Newsletter v4n15

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." (Voltaire)

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol. 4, No. 15, July 5, 2004) "Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A."

Written and copyright 2004 by Andrew W. Saul of http://www.doctoryourself.com , which welcomes 1.5 million visitors annually. Commercial use of the website or the contents of this Newsletter is strictly prohibited.

JUST WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, ANYWAY? The Smithsonian Institution's United States National Tick Collection, with over one million tick specimens, makes it, quite understandably, the world's largest.

On the other hand, the world's largest medical library, the U. S. National Library of Medicine, does not see fit to index the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

Why?

Is it really a matter of funds? The National Museum of American History is spending $18 million to "clean and conserve" the 1814 "Star Spangled Banner" flag that flew over Fort McHenry. (Smithsonian magazine, June 2004, p 59.)

That's eighteen MILLION dollars.

What, exactly, would be the cost to index one additional medical journal?

The U.S. government lets the U.S. Forest Service sell the public's forests to private lumber corporations at a $2 billion annual loss to the taxpayer. This is, of course, the same government that gave the nuclear power industry over $40 billion since 1948, according to the Multinational Monitor (http://multinationalmonitor.org)

Medline is self-described as "the NLM's premier bibliographic database covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. MEDLINE contains bibliographic citations and author abstracts from more than 4,800 biomedical journals . . . The database contains over 12 million citations dating back to the mid-1960's."

Just how hard would it really be for the National Library of Medicine to electronically index one more scientific journal on Medline, for the public's benefit?

And doesn't the government owe the public full disclosure of all new nutritional research that can help people, including what is published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine? Politicized science and research cover-ups hurt citizens. The U. S. General Accounting Office has stated that over 500,000 Americans were "used as subjects in Cold War era radiation, biological and chemical experiments sponsored by the federal government," often without their consent. (Scripps Howard News Service, 29 Sept, 1994.) There is a terrible price to pay for secret agendas, selective science and information suppression.

Medline, which formerly only went back to 1966, now provides an additional two million citations from medical journals all the way back to 1951. While in itself good news, it also more than suggests that the national Library of Medicine has the funding, personnel and capability to index the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine without further ado. The availability of "Old Medline," as it is nicknamed, now means that references to hundreds of scientific papers by vitamin discoverer Roger J. Williams, niacin psychiatrist Abram Hoffer, Professor of Oral Medicine Emanuel Cheraskin, and twice Nobel prize-winner Linus Pauling can now be electronically tapped from everywhere they published, for the last 55 years. . . with one conspicuous exception. Every word they ever wrote in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine remains excluded from indexed cyberspace.

One can not help but wonder why an author's work is significant if published in one journal, but not even worth mentioning if published in another.

The National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine's Medline and Old Medline collectively form one of the world's truly splendid research tools. Going back to 1951 is a good idea. Why stop there? What about 36 consecutive years' worth of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, as well as the current research it continues to publish even as you read this?

As public libraries should be free to rich and poor alike, so public access to scientific knowledge should not be screened or censored. Science is neither a guild nor a members-only club.

Or at least it shouldn't be any longer.

TELL IT TO THE BOSS

Many Newsletter readers have already written to Medline and received useless answers from government contractors.

Well then, let's write to the top man.

The Executive Editor of Medline is Mr. Sheldon Kotzin. His email address is

Please send him a polite email requesting that he please include the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine in the MEDLINE database and index.

Talking points:

*The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine has been published for 36 consecutive years. * It has an editorial review board of physicians and university researchers. * The Journal has published papers by prominent scientists, including twice Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. * Electronic indexing makes health information readily accessible to libraries and to the public. * Medline indexes over 4,800 journals, and has funds to reach all the way back to 1951. *Why, exactly, is the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine excluded? *Courteously ask for action, and for a response.

I would very much appreciate it if you'd send me a copy of Mr. Kotzin's replies. My email is doctoryourself.com/contact.html .

MODERN MEDICINE NOW LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN USA

It is not every day that three medical doctors author a paper (with 153 references) to document the fact that nearly one MILLION Americans are killed by modern medicine EACH YEAR. This means that hospitals, pharmaceuticals and doctors are the number one cause of death in the United States. (Carolyn Dean MD, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD, Gary Null PhD. Death by medicine. 2003)

Dr. Abram Hoffer says: "I just read "Death by Medicine" on Andrew Saul's web site, DoctorYourself.com. It is a very important document and must be distributed as widely as possible. I find the information in this report to be very valuable, very impressive, and frightening."

Read the full text article at http://www.doctoryourself.com/deathmed.html

"DOCTOR YOURSELF" IN PERSON: NATURAL HEALTH HELP NOW AVAILABLE, FREE OF CHARGE

Many people saw the movie about Patch Adams, M.D., and the Gesundheit! Institute in West Virginia (http://www.patchadams.org). Dr. Adams and colleagues decided years ago to offer health care services at no charge.

A good idea is a good idea. Not everyone lives near West Virginia; not everyone seeks to employ the medical model for health. Now, for New Yorkers and their neighbors, there is an additional alternative.

If you cannot find, or cannot afford, a natural therapeutics practitioner, you always have the option to treat yourself. Any reasonable person can immediately see that for this to be successful, you need information and education.

You can now get both, in person, without charge, at the ASHWINS Institute in upstate New York.

What is the catch? There is none. The Ashwins Institute is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to make practical, do-able natural therapeutics knowledge available to everyone, particularly to those who cannot afford professional care by a physician.

THE PROBLEM According to the US Census Bureau, nearly 44 million Americans are entirely without health insurance. http://www.cbpp.org/9-30-03health.htm Imagine: one in every seven people in the richest country on earth has no health insurance at all. (Incidentally, the president of the Ashwins Institute, by choice, is one of them.)

But the real problem is far more serious: 82 million Americans are without health insurance at least part of the time. That is an astounding one in three Americans under 65. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5441315

That includes close to 6 million people in New York State alone.

This problem has gone on long enough, but there is yet another one. Even if you do have health insurance, it does not insure health but rather pays for disease care. And the treatment "health" insurance offers is overwhelmingly medical and surgical. Disease is not caused by a drug deficiency, nor is disease prevented by removing body tissue.

AN ANSWER Lifestyle is the cause, and cure, of most illness. This statement is literally true. Unhealthy lifestyle makes us sick; healthy lifestyle makes us better. This, too, is well known.

It is the "how do I actually do it" aspect that most people have trouble with.

There is now a way out for all interested persons, regardless of income.

The ASHWINS INSTITUTE, Inc. offers free in-person conferencing with a trained education professional to help you learn how to heal yourself. If you are looking for someone to "treat" you, this is not it. We have no physicians on our staff. We do not treat anyone; we teach people how to take care of themselves.

If this meets your needs, you can email doctoryourself.com/contact.html for additional information on obtaining an appointment. But please read what follows before you do so:

WHAT ASHWINS DOES **NOT** PROVIDE

We do not provide medical care, diagnosis, testing, or treatment. We are about education, not medication.

We do not provide referral to a health practitioner near where you live. If you need to find a natural-healing-oriented (naturopathic or orthomolecular) physician, an internet search engine (such as Google (http://www.google.com) is one of the best ways to do so. Libraries, health food stores, and health magazines are other helpful referral sources.

We do not sell any health products, nor vitamins, nor supplements. We have absolutely no financial connection with the health products industry. Period.

We do not conference by letter, nor by phone, nor by email. Conferencing is in person only. If you cannot get to upstate New York, you may consult the http://www.doctoryourself.com website, and other similar websites accessible from that website's "Links" page (http://www.doctoryourself.com/links.html).

How is ASHWINS funded? ASHWINS is an all-volunteer organization. We do not need funding. We do not maintain a big building, and have no residential facilities. Our business model is to not have one. Healing rightly should have absolutely nothing to do with money.

Should grants and unsolicited donations be offered to Ashwins Inc., they would in fact be tax deductible. We are a registered New York State charity and approved by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 501(c)3 (Charitable educational corporation).

ASHWINS, by the way, stands for the American Society for Health, Wellness Information, and Non-commercial Services.

If this endeavor appeals to you, you can email doctoryourself.com/contact.html with your questions about the Institute and its work.

NEWS, BUT NOT REALLY NEWS, NOW, IS IT? Food Additives Increase Hyperactivity in Kids http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/hyper060404.cfm

Yes, it's true. Food colorings and preservatives do indeed increase childhood hyperactivity, according to research just published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, June 2004.

The study, involving 277 preschool children, was conducted by John O. Warner and colleagues of the UK's Southampton General Hospital. The findings? Artificial food colorings and benzoate preservatives increased hyperactive behavior. According to commentator Will Boggs, M.D., "children's hyperactivity fell after withdrawal of food additives from the children's diets . . . (and) there was an increase in hyperactivity when food additives were re-introduced."

"Additives do have an effect on overactive behavior independent of baseline allergic and behavioral status," said lead author Dr. Warner.

If you have ever taught school the day after Halloween, you already know this.

Benjamin Feingold knew this nearly forty years ago. (http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_feingold.html)

I knew it the day I visited my son's kindergarten classroom. To be polite and "one of the group," I accepted a half a Dixie cup of bright red Kool-Aid. I drank only part of it and thought I was going to lose it right in the middle of open house.

More on hyperactivity and ADHD: http://www.doctoryourself.com/adhd.html

Best book I know on the subject: http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_ABC.html

My viewpoint on allergies: http://www.doctoryourself.com/allergies_2.html

VEGETABLE ORCHESTRA http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=23879

The First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra, conducted by maestro Franz Hautzinger, performed a concert on June 1, 2004 at the South Bank Centre in London, England.

"(I)f the qualities you seek in music-making include an abundance of Vitamin C, plenty of fibre and sheer all-round crunchiness, Das erste wiener Gem¸seorchester is for you," said reviewer Robert Hanks in the London Independent (Sunday, 6 June 2004.) "The overall effect was surprisingly pleasing to the ear. . . Best not to sit in the front row, though, since you are likely to be sprayed with pieces of radish and a fine mist of juice."

For more information on "music with taste", take a gander at the orchestra's official website (http://ww.gemueseorchester.org) which declares to all the world that "The first Viennese vegetable orchestra consists exclusively of vegetable-based instruments, although where necessary, additional kitchen utensils such as knives or mixers are employed. . . The instruments are subsequently made into a soup so that the audience can then enjoy them a second time."

Anything that gives veggies good PR is music to my ears.

READERS SAY: C. R. writes: "The purchase of your "Doctor Yourself" book (http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html) and the resources on your website gave me the ammo I needed to wean myself off of anti-inflammatory drugs for back and leg pain. 10-15 grams of ascorbic acid daily for the last 10 days have removed most of the discomfort of sciatica and bulging of the discs in L4 and L5. My Eustachian tube in my right ear is open for the first time in months. My wife's springtime allergies, a part of her life since age 8, have been brought under control by liberal use of ascorbic acid. The examples regarding your own children are an inspiration to introduce them to better health through vitamins. I can't wait to give my neurosurgeon and ENT the Donald Trump treatment: 'You're fired!'"

Thank you for the compliment. I am delighted to learn of your success.

LEGIONNAIRE'S DISEASE Bob Smith writes:

"On a Monday morning some years ago, I got a fever of 102, and normally I never get sick. So I started taking vitamin C at 10 grams AN HOUR, waiting to reach bowl tolerance. Did not get loose stools. The next day I went to 15 grams an hour. On Wednesday, I tried to take an entire 250 gram bottle. Would have liked to get an IV of C but doctors using this were far away and I was sick so didn't. I was annoyed at my system because I could not get loose stools. A friend took me to a local hospital on Friday to be checked and the hospital recommended I check in. But they could not say what was wrong, so I went home and continued taking the C orally. Saturday night the fever broke with profuse sweating. Then I went to an internist, and was checked out as in perfect health.

"After two weeks of feeling bad, I received emergency calls from the Health Department. They informed me that at a hotel where I'd previously stayed, three people got similarly sick. Each went to a different hospital, and all were dead 3 to 5 days later. The diagnosis was Legionnaire's disease. So they called me when they heard I was sick. I found one of the nation's leading Legionnaire's experts. He did blood tests and found I had the fatal form and could not believe it. He retested and confirmed that I had lived though it. He could not understand how I'd survived. Of course, he said, vitamin C could not have been a factor. But I know: my body was so sick at that time I could not reach bowel tolerance."

Thank you for this report. It is hard to argue with success, although doctors so often try. I think you were right. Congratulations on a job well done.

More on Legionnaire's Disease and vitamin C therapy: http://www.orthomed.com/#legion

More on bowel tolerance dosage of vitamin C: http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html

HUMOR, SORT OF (And for this one, you can blame my readers who seem to delight in submitting such things.)

On visit to India, a guide took some tourists to a village to see a local holy man. They found the swami sitting out in an open field, eating a piece of asparagus. The guide told the tourists that asparagus was all that particular swami ever ate, and that he was clearly the happiest person in town. The tourists were not impressed until it started to rain quite hard, and they noticed that while the rain fell simply everywhere, not a drop fell on the swami. This really got their attention, and they asked their guide how it was possible. The guide replied, with a smile: "Bliss is the awning of the sage of asparagus."

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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.

Copyright c 2004 and prior years Andrew W. Saul doctoryourself.com/contact.html . 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.