Newsletter v1n3

"Some day, health care without megavitamin therapy will be seen as we today see childbirth without sanitation, or surgery without anesthetic."

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER Vol 1, #3

Dec. 8, 2000 "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 170 natural healing articles with over 2,200 scientific references.

Contagious Disease? Bah, Humbug!

As a child, I well remember sitting in my half-empty classroom during an epidemic or two, wondering why I had to be so darn healthy when all of my friends were home sick, watching daytime reruns of I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Queen for a Day. As a former teacher, I can attest that when the flu comes through school, your absence rate can instantly soar to over one-third of all students. But the other two-thirds, exposed to the same viruses, coughs and flying phlegm of the school lunchroom, are quite well.

So, with a reverent sense of history, I offer a revisionist view of the germ theory as Abraham Lincoln might have described it: You can infect some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot infect all of the people all of the time.

The classic, perhaps the ultimate contagious disease would be bubonic plague. The Black Death killed better than one in four Europeans during the 14th century. We are talking 30 million people now, plus 45 million more dead in Asia. Pretty awful. Keep in mind, though, that nearly three in four lived through it. How? The plague being a bacterial disease, and neither vaccine nor antibiotic in sight, how did the great majority of people not die?

Smallpox, that vanished viral disease, is another case in point. Even when smallpox reigned supreme, the vast majority of the population did not contract it, and most of those that did nevertheless survived the event. George Washington, to name one. Is smallpox all gone now because of vaccination, or because of our natural immune systems? Can you prove the first over the second? It is not possible to vaccinate everyone on earth even if everyone on earth could be or wanted to be vaccinated. Did you know that there have been dozens of plague cases diagnosed in the southwest USA in recent years? Have you had your plague vaccination? Do you really think you need one? Then why hasn't it spread?

Feeling Down? Prozac Too Expensive? (Not to mention the side effects...)

Before the FDA removed all Tryptophan supplements from the market due to a temporary, and now corrected, industrial manufacturing error, millions of people had safely taken regular suppertime doses of this amino acid, usually between 500 to 2,000 mg, to help them relax. Inside you, Tryptophan is metabolized into serotonin, one of your body's most important neurotransmitters. Serotonin gives a feeling of well-being and mellowness, what my mates in Australia would call "no worries." This is such a profound effect that Prozac, Paxil and similar antidepressants usually either mimic serotonin or artificially keep the body's own serotonin levels high. You can do the same thing with your food. And no one can tell us that beans, peas, cheese, nuts and wheat germ are toxic if you eat a lot of them!

Consider that five servings of beans, a few portions of cheese or peanut butter, or just one big handful of cashews provides one to two thousand milligrams of Tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressants... but don't tell the drug companies. Some skeptics think that the pharmaceutical people already know, and that is why the FDA is keeping Tryptophan supplements unavailable. Here are two quotes in evidence:

"Pay careful attention to what is happening with dietary supplements in the legislative arena... If these efforts are successful, there could be created a class of products to compete with approved drugs. The establishment of a separate regulatory category for supplements could undercut exclusivity rights enjoyed by the holders of approved drug applications."

(FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy David Adams, at the Drug Information Association Annual Meeting, July 12, 1993)

"The task force considered many issues in its deliberations including to ensure that the existence of dietary supplements on the market does not act as a disincentive for drug development."

(FDA Dietary Task Force Report, released June 15, 1993)

Remember that Tryptophan is one of the ten essential amino acids you need to stay alive. It is by law added to liquid feedings for the elderly and all infant formulas. Yet Tryptophan supplements remain illegal. You can legally buy L-5-hydroxytryptophan, a non-prescription Tryptophan derivative, at health foods stores. 5-HTP is quite costly, however. The good news is that plenty of inexpensive vitamin C enables your body to convert dietary Tryptophan into your own 5-HTP, and then on into serotonin.

So go; eat; and be happy! A handy Tryptophan Foods list is just a click away at http://www.doctoryourself.com/prozac.html

No Way, FDA

Did you see happen to see this on recent network TV newscasts? The FDA has recommended that consumers not buy over the counter drugs containing PPA (Phenylpropanolamine) because of dangerous side effects. http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm Public Citizen (Ralph Nader's group) has said that several hundred serious injuries or fatalities have resulted from this drug.

It is interesting that FDA has NOT removed PPA containing medicines from the shelves. Yet they did not hesitate to do so when the substance at issue was an amino acid food supplement (L tryptophan). And unlike tryptophan, an essential food substance, the drug PPA is inherently dangerous.

Double standards at FDA? The agency has a long history of such behavior. Pick up the phone and tell them how you feel, and use their nickel: 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)

Vitamin Myth #4: "Vitamin C causes kidney stones."

First of all, I have never seen any scientific evidence to back up that statement. I've had literally hundreds of students and health practitioners looking for years for any controlled study demonstrating a vitamin C caused kidney stone and so far I have received... nearly one... submission. That's a jocular way of saying "none."

I bet if I show you a picture of a unicorn, you will easily recognize it. Everybody has heard about unicorns. You can describe one in detail. You could probably draw a unicorn. You can see one in your mind right now. Yet unicorns do not exist. They are imaginary, without substance or proof. Just like a vitamin C kidney stone. The vitamin C kidney stone myth is the best known non-fact in non-existence. Every medical doctor has heard of one, but not one of them has ever seen one. That is because they simply do not exist.

Don't let me Grinch your Holidays, but SUGAR is the #1 cause of tooth decay. The level of sugar consumption at which most of the population will not get dental caries is 33 lbs. (15 kg) per person per year. The average American eats over 120 pounds annually. (Aubrey Sheiman: Sugar and dental caries. The Lancet, 8319:282-284, Feb. 5, 1983)

Mercury: When to Worry

Rose Stevens in Winnipeg, Manitoba writes:

"A medical doctor and department head from the Children's Health Sciences Centre phoned our clinic today concerned that his pediatric patient who was having surgery, might have mercury toxicity from a homoeopathic remedy we prescribed (Merc Cor). I wrote him a letter explaining how homoeopathy works, how in essence it is a "vibrational medicine" and invited him to analyze our remedy for residual mercury. I thought he should be more concerned about the amount of mercury his patient was exposed to as a result of amalgam fillings and vaccinations. I sent him information on how much mercury each vaccine contained and asked him to calculate how much mercury his patient actually received from approximately 25 vaccines he received before he entered school."

(Dr. S. Comment:) Isn't it typical of so many doctors and dentists to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel? What's wrong with this picture: Mercury drilled into living teeth: no danger. Mercury injected into a toddler's blood: no danger. Infinitesimal amounts of mercury in homeopathic remedies: significant public health concern!

Today's Reason to Become (More of) a Vegetarian:

Two-thirds of all Americans do not know that cholesterol is found only in animal products.

(PERSONAL HEALTH CHOICES, Smith & Smith, 1990)

COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE:

We Blow the Whistle on FDA's "CODEX" Fraud

Nutrition Against Cancer

Reader's Question: Hepatitis

And more, of course!

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Copyright c 2000 and prior years Andrew W. Saul Permission to reproduce single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL USE ONLY is hereby granted providing no alteration of content is made and authorship credit is given.