Jump Out of Your Boiling Pan of Mediocrity

By Dr. Gene Clerkin, D.C.

When we greet someone it is quite common to ask, “How are you doing?” Other variations include what's up, what's going on and how have you been? Of course the standard answer is usually “I'm fine,” “I'm okay,” “Pretty good” and my favorite, “I'm hanging in there.” My usual response to the latter is “Well, hang on.”

These less than enthusiastic responses remind me of the boiling frog story. This is a little gross but read on, there is a point. A few years back I heard about an experiment using frogs and water. First, a shallow pan of water was heated to boiling point and then a frog was dropped in. What do you think happened? He jumped out of course. Then a second frog was placed in a shallow pan of room temperature water, which was subsequently heated very slowly. Unfortunately for the second frog, the rise in temperature was so slow that by the time he realized it, he had become frog soup.

Now, I'm certainly not in favor of torturing frogs and to be honest with you, I don't even have the particulars of that experiment, but it does bring up an interesting parallel to how most people experience their life. In general, people don't lose their health, wellness and vitality all at once, like the first frog. It usually happens so slowly that we don't even realize its happening. If people were experiencing their optimal state and then, all of a sudden, were cast into experiencing their “normal” state, they would know something was drastically wrong.

So, when someone answers with the standard “I'm fine” what does that mean? It most likely means that they feel like they did the day before, and the day before that. Of course we know when we feel like crap, and in comparison, “fine” is certainly a whole lot better than that. Unfortunately, feeling okay has become the benchmark that most people have learned to settle with.

Usually when someone experiences symptoms they seek out a practitioner to help restore them to the state they were in before becoming symptomatic. Sometimes a practitioner will help maintain them in that state so the symptoms won't return. This way, instead of feeling bad, they can feel okay.

A wellness practitioner, on the other hand, would seek not just to restore them to their previous state, but to a higher level of functioning than they were previously experiencing. Besides, if you take the same path you'll land up in the same place. Unfortunately most people have forgotten what wellness feels like, so they settle for fine or just getting by. I've actually had people tell me they were in good health and than name the half dozen medications they were on in the same breath.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be like that. Everyone, no matter what his or her health condition, has the potential to experience a higher level of wellness. All they have to do is wake up and jump out of that slowly boiling pan of mediocrity they call their life.

So, don't just hang on... Rock on!

Develop a vaccine against official secrecy

An editorial from the Roanoke Times, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005

Develop a vaccine against official secrecy -- Senators should not grant immunity to a biomedical countermeasures agency.

Even as President Bush last week unveiled his plans to protect the nation from deadly disease outbreaks such as an avian flu pandemic, a quintet of senators, including Majority Leader Bill First, were rushing forward with their own plans.

They have introduced some ideas worth discussing, but apparently could not resist the penchant too prevalent among Washington leaders today for secrecy and capitulation to corporate donors at the expense of civil protections.

The creation of a Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency is at the heart of the senators' proposal to prepare the nation for the threat du jour. BARDA would oversee research into countermeasures against menaces such as epidemics and biological attacks by terrorists.

At first blush, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health would seem already able to accomplish that, but a single agency to coordinate specialized research in the public and private sectors is worth considering. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), most well known for creating the Internet, has had tremendous success in a similar role.

The biomedical agency, however, would go beyond its defense cousin, entering new government waters shrouded in fog.

The public can scrutinize DARPA -- and every other federal agency -- through the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The senators backing BARDA would exempt the agency from those important public oversight laws.

Even the CIA is subject to public information requests. Allowing judicial review of classified information ensures national security without completely restricting public access to most government records. A blanket exemption for BARDA would sanction an unacceptable extreme in government secrecy.

The bill goes even further to undermine the public good by handing a blanket exemption from liability lawsuits to pharmaceutical companies engaged in biomedical security research. If a company working under BARDA were to injure or kill people through reckless testing or distribution of a vaccine, the injured parties would have no recourse to seek just compensation through the courts.

Without the threat of litigation, little would stand in the way of drug companies' ramping up production of unproven products to turn a profit at the expense of public safety.

The United States must prepare for biological threats but not by throwing away fundamental rights and protections. The paternalistic approach to governance that asks Americans not to worry about what officials and drug companies are up to only contributes to increasing public frustration and distrust of government.

Mold and slime grow in the shadows where there is no accountability. The Senate should keep biomedical research in the light.

New Orleans' Toxic Waters

"The water isn't as static and opaque as it looked from 20 feet above. Smoky black wisps dissolve and re-form every few seconds as we glide by. The scary thing is that there aren't any mosquitoes flitting about -- if they're afraid of this stuff, we humans have got to be seriously screwed."

--Josh Levin, Slate Magazine, 9-10-05, on New Orleans floodwaters

Spin Doctors

(from AltHealthNews.com)

This section memorializes the Father of Spin, Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud. Learn more at the Museum of Public Relations, or for a darker view, at Doors of Perception. Or read about him at Wikipedia.

Bernays, who made bacon a fashionable breakfast food on behalf of pig farmers, who championed women's rights to smoke in public (while being paid by Lucky Strikes), and who made radios a highbrow item (for Philco) said, "The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society."

Bernays's job was to reframe an issue; to create a desired image that would put a particular product or concept in a desirable light. Bernays described the public as a "herd that needed to be led." And this herdlike thinking makes people "susceptible to leadership."

Bernays never deviated from his fundamental axiom to "control the masses without their knowing it." The best PR happens with the people unaware that they are being manipulated.

Bernays pioneered the use of third-party "unbiased" organizations to champion or denegrate a position, depending on who was paying him. He created hundreds of "foundations" and "agencies" to support his positions -- all of which were funded by the big corporations he was shilling for.

You can see his hand in the stories presented here. Note the use of an "expert" from a "unbiased" (and usually unknown) agency in all of them, and in most of them, the use of a emotionally-charged denigrating phrase, like "scientific poppycock" or "junk science" when an alternative (not controlled by the big corporations) product or therapy is discussed.

It is in his dubious honor this section is presented.

• "Soy needs more study," says Agency for Healthcare Research Quality
• "Cellulite therapies have no health benefit, do not help you lose weight," says unnamed spokeswoman for the Medical Research Council
• "Americans getting fatter," says Trust for America's Health; Dr. Campbell of the UK's National Obesity Forum concurs
• Trust for America's Health says "540,000 Americans will die in bird flu pandemic"

It was right about here I had to prove to myself and to you that Bernays' vision is still going strong. The Trust for American Health, the group that keeps issuing all these statements about health that the press reports as news, is funded by a number of major foundations, including the Joyce Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Palmer Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The latter, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is the "foundation" arm of the Johnson & Johnson Co. -- you know, the guys that sell a zillion dollars worth of medical supplies to hospitals, and another zillion dollars of Band-Aids to consumers.

In an interesting turn of events, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) came out today against the Trust's report last week saying American's were getting fatter. The CDC says it may be true, but that the Trust's numbers are misleading and statistically invalid -- in effect, meaningless.

"The Drugs I Need"

Drug companies face the music

by Allison Barrett

How do you get people to tune in to the tricks of pharmaceutical marketing? A US band, the country/bluegrass satirists the Austin Lounge Lizards, has decided that one approach is to write and record a song about it.

The group has collaborated with US watchdog body Consumers Union—New York based publishers of the reputable Consumer Reports—to come up with the song "The Drugs I Need," which tells the story of the fake drug Progenitorivox, made by the fake company SquabbMerlCo, for a fake "strange" disease. Though entirely farcical, the song is part of Consumers Union's serious Prescription for Change campaign, which aims to provide consumers with safe, effective, and affordable drugs, while making them aware of ongoing political-pharmaceutical movements. The campaign is calling for increased drug safety laws and accountability.

"The Drugs I Need" takes a tongue in cheek look at drug advertising. It chronicles the marketing process and how a consumer might view and be influenced by an advertisement. The song's chorus is a satire on US drug advertisements' list of side effects: "It may cause deprivation, humiliation, debtors' prison and deportation/Dark depictions, dire predictions, life as seen in Dickens' fiction."

The voice-over end credits imitate the rapid strings of warnings following adverts: "Any resemblance to actual drugs, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any unauthorised use of your own judgment in the application of Progenitorivox is strictly prohibited. Progenitorivox may not be reproduced without the express written consent of Major League Baseball."

The video to the song, produced by the Animation Farm, depicts sad, sickly characters experiencing awful side effects, and a happy pink pill dancing across a psychedelic sun filled backdrop.

The song and video are available on line at www.prescriptionforchange.org.

Look at it, sniff it, touch it, sniff it again. Is it food?

GoAnimal.com recently featured an article comparing real food to processed food.

"Look at it, sniff it, touch it, sniff it again. What is it? Is it edible? Will it be tasty? Will it make my body happy or will it make me sick? Animals ask these questions every day; the answer is fundamental to their health and survival."

Do you know how to tell the difference?

Food:

• Grown
• Messy
• Variable quality
• Goes bad fast
• Requires preparation
• Vibrant colors, rich textures
• Authentically flavorful
• Strong connection to land and culture

Food product:

• produced, manufactured
• neat, convenient
• always the same
• keeps forever
• instant results
• dull, bland
• artificially flavorful
• no connection to land or culture

The article continues: "The single most important thing we need to know about nutrition in the modern world is how to recognize the difference between food and food products. Once we’ve learned to make this distinction, our nutritional decision-making process will rest on a solid foundation. Simply follow this basic rule for healthy shopping and eating:

"Choose food over food products. Eat all the food you want, but avoid food products whenever possible.

"That’s it, the first rule for intelligent eating in the modern world. If we can manage this distinction with consistency, our health will improve and our anxieties about nutrition will diminish considerably. This may very well be the only rule for nutrition that we’ll ever need."

It's sound advice. Too bad so few of us heed it.

The article continues: "If in doubt, follow the money. Food may be expensive, but it rarely brings outrageous profits to those who produce it. Food products, on the other hand, bring enormous, occasionally obscene profit to manufacturers.

"Quite naturally, food product manufacturers put their marketing dollars where they will bring the most financial return. That’s why most of their advertising efforts go into food products, not food. We occasionally see an industry trade group that sponsors an ad campaign for say, California grapes, but in general, food is pretty much left to fend for itself in the marketplace. This gives us a another general rule: if it’s advertised, it’s probably a food product.

"In turn, this leads us to adopt a new strategy of paradoxical consumption. That is, if we’re intent on eating food and avoiding food products, we’ll go against the flow of marketplace persuasion: the more intense the marketing, the less we purchase. Simply avoid anything that's advertised. Instead, buy and consume the invisible stuff –the vegetables, fruits and nuts that you find in the produce section of your market. If someone is promoting it, avoid it. If it's all sexed up, it's probably poisonous. If no one’s yelling at you to buy it, it’s probably safe to eat."

"Fat": The other f-word

Oh, for God's sake!

Today's news brings us the story that a fat woman has complained to the New Hampshire State Board of Medicine that a medical doctor she was seeing called her fat. The case ended up being "investigated" by the state's Attorney General, and board member Kevin Costin is on the record as saying, "Physicians have to be professional with patients and remember everyone is an individual. You should not be inflammatory or degrading to anyone."

What a bunch of woosies! Not only is the woman fat, but she's a crybaby, too.

Other fat -- yes, I'll keep using the word, thank you very much -- patients of Dr. Terry Bennett have come to his defense. One patient, Mindy Haney, told a TV reporter, "What really makes me angry is he told the truth." "How can you punish somebody for that?"

Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that the initially didn't want to listen.

"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."

In our politically correct world, I wouldn't doubt that soon we'll be expected to refer to the word "fat" as the "f-word." Oh, wait -- we already have an f-word.

School nutrition is finally on the table

A few years ago I read about Appleton Central Alternative High School's Nutritional and Wellness Program. Basically, they revamped the school's menu, and saw a phenomenal increase in concentration and improvement in behavior. This school's students weren't from the mainstream, but were described as having "exceptional personal needs and [being] characteristically credit deficient, continually disruptive in class, and/or frequently truant. Often they struggle with psychological and emotional problems and come from dysfunctional home environments. Some students struggle with issues of teen pregnancy/parenthood, drug addiction, homelessness, and trouble with the law."

Begining in 1997, junk foods were removed from the school, healthy foods brought in, and no student was denied healthy meals. Those who could not afford school lunch meals were subsidized.

Almost instantly, the positive changes in behavior were noted. Over the first five years of the program, "Junk Food Days" were held occasionally, with "sugar sweetened soda and Kool-Aid and... chips, brownies, cookies, Pop Tarts and candy bars" the daily fare for students and staff. students are “wired” and are unable to focus. Jennifer Keeley's Case Study reports that "throughout the day they complain of stomachaches, headaches, and feeling tired. Dean of Students Greg Bretthauer said that attendance is low following Junk Food Day. After a day of sugar highs and lows, both students and staff have stated that they never want to do it again." Junk Food Days were discontinued in 2003.

Fortunately, other school systems were paying attention. This week, article after article has appeared talking about how junk food is being removed from school vending machines, replaced with healthy choices. So far 42 states have enacted laws about serving healthier foods to students. This is an exceptional turn of events that I'm very happy to see.

Predictably, though, the press pushes things to the extreme, and is now focusing on and complaining that fast food outlets are too near schools for changes in school nutrition programs to make a difference. Will Congress overreact and create Junk Food Free School Zones where you can't build a fast food outlet within one mile of a school? I wouldn't be surprised....

Recent stories include:

• Health movement has school cafeterias in a food fight
• Many groups cook up solutions
• Chicago students have short walk to fast food

Duke's Geriatric Dozen

(A song by Dr. Duke)

The only herb I take; On every single day
Cel’ry lowers uric acid; And keeps the gout away.
The drug it costs a whole lot more The allopurinol
Cel’ry does it just as well, It really works, you all.
Feel them coming on, Bronchitis, colds and flus?
I’ll take echinacea The herb I always choose.
I also take the garlic, almost every day
The grandkids kinda shy away, AND keeps their germs away
I often memorize my lines; But sometimes I do not
That’s when I take my ginkgo But, YOU GOT IT, I forgot
Bilberries, blueberries, raisins, and grapes, the vine called Vitis
That’s where we get the raisins, To master maculitis
Travel is bedraggling; Airports such a mess!
That’s when I take my kava, To mellow down the stress
Zoloft is more often used, But old Saint John is best
Puts you in a better mood With fewer side effects.
Prostate glands will grow; When old age comes along
When I take saw palmetto; Don’t tinkle all night long.
Synthetic drugs they can disturb Your vital synergies
But hawthorn is a gentle herb To prevent the heart disease
Celebrex may have killed some men But not me, what me worry
With my arthritis kickin’ in; just up my dose of curry
Turmeric’s antiarthritic As it seems to displace;
Cyclooxygenase
And if you’re overliving There’s one herb you should choose
Milk thistle saves the liver; From the mushrooms and the booze.
Compression stockings, atrocities, gimme horsechestnut pills
To slow down varicosities; Better than drugs will
We often talk in alphabets, EPO and GLA
Will help to put to rest BPH and PMS
Been taking evening primrose; Two decades more or less
And almost everybody knows, I ain’t got PMS

FINAL EXAM (With Answers)
Whattaya take for gout? Celeryseed! For Flu? Echinacea! For High Cholesterol? Garlic! For the liver? Milk Thistle! For the memory? Ginkgo! For Arthritis? Turmeric! For CVI? Horsechestnut! For the heart? Hawthorn! For BPH? Saw Palmetto! For PMS? Evening Primrose! For stress? Kava! For Depression? St. Johnswort! For failing eyesight? Bilberry!

You're never too old

Sir Mick and the Stones say, "You're never too old." They'll keep on playing as long as people want to hear them.

Age is definitely a function of the mind and not specifically of the calendar. Too many people succumb to the belief system that says you have to feel this way at a certain age, or that you have to stop doing something at a certain age. How many times have you heard someone say, when (usually proudly) discussing their particular infirmity or malady, "I'm just gettin' old." As if that explains it.

Yes, things wear out. We'll all die. But that's no reason to program your brain and your mind and your body with premature thoughts of being unable to do this or that.

I've done a bit of online dating in the last year, and met a lot of women aged 40-50. It's an interesting age bracket. And there are two noticible categories of women in that group... those that act "old" and those that don't. Women who believe that age 40-50 is "old," invariably look older. Their posture, their skin, their attitudes... they ARE old. 'Cause in their minds, they believe they are.

And that's the way it works. Believing you're old makes you old, not the other way around.

As Mick Jagger says, "...If you have creative energy, age doesn't matter."

Keep on creating yourself as a young person, no matter how many candles you have on your cake.

Is it right?

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right." — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

How do you respond?

(Dr. Clerkin is one of my oldest and closest friends, and has taught me a lot about gaining clarity and living in the Now. This entry is from his In Touch newsletter from June, 2005. Dr. Clerkin is a practitioner of Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration, and is the Director of The Center for Holistic Health, with offices in Decatur and Woodstock, Ga.)

By Gene Clerkin, D.C.

Most people probably don't know this, but there is a difference between illness and having a disease. There are many people that have no presentable disease symptoms yet they are very ill. Some people have a disease and are well at the same time. How can that be? How can someone have a disease and be well all at the same time?

I've heard that quite a few people have recently endured the cleansing that may occur in conjunction with some flu or virus. Apparently it can be pretty uncomfortable. The other day one of my clients who survived this bout commented on her experience. Even though she felt physically horrible, she experienced it from a different perspective than in the past. She had trust that her body knew exactly what it was doing to cleanse itself. Instead of having the feeling of being victimized she felt empowered by the process.

That is a perfect example of wellness behavior.

Illness is not about the symptom; rather it is about the state of mind a person has about that symptom, and for that matter, every other aspect of their life. In illness behavior we react to the processes of the body and of life with fear. Wait a second... we were talking about symptoms and sickness and now we're talking about life?

I also have another client who had recently been confronted with some very major life challenges. A good many people would respond to her situation by shutting down and going into a defensive or protective physiology repeating the cycle of unending anxiety and depression about the present situation. We call that "stage one" in the healing process. So what did she say? Loosely quoted, "I know this will be a challenge but, I'm sure there is a reason for this and that ultimately it creates new opportunities for change and growth."

Wow, now that is wellness behavior.

Protective or defensive physiology does not allow for that kind of response. When we're in stress physiology the part of the brain that allows for a conscious observation and healthy response is unavailable. Since we're only accessing the lower or reactive part of our brain, our responses are skewed by the filter of our past wounds.

When we experience a situation that is deemed unsafe, uncomfortable or damaging to our sense of self, our brain goes into defensive physiology to protect itself from that information. We release chemicals that effect heart rate, blood pressure, and cause us to tighten down and become inflexible. If we continue in that state, which most people do, our system is not flexible enough to adapt to new and potentially stressful information.

Wellness and illness are about how we respond and adapt to our symptoms and to our life. How would you respond to a symptom, a disease or a life crisis? How have you responded in the past? The answer to those questions will help you get an idea of your own level of wellness.

It might also be noted that wellness is open ended, which means that you can always achieve a greater level of it. In fact, in a research study conducted at the University of California, it was found that people in Network Care, tracked over a period of nine years, appeared to have no ceiling to the level of wellness they experienced. Network Care operates in the wellness model helping people develop strategies to recover from stress physiology, adapt to future stresses and access the part of the brain which enables healthier choices and responses... regardless of symptoms.

Limonene, lungs and the Biblical citron

(Another guest blogging by Dr. Jim Duke)

Israeli scientists (Keinan et al, 2005) suggest that the monoterpene limonene which constitutes more than half of the Biblical citron's essential oil might help asthmatics, especially those aggravated by ozone pollution. I posed a few questions to the good doctor. Could poor children here in our inner cities, where asthma is increasing dramatically, reduce their asthma attacks and or symptoms, especially when around ozone pollution, as on school buses in inner cities, by squeezing citrus peels (apparently all contain limonene) and inhaling the pleasant aroma periodically. Since the sedative antiinflammatory limonene is also absorbed thru the skin, rather rapidly I might add, I'd also try adding crushed citrus peels to bath water which might help as well, say at the end of the days commute. Keinan's group predicted that electron-rich olefins, which are known ozone scavengers, could be used for prophylactic treatment of asthma. Volatile, unsaturated monoterpenes, like limonene, could saturate the pulmonary membranes equipping the airways with local chemical protection against either exogenous or endogenous ozone. In his experimental rats, limonene inhalation significantly prevented bronchial obstruction (eucalyptol, alias cineole, saturated and inert to ozone, did not). I doubt I can convince our government to compare citrus-inhalation in clinical trials as a third arm against placebo and some expensive pharmaceuticals. As a gray-headed botanist, I cannot and do not prescribe. But if I had a hundred asthmatic grandchildren, you could bet half of them would be trying citrus peel and others would not, followed by a vice versa cross-over, recording the frequency and severity of their attacks for old grandpa. Faith-based types might best be praying too, and using the peel of the Biblical citron, called ethrog or etrog in some versions of the Bible. Without praying to improve my odds, I'll still bet the citrus peel would score well along side the pharmaceuticals. I know it would be cheaper and bet it'll be safer, possibly as efficacious. We'll never know until there are unbiassed clinical trials.

That asthmatic possibility is relatively new; it's been known for a decade that limonene could also prevent cancers as well. Mondello et al (1995) found that limonene was the most frequent monoterpene component in all the citrus oils that they examined, varying from 50% in lime oil to about 97% in grapefruit oil. Its about 52% in the etrog. d-Limonene works in preclinical models of breast cancer, causing > 80% of carcinomas to regress with little host toxicity. (Crowell et al, 1994). More reecently Tsuda et al (2004) singled out as promising cheoipreventive anticancer phytochemicals vitamin derivatives, phenolic and flavonoid agents, fatty acids, organic sulfur compounds, isothiocyanates, curcumins, and d-limonene. Those last four suggest a Biblical chutney. the garlic and onion for organic sulfur compounds; watercress and horseradish for isothiocyanates, turmeric for curcumin, and citrus peels for limonene. Lu et al (2003) showed that D-limonene exerts its cytotoxic effect on gastric cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. Parija et al (2003) and Kaji et al (2001) reiterate the well known anticarcinogenic activity of d-limonene mentioning also is chemopreventive nature in hepatocarcinogenesis.

But this is the month when we focus our blogs on lung cancer. PubMed only has 11 citations re limonene and lung cancer. But if I were diagnosed with lung cancer today, Id be ingesting more garlic and more citrus too. I might even be inhaling limonene-containing essential oils as I squeezed citrus peels. Raphaeol et al (2003) note that several naturally occurring monoterpenes, like carvone, limonene and perillic acid, inhibit experimental lung metastasis. Limonene at 100 uM/kg body wt. 10 doses ipr remarkably reduced metastatic tumor nodule formation. Limonene and perillic acid just might even inhibit the metastatic progression of melanoma cells.

I doubt that Witschi (2000) would join me in judiciously inhaling citrus essential oils. Under the catchy title, "Successful and not so successful chemoprevention of tobacco smoke-induced lung tumors." Wirschi notes that none of the following "chemopreventive" agents: green tea, phenethyl isothiocyanate, acetylsalicylic acid, N-acetylcysteine, 1,4-phenylenebis[methylene]selenocyanate and THE d-limonene reduced lung tumor multiplicity or incidence. I'd still be eating my garlic and brazilnuts and inhaling my citrus, even though no clincial trials have indicated their safety or efficacy, if I feared lung cancer. I suspect they will do as much good and less harm at a much lower cost, economically, mentally and physically, than the chemotherapeutic cocktails being offered by the allopaths and their covert sponsors, the pharmaceutical firms. Many people believe more in the faith-based botanical herbs than they do in the allopathic ACS and NCI chemotherapeutic poisons. Such people have a better chance of being helped by these safer food farmacy items, also improving their odds against the other diseases of modern man, cardiopathy and diabetes and iatrogenesis.

FDA refuses to withdraw Meridia despite 50 deaths, health dangers

The FDA banned ephedra last year, on trumped-up charges that it killed an overweight, out of shape pro baseball player wannabe, something never proven and never confirmed by autopsy. Ephedra was popular as a weight loss herb. It worked by suppressing the appetite and increasing metabolism.

Yet, after twice being asked (in 2002 and again in 2003) to withdraw the appetite-suppressing prescription drug Meridia, the US FDA today again rejected Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen's request.

Side effects of the drug range from headaches and constipation to higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate, according the Public Citizen.

Public Citizen's Health Research Group Director Sidney Wolfe said the 50 heart-related deaths reported since the drug's approval still warrant its removal. While Meridia use has dropped, "many people are still getting this dangerous but not very effective drug," said Wolfe.

The manufacturer of Meridia, Abbott Laboratories, Inc., criticized Public Citizen's analysis and said Meridia had repeatedly been proven safe and effective.

The FDA concluded that "sibutramine's overall risk-benefit profile supports it remaining available as a prescription drug for the treatment of appropriately selected obese patients," wrote Steven Galson, head of the agency's drug division.

Apparently Galson was paying no attention to FDA veteran scientist David Graham when he said Meridia should be one of the top five prescription drugs scrutinized when he spoke at a congressional hearing in 2004.

RxList.com lists side effects of Meridia including headache, back pain, vomiting, nausea, chest pain, abdomninal pain, palpitations, tachycardia, increased blood pressure, migraines, neck pain, vasodilation, allergic reactions, constipation, increased appetite, dyspepsia, anorexia, dry mouth, insomnia, dizziness, rhinitis, pharyngitis, dysmenorrhea, sweating, rashes and a host of other symptoms and maladies, at much higher rates than chance or placebo. Clearly, a drug capable of making you feel bad. Very bad.

So -- it's okay to ask your doctor for Meridia, but you still can't buy ephedra, even though a judge in Utah said the FDA overstepped its bounds in banning it in 2004.

Fresh orange juice or chemical concoction?

While reading about the grapefruit aroma story (below), I came across this article about engineered orange juice.

Did you know that "fresh squeezed" smell when you open a carton of orange juice comes from a chemical "flavor pack" made of stuff not exactly, er, fresh and natural? That "heart-healthy" drink they push on a.m. television commercials is really a chemical soup which incidentally, apparently, also contains a bit of concentrated orange juice.

Yuck.

A little more googling led to this article from the Agricultural Research Service, the research arm of the USDA. The flavor and smell of your reconsituted O.J. consists of over 40 terpenes, alcohols, esters, and aldehydes, which, last time I checked, don't actually grow on terpene, alcohol, ester or aldehyde trees.

Dr. Duke (see other postings), formerly of the ARS of the USDA, says that while the chemical constituents taken or evaporated out of the orange juice was natural, we as consumers have no way of if the chemicals added back in are natually-sourced or cooked up in a laboratory.

But somehow it just doesn't sound appetizing.

Grapefruit scent makes women seem younger to men

A recent study on smells found that men perceive that women wearing the scent of grapefruit are, on average, six years younger than they are. Many other scents -- brocolli, spearmint, banana, lavender, among others, were tried -- but no other scent was found to affect mens' brains in this manner.

Garlic and lung cancer

(Another guest post by Dr. Jim Duke. See his bio in a previous entry.)

I’ve had a deep hacking cough in need of an expectorant this month, and garlic is breaking it up very nicely. I’ve never eaten garlic so many ways -- cooked, in my soups and stews and bean dishes, a garlic hot-dog-be-gone (like a hotdog with all the trimmings, onion, garlic, mustard, ketchup, pickle relish, but no hot dog), garlic butter on my garlic toast, garlic/olive oil/chile/vinegrette on my salads, garlic-stuffed olives, cooked garlic seed (which look and taste just like miniature garlic cloves, but you don’t have to dig them. They are close to mouth high here in the Green Farmacy Garden. Almost too hot to eat raw, that heat will open the sinuses, if not threaten an incipient cancer. Seeds are quite pleasant after boiling, when I munch on them, 5-10 an hour. And dangerously, I peeled and swallowed a couple whole, medium-sized cloves, knowing that the herbalists always recommend a clove a day. They slipped down pretty easily. (But don’t you bloggers try this.) I have even strung myself a new garlic necklace, to keep the vampires away, if not anthrax and cancer. (I have evidence that it works against all three.)

With Peter Jennings expiring due to lung cancer this month and Dana Reeve coming out of the lung cancer closet, ex-smokers are seeking advice on how they might improve their odds against this quick and dirty killer, lung cancer. It dawned on me as I expired the heat of fresh garlic, that there was no herb better equipped to deliver medicinal power and punch to the lungs. Some garlic chemicals are expired within just a few minutes after ingestion. They can even be detected in the breath of nursing babies whose mothers ingested garlic. I have a 52-page printout of the hundreds of herbs that have folkloric anticancer reputations, and, like a Gatesian magician, my computer has moved the most important of these hundreds of herbs to the top of the 52 pages. And voila, what I would call a dynamic duo of superstar herbs, garlic and green tea. I’d take both if I were genetically or environmentally targetted for lung cancer. And to further improve my luck I’d enjoy three brazilnuts a day to get that chemopreventive 200 micrograms of selenium.

I’ll just talk about the Biblical garlic today, thinking that among those 95% of Americans who pray when ill, thousands may be ex-smokers wishing they had never smoked. But if they believe that the garlic can help them, as prayer can help them, then they have two things going for them. And in this battle you need as many helpers as you can enlist. There are many other reasons that I suggest garlic. Many of its active compounds are moved thru the bloodstream to the lungs, thus getting some anticancer activity to the lungs. Additionally garlic has over a dozen immune stimulant compounds. In a great book by Koch and Lawson [Garlic - The Science and Therapeutic Application of Allium sativum L. and Related Species. 2nd Ed. 1996], we read of clinical trials whereby those who ate raw garlic doubled the immune natural killer cell activity. Diallyl sulfide significantly improved the ability of the macrophages to fight tumor cells. Koch and Lawson also recite epidemiological studies indicating that those people who consume the most garlic and onion have the fewest cancers. And pre-echoing what my Nicobase said above, Koch and Lawson say "The consumption of black or green tea,, as well as of garlic, is known to be a culinary practice which inhibits tumorigenesis in the lung, forestomach and esophagus" (p. 176). At that time they reported only one clinical trial of garlic with cancer, and it was positive though basd on injections. I’m talking food pharmacy. Remember many of the chemicals in ingested garlic go to the lungs for excretion in the breath. I failed when I went to PubMed and searched for clinical trials on lung cancer and garlic.

But again I did find this quote in one of the two abstracts that surfaced. "Among the numerous other compounds and dietary substances purported to have chemopreventive effect, soybeans, garlic, and green tea stand out as having the greatest promise and can freely be recommended to patients." (Kamat and Lamm, 2002 PubMed 12109342). Urge your congressman to urge a mandated garlic arm in future clinical trials of pharmaceuticals for lung-cancer. Garlic is a cocktail of anticancer phytochemcials, dozens of them, some of which may have just the activities needed to turn incipient or developing cancers around.

Chang, HP et al (2005) suggest that garlic oil's anticarcinogenic activities may be due to (1)antioxidant activity; (2)induction of apoptosis; (3)inhibition of DNA-adduct formation; (4)modulation of immune function and/or (5)modulation of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme activities. There are dozens of other phytochemical reasons. For several other useful phytochemical activities in whole garlic, consult the multiple-activity-menu site at the USDA http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/dev/all.html . You’ll be overwhelmed by the 19-page printout you’ll get. I'll not include it in this blog, but I am willing to e-mail it to bloggers who’d like a copy. I’m convinced that this Biblical herb, so well remembered during the desparate desert ordeal, should be clinically tried in the desparate ordeal of lung cancer.

Does God believe in scientists?

According to a recent survey of over 1,600 scientists, social scientists are more likely to believe in God and attend worship services than natural scientists, a finding that apparently was the opposite of what was expected.

Some interesting stats here on what kind of scientists is more or less likely to believe in God. For example, of all types of scientists, biologists are most likely to be atheists.

Apparently, that's not all that's on scientists' minds these days. In a Meeting of the Minds of physicists last October, Nobel laureate David Gross outlined 25 questions in science that he thought physics might help answer. He wondered if science would ever be able to measure the onset of consciousness in infants, and by extension, asked the Great Question: What is Consciousness?

Cancer in Paradise

I came across an interesting blog called Avon Lake Cancer Truths, maintained by someone known only as "Concerned Citizen," that explores the claim that Avon Lake, Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, has an unusual high rate of cancer among its citizens.

From the recent comments left there by readers, it seems like the Concerned Citizen has stepped on a few toes.

It's worth a look, if for no other reason than to say, "Thank God I don't live there."

Rate my blog

See that little button down the page on the left, underneath the Blogger icon? Would you please click on it? It'll take you to blogtopsites.com, where you can rate my blog, which, eventually, will lead to more people discovering it.

Whatever number is showing on that button right now is the ranking we currently have in the "health" category of blogs listed at blogtopsites.com.

Thanks!

McIdiots lose weight, but are still supersized

Morgan Spurlock's film "Super Size Me" struck a chord with a lot of people. In less than 30 days on a diet consisting only of what's available on the McDonald's menu, he made himself sick, very sick, and fat, very fat. The film was well done, entertaining, and made its point. Even young children got the message -- minimize your McEating.

But NOOOOoooooo... some people, already addicted to Mickey D's and feeling the need to rationalize it, set out to prove they could lose weight by eating nothing but McDonald's food.

Some succeeded. So what? Doesn't prove they are more healthy than before. Doesn't prove McFood is a good dietary choice, even though the article quotes the spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association -- a "registered dietician" -- as saying that yes, you can lose weight eating at McDonald's.

Incidentally, the ADA says that aspartame is "safe." They have said that for years, that it's "safe." They ignore research that says just the opposite, including this recent Italian study reported just last week.

The American Dietetic Association, by the way, funds their educational outreach program with money given them by ConAgra Foods, and lists Campbell's Soup, ConAgra, the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, Kellogg's, the National Dairy Association, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Gerber Products Company, and others, among their corporate sponsors, donors and partners in their 2004 Annual Report. Hardly a disinterested group? You think the ADA will ever say anything bad about beef, dairy or cereal products?

Upon checking the Nutrasweet website, I see that they have an extensive list of industry organizations that have "declared Nutrasweet safe." What other commercial product has to do that, to provide a list of "disinterested" (yeah, right!) third parties to declare their product safe?

Chicory -- An herb for lung cancer?

(This is a guest blog entry by James Duke, Ph.D., author of "Green Farmacy" and the upcoming "Handbook of Biblical Herbs.")

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) — A Biblical Bitter Herb

Lung cancer is on everybody’s mind this week, including mine. With 90 pack years of cigarettes (30 years at 3 packs a day) smoking behind me (but abstinent for the last 33 years), I too am thinking about lung cancer. But I must also concern myself with colon cancer because of my genes, and prostate cancer because of my sex and genes (One maternal uncle, closing in on a hundred years, died of complications from prostate surgery. He should have played the game I play, the least intrusive of the options: Wait and See! His son, my first cousin, is undergoing chemotherapy now for prostate cancer.) That’s why I nibble on three brazil nuts a day, because they’ll on average contain between them some 200 ug selenium, epidemiologically would lower the risk of those three cancers. Yes, I’ll gamble on epidemiological odds.

Could a bitter herb of the Bible have prevented some of those lung cancers we’re hearing so much about this month. Well there was an epidemiological study, albeit in Chile, showing that epidemiologically, "winter vegetables," like chard, beet, chicory, spinach and cabbage were associated, with lowered risks of lung cancer. And this year, we read that inulin-type fructans from chicory can reduce colon cancer risk. In the gut lumen these compounds are fermented to lactic acid and SCFA. Studies report the fructans prevent induced pre-neoplastic lesions or tumors in the colon of rats and mice. In human cells, inulin-derived fermentation products inhibit cell growth, modulate differentiation and reduced metastasis activities, hence reducing risks for colon cancer, the one most likely to get me. Last year studies showed that lactucin and lactucopicrin were the antimalarial compounds in chicory, folklorically regarded for malaria in Afghanistan. The guaianolide 8-deoxylactucin, is a key inhibitor of COX-2 expression. And remember, the pharmaceutical COX-2-I’s were being promoted off label as chemopreventive against colon cancer. That’s why I’ve dug some of this copious weed in my meadow, scrubbed the roots, world’s richest source of inulin, and added them to my soups, if not my coffees. If you want to see a whole lot of other uses for inulin, go to the USDA phytochemical database.

NOTES (CHICORY): ...And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened breads; and with "bitter herbs" they shall eat it.... Exodus 12

The children of Israel may have learned to eat bitter herbs from the Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians used to place healthy green herbs on the table, mixed with mustard, and then dunk their healthy whole-grain bread in the mixture. Moldenke and Moldenke believed that Cichorium endivia, Cichorium intybus, Lactuca sativa, Nasturtium officinale, Rumex acetosella, and Taraxacum officinale were among the green herbs of the Bible. By contrast local Israeli botanist, Michael Zohary lists none of these in his Plants of the Bible (ZOH) and only the watercress is listed as occurring in the Flora of Palestine. Zohary figures instead chicory and the poppy-leaved Reichardia( which looks like dandelion) as more promising candidates. Re bitter herbs, Zohary says "Many plants, especially those belonging to the Mustard and Daisy families, are frequently collected and used as pot-herbs and salad plants." (ZOH. p. 100)

Christopher Reeve's widow has lung cancer

Dana Reeve, who spent nine years caring for her paralyzed husband, Christopher Reeve, until his death last year, announced Tuesday that she has lung cancer.

Reeve, 44, said she decided to disclose her illness following rumors about her health in the media.

"Now, more than ever, I feel Chris with me as I face this challenge," she said.

"As always, I look to him as the ultimate example of defying the odds with strength, courage and hope in the face of life's adversities."

We wish her well in her recovery, and hope she discovers quickly that broccoli is a Superfood (see August 5 entry, below).

Pennsylvania may put supplements behind counter

Already a "State of Confusion," where you can buy six-packs of beer in a bar but not in a store, 13 Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed amendments to a 23-year-old drug and controlled substances act to include regulating dietary supplement sales by requiring all such supplements be sold only behind the counter and not to anyone under the age of 18. HB995 has been referred to the judiciary committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where it must be approved for the House floor; it then must be approved by the House and Senate, before reaching the governor for signature into law.

The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) has initiated efforts to oppose this bill, including a point-by-point criticism of the bill and plans to rally the state's natural products industry members, depending on how the bill proceeds.

Sampson and Deliar

This emailed commentary was written by James "Jim" Duke, Ph.D., reknowned herbalist, former U.S. Dept. of Agriculture researcher on the chemical activity in plants, and author of the popular book "The Green Farmacy." He's also an entertaining singer/songwriter (see next post). Read more by Dr. Duke in this Mother Earth News article from 2000.

Regarding: Sampson, W. 2005. Studying Herbal Remedies. NEJM 353: 337-9, Jul 28.

On page 338 Sampson says, "Physicists tell us that negative studies (a sign of nonreproducability) should carry more weight than positive ones." He's of course carping about the herbal echinacea study. As I recall, the 2002 study that showed SJW [St. John's Wort] was no better than placebo also showed that the 2-billion dollar a year drug Zoloft was no better than placebo. What would Sampson do with this? Should they discontinue studies on Zoloft as he would have them do with Echinacea ("for viral respiratory disease"; as per first sentence [p. 337] in his careless tirade)? Still the leadoff fullpage ads in JAMA last month and possibly NEJM (I don't take NEJM) are full-page ads for this failed pharmaceutcial drug Zoloft that is no better than placebo. Now!!! Three years after the negative study on Zoloft!!! (Of course, few Americans heard about the Zoloft arm of that study and almost everyone heard about SJW, thanks to carpers like Sampson. I regret only that the NEJM study did not include, as a third pharmaceutical arm, a dilute (weaker than clinicians recommend) dose of Relenza (probably maliciously approved by the FDA) to compare with the dilute dose of Echinacea in the negative study. I expect as so often happens, when they compare an herb with a pharmaceutical (e.g. also Proscar vs saw palmetto) the pharmaceutical will frequently come out no better than the herb. Surely if Samson believes the herbs worthless, he too would encourage such comparison (and maybe quote the SJW studies as evidence-based science). If I trusted NCCAM, I'd urge that they do such trials. But I trust them no more than I trust NIH, FDA, and the pharmaceutical industry, and their carpers. That's why I keep carping too, hoping that all future clinical trials contain a promsing third herbal arm to compare with a promising pharmaceutical arm. Only then can Americans know which is best. That way Americans could compare costs, safety AND efficacy.

Hushpuppy: The Sad Saga of Saint John

"The Sad Saga of St. John"

Jim Duke (Performed AHG NH Oct. 9, 2004)

I remember that sad day
In the year 2002
When I heard the TV say
Saint John ain't good for you
I reckon they forgot
What you really oughta know
2 billion bucks of zoloft
Placed second to placebo

I reckon they forgot
The good Doctor Cott
The first one to outline
The study design
But after Cott was gone
The design it was redrawn
With no redeeming graces
They took on basket cases.

They forgot the good Saint John
Was the German's number one
With better deutsch direction
They take John for their depression
What’s the story we were fed
By our US Institute
They misled us instead
Saying herbs they ain't "sehr gut"

Our Institutes of Health
Misleads us local yuppies
They rob health to pay off wealth
Their studies are hushpuppies
And the press in all its wisdom
Said what JAMA didn't score
Saint John reduced orgasm
But zoloft reduced it more
Hushpuppy
A most depressing tune
Hushpuppy
Keep howling at the Moon
Saint John
Ain't you groaning in your grave
Pray John
Make the NIH behave

They muted the real news
The placebo beat the pill
But the news gave me the blues
Like liars likely will

They forgot to tip us off
What I think we all should know
2-billion-bucks of zoloft
Was poorer than placebo

That's what really is the news
Hope that everybody knows
Zoloft did really lose
Outdone by mere placebos.

So I'm plowing up my herbs
They're much too hard to grow
Gonna move to the suburbs
And grow me some placebo

Hushpuppy
A most depressing tune
Hushpuppy
Keep howling at the Moon
Hushpuppy
Did you want the herb to lose?
Your study
Was really just a ruse
Saint John
Ain't you groaning in your grave
Pray John
Make the NIH behave


SLAYING SAINT JOHN WITH SLANDEROUSLY SLEIGHTING STATISTICS JAMA FINALLY CONFESSES (APRIL 10, 2002), AFTER A 4 MILLION DOLLAR STUDY, THAT ZOLOFT IS LESS EFFICACIOUS AND A BIT MORE DANGEROUS THAN PLACEBO. SAINT JOHNSWORT THE HERB, ALSO LESS EFFICACIOUS. BOTH HAVE MORE SIDE EFFECTS THAN PLACEBO. BUT YOU DON'T GET THAT FROM THE TITLE OR THE PUBMED ABSTRACT. YOU DON'T EVEN GET THE NAMES OF THE AUTHORS IN THE STUDY GROUP. YOU HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE. FEW PEOPLE DID. SO THE PRESS AND MEGAPHARMACON PREVAIL, and the safer herbs lose.

Frankenstein never sleeps

Digitalis, a heart drug made from a plant (or herb), foxglove, is now being chemically tinkered with to produce what the tinkerers hope will be a cancer-killing agent, according to BBC Health News. Hmm... let's ignore dozens of plants that have shown anti-cancer activity (see the database) but tinker with a drug so we can... uh, patent it, that's right!

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Broccoli is a Superfood

Broccoli is one potent, health-giving vetegable. Recently we've seen the science behind such headlines as

• "Broccoli may crush breast cancer"
• "Broccoli may protect heart"
• "Broccoli is a Superfood"

And now today, we read that

• "Broccoli may prevent bladder cancer"

So why isn't anyone eating it?

A quick Google search for some stats found this: Depending on the age group studied, between 51 and 72% of Canadian adults don't eat the minimum suggested serving of vegetables a day. In England, depending on sex and family income, only 9 to 14% of children eat the recommended daily portions of fruits and vegetables. In Australia, it's the same -- extremely high rates of underconsumption of vegetables (63-77%). The U.S. rates are probably as bad if not worse, but I see no point in Googling further. Point made.

Towards a "universal" vaccine: One jab to prevent all

In what is obviously a word-for-word press release, the Daily Mail (U.K.) website announced today that British biotech firm Acambis is working on a "universal" vaccine "that will provide lifetime protection against all types of flu." God help us. What kind of monster mutations must they put into a vial to come up with something they claim can protect against all influenza strains, even those not yet in existence? This bold plan is so important to the company that this information was given to the stock markets a day before the Daily Mail announced it to the world. The first human trials will begin within a year. Step right up, folks!

Flu shots once clamored for, now expired and useless

Remember last year's frenzy for flu shots? 610,000 doses just expired because no one wanted them.

The New Living Will

I've forwarded interesting things (but only the best) to my friends for years, but never have I received such response to an email forward as I have to this one, which first came to me via my friend and real estate agent Cindy Broeker. Apparently this one struck a deep nerve with many people. I think we're all tired of do-gooder politicians who think they know best for the rest of us, in matters which should be handled privately and personally rather than publicly.


New Living Will Form

I, __________________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask for (please initial all that apply)

_________a martini,
_________a margarita,
_________a beer,
_________a steak,
_________the remote control,
_________a bowl of ice cream,
_________a Kahlua on the rocks,
_________sex

It should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day.

Under no circumstances shall the members of the Legislature enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma.

Signature:___________________________

Date: ___________________________

Witness: ___________________________

The government thinks you're fat

The other day I wrote that I had gained back some weight after my experiment with low-carbing. Probably, many of us have.

But did you know that the government considers most of us fat, or obese? Yes, there IS an epidemic of fat people out there... I even saw a young woman today, no older than 18 or 20, wearing a T-shirt that proudly announced on its front "Georgia National Hog Contest, Perry, Ga." Seriously. It was a serious shirt, and she was seriously fat. I just wonder if she was aware of the humor others would see in her pouring her ample girth into a tight T-shirt from a hog contest.

But I digress...

The government considers me not just fat -- but right on the borderline between overweight and obese! And I'm in the company of such Massive Stars as these, listed as overweight:

Barry Bonds: 6'2": 228 lbs
David Boreanaz: 6'2": 218 lbs
Tom Brady: 6'4": 225 lbs
President Bush: 5'11": 191 lbs
George Clooney: 5'11": 211 lbs
Nic Cage: 6'1": 210 lbs
Matt Damon: 5'11": 187 lbs
Johnny Depp: 5'7": 190 lbs
David Duchovny: 6'0": 212 lbs
Vin Diesel: 6'2": 200 lbs
Cheryl Ford: 6'3": 215 lbs
Harrison Ford: 6'1": 218 lbs
Brendan Fraser: 6'3": 234 lbs
Richard Gere: 5'11": 187 lbs
Ethan Hawke: 5'9": 172 lbs
Hugh Jackman: 6'2": 210 lbs
Lebron James: 6'8": 240 lbs
Dale Jarrett: 6'2": 200 lbs
Bobby Labonte: 5'9": 170 lbs
Nick Lachey: 5'10": 180 lbs
Karl Malone: 6'9": 259 lbs
Dr. Phil McGraw: 6'4": 240 lbs
Mark McGuire (playing weight): 6'5": 250 lbs
Donovan McNabb: 6'3": 240 lbs
Yao Ming: 7'6": 310 lbs
Brad Pitt: 6'0": 203 lbs
Keanu Reeves: 6'1": 223 lbs
Cal Ripken: 6'4": 210 lbs
Andy Roddick: 6'2": 197 lbs
Will Smith: 6'2": 210 lbs
Sammy Sosa: 6'0": 220 lbs
Denzel Washington: 6'0": 199 lbs
Bruce Willis: 6'0": 200 lbs
Billy Zane: 6'2": 210 lbs

Not heavy enough? The following guys are considerd OBESE!

Tom Cruise: 5'7": 201 lbs
Mel Gibson 5'9": 214 pounds
Matt LeBlanc: 5'11": 218 lbs
Steve McNair: 6'2": 235 lbs
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson): 6'5": 275 lbs
Arnold Schwarzenegger: 6'2": 257 lbs
Sylvester Stallone: 5'9": 228 lbs
Mike Tyson: 5'11 ½": fighting weight between 218-235

Find out what the government thinks of YOU! Enter your height and weight here.

"Extremely" stupid

A bus driver in Sydney, Australia, called police to report a mysterious item left on his bus: a whoopee cushion.

The "extremists" have won.

"Come 'ere, sweetie!"

No matter where you turn, the headlines tell you that sweet things aren't good for you. We all know that raw sugar will do nasty things to you -- make you hyper, blow out your pancreas, make you fat. And many of us have been saying bad things about aspartame for years now, only to be mocked.

So this week we have a Sweet Daily Double! Even the national news networks have reported the European studies that show aspartame causes cancer. And now right on its heels, we find that fructose, the "good sugar," will make you fat.

What to do, what to do?

Maybe it's time to learn that "sweet" isn't the only sensation our taste buds can handle. There's also sour, bitter, salty and umami. Enjoy and explore your taste sensations instead of dulling them with endless Diet Coke and Twinkies!

Maybe one reason we like "sweet" so much is that it makes us "feel good." Sweet foods activate pleasure centers in the brain. There ya go, activate the pleasure centers in the brain... hmm... more sex, less sugar. Works for me.

"Come 'ere, sweetie!"

Weight comes back as fads go away

Atkins Nutritionals, the company that made low-carb dieting a household word, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, July 31.

The waning popularity of the Atkins Diet and the glut of me-too low-carb products sent the formerly high-flying company, founded in 1989, into a tailspin of debt. Apparently they have made arrangements with many of their lenders to reduce their debt in exchange for equity in the company.

I never sold the Atkins products, nor used them, but I did get on the low-carb kick in April 2004, and over the next six months shed about 20 pounds just by cutting out breads, pasta and rice. Somewhere around September '04 someone gave me a bottle of wine, something I normally didn't drink. I enjoyed the wine, and set out to learn about the differences in wines -- you know, become a wine snob -- and before I knew it, most of those 20 pounds came back. And eventually, I ate a piece of bread. And rice. And pasta. And ice cream. And enjoyed it.

Fish oil dramatically reduces ADD/ADHD symptoms

The Guardian reported in May that studies documented in the journal Pediatrics have recently shown that underachieving children's performance improved dramatically when their diets were supplemented with fish oils.

Half of the 120 children in the study were given fish oil supplements over three months, while the other half were given placebos of olive oil. After three months, the placebo group was also given the supplements. Children who took fish oil supplements made about three times the amount of progress in their reading skills than those who took the placebo, making 9-10 month's advance in their reading skills during the three months. Similar boosts in progress were seen in the placebo group when they switched to active supplements.

California astronomer claims discovery of 10th planet in solar system

Recently a new chunk of rock was discovered circling our Sun even further away than Pluto. Scientists have since estimated that the object is at least 1 1/2 times larger than Pluto. This is the first planet-sized object discovered in our Solar System since Pluto, in 1930. It is 15 billion kilometers from the Sun (97 times further out than the Earth is from the Sun), which it orbits every 560 years at an unusual 45-degree angle. For now, it is known by its assigned number "2003 UB313." Its discoverer, astronomer Mike Brown of California Institute of Technology, is quoted as saying, "It's definitely bigger than Pluto." (Click here for a chart showing comparative sizes of the Moon, Pluto, 2003 UB313, and other moons, mesoplanets and planetoids.)

Brown has submitted a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, the organization that oversees such matters, but his choice of names had not been announced publicly. There is no truth to the rumor that Disneyland, located just down the road from Cal Tech, has paid an undisclosed sum to have the planet officially christened Goofy.

Eat a doughnut, er, I mean, a peach

As a native of Georgia -- the Peach State -- I couldn't help but notice this article. Seems that peaches that look like doughnuts went on sale in Great Britain on July 28. The peaches are native to China, where they were first grown in the 19th century. Marketers are making the most of the way they look, packaging them in long doughnut boxes for the "fun factor" and saying kids will "get the fun of them."

Mutating viruses make flu vaccines senseless

I cannot remember a time in my life when I thought vaccinations were a good idea. I mean, when I was a kid, I hated 'em. That needle hurt! I remember once praying before going to the doctor's office, "Oh, please, God, make it not hurt!" I told my mom and she laughed, saying of course it would hurt, but God wanted me to have the shot so I'd be healthy. Guess you can't argue with that logic -- I've never contracted whatever disease it was they were shooting into me. Not sure that means the vaccine worked, though.

When I grew up and discovered they were actually shooting disease cells into me, I disliked 'em even more. I especially never understood the public's fascination and demand for the flu vaccine. Last year's near panic over the lack of available vaccine amused me. It takes nearly a year to produce and distribute a vaccine, making it extremely unlikely that the vaccine begun in January would be the one that would stop a flu outbreak 10 or 11 months later. Even medical doctors would tell you that the flu strain in the vaccine seldom matches the one going around nearly a year later. The logic just isn't there.

So the July 26 article from BBC Health News makes me smile, whacko that I am. It seems that viruses mutate much quicker than previously thought. One virologist said, "Their work shows that, overall, the virus is a lot more busy swapping genes than we ever thought it was."

I'm not gloating over rampaging viruses that may decimate the world. Might happen, might not. I'm just commenting on the now-shown fact that that flu vaccine jab everyone got so excited and angry about not getting last winter probably wouldn't have helped anyway.

First, do no harm: The principles of Naturopathy

A lot of people don't know what naturopathy, or a naturopath (also known as a naturopathic doctor) are. Some people even have trouble pronouncing the words. They come from "nature," and from the suffix "-pathy," which means either "disease" (as in "neuropathy") or a "system for treating disease" (as in "homeopathy" or "allopathy").

Here are some dictionary definitions from dictionary.com:

• A system of therapy that relies on natural remedies, such as sunlight supplemented with diet and massage, to treat illness.
• A system of therapeutics in which neither surgical nor medicinal agents are used, with dependence being placed only on natural remedies.
• A system of treatment of disease that avoids drugs and surgery and emphasizes the use of natural agents (as air, water, and sunshine) and physical means (as manipulation and electrical treatment)
• A method of treating disease using food and exercise and heat to assist the natural healing process

Naturopaths shouldn't be confused with medical doctors. Medical doctors are supposed to treat illness. They provide "sick care," not health care.

Medical doctors (rightly called "allopaths") have their place, but the medical profession shouldn't be your only source of health information, or your only source of attention when you aren't feeling well. Modern technology has made modern medicine outstanding in acute care. I mean, if I'm in an accident, don't take me to the local herbalist or naturopath. Take me to someone trained in treating trauma. But... most medical doctors don't have a clue when it comes to treating chronic problems, lifestyle-created illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, etc. You can't just throw the latest pharmaceutical drug at a patient and expect them to get well. At best, you can mask or alleviate symptoms for a while. But no true health is re-established.

So, then, what are the principles of naturopathy. I've never found a better short description that these six points, originally from a book called "Alternative Medicine."

• First, Do No Harm -- By employing the safe and effective natural therapies, naturopaths are committed to the principle of causing no harm to the patient.
• The Healing Power of Nature Is Powerful Indeed -- The body has considerable power to heal itself, and the role of the naturopath is to facilitate this natural process with the aid of natural, non-toxic therapies.
• Treat the Cause Rather than the Effect -- Naturopathic physicians seek the underlying cause of a disease rathern than simply suppressing the symptoms. They avoid suppression of the natural healing wisdom of the body, such as fever and inflammation. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body's natural attempt to heal, while the causes can spring from the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.
  
• Treat the Whole Person -- The individual is viewed as a whole, composed of a complex interaction of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and other factors. This multifaceted approach results in a therapeutic approach in which no disease is automatically seen as incurable.
• The Physician is a Teacher -- Naturopathic physicians are first and foremost teachers who educate, empower, and motivate the patient to assume more personal responsibility for his or her health by adopting a healthy attitude, lifestyle and diet.
• Prevention is the Best Cure -- Naturopaths are preventive health specialsts. Prevention of disease is accomplished through education and a lifestyle that supports radiant health.

In many states, it's true, naturopaths aren't licensed by the state, and you can't pay them through your insurance company. That doesn't mean they aren't useful, or reliable, or to be trusted -- it simply means the state and the powerful medical lobby have stacked the deck against them, just as they did for so many years against chiropractors.

Hormone replacement therapy added to list of carcinogens

It's in the news again -- the dangers of hormone replacement therapy. I've been talking about this for quite a while. Three years ago this month, the plug was finally pulled on a long-term study of women using HRT. The proof was in -- women were suffering and dying from putting all that synthetic horse urine into their bodies.

When those stories hit the news back in 2002, my mother finally stopped taking using the stuff -- after 36 years of doing so, and after at least seven or eight of hearing me suggest she stop. I guess it takes a while for your family to accept that you might occasionally know what you're talking about. My mom is fine -- thankfully -- but she has buried both of her sisters in the last few years. Both died from hormone-related cancers, one of breast cancer and one of ovarian cancer.

There are alternatives to help women going through menopause to deal with the sometimes unpleasant symptoms. The simple use of progesterone cream -- applied to the skin -- has helped many women (and some men) get through the "change of life." Herbs such as pomegranate, soy, black cohosh, licorce, red clover, kava, and others, offer relief to stressed-out, hot-flashing women, as do increased levels of calcium and magnesium. Here's an article from an issue of Energy Times magazine about phytoestrogenic herbs.

Vitamin C and alpha-carotene may protect children against asthma

A low intake of vitamin C and alpha-carotene seems to be linked to an increased risk of childhood asthma. In a study of 4,093 children ages 6 to 17 years, researchers found that children who had a high intake of vitamin C were 26% less likely to develop asthma than those who took less than this, and that children had a lower risk of asthma when they took higher levels of alpha-carotene.

Am J Epidemiol 159:351-357, 2004

Magnesium and vitamin B6 ease hyperexcitability in children

A group of French investigators studied 50 hyperexcitable children, whose symptoms included instability, aggressivenes, inattention at school, and “twitchiness.” Over 50% of the children had low blood levels of magnesium. All the children were given magnesium and Vitamin B-6 supplements, and in all of them, symptoms of hyperexcitability were reduced after one to six months.

Mousain-Bose M, Roce M, Rapin J, et al. Magnesium VitB6 intake reduces central nervous system hyperexcitability in children. J Am Coll Nutr 23(5): 545-S-548S, 2004.

It was a dark and stormy night

Recently I heard about the "Dark and Stormy Night" competition, an international literary parody contest, celebrating the memory of Victorian novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873). According to the webpage, "the goal of the contest is childishly simple: entrants are challenged to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. Although best known for 'The Last Days of Pompeii' (1834), which has been made into a movie three times, originating the expression 'the pen is mightier than the sword,' and phrases like 'the great unwashed' and 'the almighty dollar,' Bulwer-Lytton opened his novel Paul Clifford (1830) with the immortal words that the 'Peanuts' beagle Snoopy plagiarized for years, 'It was a dark and stormy night.'"

This was the winning entry, by Dan McKay, of Fargo, N.D.:

As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual.

I emailed some friends about this, providing the link to the runners-up and category winners. One of my friends, Laura Knight, wrote her own "bad opening sentence," and emailed it to me tonight. If she ever gets tired of marine biology, she has a career waiting for her somewhere else. Not saying it would be in writing....

The bespeckled literary oracle scowled and squinted mightily as she examined a tall, yet delicate woman with long brown hair pulled tightly in a bun maintaining a steely gaze back at her while quietly ranting, "This is an outrage!", as she hastily unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse and kicked off her Mary Jane shoes in rapid succession and feverishly grasped the hairpin that launched an explosion of cascading tresses alongside her face that was thrashing from side to side till her glasses were unapologetically smashed upon the floor, right in the exact spot where only seconds ago she was peering into her open compact mirror and had observed the approach of a spandex clad David Lee Roth directly behind her as she whirled around and calmly asked, "May I help you?"

Generalisimo Francisco Franco is still dead

Don't even ask me how I ended up at the Dead People's Server website, but I found (at least) two interesting pieces of information:

* Charles Lane, the crotchety but lovable old man often seen in episodes of "Bewitched" and "Petticoat Junction," and who appeared in a zillion old movies including Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," celebrated his 100th birthday in January, 2005. He is still having a wonderful life, over half an orbit around the Sun later.

* Andy Kaufman is still dead, no matter how many times Bob Zmuda, his old partner, plays Tony Clifton. Here's Andy's death certificate.

Tell Congress to protect dietary supplements

I just rec'd this Action Alert from the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), of which I am a member. Please act accordingly if your conscience so dictates.

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Tell Congress to Protect Dietary Supplements!

As you read this, Congress is considering new legislation that would take away your access to safe, effective and affordable dietary supplements. You can make a difference by urging your Representative to oppose The Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act (H.R. 3156) and any bill that would limit your choice and access to dietary supplements. Visit www.nnfa.org to work for healthy policies and make your voice heard.

BACKGROUND:
The Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act (H.R. 3156), introduced by Representatives Davis (D-CA), Waxman (D-CA), and Dingell (D-MI), this month, would place trusted vitamins, minerals, and herbs under unprecedented and unwarranted scrutiny. If H.R. 3156 becomes law, 70 percent of dietary supplements currently on the market would become subject to burdensome new regulations – some equivalent to those required for prescription drugs – driving up supplement prices for everyone and forcing well known dietary supplements to disappear from store shelves.

AREN’T SUPPLEMENTS ALREADY REGULATED?
In 1994, Congress took an important step forward with passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) - federal legislation that requires manufacturers of all dietary supplements to ensure the products they put on the market are safe. The law holds manufacturers directly accountable for product safety and demands truth in labeling and advertising. These consumer safeguards give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration all the authority it needs to police the marketplace and keep bad products from being sold.

TAKE ACTION NOW:
Write Your Representative

Let your lawmaker know that good laws exist on the books, and the FDA needs to enforce them. Please share your personal supplement story, so that your lawmaker understands why it’s important to protect your access to dietary supplements. Click here to tell Congress to protect dietary supplements!

The Tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao

The tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.

The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of creation.

Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.

Yet mystery and reality
emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.

From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Deadly Immunity

Autism rates have skyrocketed in recent years. A growing number of parents, medical professionals, scientists and politicians are coming to believe that thimerosal, a mercury compound used in vaccines, is the cause of U.S. autism rates multiplying 15-fold since 1991. If you have children or grandchildren that you love, you owe it to yourself and to them to read Robert F. Kennedy's investigation of the government's cover-up of the mercury/autism scandal "Deadly Immunity."

Infant given carbon dioxide instead of oxygen

While the medical doctors strut around telling us how bad herbs are for us -- this week's whipping boy is echinacea -- someone at an Army hospital in Honolulu hooked up a newborn baby to carbon dioxide instead of oxygen for 42 minutes, leaving him blind and comatose.

Words cannot describe the disgust I feel when reading that some "trained health care professional" -- in the military, no less -- was that stupid. No excuse.

Bashing the herbal industry

In the latest in an endless series of articles where the press bashes the natural products / alternative health / herbal industry, MSN reported that some smart guy medical doctor professor named Wallace Sampson said, "When it comes to herbal remedies, the bottom line is that they are drugs and toxins and most plant species out there have a more likely chance of harming one than helping one."

It's so easy for the press to bash the little guy. Why don't they ever do an expose on the giant pharmaceutical companies' and how they manipulate doctors, insurance companies, medical schools and the public? Oh, yeah, that's right -- 'cause the Rx companies buy ads and commericals on television, radio, newspapers and magazines. D'oh!

The article was intended to report a study that "proved" that echinacea was useless in helping to prevent colds. What the article didn't report was that the study used a tiny amount of echinacea in the subjects, nothing close to the amount that would be used therapeutically by an herbal consumer trying to keep a cold at bay.