THIS ARCHIVE WILL CONTAIN SELECTED ARTICLES FROM PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS
WHAT IS HOMOEOPATHY AND HOW DOES IT WORK? FEBRUARY 2005 NEWSLETTER.
THE INFLAMMATION PROBLEM AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. MARCH 2005 NEWSLETTER.
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NOW IS THE TIME TO DETOXFY: NOVEMBER 2005 NEWSLETTER.
TO AVOID NARROW COLUMNS OF NARRATIVE WHEN PRINTING ARTICLES FROM THIS ARCHIVE, IT IS BEST TO COPY AND PASTE THEM TO YOUR WORD PROCESSOR AND PRINT THEM FROM THERE.
NEWSLETTER: FEBRUARY 2005
UPDATED DECEMBER 27,2006
This term was coined by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann in a book published in 1810 called Organon of the Art of Healing Organon is a Greek word which signifies “the means.” The medical modality of homeopathy was the result of 20 years of research by Dr. Hahnemann and his associates.
DEVELOPMENT: It all began when Dr. Hahnemann began experimenting with various herbs and other substances by ingesting them to determine what effect they would have on his body and mind. For example he took Peruvian bark which was used to treat a person sick with malaria. To his surprise, he found that by taking this substance he was able to produce in himself the same set of symptoms as those suffered by the person sick with malaria. The same substance used to treat the disease also caused the disease.
After testing many other substances used to treat disease, he found over and over again that the very substance used to alleviate symptoms in a sick person would create those same symptoms in a healthy person. This led to the now famous mantra of homeopathy that “like cures like.” It became known as the “Law of Similars.” A substance which produces symptoms in a healthy person cures those same symptoms in a sick person.
Dr. Hahnemann compiled an exhaustive list of symptoms that were found to be associated with the ingestion of a great variety of substances. This process became known as proving. Volunteers were given a substance and had their reaction to the substance recorded.
Having compiled an extensive list of substances and what symptoms they produced, Hahnemann proceeded to begin using these substances to treat various sicknesses. While he found that patients would get cured, they often would suffer initial severe aggravation of their symptoms. Hahnemann then reduced the dose of the substances he was giving patients to one tenth the original amount of the solution/remedy. This reduced the aggravation of symptoms. Hahnemann proceeded to dilute his medicines still further all the way down to where the substance had no effect because there essentially was no medicine left in the solution. This whole procedure proved to be problematic in so much that one could never be sure at what dilution level a medicine would lead to a cure without aggravating the symptoms.
Hahnemann then made an interesting discovery. When he submitted a solution to a series of vigorous shakes (succussions, as he called them), the solution would not only become less aggravating or non-aggravating to the patients symptoms, but the substance
Depending on whether a substance was soluble in water or alcohol, he would mix one part of the substance with ninety-nine parts of water or alcohol and then submit the mixture to one hundred vigorous shakes. Then he mixed one part of the mixture he had just shaken to ninety-nine parts of a new amount of the liquid he was using and again shook the mixture one hundred times. He would repeat this process up to thirty times and found that even with dilutions that showed only one molecule of the original substance left in the solution, the remedy was shown to be effective in facilitating a cure and with absolutely no side effects.
ENERGY FIELDS: Hahnemann had discovered what later became known in science as “Brownian Movement.” which shows that all molecules contain energy and the particles contained within them move at high speeds. It was this discovery that led to nuclear fission and fusion leading to the production of atomic energy. These findings show that all matter is in fact energy and in homeopathy, the repeated dilutions and shakings of a substance release a curative energy inherent in the substance.
The fact that homeopathic remedies contain no detectable material trace of the original substance and yet facilitate a curative effect, shows that the shakings transmit energy from the original substance to the fluid or neutral matter in which it is diluted. Hahnemann concluded that homeopathically prepared remedies were working at an energy level and not a material level. Since such remedies have a curative effect on the body, he further concluded they must be affecting the body’s energy field. He therefore determined that the basic cause of illness is a disturbance in the bodies energy fields, or as he called it, the bodies vital force.
Energy fields, vital force, are common considerations in health modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure, and even chiropractic. It is felt that if you can bring the body into a balanced state of energy, you can bring about a curative effect. Homeopathy is a healing modality based upon stimulating and altering the vital force of the body.
Hahnemann believed that morbific agents such as a virus, bacteria, fungus, etc. exert their own vital force against the vital force of the human body, and this is what creates illness with its accompanying symptoms. He felt that it was not a matter of the morbific agent causing illness but rather the person’s susceptibility to such agent due to a disturbed vital force.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOMEOPATHY AND ALLOPATHY: There is a major difference between homeopathy and orthodox medicine, also known as allopathy. The allopathic doctor generally looks at microbes as the cause of disease, whereas the homeopathic doctor looks at microbes as the result of disease. The allopathic doctor will give the patient something to relieve the symptoms caused by the activity of the microbe. The homeopathic doctor will give the patient a remedy that will activate and realign the body’s vital force. Once the vital force is activated and realigned, the body’s defense systems will be effective in handling the microbe. Therefore the homeopathic doctor deals with what he considers the underlying cause of disease, whereas the allopathic doctor deals with what is only causing the symptoms of disease.
The drugs the allopathic doctor gives will often kill the microbes and give symptomatic relief to the patient. Such drugs, however, will often produce side effects such as destroying friendly microbes, and creating toxicity in the body which lead to additional health problems. Homeopathic remedies, on the other hand, to not kill the microbes causing your symptoms but work at a deeper vibrational level within the body to activate the bodies vital force to deal with the illness. Homeopathic remedies do not have side effects or cause toxicity.
HOW HOMEOPATHY WORKS: Homeopathic remedies appear to work by affecting the body’s electromagnetic fields. Electromagnetic fields are characterized by the phenomenon of vibration. As electrons race around the nuclei of atoms, they oscillate back and forth at specific frequencies or vibrational levels. Homeopathic remedies appear to work at the vibrational levels of the atoms that make up the body. Therefore, these remedies work with the bodies energy fields in facilitating healing.
Since all substances possess electromagnetic fields, the task of the homeopathic doctor is to find the substance with a vibration rate most closely matching that of the patient during an illness. The patient’s vibration rate is determined based on an analysis of the symptoms being experienced by the patient. The vibration rate of the remedy used is based on past proving of that remedy.
When the vibration rate of the patient and the remedy match, a phenomenon known as resonance occurs. This results in an increase in the patient’s electromagnetic field at the precise frequency needed to facilitate a cure.
This process is known as classical homeopathy where only one substance is used as a remedy having a vibrational frequency that best matches that of the patient. In recent years, combination remedies have become very popular where several substances are used in a remedy with the idea that the body will pick out the substance that will most closely match the vibrational level of the body at the time. While classical homeopathists frown on such remedies, the fact remains, they do work.
HOW ARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES MADE? While there are several ways homeopathic remedies are made, a common method begins with 1 milliliter (ml) of substance (the Mother tincture) and 99 ml of solution (water or alcohol) placed in a glass flask. This solution is then shaken 100 times achieving a ratio of 1 to 99. Then 1 ml of the solution just shaken is added to a second flask of 99 ml of water or alcohol and again shaken 100 times. This is referred to as the centesimal scale method of dilution. Centesimal means one-hundredth of something. The number of times this procedure is repeated with a given substance will determine the potency of the homeopathic remedy. If this procedure is done six times, the potency would be a 6c. If done 12 times it would be a 12c, and so forth. With each successive repetition of this process, the amount of the original substance becomes less and less in the solution while at the same time the solution itself becomes more potent due to the number of shakings (succussions)
THE INFLAMMATION PROBLEM AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
NEWSLETTER: MARCH 2005
Inflammation in the body is now recognized as a primary contributor to a variety of health problems including arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Inflammation results from environmental toxins, poor diet, injury, infection, stress and is a normal and necessary response by the body to any kind of trauma.
It is when inflammation becomes excessive that we place ourselves at risk for degenerative disease. Since pain often accompanies inflammation, it is normal to want that pain relieved. The quest for pain relief has resulted in the proliferation of what are called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, often referred to as NSAIDs.
Common NSAIDs such as aspirin, and ibuprofen, as well as, Cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx and Celebrex, all work to reduce inflammation by reducing prostaglandin synthesis in the body. For example: The enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) converts a fat called arachidonic acid to prostaglandin E2. This prostaglandin is a pro-inflammatory and can lead to inflammation resulting in pain.
When you take a NSAID like aspirin, you inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme that leads to pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and therefore, you reduce inflammation and its associated pain. Unfortunately, NSAIDs, such as aspirin, also inhibit cox-1 enzymes which are responsible for maintaining the membranes of stomach lining, calcium metabolism, blood sugar control and regulation of arachidonic acid release which in turn regulates Cox 2 activity.
In an effort to deal with the negative impact of NSAIDs on Cox-1 activity, Cox-2 inhibitors like Vioxx were developed which target only cox-2 enzymes and leave Cox-1 enzymes alone. Unfortunately, it has been determined that these Cox-2 NSAIDs can create higher risk for heart attack and stroke.
It should be evident from all this that selectively inhibiting certain enzymes to curb inflammatory activity in the body is dangerous. It should be apparent that these enzymes, like most elements in the body, have multiple purposes.
Adding flax and fish oil to your diet will increase your levels of omega-3 which will provide greater balance between omega-6 and omega-3 and result in less inflammation and a reduction in pain. Some high quality supplements that will add omega-3 to your diet are Fortified Flax from Omega Life, flax oil from Barleans and fish oil from Carlson, Enzymatic Therapy and Coromega.
There are a variety of herbs that will curb the activity of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins without creating the potential health problems so common to NSAIDs. Use of herbs containing a variety of elements, provide support to maintaining balance between various physiological processes. This is in contrast to drugs which are often single elements designed to impact specific processes at the expense of balance.
Herbs such as Green Tea, Ginger, Turmeric, Holy Basil, Rosemary and Oregano have all been found to be effective in reducing inflammation without unwanted side effects. All these herbs plus others can be found in the supplement Zyflamend. Zyflamend is available at Milk 'N Honey
This product has been shown to be as effective as Ibuprofen in reducing the pain associated with inflammation. FlexAgility Max is available at Milk ‘N Honey. We also carry several homeopathic remedies that are designed to reduce inflammation and thus reduce pain.
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NEWSLETTER: APRIL 2005
In November of 2004, the national press reported on a recent John Hopkins meta-analysis of 19 studies involving vitamin E supplementation by people suffering from heart disease, end-stage renal failure and Alzheimer’s disease. It was reported that those who took 400 international units (IU) or more per day of vitamin E, were 6% more likely to die from any cause than those who did not take vitamin E supplements. The media proclaimed that supplementation of vitamin E above 400 IU per day increased the risk of death.
What the press didn’t report was that further analysis of this study showed increased risk of death statistically significant only for those taking 2000 IU/day, and that the authors of the study readily admitted that their findings might not apply to healthy people. The authors also pointed out that the analyzed studies were often small and were conducted on patients with chronic disease.
What the press also didn’t report was the results of three other meta-analysis of multiple studies involving people with cardiovascular disease taking vitamin E. These studies, as reported by the Linus Pauling Institute, showed supplementation up to 800 IU/day had no bearing on death from any cause.
Unfortunately, the John Hopkins report has caused some to discontinue supplementation with vitamin E or greatly reduce the dosage. It must be pointed out that thousands of studies have been done showing the efficacy of vitamin E supplementation. Vitamin E is one of the most researched nutrients.
In the
In a study by Boaz reported in Lancet (2000), hemodialysis patients with cardiovascular disease (age 40 to 75 years old) received either 800 IU/day of vitamin E or a placebo for approximately 519 days. The results showed a significant decrease in cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction among users of vitamin E.
In the Nurses’ Health Study reported in Stampfer (1993), of the 13% of 87,000 nurses who regularly used vitamin E supplements, there was a 31% reduction in relative risk for non-fatal myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular disease compared with women who did not take vitamin E.
Another study reported in 2000 showed that a combined supplementation of vitamin E and slow-released vitamin C reduced the progression of atherosclerosis in men by 74% over a three-year period.
In a study by Rimm (1993) in which 39,000 male health professionals were studied for four years, 17% of the men took vitamin E supplements. Those who took the highest dose (median of 419 IU/day) had a 40% reduction in the relative risk for non-fatal myocardial infraction or death from coronary heart disease.
Unfortunately, these kinds of studies are never picked up by the national press.
WHAT IS VITAMIN E? In nature, vitamin E occurs as a complex of four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). Alpha-tocopherol has been studied the most and it is this form of vitamin E most often found in supplements.
Supplemental vitamin E as d-alpha tocopherol is generally derived from soy bean oil while dl alpha tocopherol is synthetically produced from petroleum. Synthetically produced vitamin E has a different molecular structure than natural E and is not utilized by the body as well as natural E.
Increasing interest has centered around the role of the other tocopherols as well as the tocotrienols in human health. Some research indicates that gamma tocopherol may provide superior protection against cancer and heart disease.
Research on vitamin E has demonstrated its effectiveness in overall support of the cardiovascular and circulatory systems. It is shown to suppress tumor growth, slow the development of Alzheimer’s and dementia, reduce pain of rheumatoid arthritis, protect vision and support the immune system as a strong anti-oxidant.
The
Food sources of E are wheat germ, soy, eggs, whole grains and vegetables. Most diets are deficient in E. We recommend daily supplementation with a mixed tocopherol/tocotreniol formula.
NOW IS THE TIME TO DETOXIFY!
Newsletter: November 2005
In the summer of 2005, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published their third National Report on Human Exposure To Environmental Chemicals. The CDC sampled the blood and urine of thousands of people throughout the
About one in eighteen women of child bearing age have levels of mercury at or above the “safe” levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
More than 1 in 20 Americans carry dangerous levels of the toxic mineral cadmium which has been linked to kidney malfunction and lowered bone mineral density.
What can we do to limit the impact of toxic chemicals on our health? We can eat foods that have been grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Such foods have been shown to have greater nutritional density and freedom from toxic chemicals. We can drink better water by installing point of use water purification systems in our homes. We can use body care products that are free from the chemical stew often seen on the labels of such products.
We can also help our bodies deal with toxicity by using products intended to remove toxic substances from the body. Our bodies are designed to deal with toxins. The skin, lungs, colon, lymphatic system, liver and kidneys do a fantastic job considering what they are up against. Too often, however, these organs become overwhelmed and that is when we fall victim to the effects of toxicity. We can assist our bodies’ war against toxic overload with several proven detoxification products.
LiverCare, from a company called
So effective is this product that it is used in the treatment of serious liver diseases such as hepatitis C, and cirrhosis.
While it is important to support the liver in its role as “chief body chemist,” detoxification is a much broader process involving many tissues of the body. A major route for the elimination of toxins is the colon. It is in the colon where the wastes of metabolism are accumulated. If these wastes are not eliminated on a regular daily basis, they will begin to create toxins that will find their way into other areas of the body. Waste material that is not eliminated will also begin to impact on the walls of the colon creating the potential for a variety of colon diseases that are common to millions of Americans.
The key to preventing colon problems is to increase transit time. Transit time is the time it takes from the moment you eat a meal to the time you eliminate the wastes from the digestion of that meal. The shorter the transit time, the less chance there is of waste material accumulating and sticking to the walls of the colon. Increasing the amount of fiber in your diet will increase transit time.
Fiber is the non-digestible portion of the foods that we eat. Your best source of dietary fiber is found in grains, beans, vegetables and fruit. If these items have been processed to any extant, there’s a good chance that some or all of the fiber has been removed. Fruits and vegetables will provide a good variety of different types of fibers. It is best to eat them in their raw, unprocessed state in order to obtain their maximum fiber and nutritional value as well.
You can purchase fiber obtained from wheat, oats, rice, corn, apples and grapefruit. Such fibers can be added to cereals, pastas, meatloaf and a variety of other foods or they can be eaten by themselves. Psyllium seed fiber, obtained from the psyllium plant, provides an excellent bulking agent, facilitating a soft and easy to eliminate stool. Using psyllium seed fiber over an extended period of time will accomplish a slow and gentle removal of impacted waste material from the colon. Another good source of fiber is flax seed. Ground up flax seed provides many nutrients plus good balance between mucilaginous (water holding) fiber and roughage (non-water holding) fiber.
An important point to remember, when increasing the fiber content of the diet, is to also increase the amount of water that you drink. Water is a critical component of the entire waste removal process, and fiber demands water for it to properly facilitate waste elimination. Try to drink purified water!
Even after increasing the fiber content of the diet, you may still experience a sluggish bowel reflex resulting in poor and irregular eliminations. Standard over the counter laxatives are habit forming and tend to irritate the bowel into action. Herbs, such as cascara sagrada and senna leaf, can be used to stimulate the flow of bile from the gall bladder which in turn will create the urge to have a bowel movement. These herbs should not be used routinely as they also can become habit forming. There are a variety of colon cleansing formulas available from health food stores. One such product we carry at Milk ‘N Honey is called Herbal Fiber Blend. This product has proven to be very effective in facilitating good bowel function and cleansing of the colon.
To do a total body cleanse, we recommend the product Ultimate Cleanse. This product is designed to facilitate detoxification of the liver, colon, kidneys, blood, lymphatics and other tissue systems of the body. This product is made up of a variety of herbs that have demonstrated efficacy in helping detoxify the body’s organ systems. Herbs such as Hawthorn berries for the heart and digestion, red clover, red raspberry and burdock root to purify the blood, milk thistle and skullcap to support the liver, are just some of the ingredients that make up this product. In addition to these cleansing herbs, Ultimate Cleanse contains a variety of fibers and specific herbs targeted to detoxify and cleanse the colon. This two part cleansing system has been used by multiple thousands and has an excellent track record of results.