Natural Now

High Fructose Corn Syrup

2012-01-30T10:46:00.001-06:00

What drives me crazy is the TV commercial from the corn industry that says that corn sugar is the same as cane sugar--Sugar is Sugar!

Well, of course sugar is sugar. The point is that high fructose corn syrup isn't sugar--surprise!--it's high fructose corn syrup, which causes obesity and diabetes.

Avoid any product with high fructose corn syrup and you will be healthier.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Latest on H1N1

2010-07-21T10:07:00.000-05:00

I've reported before that the H1N1 scare was overblown for the drug companies' benefit. I advised that only a very few people should be vaccinated because healthy people could expect milder symptoms than the normal flu.

Now it seems that the "scientists" who were making recommendations to WHO had connections to the drug companies.

The British Medical Journal reported:

"The investigation by the BMJ/The Bureau reveals a system struggling to manage the inherent conflict between the pharmaceutical industry, WHO, and the global public health system, which all draw on the same pool of scientific experts.

Our investigation has identified key scientists involved in WHO pandemic planning who had declarable interests, some of whom are, or have been, funded by pharmaceutical firms that stood to gain from the guidance they were drafting.

Yet these interests have never been publicly disclosed by WHO and, despite repeated requests from the BMJ/The Bureau, WHO has failed to provide any details about whether such conflicts were declared by the relevant experts and what, if anything, was done about them.
It is this lack of transparency over conflicts of interests—coupled with a documented changing of the definition of a pandemic and unanswered questions over the evidence base for therapeutic interventions—that has led to the emergence of these conspiracies."

It's time for governments, and the WHO, to focus on what's best for the population rather than the medical establishment.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

GMO Foods May Make You Sterile

2010-05-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Well--not you specifically but quite possibly your grandchildren. The evidence is mounting around the world but you won't hear about it in the US--at least not from the government.

Russian Scientists found problems related to fertility, birth weight of offspring, and infant mortality among animals raised on GMO soy. for two years, one group of hamsters was fed a normal diet without any soy whatsoever, a second group was fed non-GMO soy, a third ate GM soy, and a fourth group ate an even higher amount of GM soy than the third.

Using the same genetically modified (GM) soy that is produced on over 90 percent of the soy acreage in the US, the hamsters and their offspring were fed their respective diets over a period of two years, during which time the researchers evaluated three generations of hamsters.

The second generation raised on GMO-soy had fewer pups and infant deaths were 5 times higher.

The third generation was sterile.

Other studies using rats had similar results except that the sterility occurred in the second generation rather than the third. In the rat study the testicles of the rats eating GMO-soy changed from pink to blue along with changes in the sperm themselves. There are also plenty of reports about pigs, cows and other livestock having reproductive problems when fed genetically modified feed.

You and your children are eating GMO foods now but you've only been eating it for 14 years--not even one generation. The effects of GMO soy will not appear until after 2016 and the sterility problem in your grandchildren would not be apparent until 2036.

The US government has conflicts of interest that prevent the science behind GMO crops from reaching your grocery store. Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto attorney is in charge of US food safety and Clarence Thomas, also a former Monsanto attorney, sits on the US Supreme Court.

Monsanto is behind GMO crops and Roundup, a prominent herbicide.

Your government will not protect you from harmful foods, it's up to you to educate yourself and end GMO-foods with your pocketbook.

Remember there are eight genetically modified food crops:

Soy
Corn
Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
Canola (canola oil)
Sugar from sugar beets
Hawaiian papaya
Some varieties of zucchini
Crookneck squash

Avoid any GMO varieties of these foods and their derivatives. The easiest way to avoid ending up with GM foods in your shopping cart is to do some pre-planning using the free non-GMO shopping guide, available at www.NonGMOshoppingGuide.com.

The Institute for Responsible Technology has also created a free iPhone application that is available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications.

The shopping guide lists the various derivatives of each crop to be avoided, and even better, it lists hundreds of brand products in 22 food categories that are non-GMO, so if you’re still buying processed foods, at least you can easily select a brand that does not use genetically modified ingredients.

Getting into a shopping habit of continually avoiding GM food products will create pressure on the marketplace, without which there is little hope. So take this one step! Download the shopping guide, and make note of which brands to buy and which ones to avoid like the plague that they are.

You can find loads of additional information about GMOs on the site www.ResponsibleTechnology.org.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

AminoSweet is Aspartame -- Avoid it!

2010-03-02T06:21:00.005-06:00

There is currently a PR campaign to rebrand Aspartame as AminoSweet. This is really good news; it shows that we are having an effect on the use of this dangerous chemical.

You may have heard that the methanol from aspartame is no more dangerous than the methanol from fruits. This is a carefully crafted lie. Here is a very detailed discussion of the question of methanol metabolism from fruits and aspartame.

If you'd like to read more about aspartame, here's my article on LesTout.com and a recent article by Dr. Mercola.

Please avoid aspartame as NutriSweet, AminoSweet, or any other name they come up with for this unhealthy chemical.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Dr. Mercola summarizes the dangers of H1N1 vaccine

2009-11-04T02:05:00.005-06:00

Check out the various articles that Dr. Mercola has written on the H1N1 controversy.

There's a great interview with neurologist Dr. Blaylock which is especially important to pregnant women.

I continue to believe that very, very few people should be receiving this vaccine. If you're healthy and you contract the H1N1 virus, you will have mild symptoms. You may not notice it at all if your immune system is healthy enough.

For healthy people, and especially for healthy pregnant women, the vaccine is more dangerous than the H1N1 itself.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

H1N1 Outbreak Appears to be Overstated

2009-10-28T13:25:00.001-05:00

Watch this video interview with the founder of the National Vaccine Information Center.

It appears that the numbers of H1N1 deaths being reported include people who are dying of other illnesses such as pneumonia or other forms of flu. Only 2% of people with flu-like symptoms suffer from H1N1. Most people who get H1N1 have relatively mild symptoms.

Dr. Mercola continues to urge the population to protect themselves with proper hygiene. Read his article here.

People who are truly in danger of dying if they catch the flu because they are frail or their immune system is compromised should get the vaccine if their physician recommends it. Healthy people don't need the vaccine.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Kids and Smoking

2009-10-17T05:38:00.005-05:00

As we beg people to stop smoking (or not start), rather than warn them of cancer, it might be more helpful to emphasize the damage that is done with every single puff of every cigarette. Cancer is a bit like Russian Roulette; some people don't get cancer, but everyone suffers the immediate poisoning of the blood and emphysema. The damage of emphysema starts immediately with the first cigarette. It may not be diagnosable for decades but that is because of the limitation of medical science. Doctors can only diagnose emphysema when a huge amount of damage has been done.
When you think of the elegant design of the respiratory system and how it efficiently moves oxygen from the lungs to the blood, it is sickening to think of young people replacing that oxygen with cigarette smoke, deadly parts of which are just as efficiently introduced into the blood, and the remaining components of the smoke coating the delicate air sacs in the lungs which will eventually harden, collapse and no longer support life.
My mother died in 2002, coughing up blackened bits of lung. She never got cancer.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Pharmaceutical Companies Mislead the Public

2009-10-09T10:19:00.005-05:00

Dr. Mercola has posted an hour-long film that describes the efforts by the big pharmaceutical companies to increase their profits. They are masterfully enticing both doctors and patients to use more and more drugs. Very little of this has to do with health. Many of the new drugs advertised on TV aren't new drugs--just an old drug dressed up in a new box. Many of the drugs are less effective than natural remedies.

Watch the movie.

Few people need pharmaceuticals. Instead, most people need lifestyle and wellness education. I hope you'll take the time to visit www.alliswell.org and www.mercola.com for straight talk on wellness.

You deserve good health at little cost.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

What Model for Health Care?

2009-07-31T06:53:00.009-05:00

We've all heard of Obama's health care plan. I thought I'd toss in my two cents. Let me first say that I love Obama and support almost everything he's done. I think he's a brilliant and effective leader who is struggling under titanic and opposing forces.

Let me start off with a shocker--an illuminating model for effective health care is not England, or Canada, or France, it's Cuba. Cuba spends a total of $250 per person on health care per year because they spend it on prevention not on symptom-manipulation after the person gets sick. We spend over $6000.

Another, even better, model was ancient China, where you paid the doctor for wellness advice on a monthly basis, but if you got sick, you stopped paying him until you got better.

There must be an incentive in a health care system to keep the patient well rather than sick! The US system makes people sick and keeps them sick for the benefit of the corporate monopolies.

This is the problem with our current system: we are a country run by corporate monopolies--the food industry keeps us sick and the insurance industry, the medical monopoly and the big pharmaceutical companies make a fortune. No one wants us to get well. Private business is always about increasing quantity. Have you ever heard a car dealer say he wants to sell fewer cars? Hospitals want to keep their beds full, insurance companies want more claims, big Pharma wants to sell more pills. You get the idea.

I feel sorry for Obama. If he were to truly fix the broken US system, the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies and the medical monopoly would all shrink by 80% to 90% shedding thousands of excess jobs and worsening the economy. The political pressure must be incredible--to put a band-aid on the broken system so that it looks like he did the right thing but that makes even more money for the corporate monopolies.

At this point there is no right thing to do; there is no win-win solution. Obama will have to smoke-screen so that it appears that he helped the American people (and therefore gets re-elected) at the same time improving the profits for the corporate monopolies and therefore appeasing the Republicans and the lobbyists.

Perhaps the best of all the bad alternatives is to let the corporate monopolies fail (that is, create a UK-like one-payer system) while opening up health care to wellness experts who have real influence on law-makers so that the damage done by the US food industry and our chemical industries can be exposed and corrected. The US economy will suffer but at least we will be paying the price now rather than forcing the costs onto our children and grandchildren.

If we simply convert to a one-payer system without (1) emphasizing prevention through education, (2) correcting the broken food system and (3) cleaning up chemical pollution, we will have all the problems the UK has. We can't fix health care without cleaning up the food system and chemical pollution. The cost of manipulating the symptoms of people who are being poisoned though food and pollution is too high for any health insurance system whether private or public.

If we fail to provide the US with good food and a clean environment, if we prop up the current private system and help the corporate monopolies extract even more money from us for ineffective health care, the system will crumble of it's own weight at some point. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price of our cowardice and stupidity.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Thimerosal and Autism

2009-07-18T06:22:00.004-05:00

Do you ever wonder why doctors don't know what causes autism? It's because they are trained to believe what the drug companies tell them. It is well documented that big-pharma has known about and covered up the dangers of many drugs and their components.

Read Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s article: Tobacco Science and the Thimerosal Scandal

Autism was unknown until we started putting way-too-many chemicals in our bodies. Among those chemicals is thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in vaccines. There have been 1500 studies showing that thimerosal is dangerous, yet the FDA and the CDC have repeatedly failed to protect the American public, preferring instead to protect the drug companies. As one doctor said, “What if the lawyers get hold of this? There’s not a scientist in the world that can refute these findings.”

The National Autism Association describes the use of thimerosal in vaccines as neither safe nor effective. Read their summary of the history of autism and the use of thimerosal.

Where does this leave a mother who wonders whether she should allow her child to be injected with a vaccine? I don't know. She will probably get distorted information from her doctor, and information like this blog is too general to be helpful. The mother needs to do her own research on the specific vaccines that are to be given to her children.

The drug companies will tell you that they don't use thimerosal any more. Whatever they're using as a preservative now probably has not been tested by independent labs so we may only find out after thirty years that some other disease is caused by the new preservative.

We want to immunize our children against serious diseases, but we want the government to protect us from the drug companies who appear to control the FDA and the CDC.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

More on Swine Flu

2009-07-16T06:16:00.003-05:00

I know there's lots of scary news about Swine Flu. Once again Dr. Mercola has done a good job of cutting through the advertising fog from the pharmaceutical companies to bring us the straight story.

The most important point to me is this--during the time that we've had the "Swine Flu" there have been more deaths from the ordinary flu than from the Swine Flu.

Even the WHO organization says that this is a mild flu where many patients completely recover without any treatment at all.

Read Dr. Mercola's article, take the precautions that he recommends, and you'll be fine.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

The Possible Truth About Swine Flu

2009-04-29T06:29:00.010-05:00

The swine flu is a serious threat and we should all prepare for it. The best possible preparations may not be what you think.

Read this excellent article by Dr. Mercola that puts the swine flu in the proper perspective. For most people, the bottom line is that vaccines are a greater risk than the flu itself. So get healthy and you'll survive the flu if it comes your way. Your healthy body may even take care of it without you realizing you had it.

How to get healthy? Check out my website for many spiritual and physical things you can do to build up your immune system.

If you want a short but incomplete list of preparations for the flu, Dr. Mercola recommends:

Maximize your vitamin D levels. Get a little sunshine.
Avoid sugar, wheat, corn, dairy and other allergens
Rest
Learn a technique like EFT to deal with stress
Exercise regularly
Take an Omega-3 supplement like Krill oil
Wash your hands often
Eat garlic
Stay away from vaccines and hospitals

Remember that germs don't cause disease; they just enjoy life and reproduce when they find an unhealthy body to live in. So keep your body healthy and when the H1N1 bug, or any other for that matter, drops in to visit you, they'll be quickly taken care of by your robust immune system.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Multiple Sclerosis drug identified

2009-01-13T06:55:00.004-06:00

In an Italian study, MS was arrested in 39 out of 40 patients. The drug used was naltrexone, a cheap generic drug. Many doctors are not aware of this drug because drug companies don't push cheaper drugs.

Here's the information from the study:

Multiple Sclerosis. 2008 Sep;14(8):1076-83.
A pilot trial of low-dose naltrexone in primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Gironi M, Martinelli-Boneschi F, Sacerdote P, Solaro C, Zaffaroni M, Cavarretta R, Moiola L, Bucello S, Radaelli M, Pilato V, Rodegher M, Cursi M, Franchi S, Martinelli V, Nemni R, Comi G, Martino G.

Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE) and Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, Milan, Italy; Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

Abstract: A sixth month phase II multicenter-pilot trial with a low dose of the opiate antagonist Naltrexone (LDN) has been carried out in 40 patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The primary end points were safety and tolerability. Secondary outcomes were efficacy on spasticity, pain, fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Clinical and biochemical evaluations were serially performed. Protein concentration of beta-endorphins (BE) and mRNA levels and allelic variants of the mu-opiod receptor gene (OPRM1) were analyzed. Neurological disability progressed in only one patient. A significant reduction of spasticity was measured at the end of the trial. BE concentration increased during the trial, but no association was found between OPRM1 variants and improvement of spasticity. Our data clearly indicate that LDN is safe and well tolerated in patients with PPMS.

Be sure to share this post with your loved one's with MS.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Boycott Florida Tomatoes?

2009-01-07T07:05:00.008-06:00

Part of natural health is spiritual health, and part of spiritual health is doing no harm to other sentient beings. If you buy fast food that uses Florida tomatoes, or you buy tomatoes at a supermarket that buys from large regional growers rather than small local farms, you may be supporting slavery. Please put pressure on fast food restaurants and grocery stores to ensure that their produce is produced ethically and farm workers are treated fairly.

Here's a portion of a January 2009 letter from a farm worker:

In this season of the New Year in which, across the country, families and friends gather to celebrate and share their hopes for the future, we, the Immokalee workers, wanted to take this opportunity to share our hopes and wishes too.

Today, while the rest of the country celebrates, we in Immokalee continue to live an unimaginable life -- overcrowded, with wages that have been stagnant for thirty years, no respect on the job, violence, wage theft, and, in the most extreme cases, slavery. This past December 19th, 2008, the most recent slavery case was closed in federal court, in which workers were beaten and chained inside trucks at night so that they couldn't escape. Enslaved, the food they produced was distributed by restaurants and supermarkets throughout the country. And there can be no doubt that at this very moment, in some field in this state of Florida, there are compañeros being forced to work against their will who produced the food consumed today in New Years celebrations by families across this nation.

Today we ask, how many more slavery cases must occur before our humanity is taken into account? I ask the agricultural industry, their buyers, and the governor -- how many more abuses?...

With these questions in my mind, I want to express the following hopes of my community:

We hope for an end to slavery and other abuses in agriculture.
We hope for respect, a fair wage, and to be treated with dignity.
We hope that more buyers join the agreements we have established and that the FTGE allows the workers to receive the penny per pound.
We hope that the governor takes responsibility and the appropriate action in all of this. We are not hoping for these changes solely because they are our hopes, but because these are questions of universal Human Rights and we all have a moral obligation in this.

Here's some links:
http://www.ciw-online.org/
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/04/15/0415slavery.html
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/391546/in_the_trenches_and_fighting_slavery
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03/28/act-now-to-stop-slave-labor-in-floridas-tomato-fields/

Support your local, and especially your organic local, farms. Their food is much healthier for you than commercial produce.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

The Toxic Source of Autism

2008-12-11T05:22:00.004-06:00

This video from Dr. Joe Mercola makes a lot of sense to me. It presents a "cause" of autism that is consistent with all the data about autism that I've seen.

Click here for video

If you're dealing with a loved one with autism, take a look, and

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis

2008-10-04T11:03:00.004-05:00

There's a new bug going around that is killing 85% of the people who contract it. Most of us think that TB is under control, but about 1/3 of the planet has the bacterium. Most forms of TB are treatable when good medical care is available and if the patient is treated early. But TB isn't being controlled around the world and it will show up in your home town if we don't help out in the parts of the world where TB is a problem.

A website has been set up to increase awareness of the disease. Here's a video about drug-resistant TB.

Pass the word to your friends and your government.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Slow Food Nation

2008-09-10T11:29:00.004-05:00

Too often, I think, I'm telling you about bad news. Here's some good news:
"Over 60,000 people participated in Slow Food Nation last weekend and celebrated the birth of a broad and inclusive food movement to build an American food system that is sustainable, just, and delicious."
Help spread the word about Slow Food Nation. Eat local! Eat organic! Grow your own! Start a community garden and get to know your neighbors.

This is a breath of fresh air.

Take a deep breath!

Dr. Ron

Aspartame and Sudden Cardiac Death

2008-08-04T07:05:00.005-05:00

I've written about aspartame before. This is a serious poison found in diet drinks and NutraSweet. I just saw a reference to Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) being caused by aspartame. This is a sensitive subject for me since my cousin, a healthy young sailor, died of SCD. So I did a little research. Here's an excellent article about the relationship between SCD and aspartame.

Here's a link to a site dedicated to the horrors of aspartame and the commercial interests that fight to keep it legal.

Read about the bizarre arrest and trial of a Sunday-school teacher who was sentenced to life imprisonment after her husband died of aspartame poisoning.

Please folks, don't eat or drink anything that contains aspartame!

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Women and heart attacks

2008-07-30T08:30:00.003-05:00

I received an email recently with the text below. I hope you'll share it with your friends.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction).
Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack—you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest and dropping to the floor that we see in the movies? Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack:
“I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.
A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, like when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation—the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.
After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!!' NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening—we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we?
I said aloud to myself and the cat, 'Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!'
I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, 'If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else—but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up.'
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.
I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.
I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail?
Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body—not the usual men's symptoms—but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act).
It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up—which doesn't happen.
My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can, take an aspirin.
Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER; you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband, who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor; he doesn't know where you live, and if it's at night, you won't reach him anyway. If it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.
Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.
Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive. Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male & female) you care about!”

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Plastics and Disease - Bisphenol A

2008-06-16T07:44:00.008-05:00

According to a report by a large expert panel, Bisphenol-A (BPA) causes abnormal penis development, early sexual development in females, an increase in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, childhood and adult obesity, type 2 diabetes, a decrease in sperm count, and an increase in prostate and breast cancer.

The report estimates that 95% of people in western cultures have too much BPA in their bodies.

Yes. You have too much BPA in your body. If you’re pregnant, your fetus has too much BPA in its body.

Other research has shown that the level of BPA that the US government considers safe may be too high. In other words, the number of people who actually have too much BPA in their body may be even higher than 95%. Experts have asked that the government reevaluate the safe level.

The plastics industry, of course, claims that BPA is safe at current levels of exposure. They sell six billion pounds of the stuff per year. They paid for eleven studies that all found that there wasn’t a problem. However, the government-funded studies found that there was a problem 90% of the time.

Surely all of us have noticed an increase in the health issues in the first paragraph. We can’t blame all of the increases on BPA, but it would be crazy to continue to expose ourselves to this dangerous chemical regardless of what may be considered a safe level.

What to do?

Use glass, ceramic and steel in all food preparation, storage and serving.

Learn how to use plastics safely. Only plastics with recycle codes of 2, 4 and 5 should be used at all. Plastics should never be used in the microwave. Don’t use canned food or drinks because the cans are lined with plastic. Especially don’t drink hot drinks in plastic cups or paper cups that are lined with plastic. (Sorry StarBucks!)

Look for products that don’t contain BPA. You can find BPA-free products on Amazon.com, from Nalgene, from SC Johnson who makes Saran-wrap and Ziploc bags, and many other manufacturers who are recognizing the problem and taking responsible action.

There are sources on the Web; The Environmental Working Group, BisphenolAfree.org, HealthyChild.org, Consumer Reports, and Z-Recommends have information about products that don’t use BPA.

Do it now

The good news is that BPA leaves your body, and your children’s bodies, very quickly once you stop using the products. Choose plastic products consciously. If you don’t know the product is safe, put it back on the shelf. If you don’t know how to choose safe plastics, now is the time to learn.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Cellphones Kill You--sometimes

2008-05-20T09:02:00.007-05:00

Here's an important article on cellphone use. I've talked about this before but I'm really getting concerned about kids using cellphones.

It's important to realize that we're not being told the truth about wireless devices. Basically they all harm us every time we use them; the degree to which they harm us and our individual ability to heal the damage are variable. That's why we're not all dropping dead from brain tumors--just some of us.

Some very bad research is being done which I assume is funded by the cellphone industry. An example study recently asked people how they felt after using cellphones. Not surprisingly, in this simplistic study there was no statistically significant difference between cellphone users and the placebo controls. Here's an article about how the cellphone industry has manipulated the research, the US government, and the public.

Reports of cellphone danger are not new; scientists began warning us of radiation exposure in the 90s. What is new is our increased exposure to the devices and the marketing of cellphones to younger and younger children.

Note that there seems to be more damage to children and teens who use cellphones, and this is troubling because they seem to use the devices more hours per day than adults.

Here's a website with some of the current non-US research and public articles.

Here's a UK article about the likelihood of producing a child with behavior problems after using a cellphone while pregnant. The doctors that did this study don't want people to panic and overreact. However it would be prudent to limit cellphone and other wireless exposures while pregnant.

Personally I use a headset whenever possible. It's also good to use the cellphone as a speakerphone so you don't have to hold it next to your head.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

French Documentary on Monsanto Products

2008-05-01T08:55:00.005-05:00

Folks, you should be aware of what Monsanto is doing to control food production around the world. A French company produced an enlightening documentary we probably won't be able to see in the US on commercial television. (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10).

Please watch the entire program; at the end is a section that describes the pollution of ancient strains of Mexican corn by Monsanto's industrial corn. The result is that the corn which has traditionally not needed fertilizer or pesticide, now needs both. The Mexicans believe that Monsanto is intentionally polluting their corn crops because they have outlawed the use of genetically-modified corn.

There's a similar article in Vanity Fair that discusses this problem.

To see what other problems Monsanto is causing around the world, look at the website of the Organic Consumers Association. They have been tracking the damage that this company is doing to our health, to our planet, and to our future.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Your Right to Know What You're Eating

2008-03-29T07:14:00.003-05:00

Accurate food labels and your knowledge about food safety are your tools for protecting your family against toxins. There are companies that are working hard to keep you ignorant.

Read this excellent article by Dr. Mercola in which he describes Monsanto's efforts to deceive the public about the chemicals in milk.

If you live in the US, please look for milk that says, "rBGH-free." If you live outside the US, don't worry, your government has protected you from this dangerous chemical by outlawing its use.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Medicate Post-partum Depression?

2008-03-22T07:45:00.005-05:00

I just read an article by Dr. Mercola speaking against Senate bill 1375. I agree with Dr. Mercola that this bill shouldn't be law. I think women should have information about post-partum depression which is the main focus of this bill.

But . . .

Should we have laws that hospitals must warn patients about smoking? Should doctors be required by law to give their patients information on heart disease or remind them to buckle their seat belts?

The only possible reason for this law is for the drug companies to make more money. Here are two videos that discuss one mother's plight.

The most important people on the planet, in terms of our future, are our children.
The second most important people on the planet are our mothers.
Men, have shown themselves to be, judging from history alone, mostly troublemakers.

I believe the fundamental causes of post-partum depression are:

a lack of female community that can share women's wisdom about birthing children
a lack of emotional nurturing of new mothers
a lack of proper nutrition in pregnant women and post-partum mothers
a lack of knowledge on the part of the medical establishment

It is not caused by a deficiency of antidepressants.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Ear Candles Don't Work

2008-03-18T08:20:00.006-05:00

I believe in natural medicine; I always start with an alternative approach to any illness. I'm very suspicious of anything medical. I've seen MDs complain about ear candling but I thought they were just being negative about something that wasn't pharmaceutical.

So I've used ear candles. I believed the hype about removing wax and detoxifying.

When my brother questioned the physics behind the process, we did an experiment. We used a closed plastic tube to simulate an ear and burned a candle as if we were "candling" the plastic tube. The results were exactly the same as when a similar candle was burned in an ear.

The "ear wax" is simply the melted beeswax and soot which looks a great deal like ear wax. The "yeast dust" is just crumbled beeswax.

Here's the photo of the ear candle burned without contacting a human. We put a small piece of paper-towel in the plastic tube to catch any material that would have fallen into the ear. There was a small round chunk of beeswax in the towel and considerable dust in the plastic tube; so the process can actually add to the dirt in the ear without any capability to remove anything.
So don't waste your money on these worthless products. If you have wax buildup, see your doctor or your pharmacist.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

New Study on Cellphone damage

2008-03-18T07:53:00.003-05:00

I afraid my blogs are overly negative. I hate that. Fear is not good for your immune system. So don't let my gloom and doom blogs get you down. Just make better choices about the products you use and the way you use them.

The truth is there is a lot of damage being inflicted on us because of a combination of our own lack of awareness and corporate greed.

Cellphones are a good example. They're great. I use one. But I try to limit my exposure as much as possible. Here's yet another recent study that shows damage to human tissue; in this case scientists found protein changes in skin cells. This study confirms earlier studies.

Please limit your cellphone use and don't let your teenagers talk for hours on these things--they could be setting themselves up for serious long-term illness.

Here's the original article.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Tell the EPA to Disapprove Endosulphan

2008-02-12T12:09:00.001-06:00

From the Organic Consumers Association:

HEALTH ALERT OF THE WEEK:
PLEASE TELL THE EPA TO BAN THE TOXIC PESTICIDE ENDOSULFAN
The EPA has opened a public comment period on whether a toxic pesticide used on food and cotton in the U.S. should be taken off the market. The pesticide, endosulfan, which is banned in much of the world, harms the hormone system, and low levels of exposure in the womb have been linked to autism, male reproductive harm and other birth defects. The European Union, where it is banned, considers it one of the most toxic pesticides on the global market. The Organic Consumers Association is joining with Pesticide Action Network and other allies in gathering tens of thousands of petition signatures to drive this toxic pesticide off the market now.

Learn more and take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10124.cfm

Join the Organic Consumers Association and join the fight for good food and a sustainable environment!

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

There's a Better Test for Cervical Cancer!

2008-02-08T09:15:00.001-06:00

Ask yourself why most women haven't heard about the Digene HPV test that when combined with a Pap test finds 98% to 100% of women with the virus that can lead to cervical cancer. A Pap test by itself isn't nearly as accurate.

Ask yourself why your doctor isn't pushing for this test and your insurance company isn't insisting that it be used to avoid the human and financial cost of cervical cancer.

Maybe you can figure it out--I can't.

The medical community preaches preventative health care but when someone comes up with a technology that truly enables MDs to identify a potential health problem they seem to take a wait and see approach.

I've read that some doctors don't want women to be overly concerned if it is found that they have the HPV virus because often the woman's immune system gets rid of the virus before cancer appears. So a positive Digene test is not a death sentence. It just means that the virus is there and if it stays long enough cancer could eventually develop. So the test has to be repeated to monitor the virus and Pap tests are used to watch for cancerous cells. Another test called a colposcopy can be performed to rule out cancer if the virus and abnormal cells are found. So the Digene test, whether positive of negative, increases the doctor's level of information about the condition of the cervix and increases the probability that she'll make the right medical decisions.

Here's a link to my article on LesTout.com that discusses this test which has been approved by the FDA since 1999. Please read the article and get the word out to your women friends. Tell them to insist that their doctors become familiar with the test and ask local laboratories to provide it.

Let me point out that the Digene test is performed on the cells of a pap smear, so the woman doesn't have to submit to a second procedure--all she has to do is ask for the Digene test and the lab does the test at the same time as the Pap test.

You have a right to accurate information.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Life as Miracle

2008-01-22T08:21:00.000-06:00

I saw this graphic on the web and just wanted to share it with you.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Fibromyalgia and the Adrenals

2008-01-20T07:17:00.001-06:00

These are just my personal thoughts after having studied fibro for a while.

I think fibro is a systemic poisoning the symptoms of which are aggravated by the stress on the other body systems that the fibro itself creates. Of course, if it is a systemic poisoning, it would be really smart to find out what is poisoning you. You could start with diet, plastics and environmental poisons like bug sprays or cleaning products.

The adrenal system produces many of the hormones that people need for a healthy and happy life, estrogen and testosterone for example. It also produces adrenalin and cortisol when the person is under stress. But if the body is under constant stress (like when you have a debilitating illness like fibro) the stress hormones produced will cause even more stress in a further debilitating spiral of dis-ease and more stress.

I think this is why it is so hard for doctors to find a simple cure for fibro--so many of the body systems are involved and are functioning below par as the body reacts to the stress of the disease. Depression from the constant stress can further disrupt the immune system and weaken the body's resistant to other, seemingly unrelated, health problems.

Here's a link to an article that discusses the role of the adrenals and an approach to dealing with it that begins with talking to an endocrinologist about adrenal function. Here's another article.

I'm not saying that this is THE ANSWER; I'm just saying it's possibly a tool to manage fibro and reduce the effects to a tolerable level.

I just found a webpage by a fibro sufferer who has worked out what looks like a reasonable approach to managing symptoms. Check it out.

BTW, DHEA supplements are a good idea for almost everyone over 35, but you should get your blood level checked periodically because you don't want too much either. Your endocrinologist can check your DHEA levels for you.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

More on Environmental Poisons

2008-01-08T08:34:00.001-06:00

I heard a touching poem this morning about a woman who died of cancer even though she ate organic fruits and vegetables and lived as natural a life as possible. I don't know why this woman died but I'm thinking more and more about environmental poisons these days.

If you broke out in a rash after using a cleaning product or a pesticide, you would conclude that you had some sensitivity to the product. But if you die of cancer five years later, you don't make the connection. You don't know which of the thousands of chemicals that you're exposed to led to your death.

The long time between exposure and death is the problem with environmental poisons. Let's say that you're a scientist and you're testing a new bug spray. You spray it around some people and six months later you issue your report that there were absolutely no harmful effects from the exposure. Several other scientists repeat your tests and confirm your claim. If many of the exposed people develop fibromyalgia, lupus or cancer years later, their doctors will never connect the disease with the cause.

If a researcher in the future explores the diseases caused by the bug spray you tested and sees the pattern that all the sick people were exposed to the bug spray and publishes a paper, the chemical industry will drag out the old studies that "proved" that the bug spray was harmless.

We need a new methodology for bringing new chemicals into our environment. Maybe the chemical industry needs to prove that a chemical is safe before they are authorized to use it. That would be expensive and slow progress but lives would be saved. The way it is now someone has to prove that the chemical does harm; that's a really hard thing to prove even when you "know" it's true.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

MSG, Disease and You

2007-12-18T09:23:00.001-06:00

OK, now I'm really pissed! I just found out that we (North-Americans) are eating 95,000 metric tons of MSG! Haven't we got the message? We've known for 30 years that there's a problem with this stuff. It's what's known as an exitotoxin. It excites our nervous system too much.

Now I know you think that you don't eat MSG because you either don't eat at Chinese restaurants or you make sure to always ask if your favorite Chinese restaurant uses MSG. Well it's the American food industry that using the 95,000 tons of this toxin--not the Chinese restaurants!

Look at your food labels and see if you see Glutamic Acid or Hydrolyzed Protein--that's MSG. Even if you don't see it, it may still be there because companies don't have to show all the ingredients.

There's evidence connecting MSG to fibromyalgia, diabetes, Alzheimers and many other diseases that have been increasing lately. Don't expect the FDA to protect you from a chemical that is selling as well as MSG. The MSG industry will make sure that it stays on the store shelves and in your favorite American restaurants.

Here's just a few studies about the effects of MSG to give you an idea; there's plenty more where these came from:

THE ROLE OF GLUTAMATE IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND PAINFUL PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIES
Gary J. Bennett, Ph.D., Allegheny University of the Health Sciences

MANIPULATING GLUTAMATERGIC NEUROTRANSMISSION FOR THERAPEUTIC GAIN: THE EXAMPLE OF BRAIN ISCHEMIA
Dennis W. Choi, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine

GLUTAMATERGIC MECHANISMS IN THE CAUSE AND TREATMENT OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE
J. Timothy Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D., Emory University

ROLE OF GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR MATURATION IN PERINATAL BRAIN INJURY
Frances E. Jensen, M.D., Children's Hospital (Boston) and Harvard Medical School

EFFECT OF GLUTAMATE BLOCKERS ON HUMAN PAIN
Mitchell B. Max, M.D., National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health

GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR PLASTICITY IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGING
John H. Morrison, Ph.D., Fishberg Research Center for Neurobiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

GLUTAMATE NEUROTRANSMISSION IN EPILEPSY: NEW TREATMENT STRATEGIES
Michael A. Rogawski, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health

SCHIZOPHRENIA: A GLUTAMATERGIC PERSPECTIVE
Stephen R. Zukin, M.D., National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health

Folks, please avoid MSG. Eat natural foods, not processed.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Emotional Fitness

2007-12-16T08:33:00.001-06:00

This is an excellent video from LightBridge media. It contains an enlightening interview with Dr. Joan Borysenko who explains the process of change.

Emotional Fitness is fundamental to our physical health; sad people get sick and happy people get sick less often and have milder illnesses. Emotional fitness can't be induced chemically; if you're sad it isn't because you have a Prozac deficiency. Pharmaceuticals remove your ability to feel the problem without solving it. If you're sad, learn to change your response to life. It can be done.

See this and other videos that I've collected on the subject of natural health and wellness at www.LesTout.com.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Fibromyalgia and Plastics(?)

2007-12-06T08:08:00.002-06:00

I wish I had an answer to fibromyalgia; it's such a miserable illness. I can't find anything that mentions a definite connection between fibromyalgia and plastics, but I think it's safe to assume that the cause of fibromyalgia is environmental and plastics, cosmetics, and insecticides are exposures that are easy enough to limit. Today I'm picking on plastics.

The battle over the health risks from plastics is ongoing. The plastics industry is fighting to make plastics appear safe while the environmentalists are struggling with the difficulty of proving long-term and combined effects. Looking at the various studies is confusing because the plastics industry is funding studies that appear valid yet have completely opposite findings from the studies being done by institutions without ties to the chemical industry. An interesting editorial in Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine discusses the problem of reconciling the studies.

Anyway, here's some links:

Re: General Toxicity of the Environment
http://archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden1/es.php
http://www.ewg.org/node/16365

Re: Bisphenol
http://www.ewg.org/node/22300
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola

Re: Phthalates
http://www.ewg.org/node/15076
http://www.lestout.com/article/health-beauty-fitness/natural-health-wellness/plastics_cancer_birth_defects.html

Re: Non-stick cooking
http://www.ewg.org/node/25695

Re: Using Plastics Safely in the Kitchen
http://www.lestout.com/article/health-beauty-fitness/natural-health-wellness/use_plastics_safely.html

Re: Safe Cosmetics
http://www.lestout.com/article/health-beauty-fitness/natural-health-wellness/beauty_cancer_insanity.html

Re: Diet Soda Risks (in case your family drinks these--I hope not)
http://www.lestout.com/article/health-beauty-fitness/natural-health-wellness/aspartame_cancer.html

I find this all very scary. The more I know about the chemical soup that we live in, the more hopeless I am at being able to avoid the poisons that surround us. I know several people who have gone from doctor to doctor looking for answers for fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and other syndromes, but if each of us has dozens, perhaps hundreds of artificial toxins in our bodies then how is a doctor to know which toxin is causing the problem? And even if they know, what can be done to rid the body of the current toxins and prevent more exposure?

I think that part of the answer is to live as natural a life as possible, dressing in natural fibers, eating on glass or ceramic plates, using steel utensils, and avoiding plastics, insecticides, and unsafe cosmetics.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Healthy Consumption

2007-12-04T13:33:00.001-06:00

I just watched a really well done video-explanation of the problem of modern life and how over-consumption is affecting our health and our planet's health. It's a seven-part series by FreeRangeStudios; each film is just a few minutes long.

I hope you'll watch these compelling videos and take whatever actions you're moved to take. Moderation is the key; we can have a better country, a better world, and better personal health--all at the same time.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Symptoms of Stroke

2007-12-02T10:24:00.002-06:00

Do you know how to tell if you're having a stroke? If you have any doubts then check out the American Heart Association website.

I thought everyone knew how to tell if they were having a stroke but I was wrong. I got a call at 2 a.m. from a friend that had gone numb on the left side of her body. She had been having sporadic numbness for 8 hours but hadn't taken any action. As a result of not taking action she'll have months of rehabilitation and tremendous expense before she recovers all her faculties. She is lucky that it wasn't worse.

For those of you in too much of a hurry to read the American Heart Association website, here's the 25-cent version--any imbalance in strength or control between the right and left side of your body whether arm, leg or eyesight needs to be checked out.

Strokes need a doctor's attention while there's still time to get some medication into the blood stream. If you wait until the blood gets shut off to the brain, your life is going to change and it won't be for the better!

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Phthalates and Birth Defects

2007-10-24T11:45:00.001-05:00

This is a continuation of the last blog. I've really looked into this subject, read lots of studies, read the industry responses on the Phthalate Industry website and the Cosmetics Industry website. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The phthalate manufacturers and the cosmetic industries are mostly telling us the truth but they are giving us half-truths that hide the overall truth. It's true that plastic exposure is putting very small amounts of chemicals into our bodies--so small that our bodies are able to flush out these toxins. It's true that most people don't get sick.

But it's also true that many people are getting sick. Phthalates are damaging your liver and kidneys as your body struggles to get rid of them. Women are having baby boys with altered genitals so there obviously is DNA damage happening to these baby boys.

Some couples are struggling to get pregnant. How many people do you know of who have been unable to conceive? No one can prove that the infertility of any of those couples is due to plastics exposure. Is it possible to prove?

No one can create a gold-standard, double-blind, placebo-controlled test that proves that phthalates cause these problems. This is what the industry means when they say that there is no proof. While there is no proof of the sort that they are referring to, there is proof--dozens of good studies that suggest that there's a correlation between phthalate exposure and health problems. A correlation doesn't prove cause-and-effect unfortunately.

I'm ranting again. Sorry.

Click on the title of this blog above and read my article in LesTout.com. Click on the links in the article and look at the environmental websites. Here they are some of them again just for good measure.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Government Reports on these Chemicals
SkinDeep Cosmetic Safety Database

Ladies, please take care of yourselves and take care of your children.

I once knew a woman who had known many erect penises in her life (hers is an interesting story!). Anyway, she said that the smallest penis in her experience was the size of her little finger--and she had quite small hands. Such a penis is not likely to give a woman much pleasure. Do you really want to condemn your baby boys to a life with a penis like that?

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Cancer in Your Cosmetics

2007-10-15T07:50:00.001-05:00

That's a catchy title, eh? But it's more than cancer in beauty products sold in the US, Europe and other countries. It turns out there's very little regulation of the cosmetics industry so our friends in the glamor business are putting some nasty toxic chemistry in the stuff you put on your body--and on your children every day.

There are dozens of responsible cosmetic manufacturers who are committed to producing safe cosmetics. They have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. These manufacturers deserve your support.

There are others who haven't signed up to make safe cosmetics. You should know who they are.

See http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/special/whatnottobuy/

Here's some bad examples:

Creams, nail polishes and other products that contain phthalates. These disrupt hormones and cause pregnant women to produce boys (who grow up to be men) whose genitals are slightly feminine, including small penises. So guys if you have a small penis, it might be because of your mother's lotions during pregnancy! Manufacturers don't have to list phthalates; sometimes the chemicals are simply listed as "fragrance."
Hair straightening products for very curly hair that produce breasts on toddlers due to high hormone levels.
Cake makeup that contains mercury, a highly toxic metal that produces birth defects and neurological damage and heart attacks.
Hair coloring products that contain lead, another metal that causes neurological damage, mental retardation and insanity.
Skin-lightening products that cause ochronosis, a disfiguring skin disease with blue and black lesions.
Skin products and lipsticks that contain nanoparticles. These are something new. Scientists don't know what damage they're capable of and neither do the cosmetic companies.
Skin creams and soaps with cancer-causing ingredients. A dioxane that the EPA classifies as a "probably human carcinogen" is in 22% of the cosmetics sold in the USA.

Go to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website and type in the brand name of your favorite cosmetics and see what they contain.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Gardasil, HPV and cervical cancer

2007-10-10T08:42:00.002-05:00

You may have heard of the controversy about Gardasil which is an important tool for controlling the sexually transmitted HPV virus. Lawmakers in several countries are deciding whether to mandate the $300-$500 vaccination for all girls from 9 to 26 years of age.

Read my article in Suite 101 for the details of the health risks, but beyond that--why are they vaccinating girls and not boys? It seems to me that mandating all boys be vaccinated would be just as effective as mandating all girls. Millions of people of both sexes are being infected with the virus each year.

To mandate just girls seems to me to be based on the old "women are the source of evil" garbage. What we need is rational health policy.

Having said all that, I'm not sure I'm in favor of anyone getting this vaccine. I can sympathize with the goal of ridding society of HPV and cervical cancer, but so many girls are having strong reactions to the vaccination. I think sex education would have a better chance of lowering the rates of cervical cancer.

[July 2010: I just read that Gardasil increases the chance of cancer by 44% if the person is already exposed to the HPV. If you must vaccinate your children, then insist that the doctor test for HPV before the vaccination.]

Enough ranting . . .

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

How Much Vitamin D Should You Supplement

2007-09-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

There's a little buzz right now about Vitamin D and a new report from Europe. Some people are drawing inaccurate conclusions from it. The report discusses 18 separate studies using various amounts of Vitamin D on various populations. It generally says that adding a vitamin D supplement is a good practice because people tend to not die during the study periods when they're taking the vitamin.

Here is the actual conclusions from the study:

"Conclusions :

Intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements seems
to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates. The
relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose of vitamin D
supplements, and total mortality rates remains to be investigated.
Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials with total
mortality as the main end point should be organized for confirming
these findings."

For the time being readers should rely on other authorities to determine their personal dosage. There doesn't seem to be anything in this report that would cause me to change my dosage--400IU--which seems reasonable and is close to the average dose used the various studies in the report.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Do you need a hysterecomy?

2007-09-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

So many women are getting unnecessary hysterectomies; I thought I'd write an article for either Suite101.com or LesTout.com. But I changed my mind; the subject is too big to explain well in a brief article.

If you or a loved one is thinking about a hysterectomy, I've found two books that you should read Dr. Stanley West's book, The Hysterectomy Hoax. and The Complete Guide to Hysterectomy and Beyond, by The Hysterectomy Association. These are not just books telling horror stories of medical malpractice, although they have some of that; they discuss all the options in terms that a non-medical person can understand. They'll help you make the best decision.

According to Dr. West, 90% of all hysterectomies are unnecessary. But that means that 10% of them are. How do you tell the difference?

I've just explored that question over many months with one of my family members who suffered for ten years with excessive bleeding and pain. Finally the bleeding was so bad that she needed a blood transfusion. Her life was actually in danger at that point and it seemed there was no time left to explore more natural options. So she opted for a complete hysterectomy.

If you're facing this decision, learn the pros and cons of hysterectomies, and get a second opinion. Understand the physical, emotional, and sexual consequences of every option.

Don't just take your doctor's word for it.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Reforming US Health Care

2007-09-26T04:47:00.000-05:00

Supply and demand works in health care as it does in most areas of life. If we want reasonable prices, we must reduce demand.

The Arithmetic is Obvious

The arithmetic of health care is really very simple. With the cost of medical care going up at more than the rate of inflation, and the rate at which people are getting sick increasing as well, eventually the cost of all the medical care in the USA is going to be more than anyone can pay for. So the argument between a single-payer, government-run system and a privately-insured system is pointless.

Americans are eating themselves to death.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) has too much fat, too much sugar, and too much salt. It doesn’t have enough essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, or quality proteins.

Americans are couch-potato-ing themselves to death.

We don’t exercise. We’re too fat. We spend way too much time sitting—either in front of a computer, a video game or a TV.

The Solution

What will solve the health care crisis in America is for the American people to take personal responsibility for their health. They must eat, drink and exercise well. They must learn what that means. They must become more robust so that they can survive the stress and toxicity of modern life. Being robust means that the body has the physical strength to take a few knocks and the nutritional resources to fight disease and maintain its strength. If Americans can reduce the stress and toxicity too—well—that would help even more.

Americans pay more for health care than anyone but are some of the sickest people in the industrialized world. The answer to out-of-control costs of any commodity is to reduce the demand for it. When did you last get a flyer in the mail from an MD saying to “please come by my office—I’m looking for more patients.” There is WAY TOO MUCH demand for health care.

Another aspect of the cost of medical care is that no one in the current system has an interest in controlling cost. The hospitals need for there to be a surplus of sick people to fill up their beds. The insurance companies want the volume of legitimate claims to be very high so they can maintain their growth, and pay dividends to their stock-holders. Even doctors need us to be sick.

Doctors are often blamed because they’re on the front lines, facing the patients, but they are truly at the mercy of the system. A friend of mine who's a GP in a large clinic told me that he has to gross $40,000 per month before he has a dollar to feed his family. His facility costs, personnel costs, and insurance costs are huge. In order to make a living he has to move many, many patients through his office each day. He said he’d like to do patient education and reduce his patients’ dependence on medical care and drugs, but he just doesn’t have the time. So he writes his prescriptions and sends his patients on their way.

No one is providing preventative health care! Early detection is not prevention—patient education about nutrition and lifestyle issues are prevention!

Summary

No institution will fix health care—not the government, not the insurance companies, the hospitals or the doctors—certainly not the drug companies. The cost of health care will come down when people are healthier and need less health care.

At that point it won’t matter who pays for it.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Inspiration and Expiration

2007-09-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Michael Egan is a yoga teacher in South Korea. The text below is reprinted with his permission.
====================================
Think of the meaning of the word...Inspiration...
Do you know that literally it means inhale or breathe in???

Then think of the word Inspiration as the coming of an idea, seemingly from nowhere, that leads to positive thoughts and if pursued to positive creation.

Inspiration is the link or "bringing in" of the spirit (the root of "spir" in inspiration). Think of your in-breath as a funnel drawing the limitless spirit (energy) into the finite and limited body. Cultivating the in-breath is completely refreshing and brings with it new life, hope and love into the body and mind.

Now lets look at Expiration...to die or end...
It is the exhale or out-breath.

Every breath cycle contains birth and death, but it is not the death we fear, the "end of life." Instead this Expiration is like the date on the milk in your refrigerator. As the vitality and life energy from the breath and metabolic processes of our body have been used up they must be expelled. This releases the toxins and waste products created in the physical and chemical processes of the body. Just as old milk will sour and foul the entire refrigerator, so too will the metabolic waste and toxins cause discomfort and (given enough time) dis-ease in our body and mind.

Through the exhale we witness the death of positive substances (oxygen, vitamins and nutrition) and must therefore release the waste into nature where it will be recycled (CO2 into O2 by plants) to prepare for "re"inspiration or rebirth.

When beginning breathing practice it is the expiration that needs to be focused on and developed first in order to make space and clean house. Then naturally, through the difference in air pressure between the lungs and nature (outside the body), we will take a more deep and full inspiration bringing new life to our physical and emotional selves.

Breath is the link to Your Self.
==========================

Thanks for that Michael,

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Gout - It's time to get rid of it

2007-09-19T15:08:00.000-05:00

A neighbor told me today that he has gout--excess uric acid which form crystals in the joints. I didn't know anyone had gout anymore--I must hang out with too many vegetarians. With a little research I discovered that about 2 million people in the US have gout--about one person in a hundred.

Talk to your doctor if you have severe joint pain. If it is gout, your doctor may want you to take some drugs to get rid of the uric acid. To help avoid forming new uric acid crystals, try the following:

Drink water - lots of it
Don't drink alcohol
Don't eat foods that create excess uric acid--oily fish, beef, lamb, pork, organ meats, or game meats
Eat two servings per day of low-fat dairy
Take essential fatty acid supplements
Lose weight, but slowly
Eat a moderate diet--chicken, grains, fruits and vegetables are fine.
Don't try fasting or low-carb/high protein diets. They can make matters worse.
Exercise is hard if you have gout and are overweight. Follow your doctors advice but try to burn some calories.

Take a deep breath,

Ron

Your Brain Needs Fat

2007-09-13T11:57:00.000-05:00

My Dad is struggling with impaired memory. It's not Alzheimers and it isn't dementia; it's just a poor memory. I looked into the relationship between brain functioning and diet and found several sources that talked about various mental problems and how they were alleviated by increasing the essential fatty acids in the diet. This linked article is a result of that little bit of research. Here's a list of studies that show that essential fatty acids are a major factor in many types of nervous system disorders.

If you know anyone who is struggling with mental functioning--not just memory loss but any kind of problem, ADHD, bipolar disorders, violence--see if they can't improve their diet. Get rid of some of the junk food and replace it with a Mediterranean Diet and have them take some supplements of essential fatty acids.

Note that this isn't a cure--just something to give their body a few more resources.

Be sure to work with your physician if you're taking pharmaceuticals.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Eating our Way Out of Depression

2007-09-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

I've been struck by how many people are taking pills for depression. I know there's lots of reasons why people get depressed. I get depressed when I look at the state of health care! And some people need to take pills--especially people who are in danger of hurting themselves or others. But while they're taking their pills they can be looking at fixing the problem from the source and sometimes the source is their diet.

We need to look at a couple of things--if we're depressed for identifiable reasons; if we're grieving over a death, losing a job or a relationship, then we need to look at how much our diet is keeping us in a depressed state longer than necessary for processing the grief. If we change our diet perhaps we could have the energy to add a few positive activities to our lifestyle and turn our life around. If we can't identify a definite reason why we're depressed, then we REALLY need to look at our diet.

It's possible that the diet alone in depressing you. One aspect of diet and depression is essential fatty acids. Many people have never heard of these fats but they are crucial for the correct functioning of every organ in your body including your brain.

Take a look at my articles on Suite101.com and think about how diet is affecting your symptoms--whatever they are.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

The Mediterranean Diet Wins Again

2007-09-11T12:24:00.000-05:00

A new study printed in the September 11, 2007 edition of Neurology reports that in a group of Alzheimers patients, those who ate a diet close to the Mediterranean Diet were 76% less likely to die during the ten-year study period. Heart disease rates in the 16 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea are less than in the USA.

We really gotta look harder at our diet folks. Are you hearing of more and more older people with Alzheimers and dementia--or is it just me?

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Getting a Good Night's Sleep

2007-09-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

The thing I like least about growing older is sleeping less. I think one reason why I sleep less is that I'm a bit stiff in the morning and I can't get back to sleep--I have to get up and move around.

Besides what I wrote in the article on Suite101.com about sleep, I find that if I get up and move around until I've limbered up a bit, then I can lie down and listen to Swami J's CD Yoga Nidra. That will always put me back to sleep.

The CD isn't calming music like you'd expect; Swami J leads you through a series of attention exercises--just simply putting your attention on one part of your body and then another. This sequence of body parts is part of the ancient knowledge of India. There's something about the sequence that brings about a profound state of relaxation in the body and mind.

Another thing I do is to run through my prayer list of the dozens of people that I pray for daily. I think about each person in turn and then say some Baha'i healing prayers that I've memorized. It's a very calming exercise and takes me away from any personal problems I may be thinking of.

More later . . .

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

2007-09-10T05:15:00.000-05:00

I got an email from a woman who had just heard about this frightening disease. She was--well--frightened. So I thought I'd write an article that puts this thing in perspective.

It is nasty--and easily misdiagnosed. There was a woman who died because her doctor told her that she must have been bitten by a spider or something and it would go away. A young girl just 16 years old died because she was afraid to tell anyone that her breast looked funny.

So read the article, learn the symptoms and tell other women to learn the symptoms as well.

Something I didn't put in the article is that this disease points out the importance of eating in such a way so as to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammatory breast cancer is a combination of cancer in a body that is prone to inflammation due to poor diet. I've written several articles on Suite101 about diet.

So don't be in a panic--inflammatory breast cancer is very rare--just be aware.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

GERD-Acid Reflux is not a disease

2007-09-10T05:04:00.000-05:00

Just the idea that they would create pills for acid reflux really irritates me! Had you even heard of GERD before they invented the pills for it? It's a manufactured disease.

The problem isn't a chemical imbalance--if you eat a medium pizza and a large coke and then lie down, your intelligent body is going to try to vomit because it knows that lying down is a really stupid thing to do with a stomach full of food that needs to be digested.

OK, maybe you don't eat a medium pizza before bedtime--but you may nibble on things while you're watching TV and maybe have a beer or some other large drink. Still not a good idea.

Read the article on Suite 101 that talks about how to avoid acid reflux.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

Coffee and Estrogen Dominance

2007-09-09T11:01:00.000-05:00

How many women do you know who are struggling with female problems? Endometriosis? Breast cancer? Doesn't it seem that something is seriously wrong?

There are many aspects of modern life that contribute to the chaos in women's sexual health. A big part of it, I believe has to do with the unnatural chemicals that we drink, eat, bath in, or otherwise slather on our bodies.

We all know how much hormones govern women's health and happiness. Hormones need a stable and normal chemical state in the blood and tissues for optimal effectiveness.

Our modern western diet--what could be called the Standard American Diet (SAD)--is not producing a stable and normal chemical state. It is making women's tissues too acid and disrupting the sensitive biochemical reactions.

A big culprit is coffee! Not only does is screw up the acid-base balance in the body, it contains 21 known carcinogens. And how many women do you know who have dealt with cancer? How many of them drink coffee?

Another really nasty habit is sodas--any carbonated drink. Those delightful fizzy bubbles are making your body too acid! Colas, and other sugary soft drinks are even worse because they contain a huge amount of sugar.

Don't get me started on sugar.

That's enough ranting. Drink one cup of coffee if you must. Maybe it won't kill you.

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron

10: The Journey to Wild Divine

2006-07-12T09:06:00.001-05:00

A friend showed this game to me--and I hate video games--but I found this one really compelling. The game, "The Journey to Wild Divine," uses biofeedback to move you through the obstacles in the game.

Included in the game is biofeedback hardware that hooks up to your fingers to monitor heart and skin resistance characteristics. You have to do various yoga breathing techniques and meditation to create the right pattern of biofeedback readings.

It is a beautifully executed product; the graphics and music are excellent; the affirmations and breathing instructions are enlightening.

I truly felt like the game made me a better person.

Take a deep breath,

Ron

9: Your Energy Body - stuff to avoid

2006-06-24T08:33:00.002-05:00

A comprehensive list of stuff that's bad for your energy body would be very long. Almost any aspect of modern western life is bad for your energy body.

We were talking to the director of the TCM clinic where we get our medical care; he said that almost every person who comes to the clinic has problems with the Qi in their kidneys and liver. What are we all doing that is harming our energy bodies?

All the bad stuff we do to our spiritual selves harms our energy body as does all the bad stuff we do to our physical bodies. It's all connected as you know.

In addition, we have to worry about the sights and sounds we take into our energy bodies; movies and music, gossip and backbiting--even the evening news can have negative effects in the energy body. We think of these negative inputs as being mostly harmful to our spiritual selves but it goes deeper than that; it gets down to the level of karma.

In vedic terms, there are "colorings"--distortions to reality produced by the ignorance that we project onto our experiences. These distortions can be at a deep subconscious level. We all have these distortions; we should endeavor to remove them through spiritual practice, not make them worse by wallowing in ego-stimulating entertainment.

The Vedas also mention samskaras, deep impressions in our energy body from our prior experiences and actions. Again, we don't want to add to the negative samskaras by doing bad stuff to our spirits or our bodies.

All this takes discipline. The world calls you to be more attached to it. You must struggle to maintain a higher goal. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Right?

Take a deep breath,

Ron

8: Your Energy Body - Good Stuff to Add

2006-06-22T08:45:00.001-05:00

7: Your Spiritual Self - stuff to avoid

2006-06-21T14:31:00.001-05:00

Bad Stuff for Your Spiritual Health
Anger and Fear! How much healing could happen on the planet if we could just get rid of the anger and fear.
Let's look at ways to get rid of anger and fear:
Key Concepts:
Be Here Now! Don't waste time regreting the past of worrying about the future. The past and the future are only a dream, this moment is the only moment there is. Living in the moment is the subject of another important book, The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. I can't do justice to either of these books in a paragraph; read some reviews. The Power of Now is very straightforward and logical while Be Here Now is whimsical and mystical. Choose either, the point is the same: spiritual health requires living in the present moment and using it effectively.
Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! Any and all grudges are anchors that prevent you from moving forward spiritually. They harm you exclusively; they don't harm the person that you're angry with. Are you ready to make room for some miracles in your life? What are the grudges that are holding you back? If you hold onto bitterness about a former spouse or your parents, are you living in the moment? Are you one-pointed? Or holding your bitterness in one part of your brain and your spiritual growth in another part and expecting them to support each other?
Get over it! It's done enough damage to you already!
Many of life's little miracles occur because you are awake--you are in the moment--and ready to recognize the opportunity and act. If you're lost in regret or anger about the past, or fearful about the future, you may not notice the opportunity.
Get rid of the clutter in your environment. The Dalai Lama says that if you want a sense of the interior of your mind, look at your environment. Strive for beauty.

Look for other ways in which your physical life harms your spiritual life. Get rid of negative foods, negative art and entertainment, negative attitudes about your body. Meditate and watch your thoughts; they will tell you what physical things are harming your spirituality. Be grateful for the thoughts that disturb your meditation; they are signposts on your journey.
Take a deep breath,
Ron

6: Your Spiritual Self - Good Stuff to Add

2006-06-19T15:54:00.001-05:00

We believe that your spiritual health affects your physical health more than your physical health affects your spiritual health. To have spiritual health you need a central focus for your spiritual growth; you can't just grab an idea here and an idea there. Your beliefs must be internally consistent or you'll create inner conflict for yourself.
There are a number of practices that can be added to any spiritual foundation and provide benefits without eroding the foundation itself.
Meditation is one of those topics. While we are urged to meditate the form of meditation is left up to us. There's a table of meditation resources on our website. It's hard to imagine a spiritual life without any kind of meditation. If you're not meditating, find a method that works for you.
The concept of living in the moment is another. Be Here Now is a whimsical and mystical book that looks at the question from a yoga perspective. In his book, The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle addresses the concept in a straightforward manner that is probably more acceptable to a western or Christian audience.
We believe in the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism and the Eight-fold Path that is part of the fourth Noble Truth. Whether your a Christian, a Muslim, or anything else, you should know about the Four Noble Truths, a proven method for reducing or eliminating suffering.
Swami Rama wrote a profound book called, A Practical Guided to Holistic Health that includes nine steps to holistic health. You should be aware of these steps.
We realize that most of our readers are Christian. We don't want you to change religion but you should recognize that other religions have far more to say about physical and spiritual health than the Bible does, and what they say does not conflict with your belief, and ours, that Jesus is the Son of God, and the personal Savior. We attempt to find the truth in all the religions instead of focusing on the differences.
Personally, we're Baha'is. We believe that the Baha'i Faith has an internal consistency and respect for other religions that is necessary for spiritual health.
Take a deep breath,
Ron

5: Your Physical Body - Stuff to Subract

2006-06-15T10:09:00.001-05:00

Oh! This could go on forever. I think this is the core issue in everyone's health. The body is so smart and so capable of healing itself--however we bombard it with toxins and stress to the extent that it is overwhelmed. So I'm going to talk about a lot of stuff here, but you don't have to eliminate everything. Actually you probably don't need to eliminate anything--just cut way back on some of it and reduce other things by a little.

Sugar, Salt, alcohol, and Fat

I don't really need to say anything--you've heard it all before.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

This started being added to the SAD (standard American diet) in the 70s in great quantities. The increase in Adult-onset diabetes has grown proportionately to the increase in this now-pervasive chemical. It is in almost everything from colas and ice-cream to the little peppermints they give you in restaurants.

Carbonated Drinks

Don't you just love carbonated drinks on a summer day? The problem is carbon dioxide is one of the body's waste products, by drinking it you are changing the acid balance of the body. You're screwing up your hormones which are especially sensitive to excess acid. If you're a woman this is a bigger problem. Drinking an occasional cola isn't serious because the body does a good job of excreting carbon dioxide but it definitely a stress that you can easily avoid.

Pesticides and Weedkillers

There are no good pesticides or weedkillers. These chemicals are hurting our children and our wildlife. Learn some alternatives.
I live in Florida where the bugs must outnumber the people by a million to 1. Yet we don't use any commercial pesticides or herbicides. We have very few bugs in the house because we keep it clean enough that they aren't attracted. We get a few tiny ants that we get rid of with a soapy spray bottle. We do have weeds that have to be pulled. We also use an electronic device that produces sounds that bugs don't like.

Activities that stress your system

Oh, another long list! Poor posture, TV, violent movies, even clutter in your home. I believe in chiropractic which tells us that the spine should be in natural alignment: there should be a curve in the lower back to act as a shock absorber; the upper back should also curve slightly backward between the lower back and the neck; the neck should curve forward between the chest and the skull. So you have three built-in shock-absorbers--all of which can be destroyed by poor posture. I see teenagers sitting slumped in a chair so that they are actually sitting on the back of the pelvis. We should always sit on the bottom of the pelvis where the two leg bones join to the hip. Our backs should be erect while sitting--just as when we are standing, the only difference being that the legs are bent.
A clean environment is important to your health. Get rid of clutter and the dust that comes with it. The Dalai Lama says that if you want to see the condition of your mind, look at your physical environment. Treat yourself as an honored guest in your own space. Clean it as if you were cleaning it for an important visitor.
I'll add more at another time; see our webpage at www.ALLisWELL.org.

4: Your physical body--stuff to add

2006-06-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

I wish I could tell you to take a particular supplement or one of the panaceas that are promoted in multi-level marketing schemes--and then your body would start rejuvenating itself and your chronic complaints would disappear.

But I can't--not if I want to be fair to you and your pocketbook.

The obvious things to add--that won't cost you anything--are nutrition, exercise and rest. Let's look at these one at a time.

There is an acronym SAD; it stands for Standard American Diet. You deserve better than a SAD diet.

Buy a book called Eat Right 4 Your Type. The idea behind this diet is that you should slightly adjust your diet based on your blood type. We've found that, since people are so different, diet needs to be customized for each person. I don't believe that there is a diet that works for everyone. So I say, start with the diet for your blood type then customize it carefully. Let's say that the diet for your blood type says that you shouldn't eat tomatoes. But you love tomatoes! Wait until your fairly hungry, then eat a whole tomato. See how you feel. If you feel dull afterwards then maybe tomatoes aren't really for you. If you feel energized and ready to clean the garage then tomatoes are probably OK for you. Learn to sense your body's reaction to foods. The key is eating one thing at a time so that you can focus. At an ordinary meal we eat too many things to determine what made us feel dull or energized.

That's all I'm going to say about diet today. I'll write more tomorrow when I discuss what to leave out of your diet!

Get balanced exercize. Walking and swimming are balanced--you do the same stuff with the right side of your body that you do with your left. Golf and bowling are good exercize but they're not balanced; you twist your body counterclockwise if you're right-handed; you never twist clockwise. Tai Chi is perfect exercise that you can do alone or in groups. So it can become a pleasant social experience also. Doing exercise in groups has a spiritual dimension as well as a physical dimension. You're also more likely to be regular if you're in a group.

Exercize also improves your energy body which I'll talk about in a future blog.

Think about how our ancestors might have lived 30,000 years ago as hunter gatherers. Think of all the physical exercize, the walking, stooping and lifting. Your body hasn't changed one bit from the bodies of those ancestors. But we have more comfortable things to sit on. For your health's sake, move your body and avoid sitting. When you sit, don't use the back rest. Most chairs don't support your back properly and create spinal problems. So sit as if you're sitting on a rock with your back erect and a nice curve in your lower back--curving in toward your belly button, not backwards.

A lot could be said about exercise but some of it would probably not be true for you. You have an individual body--with a certain age, a unique history of gains and losses, operations and illnesses. What ever your situation, do more than you're doing now, start off slowly and gradually increase your ability, strength and range of motion.

Rest!

It used to be (going back just 100 years or so) that life was seasonal. There was activity in the some parts of the year during planting and harvesting, and periods of rest after harvest or during a growing season. Today we go all the time, some of us working multiple jobs to earn enough money. What I'm afraid of is that you're using caffeine instead of rest. Coffee and cola makes it feel like you can keep going--so you do. What would be better is to close your eyes for a few minutes and meditate. What I see is people developing habits in their twenties that really don't work in their 40s and 50s. You can keep up the pace using caffeine but you're seriously taxing your body.

I hear different things about sleep. There's expensive beds that supposedly give you a better night's rest. They probably do help. If you can afford them fine, but if you can't then learn to control your sleep. You're probably eating too late. Personally I stop eating at 5PM and go to bed at 10PM after doing yoga and Tai Chi. I stop drinking at 8PM. So by 10PM there's not much digesting to keep me awake. Nor do I have acid reflux. I don't get hungry until 7 or 8am because my body is used to this pattern. So I'm truly fasting for 14 to 15 hours per day.

I realize that you might not get home until 6 or 7PM and have to fix dinner for the family so you might still be eating at 8PM. You could stay up later but you may have to drop off the kids in the morning and rush to the office. So you don't have the flexibility that I do. I understand.

Think about the principle of allowing your body to rest during the night by reducing as much as possible the digestion that is occurring. For instance, eat your heaviest, protein-based meal at noon, then have a salad in the evening. Avoid sugary fruits in the evening because it will increase your metabolism and make you hungry in the night. Experiment with what works for you but set a goal of sleep without digestion activity.

I think I'm done for today. We'll talk more on these topics later.

Take a deep breath,

Ron

3: First Steps to a Healthier Immune System

2006-06-12T07:58:00.001-05:00

In the simplest terms, I want you to work on three parts of yourself, your physical self, your spiritual self, and your energy body. I want you to do this in two ways, by adding things that make you stronger and more resilient and by subtracting things that make you weaker. So everything in this blog will be in one of this six categories:

1. Strengthening your physical self
2. Strengthening your spiritual self
3. Strengthening your energy body
4. Leaving behind the things that weaken your physical self
5. Leaving behind the things that weaken your spiritual self
6. Leaving behind the things that weaken your energy body

Let's define some terms.

By spiritual self I'm talking about your loving relationship with the rest of the universe and in particular the other sentient beings that you share it with. I personally believe in God and include my relationship with God in my spirituality but you can do as you like. If you have compassion for other sentient beings, that will be enough to improve your health and vitality.

By the energy body, I'm talking about Chakras and Qi (chee) and the channels of energy that run throughout the body. Scientists haven't quite figured out what this is all about, but we know from thousands of years of experience in Asia that there is an energy in the body that isn't really physical and isn't really spiritual either. This is the stuff of Qigong and Tai Chi. There may be more potential here to improve your health than in purely physical exercises and diet, or in spiritual exercises like prayer and meditation. We just don't know. So I say work on all three at the same time.

I'll try to not get hung-up on terminology. I want this blog to be helpful and easy to follow for English speakers. We'll talk about the energy body but I'll avoid the Sanscrit and Chinese terms as much as possible.

For homework, I'd like you to start thinking about the six categories above.

I suspect that you already know some things that you could do physically. Schedule regular walks with a friend for instance--this will improve you physically, spiritually and energetically. Think of a few things that are probably making you sick. If you can't make your own list, think about coffee, high-fructose corn syrup (it's in almost everything--even those mints they give you at restaurants), and carbonated beverages.

The biggest improvement you can make spiritually is your joy. As much as possible, get rid of things that make you sad. If you can't get rid of them (like relatives!) then learn acceptance (we'll talk about this later in a separate blog). Increase the things that give you joy! Joy will give you wings! Meditate on this. The things that give you joy will be different from mine.

Energy work may be new to you. You might start by reading about Tai Chi. I personally like the Chen version taught by Patrick Martin of Northern Arizona University. He has a set of tapes available that are very easy to listen to and learn. If you are physically weak you might want to start with Qigong which is related to Tai Chi. If you buy Patrick Martin's video, the first part of each lesson is actually Qigong which he uses as a warm-up exercise. I have used other Tai Chi videos and find that while they're technically correct, they may encourage you to do more strenuous exercises than you're ready for. So if you buy a video other than Patrick Martin's, go slowly and be gentle with yourself.

More to come . . .

Take a deep breath,

Ron

2: Where to start?

2006-06-11T07:29:00.001-05:00

I could assume that you are already motivated to take control of your own health and just start in with some ideas about healthy living, but I won't. I'm going to spend a few paragraphs describing the situation as I see it.

I will assume that you're well into your adult years--enough that you're aware that you can't play, eat, and avoid exercise like a teenager without consequences.

I'll assume that you're aware that you can't rely on the government to insure that your environment, your food and the other things you buy for your home are completely safe. Do you know a family that hasn't been touched by cancer? Do you know a family without any diabetes? Or allergies? If you're not convinced poke around a bit at the website of the Organic Consumers Association; you'll see that there is a problem. You cannot assume that the government has tested and approved the safety of every product in your supermarket.

What about your doctor, your friendly local hospital, your health insurance company? Don't they have your best interests at heart? I was talking to an MD friend of mine about GERD (Gastro-Esophogeal-Reflux-Disease), the stuff they sell Nexium for. I told him I thought it was a crock that MDs weren't educating their patients about this non-disease--that all you had to do is avoid eating for 5 or so hours before bedtime and sleep on your left side and you wouldn't get reflux. He told me that he doesn't have time for patient education; he gets $75 for a patient visit whether he spends 45 minutes educating the patient or 45 seconds writing a prescription for Nexium. He has a $40,000 per month overhead--he has to make that much before he has a dollar to feed his children. I could see in his eyes that he really wants to help people but his reality is that he has to move a certain number of people through the office each day.

Your hospital and insurance company are concerned that the overall amount of cash flowing through the hospitals and doctors office is maximized. That means more of your money coming into the system and a minimum of cost to them for the services being provided. They are corporations and are ruled by the same morality as any other corporation. This is the reason why health corporations aren't keen on chiropractic and acupuncture which could really save the system money since both treatments get people well at minimum cost and keep them well; they don't produce enough cash flow in the system. While the individuals at a hospital or insurance company may be dedicated servants of humanity, and loving, nurturing people, the organization they work for wants you to be sick, stay sick, and spend money.

You might have thought that you had a right to health care in an enlightened society; well guess again.

So in the end, there's no one but you to be in charge of your health care. You have to educate yourself. I don't want you to have to get a doctorate in this stuff, just read a few articles online and in magazines while you're sipping your morning coffee--scratch that--morning tea. You can start to make a difference in how you feel and how your body can fight off the toxins that it comes in contact with.

Your body is extraordinarily capable of defending itself; you just need to get the number of things attacking it down to a reasonable level. Don't panic! Fear weakens the immune system. Be concerned, make smart choices, exercise, rest, and most of all increase joy.

More to come . . .

Take a deep breath,

Ron

1: Is Natural Health Easy?

2006-06-10T21:27:00.001-05:00

Yes.

Next question?

Well I wish it were that simple. The problem is that our environment is toxic and staying out of trouble is hard. In this blog I'll talk about the issues that make natural health difficult. I'll try to make you aware of the forces that are working against your health, and offer alternatives when I can.

The World Health Organization says that 1.2 billion people live on less than US$1 per day. Obviously they're not reading this blog, but we need to change the toxic culture of the world so that those 1.2 billion human beings don't have to spend their dollar on health care, and you and I don't have to spend so much of our income on medications, surgeries, tests, and procedures.

The basic secret is this: you're spending money on things that are making you sick. Then you're spending more money to change the symptoms that come from your purchases. If you start spending your money on things that won't make you sick, then you're money ahead already. Then you won't have to buy medical care--that'll save you even more money. With all the money you're saving, you'll be so joyful that your immune system will be humming along, sending happy, healing hormones around your system. You'll have so much health you won't know what to do with yourself.

I'm Ron Frazer, Ph.D. My doctorate is in natural health. I'll try to give you some ideas that will make your life easier. If you've got questions and would like my opinion, I'll try to help. Maybe I'll be able to suggest some things you can do by yourself, or maybe I'll suggest a practitioner that could address your issues.

Take a deep breath,

Ron