Newsletter v1n19

"When in doubt, try nutrition first." Roger Williams, PhD in Nutrition Against Disease)

The DOCTOR YOURSELF (SM) NEWSLETTER Vol 1, No 19 July 25, 2001 "Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A." Written, published and copyright by Andrew Saul, PhD. of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free online library of more than 200 natural healing articles with over 3,000 scientific references.

POWER TO THE PATIENT !

Why do women wait for two hours to see their gynecologist? Is the doctor's time more important than yours? The answer is: yes, it is. Do you make $400 and hour? Is your income far into the six figure range? No? That's why you are sitting there.

Now let's say the tables are turned and the GYN is home with a flooded bathroom waiting for the plumber. Let's say the wait is two hours. Nice poetic justice though that may be, in each case the REAL problem is HELPLESSNESS.

I have learned (by necessity) to use a plunger, and a plumber's snake and (most recently) have become adept with a closet augur. I can also (now) fix toilets, fixtures, drains, and faucets. All this means I don't call plumbers, for I have become one. I know my limits; I shall probably decline multi-million dollar contracts to install high-pressure hot water systems in skyscrapers. And there are certainly practical limits to being your own doctor, but having said that, it is not to be construed to mean that your medical self care potential is small. As my elderly handyman neighbor said to me, you can do far more than you think.

Before the line forms for those readers who want to be amateur gynecologists, let me interject some reason and state that well-woman self-checkups should be done by the woman herself and/or her spouse. And no, I do not teach classes on this subject. But there are magazines, books - and nurse midwives - that do.

This issue goes far beyond self-checkups, which constitute merely one example.

Perhaps you think you don't have the time to learn self-reliance. Time is available to you: just use the time you spend in waiting rooms to bone up on your options. What's more, the average person spends several hours a day watching TV. Turn off the tube and do your research then. Or, if you can stand it, leave the TV on while you read. Who cares? Just do it!

VITAMIN C AND HOT FLASHES by E Cheraskin, M.D., D.M.D. (University of Alabama Medical Center):

"We congratulate the increasing number of articles which have appeared on the multiple methods of management of menopause. In the interest of completion, we should like to report the use of vitamin C in the menopausal syndrome.

"A total of 94 menopausal patients were studied for four months. Each subject received 1200 mg of bioflavonoids and ascorbic acid daily in divided doses for one month. For comparision, controlled drugs including calcium carbonate, the antipyretic salicylamide and even estrogens were given for one month each. The results: the bioflavonoid/vitamin C capsules beat out the rest. Actually, 88 % of the participants had partial to complete relief of hot flashes. And so, who should take vitamin C? Obviously, those with menopausal problems would be well-served."

(Reprinted with permission from the author and the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine 11: #1, 51, First Quarter 1996)

HEADACHE by Jennifer Daniels, M.D.

Everyone seems to have a headache nowadays. There are numerous medications on the market. Generally they offer temporary relief. For more permanent results, it is helpful to know what causes headaches. Headaches are generally caused by an accumulation of chemicals in your blood system that exceeds your body's ability to remove or store. So one can stop putting the chemicals in or remove them or dilute them

To handle a headache, begin drinking one 8 to 12 oz glass of water every S to 10 minutes for 1 hour or until the headache is gone; whichever is less. If you are in private, you may simply apply mustard (the cheap hot dog variety) to the space just under your nose and apply an ice pack to your head. This takes 3 to 10 minutes to resolve a headache.

If you are at work and not near a bathroom and the water drinking is not practical, take 1 to 3 milk thistle tablets and follow the water drinking routine as best you can.

Now, for prevention. Beverages such as bottled juices, sodas, and milk cause headaches. Any preserved foods can cause headaches. Don't worry about reading the labels. Changing your food to organic is the way to reduce your intake of chemicals. If a food has more than one ingredient or one you can't pronounce, it probably contributes to your headache. If you do not have a bowel movement daily, this is definitely contributing to your headache.

Remember, it is the total accumulation of chemicals that cause a headache. So, you may be able to eliminate your headaches by just reducing your intake of chemicals.

(Editor's Note: Dr. Jennifer Daniels, of Syracuse , NY, is a Board Certified Family practice physician and graduate of Harvard University, with an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

(However, she is no longer licensed to practice in the State of New York. She tells me that the NY Health Department Office of Professional Medical Conduct has suspended her medical license because she got a patient better with diet and exercise and they apparently disapprove. No patient harm was involved.

Those who would like to express their concern should contact Dr Daniels at 3100 South Salina St., Syracuse, NY 13205 (315) 475-3393. Her email is jdaniels@twcny.rr.com

AND SPEAKING OF CHEMICAL INTAKE: What is in Second Hand Cigarette Smoke? Are you sure you want to know? It contains

HYDROQUINONE, METHACROLEIN, METHYL ALCOHOL, METHYLAMINE, NICKLE COMPOUNDS, PYRIDINE, CARBON DIOXIDE, CROTONONITRILE, DIMETHYLAMINE, ENDRIN, ETHYLAMINE, FURFURAL, CADMIUM, CARBON MONOXIDE, METHYL NITRITE, AMMONIA, FORMALDEHYDE, HYDROGEN SULFIDE, BENZO (A) PYRENE, NICOTINE, DDT, ETHANE, ACETYLENE, METHANOL, NITROGEN DIOXIDE, ACETONE, METHYL CHLORIDE, PHENOL, CRESOL, METHANE, ISOPRENE, PROPANE, ACROLEIN, ACETALDEHYDE, ETHYLENE, METHYL ETHYL KEYRONE, "TAR," HYDROGEN CYANIDE, METALS, HYDROCYANIC ACID, NITRIC OXIDE, ACETONITRILE, ACRYLONITRILE, BENZENE, and 2,3, BUTYLAMINE (among others).

Remember, the involuntary smoker does not even have the dubious benefit of a filter tip. You, my friend, breathe it straight.

THIS WEEK'S WAY TO BECOME (MORE OF) A VEGETARIAN FAMILY: Sascha Sarnoff writes: "I have found the best way to get my kid to eat lots of veggies is to make a huge salad with lots of different veggies both familiar and new types and then always make two dressings (I always use cold pressed non solvent extracted oil or Follow Your Heart Veganaise for creamy dressings)this way the child feels the joy of the OPTION...and I always take forever to bring the rest of the meal to the table. I don't even start cooking the main dish till the kids are stuffed from the salad. It worked for 15 years. My kid loves salad and veggies of all kinds. The other trick is simpler. When the kids are in the middle of their activities I bring a big bowl of sliced cucumbers with sea salt. No matter how many kids are at the house visiting they all devour cucumbers with sea salt. Weird but true. Even the hard core Wonder Bread junkies. I think it is the ultimate kid veggie. I usually get the hothouse type and leave the peel on. So this is my gift to parents everywhere! Let 'em pig out on salad...pretend the pasta is not ready yet they will graze and until there's little room (or appetite)for junk food. My daughter is 16 now and she makes her own salads with goat cheese, arrugula, pine nuts, Peppers, avocado, complete meals and all the groovy "grown-up" foods I hoped she would always love. She now concedes that bread gives her acne. Yessss!"

READERS SAY: "Thank you for your website. I had borderline high blood pressure about a year ago. I think it was like 150/95. He said he wanted to see me back in 6 months to have it rechecked. If it was still high, then medication. Well my brother and father are on high blood pressure medicine and I wanted to avoid it at all costs. So I researched the internet, lost 30 lbs through diet and exercise, take vitamin supplements, and guess what my pressure is today? 120/70. Hurray! No medicine. I also get bronchitis twice a year. And always get e-myacin which usually doesn't work and have to go back to doctor for a stronger antibiotic. Well earlier this year I could feel another bout of bronchitis coming on. So I started doing mega doses of C. I was over it in a little over a week, WITH NO ANTIBIOTIC! And now my lungs feel clearer than they have in years because I now do deep breathing exercises. I can now say that I have 'fired my doctor' because I took responsibility for my own health." Milton

Editor's Note: Thanks, Milton, for sharing your story. And thank you for an easy way to mention that my forthcoming book is indeed called FIRE YOUR DOCTOR. You can read it on-line for free at http://www.doctoryourself.com Just do a main-page search for the title and links to all completed chapters will come up.

Doctor Yourself WEBSITE OF THE MONTH: The Soil and Health Library http://www.soilandhealth.org Here is the virtual Library of Congress of natural farming, organic gardening, and natural foods information. Steve Solomon has posted the COMPLETE TEXTS of three rare but landmark books I often recommend: The Saccharine Disease (by T. L. Cleave, M.D.), The Wheel of Health (by G. T. Wrench), and History of a Crime Against the Food Law (by Harvey Wiley, M.D., the very first head of the FDA). You can read these books, and many others, free of charge.

FOR SOME REASON, this item caught my attention. It was sent to me by Shirley Bentley, president of the US chapter of the Common Cause Medical Research Foundation.

"Germs Patented by U.S. Government Linked to AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Gulf War Syndrome, MS, Cancers and Immune and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

"West Nile Fever Virus (NYC Encephalitis Outbreak) sent to Iraq FROM U.S. Center for Disease Control 5/21/85 (page 275, Congressional Record, May 25, 1994: "Dual Use Exports to Iraq and their Impact on the Health of Persian Gulf War Veterans") The CDC West Nile Web Site is http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid "

I must confess I found this all a tad hard to accept, at least until I saw that there are actual U.S. Government patents for some nasty little germs. You can check for yourself:

U.S. Patent 5,604,093: Human Herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) Isolution and Products (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Health and Human Services) February 18, 1997 U.S. Patent 5,189,022: underlying viral cause of CFS (Health and Human Services) U.S. Patent 5,242,820: Pathogenic Mycoplasma (Mycoplasma fermentans in CFS; Department of Defense) September 7, 1993 U.S. Patent 5,827,750: JHK Virus in CFIDS (Grossberg retrovirus) National Institutes of Health Grant RO1-AI-32710

This, and other controversial health topics, will be considered at the Common Cause Medical Research Foundation's 3rd Annual Conference "Where the West and the Truth Begins" to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Aug 17,18 and 19, 2001. The Foundation also publishes the Journal of Degenerative Diseases. For more information, contact Rose Stevens at jstevens@mb.sympatico.ca or http://www.eaglefoundation.net

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

WORDS OF WISDOM; DO YOU HAVE A CAFFEINE ALLERGY? plus ANOTHER ARTICLE BY DR. JENNEFER DANIELS (AND MORE, OF COURSE!)

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AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

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