The Health Plus Letter
February 2, 2006, Vol. 4, No. 2
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 Fact
Medical F/r/e/edom Alert
Self-Care Remedies for Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis
Opening The Human Energy Field: Working With Dr. Valerie Hunt
Avian (Bird) Flu: The Fix Is In
Recommendations
Unabashed Plug
Amazon.com continues to offer my newest book, Health on the Edge: Visionary Views of Healing in the New Millennium at a healthy discount. To order it, visit http://www.amazon.com.
What’s New
Welcome to this year’s second issue of The Health Plus Letter. A bit late due to the fact that I was traveling since I wrote the last issue. Below, you will find an account of a recent experience I had with Dr. Valerie Hunt while I was in Los Angeles. My experience has implications for everyone, and concerns the human energy field. You’ll also find self-care tips for dealing with diverticulosis and diverticulitis, two fairly common disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Finally, I’m also including a brief report from Lancet, along with my commentary, that highlights the scam that is avian flu.
As always, 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
“You know nothing till your intuition agrees.”
-- Richard Bach
Fast Fact
According to the American heart Association, 63 million Americans suffer from heart disease.
Medical F/r/e/edom Alert
Our health freedoms remain under assault by special interests that seek a monopoly on health care in this country and around the world. Please support the following organizations, which are at the forefront of those working to protect our rights:
Citizens for Health - http://www.citizens.org
Alliance for Natural Health – http://www.alliance-natural-health.org (The leading organization fighting to preserve health f/r/e/edom in England and the EU.)
Institute for Health F/r/e/edom – http://www.ForHealthF/r/e/edom.org
International Advocates for Health F/r/e/edom (IAHF) – http://www.iahf.com
Health Lobby (Monica Miller) – http://www.healthlobby.com
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 f/r/e/edom advocate Tim Bolen at http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/Suster2.htm
And to learn how corrupt and extensive Big Pharma’s monopoly is, visit http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/online/research/index.html the website for the Campaign Against Fraudulent Medical Research. In particular, read their in-depth report The Pharmaceutical Drug Racket that you will find th/e/re.
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.
Self-Care Tips for Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis
Diverticulosis is a condition characterized by balloon-like sacs or pouches extending outward from the intestinal walls. When these sacs develop inflammation, the condition is known as diverticulitis. Only a small percentage of people with diverticulosis ever go on to develop diverticulitis, however. Both conditions are direct consequences of the standard American diet and are virtually nonexistent among peoples around the world who fresh foods that are rich in fiber.
Symptoms: Diverticulosis is usually not accompanied by any obvious symptoms. However, people with this condition commonly have pieces of fecal matter lodged into the sacs of the colon, where they stagnate and can cause a buildup of toxins. Symptoms of diverticulitis are much more noticeable, and can range from gripping abdominal pain, sluggish elimination, constipation, and mucus in the stools. In certain cases, the pain can be great and mimic that of an appendicitis.
Causes: The primary cause of both diverticulosis and diverticulitis is a poor diet that is lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables and other fiber-rich foods. Other causes can include food allergies, lack of exercise, “leaky gut” syndrome, and pharmaceutical drugs.
Poor Diet: An unhealthy diet is the primary cause of both conditions. Such a diet is high in commercially processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats, and contains an abundance of chemical additives and preservatives while lacking adequate amounts of fiber. Such a diet not only places a great burden on the gastrointestinal tract, it can also result in serious nutritional deficiencies. All of these factors, combined, can lead to excess acidity in the GI tract, indigestion, poor absorption of food nutrients, “leaky gut” syndrome, a buildup of toxins, and autoimmune reactions.
Food Allergies: Food allergies, while often overlooked or misdiagnosed by conventional physicians, are another potential cause of diverticulosis and diverticulitis, as well as many other disease conditions. If you suffer from either of these conditions, it is very important that you be tested for food allergies and sensitivities. Common allergy-causing foods include milk and dairy products, wheat, gluten (a component of wheat products), corn, and chocolate, but any food has the potential to cause food allergies.
Lack of Exercise: Failure to exercise regularly can result in diminished production of digestive and pancreatic enzymes, as well as hydrochloric acid (HCl), all of which are necessary for healthy gastrointestinal function and which, if lacking, can result in a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders.
“Leaky Gut” Syndrome: “Leaky gut” syndrome refers to a condition caused by damage to the intestinal lining, specifically the mucosa. As a result of this damage, undigested food particles, as well as various microorganisms that normally remain within the GI tract pass through the intestines to enter into the bloodstream. This, in turn, causes the immune system to overreact, producing antibodies that attack the cells of the intestines. In addition to GI disorders, “leaky gut” syndrome has also been linked to rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
Pharmaceutical Drugs: The following drugs can all cause and exacerbate various gastrointestinal disorders, including colitis: Accutane, Alka-Seltzer Antacid and Alka-Seltzer Pain Reliever, Anturane, Genuine Bayer Aspirin, Bayer Plus Aspirin, Bayer Regular Strength Enteric Aspirin, Bufferin Analgesic Tablets and Caplets, Ceptaz, Clinoril, Cuprimine, Ecotrin Enteric Coated Aspirin, Feldene, Ilosone, Lamprene, Leukine for IV Infusion, Lopid, Marplan, Meclomen, Novantrone, Paraplatin, Piroxicam, Prokine I.V. Infusion, Retrovir, Rynatuss, Supprelin Injection, Suprax, Ticlid, Tolectin, Toradol IM Injection, Trecator-SC, Trilisate, and Voltaren.
Self-Care
Aromatherapy: A mixture of the essential oil of cinnamon and extra virgin olive oil rubbed into the stomach and abdomen can often help to relieve symptoms.
Diet: An organic whole foods diet that is high in fiber is essential for reversing both diverticulosis and diverticulitis, and is also the best way from preventing both conditions from developing in the first place. Avoid all commercially processed foods, sugars, refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, coffee and other caffeine products, sodas, commercial nonherbal teas, alcohol, spices, and milk and dairy products. Also have yourself screened for potential food allergies and sensitivities and avoid those foods for which you test positive. In addition, consider an elimination diet in order to further reduce the likelihood of food allergies. Also avoid food that can easily become lodged in intestinal sacs, such as nuts, seeds, and fruit with small seeds, such as raspberries.
Emphasize a diet rich in organic whole foods, especially plenty of organic fresh green vegetables and green vegetable drinks. Free-range organic meats and poultry, and wild-caught fish are also recommended. Also be sure to drink plenty of pure filtered water throughout the day.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet—A dietary approach that has been found to be effective in the majority of diverticulosis and diverticulitis cases is called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It was developed by Elaine Gottschall, M.Sc., and is based on the research of the late Sidney V. Haas, M.D., who discovered that most gastrointestinal disorders are caused by an imbalance of carbohydrates in relationship to the microorganisms that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
According to Dr. Haas, when this relationship becomes unbalanced, the microorganisms grow uncheck and release toxins, causing malabsorption of food, and especially poor digestion of carbohydrates, a staple of the Western diet. To reverse this trend, Haas, and later, Gottschall developed the strict dietary regimen that comprises the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Based on her work with hundreds of patients with severe gastrointestinal disorders, Gottschall has found that the diet can yield complete results in as little as three weeks, but only if it is completely adhered to. Its eating guidelines are as follows:
Avoid: All processed meats, breaded or canned fish, processed cheeses, smoked or canned meats, as well as all cereal grains in any fo.rm, including flour, potatoes, yams, parsnips, chick peas, bean sprouts, soybeans, mung beans, fava beans; and seaweed. Also avoid milk or dried milk solids, buttermilk or acidophilus milk, commercially prepared yogurt and sour cream, soymilk, ins.tant tea, coffee, coffee substitutes, beer, cornstarch, arrowroot, all other starches, chocolate, carob, bouillon cubes, ins.tant soup bases, all products made with refined sugar, agar-agar, carrageenan, pectin, ketchup, ice cream, molasses, corn and maple syrup, all flours made from legumes, baking powder, and all seeds.
Eat: Fresh or frozen meats; poultry; fish; eggs; natural cheeses; homemade yogurt; dry curd cottage cheese; most fresh or frozen (but not canned) vegetables and legumes; and fresh, raw, dried, or cooked fruits, but not canned (except in their own juices).
Abide by this diet for all long as your symptoms persist.
Fasting: A water or vegetable juice fast for one to three days is an excellent way of relieving symptoms, especially during acute diverticulitis attacks.
Her/bal Medicine: The primary her/bal remedy recommended by her/balists for both diverticulosis and diverticulitis is Robert’s Formula, which consists of comfrey, Echinacea, geranium, goldenseal, marshmallow root, poke root, slippery elm, and wild indigo. For best results take it in combination with licorice root tea. As your symptoms improve, continue taking Robert’s Formula along with liquid chlorophyll.
Homeopathy: Useful homeopathic remedies include Belladonna, Bryonia, and Colocynthis.
Hydrotherapy: Soothing baths two to five nights a week can help to relieve symptoms, as can alternating hot and cold water packs placed over the abdomen.
Juice Therapy: Useful juice combinations include carrot, celery, beet, and cabbage juice; green juices; and papaya, apple, lemon, and pineapple.
Lifestyle: If you smoke, stop, and also avoid exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. In addition, learn how to effectively cope with and manage stress. Also try to exercise regularly. And if you are currently taking aspirin or other NSAIDs, consider replacing them with safer, more effective natural remedies.
Nutritional Supplements: Useful supplements for both diverticulosis and diverticulitis include B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, as well as probiotics such as acidophilus and Bifidobacteria. Two other highly effective supplements are fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and soil-based organisms. FOS is an all-natural carbohydrate microorganism that has been shown by researchers to serve as a fertilizing agent that enable Bifidobacteria to thrive in the large intestine, where it helps to protect against harmful bacteria.
Soil-based organisms are beneficial microbes found in soil. Taken as a supplement, they go to work to detoxify the gastrointestinal tract while eliminating fungi, molds, parasites, viruses, and yeasts. They also help to improve the absorption of nutrients and improve both immune and overall cell function, including the production of RNA and DNA. In addition, they also act as natural antioxidants.
Stress Reduction: Stress reduction techniques are often helpful in relieving distress associated with diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Stress reduction techniques are also very helpful for dealing with emotions such as anger, depression, and hopelessness that can exacerbate symptoms. Holistic health practitioners help their patients accomplish stress reduction through the use of various mind/body medicine techniques, such as biofeedback, hypnotherapy, and relaxation exercises. Meditation is another type of stress management that can be highly effective. There are many ways to meditate. One of the easiest is simply to sit comfortably in a chair with your eyes closed as you focus on your breathing. Do this for five to ten minutes twice a day and gradually extend each session to 20 to 30 minutes. To enhance your efforts, concentrate on mentally repeating a peaceful phrase each time that you inhale and exhale, allowing all other thoughts to arise and pass without becoming involved in them. At first, this may seem difficult, but with committed practice you will eventually find yourself able to do so while experiencing greater degrees of calm and peace.
(The above information is adapted from Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, 2nd edition, edited and co-written by Larry Trivieri, Jr.)
Opening The Human Energy Field: Working With Dr. Valerie Hunt
Last month, I had the oppor.tunity to visit Dr. Valerie Hunt for the first time since 2004. As readers of my book Health on the Edge (see Unabashed Plug above) know, Valerie has long been at the forefront of those researchers who are exploring the human energy field (or human mind field, as Valerie calls it) and its relationship to consciousness and health. A world-renowned scientist, Valerie is also a mystic, in the sense that she has mastered her own energy field to the point where she has resolved the underlying “Soul issues” that she came into this life with, and is thus able to help others do the same. Today (she will be 90 later this year), she is possessed with a radiant, peaceful beauty and a vibrant energy of someone much younger, and remains actively and creatively engaged in furthering her work and explorations. She truly is an inspiration to everyone fortunate enough to know her.
Since I first met her six years ago, Valerie has repeatedly offered to work with me so that I could experience firsthand my own underlying Soul issues. Until my recent visit, I had not taken her up on this generous offer, and before we began our session (and after Valerie mirthfully asked me if I was ready to be “shaken up,”) I admitted a bit of trepidation about beginning. Valerie told me that was good. We then began the process.
As I lay comfortably on a massage table, Valerie, using the skills she’s developed, assessed my energy field. It was not balanced and, moreover, I was not grounded. Both of these facts were very apparent to me as she conducted her assessment. She then guided me in one of the creative meditative processes she’s created (detailed in Chapter 2 of Mind Mastery Meditations-see the Unabashed Plug below) that involved breathing in conjunction with specific visualizations. Almost immediately, I felt my field stabilizing and becoming stronger. Both effects were quickly achieved; then Valerie moved on to instructing me in consciously activating the various centers of energy along my spine to the tip of my crown (often referred to as charkas), as well as other centers within my feet, legs, and shoulders. This process significantly increased the positive benefits I was already experiencing, and left me feeling both far more relaxed and far more energized. At this point, Valerie again assessed my field, finding that I was grounded and far more balanced (not perfectly so, yet definitely far more than before).
N/o/w that my field was “open,” Valerie guided me with specific que/stions. To answer them, I simply asked for the information from my field itself, and they quickly arose. The experience was far more than an intellectual understanding. I found my self palpably and viscerally becoming aware of other Soul experiences (Valerie terms these lifehoods), after first reconnecting with various experiences from my early childhood that confirmed for me what I’ve always known is my life purpose—being a writer. I will keep the specifics of the rest of my experience to myself, since they are personal and mine alone. What I will share is the gist of what unfolded.
In two lifehoods, separated by many centuries and in two very different cultures, I discovered myself to have been someone who intuitively discovered new information for that time, which, if shared with the public at large, would have dramatically have empowered them and changed their understanding of themselves. But in both instances, authority figures to whom I gave allegiance and respected prevented me from making my discoveries known. The end result, in both instances, was that I passively accepted their decisions while privately being upset by them. Yet I did not express my upset, nor did I allow myself to go against their will. Instead, I resigned myself to my fate, as it were, and in both lifehoods I thereafter lost my zest for life and died fairly early, in both cases sensing that my “deaths” were caused primarily by an overbearing sense of fatigue and futility. After reconnecting with and re-experiencing these events, I viewed both of these lifehoods as failures.
Guided by Valerie, I then discovered myself living in a much earlier lifehood, which began with me being mercilessly abandoned by my parents at two years of age simply because I was a burden to them. Instead of dying, even at that yo.ung age, I was fueled by a rage that resulted in me growing up to be a fierce, uncaring person feared by all who knew me. In the course of that lifehood, I committed many acts of evil, including murder, all driven by the rage I felt at my parents’ abandonment of me. In the end, however, I finally admitted to myself the horror of my acts and, in the process, created an injunction against myself that resulted in me ne/ver again fully or adequately allowing myself to get angry.
Understanding this was not enough, however. I needed to feel that anger of so long ago. As I opened myself up to it, I felt its life-nourishing energies flood through me. As I told Valerie, every cell in my body felt red with powerful energy. An energy that was both healthy and appropriate! It truly felt delicious and I basked in it long enough to realize that it is indeed okay—in many cases, essential—to express anger, so long as no one is harmed by it. I then saw that, in the two previous lifehoods I’d experienced, my unwillingness to be angry was what had thwarted my desire to share my discoveries with the world, not the edicts of my superiors, and that this pattern had continued to be a part of my current life/time too. With anger welcomed back as an ally instead of an emotion to be shunned or feared, my session came to an end.
Since then, there have been two occasions when I found myself spontaneously expressing anger verbally. In both instances, I felt refreshed afterwards and entirely without guilt, whereas previously I would have felt tired and guilty. I also knew my responses in both cases were appropriate. Moreover, by allowing them, I quickly discharged the anger and the issues that triggered them both quickly resolved themselves without further ado. Additionally, as a result of what I uncovered, I have walked away from projects that I n/o/w clearly see are not truly fulfilling for me. Doing so has left me further energized and excited about my future.
Some who read this may scoff at the idea of Soul issues and other lifehoods. That’s fine by me. Though I experienced what I related as true, I make no claims about its historical veracity. What most matters to me is the end result of my experience—increased vitality, excitement, and greater comfort expressing so-called “negative emotions.” The value I perceive in Valerie’s meditative approaches lie in their ability to quickly energize the human body while simultaneously catalyzing one’s ability to achieve greater levels of guidance and understanding about their lives in a way that actively empowers positive change. I intend to put what I’ve learned to good use, and am already refocusing on childhood dreams that I put aside so many years ago. Doing so leaves me with greater feelings of happiness and excitement. And certainly even healthier than I was before.
If you are interested in having similar adventures, please know that it is not necessary to work with Valerie in order to do so. Everything that you need is available to you using the tools she shares in Mind Mastery Meditations. Please share your feedback with me about what I’ve shared with you.
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.
Avian (Bird) Flu: The Fix Is In
The media, as well as both national and international health agencies, continue to warn us about the deadly epidemic that can potentially result from the avian flu virus, just as they did with SARS a few years ago. Needless to say, they do so without so far offering any definitive proof whatsoever that the flu virus alleged to be at the heart of this latest threat actually was the cause of the 80 or so people said to have died from it since 2003. (During that same time period, mil.lions of people in the United States alone have died from heart disease, and mil.lions more from cancer, and the list goes on and on.) Nor have I seen any mainstream pronouncements regarding whether various other factors may have played a role in these deaths, something that needs to be ruled out before avian flu can conclusively be said to have caused them. (Note: Autopsies revealing the presence of antibodies to the flu do not prove that the flu caused the deaths. In fact, antibodies to a microorganism are usually a sign that the body was able to muster resistance to it. During flu season, many people who ne/ver develop cold or flu symptoms would be found to possess antibodies to regular flu viruses. The fact that they did not get sick, means that the antibodies did their job.)
So far, as a result of this so-called pending pandemic, both the United States and the European Union member states have pledged bil/lions of dollars to aid Big Pharma in developing a vaccine for avian flu. In the meantime, the US and EU nations have also spent further billions stockpiling supplies of Tamiflu and Relenza, as an additional measure to protect against a mass avian flu outbreak. To which Big Pharma sing ka-ching, ka-ching! Especially in light of the following:
According to a published article in the mainstream medical journal The Lancet last month (The Lancet, Jan. 28, 2006; 367: pp. 289; 303-13), medical researchers reviewed 52 clinical trials conducted on Tamiflu and Relenza. Based on their review, they concluded that the drugs are not even effective against regular seasonal flu. Despite this conclusion, they still recommended that both drugs be used should the avian flu outbreak occur. That’s right, folks; the drugs won’t help you with regular flu, but for a flu said to have the potential to kill mil.lions of people around the world the drugs are A-OK. Which, of course, it tantamount to telling a policeman, this protective vest won’t stop a bullet, but if you ever face bazooka fire, it’s the best!
If you want to investigate the actual facts about avian bird flu, I suggest you do a Google search for Dr. Sheri Tenpenny.
Recommendations
Website
www.st911.org - If you, like me, have reservations about what actually happened on September 11, 2001, this site may interest you. Before you dismiss it as the work of “conspiracy theorists,” be aware that it was created by reputable academics and researchers.
Books
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This book, which I first read when I was five years old, is what made me realize I wanted to be a writer. During my recent trip to LA, I bought a new edition to read during my flight home. As far as I’m concerned, it still holds up as one of the finest adventure tales ever written.
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. Written in 1977, this book for yo.ung readers is a moving tale about friendship, life, death, and the gifts that our friends give us, which we often do not discover until later. I really enjoyed it.
That’s all for this 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 info/rmation 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.
Le/gal Notice: The info/rmation in this eZine may be f/r/e/ely and widely disseminated so long as full attribution is made as follows: The Health Plus Letter, February 2, 2006, Vol. 4, No. 2. Copyright © 2006 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.
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