Only 20? Check the Stacks

Just today I learned from an area educational radio station that other than mainstream medicine is "mysterious".

I am not so sure if something that formed the basis of medicine in this country and has been around for 6000 or more years is mysterious.  This is especially true when you realize that there is so much existing science supporting it that has existed for many, many decades.

Surely it is just ignorance that people seem to think all of this is just something of a fad or new, and will pass along quietly.

Sure sounds strange to me since I've been studying and using natural health for over 50 years.  Even my father learned it when he was at Tulane Med School in the 1920s.

Just stop calling it alternative, integrative, or complementary.  Call it by what it has always been: Natural Health and First Medicine.

The year 2011 happens to be not only the 40th anniversary of the government's War on Cancer but also the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), now the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). This seems like an appropriate time to look back on the founding of the OAM and the political struggles that attended its birth.

Twenty years ago, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) was chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversaw the $10 billion-a-year NIH budget. Harkin drafted a piece of legislation, which former Congressman Berkley Bedell (D-IA) intensively lobbied for among his former colleagues. Broadly speaking, the idea was to rectify problems that had been revealed by a report on alternative medicine from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA).

On November 22, 1991, Congress passed Harkin's bill, mandating the formation of an "Office for the Study of Unconventional Medical Practices" within NIH. The office bypassed the roadblock to the study of complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments. Some NIH officials were not exactly thrilled when they woke up to discover an office of "quackery" plunked down in their midst. For some, it was as if the Roman Curia had capriciously sanctioned in the basement of the Vatican an office for the propagation of atheism!

The office was given a small budget of $2.2 million that first year - less than a thousandth of the overall NIH appropriation. "Though just a drop in the bucket by federal budget standards," wrote Congressional Quarterly, "the office is a symbol of the new visibility being won by medical treatments that haven't gained mainstream approval" (1/31/92). By contrast, the FY 2011 budget request for NCCAM is $132,004,000! (http://nccam.nih.gov/about/offices/od/directortestimony/0410.htm)

The acting director of the office was Stephen Croft, D. Pharm, Croft appointed an ad hoc advisory board and called its first public meeting for June 17-18, 1992. Unlike the OTA staff, the NIH warmly welcomed all those interested in alternative medicine to come and present their views. Jay Moskowitz, PhD, deputy director of the NIH, opened the meeting. His friendliness towards the initiative was palpable. Complete Article

Good News for People with Parkinson's and Veterans

Organophosphates in new study-

Ohio Supercomputer Center (2011, April 5). Toward a solution to nerve agent exposure: Chemist uses supercomputers to test reagents for new treatments. ScienceDaily.

Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110405122338.htm

High dose of oxygen enhances natural cancer treatment, researchers find

For years I have referred many people to hyperbaric O2 for cancer and other serious illness. Now it seems that mainstream med decided it was a good idea. Sorry for patients who have had to wait so long for a green light from the allopathic world. High dose of oxygen enhances natural cancer treatment, researchers find

Councilman Proposes a Ban on Toys with Fast Food Meals Sold in NYC

We have been away on a little family getaway this week, so I hadn't planned on posting. But while sitting in the semi-dark of a hotel room with my two exhausted Things sleeping ten feet away, my DH turns to me and read me the article from the below link. It was too interesting, I had to send off a quick post.

You may remember last year when a proposal in California passed to ban toys from being given away as congratulatory swag for buying your kid fast food. The proposal was met with some celebration as well as some apathy from both the political people and the food people. I admit, I myself am on the fence as to whether toys given away with fast food meals really encourage purchases or not. But I remember that my kids are young and we stick to TV that doesn't have commercials, like PBS or Nick Jr for that very reason. When they become older it is much more probable that they will beg for food and toys being advertised on TV.

So it seems that my beloved and always progressive New York City is set to ask itself the same question, "should fast food be marketed towards children?" Read the original New York Post article and tell me what you think? Would it work? Does the inclusion of toys make that much of a difference? Could this be misconstrued as a cost cutting measure for fast food companies? What do YOU think?

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Today's Health Insurance Reform Update

Senate Votes to Repeal ACA’s 1099 Provision

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has voted 87-12 to repeal a provision in the healthcare reform law that requires all businesses, including medical practices, to fill out a 1099 form each time they spend $600 or more. The bill, already passed by the House, now goes to the president for his signature.

Margin of Safety

Here's one more sports drink on the market that should raise eyebrows for its use of Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 food colorings.

Added to it is that citrate-benzoate mix that's been called toxic.

And to top it all off you can get sucralose, known to cause seizure and a few other choice problems, or a mix of acesulfame K (known to cause leukemia)  with sucralose.  Sugar too!

Standard caffeine + some B vits and other ingredients  common to this market.

One might think that race car driver Robby Gordon might go with something "cleaner".  

Sure wouldn't want to see him get a seizure during a race, would you?

Dr Paul Connett World's Leading Expert on Fluoride Toxicity

Is Fluoride Harming Your Brain?

You might think of fluoridated water as a good thing—after all, this organic compound is added to our drinking supply for a reason, right? Unfortunately, however, the bigger picture isn’t quite so clear: Although water fluoridation has been standard practice in the U.S. since 1945, research suggests that using it on your teeth might also come with more than one dangerous consequence—especially where your brain is concerned.¹

For example, rodent studies show that fluoride exposure can cause free radical damage to DNA molecules and cells in areas of the brain that are essential for cognition, as well as structural brain changes and phospholipid decreases that correlate to impaired learning ability.^2-4 Even more research has shown that fluoride elevates the activity of acetylcholinesterase—an enzyme that breaks down the critical memory-related neurotransmitter acetylcholine—while also altering levels of a number of other neurotransmitters (including dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin) that play a role in your brain’s recall ability.^5-6

Scientists speculate that the reason for fluoride’s negative effects on the brain traces back to its role in oxidative damage. As it turns out, even low levels of exposure over a period of 10 weeks can increase free radical loads and sap stores of the crucial antioxidant glutathione, along with other key antioxidant enzymes, including catalase and superoxide dismutase.^7-8

What’s worse, increased fluoride intake may have a direct effect on IQ scores—especially among children. Research indicates that elevated urinary fluoride levels are associated with poorer verbal and performance evaluations in this age group, indicating that increased intake of this compound may have a startlingly negative impact on childhood intelligence development.^9-10 In fact, in areas with higher levels of fluoride in drinking water, there is as much as five times the risk of developing a low IQ than in low-fluoride areas.¹¹ But even at these lower levels, research has revealed that fluoride in water can have a significant impact on intelligence quotients.¹²

So what can you do to keep fluoride out of your body? Well, keeping it out of your water with the help of a special “fluoride certified” water system is a good place to start—but luckily, several natural compounds have been shown to counteract fluoride’s effects, too. For example, animal research shows that melatonin can reduce markers of oxidative stress while enhancing the brain’s antioxidant enzyme activity and glutathione levels.^13-14

Supplementation with iodine has also been shown to support brain health—low levels of this mineral are linked to low IQ risk in children—while facilitating urinary fluoride excretion.^15-17 Meanwhile, the B vitamins riboflavin and niacin  work in combination to promote maximum iodine absorption and minimum fluoride retention.¹⁸

Unfortunately, fluoride detoxification can also trigger a temporary reaction in the form of brain fog and sluggish thinking. To re-energize your brain and promote mental clarity, you can turn to a combination of phophatidylserine (which has been shown to improve cognitive function and mental performance under stress) and glycerophosphocholine (which boosts brain levels of memory- and learning-related neurotransmitters)—both of which are included with acetyl-L-carnitine.^19-22

Acetyl-L-carnitine along with acetyl-L-carnitine arginate, Gotu kola, Ginkgo biloba, and uridine, all of which can aid in counteracting fluoride’s pro-oxidant effects by supporting the growth and rejuvenation of your brain’s neurites and dendrites.^{23-24 (references available)}

The #1 Nutrient For Thyroid Health  Can iodine help?

The thyroid gland stores iodine until it's needed to make necessary hormones that affect: Weight loss, Energy, Cholesterol control, Mood & mental performance.

That's why nutrients such as Iodine, L-Tyrosine, Kelp and other iodine-rich seaweeds rejuvenate and balance thyroid function. These help to protect the thyroid and supports its detoxification process. 

While these low dose and natural iodine sources do not contain the pharmaceutical levels you would need in the event of a nuclear emergency, natural health professionals say they can go a long way to nourishing and fortifying your thyroid.