The Health Plus Letter
May 4, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 14
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher,
http://www.1healthyworld.com
If you prefer to read this issue online, you can read it, along with all other back issues, at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.
Table Of Contents
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Facts
Medical Freedom Alert
Health News and Commentary
Q & A with Garry Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H)
Self-Care Tips for Preventing and Managing Anxiety
What Is Holistic Medicine: An Interview With Dr. Robert Ivker
Recommendations
Reader Feedback
Unabashed Plug
Both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble online are offering my newest book, Health on the Edge: Visionary Views of Healing in the New Millennium at a healthy discount. To order it, visit either http://www.amazon.com or http://www.bn.com (Barnes and Noble). Simply type in the title or my name on their homepages and you’ll find it. Please tell others about it, too, because the information and self-care exercises it contains are important, and it’s the first book of its kind to contain such a range of topics related to the future of health and healing. Among the many benefits you will gain by reading it are:
How to quickly and easily restore relaxation throughout your body using hand warming, an easily mastered biofeedback technique you can do without any equipment.
How to increase your IQ by 20 points or more in less than a week’s time.
How to permanently eliminate long-standing fears, phobias, and traumas using energy psychology.
How to create a bioscalar energy wave within your body for rapid healing.
All of these self-care exercises have been developed by the visionary healers and researchers I interviewed in Health on the Edge, and I know from personal experience that they really work. Take the next step in your healing, and order Health on the Edge today.
What’s New
This week I’m featuring part of my interview with Dr. Robert Ivker, which is excerpted from my book, Health on the Edge. Rob is a friend of mine, and one of the most compassionate, truly holistic physicians I know. I think you will find his views on what holistic medicine really means very informative. In light of the new, orchestrated campaign to once again try and restrict our freedom of choice when in comes to our health, I’ve expanded the Medical Freedom section below, and encourage you to visit the websites of the organizations I’ve added there.
Also in this issue are self-care tips for preventing and managing anxiety. And in this week’s Q&A with 1HealthyWorld medical advisor Dr. Garry Gordon, Garry provides supplement recommendations for dealing with heavy metal toxicity, something all of us suffer from to some degree.
Please continue to send me your comments and suggestions. 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
“Much of the wisdom of one age is the folly of the next.”
-- Charles Simmons
Fast Fact
51 percent of all prescription drugs approved by the FDA are found to cause “serious adverse side effects” after they are approved for safety and enter the marketplace.
Source: Moore TJ, et al. “Time to act on drug safety.” Journal of the American Medical Association, May 20, 1998; 279 (19): 1571-1573.
[Note: This is an admission being made by the leading conventional medical association in its own journal. Yet conventional physicians continue to blithely prescribe drugs at every turn, and the FDA continues to arrogantly claim it ought to have greater authority to regulate nutritional supplements. - LT]
Unabashed Plug
Dr. Garry Gordon’s entire line of nutritional products are available for purchase directly from 1HealthyWorld.com. Dr. Gordon is a member of 1HealthyWorld’s Medical Advisory Board, and an internationally acclaimed expert in the areas of cardiovascular health, anti-aging medicine, and the use of nutritional medicine to prevent and reverse chronic disease. He is also one of the most accomplished and knowledgeable physicians it’s ever been my privilege to meet, and the nutritional products he’s developed reflect his expertise. You can order his products by visiting http://www.1healthyworld.com/healthproducts/garrygordon
Medical Freedom Alert
Our health freedom is again under siege. Please support the following organizations, which are at the forefront of those working to protect our rights:
Citizens for Health - http://www.citizens.org
Institute for Health Freedom – http://www.ForHealthFreedom.org
Health Lobby (Monica Miller) – http://www.healthlobby.com
Also, 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.
To see to what depraved lengths people will go to persecute practitioners of alternative medicine in the U.S., please read the following report by noted medical freedom advocate Tim Bolen at http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/Suster2.htm
Health News and Commentary
Bottled Drinking Water Often Unhealthy
According to a four-year study conducted by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), much of the bottled water sold in the United States is no purer than tap water, and 25 percent of it (some estimates are even higher) actually is tap water. And much of the remaining brands aren’t much healthier, because the Food and Drug Administration allows bottled water suppliers to designate waters pumped from wells and treated with chemicals as “spring water.” In addition, the NRDC study, which tested 103 brands of bottled water, found that approximately 33 percent of the brands contained bacteria and synthetic chemicals that exceeded allowable limits.
To read the complete results of the study, see the NRDC’s report, “Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?” at http://www.nrdc.org/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp
[Comment: In addition to the above, bottled water sold in plastic containers is also suspect, because the chemicals in the plastic can leach out into the water itself. At the same time, however, drinking adequate amounts of water each day is an essential component for optimal health, so don’t use this study as an excuse to cut down on how much water you drink each day. Rather, do your best to obtain pure drinking water, and consider purchasing a water filter for your home use.]
Prozac Found to Impair Infant Health, Affect Sex/ual Function, and Pollute the Environment
According to a new report released by the National Toxicology Program, a federal government- sponsored agency, babies born of mothers who use “normal doses” of Prozac, a widely used antidepressant, during pregnancy can become developmentally impaired (born lighter and earlier) and more prone to having a higher incidence of respiratory problems and to be sleepier, compared to babies born of mothers who don’t use the drug. The study, which examined previous medical studies conducted on Prozac, also found that the drug can cause sex/ual dysfunction among men and women who use it. Moreover, because use of the drug is so widespread, it is n/o/w being found in ground waters, waste waters, and sediment across the nation, presumably because residues of the drug, generically known as fluoxetine, are being eliminated in the urine and feces of people on the drug. This is a development that “should be investigated,” the researchers of the study advised.
To read the complete report, see http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/news/fluoxetine/fluoxetine_final.pdf
[Comment: The harmful side-effects caused by Prozac to the infants is due to the fact that fluorextine crosses into the babies’ bloodstream. The effects are further compounded once the infants are born, if they are breastfed, since residues of the drug have also been found in breast milk. The findings above are only the latest showing how dangerous antidepressants in general can be. But that isn’t stopping Big Pharma from trying to convince the populace as a whole that they need them. Nor is it motivating the FDA to take a stand against them. Perhaps the reason for that is that the FDA is simply understaffed and underfunded in its current mission to make all of us safe that great and evil health threat— nutritional supplements!]
Unabashed Plug
Learn the Truth about Heart Disease, Stroke and Hypertension. Most of what conventional medicine has to offer for treating these conditions is based on faulty and potentially dangerous assumptions. Discover the real causes behind these diseases and learn what you can do today to prevent and reverse them using safe and natural alternatives that have been scientifically proven to be effective. Read the critically-acclaimed eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Heart Disease, featuring the contributions of Dr. Garry Gordon, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, and many other leading heart specialists. To order or to find out more about this potentially lifesaving guide, visit http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Heart-Book-Info.cfm.
Q&A with Dr. Garry Gordon
“Dr. Gordon - I have read that DMSA can be effective for dealing with heavy metal detoxification. Can you advise me if there is anything I can do using nutritional supplements?”
The Heavy Detox formula that I designed is my favorite fo/rm of DMSA, as it also has in it 100 mcg of selenocysteine and glucuronolactone to further enhance detoxification. This product has 100 mg DMSA in each cap.
For a person weighing 160 pounds or more I recommend using 3 caps nightly for 1 month, then 2 nightly for 1 month, then and 1 nightly for 1 month. Review progress by re-evaluation of labwork etc. Based on industrial (work) history, some people may need to do this again every 4-8 months for several times. For others, I may have them continue taking just 1 cap daily for an additional 2-3 months (or even just 3 times a week). If youn suspect you have heavy metal toxicity, I also recommend that you work with a holistically-oriented physician with an expertise in this area.
Sincerely, Garry F. Gordon, MD,DO,MD(H)
Note: The Heavy Detox formula, as well as all other nutritional formulas developed by Dr. Gordon, are available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/healthproducts/garrygordon
Self-Care Tips for Preventing and Managing Anxiety
Anxiety is a sense of fear and, in some cases, a feeling of impending doom. The term anxiety disorder refers to a category of disturbances that includes generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. A panic attack is an acute anxiety episode that may be accompanied by sweating, shortness of breath, hot or cold flashes, heart palpitations, and other forms of discomfort. Anxiety disorders occur in people of all ages, but appear to be more common among women. The exact cause is complex, involving constitutional factors, emotional stress, biochemical imbalances, and environmental triggers.
Symptoms: Anxiety is an emotion that may feature excessive worry, sleep disturbances, shakiness, ritualistic behavior, fear of being alone or in public places, impatience, easy distraction, and great apprehension concerning the welfare of loved ones. Associated physical symptoms include racing pulse, heart palpitations, shortness or rapidity of breath, sweating, dry mouth, numbness and tingling of the hands and feet or cold/clammy hands, lightheadedness or dizziness, fatigue, trembling, indigestion, and diarrhea.
Diet: Assess diet for excessive consumption of stressor foods such as: refined sugars, honey, maple syrup, or cow’s milk products. Consume vegetable soups, broths, and a wide variety of green and yellow vegetables. Add more complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, seeds, and nuts.
Nutritional Therapy:Supplmenting with calcium, magnesium, vitamin B complex, pantothenic acid, and/or 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) can often be beneficial. GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), an amino acid, can also affect mood by increasing levels of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin (a mood regulator).
Flower Essences: Flower essences may prove helpful. Aspen is for apprehension, foreboding, and fear of unknown origin while mimulus is for fear of known things, shyness, and timidity. Red chestnut is used for excessive anxiety and over caring for others. Rescue RemedyÒ (combination formula) for general stress from anxiety; Rock Rose for terror and panic from known fear.
Herbs: Panax ginseng has a nutritive or tonic effect on the adrenal glands, improving blood flow to the brain and reducing the stress associated with mental/emotional issues. Valerian root, an her/bal tranquilizer and muscle relaxant, is another good agent for calming the nervous system. It helps balance mood swings and is not habit forming. Valerian-hops combination formulas are good daytime sedatives because they don’t interfere with reflex actions. Passionflower is another mild sedative that helps reduce anxiety, high blood pressure, nervous tension, and muscle tension, and encourages deep, restful sleep. St. John’s wort, a highly popular remedy for depression, has proven effective for anxiety and mood swings as well.
Homeopathy:Aconite, Actaea rac., Drosera, Calc carb., Sulfur.
Hydrotherapy:Constitutional hydrotherapy, immersion ba/th, or wet sheet pack: apply two to five times weekly, neutral application as needed for sedation.
Hypnotherapy:Self-hypnosis to impart to the mind imagery designed to bring about deep levels of relaxation.
Meditation: Develops the mind’s ability to stop anxiety at its source.
Professional Care
The following therapies should only be provided by a qualified health professional: Environmental Medicine, Light Therapy, Magnetic Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, Orthomolecular Medicine Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Note: The information above was adapted from Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition, co-authored and edited by Larry Trivieri, Jr. (Celestial Arts, 2002).
What Is Holistic Medicine: An Interview with Dr. Robert Ivker
[What follows is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with Dr. Robert Ivker, president of the American Board of Holistic Medicine. The full interview is featured in my book, Health on the Edge: Visionary Views of Healing in the New Millennium (see Unabashed Plug above). To learn more about Rob, visit http://www.1healthyworld.com/advisoryBoard/RobertIvker.cfm.]
What is holistic medicine and how is it different from conventional care, and from what is referred to as alternative, complementary, or integrative medicine?
Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person -- body, mind and spirit. Holistic physicians integrate conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat disease, but most importantly to create a condition of optimal health. Optimal, or holistic health, combines at least six different aspects of health--physical, environmental, mental, emotional, social and spiritual. Rather than thinking of health as simply the absence of illness, we are looking at a state of being that is encompassed by high energy and vitality, harmony with your environment (neither harming nor being harmed), peace of mind, a sense of contentment, high self-esteem and self-acceptance, and greater intimacy with at least one other person and with God. This optimal state of well-being is the primary objective of the practice of holistic medicine. To differentiate it from alternative or complementary, or the more popular term today, integrative medicine -- all are encompassed within the scope of holistic medicine.
To me, the practice of alternative or complementary medicine is simply an extension of conventional medicine in that it is almost entirely focused on treating disease and physical dysfunction, but instead of using drugs and surgery they might use alternative therapies such as herbs, acupuncture, or homeopathic remedies. Holistic medicine employs both conventional and complementary therapies - whatever is safe and effective for treating chronic illness. It also distinguishes itself by addressing the multiple causes of disease, in addition to treating the symptoms. But first and foremost to me, holistic medicine's most important characteristic of all is its fundamental belief that unconditional love is life’s most powerful healer. As practitioners of holistic medicine, we believe that every illness is energetically held in the heart, and therefore, to a significant degree, every dis-ease results from a deprivation of love.
How do holistic physicians empower their patients to connect with unconditional love? What approaches do they use?
Holistic physicians attempt to guide their patients in a transformative process that leads them to heal themselves physically, environmentally, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially. Patients are inspired to healthier lives, while repairing their "broken parts." And they do so by being empowered to love and nurture themselves in body, mind, and spirit. The key to healing is to begin by "loving" the dysfunctional tissue or organ. For example, with chronic sinusitis, America's most common ailment, the initial focus is on healing the chronically inflamed mucous membranes, through air-cleaning, steaming, spraying, and drinking more water. When someone who has been suffering for a long period of time obtains relatively quick relief from their physical discomfort, they are much more likely to continue with the prescribed treatment program.
Another highly effective method for physicians to inspire and empower patients to commit to healing (loving) their lives is by first modeling that condition of optimal health. The training to become a healer or holistic physician is to follow Hippocrates' advice, "physician heal thyself." Since holistic physicians are actively engaged in the same healing process as their patients, they can inspire them through their own example. Then within each realm of health there are a number of specific recommendations and therapies that patients can choose from to assist them in their own unique healing process. Since no two of us is exactly alike, each will navigate a somewhat different route towards holistic health.
If we look at the primary objective of our practice in holistic medicine as a condition of optimal health, then we should clearly understand what is meant by that term. The word health, as well as heal and holy, comes from the old English word haelen,which means "to make whole." If we see health as a state of wholeness rather than the absence of illness, then Idefine holistic health as the un/limited and unimpeded f/r/e/e flow of life force energy through body, mind and spirit. This life force energy is known in Chinese medicine as Qi; the Japanese refer to is as ki; in India it is known as prana, and in Hebrew it is chai. In traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine (the medical system of India), both of which have been in existence for thousands of years, this concept of life force energy is essential and is the foundation to their practice. Although our culture has neither a word nor a concept for this energy, I believe that the feeling of "unconditional love" comes closest. During my thirty years in medicine, I’ve identified certain therapies or practices that seem to have the greatest impact on enhancing this and deepening our connection to life force energy. I call them the "essential eight" for optimal health. They are:
Air,both in terms of quality and quantity. Oxygen is our most critical nutrient, and to obtain a maximal supply we teach patients how to breathe more efficiently through abdominal or belly breathing. We may also provide instruction in breathing exercises, known in the Ayurvedic system as pranayama exercises. We also recommend methods for creating an optimal indoor environment. Air that is clean, warm, moist, and filled with oxygen and negative ions is considered ideal.
Water is the second of the essential eight. Drinking higher quality water in the proper amount is the objective. We usually recommend drinking 1/2 oz. of bottled or filtered water per every pound of body wei/ght on days without exercise, and 2/3 oz per pound on days that you do exercise.
The third of the essential eight is foodand nutritional supplements. Basically this refers to a healthy diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fiber, protein, and a good daily regimen of supplements, particularly antioxidants. If patients are being treated for a particular condition, then specific nutritional supplements, dietary recommendations, and medicinal herbs might also be recommended.
Exercise is fourth on the list, especially regular aerobic exercise. All of these first four essentials could be construed as four methods of learning to love, nurture and care for your body and your environment, and encompass physical and environmental health.
The fifth essential relates to what I call play/passion/purpose - identifying and manifesting your heart's greatest needs and desires. I recommend the use affirmations, visualization, and intuition to facilitate this transformational process. It's a method that allows the individual to think of a genie coming out of a bottle and granting you your ten greatest wishes. You write them down and then reword each one as an affirmation. And then I suggest a process of writing, reciting, and visualizing each of those desires. To do so on a daily basis can be a very powerful transformational tool. It allows an individual to become much more aware of their feelings as well as their purpose he/re in this life/time, to greatly expand their capacity for play and passion, and to simply enjoy being alive.
The sixth essential is the practice of gratitude and prayer. It does seem as if basic human nature allows us to be much more aware of what we don’t have and what's going wrong with our lives, rather than to be more conscious of their many gifts and blessings. Yet the more a person can focus on what is working well and the many wonderful things they do have, then the greater the abundance they will attract into their lives. Find something on a daily basis to thank god for and to pray in whatever way feels comfortable. It sometimes helps to think of God as your best friend, making it a more personal prayer, or a prayer prefaced by "let thy will be done," rather than praying for specific material things. For example, if you are praying for mo/ney it's much more effective to pray for what the mon/ey will bring you. If it's a need for greater security, then pray for a sense of greater security rather than praying for more mo/ney.
The seventh health essential is intimacy and the cornerstone of a thriving relationship rests on the triad of communication, physical intimacy, and recreation. I hyphenate that word -- "re-creation" -- recreating the fun and enjoyment that comprised the initial “glue” of the relationship.
Last on the list is forgiveness. I am not recommending that the individual forgive the action or the behavior that caused them pain, but forgive the actor, who through their own fear, insensitivity, or confusion caused this person who is practicing forgiveness to feel a great deal of pain. It's very depleting of life force energy to lock a loved one out of your heart. In my experience, the pain of a broken heart, or the depletion of life force energy from not forgiving, or holding on to anger and hostility, is probably the most critical factor in causing chronic disease.
The forgiveness process does not have to be done in person. It can be practiced through meditation, by writing a letter that's not sent, through journaling, or a number of other methods. I recently came across the following quote, "forgiving is not forgetting; it is remembering without pain." for me, forgiveness is the ultimate for/m of preventive medicine.
It’s important to note that every aspect of holistic medicine is n/o/w scientifically supported. Many well-documented studies support the use of each of these essential eight practices, as well. Most exciting to me has been the proliferation of evidence reinforcing our intuitive belief that love is a potent healer. If we focus on these eight practices, they will do more to enhance life force energy than anything else I've experienced in more than thirty years of practicing medicine as a family physician.
[You can read the rest of interview with Dr. Ivker, including his comprehensive self-assessment test for quickly determining how healthy you are, in Health on the Edge.]
Unabashed Plug
Discover and Gain Control of Your Human Energy Field. Read Dr. Valerie Hunt’s Mind Mastery Meditations: A Workbook for the “Infinite Mind,” the empowering guide created by one of the world's foremost researchers into the human energy field, energy medicine, and the relationship between consciousness and health. Each of the meditations this eBook contains is designed to give you mastery of your mind and to empower you to discover the answers to why you are the way you are, your soul's needs, your unique talents and capacities, and your self-designed destiny. By practicing and mastering these meditations, you will become able to live your life with greater ease and success, speed your self-healing, and dramatically increase your ability to manifest your deepest goals. To order this life-changing guide, visit
http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Mind-Mastery-Book-Info.cfm.
Recommendations
Website:
http://worldpeace.org.au - I like what this organization stands for. You might too.
Book:
The Air-Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller. This book recounts Miller’s trek across the United States, after returning to it following years of living abroad in Europe. As is typical of Miller’s writings, his personal experiences become springboards for philosophical musings that challenge our assumptions of consensual reality, and scold us for not exploring beyond them.
Reader Feedback
A number of readers emailed this past week, inquiring about the availability of Dr. Valerie Hunt’s AuraMeter. The AuraMeter is not yet commercially available, although Valerie is moving forward to that end. I’ll keep you posted as further news develops.
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) 1514 Genesee Street, Suite 52, Utica, NY 13502. 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.
The Health Plus Letter is fully compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
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, May 4, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 14. Copyright © 2004 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.
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