Newsletter v1n23

"I read a book about the evils of drinking, so I gave up reading." Henny Youngman

The DOCTOR YOURSELF (SM) NEWSLETTER Vol 1, No 23 September 24, 2001 "Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A." Written by Andrew Saul, PhD. of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free online library of more than 250 natural healing articles with over 3,500 scientific references.

CHEMO, RADIATION, SURGERY, VITAMINS Some very sick people decline vitamin therapy because they wrongly assume that it requires abnegation of conventional therapy. This is not true; vitamin therapy is a most valuable addition to indicated conventional cancer treatment such as surgery, chemo, and radiation. The beauty of vitamin therapy is that it greatly improves quality of life for patients undergoing chemotherapy (less hair loss, less nausea); vitamin therapy reduces the pain and burning from intense radiation treatments; and vitamin therapy speeds uncomplicated surgical recovery.

It is not an either-or choice; it's a *both.* And most especially, it is not a matter of belief. There are many, many studies confirming that cancer patients are much more likely to survive longer with supportive vitamin therapy. We have just added over a hundred such references to http://doctoryourself.com .

An adjunctive therapy or supportive therapy with nontoxic nutrients is at least as valid as an experimental-drug cancer treatment that may carry serious side effects. Please take a look at the references carefully. Quite a number of physicians that have demonstrated the benefits of megavitamin therapy. You will want to read the protocol of Ewan Cameron, MD, posted at http://doctoryourself.com/cameron.html

Supportive vitamin therapy for cancer patients is discussed in detail by Abram Hoffer, MD, at http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_cancer_2.html

Scientific support for nutritional cancer treatment is provided at http://www.doctoryourself.com/bib_gerson.html http://www.doctoryourself.com/bib_gerson_therapy.html

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH: http://www.soe.nl/resengin.htm will take you to an international website devoted to orthomolecular (megavitamin) medicine. Several dozen research summaries are posted in English. Topics include diabetes, Huntington's disease, pancreatitis, heart disease (many entries), cancer, fertility (many entries), birth defects, arthritis, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and others. What a great resource for you to have.

MEGADOSES OF VITAMIN C HELP RAINFOREST NATIVES I have several friends who are Catholic missionary sisters and they asked me if vitamin C supplementation would help the people they work with in the South American rainforests. Since I think supplemental C is valuable for all humans, I said "yes." They took it from there, and for several years now have been giving megadoses of vitamin C to the natives. The result is that miscarriage and infant mortality rates have plummeted. And, to save naysayers some time, you may complain directly to the Pope at http://www.vatican.va/

HINT CORNER Megadosers, save money and take vitamin C powder instead of all those tablets. Pineapple juice hides the taste better than any carrier I've found. Lemonade is the runner-up.

THIS WEEK'S REASON TO BECOME (MORE OF) A VEGETARIAN: "Mike the Headless Chicken," born 1945; head chopped off 1945 (weight 2 Ω pounds); died 1947 (weight 8 pounds). Yes, you now simply have to see this website. Go to http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org and click "About Mike: An Inspiring Tale of the Will to Live." And yes, there are photos... from LIFE magazine, no less. Once and for all, you will now have a ready answer to those who do not consider chicken to be meat.

READERS ASK: "What is good for relief of a mild case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?"

Well, you could start by exercising your wrists and hand with a three-inch diameter hard rubber ball. But there is a trick to using it effectively, posted at http://doctoryourself.com/handson.html

Dr. John M. Ellis, a physician in Texas, published an entire book on vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) in 1983 entitled Free of Pain (Dallas: Southwest Publishing). Linus Pauling reports in How To Live Longer and Feel Better (1986) that Ellis found that "B-6 shrinks the synovial membranes that line the weight-bearing surfaces of the joints. It thus helps to control pain and to restore mobility in the elbows, shoulders, knees and other joints." While very large doses of B-6 alone may cause transient neurological side effects, relatively modest doses of around 75 to 300 mg daily are very safe. The safety of one B- vitamin is magnified by giving it with the rest of the B-complex.

Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) has been successfully used for years to treat carpal tunnel syndrome and related problems. A site search at http://doctoryourself.com will provide links and references.

Don writes: "I've heard about a product that supposedly stops hair loss. The product is really expensive. Is there a non-prescription or organic means of accomplishing the same thing? The company claims it's all natural, so I am automatically cautious. Thank you and keep the news letters coming."

I am not knowledgeable about the specific product you mention, but I join you in your skepticism. If hair loss is other than simple, genetically-based male pattern baldness, sometimes zinc and the B-vitamins, and lots of fresh, raw foods and juices can help. "Help" does not mean "replace," but rather "slow the rate of hair loss." I personally noticed a receeding of my own hairline about ten years ago, and have arrested it with the nutrients mentioned above.

RICE: CHEAP, NUTRITIOUS, VERSITLE. . . BUT MOSTLY CHEAP I'd like to read you your rice. You have the rice to remain silent. You have the rice to an attorney. And, you have a lot of nutrition in good ol' brown rice. Of course rice is extremely low-fat, and is a great source of blood-sugar-friendly complex carbohydrates. But there's more: Brown rice is surprisingly high in protein, fiber, B-vitamins and trace minerals. It is versatile, tasty, and sells for 50 cents to a buck a pound... and, as Ricky Ricardo and Fred Mertz found out, a pound of dry rice makes a HUGE amount of cooked rice. (You DO remember that "I Love Lucy" episode, don't you?)

Rice is actually a "complete" vegetable protein, for it contains all ten of the essential amino acids. It is not quite a "perfect" protein, for it has only small amounts of histadine and tryptophan. But rice and practically anything else makes for a nutritionally complete meal.

Some hints if you are not yet a rice fan:

1) First of all, go to a good Chinese restaurant and have rice as it should be cooked. OK, it's going to be white rice, but that's close enough for starters, and it will help you to appreciate how tasty rice can be when correctly prepared.

2) Try rice flour pancakes. Boy, they are good. Any health food store has, or can order, some rice flour. Great for kids, especially really little kids. In fact rice cereal is a preferred first solid food for babies. But ALL ages love rice flour pancakes.

3) If you are sensitive to wheat products, try rice. It is the ultimate hypoallergenic food. If you must hurry a meal, make it rice. It is easy to digest. Sure, it takes time to cook it. My solution top that is, Back to item 1) above. Most store front Chinese take-outs have cheaper-than-Burper-King lunches, complete with rice, hot and ready in minutes. Forget the fried foods. Forget the sugar drinks. Don't eat a McNothing meal when you can have no-fat, fresh stir-fried vegetables in a yummy sauce... and lotsa of rice.

DOCTORS STRIKE; DEATHS DECREASE One my correspondents shared this with me: "The June 10, 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal reported that on March 9, 2000, doctors in the Israel Medical Association went on strike to protest a new four-year wage contract for doctors. Since going on strike, the death rate in Israel dropped considerably according to a survey of Israeli burial societies.

"'The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically,' said Hananya Shahor, director of Jerusalem's Kehilat Yerushalayim burial society. 'This month, there were only 93 funerals compared with 153 in May 1999, 133 in the same months in 1998, and 139 in May 1997.' Meir Adler, who manages the Shamgar Funeral Parlour says, 'There definitely is a connection between the doctors' sanctions and fewer deaths. We saw the same thing in 1983 (when the doctors applied sanctions for four and a half months).'

"There is one town in Israel where the death rate has remained constant, the town of Netanya.Netanya has only one hospital and the doctors there signed a no-strike clause with their contract and did not participate in the country-wide sanctions."

THERE MUST BE 15 WAYS TO LOVE YOUR LIVER If you love that title, you will really like the article that goes with it. Hepatitis, cirrhosis, and other diseases of the liver are discussed, along with nutritional therapy for each condition, at http://www.doctoryourself.com/liver_15_ways.html

COMING NEXT ISSUE: DIGESTION SCALP ITCH? AIRSICKNESS AND NAUSEA YOUR NATURAL HOME FIRST AID KIT (AND MORE, OF COURSE!)

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