The Health Plus Letter
March 9, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 9
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher
Table Of Contents
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Facts
Medical Freedom Alert
Health News and Commentary
AIDS in Africa: Treating Poverty With Toxic Drugs (Part 1) by Liam Scheff
Self-Care Tips for Preventing and Managing Sciatica
The Power of A Human Spirit - My Sister’s Passing: The Aftermath
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 (which gave it 5 stars, its highest rating) 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.
To hear me interviewed about the information my book contains, visit http://www.beyondhealth.com/radioshow.htm
What’s New
This issue continues the multi-part series by investigative journalist Liam Scheff on the subject of AIDS and HIV that calls into question the widely accepted hypothesis that HIV=AIDS. In this installment, Liam documents how the so-called AIDS crisis in Africa is actually due to very bad science and extreme poverty, both of which are being ignored for the sake of profit.
Also in this issue is information on treating and preventing sciatica. And I bring to a close the heroic journey of my sister Andrea’s passing, a story I feel very privileged to have been able to share with you.
Please continue to send me 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
“Don’t be sad. You’re supposed to laugh...”
- Andrea Trivieri Herman
Fast Fact
Only 16 cents of every dollar raised by the American Cancer Society, the largest public charity in the U.S., is spent on direct services to cancer patients.
Source: When Healing Becomes A Crime by Kenny Ausubel
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
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
New Worries About Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
According to an article last week in the New York Times, health officials are concerned with the increasing resistance to antibiotics exhibited by a group of bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus (commonly referred to as staph). This problem has been a concern among hospitalized patients for a number of years, but recently it’s been discovered that it’s also affecting healthy individuals who should normally quickly recover from common staph infections such as boils and abscesses after receiving antibiotic treatment. The new strains of staph are said to be “unexpectedly aggressive” and can be “life-threatening” if not properly addressed, creating “important public health implications,” according to Dr. Daniel Jernigan, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For the complete story, see “Bacteria Run Wild, Defying Antibiotics” by Abigail Zuger, The New York Times, March 2, 2004
[Comment: More proof of the inherent limitations of drug-based therapies that only address the symptoms, not the causes of disease. At the heart of this problem is the widespread, indiscriminate overuse of antibiotic drugs, which have clearly caused a mutation response on the part of the bacteria they are intended to treat, making the drugs increasingly ineffective. Practitioners of holistic medicine employ a wide variety of safer, natural methods for addressing such concerns, that are designed to both boost immunity and reduce toxicity in the body. Establishing proper pH balance is also essential, since bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens cannot survive, let alone thrive, in an environment of balanced pH. But this is something that is completely ignored by conventional physicians. Moreover, pH balance is disrupted by the very drugs they dispense.]
FDA Launches Heart Health Website – Guess What’s Missing?
The Food and Drug Administration recently launched its website (see http://www.fda.gov/hearthealth) that is intended to focus on “FDA-regulated products to prevent, diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.”
[Comment: One would expect such a site to contain at least a modicum of information about the wealth of documented studies that attest to the benefits that a healthy diet and proper supplementation with nutrients and other natural ingredients can provide for people at risk for heart disease. But no such information is contained on the FDA’s site. Which, to me, isn’t surprising, considering the close ties that the agency has to Big Pharma. Still, to omit such information is, in my opinion, a complete waste of taxpayer money. For a much better source of information on how to prevent and reverse cardiovascular conditions, I highly recommend 1HealthyWorld.com’s eBook, Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Heart Disease, available elsewhere in this issue.]
AIDS In Africa: Treating Poverty with Toxic Drugs (Part 1) by Liam Scheff
[Note: This article was originally published June, 2003, in Boston’s Weekly Dig. I feel the information in this article is very important, showcasing as it does how an entire continent has been conned into thinking it is facing an AIDS crisis when in fact the problems are due to poverty and the conditions that result from it. I have long been aware of and accept the basic premise expressed by the scientists Liam interviews below and wish to help share it with a wider audience. I also urge you to read Liam’s most recent reporting from the AIDS front, which can be found at http://www.altheal.org/toxicity/house.htm and http://www.altheal.org/toxicity/nurse.htm.]
“As to diseases, make a habit of two things—to help, or at least to do no harm.”
-Hippocrates, 5th Century B.C.E. Greek Physician, regarded as the father of medicine.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS, 42 million people around the world are infected with HIV, and nearly 22 million people in Africa have died of AIDS. But AIDS isn't a single disease; it's a collection of diseases. When people are said to die of AIDS, they're known to die of a particular disease or condition, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria or basic malnutrition. AIDS researchers claim that HIV plays a role in the development of these illnesses, but in spite of this claim, 20 years of AIDS research has failed to prove causation between HIV infection and any so-called AIDS disease (as explored in “The AIDS Debate” parts one and two). [See the last 4 issues of The Health Plus Letter, available online at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine - LT]. So why do we call them AIDS deaths?
In the US, AIDS is defined as a collection of 29 previously-known conditions including yeast infections, herpes, salmonella, pneumonia, tuberculosis and Kaposi’s Sarcoma. These conditions are not known to be caused by HIV. Nevertheless, the one thing that classifies any one of these conditions as AIDS is a positive HIV-antibody test.
But even if HIV was found to cause these previously known conditions, a problem remains. The HIV-antibody tests do not diagnose actual HIV-infection. Instead, they look for non-specific antibody reactions in your blood to proteins in the HIV-test. The test manufacturers claim that the proteins stand in for HIV, but in reality, none of the test proteins have been proven to be specific to HIV. These tests are, in fact, so nonspecific that they cross-react with nearly 70 other documented conditions, including the flu, previous vaccinations, blood transfusions, arthritis, alcoholic hepatitis, drug use, yeast infections and even pregnancy, as well as conditions endemic in Africa: tuberculosis, parasitic infection, leprosy and malaria. Because no HIV test can actually find HIV, not a single HIV-test has been approved by the FDA for diagnosing HIV-infection.
In light of this nonspecific, cross-reacting test, how does the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnose AIDS in Africa?
Simple: they don’t require any test at all. In 1985, the WHO created a new definition of AIDS for African nations and third world countries. The WHO‘s “Bangui Definition” allows Africans with common physical symptoms including diarrhea, fever, weight loss, itching and coughing to be automatically designated as AIDS patients, with no HIV test. But these very symptoms define life for the majority of Africans who lack essentials like sufficient food, safe drinking water, proper sanitation and basic medical care. These symptoms are also synonymous with the biggest killers on the continent: malaria, infectious diarrhea and tuberculosis.
Western AIDS organizations are working to get toxic AIDS drugs into the hands of African governments, but what’s the use of potentially deadly AIDS pharmaceuticals to people suffering from poverty-related diseases like chronic tuberculosis and malaria infection, or to pregnant mothers whose blood cross-reacts with the nonspecific HIV tests?
To answer these questions, I spoke with AIDS researchers who’ve worked in Africa and studied the African AIDS epidemic.
Dr. Christian Fiala is a medical doctor and specialist in obstetrics and gynecology in Vienna. He’s worked extensively in Uganda and Thailand researching AIDS.
Dr. Rodney Richards was one of the founding scientists for the biotech company Amgen where he helped develop some of the first HIV tests. Richards currently works full-time researching AIDS.
The interviews were conducted separately and integrated into a dialogue. Individual points-of-view belong to individual speakers.
How is AIDS diagnosed in Africa?
Christian Fiala: Your readers may be surprised to learn that AIDS in Africa is diagnosed completely differently than in Europe or the US. In Africa, an AIDS diagnosis can be made based on commonly occurring physical symptoms alone. This is ironic, because AIDS is a collection of diseases, and has no uniform symptoms. Even the co-founder of HIV theory, Luc Montagnier, admits that AIDS has no specific clinical symptoms.
How was this new AIDS definition devised?
Fiala: In 1985 the WHO held a meeting in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. A WHO official, Joseph McCormick, wrote about it in his book Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC. He wrote: “If I could get everyone at the WHO meeting in Bangui to agree on a single, simple definition of what an AIDS case was in Africa, then, imperfect as the definition might be, we could actually start counting the cases...”
This is what‘s known as the Bangui Definition.
How does the Bangui definition define AIDS?
Fiala: There are two categories of symptoms, major and minor. A patient is given an AIDS diagnosis when they have two major symptoms and one minor symptom. The major symptoms are weight loss, chronic diarrhea and chronic fever. The minor symptoms include coughing and generalized itching.
Let me clarify, based on the WHO’s definition, if you have a fever, a cough and diarrhea in Africa, then you have AIDS?
Fiala: That’s correct.
That seems absurd.
Fiala: It is. It’s more absurd when you understand how common these symptoms are in resource-poor settings like sub-Saharan Africa. To begin with, less than 50 percent of Africans have access to safe drinking water. Over 60 percent have no sanitation. Most African villages don’t have sewage systems. Human and animal excrements mix with the water supply. People drink this water and ingest infectious parasites and bacteria. As a result, dysentery is endemic.
When your intestines are full of infectious microbes, you’ll likely develop a fever. Your body will try to purge itself by expelling the bacteria as quickly as possible. This is infectious diarrhea, and it's incredibly common in Africa.
Diarrhea drains liquid, salts, minerals and nutrients from the body. It weakens the immune system. When you have no safe water, you’ll have diarrhea chronically. When you have chronic diarrhea, you can’t help but to lo/se we/ight.
At this point, you’ve fulfilled the major symptom criteria in the African definition for AIDS. So you need one minor symptom, like generalized itching or coughing. In Uganda, a so-called “AIDS epicenter,” 80 percent of houses have floors made of packed soil or cow dung. An entire family lives on this floor. There are, on average, seven children per family, all living in this room. This is not what we in the US and Europe call proper housing, and it’s easy to see how a problem like “generalized itching” might come up. At this point, an African suffering from itching, diarrhea and wei/ght loss should be – according to the WHO – officially reported as an AIDS patient. The Bangui Definition simply re-labels symptoms of poverty as AIDS.
The second problem with the Bangui Definition is Tuberculosis. TB is very widespread in Africa. It’s a bacterial infection that infects the lungs. TB is spread by coughing, and it’s highly infectious. The typical symptoms of Tuberculosis are fever, wei/ght loss and coughing. This is exactly what is required for an AIDS diagnosis.
So if you have Tuberculosis in Africa, you can be diagnosed with AIDS?
Fiala: That’s correct. According to the WHO, the typical symptoms of TB define AIDS in Africa. Another problem with the Bangui Definition is malaria. Malaria is the most widespread disease in Africa and tropical countries. It’s the leading cause of death in Uganda. It’s spread by mosquitoes, so people are reinfected several times a year. A great many people die every year, while the rest develop a relative immunity, even though it’s wearing away at them. The symptoms of malaria include fever, weight loss and fatigue. If you have a cough or itching, and you have malaria in Africa, you can be diagnosed with AIDS.
As if this wasn’t problematic enough, in some African countries, such as Tanzania, health authorities have decided that a one-criteria diagnosis is all they need. A patient exhibiting just one of the major symptoms – diarrhea, fever or weight loss – can be given an AIDS diagnosis.
This is hardly scientific, and it’s very different from what people are told about AIDS in Africa. The idea that there should be a different kind of AIDS for Africans or Europeans or Americans defies the scientific definition of viral infection. A single virus doesn’t cause different diseases in different people or in different countries. A viral infection doesn’t vary so wildly so as to create pelvic cancer in women, Kaposi’s sarcoma in gay men, and tuberculosis in Africans. But this is what we’re asked to believe about HIV.
What's the treatment for TB and Malaria?
Fiala: The best treatment is prevention. The most effective way to reduce all of these infectious diseases is to improve the standard of living and hygiene for local residents – to provide safe, clean water; plentiful, healthy food; proper housing and basic medical care. This is exactly how the incidence of TB and other infectious diseases was dramatically reduced in the US and Europe.
The treatment for malaria is well known and simple: treated mosquito nets that protect villages; clean, safe, non-stagnant water; and the inexpensive, highly efficient drugs that effectively fight the disease.
Why don’t African Countries have clean water systems?
Fiala: You could’ve asked that question 100 years ago in the US and Europe. Sewage and water systems rely on economic development. We have these things in the West because we know they’re absolutely essential, so we’ve invested mo/ney and energy in them.
Many African nations don’t have the money to develop this infrastructure and modernize the villages. The money they have is being re-routed into AIDS. These countries are being pressured by international AIDS organizations to take money out of rural development and put it into AIDS education, condom distribution, abstinence campaigns and toxic AIDS pharmaceuticals.
(Concludes next issue.)
Copyright © 2003 by Liam Scheff. All rights reserved.
Self-Care Tips for Preventing and Managing Sciatica
Sciatica is a condition that manifests as radiating pain from the back either into the buttock and/or the lower extremity (leg) usually on the back (posterior) and outward (lateral) side. It represents pain referred somewhere along the path of the sciatic nerve.
Symptoms: Discomfort, pain, burning, tingling, stabbing, aching anywhere along the path of the sciatic nerve (from the buttock, down the leg, into the foot, although the most commonly affected areas are the buttock and thigh). In very severe cases, the pain may be associated with weakness. Pain can be very severe and recurrent unless the cause is found and treated.
According to Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O., there needs to be a clear distinction between sciatic neuralgia and sciatic neuritis. Neuritis is an active inflammatory process whereas neuralgia is an irritation of the nerve often resulting from outside mechanisms (disk, bone, muscle, distant trigger point activity). The advice given below regarding diet, nutrients, and herbs can help neuritis more than neuralgia. Manipulative and exercise methods are more helpful for neuralgia resulting from mechanical dysfunction. Sometimes neuralgia and neuritis coincide and both approaches are found useful.
Consider: Sometimes chronic musculoskeletal pain may be secondary to low thyroid conditions, nutrient deficiencies, old injuries in associated joints that ne/ver healed completely or correctly, referred pain from problems in internal organs, or emotional stress.
Special Notes: Treatment must include removing whatever the pressure is on the sciatic nerve (misalignment of lumbar spine), prolapsed (herniated) intervertebral disk, spasm of the buttock muscles (usually one called the piriformis), abnormal stresses on associated joints, or secondary to injuries of the foot, knee, hip, or back that alter the walking gait and put abnormal and asymmetrical strain on the muscles. Insufficient exercise and muscles that have become excessively weak and/or tense can create imbalances, which are the most underappreciated causes of chronic musculoskeletal problems.
Self-Care:
Diet: Since thiamine (vitamin B1) and magnesium act as natural muscle relaxants, foods that are high in these nutrients are good: dark leafy green vegetables, yellow vegetables, whole grains, and raw seeds and nuts. Avoid excess consumption of foods that drain the body of these nutrients, such as caffeinated beverages, chocolate, and refined sugars.
Nutritional Therapy: The following nutrients may be helpful for managing sciatic pain. For best results, consult with a nutritionally-oriented physician. Magnesium, thiamine (vitamin B1), vitamin B complex, vitamin B12 (injections may be helpful in some cases that are chronic and unresponsive to any other treatment), vitamin E, calcium, manganese sulfate.
Aromatherapy: Apply a cold press and lightly massage with chamomile, lavender, or birch.
Ayurveda: Triphala guggulu (200 mg), generally taken 1/4 teaspoon with warm water twice a day after lunch and dinner. Dashamoola tea basti, mahanarayan oil massage, and bathe with 1/3 cup of ginger powder and 1/3 cup baking soda.
Herbs: Mix in equal parts willow bark and St. John’s wort tincture and take 1/2 teaspoonful three times a day. Massage with warm St. John’s wort oil will help alleviate pain. Black cohosh, chamomile, fenugreek, juniper berries, mugwort, parsley, rosemary, and skullcap can also be helpful.
Homeopathy: Colocynth, Viscum album, Lachesis, Rhus tox., Aconite, Arsen alb., Lycopodium, Mag phos., Ruta grav. Dr. Chaitow recommends Atropa Belladonna (6X potency) for neuralgia.
Hydrotherapy: Contrast application (apply daily). According to Dr. Chaitow, a neutral ba/th (body temperature) has a profoundly calming effect.
Topical Treatment: According to Dr. Chaitow, for neuralgic type pain, apply moist or dry heat to the affected leg(s) for one hour, four times a day. This is only valid for neuralgic type pain where heat acts to relax muscles. If there is inflammation (neuritis), heat will inflame the area further. Use hot and cold alternating applications, finishing with cold.
Professional Care:
The following therapies should only be provided by a qualified health professional.
Applied Kinesiology, Bodywork (acupressure, reflexology, shiatsu, massage, Alexander technique, Feldenkrais, Trager, Rolfing, Hellerwork), Chiropractic, Craniosacral Therapy, Detoxification Therapy, Energy Medicine (The Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS), which applies an electrical current to affected nerves, is invaluable for relief of most but not all nerve pains.), Environmental Medicine, Enzyme Therapy, Magnetic Field Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, Neural Therapy,Osteopathy, Prolotherapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (combination of acupuncture and her/bal formulas depending upon cause of particular symptom).
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).
Unabashed Plug
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http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Heart-Book-Info.cfm.
The Power of A Human Spirit - Andrea’s Passing: the Aftermath
[The first 15 parts of this article appeared in issues 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of Volume 1, and issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Volume 2 of The Health Plus Letter, all of which are archived at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine]
Deep sorrow gripped my family following Andrea’s passing. In accordance with her wishes, a memorial service was held for her at Gilda’s Club in New York City at the end of the week. My siblings and I car-pooled down from Utica, meeting at the home of my sister Dianne and her husband, Mario. The mood was understandably somber. But then my sister Liz and her husband Fabio arrived, along with their children, Joshua and Breana. Breana, seven years old, was always one of Andrea’s favorites. I expected her to be devastated, but she was smiling happily instead. So I went up to her and asked how she was. She replied that she was fine, then told me, “Andrea came to visit me and she is happy now.” It turned out that Bre had been visited my Andrea each night since her passing. To some, this might sound fanciful, but Bre has always exhibited an awareness of what I call the Greater Reality, and I could tell by the conviction in her voice that her nighttime communications with Andrea were no mere dreams. What she told me brought me a lot of comfort.
Moments later, the Trivieri caravan was underway. We arrived at Gilda’s shortly before the services began, to be greeted by Andrea’s children, Bryan and Alyssa, both of whom were doing well. Inside, the main meeting room was filled to capacity with Andrea’s friends and the various personnel at Gilda’s whose lives she had touched. Per Andrea’s instructions, a CD of Buddhist chants played softly in the background as we took our places, then the service began. Early on, my sister Cindy read the letter Andrea had written to all of us in anticipation of this moment. It began: “You just knew I was going to have the last word ...” and went on to convey her gratitude to all of us, paying particular tribute to my Mom, from whose lifetime example Andrea had always drawn her strength. It ended midway through her last sentence, for she had written it in the last week of her life, and was too weak to keep writing. Cindy’s reading left most of us in tears. I followed Cindy, then most of the rest of my family also paid tribute to Andrea. We were followed by many of her friends and members of Gilda’s staff. Listening to all they shared about Andrea revealed many aspects of her life that I had been unaware of. To a person, each speaker cited Andrea’s positive attitude, caring spirit, and sense of humor, and a number of them also commented on her wonderful fashion sense (Andrea always looked her best, no matter what). A number of very amusing tales about her were also told.
Hearing her friends speak, most of whom began the day as strangers to me, was very healing for me. Because, soon after her passing, I’d found myself very angry at the cancer establishment which, to my mind, had led to her death. I still believe that, had Andrea elected to pursue a different course of treatment, she would yet be with us, but as I listened to story after story of how Andrea had so positively impacted the lives of these people, many of whom also had cancer, I perceived matters with a less judgmental stance, for it soon became obvious that included in the purpose of Andrea’s Soul was touching these wonderful people in the wonderful ways that she had. Nearly all of them were people she had only met two years earlier, when she’d first moved to New York and joined Gilda’s. I realized that, had her cancer not returned the way that it had, she might ne/ver have fulfilled her lifelong dream of living in Manhattan. Certainly, she nev/er would have gone to Gilda’s. And so she would never have met, befriended, and supported all of the people there paying her tribute. In that moment, I let go of my anger, if not my determination to continue informing others about the many viable alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation that I know about.
Finally, Breana got up to speak. And we witnessed firsthand the wisdom that comes out of the mouths of children. With a poise far beyond her years, Bre stood before the room and said: “I love Andrea and I know I will see her again.” And with her words, my sorrow was healed. Joy took hold of my heart, and lasted for days afterward.
Since that day, Breana is not the only one of us who has been graced with a visit from Andrea. And in every case, the message she’s conveyed is always the same: “Don’t be sad. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. You’ll see.” As Breana told us, we’ll see her again when our time comes to join her.
I often feel her presence about me, and at times I also sense her guidance. Mostly, when I think of her, I feel Joy mixed with a bit of awe and a lot of pride. But I still miss her greatly, and on occasion still cry when I find myself wishing I could call her up, just to hear her voice or share something I know she’d be interested in. Her passing left as wound on my heart, and as my Mom says, “Some wounds aren’t meant to heal.” Meaning that, by them, were continually are graced with the reminder of all the Gifts we received from those we love who have preceded us Home.
Shortly after I returned home from Andrea’s service, I wrote the following poem for her, for myself, and for my family.
My Sister, Like An Angel, Flown
My Sister, like and angel, flown
beyond the ken of hope
and all explaining
soars beyond the things of Time,
her passage brilliant, wounding.
And wounded now forevermore,
I abide here, quiet, weeping,
recalling all the Gifts she gave
to me and all who knew her,
bequeathing them unwittingly
throughout the passion dance her life was.
Her smile was a beacon light
of warmth and knowing comfort,
and her laughter was the Soul’s glad song
of knowing what, in Life, most matters.
Embracing that, she little craved
the bland pursuits that others spend themselves on;
she quickly bored of all routine,
insisting on Adventure,
enthusiast, mercurial,
in the Moment, always questing.
And questing still, beyond this plane
now free of limitation!
Her Spirit soars, her Gifts endure,
and so, alas, does sorrow
endured by we, her orphaned loves,
who must remain without her.
Onion-layered is our grief
and not to be assuaged
for healing will not fully come
till each of us can follow
our Sister, like and angel, flown
who awaits us now in Heaven ...
My thanks to all of you for allowing me to share Andrea’s story with you. Should you wish, you can make a donation in Andrea’s name (Andrea Trivieri Herman) to Gilda’s Club Creative Center, 195 W. Houston Street, Manhattan, NY 10014. To find out more about Gilda’s, please visit http://www.gildaclub.org and http://www.gildaclubnyc.org.
Unabashed Plug
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Recommendations
Books:
German Cancer Therapies by Morton Walker - This book serves as an excellent introduction to the dramatic difference between mainstream cancer care in Germany, compared to the U.S., and provides very good information about some of the innovative cancer therapies that are routinely available in Germany, yet currently unavailable in the US and Canada. (In 2002, I visited Klinik St. George, one of the cancer centers profiled in the book, and can personally attest to its high success rate in reversing cancer.)
The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy - A thoroughly documented exploration of the hidden meaning of the Gospels, as well as their parallels to the so-called “pagan” spiritual teachings that preceded them.
Reader Feedback
Anita B writes:
“I really look forward to receiving each issue of The Health Plus Letter. Your health and wellness articles are so credible and relevant. It just seems scandalous to me that in the richest, most blessed country on earth we can't (or won't) provide decent healthcare for those who need it. I just came -- this a.m. from taking my mom (79 yrs.old) for her regular visit to her internist -- saw no less than four drug company reps visit this office in the space of 1 hour!! They received easy access to chat with the doctor - while Mom waited forever in the examination room. Seems the standard procedure n/o/w is writing scripts - not helping patients to get and stay well. But that's a story I'm sure you know all too well!
“Please keep up the good work. We all need to hear on a regular basis that there is another way, a better way to stay well.”
Glenn C adds:
“I was completely glued to my computer, listening to your recorded radio show - very impressive insight into the future of healthcare. Thanks for putting so much effort to bring these technologies in healthcare to the forefront. I appreciate it more than ever. [The link to my interview can be found at the top of the page - LT]
“Recently I discovered that my body doesn't take well to conventional medicine, after my doctors tried after 4 yrs, to finally put an end to extreme side effects I have had to what I believe was too much radiation from 1000's of computers that I was exposed to over my career managing IT infrastructures. The only solutions that have provided genuine relief have been energy based, like meditation, and Shiatsu. They put me on all sorts of psychotic drugs like Paxil and Valporic Acid, all which gave me severe side-effects that were far beyond the original benefit they were to provide. I think I still have side effects from those medications long after I have been off them. They have told me I have Bipolar Disorder, and for a while I believed them, but when I was able to regulate my symptoms through meditation and energy work, it didn't follow the uncontrollable up/down patterns that normally confront people with this disorder. Sometimes I feel up or down, but am able to regulate it, so believe my ups and downs are due to circumstances in my life, and not a chemical imbalance. I probably could convince myself I have Bipolar, and fit my mindset to believe all my symptoms are due to Bipolar, but believe that would be lying to myself and setting the stage for acceptance of a problem that I don't have, and create greater confusion throughout my life.
“N/o/w I am convinced beyond a doubt, that my health really depends on my own discipline to really embrace common sense methods to keep me healthy. At times it seems simpler to take pills, than follow a strict series of common sense, balanced healthcare techniques like daily exercise,truly balanced nutrition, and real balance in my daily activities. I've hit that point where I have no choice but to get tough and follow this new lifestyle. I'm finding it interesting that it is really the "discipline" that I have lacked the most over the years, since I've been aware of what is good for me and what is not for a long time, but like I said it often seems simpler to take pills or follow addictive urges (caffeine, sugar, etc.).”
My thanks to both Anita and Glenn for writing me. I share their emails because they both make important points. As Anita points out, conventional MDs these days spend less and less time with their patients, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a doctor’s office in this country where drug reps are not freely seen by doctors whenever they call. Which is hardly surprising, considering how many perks and gifts the doctors receive from them for dispensing their drugs.
Glenn’s email makes an important point, illustrating what can happen when an individual refuses to passively submit to medical advice, but instead takes responsibility for his or her health, and then sets about finding out what s/he needs to do to be healthy. As Glenn says, it is often “simpler to take pills or follow addictive urges,” but when we commit to doing what we know is necessary for our own health, the levels of healing we can achieve are boundless.
See you next week.
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.
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, March 9, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 9. Copyright © 2004 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.
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