was right to highlight social phobia as a problem.

"I've seen patients who said if they went to their GP with a fear of blushing they'd be laughed at," says Edelmann.

"But if it's labelled as social phobia it becomes medical jargon."

The good news is doctors are more likely to take it seriously. The bad news is many will just reach for the prescription pad to cure it.

One drug, Seroxat, has emerged as a popular treatment for social phobia. Between 1997 and 2006, NHS spending on Seroxat for social phobia topped £630million.

The drug boosts levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain linked with mood.

But Seroxat has been dogged by controversy over its safety and was banned from use for children in Britain in 2004 because of fears that withdrawal might trigger suicidal thoughts.

Lane alleges that SmithKline Beecham, which later merged with rival Glaxo, set about marketing Seroxat - called Paxil in the U.S. - to a new audience of shy but otherwise healthy people.

In 1998, the firm produced an internal document called Towards The Second Billion. This was a

reference to the first billion dollars Seroxat had earned.

The company described social phobia as "an anxiety disorder with enormous potential", and a campaign was launched to raise awareness of social phobia through advertising and the media, according to Lane.

"Together, the task force and drug companies turned a rare disorder into an epidemic afflicting millions," he says.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is more effective than drugs, says Professor Edelmann.

Here, patients learn to recognise the causes of anxiety and put them in perspective. "It's a slow process, unlike a quick-fix daily pill, but has a good track record."

Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, says later issues of the DSM have made it clear that social phobia is a lot more than just shyness.

He agrees CBT should be the first line treatment. But some people's lives are so damaged by their social embarrassment, he adds, that drug intervention is sometimes necessary.

Lane, however, is concerned at what else may be seen as a mental illness. The next edition of the DSM is already being worked on.

"Apathy" could be a new inclusion. At least one U.S. expert has argued that apathy is not just a state of mind but a common illness that can "occur alone and in conjunction with other disorders."

SHYNESS: How Normal Behaviour Became A Sickness, Yale University Press, £18.99, at www.yalebooks.co.uk.