The Health Plus Letter
November 18, 2003, Vol. 1, No. 17
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher,
Table Of Contents:
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Fact
Medical Freedom Alert
Mind/Body Approaches for Healing Arthritis (Part 1) by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN
Lies and Deception: How the FDA Does Not Protect Your Best Interests by John Morgenthaler
Reader Feedback
Recommendations
Humor: In the Beginning . . .
What's New
In this issue I’m featuring another excerpt from 1HealthyWorld’com’s eBook Library of Health. This time we begin an exploration of how stress relates to arthritis, and how mind/body medicine can help. The article comes from our eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Arthritis, co-written by Drs. Eugene Zampieron and Ellen Kamhi.
Also in this issue is an article examining the lack of diligence exhibited by the Food and Drug Administration when it comes the pharmaceutical companies. This information is provided by John Morgenthaler, publisher of the website Smart Publications
(http://www.smart-publications.com).
And I’m continuing my tribute to my sister Andrea with the third installment of The Power of A Human Spirit.
Please continue to send me with your comments and suggestions. You can email me at larry@1healthyworld.com. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.
Quote Of The Day
"Mediocrity is self-inflicted and genius is self-bestowed."
--Eric Butterworth
Fast Fact
More than half of the dangerous side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs are only detected after they’ve been on the market for seven years or more.
Source: A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (cited by Jonathan Conn, author of Politics, Pro/fits and Pharma. For more information, see http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/politics).
Medical Freedom Alert
Please do your part to ensure that the misleadingly named "Dietary Safety Supplement" Act (S. 722) is defeated. To become informed about S. 722 and to take action to help defeat its passage, please visit: http://capwiz.com/nnfa/S722.html
To stay informed of other developments related to medical freedom, please visit http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org, the website of Dr. Mattias Rath, a leading crusader for medical freedom.
Health News and Commentary
Soy Products Shown to Significantly Reduce Normal Sexual Behavior
A recently conducted animal study indicates that the use of soy supplements "can decrease normal sexual behavior by as much as 70 percent." The study involved female rats who were fed a commercially available soy supplement "in doses similar to those taken by women."
Previous studies on soy products have shown that the isoflavones (estrogen-like compounds contained in soy) interferes "with estrogen function in rats, decreasing some of the brain molecules involved in social and sexual behaviour." The new study showed that isoflavones also have negative effects on sexu^l behavior in rats.
For more on this story, see http://snurl.com/30or.
[Commentary: Very few consumers realize that the boom in the popularity of soy products in the U.S. occurred largely due to the lobbying efforts of the commerical farming industry looking to create a new market for their product, not health researchers. While it is true that women in Asia who consume soy products in their diet do have lower incidents of cancer compared to Western women, soy foods in Asia, such as miso and tempeh are fermented, which may neutralize the ability of isoflavones to cause harm. Certain health experts maintain that the benefits of soy products outweigh their risk, but I don’t agree. For more information about the dangers of soy, I recommend Soy Alert!, a series of research articles published by The Weston A. Price Foundation and available at:
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html.]
Vitamins Shown to Combat Macular Degeneration
According to a study published last week by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, high-dose supplementation of antioxidant nutrients such as zinc and vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene would annually result in "more than 300,000" Americans 55 and over not developing macular degeneration and associated vision loss for a period of at least five years.
For more on this story, see http://snurl.com/30oy
[ Commentary: Other useful supplements for maintaining healthy vision include vitamin A; B vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12; lutein (an antioxidant); and the bilberry.]
Unabashed Plug
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http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Heart-Book-Info.cfm.
Mind/Body Approaches for Healing Arthritis (Part 1) by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN
[The following article is an excerpt from the eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Arthritis, co-written by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN. It is available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Arthritis-Book-Info.cfm]
Stress is a common part of everyday life, but it can become harmful to the body when it is prolonged or chronic. It affects the body in very real, physical ways by influencing the immune and hormonal systems. For arthritis sufferers, this can mean an increase in pain and inflammation. A basic premise of mind/body medicine is that chronic stress contributes to illness and that relaxation techniques and learning positive ways of coping with stress will improve your health. In this chapter, we examine how stress, suppressed emotions, and lifestyle choices can contribute to arthritis. We also explore a number of therapies that can help you re-program negative thought patterns into more healthful ones, deal with stress in a positive way, and incorporate habits for relaxation into your life.
Success Story: Mind/Body Therapies Help Resolve a Case of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Prue, 42, developed rheumatoid arthritis seemingly overnight. The pain and stiffness hit her feet first, then spread to her wrists and hands, and finally to her neck and back. Synovial cysts had formed on the carpal bones (connecting the wrist to the hands) aggravated by the repetitive motion of typing required for her job. Like many of our arthritis patients, Prue first pursued a conventional medical treatment through rheumatologists, who prescribed prednisone, Plaquenil®, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs). After two years on these drugs, Prue experienced very little pain relief and later developed gastrointestinal problems (irritable bowel, occult blood in the stool indicating gastrointestinal bleeding, gas, and bloating). To offset the pain caused by her pain medication, Prue took an average of 12 aspirin per day, which caused yet more side effects. Frustrated and feeling hopeless, Prue came to see us six years after the onset of her arthritis.
We ran a battery of tests on Prue that showed a number of underlying physical problems contributing to her arthritis:
Intestinal permeability or "leaky gut syndrome"—Intestinal permeability means that toxins leak into the bloodstream through the intestinal lining. Once bowel toxins enter the bloodstream or get absorbed by connective tissues, they can trigger inflammation.
An overburdened liver—Prue’s liver was overwhelmed by the increased levels of toxins entering the bloodstream from the intestines. It was unable filter these toxins and they re-entered the bloodstream where they were absorbed into tissues, leading to inflammation and putting additional stress on the immune system.
Bacterial infection—A harmful bacteria called Enterobacter taylorae present in Prue’s stool sample contributed to her maldigestion and intestinal permeability. Harmful bacteria can alter the pH of the stomach, which in turn shuts down the sequential phases of digestion; food is not properly digested and nutrients are not absorbed.
Mineral deficiencies—Hair mineral analysis found that Prue had inadequate levels of calcium, magnesium, zinc, and chromium, as well as selenium, germanium, and molybdenum, which are important nutrients in liver detoxification. Her copper was in excess.
Food allergies—Prue had sensitivities to bananas, beans (green, kidney, and yellow wax), cheese, eggs, cow’s milk, mushrooms, black and white pepper, sugar cane, wheat, and baker’s and brewer’s yeast.
Our first goal was to help Prue solve these underlying problems and achieve better control of pain and inflammation without depending on prescription drugs. We initiated a program of dietary changes, vitamin and mineral supplements, and other therapies to alleviate her condition.
Once this was accomplished, Prue wanted to focus on the psychological and emotional elements of her arthritis. She was frustrated at work because she found it difficult to say "no" to additional work loads even if she was too busy to handle these requests. People, especially her immediate supervisor, took advantage of her pleasant and good-natured disposition, and ne/ver considered the physical limitations of her arthritis. Hiding behind an artificial smile, Prue felt angry at herself for not expressing her true feelings. Her silence toward her co-workers eventually grew into resentment and jealousy. She was jealous of their self-confidence, a quality that she didn’t possess but compensated for by trying to please everyone. Prue’s silence didn’t help to improve her self-esteem; instead it only fed her unexpressed anger and diminished her ability to stand up for herself.
We pointed out to her the psychological effects of holding in anger, as expressed in her body by the "freezing up" of her joint mobility. The effects of suppressed emotions can extend beyond the psyche and into the physiological realm, where the body responds to pent-up anger by slowly breaking down. Prue turned all of her frustrations in on herself, contributing to the onset of a self-destructive disease such as arthritis.
We often see emotional problems such as anger in correlation with liver imbalances. This connection is clearly elucidated in traditional Chinese medicine, which recognizes areas of the body that correspond to different emotional states. In Prue’s case, this connection was the major contributor for her onset of arthritis. The problems that Prue described to us about her co-workers was not an isolated incident, but an example of a pattern of behavior that contributed to a history of chronic illness. Another effect of Prue’s internalized anger and subsequent low self-esteem could be found in her poor lifestyle choices, which worked to undermine her health. Prue had uncontrollable chocolate cravings that she succumbed to daily. The amount of sweets (pies, ice cream, and cookies) that she ate in a week outnumbered the amount of fruits or vegetables. In addition, she rarely exercised. These are lapses that even conventional doctors would not condone for a rheumatoid arthritis patient.
To support Prue’s recovery, we had to redirect the way she perceived herself and her emotions and help her make wiser choices in behavior and health. We used a technique called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a question-and-answer exchange that detects unconscious patterns of thought and behavior and provides ways to alter those negative patterns. We asked Prue about her identity, personal beliefs, and life goals. She considered her disease part of her identity, as if without arthritis she would cease being herself. Based on this first NLP session, we designed affirmation tapes that would help her regain control of her identity. She listened to these tapes during hydrotherapy in the flotation REST (reduced environmental stimulation therapy) tank, which we recommended to reduce her stress levels.
In NLP, the patient envisions being healthy and happy. If Prue could imagine herself healthy, then her body could respond to this positive stimulus by triggering the necessary immunological responses for healing. Without positive visualizations of health, Prue might have dutifully taken the supplements that we prescribed yet not believed that it would make a difference. She would be stuck thinking that she was not worthy of being healthy. Her body would have believed her defeated attitude and she would have remained sick.
We also used visual imagery sessions to teach Prue how to relax in stressful situations. We asked Prue to hold in her mind a picture of a distressing or emotion-provoking situation (such as a conflict with a co-worker or supervisor) and focus on relaxing her body in that situation. Imagery is like a dress rehearsal, so that the patient can learn to feel more relaxed when a stressful real-life situation occurs.
After 12 weeks on this program, Prue was pleased by her improved physical health. She no longer suffered stiffness and pain in her joints and her digestive problems had cleared up shortly after discontinuing conventional drugs and changing her diet. The cysts along her wrists were no longer painful, but an MRI scan showed evidence of fluid in the synovial sheaths (membranes lining the cavity of a bone through which a tendon moves). Examination by an orthopedic surgeon determined that aggressive surgery to remove the fluid was not necessary since Prue had no pain from the increased fluid and had not lost strength in her grip. And Prue found that she had more self-confidence as well. She actually said "no" to a co-worker’s request to take on an additional project and felt like that response generated a more respectful attitude from that co-worker.
[Continued next week.]
Lies and Deception: How the FDA Does Not Protect Your Best Interests by John Morgenthaler
[This article originally appeared on August 8, 2003 on the website Smart Publications (http://www.smart-publications.com/articles) as a Health & Wellness Update. Though it focuses specifically on how the Monsanto corporation was able to introduce agenetetically engineered hormone into America’s milk supply, the tactics employed by Monsanto and the collusion exhibited by the FDA and other federal government agencies is not an isolated case by any means. Many toxic pharmaceutical drugs have won FDA approval through a similar "revolving door" policy between the public and private sectors. To learn more about this subject, I highly recommend you visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/hazard/ where you can view the in-depth investigation of the FDA’s ties to the pharmaceutical industry conducted by Frontline on PBS. - LT]
Dear Friends,
I recently received an e-mail posing the question "How is it that every industrialized nation in the world has banned Monsanto's rBGH as unsafe, but it's legal (and unlabeled) in the United States?" [rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) is a genetically engineered hormone that increases cow's milk production by 15-25 percent.]
To learn the shocking truth about how the food and pharmaceutical industries place their own scientists and legal experts on scientific and government committees to ensure passage of favorable rules and regulations… and why former FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Liz once said, "What bothers me most is that people believe that the FDA is protecting them....," read on.
To your health, John Morgenthaler
"It is not our purpose to endanger the financial interest of the pharmaceutical companies."
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Charles C. Edwards
Did you know that many retired FDA officials go to work as special advisors to the pharmaceutical and food industries? It's true. Federal agencies like the FDA—which were created to protect consumers—often behave like branch offices of companies like
Monsanto, which they are supposed to regulate. And when the names and dossiers of the individuals who work with allies in Congress and the White House to oppose food safety measures are revealed, the picture becomes even more sinister.
The fact is, it has been widely reported that FDA (Food and Drug Administration), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) officials are frequently rewarded with lucrative jobs at the companies they were regulating.
Conflict of Interest
This insidious conflict of interest exhibited by the U.S. food and pharmaceutical industries has been going on for almost half a century. Mark Gold, founder of the Aspartame Toxicity Information Center in Concord, New Hampshire (mgold@holisticmed.com) provides an overview of the situation in his "Analysis of the influence of the Aspartame Industry on the Scientific Committee on Food."1
"In the United States, corruption of governmental and scientific committees by the food industry was disclosed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In an article in the journal Science (1972), it was revealed that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Food Protection Committee was being funded by the food, chemical and packaging industries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was relying on the NAS Committee for 'independent' information. The Chairman of the NAS Subcommittee investigating monosodium glutamate (MSG) had recently taken part in research partially funded by the MSG manufacturer. Another member of the Subcommittee became a spokesperson for the MSG industry. (Science 1972) Other members of the Subcommittee had ties to the MSG industry.
Since that time numerous governmental committees have been corrupted by the placement of food industry-funded consultants on these committees."2,3
The Revolving Door
A recent report by the Edmonds Institute lists names of the possible hundreds of men and women who move in and out of "revolving doors" as Federal regulators and directors, commissioners and scientists at the companies they are supposed to regulate.4
Close relationships between regulators and those they regulate are always a cause of concern because the conflict of interest inevitably results in the quality of regulation and oversight of a technology being compromised … which inevitably results in the promotion of foods and drugs that are frequently unsafe.
The Edmonds Institute has been researching these relationships for some time. Some examples:
Margaret Miller … former chemical laboratory supervisor for Monsanto, … current Deputy Director of Human Food Safety and Consultative Services, New Animal Drug Evaluation Office, Center for Veterinary Medicine in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).5,6
Michael Taylor, former legal advisor to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Bureau of Medical Devices and Bureau of Foods, later executive assistant to the Commissioner of the FDA,…still later a partner at the law firm of King & Spaulding where he supervised a nine-lawyer group whose clients included Monsanto Agricultural Company, … still later Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the United States Food and Drug Administration, … and later with the law firm of King & Spaulding … current head of the Washington, D.C. office of Monsanto Corporation.5,6
Margaret Miller, Michael Taylor, and Suzanne Sechen (an FDA "primary reviewer for all rbST and other dairy drug production applications") were the subjects of a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation in 1994 for their role in the FDA's approval of
Posilac, Monsanto Corporation's formulation of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbST or rBGH). The GAO Office found "no conflicting financial interests with respect to the drug's approval"and only "one minor deviation from now superseded FDA regulations". (Quotations are from the 1994 GAO report).
The FDA and Monsanto: Strange Bedfellows
Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on rBGH to the FDA so the agency could determine the growth hormone's safety. Margaret Miller put the report together, and in 1989 shortly before she submitted the report, Miller left Monsanto to work for the FDA. Guess what her first job was? Strangely enough, to determine whether or not to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto! The bottom line is that Monsanto approved its own report. Miller was assisted by another former Monsanto researcher, Susan Sechen.
But in an article titled "Not Milk: The USDA, Monsanto, and the U.S. Dairy Industry" Ché Green, founder and director of The Armedia Institute, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization focusing on farm animal issues in the United States, writes that, "The results of the study, in fact, were not made available to the public until 1998, when a group of Canadian scientists obtained the full documentation and completed an independent analysis of the results. Among other instances of neglect, the documents showed that the FDA had ne/ver even reviewed Monsanto's original studies (on which the approval for Posilac {rBGH} had been based), so in the end the point was moot whether or not the report had contained all of the original data."7
And as though the FDA didn't already exhibit enough audacity it handed Michael Taylor the responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not rBGH-derived milk should be labeled. (At the time, Michael Taylor, who had previously worked as a lawyer for Monsanto, was executive assistant to the Commissioner of the FDA.)
In 1994, Taylor ended up writing the rBGH labeling guidelines that prohibit the dairy industry from stating that their products either contain or are free from rBGH. Even worse, to keep rBGH-milk from being "stigmatized" in the marketplace, the FDA ruled that the labels of non-rBGH products must state that there is no difference between rBGH and the natural hormone.8
According to journalist Jennifer Ferraro, "while working for Monsanto, Taylor had prepared a memo for the company as to whether or not it would be constitutional for states to erect labeling laws concerning rBGH dairy products. In other words, Taylor helped Monsanto figure out whether or not the corporation could sue states or companies that wanted to tell the public that their products were free of Monsanto's drug."9
The Current Situation
Monsanto is suing Maine-based Oakhurst Dairy for labeling their milk "Our Farmers' Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones." According to Monsanto, Oakhurst Dairy does not have the right to let its customers know whether its milk contains genetically engineered hormones. What hogwash! Oakhurst says they've been labeling their products like this for four years, in response to consumer demand.
Although rBGH has been banned in every industrialized nation in the world except for the United States, Monsanto continues to claim that rBGH-derived milk is no different from the natural stuff, despite documentation that rBGH milk contains substantially higher levels of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1.
This poses a serious risk to the entire U.S. population, which is now exposed to high levels of IGF-1 in dairy products, since elevated blood levels of IGF-1 are among the leading known risk factors for breast cancer, and are also associated with other major cancers, particularly colon and prostate.10
In 1994, Monsanto sued two dairies and threatened several thousand retailers for labeling or advertising milk and dairy products as "rBGH-free." Despite Monsanto's intimidation tactics, more than 10% of U.S. milk is currently labeled as "rBGH-free," while sa/les of organic milk and dairy products (which prohibit rBGH) are booming.
And just to add insult to injury, in recent months a Monsanto-funded front group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, has launched a smear campaign against organic dairies, including Organic Valley, claiming they are defrauding consumers.11.
How Monsanto's Policies Have Become U.S. Policy
Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put G.W. in office, Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Anne Veneman) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Calgene Corporation. The Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning campaign for Wisconsin's governor. The two congressmen receiving the most donations from Monsanto during the last election were Larry Combest (Chairman of the House Agricultural Committee) and Attorney General John Ashcroft. (Source: Dairy Education Board)
What Can You Do?
1) Contact your state representatives and let them know your views.
2) Educate yourself about what is really in our food.
Three recommended books:
Eric Schlosser, "Fast Food Nation" New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
Marion Nestle, Food Politics: "How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health." Univ/ersity of California Press, March 2002.
Marion Nestle, "Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism." Univ/ersity of California Press, March 2003.
3) Eat only organically grown and produced food. Sadly and unfortunately, we cannot trust the FDA or USDA to ensure the safety of our food.
References:
1. Gold, Mark. Independent Analysis of the "Opinion of the European Commission, Scientific Committee on Food:Update on the Safety of Aspartame / E951" (SCF 2002)
www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
2. Samuels, A. 1999. "The Toxicity/Safety of Processed Free Glutamic Acid (MSG): A Study in Suppression of Information," Accountability in Research, Volume 6, Pages 259-310. Available at: www.truthinlabeling.org/l-manuscript.htm.
3. Collins, R., 2000. "Science Conflicted: Restoring Trust in the National Academy of Sciences," Integrity in Science Project, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Also in the Baltimore Sun on August 29, 2000, Full text available at: www.cspinet.org/integrity/baltsun_article.html
4. Edmonds Institute www.edmonds-institute.org/door.html
5. Samuels, A. 1999. "The Toxicity/Safety of Processed Free Glutamic Acid (MSG): A Study in Suppression of Information," Accountability in Research, Volume 6, Pages 259-310. Available at: www.truthinlabeling.org/l-manuscript.htm
6. Collins, R., 2000. "Science Conflicted: Restoring Trust in the National Academy of Sciences," Integrity in Science Project, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Also in the Baltimore Sun on August 29, 2000, Full text available at: www.cspinet.org/integrity/baltsun_article.html
7. Green, Ché, LiP Magazine, July 9, 2002. www.alternet.org/print.html?StoryID=13557
8. Ferrara, Jennifer 'Revolving Doors: Monsanto and the Regulators" The Ecologist, Sept,Oct.1998. www.psrast.org/ecologmons.htm
9. Ibid
10. Monsanto's Hormonal Milk Poses Serious Risks of Breast Cancer, Besides Other Cancers, Warns Professor of Environmental Medicine at the Univ/ersity of Illinois School of Public Health. Cancer Prevention Coalition, www.preventcancer.com/
11. www.organicconsumers.org/rbgh/071303_rbgh.cfm
Copyright © 2003 by John Morgenthaler and Samrt Publications. All rights reserved.
Unabashed Plug
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To order this life-changing guide, visit
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The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister Andrea (Part 3)
[The first two parts of this article appeared in issues 14 and 15 of The Health Plus Letter, which are available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.]
Andrea soon recovered from the full radical mastectomy she underwent in the spring of 1999, and wasted no time scheduling her chemotherapy sessions. During her surgery, some of her lymph nodes were removed and there was no sign of metastasis. The hope was that the chemo would kill any lingering cancer cells and she would make a full recovery. To this end, Andrea agreed with her oncologist’s recommendation that she receive four sessions of high-dose chemotherapy every three weeks. As part of her preparation, she asked him if he thought she should consider vitamin therapy in conjunction with her treatments. His reply epitomizes the ignorance the ignorance most oncologists still have regarding the benefits of such an approach, despite the scientific evidence that conclusively shows that the use of nutritional supplements can significantly improve patients ability to tolerate and recover from chemotherapy and enhance long-term outcomes (for more on this subject, I recommend the books Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin, Ph.D. and Cancer and Nutrition by Charles Simone, M.D.). Faced with Andrea’s question, her oncologist chuckled and said, "Andrea, if it makes you happy, by all means take some vitamins." So she did, but nowhere near the therapeutic dosages that the research indicates.
Andrea sailed through her first session of chemotherapy, her only side-effect being fatigue, which caused her to spend a good part of the next day in bed. Other than that, she cheerfully told me, "Chemo is no big deal." The toll of her successive treatments were more noticeable, however, and she began to experience the nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea so common among those who undergo the procedure. And eventually her hair started falling out, something she initially thought she would be spared. But none of that got her down. "Hey, I’d rather be puking than dead!"she told me matter-of-factly one day. As for her hair loss, she laughed that off, telling everyone how much she looked "just like Larry!" (I’m bald and what hair I have is short-cropped..) When she went out, she initially wore one of her two wigs, but after a while, she decided "I like my bald head!" and took to wearing stylish wrap-like hats in public. (Andrea was always tastefully stylish in her dress and appearance. That was an integral part of her persona. She brought a lot of Beauty into the world and it showed in everything she did.)
Overall, the three months of her treatment passed without much concern on anyone’s part, so assuring was the cheerful manner in which Andrea dealt with her situation. Through it all, her normal daily routine was hardly impacted. She still remained active and creative, making her porcelain dolls for which she was acclaimed (she even designed and sewed their outfits), dining out or inviting friends and family over for her delicious meals (many of my sisters are wonderful cooks, but Andrea’s meals were always my favorite), and continuing to enjoy the various cultural offerings our hometown has to offer. In short, her zest for life remained undiminished, so much so that even her oncologist was inspired by her, telling her she had the most positive attitude of any patient he’d ever treated.
As part of her research prior to her treatment, Andrea had read of the many benefits that breast cancer patients derived from participating in support groups. It turned out such a group met regularly nearby so she decided to attend. But she only did so once. "I’m not going back there," she said, when I called her to see how it had gone. "They’re all wonderful people, but all they did was sit there feeling sorry for themselves. It’s depressing and I don’t need that in my life." Instead, she found her support from her family and friends and, most importantly, within herself. As time went on, we began to witness an amazing transformation occurring within her. But for the moment, her treatments behind her, life seemed back to normal.
[Continued next week.]
Reader Feedback
I continue to receive a lot of touching emails from you, my readers. Among them last week was this one from Genevieve in Belgium:
"I was most sadden by your sister's death. I understand she died of breast cancer and had chosen conventional treatment. In 1997 I underwent surgery and chemotherapy for the same .By the grace of God my eyes were opened .I felt these treatments were killing me. I refused radiation and tamoxifen. I found a doctor who practices non-toxic medicine. I get ozone therapy monthly and supplements, i.e.detoxim, vitamins C and E, and Beta Carotene.Plus, a nandrolone injection every month, and Arimidex to eliminate estrogen. It's expensive but so far I am fine. I also eat organic as much as I can. But no one knows that the hardest battle is not against cancer but against doctors and all those who believe in their treatments. Too bad your poor sister became another of their victims. But keep up the good work. Alert patients to the dangers of drugs such as statins and HRT. Keep an eye on medical and pharmaceutical errors. Inform people of pending legal proceedings and hearings. Thank you and God bless you."
Thank you, Genevieve. The only amendment I would make to what you wrote is that my sister was definitely not a victim. Though she did indeed succumb to cancer after choosing conventional cancer care - a choose that did ultimately fail her - as I hope my ongoing tribute to her will make clear, "victim" had no place in her vocabulary. As for everything else you wrote, I couldn’t agree more.
Linda, from England, writes:
"I was interested to read your articles about pharmaceutical drugs doing more harm than good and the funding of research of cancer. Although I have a perspective of the UK rather than the US, this seems to be what is happening on a global scale, especially in the 'western world'. I was recently quite shocked to hear how restrictive things are even in New Zealand, a country which I had always thought of as 'laid back'. Over here we are running the same battles regarding supplements and herbal remedies as the US. There are very restrictive EU directives in the offing that will affect the whole of Europe even though mil/lions of people across Europe have objected. At one point the EU was receiving so many emails their computer system crashed. The cynical view here is that it has more to do with pharmaceutical giants and mon/ey than people. Two books might interest you if you haven't already come across them: firstly, Secrets of the Drugs Industry available from www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=341 and, secondly, Alternative Science by Richard Milton available from Amazon.com. This book is very scathing about the way any research is funded and although based on the UK, sounds like its just typical. So much for politics. Keep up the good work.."
Thanks for book recommendations, Linda. The picture you paint about the legislative attacks on alternative healing therapies, especially (at this time) supplements, is an accurate one that is, as you say, taking place throughout the West. But the power, I maintain, still resides with "we the people." It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this plays itself out.
Finally, Joy from Florida writes: "I'm a newcomer to your newsletter and have enjoyed the two copies I read enormously. Thank you so much."
You’re welcome, Joy. And my thanks to everyone else who wrote me, as well. Your feedback and encouragement is what enables me to best serve you, so keep your emails coming!
Recommendations
Websites:
http://www.emofree.com - This site is the home of Gary Craig’s Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), a subset of an emerging field of healing known as Energy Psychology, one of the topics I cover in my book, Health on the Edge, which will be published early next year. There’s a wealth of information on Gary’s site and much of it is available at no cost. I highly recommend it.
http://www.winwenger.com - Last issue I recommended one of Dr. Wenger’s books. This week I direct you to his website, where you will find a wealth of techniques that you can use to significantly improve your thinking and problem-solving skills. Dr. Wenger is one of the world’s foremost leaders in this field and a true humanitarian. He, too, is featured in by book, Health on the Edge.
Books:
Gary Null’s Power Aging by Gary Null, Ph.D. This latest release by prolific author and researcher Dr. Gary Null is an excellent resource that anyone can use to not only slow the aging process, but also reverse many aging symptoms.
Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel. This book recounts the experiences of the author during the 14 years she spent in Tibet during the early 20th century, studying with lamas and shamans. A fascinating portrait of a land and time that has largely disappeared from public view since China’s occupation of Tibet in the 1950's.
Humor: In the Beginning . . .
In the beginning... God covered the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's bountiful gifts, the Devil created Ben and Jerry's and Krispy Kreme. And the Devil said: "You want hot fudge with that?" And Man said: "Yes!" ...and Woman said: "I'll have one too ...with sprinkles."
And lo they gained 10 pounds.
And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair.
And the Devil brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane, and combined them.
And Woman went from size 2 to size 14.
So God said: "Try my fresh green garden salad."
And the Devil presented crumbled Bleu Cheese dressing and garlic toast on the side.
And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.
God then said: "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them."
And the Devil brought forth deep fried coconut shrimp, butter dipped lobster chunks and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter.
And Man's cholesterol went through the roof. God then brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose those extra pounds.
And the Devil came forth with a cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And man and woman laughed and cried before the flickering light and started wearing stretch jogging suits.
Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with potassium and good nutrition.
Then the Devil peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them in animal fats and added copious quantities of salt.
And Man put on more pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite.
And the Devil created McDonald's and the 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then Lucifer said: "You want fries with that?" and Man replied: "Yes! And super size 'em!"
And the Devil said: "It is good."
And Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.
And the Devil created HMOs.
Amen
See you next Tuesday.
Health and Blessings!
Larry Trivieri, Jr. (larry@1healthyworld.com)
Disclaimer: The Health Plus Letter is a weekly eZine published by Larry Trivieri, Jr. and Library of Health, LLC (dba www.1healthyworld.com). It is made available without charge for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical care. If you are experiencing a health problem, seek prompt medical attention.
Legal Notice: The information in this eZine may be freely and widely disseminated so long as full attribution is made as follows: The Health Plus Letter, November 18, 2003, Vol. 1, No. 17. Copyright © 2003 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.
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