Thursday, December 3, 2009

Childbirth May Slow MS - Multiple Sclerosis Society

Researchers in Belgium have suggested that giving birth slows the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The results of their study are published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

In the study it was found that women who had given birth to one or more children at any point in time before or after the start of symptoms were 34% less likely to progress in disability than childless women.

The Belgian scientists studied progression of MS in 330 women. All the women had been referred to one specialist centre, and had had their first symptoms from the ages of 22 to almost 38.

After an average of 18 years living with MS, over half of all the women (55%) were categorised as Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 6. This scale runs from 1 to 10, where 10 is death. EDSS 6 refers to individual's need for assistance with a cane, crutch, or brace to walk 100 metres.

There were a number of drawbacks to the study, however, such as the fact that women with more severe forms of MS may choose not to get pregnant because of a concern about how a post-natal relapse might affect MS progression or worries about taking care of a baby during severe relapses, were not taken into account.

Other factors that may influence progression such as the use of disease modifying drugs, as well as lifestyle factors or genetics, were not accounted for.

The authors also acknowledge that they may have been working from an incomplete dataset, only looking at the numbers of live births and not accounting for women who had miscarried or had abortions, who would have been subject to the same hormonal changes.

Commenting on the study, Dr Susan Kohlhaas, Research Communications Officer at the MS Society, said: "It is difficult to form any meaningful conclusions from this research given the small size of the study and its flaws, but further studies will hopefully clarify the effects of pregnancy in women with MS."

Source
Multiple Sclerosis Society

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Why Canned Foods Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

An important repost from Dr. Mercola written on November 24, 2009.


consumer reports, canned food, cans, BPA, bisphenol A, campbell, campbell soup"The food processing world is reeling right now one day after a shocking new series of tests released by Consumer Reports revealed that many leading brands of canned foods contain Bisphenol A (BPA)—a toxic chemical linked to health risks including reproductive abnormalities, neurological effects, heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.

BPA is used in the lining of cans and the toxin leaches from the lining into the food. According to Consumer Reports just a couple of servings of canned food can exceed scientific limits on daily exposure for children.

The federal government is currently studying the dangers of BPA and advocates are calling on the FDA to ban the use of BPA in food and beverage packaging by the end of the year. Companies in other industries, including Wal-Mart, Target, Nalgene, and Babies R Us have already made commitments to stop using BPA."

http://www.mercola.com

Friday, November 13, 2009

Fix Your Teeth, Fix Your Health

As many of you have heard, last week I visited a Biological Dentist, and a Doctor of Naturopathic medicine.  While there, I was blown away by the stats they were presented connecting the teeth to other illnesses, diseases, and conditions.  Since leaving their office, I have been reading a lot about the subject and came across a webpage that I would like to share with you that demonstrates the relationship between root canals and breast cancer.  The following is a cut and paste of a section in one of their articles.  You can find the rest of the article, and others on health at this webpage: http://www.CancerTutor.com

The Cause of Breast Cancer
 
In a study of 150 breast cancer patients by Dr. Rau, in Switzerland, 147 of them had had root canals on the same meridian as the breast cancer. The other 3 also had dental problems on the same meridian, but they were not root canals, they were infections in the jawbone.

Another medical doctor reported a similar experience with his breast cancer patients.

Root canals create a safe-haven for cancer-causing bacteria. These cancer-causing microbes do not originate in the root canals. Rather, the microbe originates in the breasts and then some of them live the "good life" while hiding in the root canal(s), free from any interference of the immune system.

The statistics indicate that the constant reinfection prevents the body from successfully fighting the breast cancer. Apparently, when a woman (or a man in some cases) gets breast cancer, the body is generally able to fight it off, unless the person also had a root canal on the same meridian. The root canal(s) apparantly allow the cancer to win the battle.

What Dr. Rau proved was that a bacteria-type microbe caused breast cancer. This has been known for over a century, but orthodox medicine refuses to acknowledge this proven fact. See the book: Four Women Against Cancer, by Dr. Alan Cantwell, M.D., for even more evidence for this fact.

The point is that it is virtually impossible to totally get rid of breast cancer without removing all root canals.

While soaking your root canal teeth in 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide (i.e. putting 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide in your mouth so that your root canal teeth are soaking in the solution for 2 or 3 minute at a time), twice a day can kill microbes inside the root canal teeth, most root canal teeth also have a crown which does not let liquids inside the tooth except at the bottom of the crowns. So be careful about depending on the hydrogen peroxide solution if your root canal teeth have crowns.

If your root canal teeth need to be removed, find a "biological dentist" or a "holistic dentist" and have all of your root canals removed. Because dental amalgam (i.e. mercury) also are a major cause of yeast infections, many women have both their root canals and their mercury removed at the same time. However, there are some URGENT WARNINGS about having your mercury removed!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

CNN Reports The Importance of Vitamin D

"Vitamin D is becoming an increasingly important player in a healthful diet. Over the past 10 years, a spate of research has linked it to an impressive and diverse array of potential benefits. In addition to vitamin D's well-known function of increasing calcium absorption and thereby helping encourage healthy bone growth, it has shown promise in helping to prevent certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis.

However, while many in the scientific community are excited about its promise, they have yet to agree on how much you need and where to obtain it. Read on to better understand the debate and learn what's best for you.

What vitamin D does
Vitamin D is unique in many ways. At the time of its discovery in 1919, vitamins A, B, and C were already identified; D was the next letter in line, so that was the name given to the compound. However, vitamin D behaves like a hormone in the body, relaying chemical messages -- something no other vitamin does. For example, vitamin D signals the intestines to absorb calcium from foods and to regulate its uptake by bone cells.

Some nutrients, such as vitamin C, are put to work immediately by the body in the form in which they are consumed. Vitamin D, however, requires processing. Vitamin D begins as a relative of cholesterol.

Dehydrocholesterol molecules are stored in your skin, waiting to absorb sunlight. When this occurs, dehydrocholesterol can be transformed into previtamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the most readily absorbed form of vitamin D. Another form, previtamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is derived from plant sources and can only be obtained through diet. Both previtamins are processed by the liver and kidneys into a final form called calcitriol, which then travels to the vitamin D receptors that exist in almost all, if not all, cells in your body.

"Vitamin D is a key component in helping the body respond to many different kinds of assaults and stimuli," says Robert Heaney, Ph.D., professor of medicine at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. "In the absence of it, you're asking the body to defend itself with one hand tied behind its back."

Most of the good news about vitamin D comes thanks to improved methods of measuring the levels of vitamin D in the body. "We didn't have a good way to measure vitamin D until 15 years ago, and the test took five to 10 years to reach widespread use," Heaney says. "Previously, the only indicator of vitamin D deficiency was rickets [a disease resulting in softened bones]."

How much do you need?
The Institute of Medicine, a group that uses scientific research to formulate public health policies, currently recommends an Adequate Intake, or AI, rather than a specific daily amount of vitamin D. The AI for vitamin D is 200 International Units for adults under age 50, 400 IU for those 51 to 70, and 600 IU for those age 71 and above. As new studies continue to showcase vitamin D's potential benefits, more scientists are calling for increased recommendations. Some suggest as much as 10,000 IU --currently the tolerable upper intake daily.

Late last year, a group of leading scientists published an editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition calling for an "urgent need" to increase the AI for vitamin D. Among them was Walter Willett, M.D., the widely respected chairperson of the Harvard School of Public Health's department of nutrition. "The range we are talking about -- 1,000 IU per day --is still a small dose," Willett says. (Consider this: A fair-skinned person can manufacture 15,000 IU or more of vitamin D in as little as 30 minutes of optimal sun exposure.)

In response to the debate, the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements last year began an intensive effort to learn more about vitamin D, partnering with other federal agencies to assemble a panel to assess research needs and priorities. Their efforts may result in a new AI when the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are revised in 2010.

"Scientists agree that as the DRIs are revisited, vitamin D is one of the first recommendations that should be reconsidered," says Patsy M. Brannon, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Cornell University who coordinates the ODS' vitamin D initiative. "The current recommendation is a decade old. There's been a lot of research in the last 10 years. Whether there is sufficient strength of evidence to increase recommendations is where scientists disagree."

Until they reach a consensus, you have three options for obtaining vitamin D: food, sunlight, or supplements.

Source 1: Food
Foods naturally rich in vitamin D are scarce. Seafood options top the list -- cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel and tuna. (Bonus: they also contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.) After that, fortified foods help fill the gap. Milk is fortified with 100 IU per 8-ounce serving. Some yogurts and cheeses also contain vitamin D, as do breakfast cereals and juices.

Source 2: Sunlight
Every time sunlight warms our skin, your body produces vitamin D. However, sunlight is unreliable and several factors influence its ability to induce vitamin D production, including: the angle of the sun, the latitude in which you live, you skin pigmentation, age, and use of skin-care products containing sun-protection factor (SPF). Also, there's the not-small matter of skin cancer risk, which is heightened by exposure to sunlight.

Source 3: Supplements
Supplements are a reliable -- and safe -- source of vitamin D. The key is buying the right type of supplement. Most multivitamins are fortified with the current AI for vitamin D; 400 IU. Check the label to make sure the vitamin you choose is made with the D3 form (it may be listed as cholecalciferol)."

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Amazing Results From A Severe Brain Aneurysm

SITUATION

In April 2007, a 51-year-old male four days after aneurysm surgery was in the intensive care unit. The patient’s family was told that a baseball-sized aneurysm was removed from the patient’s skull and that, if he survives, he will be neurologically impaired physically and mentally. The family was also told that if the patient lives, he will need a full-time caregiver to attend to his needs.

PRESENTATION

The patient presented with a right-sided stroke pattern, left-sided facial palsy, and muscle weakness on the entire left side of his body. He complained of discomfort from the catheter. The patient’s speech was weak and slurred. He had a large scar, riddled with surgical staples, and shaped like a question mark starting at his hairline following the temporal bone to the top of the ear and then downward toward the front of the ear.

 

REHABILITATION

The patient’s family started using the GRT LITE™ directly over the surgery site while he was still in ICU. The GRT LITE™ was used constantly by the patient throughout his recovery. The patient received five Quantum Neurology™ rehabilitation sessions in four days. He received Cranial Nerve and Motor rehabilitation, as well as G-POI™ and Allergy desensitization.

 

OUTCOME


The patient’s staples were removed seven days after the surgery because his scar was fully healed. Eight days after his surgery, he left the hospital. He was able to walk without assistance; he had zero neurological deficits and had regained full speech ability. He had also rehabilitated full motor strength and function to his face and his body. The patient regained his stamina over the next few weeks and began working five weeks after the surgery.


I feel that it is important to mention that the patient’s entire nervous system had already been strengthened with Quantum Neurology™ Rehabilitation before his aneurysm. I feel that this allowed his nervous system to withstand the stress of his aneurysm and speed up his recovery.

FOLLOW-UP: October 27, 2007 (6 months later)


The patient has recovered fully from the aneurysm and surgery. He has made some lifestyle changes in diet and exercise. He has reduced his weight by 40 pounds. He has enjoyed two family vacations, the first to a water park and the second to Disney World. His family reported that he outpaced and outlasted everyone else in the family. The patient directly attributes his neurological rehabilitation to Quantum Neurology™ and the GRT LITE™.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Rock Climbing and Camping Pictures From Alabama

And it begins...

I have had many people tell me that I should have my own blog.  From patients, and family members, to old friends from school and church, I often get requests to explain what it is that I do, my personal thoughts on various health trends, and requests to see pictures of my family and life outside of the office.  I'm not going to lie, I have been very hesitant to start a blog since it seems like a hard thing to maintain, but as you can see, I have decided to create one.  So without further adieu, welcome to my life... and feel free to invite your friends.