Everybody who has spent just a little bit of time on this site know that I went through surgery to have my colon removed and I have generally been pleased and satisfied with the results. However, I don’t believe that everybody with IBD needs or should have surgery. There is something to be said for controlling IBD with medicine as well.
So which is better, medicine vs. surgery? I get asked this sometimes and really, it depends on what kind of lifestyle you want to live. There are risks and benefits to both options. Hopefully through this vlog you will get the information you need to make a better decision.
Today at the office, one of my employees was surprised when I said that I was following a vegan diet. She knew that I was eating mostly raw, but thought I was including either sushi or some cooked meat. So, that got me thinking about “veganism” and I wondered how many people are familiar with the term.
The definition of veganism follows from wikipedia:
Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.
Although I am following a vegan diet, I have not yet transformed my entire lifestyle away from animal products. For example, I still have items in my home such as leather furniture, belts and wallets. However, I hope to remove these at some point.
I wanted to comment on B12 deficiency and vegan/vegetarian diets. Yes, sometimes vegans and vegetarians get low in B12. It’s more common in vegans who do not supplement but it can take years. If adequate levels of B12 are consumed before going on a vegan diet it can take about 5 years before your B12 stores are depleted. If you are a vegan, take B12 supplements, eat nutritional yeast or foods fortified with B12 such as fortified plant based milks. I eat nutritional yeast often and take B12 injections every 2 weeks. I also take a quality multivitamin daily.
Yesterday I was out with one of the community palliative care nurses from the hospice I’m spending this year’s Medsoc. I’ve been out with community nurses before – just a few visits to little old ladies to change the bandages on their leg ulcers, nothing major (or fragrant). It’s a nice change from sitting in lectures, and it’s hands on. The palliative nurses, much like the doctors, are so unbelievably nice and they really do know their patients – it felt like visiting friends, a bit.
You’d think, then, that I would have had a good day. No. The nurse was a lovely lady, but the nicest and most cheerful person in the world could not have made up for what I saw and heard.
We started on a little old lady with very advanced Alzheimers and colon cancer. She was sound asleep when we arrived. Her daughters chatted to us and asked a lot of questions, but there was that heaviness in the air of total sadness. They explained how she kept “plucking” in the air until recently when she became so weak she couldn’t lift her arms. She was probably hallucinating. Her husband came home and looked as though he was going to burst into tears any second. The nurse reassured them about their actions over the last few days and checked her drugs chart – a bit of Haloperidol and Midazolam with the pain killers. We couldn’t do anything else so made our way out.
I was a little drained from that first visit, and it didn’t set me up well for the next encounter.
An oriental family gathered around their husband/father’s bed as he lay there, still, with an NG tube, stoma bag and catheter trailing away from him. The family looked fine at first, but then the subtleties became obvious; the old dirty tee-shirts, the unclean hair, the tired bags under their eyes – a family under stress. The fact they greeted me at all was surprising, but their assumed cheer and friendliness was quite startling. I took care not to stand at the end of the bed, being tall and dressed in black (not something I would want to wake up and see, certainly).
Things seemed as well as one could hope for at first. The patient greeted me weakly but heartily and his family asked me a few questions. The nurse went off to another room and his wife and daughter stayed round his bed. Two community nurses came and left. I had sat down to speak quietly to an aunty when wailing pierced the sombre atmosphere. Everyone swept to the bed and I saw it was his wife who was making the noise. She was crying, the daughter too, and speaking in another language. She switched to English, probably so the nurse would come back. He had stopped breathing and squeezing her hand.
“Please pappy, wait for Charlotte!”, the daughter kept screaming. It turns out Charlotte was an absent daughter. My nurse flew onto the scene and quickly reassured the family that he was still alive but had clearly gone downhill (in 5 minutes!). I looked closer and saw his laboured, weak breathing. The family were convinced he was dead, or was going to be so in a short while, and the grief mounted as more relatives arrived. No reassurance could help, but we stayed with them for a few hours. Eventually we had to go to another patient and so we reluctantly left them in utter despair.
I sat in the car quite shell-shocked. The nurse asked if I was OK and I put on a brave face. We had lunch and went to the next patient.
Welcome to my grand experiment. I am a licensed professional acupuncturist based in Pittsburgh, PA, and I have a passion for all topics related to Acupuncture and it’s integration with Western Medicine. I intend to use this blog as an aggregate site to share and explore some of the more fascinating cases and research studies that serve as a daily reminder of why I got into this most rewarding profession….Acupuncture. Every week, I come across promising current medical research studies, patient education tips, interesting tidbits from classic Taoist and Chinese Medical Texts, and articles on Acupuncture-related legislation or insurance coverage topics that I would like to share with others. All will be fair game for this blog. Hopefully you will find it as fascinating as I do.
If you are excited about the future of acupuncture and it’s integration with Western Medicine, I invite you to come back and visit, perhaps share a few relevant links, and comment on a point or thread you’d like to explore further.
I christen this blog with a chilled bottle of champagne, and hope in my heart. Let the experiment begin…
Gotta love these studies that take MRI’s of brains of people doing particular tasks. It’s worth noting that similar findings have been found in many other tasks as well. We just have to accept that sometimes people are better at doing that things than others, and it is probably to some degree, innate talent.
This also explains why I never was able to beat Super Mario Brothers. Curse that level 8 stage 2!
Prior cognitive, psychological, and neurological studies have shown that expert video game players are capable of outperforming novices in measures of attention and perception. They also have demonstrated that, when novices train on video games for 20-plus hours, they experienced no measurable increase in cognitive ability. These two pieces of information would seem to point to an innate difference between expert and novices gamers, instead of suggesting that gaming is a skill that can be learned.
New neurological research, published in—and made freely available by—the journal Cerebral Cortex has found a correlation between the size of a trio of structures in the human brain and their owner’s ability to learn and play video games. Animal studies had focused the authors’ attention on three distinct structures deep within the brain: the caudate nucleus and the putamen in the dorsal striatum, and the nucleus accumbens in the ventral striatum. It was known that the striatum was used in habit forming and skill acquisition, so a role in video games skills makes sense.
via Bad at video games? Your brain structure may be at fault.
Fortis Hospitals in Bangalore, India is amongst world’s best hospitals for Medical tourists.
The Bangkok based Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTQUA) which promotes standards and practices for medical traveler’s has recognized Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore (formerly Wockhardt Hospitals) as the most preferred destination in the world for medical tourists from America. The hospital was ranked # 1 in the first list of the top 10 world’s best hospitals for medical tourists released at a press conference held in Bangkok recently.
“Medical Tourism is more than getting good medical care abroad” said MTQUA founder Julie Munro who has spent many years in the medical travel industry.
“Safety and security, international patient operations and protocols, transparency and professional patient facilitation are key to achieving an excellent medical outcome for International patients who are more important than just the cost of care.”
MTQUA released the ranking based on an exhaustive study across patients, hospitals and healthcare travel agencies and all the 10 selected Hospitals provide medical treatment and care of the highest quality with the most advanced technology. All hospitals have also developed outstanding local and regional reputations.
According to MTQUA, the top five hospitals are: Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore (formerly Wockhardt Hospital), Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore, Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Shouldice Hospital, Toronto and Shoen-Kliniken, Munich.
“It gives us great pride to make India get the top slot as the world’s leading destination for International patients” said Mr. Vishal Bali, CEO, Fortis Hospitals Group, India.
” By providing a strong foundation of quality in all our patient care processes along with affordability we have delivered to both our domestic and International patients’ exceptional value” he added.
MTQUA recognized Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore (formerly Wockhardt Hospitals) as the # 1 on its list of Top 10 World’s Best Hospitals for Medical Tourists on the following criteria:
1. Medical Quality – The hospital is an excellent surgery option for medical travelers seeking joint replacement, particularly hip resurfacing and replacement. It’s also strong in cardiac surgery and neurosurgery.
2. International Patient Management -Fortis Hospitals has been sensitive to the needs of patients and families for their cultural, language, and religious requirements, their medical needs and emotional support. As the majority of its international caseload is either life-saving or life enhancing procedures, their honesty and integrity provides outstanding case management and better patient understanding.
3. International Patient Marketing – The Hospital actively supports web-based social networks, including Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. It has its own blog. The hospital has a dedicated team of men and women available 24/7 with access to treating physicians who can respond to qualified patient inquiries.
4. Value For Services – India’s hospitals are positioned to provide value for services and will continue to do so because the number of hospitals in India seeking the American or international patient market nurtures a competitive cost structure.
5. Patient Safety And Security – The Hospital wraps the traveling patient from America in a security blanket.
From the initial hospital response, Fortis assigns dedicated staff representatives to the patient throughout their hospital stay and a treating physician who directly discusses procedures and outcomes before the patient leaves their home country. Communication with the patient’s family physician is encouraged. Patients may stay in the hospital for their full recovery period to avoid moving to a hotel.
6. Transparency – Every effort is extended to ensure transparency of care, from cost to outcomes data. Patients receive a portfolio of their medical file and surgery documents including CT scans, MRI and X-rays, and operative notes to take back to their home country.
7. Attention To The Unique Needs Of The Medical Traveler – According to reports, more than 50% of Hospital’s international patients are Americans. It offers prompt scheduling of pre-surgery preparation. It provides exemplary follow up care and services to monitor American medical travelers once they return home.
MTQUA’s top 10 list of the World’s best hospitals has 6 hospitals out of Asia, 2 from Europe and 2 from North America.
Wockhardt Hospitals Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata which are now christened as Fortis Hospitals are part of the 40 hospitals chain of Fortis Healthcare. This Fortis Hospitals network consists of 11 hospitals focusing on the high end tertiary care around the specialties of cardiac care – adult and pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery, complex brain & spine surgeries, orthopedics and joint replacement surgery and minimal access surgery.
Wockhardt Hospitals Bangalore – now a network hospital of Fortis is a 400 bedded Multi specialty hospital with state of the art facility equipped with latest technology and truly World class Clinical Talent dedicated to the whole range of Cardiac, Orthopedic, Neurosciences, Minimal Access Surgery and Women & Child.
MTQUA’s advisory panel includes Harvard and Johns Hopkins affiliated hospitals and established health care travel agencies.
The MTQUA Seal of Quality identifies medical travel facilitators, advisors, and support services that have put or are putting processes in place that prioritize medical quality and safety outcomes for the traveling patient.
This seal of quality is issued annually, and is available to any facilitator, agent or other support and service company worldwide that has demonstrated a standard of professional and caring service and support to the medical traveler. This seal assures medical tourists their medical care, safety and quality outcome always comes first.
I recently watched the award winning short film Skin and Bone and thought it was great. Especially when I found out that it had been made for only $500! The film spends a day in a hectic critical cardiac care unit in New England and ends up with some very surprising results along the way. I don’t want to give too much away, so if you want more, I’ve included the trailer at the bottom of this page.
The creators of the movie, Philip M. Magcalas and Lucy Harrison are medical students a little farther along than I am and the idea of filming, producing, editing and showing this kind of short film all throughout medical school just baffles my mind, both are very smart cookies.
I just got word that Skin and Bone has been released for sale on DVD now for only $7.99 and I wanted to help get the word out. I’ve already ordered my copy and with recent events regarding the Haitian earthquake, they have decided to donate a portion of all their proceeds to help bring aid to Haiti.
Thanks to Milk and Cookie Productions for the above pic.
While I’m stewing a couple of longer posts, here’s a medical breakthrough. And for once, I don’t have anything critical to say about it. I’m all gee-whiz-isn’t-science-awesome!
Science Daily announces that a team headed by Dr. William Dooley of the University of Oklahoma has developed a technique to radically shrink large breast tumors. The study is not out yet (it’ll appear in the Annals of Surgical Oncology), so here’s what Science Daily reports:
They are working on a treatment called Focused Microwave Thermotherapy. The technique, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, uses a modified version of the microwave technology behind the “Star Wars” defense system.
In the most recent study, researchers tested the therapy on tumors that were an inch to an inch and a half in size. These large tumors usually require mastectomies. When researchers used the heating therapy within two hours of patients receiving chemotherapy, the tumor was more susceptible to the chemotherapy and shrunk rapidly. The percentage of patients needing mastectomies was reduced from 75 percent to 7 percent.
(More here.)
In other words, only a tenth of the women who would’ve needed a mastectomy ended up having one.
In their next step, the researchers will zap tumors as large as five inches. (I cringe at the idea that a tumor could grow that large without detection. We’re talking about the size of a small melons. My entire breast isn’t five inches in diameter.) In theory, the therapy could be applied to any organ that can be immobilized.
So this is really, really cool. It’s also making me rue my role in the Star Wars program – Reagan’s, that is, not Darth Vader’s. Back in the summer of 1984, I worked as a lab assistant at Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto. I was supposed to grow laser crystals. The specifications were tight. The equipment was old. Control of the reactor was all manual. I grew a lot of crystals, measured them, tested them, watched them fail. This went on all summer. Donuts were served daily, and they were scrumptious. Only at the end of the summer did I learn that those useless wafers were all intended for Reagan’s Star Wars initiative.
I felt much better.
But now I wonder. What if our failed research could have fed into a great peacetime medical application, as this thermotherapy process promises to be? How many other projects funded by the DoD, Department of Energy, etc. might spawn brilliant but overlooked civilian applications? I mean, I know we’ve got computers and the Internet thanks to DoD, but what other wonders might be hiding in their junk closets?
In recent months, health care debates have dominated the news both in print and picture. Some claim that reform is necessary to preserve the United States’ role as a quality health care provider into the 21st century, others argue that reform legislation as currently proposed is tantamount to socialism. This particular debate will have to wait its turn, because reform (by either side of the political spectrum) will almost certainly not include a repudiation of the pseudoscience that has become standard fare in the medical community. Not that I seek to imply that the quality of medical care has not continued to improve in the western world year over year for centuries, but rather that many of the false claims that once dominated the industry still fester. One such malady, perhaps the most prolific and misunderstood, is chiropractic care.
Some will surely recoil at this presupposition. Many very smart people see chiropractors on a regular basis, and testify to the amazing healing effects of the practice. These people aren’t crazy. The consorted effort behind public education on chiropractics is immense, but is almost entirely driven by groups like the the American Chiropractic Association, whose Congressional lobby is amazingly well-armed. Alternative medicine (including chiropractics, acupuncture, homeopathy, and non-vitamin supplements) is a huge business, raking in nearly $34 billion last year. Numbers specific to chiropractics are harder to find, but that figure is somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 billion. Needless to say, it’s how lots of people spend their money. Even my employer’s insurance policy permits a dozen preventative care chiropractic visits a year at no additional cost. With all of this institutional support, it’s no surprise that most people consider chiropractic to be a legitimate medical practice with real, measurable health benefits.
Here’s the back story. Chiropractic was invented by Daniel David Palmer (a magnetic healer) in the late 1890’s. Palmer and his followers believed that the body coursed with innate intelligence, a divinely infused energy source critical to the health and wellbeing of the human body. Palmer claimed that interruptions in this mystical power were the causes of all disease (if you ever studied medieval medicine, this might sound familiar). Palmer and his protégé son, B.J. Palmer, were so convinced of the spiritual nature of their craft, that they strongly considered consolidating chiropractic as a religion. Instead, they aligned themselves with populist movements, and actively repudiated the value of intellectualism and traditional institutions such as the American Medical Association (anti-intellectual, anti-science populism poised against modernizing health care does sound eerily familiar). Palmer and son would later aggrandize the subluxation method (not to be confused with a real subluxation), which they claimed relieved spinal pressure on nerves, resulting in holistic wellness.
Eventually, chiropractic schismed into three branches, the same three that exist today: the straights, the reformers, and the mixers. Straights are the Palmer’s incarnate, entirely disregarding all medical science. These folks, like Palmer, tend to drastically exaggerate the benefits of their treatments (curing cancer, HIV, etc), and often find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Reformers are the so called doctors of chiropractic medicine (more on that later). Mixers are, as you probably guessed, some amalgamation of the two. In modern chiropractic, the vast majority of practitioners fall in the mixer category. As a rule of thumb, if a chiropractor shows you anatomical drawings or a human skeleton in the same breath as claiming that “adjustments” can boost your immunity and improve the disposition of your body’s core energy, he or she is a mixer. It’s a classic argument from authority, don’t be surprised if the chiropractor wears a lab coat or the like, especially when discussing the extent of your misalignment and necessary treatment. A doctor of chiropractic is not a medical doctor, but rather has obtained a first professional degree, the rough equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in anatomy or biology for an M.D. This, however, does not prevent a doctor of chiropractic from being considered a “primary care provider” in the United States and Canada (thus the insurance coverage). Doctors of chiropractic and their staff frequently perform basic physical therapy in addition to alignments and massage. A tangential, but equally important, point is that a chiropractor’s assistant requires no medical training whatsoever. Many such persons effectively avoid the considerable education, experience, and certification required to become physical therapists, while pretending to perform the same set of services.
So, what about the claims of pain relief? If you search around on the internet, you are likely to find as many scientific articles that claim no benefit as those that claim a small benefit for acute back pain. However, the mechanism of relief is always unclear. There is no scientific evidence that spinal adjustments (accounting for 94% of chiropractic treatments) cure anything. What has long been known, however, is that getting your joints popped releases a flood of endorphins, which act as the body’s temporary pain relievers, as well as a healthy heaping of dopamine as a result of being touched or massaged. Subsequently, the patient gets temporary relief from pain in combination with a light feeling of general euphoria. It’s no surprise then, that these two techniques (alignment and massage) are the cornerstones of nearly all reformist chiropractic. Let’s not discount the unbelievable power of the placebo effect. It doesn’t matter if you have a baby with colic, a sore back, or a learning disability, you are almost certain to get a massage and an alignment. Equally as often, your alignment will be pitched in association with some additional alternative medicine (see above – half of that $34 billion was spent on supplements).
The biggest problem with chiropractic lies in the concept of primum non nocere (first, do no harm). Since there is no evidence that chiropractic care provides anything more than what one would get from a little exercise (endorphins), massage (dopamine), or sex (both), the only way to rationalize the practice is if it hurts no one past the pocket-book. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t the case. There are countless instances of stroke associated with cervical spine manipulation. The American Chiropractic Association is quick to claim that fewer than one in 10 million manipulations result in stroke, however other sources with less monetary bias argue that injuries from such manipulations occur at around the rate of one in 750, with incidences of stroke within days of a cervical spine manipulation as high as one in 40,000. Anyone who claims that chiropractic is completely safe is lying to you. From personal experience as a young teenager (paid for and suggested by my genuinely well-intentioned parents), I got wicked nasty headaches following every neck manipulation. The chiropractor insisted on such adjustments, which led to me discontinuing my “therapy” (which was, ironically, designed to alleviate cluster headaches).
I am not suggesting that reformist chiropractic be made illegal, however it should be relegated to it’s proper place in pseudoscience. It should then be the job of every doctor and medical professional to dissuade their patients from relying on chiropractic for genuine medical care (as any responsible person would regarding homeopathy, reflexology, and other alternative medicines). If you have chronic back pain, see an orthopedist, and never let anyone pop your neck (don’t worry, a real doctor wouldn’t try it). We will never be able reform health care in this country until we are capable of honestly assessing what health care really is.
I’ve mentioned before that I am studying to become a nurse. Most people are astonished and surprised at the concept of a male trying to become a nurse. I get surprised looks even at the school I am attending whenever I mention what I am studying to someone new I meet. I’ve long known that nursing has been a career typecast as a woman’s job but that has never bothered me in the slightest. I do have the desire to become a doctor however I do not have the financial resources or the desire to spend so much time and money away from my family. With nursing, I can study further and get a PhD in nursing and still manage to get a lot done as a nurse in both the direct medical field and management. There is still the matter of the career being typecast.
Jobs can be typecast in different ways, said Neil Gross and Ethan Fosse, who undertook the study. For instance, less than 6 percent of nurses today are men. Discrimination against male candidates may be a factor, but the primary reason for the disparity is that most people consider nursing to be a woman’s career, Mr. Gross said. That means not many men aspire to become nurses in the first place — a point made in the recent Lee Daniels film “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” When John (Lenny Kravitz) asks the 16-year-old Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) and her friends whether they’ve ever seen a male nurse before, all answer no amid giddy laughter. – Patricia Cohen, NYT
The only thing that bothers me about nursing being typecast as a woman’s job is that there could be many more male nurses in the field filling up the many nursing jobs that are open. That is, in fact, a very serious problem in the nursing field.
It’s been described as the worst nursing shortage in American history. Research suggests that at this rate we will be short one-third the number of nurses needed by 2020. A major factor is that enrollment dropped significantly in nursing schools from 1995-2000. – Elizabeth Donatelli, Newsplex.com
Despite years of concern, the recession that began in December 2007 has led to a surge of misleading reports that the lack of nursing jobs in the field means the nursing shortage is over. In truth, the nursing shortage is still there, hidden behind the veil of fewer job openings. Hospitals and clinics are still understaffed for the number of patients that come through their buildings, nurses are still heavily burdened with too much work and too little time to take care of both their patients and the paperwork required by insurers and state and federal governments, and nurses are still working long hours and double or triple shifts at a time. The shortage is long-term, temporally masked by a shortage of funds in hospitals across the country due to the increasing loss of insured patients.
The supposed non-shortage of nurses will disappear completely once the job market begins to flourish and unemployment goes down (thus the number of uninsured in the country). That’s where men could break through the typecasting and go for a nursing career. As a matter of fact, it would be a boon to the country if nursing education were to become more available to the unemployed — it would be an excellent career choice for those who have been jobless and have little prospect for a return to their previous jobs, many of which will never come back, and for those who want to do something different. The only problem with that idea is the nursing field will still be an undesirable career choice until the recession is over — but that is, all points considered, still only a temporal setback. The jobs will return — they have to — whether hospital budgets like it or not.
There is, of course, the other problem that comes into play in educating the future nursing workforce: the educators themselves.
In the midst of a national nursing shortage, Indiana nursing programs rejected about 2,500 qualified applicants because of a lack of full-time faculty, according to a survey of state nursing programs.
The 2008 survey by the Indiana Nursing Workforce Development Coalition said faculty shortages prevent nursing programs from maintaining a supply of qualified applicants. – Sarah Tompkins, NWI.com
Despite the recession, “the U.S. nursing shortage is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025″, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing nursing shortage factsheet. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has fought to include provisions in the proposed health care reform bill, headed by the Democratic party, to fund the increase of nurses and doctors in the medical field to increase the availability of health care to those who find it difficult to get care. This is all well and good but if the education system is not moving with the speed the country is moving in, the nursing shortage is still going to be there in 2025 and I will still be one of the few 6% of male nurses in the United States.
Being unable to fall asleep – or stay asleep – can be horribly frustrating. Even worse, it can interfere with your everyday activities and make each day an ordeal to get through. Although there are many medications available that work as sleep aids, many come along with laundry lists of side effects that you may want to avoid. Many people, however find that a prescription medication in the form of melatonin can work wonders for their sleep difficulties.
What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally secreted in your brain. It is a major component of your body’s natural circadian rhythm, which regulates your sleep and wake cycle. As people age, their bodies start producing lower levels of melatonin; when that occurs, the ability to fall asleep – and stay asleep – can become inhibited. This is why it’s not unusual at all for middle aged and older persons to have these problems. In lieu of many other kinds of medication, a compounding pharmacy can customise a prescription for melatonin for those who are having difficulty sleeping.
Who Benefits From Taking Melatonin?
Melatonin can be particularly helpful to those who work in positions that require for them to be awake at unusual times as it helps to keep your circadian rhythm in check. For example, factory shift workers or hospital staff who work night shifts generally have trouble as their internal body clock continuously becomes confused; melatonin supplementation can even things out and make sleeping easier and more beneficial. Older persons whose levels of melatonin have dropped can also benefit from taking it. Finally, children can take melatonin safely; those who take medication for ADHD, especially, often do well on a melatonin regimen.
Side Effects Of Melatonin Usage
One of the biggest complaints that people have about various kinds of sleep aids is that they cause a bevy of unpleasant – and sometimes very harmful – side effects. Upon waking up the morning after taking melatonin, people don’t have the drowsy, unpleasant feeling that often goes along with other forms of sleep medication. Your compounding pharmacy can customise a dosage of melatonin that will give you the proper amount; if you do feel drowsy when taking melatonin, that dosage might need to be changed.
Compounding: Helping You Sleep
There’s no doubt about it: Compounding helps patients in all areas of their lives. Considering how very important sleep is, it is reasonable to say that compounding and melatonin work together to improve the lives of countless people each and every day. By getting enough healthy sleep, you increase your odds of being healthy in general; those who miss out on vital sleep generally have tendencies of being less healthy and inturn frequently become ill as opposed to their well rested counterparts.
Tracy Kidder, author of such bestselling books as the college common reading classic Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World and the new, critically-lauded Strength in What Remains, has penned an interesting op-ed in The New York Times about the current crisis in Haiti, offering some much needed historical context.
This contemporary period offers a variety of technological development designed for almost each facet of our lives, like in the case of medicine and our health. Even though there are instances most people find it unnecessary to be knowledgeable in the aspects of human life matters, it is however important to know the beginnings of it life. Both for knowledge and better appreciation of such innovation. Medicine is like other things whose beginning we are not aware of, with the exception of medically-aware individuals. Ailments has always been one of the major concerns for all living beings. As early as prehistoric times and in the ancient civilizations, maladies have already dawned on all life forms so primeval were instigated to look for medications. Prehistoric Medicine included plant lives in healing illnesses, which we now acknowledge as herbalism. In that time period’s medicine people like priests and shamans also used minerals and animal parts in performing rituals intended to heal the sick. These people are much like the doctors of today. In Ancient Egypt, the practice of medicine was known to be very advanced for the period. Eventhough ‘magic’ was the initial element of medicine, the ancient Egyptian physicians discovered medical knowledge became responsible for its great reputation of the civilization. Various information regarding human anatomy was identified by the Egyptians such as in their traditional mummification method. Egyptian medical doctors were also aware of our pulse and the linking it has with our heart. The hypothesis on channels was worked out that transported oxygen, water and our blood around our body by associating the Nile River to the body. Sicknesses were believed to have been caused by these channels becoming blocked and were medicated with laxatives. The earliest recorded physicians in the world is Hesy-Ra who practiced in ancient Egypt; and the lady Peseshet, could be history’s first lady doctor. Ancient Babylonia probably is the the originals of mathematics, but this ancient culture also gave birth to some common methods of healing. There were two kinds of people who dealt with the medicine in Ancient Babylonia, the ‘asu’ (doctor) and ‘dsipu’ (exorcist). When a patient was sick, the asu would administer cream, pills and bandages; but if healing has not progressed, exorcism was then executed to rid the body of any curse. If the patient is seriously ailed, even in the most delicate areas such as the eye, surgery is carried out. It was indeed excellent of the knowledge held by the Babylonians, they were ardent to the workings of the human and animal body and discovered about blood pulse and circulation. A document, written 3000 years ago on Ancient Chinese Medicine documenting that the retaining health and nourishing life should be given previous to a person’s illness. This is the reason explaining the ancient Chinese way of healing that is concentrated not on the sick but rather those that are well. The process of diagnosis was established on an ‘Outside-to-Inside’ method where the internal conditions are presumed from observing outside facts. The equilibrium of yin and yang, alleged by the ancient Chinese healing, creates the wholeness and accordance inside us. Therefore the imbalance of the polar opposite that causes illnesses.
Yesterday, I was a very very nervous girl. I went to my lecture as usual, bought a sandwich and hot chocolate at the station and took the train at a quarter to two to the hospital. I was getting two of my wisdom teeth taken out.
Now this may seem very ordinary to you, but I am a nervous person. I fear rollercoasters, airplane rides and injections. My stomach turns 360 degrees when I even thinking about getting my blood taken. I am a wimp. And what’s worse, is that I’m training to be a doctor, so I feel guilty for being a wimp when I’ll inevitably have to do this to other (probably braver) people in a few years time.
When I was called into the room and sat in the dentist’s chair, I could feel and see myself visibly shivering. I tried to suppress it but it didn’t help. The dentist told me that other students were coming in to watch me be sedated, to which I immediately thought “Oh no, now other people have to see me be a complete coward”.
I managed to not squeal or say a word when the IV line went into me (a personal achievement). Thank god that I blacked out quite soon after the sedative was given. I don’t remember any of the operation, but remember coming round in a chair just down the ward with my friend. The nurse said that I wouldn’t remember anything, to which I boldly responded “I’ll remember!”. So she set me a task of remembering a pink dog with a red tail and blue spots in an hour’s time. I didn’t remember what the dog looked like (apparently I kept insisting it was yellow), but I did remember the dog was called George.
The wisdom teeth are fine now. There’s been no complications, just a few expected headaches for which I’m taking 600mg ibuprofen. That was my first ever surgery, so I don’t think I need to be a wimp any more.
Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic; the real problem may be mineral deficiencies
by Dani Veracity, citizen journalist
In popular thought, disputing sodium’s link to high blood pressure is equivalent to questioning whether the earth is round. However, some experts now believe that salt will not raise blood pressure in everyone, just in people who are “salt sensitive.” Only 10 percent of the population is salt sensitive, according to BioMarkers by Professor William Evans and Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg.
Of course, far more than 10 percent of us suffer from hypertension, meaning that if these experts are correct, salt intake cannot be the only factor contributing to America’s high blood pressure epidemic. In fact, according to Gayle Reichler’s book, Active Wellness, only half the people with hypertension have high blood pressure because of their salt intake, making cutting down on the amount of salt you eat a good step toward lower blood pressure, but not a cure-all.
Scientists are still unsure why some people’s bodies respond to salt more drastically than others; however, most theories focus on sodium’s in vivo interaction with potassium, magnesium and calcium. In fact, some experts believe that these nutrients play more of a role in these individuals’ salt sensitivity than sodium itself. Deficiencies in these complementary minerals may actually be the larger culprit in hypertension.
“The problem is just as likely to be too little potassium, calcium and magnesium,” emphasizes Alice Feinstein in Healing with Vitamins. Most experts agree that you would do well to consume sodium in balance with potassium in order to maintain healthy blood pressure, but they are still unsure about how this potassium mechanism works. Some experts believe that potassium lowers blood pressure by relaxing small blood vessels, while others think that it works by helping the body expel excess sodium and water.
Another interesting theory asserts that these people actually have hypertension because of calcium deficiency, rather than an excess of sodium. However, as Jean Carper explains in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, proponents of this theory have multiple theories about how it might operate: “One theory is that such individuals retain water when they eat too much sodium, and that calcium acts like a natural diuretic to help kidneys release sodium and water, thus reducing blood pressure. Another, more complex explanation is that calcium works by preventing release of the parathyroid hormone that can raise blood pressure.”
As is often the case with uncharted health territory, when it comes to the salt sensitivity explanation for hypertension, theories often pile upon theories. This isn’t a bad thing; rather, it makes the intellectual environment ripe for new discoveries. On the other hand, it’s important to remember that not all experts agree with the salt-sensitivity theory. “There’s no question about it: A great number of comparative studies of people who use no salt and those who use great quantities have proved that high salt equals high blood pressure,” writes Gary Null in his Complete Guide to Health and Nutrition.
Dr. William Castelli, director of the famous Framingham Heart Study, also cites demographic studies as support for the mainstream medical viewpoint that consuming excess sodium leads to hypertension, a perspective that some naturopaths also share. Furthermore, in Food Politics, Marion Nestle questions the ethical roots of some of the salt-sensitivity theory’s proponents, pointing out some objectionable financial backing: “‘There is reason to be concerned that lowering NaCl [salt] intake may have long-term metabolic risks that have not been fully identified . . . we do not have solid evidence that lower NaCl intake prospectively will prevent or control high blood pressure.”
However, the review in which this appears was funded in part by The Salt Institute, a trade association for the salt industry. This isn’t to say that all experts who believe in salt sensitivity are funded by the salt industry. Like any theory, the salt sensitivity explanation for why some people have high blood pressure and others don’t has both its proponents and opponents.
A simple test to determine if you are low in the enzyme renin will show you whether you are salt sensitive, according to Reichler. Of course, an even simpler way is to cut down on your sodium intake for a few months – under the care of a doctor, or preferably a naturopath – and see if your blood pressure goes down. If your numbers go down, then you are salt sensitive; if not, you and your naturopath must then take extra steps to learn the cause of your hypertension.
The point is, as Dr. Bernard Lamport emphasizes in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, “Everyone cannot count on sodium restriction to be a panacea for high blood pressure.” In other words, as we all know, obtaining good health requires taking a holistic approach to your body, not just making one change and hoping that it will be a cure-all.
The experts speak on salt and high blood pressure:
Not everyone is “salt sensitive”
Now salt doesn’t raise blood pressure in everyone, only in those whom doctors describe as “salt-sensitive.” But if you have high blood pressure, chances are that you are salt-sensitive. Even if you’re not, reducing your salt intake is a good idea.
Anti-Aging Prescriptions by James Duke PhD, page 402
Conversely, if an individual is salt sensitive, sodium restriction will have a profound effect upon modulating blood pressure. This is an example of matching an appropriate dietary program with the right genotype.
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 473
Also, if you have high blood pressure, restricting salt may help curb it especially if you are one of the one-third to one-half of those who are particularly sensitive to blood pressure boosts from sodium. Such “salt responders” are most apt to benefit from sodium cutbacks, say most experts. But you usually only know if you try it. There’s even evidence that restricting sodium can depress normal blood pressure.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 93
Use salt judiciously. In most people, eating salt does not increase the risk of high blood pressure, says Dr. Katz. But for some reason, it may affect a few. So if you have high blood pressure, it doesn’t hurt to use salt judiciously — don’t add it to foods at the table, and limit super-salty foods like chips to a once-in-a-while indulgence.
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women, page 609
Too much salt is even more problematic for overweight people, says Dr. Kenney. “If you eat a lot of sugar and fat and you gain weight, your insulin levels go up, and it’s hard for the body to get rid of salt when insulin levels are high,” he explains. “That’s probably one reason that overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure: They may eat the same amount of salt as anyone else, but they have more trouble getting rid of it.”
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Lowering sodium is important because this mineral can raise blood pressure in those who are sensitive to it. Unlike many physicians, though, Dr. Whitaker doesn’t tell patients to go on low-sodium diets.
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb, page 353
“Some people can tolerate more salt than others, but everybody is sensitive to too much in the diet,” he says. “Populations like the Eskimos and Masai, who eat a high-fat diet but have no access to salt, just don’t get high blood pressure. Their pressures are virtually the same at age 60 as they were at age 20.” Populations like the New Guinea Highlanders and Yanomamo Indians of South America eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet — and no salt. In these groups, too, there’s no sign of essential hypertension, notes Dr. Kenney.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Part of the answer is that putting people on low-salt diets has not had the extensive impact on reducing the health consequences of high blood pressure that scientists had expected.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 299
That doesn’t mean you should immediately suck on a salt shaker or pig out on pretzels, pickles, and potato chips. Many people with mild high blood pressure can indeed control their hypertension by restricting sodium intake. But if you don’t suffer from high blood pressure, or if you are not salt sensitive, there is little reason to deprive yourself of some of life’s little pleasures — like a delicious cup of chicken soup and a saltine cracker.
Graedons Best Medicine by Joe Graedon & Dr Terasa Graedon, page 57
For most people who are on the Reversal Diet, moderate salt won’t raise blood pressure, according to Dr. Ornish. He says it’s acceptable to use a small amount of salt when you’re cooking dishes that could use a little lift. This can even help some people stick to a very low fat diet, Dr. Ornish notes, since a little salt can make a lean entree a lot more palatable. That’s why many of the recipes in Dr. Ornish’s books call for a small amount of salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 131
Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure in salt-sensitive individuals. (Most people excrete excess salt in urine, however some people may retain salt and excess fluid. The body must work harder to pump excess fluid, resulting in a rise in blood pressure.) sodium is found in table salt and occurs naturally in food, and is often added to processed foods. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams daily.
Earl Mindells Soy Miracle Earl Mindel RPH PHD, page 123
In the West, the connection between salt and hypertension has been convincing enough that many patients with high blood pressure have been forbidden to eat any but the smallest amounts of salt. This implied that salt was somehow an enemy. Now it is known that such restrictions were too severe — normal person can eat all the salt he wants without harm to his blood pressure.
Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra MD, page 238
Cutting sodium intake by half will lead to a drop of 5 points (or more) in blood pressure in about half the people with high blood pressure, according to Dr. Kaplan.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 84
Salt is basically safe when used in modest amounts. Some people with salt-sensitive, high blood pressure must avoid it. As a factor in causing high blood pressure, it is implicated in heart disease, as well as in kidney disease. Though salt is safe, it is unwise to consume high-salt-content foods.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 80
Theories on salt sensitivity
You’ve probably heard that consuming too much sodium can raise your blood pressure. But you may not realize that consuming too little vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, or calcium can have the same effect.
Blended Medicine by Michael Castleman, page 10
“Blood pressure control is no longer a single-nutrient issue,” says David McCarron, M.D., director of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease clinical nutrition research unit at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. “For some people, salt may not be the real issue at all.”
The Complete Book of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 376
Just as too much salt can raise blood pressure in some people, too little of certain minerals seems to be associated with an increase in blood pressure.
Home Remedies What Works by Gale Maleskey and Brian Kaufman, page 271
Because they provide potassium and calcium, experts recommend figs for people with high blood pressure. Both minerals, in combination with eating less sodium, keep your blood pressure under control.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 159
How do these nutrients regulate blood pressure? The exact mechanisms continue to evade researchers. But scientists suspect that they help the body slough off excess sodium and assist in controlling the workings of the vascular system.
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine, page 70
No one really knows exactly how potassium lowers blood pressure, reports Frederick L. Brancati, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, who led the study. One theory suggests that potassium relaxes small blood vessels, while another holds that it helps the body eliminate water and salt.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 302
Like sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium are bodily partners in the battle against high blood pressure. Some researchers even contend that calcium and magnesium are more important than sodium and potassium in controlling blood pressure. Calcium plays an important role in regulating heartbeat; magnesium helps to control how blood vessels dilate.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 209
Potassium does a balancing act with sodium, which is one reason that it’s so vital in maintaining proper blood pressure, Dr. Tobian explains. It works with sodium but also helps to keep it in check. During nerve transmission and muscle contraction, potassium and sodium briefly trade places across the cell membrane. Then they swap again, returning to their original positions ready for action.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 277
The sodium-to-Potassium Ratio Just as important as the total potassium content of food, sodium and potassium should be consumed in the proper balance. Too much sodium in the diet can lead to disruption of this balance. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a low-potassium, high-sodium diet plays a major role in the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, etc.) Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium is protective against these diseases and, in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael T Murray MD Joseph L Pizzorno ND, page 529
The body uses potassium to help eliminate excess sodium, which in large amounts can cause blood pressure to rise, says Dr. Webb. The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose — and the lower your blood pressure is likely to be. This is particularly true in people who are sensitive to salt, he says.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 56
Unfortunately, most people get too much sodium and barely enough potassium. This can raise your blood pressure and your potential for fluid retention, Dr. Young says.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 659
Ideally, potassium intake should be greater than sodium intake and, considering that people in North America may consume as much as 18,000 mg. of sodium daily and as little as 1,500 mg. of potassium, it is easy to see that the great amount of sodium compared to potassium could have an adverse effect on blood pressure.
Earl Mindell’s Secret Remedies by Earl Mindell RPh PhD, page 160
Today, we’ve reversed the ratio, consuming much more sodium and a lot less potassium. We average 2,300 to 6,900 milligrams of sodium daily, and some people nibble on enough salty processed foods to boost sodium intake above 20,000 milligrams a day. We are the only nonmarine animal to eat diets so high in salt. Primitive cultures today, where people consume diets similar to our ancient ancestors’ with ten times the potassium to sodium, have low blood pressure rates, almost no incidence of hypertension, and their blood pressures don’t rise with age as ours do.
The Origin Diet by Elizabeth Somer, page 51
Unbalanced sodium and potassium consumption. Those who can reduce their intake of sodium compounds, including table salt, while increasing their consumption of potassium are likely to reduce their high blood pressure.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 190
The balance of potassium and sodium is extremely important to human health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a diet low in potassium and high in sodium plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes) and cancer. Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can help prevent these diseases; and in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Natural Alternatives To Drugs by Michael T Murray ND, page 112
In order to reduce blood pressure, sodium intake must be restricted while potassium intake is increased. Individuals with high blood pressure should be aware of “hidden” salt in processed foods. Although their salt intake is comparable, vegetarians generally have less hypertension and cardiovascular disease than non-vegetarians because their diet contains more potassium, complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fat, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A and C. According to Dr. Cowden, regular consumption of potassium-rich fruits such as avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, grapefruit, nectarines, oranges, and vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, and squash can lower high blood pressure. Steaming rather than boiling vegetables helps prevent vital nutrient loss.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Most blood pressure pills deplete body potassium, thus exacerbating the problem they are designed to solve. By eating three servings of potatoes, oranges, or bananas per day, you can lower sodium intake about ten percent and elevate potassium levels.
Ancient Healing Secrets by Dian Dincin Buchman PHD, page 107
Excessive salt (sodium chloride) consumption, coupled with diminished dietary potassium, greatly stresses the kidney’s ability to maintain proper fluid volume. As a result some people are “salt-sensitive”, in that high salt intake increases blood pressure and/or water retention. Patients who experience more water retention during the mid-luteal phase may be especially sensitive to salt intake. However, it is simply not a matter of reducing salt intake, as potassium intake must be simultaneously increased. This is easily done by increasing the intake of high-potassium foods (i.e. fruits and vegetables) and decreasing high-sodium foods (most processed foods). Total daily sodium intake should be below 1,800 mg.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1507
Potassium, especially in conjunction with a low sodium intake, helps keep your blood pressure under control. It also lessens your chances of having a stroke. Add all that fiber, which lowers your cholesterol and reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, and you have a tiny but potent heart helper.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 141
Magnesium helps maintain the potassium in the cells, but the sodium and potassium balance is as finely tuned as those of calcium and phosphorus or calcium and magnesium. Research has found that a high-sodium diet with low potassium intake influences vascular volume and tends to elevate the blood pressure. Then doctors may prescribe diuretics that can cause even more potassium loss, aggravating the underlying problems. The appropriate course is to shift to natural, potassium foods and away from high-salt foods, lose weight if needed, and follow an exercise program to improve cardiovascular tone and physical stamina. The natural diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is rich in potassium and low in sodium, helping to maintain normal blood pressure and sometimes lowering elevated blood pressure.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 176
One of the most powerful methods of producing less stress and more energy in the body is diaphragm breathing. A recent study has shed some light on the effect of breathing in hypertension.Volunteers with normal blood pressure were taught how to breath very shallow. Measurement of the amount of sodium and potassium excreted in the urine indicated that shallow breathing led to the retention of sodium in the body. It was suggested that this breathing pattern may play a causative role in some cases of hypertension due to the retention of sodium.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1307
Opponents of the salt-sensitivity theory / Proponents of traditional view that excessive sodium intake leads to hypertension
The first cure most people think of for high blood pressure is to cut down on salt. It may or may not work, depending on your individual biological makeup. Scientists have been arguing for years over the impact of salt on high blood pressure and the debate goes on. It’s unlikely that salt is a major cause of high blood pressure, concluded a recent Harvard report. Still, Dr. William Castelli, director of the famed Framingham Heart Study, notes that in the few areas of the world where salt intake is low, high blood pressure is rare and does not rise with age as it does among Americans.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 92
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake. Mild hypertension can be controlled by proper nutrition and exercise. If these measures do not lower your blood pressure enough and you need medication, hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill (see thi-azide diuretics, p. 100), is the drug of choice starting with a low dose of 12.5 milligrams daily. It also costs less than other blood pressure drugs.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 144
Excess salt is known to be a cause of high blood pressure, ulcers and cancer of the stomach, edema, fear, cravings, kidney damage, diminished absorption of nutrients, and calcium deficiency, resulting in weakened bones, nerves, muscles, and heart. Early signs of excess salt intake are unusual thirst, dark urine and complexion, clenched teeth, and bloodshot eyes.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 164
No matter what its size, the “tank” of your circulatory system can become “overfilled.” This can occur when a high-salt diet causes the body to retain excess water, so that the blood volume exceeds the amount the vessels can safely hold. The resulting “too full” tank can create excess pressure on the entire circulatory system. When the “tank” becomes too full or too small or both, the blood pressure rises. If the imbalance between the size of the tank and the volume that fills it becomes too extreme, hypertension results, and the life-giving pulsation of blood pressure turns into a relentless pummeling of blood vessels everywhere in the body.
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 210
Most processed foods contain sugar or salt. Although moderate amounts of either of these substances are not particularly harmful for most people, the amounts of sugar and salt in your everyday diet can add up quickly if your diet is composed primarily of packaged foods. People with high blood pressure need to be particularly cautious about their intake of salt, and may find that a diet of processed foods goes beyond the level of salt intake recommended by their doctors.
Home Safe Home by Debra Lynn Dadd, page 226
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 57
If you have high blood pressure, cut down on your sodium intake by reading the labels on the foods you buy. Look for salt, sodium, or the chemical symbol Na.
Vitamin Bible by Earl Mindell, page 92
Not all experts agree on the exact role of sodium, particularly sodium chloride. Some believe that only a quarter of those with high blood pressure are sensitive to sodium. But others, including Dr. Kenney, think that too much sodium is dangerous for everybody, especially when it’s in combination with chloride, as in salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Cut way back on salt. It’s well known that sodium — found in table salt and many processed foods — can damage the heart by raising blood pressure. Yet the average American still consumes 6,000 mg a day — far more than the recommended 2,400 mg.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2002 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 10
The resulting epidemic of high blood pressure should be no surprise. All this extra sodium can damage the kidneys. Your kidneys filter waste materials from your blood and control blood pressure. They need the right level of sodium to function well.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 13
Yes, we all need sodium, but most of us get too much. Too much sodium results in potassium deficiency and even more serious problems, such as stress, hypertension, muscular weakness and fatigue, liver damage, and pancreas disease. Of these, hypertension is the most dangerous and is in fact one of the leading killer diseases in our country today. One out of every ten Americans may be predisposed to high blood pressure, which is rearing its ugly head even in the lives of our children.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 497
Unless your blood pressure is very high, you may be able to control it with a low-salt diet, exercise, weight loss and other lifestyle factors. Try this approach before considering drug therapy.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2004 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 25
Most people are aware that lowering sodium intake can help reduce blood pressure. It is by no means all that you can do, but it is nonetheless important. Sodium draws water into the blood vessels, and too much water in the artery can lead to too much pressure. Reducing salt intake is really quite easy, and we will go into that in more detail in chapter 9.
Eat Right Live Longer by Neal Barnard MD, page 142
Too much salt at the expense of potassium results in high blood pressure. It also leads to edema and water retention, especially in women during the last half of their menstrual cycle. Excessive salt intake causes kidney stress, once again deregulating the body’s natural alkaline-to-acid balance. Salt also disturbs digestion, and has been linked to stomach cancer.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 56
We know that anyone with hypertension (high blood pressure) should avoid salt. They should also avoid refined sugar. Animal studies suggest that high blood pressure may even lead to blood-sugar disorders.
Get Healthy Now by Gary Null, page 31
Because sodium usually is in excess, potassium has a curative role. For example, if blood pressure is high because of excessive salt intake, one of the first remedies in Western allopathic medicine is to use potassium supplements while restricting salt.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 162
If you’re sodium-savvy and watching your blood pressure, you already know to say no thanks to foods such as chips and salty pickles. Yet sodium appears in many foods in which you might not expect it. Baking soda and baking powder, for instance are both sodium bicarbonate. Dried fruit contains sodium sulfite, and ice cream often has sodium caseinate and sodium alginate.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 83
Innumerable scientific studies have connected fat intake to heart disease and cancer, and sodium intake to high blood pressure. Nearly 3 million children between ages six and seventeen suffer from high blood pressure. Many children of the new millennium are overweight, hyperactive, and deficient in the nutrients they need to grow into healthy adults.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 247
The usual symptoms of high blood pressure are dizziness, headaches, and noises or ringing in the ears. Along with any remedy used for hypertension, the following regime is generally recommended: sufficient rest; regular exercise; abstinence from tobacco, coffee, and alcoholic beverages; a low-salt diet; minimization or, if possible, avoidance of stress-provoking situations; and control of the cholesterol count by correct diet or other means.
Secrets of the Chinese Herbalists by Richard Lucas, page 196
High blood pressure is not an inevitable part of aging as often thought. There are some populations in which older people have the same blood pressure as the younger ones. Diet appears to be a big factor. Diets of these non-acculturated societies differ from acculturated societies — containing less sodium, simple sugars and saturated fats (meat, butter, whole milk) and containing more complex carbohydrates, fibers and potassium. Exercise also plays an essential role since indigenous cultures tend to live a more rigorous and active lifestyle.
Syndrome X and SX-Fraction by Mark Kaylor PhD and Ken Babal C.N., page 12
Determining whether or not you are salt sensitive
Have your pressure taken again. You can do the opposite if you’ve been avoiding salt: Try two weeks of a diet that does include salt and see what effect, if any, it has on your blood pressure reading.
Natural Prescriptions by Dr Robert M Giller, page 199
Sodium restriction “not a panacea”
The researchers stated that “the higher the oats intake, the lower the blood pressure,” regardless of other factors such as age and weight, or alcohol, sodium, or potassium intake, which are known to affect blood pressure. According to chief researcher Michael Klag, M.D., it is oatmeal’s high content of water-soluble fiber (beta glu-can) that produces the heart benefits. A six-year study involving 22,000 middle-aged Finnish males showed that consuming as little as 3 g daily of soluble fiber (from the beta glucan fiber component of oats, barley, or rye) reduced the risk of death from heart disease by 27%.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Not every one, therefore, should follow the recommendation of the American Heart Association and reduce their intake of salt. Everyone needs to have some salt in their diet, especially those with low blood pressure. When salt is restricted or eliminated from the diet, people tend to have more infections and bone disorders.
Feed Your Body Right by Lendon H Smith MD, page 163
Presenting Complain: black urine and left loin pain. The pain comes and goes.
History:
Has mild (very subjective) blood in urine (haematuria) last time (time frame not sure).
2008, no kidney stone found through X-ray
Differential Diagnosis: Possibility of kidney stone is omitted because it usually occurred in patients aged 30-35 yrs old and complains of pain at night.
This installment has a couple of new editions to the series: a “questions for the reader” page and a “PR info from the ADA/CDC page”. Don’t forget to check out the custom table of weight to fluoride levels (per the government recommendations). Guaranteed your baby/child is consuming too much Fluoride. I’m just sayin’!
Just check out all of these ‘wonderful’ things that come along with regular ingestion / use of unnatural sources of fluoride:
‘Too much’ fluoride can have the opposite effect of what is desired in the form of dental fluorosis (a weakening of the tooth enamel).
In China and India millions of people are suffering from dental and skeletal fluorosis – abnormal or poisoned tooth and bone conditions induced by Fluroide (F) – mainly due to consumption of high levels of F in drinking water. Symptoms of poisoning are lameness, stiff joints, and chronic pain.
Fluoride pollution is a major problem through-out the globe arising mostly from coal combustion, dust from fresh concrete used for construction, and runoff from application of insecticides and herbicides.
Fluoride is a bioaccumulative toxin and the rate of decay of fluoride is unknown in humans.
Daily intake of fluoride comes from consumed water, wine, beer, soda, tea, air, toothpaste, mouth-washes, dental treatments, infant formula, processed cereals, juice, cigarettes, fluoridated salt, seafood, bone products such as bone meal and gelatin, and bathing/swimming in water.
Even at low levels of F intake, appreciable levels of F will, in time, accumulate in calcified tissues.
Several groups of researchers have reported reproductive effects of F in humans.
There have been reports of a decrease in fertility in women and decreased serum testosterone levels in men living in communities with high fluoride levels in municipal water.
Fluoride treatment has been shown to induce embryotoxicity in pregnant rats.
Exposure of male mice to NaF (sodium fluoride) has shown a marked decrease in fertility rate. Withdrawal of NaF treatment for 30 days produced incomplete recovery.
A review of fluoride toxicity showed decreased fertility in most animal species studied.
Fluoride exposure leads to cell damage, induces necrosis, and inhibits DNA repair. Eventually, F produces massive impairment in the functions of vital organs, particularly when given orally.
Studies have shown that it is known that fluoride inhibits actions involving calcium (such as those involved in the learning processes).
Fluoride negatively affects Vitamin C levels in the body, but supplemental vitamin C greatly lowered F deposition in the bone.
Exciting news, huh! Share the information and don’t ever make an uninformed decision again! Smile!
PeRSSonalized Medicine is an easy-to-use, free aggregator of quality medical information that lets you select your favourite resources and read the latest news and articles about a medical specialty or a medical condition in one personalized place.
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I did rather well in the exam this morning. Considering the fact that I probably slept more than I crammed, I’d have to say it was nothing short of a miracle to have done so well.
It was a tiny, tiny undeserved victory. A mere drop in a very big bucket. But it gave me the encouragement I needed. Maybe if I try just a little more harder, my impossible dreams wouldn’t be quite so impossible.
So today I once again declare my dream. To become an invasive cardiologist one day soon. May my dream come true, God willing.
As the days go by, I’m not getting better. It just gets worse, seems the anti-biotics are not working. Doctor told me to sleep early but I’m not doing so, maybe that’s the cause.
I require at least 10 hours of sleep with the medicine every night, he told me if I don’t; chances of survival shorten not by the days but by the minutes. Which scares me, so from now on I’ll not stay on late at night. No more late night chatting, SMS or phone calls till I get better.
My target is to bunk off by 9 o’clock every night. I was reminded by my doctor again that acute Sinus/Rhinitis kills 500,000 people every year and 500,000 people every year gets diagnosed. People think they are healthy and alright but in fact they’re not, people like me.
I should really work on the medicine regime and not stray from it. You people have to go through it and suffer yourself every night and see what it does to you. That’s what I suffer, yet you people bring pain to me; throw tantrums at me when I don’t comply to your requests or SMS.
Imagine every night you sleep, breathing through your mouth and your nose totally blocked. Eating food and you can’t even smell or taste it. That’s my situation, I can’t even tell if gas has leaked. Be mindful and be grateful of your life, I’m not enjoying life like you people.
I don’t ask for your pity or sympathy, just be considerate to me. That’s all, I need my rest. If you don’t need it, then find something to entertain yourself. Especially to all my friends out there who like to contact me past midnight; childhood friends too.
No offence, but I need my rest and I need to recover. I don’t want to die now, but if you don’t give me my rest; that would eventually happen.
What has long been known, however, is that getting your joints popped releases a flood of endorphins, which act as the body’s temporary pain relievers, as well as a healthy heaping of dopamine as a result of being touched or massaged. Subsequently, the patient gets temporary relief from pain in combination with a light feeling of general euphoria. It’s no surprise then, that these two techniques (alignment and massage) are the cornerstones of nearly all reformist chiropractic. Let’s not discount the unbelievable power of the placebo effect. It doesn’t matter if you have a baby with colic, a sore back, or a learning disability, you are almost certain to get a massage and an alignment. Equally as often, your alignment will be pitched in association with some additional alternative medicine (see above – half of that $34 billion was spent on supplements).
