How The Bacteria In Your Gut Can Make You Fat

Giving more credence to infectobesity, the study of microbes and viruses in your gut that may be responsible for some cases of obesity, a new study confirms the presence of different microbes swimming in the intestines of overweight patients versus their slimmer peers.

Scientists discovered the imbalance after comparing the microbes extracted from the guts of lean and obese mice and 12 humans (seven of whom were obese). The bacteria found in humans centered largely on two groups: Firmicutes that were more plentiful (a 20 percent increase) in obese patients and bacteroidetes (almost 90 percent less) that weren't.

Even more compelling, obese patients lowered the number of firmicules in their guts after following either a low-fat and low-carb diet for 12 months and boosted the amount of bacteroidetes (although these levels never reached the amount of similar microbes found in slimmer patients).

Influencing the bacteria growing in your body for the positive is easy by making better food choices, starting with reducing, with the plan of eliminating, sugars and most grains from your daily diet.

Even more impressive evidence that proves the nutritional cause of many diseases is related to an imbalance of bacteria in your gut, a problem easily rectified by taking a high quality probiotic, Kefir and Saukraut.

New Research on Scoliosis Surgery

Out of the scientific Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation comes perhaps the most truthful and comprehensive study ever published on the surgical treatment of scoliosis:

"Pediatric scoliosis is associated with signs and symptoms including reduced pulmonary function, increased pain and impaired quality of life, all of which worsen during adulthood, even when the curvature remains stable. In 1941, the American Orthopedic Association reported that for 70% of patients treated surgically, the outcome was fair or poor.... [S]uccessful surgery still does not eliminate spinal curvature and it introduces irreversible complications whose long-term impact is poorly understood. For most patients there is little or no improvement in pulmonary function.... The rib deformity is eliminated only by rib resection which can dramatically on reduce respiratory function even in healthy adolescents. Outcome for pulmonary function and deformity is worse in patients treated surgically before the age of 10 years, despite earlier intervention. Research to develop effective non-surgical methods to prevent progression of mild, reversible spinal curvatures into complex, irreversible spinal deformities is long overdue." [emphasis added]

Impact of spine surgery on signs and symptoms of spinal deformity.
Pediatric Rehabilitation, 2006 Oct-Dec;9(4):318-36
Hawes, M.

Are Your Vitamins Killing You?

Vitamins are organic micronutrients that are required (compared to other nutrients) in small amounts in order to sustain human life. Vitamins (with few exceptions) cannot be manufactured endogenously and must therefore be obtained from supplements or from Foods via the diet.

Are Your Vitamins Killing You?

People in the U. S. are taking billions of dollars worth of isolated or synthetic vitamins with the thought in mind that these are going to keep them healthy when just the exact opposite is probably true.

Broccoli is Broccoli is Broccoli - But is a Vitamin, a Vitamin, a Vitamin?

In today's world you can buy vitamins everywhere. Health food stores, grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores, truck stops, etc. Millions of people take one or more vitamins daily, and yet over half of the people in the United States are chronically ill. Something must be wrong.

Don't believe the advertisements from all the different companies saying their products are vitamin enriched. These almost always are chemicals and not real vitamins.

How can you tell if a vitamin is organic as opposed to an isolated or synthetic chemical vitamin? If you will look on the label and it tells you how many I.U.'s or how many milligrams of different vitamins there are, you can bet that the vitamins are isolated or chemical.

When you buy organic vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, etc. or plants and herbs such as Green Barley, Bee Pollen, The Thalophyte, etc., it doesn't say how many I.U's or milligrams of this, that, or the other thing these plants contain because they are in their natural whole organic form, in just the right amounts in the way God made your body to use them. Please, if you remember from this information, remember this! We are to get all of our nutrients from organic plant source in its whole natural form, not from some isolated or man-made chemical source.

I firmly believe and have documented evidence to prove that we live longer or die sooner depending on whether we take natural whole organic nutrients OR isolated and synthetic vitamins.

One word of caution -- a natural isolated vitamin may not be any better than a synthetic or man-made chemical vitamin. We are emphasizing whole natural organic complexes, such as a product called DOCTORS TOTAL NUTRITION that is whole natural food and herbs that the body knows exactly what to do with.

Both the recent Finnish studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the experiments at the University of California, Berkley, California proved that taking synthetic vitamins is worse than starvation. The synthetic vitamins will kill you quicker.

In the Finnish study, there was a statistically significant loss of protection from lung cancer, stroke, and all other forms of death. So beware of so-called "enriched" bread with synthetic chemical vitamins. In reality, these chemicals should not be called vitamins at all. They are not vitamins and they are not food. This is a part of the deception. The majority of vitamins sold are synthetic, causing sickness and death to unsuspecting people who believe that they are health conscious and doing the right thing.

The synthetic vitamin producers and sellers all claim that synthetic vitamins have the same molecular structure as the Natural whole plant, and are therefore the same or at lease have the same effect. They never tell you that the polarity of the synthetic is opposite to the Natural and has the opposite effect. Synthetic vitamins always refract light, the opposite of the Natural Organic vitamin complexes. This suggests that you do not get protection from synthetic vitamins. In fact, the studies above show an actual loss of protection.

Though synthetic vitamins have the same molecular structure, they are a mirror image of the Natural. A MIRROR IMAGE? This suggests that they are identical in every detail. But a mirror image is the exact opposite of the real thing, in this case Natural organic vitamins.

Try to shake hands with yourself in the mirror. You can't do it. Everything is opposite. Bet you thought a mirror image is an exact duplication. To give you some examples of the synthetic as opposed to the real thing: Ascorbic acid, which most people think is Vitamin C, which it is not, is being called into question. In the past synthetic vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene have failed to reduce cancer rates and have even made some cancers worse. Now the latest study of synthetic vitamin C reports that synthetic vitamin C's ability to protect against cancer and heart disease appears to diminish at high doses and the vitamins might even become harmful.

Similar to published reported in Health Alert, the Study found evidence that vitamin C (ascorbic acid) at doses greater than 500 mg both suppresses and promotes oxidation, the very culprit that anti-oxidants are supposed to be fighting. This study showed that the anti-oxidant function and the pro-oxidant function of ascorbic acid, which is synthetic C, cancel themselves out, thus providing no benefit.

The facts are, synthetic anti-oxidants, including so-called vitamin C, in the form of ascorbic acid, are not Vitamins. Let me repeat! They are not Vitamins. In fact, vitamins are living enzyme complexes that naturally produce biochemical reactions in the human body. Synthetic Vitamins are chemicals that produce drug reactions in the body.

If you doubt what we have been saying, try spending a little time with an endocardiograph. This is a highly sensitive machine that records, amplifies and makes a graph of heart sound. As the heart becomes diseased, the sounds become abnormal. The abnormal sounds clearly depict what areas of the heart are malfunctioning and what nutrients are needed to allow the heart to normalize. The heart is the one organ in your body most responsive to nutritional therapy.

For example,
There is a characteristic sound and graph made by a heart that is in fibrillation. This heart needs the "G" portion of the organic Vitamin B complex. Tachycardia has its own characteristic graph and requires organic Vitamin C. Regurgitation of one or more valves has its graph and requires real Vitamin E. Angina has its graph and requires real selenium-rich Vitamin E. And so on.

When the correct organic nutrients are given to the patient while he or she is on the endocardiograph, the heart sound and graph start to normalize within 15 minutes. One thing is certain - take all the synthetic vitamins A, B, C, E, etc., in the world; take them over and over again. They can be the very nutrients your doctor tells you are "just exactly the same as organic, natural, real vitamins". But they are simply mirror-image chemicals and not nutritional complexes. They never reverse the abnormal heart graph whereas real nutrition does it on a regular basis. What more proof is needed that these chemicals are "just exactly not the same as real vitamins".

The latest studies show the failure of high dose synthetic vitamins and anti-oxidants. The ones that work are those made from herbs and food that are truly nutritional complexes based around enzyme actions.

God created a perfect body that can only be sustained by perfect foods that God also created. Anyone who desires good health must have proper nutrition every day or good health is not going to happen.

Low - Carb Diet Doesn't Raise Heart Risk

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 9, 2006
Eating a low-carb, high-fat diet for years doesn't raise the risk of heart disease, a long-term study suggests, easing fears that the popular Atkins diet and similar regimens might set people up for eventual heart attacks.

The study of thousands of women over two decades found that those who got lots of their carbohydrates from refined sugars and highly processed foods nearly doubled their risk of heart disease.

At the same time, those who ate a low-carb diet but got more of their protein and fat from vegetables rather than animal sources cut their heart disease risk by 30 percent on average, compared with those who ate more animal fats.

The findings came from researchers at Harvard University's schools of medicine and public health who reviewed records of 82,802 women in the ongoing Nurses' Health Study over 20 years. The women were not dieting to lose weight. In fact, on average they were slightly overweight and increased their body-mass index roughly 10 percent during the study.

Conventional wisdom says risk of heart disease should increase for those eating the lowest-carb, highest-fat diet, said lead author Thomas Halton.

''It didn't, which was a little eye-opening,'' he said.

Halton said that may be because the women eating the fewest carbs were compared directly to the group eating the highest-carb, lowest-fat diet.

''Neither diet is ideal,'' he said. ''You need to take the best of both.''

The findings, reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, came from an analysis of food questionnaires the nurses filled out every two to four years starting in 1980. The nurses also reported their use of aspirin, vitamins and hormones for menopause symptoms, and on any history of smoking and heart problems.

The researchers calculated the percentage of calories coming from carbohydrates and animal and vegetable fats and proteins, then divided the nurses into 10 groups, from the lowest to the highest calorie percentage from carbs.

The lowest-carb group ate carbohydrate amounts similar to the maintenance program of the Atkins diet, less extreme than the early phase of the diet, said dietitian Geri Brewster, former nutrition director at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan.

Still, she said most women in this study ate fewer carbohydrates than traditional diets recommend. While she thinks the Atkins diet allows too much animal fat, Brewster said reducing carbohydrates works because it forces the body to convert stored fat into an energy source and can curb appetite.

American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Susan Moores, a dietitian in St. Paul, Minn., said that because the study only included women, many going through menopause and taking hormones, it is unclear how it applies to men.

For Moores, the key finding was that women reduced heart disease risk by eating more protein and fat from vegetable sources.

''That was the biggest, ''Aha!''' she said.

Dr. Robert Eckel, immediate past president of the American Heart Association, said the study was well done, but noted that the nurses' recall of what they ate likely isn't perfect.

Eckel, an endocrinologist at University of Colorado School of Medicine, said many studies have shown heart disease risk is cut by eating less fat and more whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables -- the approach of the government's food pyramid. He said medical guidelines won't be changed by the new study, although it raises questions about the role of refined sugar.

The Vitamin D Newsletter

I want to alert readers to this month's groundbreaking study about atherosclerosis and vitamin D. Atherosclerosis is the disease process that leads to heart attacks and strokes. Dr. Targher and his group in Italy measured the amount of atherosclerotic plaque (carotid artery intimal thickness) and the vitamin D levels of 390 diabetic patients. The authors found low vitamin D blood levels were an independent and strong predicator of atherosclerosis. Professor Robert Scragg of the University of Auckland was right 16 years ago, when he discovered that low vitamin D levels are associated with heart attacks.
Targher G, et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations and carotid artery intima-media thickness among type 2 diabetic patients. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Nov;65(5):593-597.
Scragg R, et al. Myocardial infarction is inversely associated with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels: a community-based study. Int J Epidemiol. 1990 Sep;19(3):559-63.

Nature printed an article this week about our paper, Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D. (You can obtain a free complete copy of our paper half way down the home page of the Vitamin D Council website.) I recommend that you take enough vitamin D this winter to keep your vitamin D level [25(OH)D] between 50 - 70 ngs/ml. For many people that means 5,000 IU per day in the winter. If you do, our hypothesis predicts that you will not be as likely to get viral respiratory infections, and if you do get sick, it will not be as severe. The vitamin D theory of influenza has two important strengths. It is parsimonious, that is, it explains many observations with a single mechanism. Most importantly, if our theory is false, it can easily be disproved.
Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40.

Kidney Cancer Study: Too Much Bread and Pasta?

Yet Another reason why I eliminate most grains and sugars from my diet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using questionnaires, Italian researchers have found some evidence of an association between kidney cancer and the consumption of large amounts of bread, although the significance of the finding remains unclear.

The scientists used the responses to determine the eating habits of 767 men and women with kidney cancer who had been admitted to hospitals in Italy. They compared them to 1,534 people free of the disease who were admitted for other reasons. The subjects ranged in age from 24 to 79, with an average age of 62. The report appears online in The International Journal of Cancer.

The researchers found that the one-fifth of patients who consumed the most bread — 12 ounces or more a day — were almost twice as likely to suffer from kidney cancer as those who consumed 31/2 ounces or less.

Those who ate the most pasta (18 ounces or more) were almost one-third more likely to have kidney cancer than those who ate 8 ounces or less.

“This is only one study,” said Dr. Cristina Bosetti, a co-author of the paper and an epidemiologist at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, “and it has to be confirmed by other investigations.”

The authors also acknowledged that people diagnosed with cancer may recall their dietary habits differently from other people and that the interviewers knew which patients had kidney cancer and which did not.

Still, “it’s probably useful to reduce consumption of refined cereals,” Dr. Bosetti said, adding: “They tend to increase the quantities of sugar in the blood, and consequently the production of insulin, and insulin growth factors can be related to the development of cancer. But I would be quite cautious about giving advice about diet.”

Next Article in Health (9 of 13) »

Surprise in the paper...

Cholesterol and optimal health

Debunking the Myths About Cholesterol
The idea that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease has been repeated so many times over the last half-century that most people assume it to be true without a second thought.

Now that statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs, have begun to bring in a bonanza of profits for pharmaceutical companies, any new disease that can be pinned on cholesterol represents a chance to broaden the scope of profits ever more wide.

Alzheimer's disease
is now being blamed on cholesterol. Does the scientific evidence back it up? Or is it just another "cholesterol myth?"

Dr. Ravnskov and The Cholesterol Myths

Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, coined the term "cholesterol myth" in his 2000 book
The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy That Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease.

Dr. Ravnksov's website on the cholesterol myths
details his credentials and summarizes his fascinating exposure of how nine myths about saturated fat, cholesterol, and heart disease came to be established orthodoxy without solid scientific evidence to back them up.

Despite Dr. Ravnskov's credentials, his meticulous research, and iron-clad arguments, his book has been so provocative, that it was literally set on fire on national TV in Finland!

Researchers Question the Cholesterol Myths
Dr. Ravnskov's ninth cholesterol myth is that all scientists support the position that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease. As Dr. Ravnskov shows, there have always been dissenters within the scientific community. One can take a principled stand against the idea that cholesterol causes heart disease and be in good scientific standing and in the company of many qualified researchers.

Some of the many medical doctors and researcher who question the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease and the general negative bias against cholesterol can be found at the website of
THINCS, The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics.

Vitamin D and cancer

Vitamin D is an extrememly important aspect in scoliosis correction and cancer prevention.

Studies discuss protective effects of Vitamin D and Cancer.

A study out of Albert Einstein College of Medicine suggests the potential protective effects of calcium and vitamin D on breast cancer. The report included:

1) serum, plasma, and/or blood levels of vitamin D metabolites have been inversely associated with breast cancer risk in some studies;
2) high sunlight exposure, presumably reflecting vitamin D synthesis in the skin, has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer;
3) vitamin D and calcium intakes have been inversely related to breast density, an intermediate end point for breast cancer;
4) calcium has been associated with a reduced risk of benign proliferative epithelial disorders of the breast, putative precursors of breast cancer;

"Convection"

One Single Adjustment Benefits Neck Pain

A recent study performed in Spain has shown an immediate benefit from one adjustment in subjects with mechanical neck pain. A group of 70 patients with neck pain (25 males and 45 females, ages 20-55 years) participated in this study. The subjects were randomly divided into either an experimental group, which received an adjustment, or a control group, which received manual mobilization. The adjustment group showed a significant improvement in neck pain at rest and mobility after application of the manipulation. The control group also showed a significant improvement in neck pain at rest, flexion, extension, and both lateral flexions, but not in rotation. Results suggest that a single cervical HVLA manipulation is more effective in reducing neck pain at rest, and in increasing active cervical range of motion, than a control mobilization procedure in subjects suffering from mechanical neck pain.

Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2006;29(7):511-517.

A Little Sun a Day Keeps Vitamin D Deficiency Away

Sunshine, aside from being good for your soul, adds a very important element into your life - vitamin D. The sun works with the skin to produce vitamin D in your body. Although other forms of vitamin D are in some of the foods we eat, they still need to be processed to gain the benefits.

A study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood evaluated a group of adolescent girls in an inner city school in the United Kingdom for vitamin D deficiency. Fifty-one girls between the ages of 14 and 16 were chosen to participate in the study. After measuring weight, height and body mass, the researchers distributed a questionnaire that evaluated the girls' daily intake of vitamin D, calcium and sunlight.

Thirty-seven of the girls (73 percent) were found to be vitamin D deficient, while nine (17 percent) of the students were considered severely deficient.. The results indicated that the vitamin D deficiency was due to underexposure to sunlight.

Of course, too much sun can be a bad thing, particularly in terms of skin damage, so be careful. But a little a day can go a long way toward ensuring adequate intake of vitamin D.

Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2006;91(7):569-572.

Calcium for Kids

Also published on September 15th, but in the British Medical Journal, was an article indicating that getting children to supplement with calcium made no difference in bone density later in life. In summary, the study concluded, "Given the small treatment effects seen with calcium supplementation, however, it may be appropriate to explore possible alternative nutritional interventions, such as increasing vitamin D concentrations and intake of fruit and vegetables."

While a surprise to the researchers involved, in the study, this is hardly a surprise to those in the alternative health community who understand the true nature of bone density.

Perhaps in the next study, the researchers can analyze the effects of:

Increasing weight bearing exercise. (Lack of sufficient weight bearing exercise accelerates bone loss. Thus, increasing exercise helps reverse it.)
Insufficient boron and vitamin D3 contribute to bone loss.
Insufficient magnesium in the diet is probably more of a factor than insufficient calcium. A study in the Journal of Nutritional Medicine, 1991; 2:165-178, for example, showed that after nine months, women on magnesium supplements increased bone density by some 11%.
Increasing the amount of gamma linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in the diet helps increase bone density.
Avoiding fluoride in your drinking water is vital. Fluoride collects in the bones, and although it "technically" increases bone mass and density, the evidence is very strong that fluoride intake can actually double the incidence of hip fractures.
Using a natural progesterone creme (either men's or women's) can help.

Lifetime high calcium intake increases osteoporotic fracture risk in old age

Thijs R. Klompmaker,
Groove Union Coop. U.A., van Hogendorpstraat 4, 1051 BP Amsterdam, Noord Holland, The Netherlands

Summary

Caloric restriction prolongs life span. Calcium restriction may preserve bone health.

In osteoporosis, bone mineral density (BMD) has significantly decreased, due to a lack of osteoblast bone formation. Traditional osteoporosis prevention is aimed at maximizing BMD, but the lifetime effects of continuously maintaining a high BMD on eventual bone health in old age, have not been studied. Strikingly, in countries with a high mean BMD, fracture rates in the elderly are significantly higher than in countries with a low mean BMD. Studies show that this is not based on genetic differences. Also, in primary hyperparathyroidism, on the brink of osteoporosis, BMD levels may be significantly higher than normal.

Maybe, BMD does not represent long term bone health, but merely momentary bone strength. And maybe, maintaining a high BMD might actually wear out bone health.

Since osteoporosis particularly occurs in the elderly, and because in osteoporotic bone less osteoblasts are available, the underlying process may have to do with ageing of osteoblastic cells.

In healthy subjects, osteoblastic bone cells respond to the influx of calcium by composing a matrix upon which calcium precipitates. In the process of creating this matrix, 50–70% of the involved osteoblasts die. The greater the influx of calcium, the greater osteoblast activity, and the greater osteoblast apoptosis rate. An increased osteoblast apoptosis rate leads to a decrease in the age-related osteoblast replicative capacity (ARORC). In comparison to healthy bone, in osteoporotic bone the decrease in the replicative capacity of osteoblastic cells is greater. Due to the eventual resulting lack of osteoblast activity, micro-fractures cannot be repaired. Continuously maintaining a high BMD comes with continuously high bone remodeling rates, which regionally exhaust the ARORC, eventually leading to irreparable microfractures.

Regarding long time influences on bone health, adequate estrogen levels are known to be protective against osteoporosis. This is generally attributed to its inhibiting influence on osteoclast activity. Instead, its net effects on osteoblast metabolism may be the key to osteoporosis prevention. Adequate estrogen levels inhibit osteoblast activity, calcium apposition and osteoblast apoptosis rate, preserving the ARORC.

Conclusion

Regarding osteoporosis prevention, ARORC better than BMD represents bone health. Regarding ARORC, adequate estrogen levels are protective, opposing the similar effects of hyperparathyroidism and a high calcium diet.

Tests need to be performed in mice to assess the lifetime effects of a high versus a low calcium diet, on eventual bone fracture toughness.

Treatment with 'friendly' bacteria could counter autism in children

Here is another reason to implement probiotics or traditionally prepared fermented foods into you daily diet. The gut literally is the second brain. Total health begins in the gut, folks. If your GI tract isn't functioning very well, it's guaranteed your overall health will be compromised. Although I am not a big fan of nutritional supplementation, probiotics are the exception, and the only supplement I recommend for ALL new patients (unless of course they are already on one). I don't believe they need to stay on it the rest of their lives, but one to three months are usually beneficial until they are able to improve their diets.
----------------------------------------------------------
IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

PROBIOTIC bacteria given to autistic children improved their concentration and behaviour so much that medical trials collapsed because parents refused to accept placebos, a scientist revealed yesterday.

The effect of the bacteria was so pronounced that some of the parents taking part in what was supposed to be a blind trial realised their children were taking something other than a placebo.

A number then refused to give their children the placebo when they were due to switch, resulting in the collapse of the trial.

Glenn Gibson, a microbiologist who ran the study of 40 autistic children aged between four and eight, said this meant it was difficult to draw any firm conclusions and he is planning to carry out further research.

However, he said parents had told him the probiotic bacteria was having a beneficial effect, resulting in "better concentration and better behaviour".

One parent said it was "heartbreaking" to have to stop their child taking it.

"It was really challenging for us and the parents. I'd really like to go back to it and do it in a better way, with perhaps more professional help from people who know how to deal with autistic children," said Prof Gibson.

"The trial ultimately failed because of the large number of drop-outs. About half the kids dropped out. Some of the parents worked out their child was on the test and didn't want to move on to the placebo."

Autistic children often suffer bowel conditions and Prof Gibson said a previous study had found high levels of a "bad" bacteria called clostridia in the gut.

The probiotic was then designed to reduce the levels of clostridia and promote "friendly" bacteria instead to see what effect this would have.

Prof Gibson, from Reading University, said the children appeared to show fewer signs of autism when taking the probiotic supplement, which was given in a powder once a day.

"Very subjectively, we asked the parents to fill in diaries about the mood of the children. We got very positive feedback generally," he said.

He said that certain kinds of clostridia produced neuro- toxins, which potentially could be the cause of autism or a contributory factor.

However, he said this was speculation and the apparent improvement could also simply be because the children had felt better.

"If your gut is not behaving yourself, you feel rough," Prof Gibson said.

The first bacteria in the gut is received from the mother during birth and then comes from the outside environment, with diet playing an important role.

"They [infants] may be under medication for an infection and that may have an effect," Prof Gibson said.

"There are all sorts of different factors that may affect that [the bacterial make-up of the gut]."

There was a scare over widely discredited claims that autism was linked to the MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - vaccine given to children.

Asked whether he thought childhood vaccines could have an effect, Prof Gibson said: "No. I don't think there is anything in this MMR business at all."

It is estimated that 535,000 people in the UK have some kind of autism, including a milder form called Asperger's Syndrome.

The condition affects four times as many boys as girls for reasons that are not clearly understood.

A spokeswoman for the National Autistic Society (NAS), the UK's leading charity for people with the condition and their families, said it followed new research into possible treatments with great interest.

She went on: "There is anecdotal evidence that certain vitamins and diets do have benefits for some people with autism. However, a great deal more research remains to be done in this area.

"The NAS looks forward to seeing the results of the further research that Professor Gibson hopes to conduct in the future."

She said that "rigorous scientific evaluation" was necessary to gauge the effects of any new treatment.

A whole range of therapies had been tried in the past, from medication and behavioural therapy to aromatherapy and swimming with dolphins, with varying degrees of success.

Confessions of a Women Doctor: "I was Shocked"

By Dr. Blossom Kunnel

You may be surprised to learn that cholesterol-lowering medications offer women little to no protection from heart attack or heart disease. I know I was. In medical school, my professors spoke of them with such enthusiasm, I was convinced. Then as an emergency room doctor, I continued to believe that statin drugs were the most important medical discovery of the last fifty years.

Then I met Dr Al Sears and he asked me, "Where's the unbiased evidence?" The more I tried to answer that question, the more I realized that what I had been shown as evidence all came from a single source – the drug companies themselves! As I tried to find unbiased proof, all the "evidence" evaporated.

Today I want to share my path of discovery with you and give you safer, more effective ways to improve your cardiovascular health – so you too don't find yourself "duped" like I was.

Searching for the Facts Gives Me the Shock of My Life…

Growing up in India, I was very familiar with our ancient form of natural medicine called Ayurveda. The word Ayurveda means, "the science of life." Practiced for thousands of years, Ayurveda is a complete system of health and healing.

But when I moved to the US at the age of 12, I adopted the American lifestyle and later went to medical school in Philadelphia. After practicing emergency medicine for many years, my connection to Ayurveda felt like just a memory.

By the winter of 2004, my faith in the medical establishment was starting to crack. On my days off, I started going to lectures by leading doctors who integrated both western and alternative medicine. That's when I met Dr. Al Sears. His book, The Doctor's Heart Cure, opened my eyes to the real causes – and treatments – of heart disease.

As my awareness grew, so did my research. I started to uncover studies showing that statin drugs have no real benefit for women. Actually, I didn't have to look very far…

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reported: "For women without cardiovascular disease, lipid [cholesterol] lowering does not affect total or CHD [Coronary Heart Disease] mortality…" 1 In other words, statins don't do anything for otherwise healthy women with high cholesterol.

Later, I discovered the University of British Columbia Therapeutics Initiative came to the same conclusion, finding that statins have no benefit to women for the prevention of heart disease.2

Even worse, the Honolulu Heart Program study revealed that statins – and the low cholesterol levels they produce – cause problems for the elderly. This particular study is rare, as it's one of the few that measured cholesterol levels over a twenty-year period. Their results showed that those who maintained low cholesterol for twenty years – from middle age into old age – had the highest risk of death.2

But the surprises kept coming. The ASCOTT-LLA study, the largest clinical trial on the effectiveness of statin therapy in women, found that women who took Lipitor (the world's most popular statin) had 10 percent more heart attacks than the women who took the placebo.3

Returning to the Roots of Natural Medicine

After recovering from my initial shock, I went back to my roots. I found that Ayurveda had reliable – and effective – ways of dealing with heart disease. In fact, many were the very same herbs used daily by doctors here in the West.

But I don't limit myself to the Ayurvedic approach. Nutrients like Niacin and CoQ10 are essential. Here's a list of the 3 treatments I use most often for heart health:

Fenugreek: Recent studies show that one gram of fenugreek a day helped to lower blood sugar and improve sensitivity to insulin. It also lowered triglyceride levels and boosted HDL (good cholesterol) 4 My usual recommendation is to start with 500 mg of fenugreek twice a day.

To take fenugreek the traditional Ayurvedic way, put a bunch of the dried leaves in a bowl of water and let it sit overnight. In the morning, strain the mixture and drink as a tea throughout the day.

Niacin: Also known as vitamin B-3, niacin favorably alters both LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides and increases HDL. Niacin is integral to the production of fats in the human body. Niacin even plays a role in the production of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone – the sex hormones.

The best source of niacin in foods is in nuts and dried beans. In addition, many meats such as liver, poultry and fish contain niacin. You can also take niacin as a supplement. I recommend 500 mg once a day.

CoQ10: There have been at least 100 studies at major universities and hospitals linking CoQ10 deficiency with heart disease. CoQ10 is an enzyme required for deriving energy from oxygen. Without it, organs that need a lot of energy like your heart, brain, kidneys and liver suffer.

Statins actually block the production of CoQ10. This negative effect happens to 100 percent of the patients who take them. Ironically, the depletion of CoQ10 weakens your heart.

In my experience, close to 80 percent of my female patients are deficient in CoQ10. I recommend 100 mg of CoQ10 per day to anyone who is generally healthy. If you have high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, gingivitis, age related memory loss, chronic fatigue or are a vegetarian, increase your dose to 200 mg per day.

CoQ10 is available at many nutrition stores but you may have to do some searching to find the adequate therapeutic doses I recommend. Coenzyme Q10 is soluble in oil only. So like vitamin E, you should eat some kind of fat or oil with your CoQ10 or your gut won't absorb it very well.

1. Walsh JME, Pignone M. Drug Treatment of Hyperlipidemia in Women. JAMA. 2004; 291:2243-52.
2. Fallon S. Enig M. Dangers of Statin Drugs. HealthKeepers Magazine. Vol. 8, Issue 2. 2006.
3. Wise Traditions Journal. Vol. 6, Number 3. Fall 2005.
4. Gupta A, Gupta R, et al. Effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) seeds on glycemic control and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Assoc Physicians

Vitamin D call for Asian children

Any discussion on bone health would not be complete without mentioning vitamin D. Here is an article from the BBC which highlights the greater chance of Asian children developing deficiency (probably due to sun phobic women who dont want dark skin). Until more research is available and testing becomes available in singapore I emphasis sensible sun exposure for optimal health and maintaining a healthy spine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Asian children under the age of two should get vitamin D supplements, according to scientists.

A small snapshot study of vitamin D deficiency at the Burnley Health Care Trust revealed Asian children were particularly at risk.

The team said it was more cost effective to provide supplements than to treat problems caused by the deficiency, such as rickets.

The research was published in the Archives of Diseases in Childhood.

The main source of vitamin D is through ultra-violet radiation in sunlight, although it can also be found in certain foods.

It is crucial for the absorption of calcium, which is key in the formation of healthy bones. Deficiencies can lead to rickets, poor tooth formation, stunted growth and general ill health.

People with darker skin are at greater risk of vitamin D deficiencies because increased pigmentation reduces the capacity of the skin to manufacture the vitamin from sunlight.

More cost effective

Scientists from Burnley General Hospital analysed the medical records of children suffering from vitamin D deficiency between 1994 and 2005 at the Burnley Health Care Trust in north-west England.

Between 1994 and 2005 they found 14 cases, thirteen of which were in Asian children.

According to Dr Christos Zipitis, lead author of the study and a paediatrician, the rate of deficiency in Asian children was one in 117 compared with one in 923 children overall.

He said as well as having increased skin pigmentation, Asian children often had diets low in vitamin D.

The team then analysed the cost of treatment for these 14 patients, covering the cost of medication, hospital care and follow up appointments. It averaged up to £2,505 per patient.

They then looked at the cost of vitamin D supplementation needed to prevent one case of deficiency in the whole population of children, based on their figures.

They did so based on guidelines by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA), which recommend varying levels of vitamin D over the first two years of a child's life. They found it be £47,534 per child.

But when they looked at the cost of preventing one case of deficiency in an Asian child, it came to £2,410.

Supplement use

Dr Zipitis said: "If you just treat the high risk population, which in our trust is the Asian population, it is cheaper to supplement everybody than to treat the consequences."

He said that in other trusts, children of Afro-Caribbean or African origin would be at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Dr Mary Hannon-Fletcher, from the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, said: "The use of supplements must always be backed up by rigorous research and evidence that this will not result in toxicity.

"There are always problems with inter-individual differences in uptake, bioavailability and dietary and lifestyle factors that need to be taken into account, especially in this young population."

Statins increase risk of diabetes

There is a huge push to get all diabetics on a statin for cholesterol control, whether its needed or not.

Please remember that adequate magnesium will help and acts as a natural statin in our bodies and without these negative effects found with manufactured statin drugs. Magnesium is known to lower blood sugars, and prevent insulin resistance. It can prevent and delay type 2 diabetes...we just saw some of the benefits that Betty experienced using magnesium oil in baths, gradually lowering her elevated blood sugars over a few days time.

Here's a new study on Lipitor, showing it to increase blood sugars. Statins such as Lipitor are widely prescribed by MDs, for non diabetics as well, and it doesn't seem a huge leap to expect that their blood sugars may also elevate.

Some believe statins should be used by everyone, even when cholesterol levels are within normal limits. There's even been talk of putting it in the water supply, and including it in superpills (a combination drug).

Many people have suffered neuropathies believed to be related to statins....and there is even a petition requesting this be looked into. http://www.petitiononline.com/Statins/petition.html

Below is the new information in the news this week:

Statins Can Deteriorate Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes
on Tuesday, August 22 @ 15:51:12 CDT

The use of atorvastatin (Lipitor) showed a deterioration of glycemic control in type 2’s.
Atheroscler Thromb. 2006 Apr;13(2):95-100.

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4054

Calcium: Important Update

As most would be aware, I have been highly recommending Magesium for all scoliosis patients with an elimination or drastic reduction of all calcium supplements. This advise will correct the imbalance that is usually associated from a society that drinks too much milk and puts too much emphasis on Calcium. Excess calcium causes calcific deposits, wrinkle, arthritis, most degereative and age related changes.

Below is the updated advice on Calcium by Dr Andrew Weil.

New: My Latest Calcium Recommendations

Due to growing evidence that high doses of calcium do not prevent bone fractures and may even encourage the growth of prostate cancer cells, I recently reduced my supplemental calcium recommendation. I now advise that women take no more than 700 mg of supplemental calcium a day to get a total of 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium from food and supplements, and I now recommend that men do not take any supplemental calcium.

I’ve based my new recommendations mainly on research conducted by Walter Willett, MD, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, and Diane Feskanich, ScD, an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. These scientists and their colleagues looked extensively at clinical trials and analyzed data from two large observational studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) of more than 70,000 women, and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) of 55,000 men.

They concluded that calcium promoted bone health in the clinical trials, which lasted only two to three years, but not in the long-term observational studies. “This may be because the small part of the bone, called the remodeling space, sponges up calcium in the initial year following a boost in intake, but then fills up and additional calcium no longer adds much benefit,” says Dr. Willett. In several clinical trials, most of the reduction in bone loss with calcium supplementation took place only during the first year or two; after this, no lasting benefits were seen in bone mineral density.

This short-term effect may help explain the observational studies. When researchers looked at the relationship between postmenopausal women’s hip fracture risk, calcium and vitamin D intake, and milk consumption in the NHS, they observed a significantly lower risk of hip fracture among women with higher vitamin D intakes, but calcium and milk intake didn’t appear to be associated with hip fracture risk (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2003).

Allergies and the ‘Hygiene Hypothesis’

In our need for cleanliness we have inavertantly created greater chronic health problems through an undeveloped immune system. This is another reason why I recommend everyone drinks kefir everyday to help restore bacterial to our bodies and strengthen our immune system. As this article highlights... even the bad bugs can help us.

Sometime in the 1990s, researchers developed the “hygiene hypothesis” as a way of explaining the steady increase in chronic respiratory illnesses over the preceding 15 years. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in Milwaukee, Wis., the number of Americans with asthma increased by 75 percent during that period and the number of those with some kind of allergy doubled. The hygiene theory points to the American obsession with cleanliness as the correlating factor.

Advocates of the hypothesis note that when a baby’s developing immune system doesn’t encounter enough or the right kind of bacteria, viruses, or parasites, the body’s lymphocytes get out of whack and start treating harmless things like dust or pollen as major invaders. Critics of the idea quickly point out exceptions—like the high incidence of asthma in inner city children—but two new studies enhance the hypothesis’ viability. The first, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, found that sewer rats actually have stronger immune responses and higher levels of disease-fighting antibodies than rats raised in the dirt- and disease-free environment of the research lab.

The second involves whipworms. A Michigan State University team found that swallowing the eggs of this threadlike parasite helps relieve the intestinal ulcers and severe bouts of diarrhea that characterize inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since IBD occurs more frequently in industrialized nations, these new findings also fit the hygiene hypothesis, which says that occasional infections actually bolster the immune system, and that parasites have historically played an important part in our immune development.

Magnesium: Acid Base balance

This research highlights the need for keeping proper acid base balance in the body, and helps to explain one of the reasons why magnesium is more deficient in diabetics (and others) who suffer from acidosis more often when blood sugars are high.
Avoiding acidosis:
1) Eating according to your metabolic type... Vegetables can be acidic or alkaline depending on the persons metabolic type.
2) Avoid all simple sugars.

2006 American Society for Nutrition J. Nutr. 136:2374-2377, September 2006
Nutritional Epidemiology
Acid-Base Status Affects Renal Magnesium Losses in Healthy, Elderly
Persons1 Ragnar Rylander2,*, Thomas Remer3, Shoma Berkemeyer3 and Jürgen Vormann4

Magnesium and calcium deficiency in humans is related to a number of pathological phenomena such as arrhythmia, osteoporosis, migraine, and fatal myocardial infarction. Clinically established metabolic acidosis induces renal losses of calcium. In normal subjects, even moderate increases in net endogenous acid production (NEAP) impair
renal calcium reabsorption but no information is available whether this also influences renal magnesium handling. The aim of the study was to examine the relation between NEAP and renal magnesium excretion in healthy, free-living, elderly subjects. The subjects (age 64 ± 4.7 y, n = 85) were randomly selected from the population register in Gothenburg (Sweden). Magnesium, calcium, and potassium were measured in 24-h urine samples and NEAP was quantified as renal net acid excretion (NAE). NAE was positively correlated with excretions of magnesium (R2 = 0.27, P < 0.0001) and calcium (R2 =
0.30, P < 0.0001) but not potassium. When 24-h urinary magnesium excretion was adjusted for 24-h urinary potassium excretion, a biomarker for dietary potassium intake, the association between magnesium excretion and NAE remained significant (R2 = 0.21, P < 0.0001). The significant association between potassium-adjusted magnesiuria and NAE suggests that the acid-base status affects renal magnesium losses, irrespectively of magnesium intake. Magnesium deficiency could thus, apart from an insufficient intake, partly be caused by the acid load in the body.

Dr Andrew Weil on Kefir

Today's Question
Crazy about Kefir?

I have been drinking kefir occasionally for a few years, but now I am interested in making my own so I can drink it regularly. Is kefir as healthy as they say? What are you thoughts on using it everyday?

-- Brian Thomas

Today's Answer (Published 08/18/2006)
Kefir, an ancient drink from the Caucasus Mountains that resembles liquid yogurt, is made by adding a live culture - called kefir "grains" - from a previous batch of kefir to room-temperature milk (usually from a cow, goat or sheep, though soymilk can be used). The cultures are a combination of bacteria and yeasts, usually lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces kefir.

Traditional kefir is tart - even sour - and contains a bit of carbonation and some alcohol from the fermentation. However, much of the kefir sold commercially in the United States is neither carbonated nor alcoholic.

I think kefir is great. It is a probiotic, which means it contains "friendly" bacteria that can stabilize the digestive tract, and when it is well made, it is delicious. Kefir also provides you with calcium and protein, and may have some additional benefits for the immune system. You can certainly use it every day. A small study published in the May, 2003, Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that drinking kefir eliminated - or, at least, dramatically reduced - symptoms of lactose intolerance in 15 adult participants. Researchers at Ohio State
University tested plain kefir, raspberry-flavored kefir, plain yogurt, raspberry-flavored yogurt and two-percent milk in this group after a 12-hour fast. The participants recorded any symptoms of lactose intolerance after consuming each food. They reported few or no symptoms after ingesting both types of kefir and both types of yogurt.

The researcher who conducted the study, Steven Hertzler, an assistant professor of medical dietetics at Ohio State University, said that kefir might be a better option than yogurt for some lactose-intolerant people because it contains a wider array of microorganisms believed to break down lactose in the digestive tract. In addition, Hertzler suggested that kefir microorganisms may be able to colonize the intestines and protect against disease-causing bacteria.

The one caution I would give you is that commercial kefir often is overly sweetened and full of additives. Read labels carefully. I would buy plain varieties and add your own sweetener and flavoring if you like. And making your own kefir isn't difficult, with starter kits widely available. You'll have to experiment a bit to produce kefir that bests suits your taste. In general, the longer the fermentation time, the more sour the finished product. Enjoy!

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Scoliosis and Underweight

Today I came across an article from the New York Times which would
interest those with scoliosis and suffering from weight problems. It
has long been known that scoliosis usually affects those who are
underweight. We all know someone who is like this, they eat all they
want and still never put any weight on. Previously genes and
metabolism has been blamed... though as this article highlights
something else might be awry. While this article is long, in summary a
doctor who specializes in weight management believes that the gut
flora of bacteria, viruses and microbes could be the ones to blame. It
highlights that the type and proportion of microbe directly affects
the absorbability of foods and hence calories and nutrients used.
Something that surprised even me is that 90 percent of the cells in
your body is in the form of microbes, only 10% is your own cells!

"Gordon likes to explain his hypothesis of what gut microbes do by
talking about Cheerios. The cereal box says that a one-cup serving
contains 110 calories. But it may be that not everyone will extract
110 calories from a cup of Cheerios. Some may extract more, some less,
depending on the particular combination of microbes in their guts."

This is one of the reasons why I have encouraged all scoliosis
patients to start making their own kefir to help restore the gut flora
to optimal levels and to diligently eliminate sugars and refined
carbohydrates which inevitably feed bad bacteria. Those that have
listened to this advice tended to show better outcome results and
eventually return their weight to normal range highlighting the
multifactorial process of this condition.

Towards the end of the article the Specialist highlight how eventually
a personalize dietary program could be devised based on the persons
gut flora. Fortunately through metabolic typing this already exists.

In practice we take care of the physical imbalances of scoliosis
however it is your responsibility to take care of the biochemical
through the foods that you eat. These recommendations are just as
important for those with normal weight:

1) Restore gut flora with kefir (type kefir in google) either in kefir
starters or grains.
2) Eat according to your metabolic type.
3) Eliminate sugars and refined grains and starch such as potatoes
which research shows produces a blood sugar rush simimlar to sugar it
self.

NYTimes Link

Science behind no grain drain

The Science of the Natural Human Diet

Our agrarian diet began from 2,000 to 10,000 years ago depending on your heritage. In evolutionary terms, this is quite recent. Think of the time of humans as one day. A hunter-gatherer diet was universal for 23 hours and 59 minutes. We switched to our current grain-based diet only in the last minute of that day.

Genetic science calculates that only 0.02% of our genes have changed in that evolutionary “blink of an eye.” So we’re still genetically equipped to eat the foods of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. The “caveman” diet is simple – lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. No grains and few starches.

So how did the medical establishment get the idea that red meat and fat were causing heart disease? Back in the 1950s, studies looked at the diets of third–world agrarian cultures and found that Western diets were higher in fat.

Yet these third-world countries had already radically changed their diet during their agrarian revolution. This mistake has long-since been recognized by science but other forces have perpetuated this mistaken notion.

You can’t trademark basic foods like steaks and eggs. But foods like Cheerios, Twinkies and Coke are “proprietary.” No one else can sell them. That means bigger profit margins.

Louise Light, Ed.D, the very nutritionist hired by USDA to create their food pyramid, saw that nutritional facts could not overcome the political and economic motives at work. Here are her words on the subject:

“I was disappointed and depressed that good nutrition and healthy eating were obscured by lobbyists and their allies in government. A seemingly impenetrable wall of distortion had been erected to block thinking that could interfere with the way food was made, promoted and sold.”[1]

The Worst Mistake in Nutritional History

Whenever hunter-gatherer cultures have made the switch to grains and farming, there were health consequences. In Europe, big-game hunters were an average of 6 inches taller than their farmer descendants.1 Look at what happened to Native Americans of the Ohio River valley:

“Archaeologists have excavated some 800 skeletons that paint a picture of the health changes that occurred when a hunter-gatherer culture gave way to the intensive maize farming around A. D. 1150… Compared to the hunter-gatherers who proceeded them, the farmers had a nearly 50% increase in malnutrition, a fourfold increase in iron-deficiency anemia and a threefold rise in infectious disease.”[2]

The idea that modern cultures still show this link is backed by the best science. In 1985, Boyd Eaton, MD published an article “Paleolithic Nutrition,” in the New England Journal of Medicine.[3]

They found no evidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic intestinal disease and most types of cancer in the hunter-gatherer cultures that still survive today. Some of these include the Hadza of Tanzania, the Kung and Kade San of the Kalahari and the Australian Aborigines, among others.

Avoid Chronic Disease by Following Your Ancestors Not Your Contemporaries

Those who follow low-fat diets – like the “Pritikin” diet – often develop a variety of problems including low energy, poor concentration, depression, weight gain and mineral deficiencies.[4] Remember Dr. Pritikin himself became depressed and committed suicide.

Often quoted to support the low-fat mistake, the real data of the Framingham Heart Study shows the opposite. Untouched by drug company interference, this ongoing study gives us the most reliable source of data for heart health. After a 40-year study, the director states, “the more saturated fat one ate… the lower the person’s serum cholesterol…”[5]

Drug makers and food processors still insist that fat is killing us – and establishment stalwarts like the American Cancer Society. Yet when the University of Maryland analyzed the data used to support the American Cancer Society’s claim, it turned out that vegetable fat consumption led to cancer. Nothing in the data suggested animal fat caused disease of any kind.[6] And studies like the one that showed that grains processed by high heat are toxic and cause death in test animals[7] have no one to champion the message.

And it’s not just refined grains. Phytic acid in whole grains binds to iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in your digestive tract and blocks their absorption.[8] Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that interfere with digestion.[9]

Now You Have Choices…

Elephants and rhinos are strong and robust because they are following their natural diet. The same is true for a meat-eating lion. Our ancestors showed us our natural diet. Grains allowed us to feed more people. They continue to stave off starvation in the third world. But now, in the modern world, you have a choice.

Eat the foods you are genetically fitted to and you will lose fat, boost energy and avoid most chronic diseases of the modern world. I’ve witnessed thousands of people do it.

Energy Medicine... the future of medicine.

I have experience one of the most powerful healing tool available... yes equally as powerful as nutrition and exercise. Best thing is that it costs nothing, needs no fancy equipment and for those who are sceptical you don't even have to believe in it for it to work... it plain just works! Patients who have gone thru this with me have experienced total elimination of fears, phobias, mental blocks and negativity which our society is saturated with.

The technique is called Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT which in its simplest terms is acupuncture without needles. Chinese medicine has known for centuries that our body contains subtle energy and when a tramatic experiance happens disruptions occur to this energy. This disruption leads to energy blocks that eventuate to physical dis-ease and finally disease. EFT is an energy medicine that was developed by a church pastor... his generosity and genuine passion towards eliminate human suffering is shown though giving the manual FREE for everyone. I will be using EFT on most scoliosis sufferers due to emotional bagadge thats usually present. While it is too soon to say whether it will help with improving the curve I believe being emotional free and happy is am important step to healing. Happiness truly comes from within, not from the material things we horde. EFT brings positive energy and
for those who master it a feeling of elation that easily rivals any antidepressant or drug.

FREE EFT Manual

Magnesium: A mineral all scoliosis sufferers need to know

From recent abstract

Long-term moderate magnesium-deficient diet shows relationships
between blood pressure, inflammation and oxidant stress defense in
aging rats.

* Blache D,
* Devaux S,
* Joubert O,
* Loreau N,
* Schneider M,
* Durand P,
* Prost M,
* Gaume V,
* Adrian M,
* Laurant P,
* Berthelot A.

INSERM U 498, Biochimie des Lipoproteines, Dijon, F-21079, France;
Faculte de Medecine, Universite de Bourgogne, Dijon, F-21079, France.

Epidemiological and experimental studies have indicated a relationship
among aging, dietary Mg, inflammatory stress, and cardiovascular
disease. Our aim in the present study was to investigate possible
links between dietary Mg, oxidant stress parameters, and inflammatory
status with aging in rats. We designed a long-term study in which rats
were fed for 22 months with moderately deficient (150 mg/kg), standard
(800 mg/kg), or supplemented (3200 mg/kg) Mg diets. Comparisons were
made with young rats fed with the same diets for 1 month. Compared to
the standard and supplemented diets, the Mg-deficient diet
significantly increased blood pressure, plasma interleukin-6,
fibrinogen, and erythrocyte lysophosphatidylcholine, particularly in
aging rats, it decreased plasma albumin. The impairment of redox
status was indicated by increases in plasma thiobarbituric acid
reactive substances and oxysterols and an increased blood
susceptibility to in vitro free-radical-induced hemolysis. We
concluded that Mg deficiency induced a chronic impairment of redox
status associated with inflammation which could significantly
contribute to increased oxidized lipids and promote hypertension and
vascular disorders with aging. Extrapolating to the human situation
and given that Mg deficiency has been reported to be surprisingly
common, particularly in the elderly, Mg supplementation might be
useful as an adjuvant therapy in preventing cardiovascular disease.

Vegetable oils - Friend or Foe?

Vegetable oils such as canola oil, safflower oil, corn oil, soy oil etc. are very reactive to oxygen, and go rancid when heated even at low temperatures. Once oxidized, these fats cause free radical damage in our bodies, which has been linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. According to the animal research of Dr. Kenneth Carroll, "...the more polyunsaturated fats were in the diet, the more they were cancer promoting; and the more saturated fats were, the more they were cancer reducing..." Yet we are told by such organizations as the American Heart Association that these polyunsaturated oils are the healthy oils to eat and cook with. In actual fact, we were only meant to consume vegetable oils by eating the nuts and seeds that they come in; the nuts and seeds also contain the antioxidants that prevent the oxidization of the fats.

Vegetable oils are refined with solvents and heat, making them toxic and rancid. Deodorizing compounds are added to cover up the smell, and voila - they will stay on the store shelf for months looking deceptively beautiful. Even in their unrefined form, these polyunsaturated oils cannot be recommended even in salad dressings, as they are sensitive to light. Polyunsaturated vegetable oils are also most frequently turned into trans-fats, so pretty much any time you see any vegetable oils listed on an ingredient list in a packaged food or a recipe, you would be doing yourself a huge favour in the long run by not eating it. The best fats for cooking are organic pasture-fed raw butter or ghee, organic virgin coconut oil, organic, pasture-fed beef tallow, and unrefined organic olive oil (low to medium temperatures only).

Enig, Mary; Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer For Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol Bethesda Press, Silver Spring, MD, 2003.

Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary; Nourishing Traditions, Revised 2nd Edition NewTrends Publishing Inc., Washington, D.C., 2001

Prescription Painkillers More Lethal Than Illegal Drugs

It's not surprising to learn opioid prescription painkillers -- think morphine, methadone and hydrocodone -- are more deadly than heroin or cocaine when abused, but the source of the study is: The CDC. In fact, as sales of opioids have increased, so have the number of deaths.

The numbers paint a stark picture of the problem:

Unintentional drug poisonings more than tripled between 1990-2002 to 18 percent versus 5 percent during the previous dozen years.
Deaths blamed on abusing opioid drugs between 1999-2002 exploded by 91 percent.
Opioid deaths dwarfed that of heroin (12 percent) and cocaine (22 percent).
Although accompanying comments by other researchers caution patients against being overly concerned about these numbers, fact is, prescription and over-the-counter drugs kill more people every year than those who die from illegal drug use combined. And, deaths blamed on prescription drugs tend to rise at the beginning of each month by as much as 25 percent.

If you want to treat your pain and your body safely, I urge you to review a recent article I posted about the array of options at your disposal.

USDA seeks to weaken standards for organic beef

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking to increase the number of substances that could be used on cows that are to be deemed organic. CattleNetwork.com has a list of all eight substances, most of which are used to combat maladies common to feedlot cattle. The list includes bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol, which would be used for stomach ulcer relief, as well as poloxalene, used to keep cattle from getting bloated. Both bloating and ulcers are often the result of a corn-heavy diet that grass-eating cows aren't used to. NewsTarget.com also reports on the proposed changes, but with a bit more of a slant than CattleNetwork.

If the USDA's proposed rule passes, livestock will be treated with such chemicals as:

Atropine, a lethal belladonna extract used to treat pesticide exposure. The NOP approved the use of atropine after consulting with the EPA and FDA.

Bismuth subsalicyate, an anti-diarrhea drug used to treat ulcers. The FDA said that bismuth could be approved for use in livestock, because it is already approved for use in humans.

Butorphanol, a pre-surgical painkiller that was recommended for use by the National Organic Standards Board; but they requested that slaughter or sale of milk from the treated cow be twice as long as the FDA requirement (an extension the USDA feels is unnecessary).

Flunxin is a non-narcotic and non-steroidal drug used to treat inflammation or pyrexia. Like Butorphanol, the NOSB requested the time between use of the substance and slaughter or milking be twice what the FDA recommends and, again, the USDA felt the measure unnecessary.

Furosemide, a diuretic drug -- used to treat udder and pulmonary edema -- that the NOSB also requested have an extended period to flush out of an animal before its milk or meat is sold for consumption. The USDA said the extension was unnecessary for this drug too.

Magnesium hydroxide is a naturally occurring mineral that can be used to treat stomach troubles, constipation and acid indigestion.

Peroxyacetic/paracetic acid, which is approved as an indirect food additive by the FDA, is a sanitizer used to clean processing equipment and to disinfect animals, meat and dairy.

Poloxalene, is a synthetic stool softener that can treat bloat in cattle, and while the NOSB recommends that the substance only be approved for emergency situations, the USDA wants it to be added to feed as a preventative measure.

Why are cows so sick? Conventional cows are fed a diet full of grains and corn which are not their natural diet. As such like humans who eat excess grains, they start suffering from digestive problems. Eat only cows which are grass fed, these are incredibly health promoting and easy to find even in Singapore. Understand that organic beef if raised on organic grain feed is just as detrimental.

Stomach acid deficiency - hypochlordria

Upon a recent glance thru papers I have come across an interesting relationship between decreased stomach acids and arthritis. In one investigation, researchers studied seventy patients, half with rheumatoid arthritis, half with osteoarthritis. What they found was that most people suffering from arthritis don't have enough stomach acids. In fact 28 percent had no stomach acids at all which are vital for the digestion of minerals (such as Magnesium) and proteins.

Those suffering from mineral deficiencies, scoliosis, protein types or arthritis it would be a good idea to supplement with betaine hydrochloride for 6 months to stimulate normal stomach acid levels to improve digestion. Because it is not what you eat, but what you absorb that it difference between good health and sickness.

Chinese Hospitals Over-Prescribe Antibiotics To Generate Income

BEIJING, June 30 -- Health experts have called for more attention to be paid to the proper prescription of medicines, in particular the use of antibiotics.

"China has a very serious problem of antibiotics abuse, especially antibacterial injection," said Professor Yang Yonghong of Beijing Children's Hospital, during the International Pediatric Pharmacology Symposium currently being held in Shanghai.

"About 90 per cent of patients with common colds first use antibiotics," said Yang. Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses such as common colds.

"The improper use (of antibiotics) will result in development of drug resistance, more side effects, increased medical expenses and a huge burden for parents," said Professor Wang Daiming of Shanghai Children's Hospital of Fudan University.

Yang also revealed that resistance against the antibiotic erythromycin has increased to as high as 90 per cent among pneumococcal pneumonia patients.

During the symposium, Yang presented a nationwide survey on antibiotics consumption in five children's hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou since 2000.

The survey showed the use of antibiotics in hospitals has continued to increase, with the misuse of antibiotics for non-infectious diseases common.

Early this year, China Association of Medicine revised the guidelines for antibiotics use in medical institutions nationwide.

In some hospitals like Shanghai Children's Hospital, antibiotics have been classified and the prescription rights are given to doctors of various levels.

However, the measure is unlikely to have much impact on antibiotics abuse as the source of the problem remains in China's medical system: Hospitals rely too much on income from selling medicines.

The survey showed that medicine sales accounted for around half of total income.

Antibiotics accounted for 43 to 50 per cent of all income from sales of Western drugs in the five hospitals.

China Daily

Calcium and Magnesium Summary

For those that dont have the time to read the article below it highlights a few important points. That regardless of health conditions and age to ratios of Ca and Mag in your blood remains the same, what changes is what is in cells (intracellular). Meaning that blood levels of Ca and Mg do not reflect deficiencies as your body will try to maintain sufficient levels in blood at all times. Also it highlights how a majority of health conditions that are associated with aging have a strong correlation with excess Ca levels as opposed to Mg levels. So eat your greens for good Calcium and Magnesium and stay away from excess Ca foods such as cheese and milk.

Calcium and Magnesium Levels Age-Related Changes and Relationship to Hypertension and Diabetes

Ward Dean, MD

Magnesium and potassium are the principal intracellular cations (positive ions), while calcium and sodium are the principal extracellular cations. Although magnesium plays a universal role in cellular biochemistry, and is critical to enzyme activation, nerve conduction, ion transport, and hundreds of other functions, little is known about the effect of age on magnesium metabolism.

Because only about 1% of magnesium is extracellular, serum magnesium levels do not accurately reflect intracellular magnesium content. Furthermore, only 10-15% of intracellular magnesium is in the free, active form.1

Age-Related Changes in Intracellular Ca/Mg Levels
Recently, a team of researchers performed a study on 103 subjects of various ages, utilizing 31P-nuclear magnetic (NMR) and 19F-NMR techniques to determine
intracellular levels of magnesium and calcium, respectively.2 The scientists analyzed the levels of calcium and magnesium, using red blood cells, drawn at 9 AM.

Characteristics of the participants in this study were as follows: Seventy-one of the subjects were less than 65-years old, and thirty-two subjects were older than 65. Thirty-seven of the subjects were “healthy normals” (eleven of whom were older than 65, and twenty-six were younger than 65). Thirty-nine were hypertensive (nine were older than 65, and thirty were younger than 65). Twenty-seven had non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (12 were older than 65, and 15 were younger than 65).



Interestingly, the scientists found that there were no differences of serum (i.e., the liquid portion of blood, minus the red and white blood cells) levels of calcium and magnesium in any of the participants—i.e., neither age nor disease (hypertension or diabetes) had any effect on serum concentrations of these minerals.



However, younger normal subjects had lower levels of intracellular magnesium, and higher levels of intracellular calcium (Figs. 1 and 2) than the normal older subjects. Fleckenstein (1983) found similar changes in tissue calcium and magnesium levels in the aortas of humans who died at various ages. Fleckenstein demonstrated the progressive accumulation of calcium in arterial tissue, resulting in a shift of the calcium/magnesium ratio in favor of calcium (Fig. 3).3



Intracellular Mineral Levels and Disease
Significantly, subjects with hypertension or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) had higher levels of intracellular calcium and lower levels of intracellular magnesium—even worse than the levels seen in older normal subjects (Figs. 4 and 5).



Based on these results, the authors formulated an “ionic hypothesis” in which they proposed that an intracellular profile characterized by excess calcium and depleted magnesium resulted in insulin resistance (resulting in obesity and NIDDM), hypertension, and aging.

Measuring Tissue Calcium and Magnesium Levels
The data described in this study appear to indicate that intracellular calcium and magnesium may be a useful biomarker of aging. However, as noted by the authors in this study, intracellular calcium and magnesium levels are not accurately assessed by routine blood (serum) analysis. Furthermore, the techniques utilized by the authors to gather these data are not readily available outside of major research institutes.

There are several techniques that are readily available to accomplish this, however. An innovative technique has been developed to non-invasively and fairly inexpensively (about $70) measure levels of intracellular minerals. The test involves scraping cells from the floor of the mouth with a small spatula (ice cream stick), and sending the slide to IntraCellular Diagnostics. (800-874-4804). There, scientists use scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence to determine levels of calcium and
magnesium, plus sodium, potassium, chlorine and phosphorous.

Another technique that measures tissue mineral levels is to use hair analysis (available from VRP). Although blood tests measure levels of various substances over very narrow periods of time, hair mineral levels reveal stable tissue mineral levels based on accumulation over weeks to months. Hair elemental analysis can be a source of important information for healthcare practitioners and their patients. With proper interpretation, hair analysis test results can point to hidden causes of chronic illness,
and help physicians design nutritional interventions.

Optimizing Calcium/Magnesium Balance
The observations in this study—that elevated levels of intracellular calcium, and depressed levels of intracellular magnesium—clearly indicate the contribution of this pattern to many chronic degenerative diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, obesity and aging. These findings appear to validate the calcium/magnesium balance in VRP’s multi-nutrient and multi-mineral formulas, which are generally weighted in favor of magnesium-to-calcium. The rationale for these higher magnesium-to-calcium ratios has been previously explained in detail in the Customers’ Corner in the March, 2000 issue of Vitamin Research News. (On the internet go to www.vrp.com, choose “library,” and enter “calcium” in the search engine.)

References:
1. Gupta, R.K., Gupta, P., Yushok, W.D., Rose, Z.B. Measurement of the dissociation constant of magnesium ATP of 31P-NMR and optical absorbance spectroscopy.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 1983, 253: 6172-6176.

2. Barbagallo, M., Gupta, R.K., Dominguez, L.J., and Resnick, L.M. Cellular ionic alterations with age: Relation to hypertension and diabetes. J American Geriatrics Society, 2000, 48: 1111-1116.

3. Fleckenstein, A. Calcium Antagonism in Heart and Smooth Muscle, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1983.

One persons journey though healing scoliosis

Today I have an email that I received from one of my patients Jacqualine Tan who actually took it out of her own free time to help others with scoliosis. She had recently attended a talk held by a Singapore scoliosis support group where a professor proclaimed that the only treatment available for sufferers was bracing a surgery. Obviously this left the group feeling quite hopeless.... even more so when previous surgical patients gave testimonials of how they regretted doing the surgery due to the pain and disability it caused. Unfortunately patients are not given sufficient information to be able to make their own informed decision. Many times I have heard parents say that their doctor told them that "there is nothing that can be done and that they must go for surgery". Yet ask any orthopaedic surgeon whether or not they would opt for surgery if one of their own family members had a severe curve, a majority would say no. If professors and doctors don't believe in surgery then why do they promote it? I guess they have to make a living too. Harsh I know but this is the reality, I quickly learned this while doing the medical round doing from Doctor to doctor while going thru chronic fatigue. How can an industry built upon sickness deliver health? While Modern Medicine is great for emergency critical care and I would go to no one else if I was in a car accident, it is hopeless for chronic conditions such as scoliosis and fatigue. Fortunately the tides are changing and their is a new breed of medical doctors calling themselves integrative and anti aging who I would trust with chronic conditions. Optimal health comes from following the basics: good food, clean air, adequate sunshine and exercise.
So heres Jacquelines story.
In health,
Dr Kevin Lau
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Dear Yin Hoe,

I like to join the Scoliosis Support Group as a member so I'll have opportunities to share what I've discovered in my journey to wellness. I prefer to give my response here as I find online forms rather restrictive.

I first learnt my spine has a sideway curve 8 years ago when I went for a full body massage. The masseuse traced the curvature with her finger . I dismissed it as an abnormality I was probably born with and thought no more of it as I had no pains nor aches anywhere, not even the usual backache ladies usually complain of when they have their periods and the number of times I've had a headache can be counted on one hand.However in the past few years, I suffered from tense shoulders and low energy .

A few months ago, I began to wonder whether my spinal curvature is what 's called "Scoliosis" . Hence, when Contour Health Chiropractic, Raffles City, advertised a workshop on Scoliosis, I attended. The chiropractor confirmed I have scoliosis after a visual assessment . A spinal X-ray confirmed I had right thoracic "C" shaped scoliosis of 36 degrees from the neck to T6.

I signed up for a 80 sessions package with Contour Health.
Twice each week, I do a one-hour therapy session at Contour Health . I do exercises to stretch and strengthen muscles and the bones in the upper part of my body and the neck , including traction and inversion. Then I adjoun to the doctor's room where he adjusts my spinal and cervical vertebrae .The electrodes , which I find most relaxing , comes last.

Contour Health send their patients for an assessment x-ray when they have completed 72 sessions.. X-rays of the earliest patients ( Contour Health established their first clinic in Singapore in Aug 2005) have been very encouraging. All the patients have had their curvatures reduced ; the patient with the least improvement registerd a 7 degree correction. There was a 15 year old who improved from 45 degrees to 28 and a 70 year old from 16 to 4 (hope I've recalled correctly).

I don't know how much my spine has shifted as my X-ray is not due till Aug but I certainly feel much more relaxed. Dr Kevin Lau has a passion for getting his patients well . Besides the exercises and spinal manipulations, Kevin emphasises the importance of providing our muscles and bones with the necessary minerals and vitamins to get better. He urges us to go GREEN - eat fresh green vegs (uncooked where possible or lightly steamed) and drink green juices (juices from fresh green veg like brocolli, spinach, kai lan, cucumber ). He also encourages us to detox to rid our bodies of unwanted organisms and to make our own probiotics to improve our digestive systems. With more enzymes in our digestive systems, our cells will be able to assimilate more of the nutrition we're sending their way.

Dr Kevin's latest is Magnsium Taurate - he believes Magnsium may reduce tension in muscles and increase energy level. I started Magnsium Taurate only last Sat and Dr Kevin was right indeed! I can actually feel my shoulders and neck getting looser! On Sunday, after lunch, I climbed up 200 stories to prepare for a trek in India/China come Oct but I wasn't tired as I normally would have been !

Besides doing therapy at Contour Health, I go to Nan Wah Pai at Geylang for taiji twice each week.Nan Wah Pai Taiji places emphasis on qi circulation and body postures so my taiji practise has also contributed significantly to my becoming a more relaxed person physically and mentally.

Once a week, I go to Nan Wah Pai Orthopaedic Centre at Yishun for "tui na." The Orthopaedic physician who's China trained is very experienced and skilful at breaking the qi blockages in my upper back, shoulders and neck.

And I mustn't forget to mention my Magnetic pillow and Magnetic mattress - they promote blood circuation while i slumber and I awake feeling refreshed each morning.

Chiropractic,taiji, tui na, green veg and juices, energy healing meditaions and magnet therapy - they have all made me much healthier and more relaxed than before I discovered I have Scoliosis.

Regards,
Jacqueline

Stop child drug abuse!

One of my favorite publications for news is the New York Times, and while you still have to be critical of everything that you read, such as the disease mongering drug ads or bird flu scares driving vaccine profits, it still has great articles. Here is a link to an article highlighting the scary fact that kids are being drugged more than ever before. I guess the big pharm's have figured out its more profitable to start building a customer base at an early age. Am I the only one that thinks this is insane?!

New York Times Article

Do Doctors Truely Believe they are Making People Healthier?

Here are some interesting quotes from some medical professionals and experts in the field of cancer therapy... certainly food for thought:

"As a retired physician, I can honestly say that unless you are in a serious accident, your best chance of living to a ripe old age is to avoid doctors and hospitals and learn nutrition, herbal medicine and other forms of natural medicine unless you are fortunate enough to have a naturopathic physician available. Almost all drugs are toxic and are designed only to treat symptoms and not to cure anyone. Vaccines are highly dangerous, have never been adequately studied or proven to be effective, and have a poor risk/reward ratio. Most surgery is unnecessary and most textbooks of medicine are inaccurate and deceptive. Almost every disease is said to be idiopathic (without known cause) or genetic - although this is untrue. In short, our main stream medical system is hopelessly inept and/or corrupt. The treatment of cancer and degenerative diseases is a national scandal. The sooner you learn this, the better off you will be."
--Dr. Allan Greenberg 12/24/2002

"As a chemist trained to interpret data, it is incomprehensible to me that physicians can ignore the clear evidence that chemotherapy does much, much more harm than good."
--Alan Nixon, Ph.D., Past President, American Chemical Society.

"It amazes me how much of what passes for knowledge in cancer therapy turns out to be incomplete, inadequate, and anecdotal."
--Ralph Moss, Ph.D.

"Your toxic concoctions (chemo) are actually the false hope you worry so much about."
-- William Kelley Eidem, author "The Doctor Who Cures Cancer"

"Conventional cancer treatments are in place as the law of the land because they pay, not heal, the best."
--John Diamond, M.D. & Lee Cowden, M.D.

"Finding a cure for cancer is absolutely contraindicated by the profits of the cancer industry’s chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery cash trough."
--Dr Diamond, M.D.

"We have a multi-billion dollar industry that is killing people, right and left, just for financial gain. Their idea of research is to see whether two doses of this poison is better than three doses of that poison."
--Glen Warner, M.D. oncologist.

"Chemotherapy is an incredibly lucrative business for doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies…..The medical establishment wants everyone to follow the same exact protocol. They don’t want to see the chemotherapy industry go under, and that’s the number one obstacle to any progress in oncology." —Dr Warner, M.D.