Thoughts On Health & Medicine

This article is by Jem Bacchus. Jem is a certified Natural Health Consultant and author of 1-personal-improvement website. Read more on Alternative Medicine and get your free ezine Aspects of Personal Improvement from Jem.

Alternative Medicine - The Healthy Choice
Jem Bacchus

Alternative and Conventional Medicines are the two main systems of healing in use today and the utmost caution should be taken to choose wisely.

Being healthy is of crucial importance in the life of everyone. I do not believe that there is anyone who relishes the anguish of disease. Without health you cannot function properly in any area of your life.

Whether enjoying the normal faculties of life or mentally unbalanced, every person would rather be perfectly healthy than endure the tortures of pain, sickness and disease, but there comes a time when we must seek medical help.

It is unfortunate that instead of healing the sick, very often some medicines interfere with the natural process of healing, resulting in additional suffering and further deterioration of health.

In ancient times, illness was cured by the use of herbs and other natural therapies which always proved very effective. Today, those same therapies as well as modern discoveries based on those of ancient times are referred to as alternative medicine and the public has been brainwashed into believing that the treatments are worthless; yet, many diseases that have been deemed ‘incurable’ are being healed by alternative means but, unfortunately, these cures have never been heard of by countless sufferers.

What is called conventional medicine (also referred to as mainstream, standard, allopathic or orthodox medicine), is man-made synthetic drugs that were not in existence in ancient times. Interestingly, so many diseases were not around in those days as there are today.

The main difference between the two systems is that alternative medicine is concerned about the prevention of disease and pays attention to and deals with the cause by treating the body as a whole. It focuses on preventing disease before it starts. It views the presence of disease as an imbalance of the emotional, mental and physical state of a person and endeavors to support and strengthen the immune system by natural means.

Alternative medicine contends that the body is naturally able to heal itself and remain stable - known in medicine as homeostasis.

On the other hand, conventional medicine is not concerned with preventing disease but rather with using synthetic drugs to cure an already established ailment. It is more interested in treating just the symptoms of disease by scientific techniques and technology instead of treating the whole person.

Many conventional drugs are said to have the potential to damage the liver and kidneys, and cause mental depression, heart falure, cancer and other adverse side effects. Now, if that is so, why are they still being manufactured and sold to the public? Where is the concern for public health and safety?

Note that since the introduction of conventional medicine, instead of there being greater relief from illness, there has been an exponential surge of diseases wreaking havoc in the lives of unsuspecting mortals. Why is this so?

If conventional medicine were the answer to health problems, why are there so many more diseases prevalent today? The interesting thing is that a name is readily given to each new disease and some form of synthetic remedy is quickly manufactured for sale!

Conventional medicine has been so well advertised that the public is convinced that it is the only way they can get relief from devastating illnesses. They jump at the announcement of any new supposedly super healing conventional medicine and with no hesitation embark upon treating themselves. This is especially so in the case of weight loss.

The sad thing is that no real cure is realized from these, whereas there are natural remedies that have been proven to cure. I can personally attest to certain cures that I have experienced through the use of natural remedies.

It is well known that some drug manufacturers have had to withdraw their dangerous medication because of the likelihood of patients suffering heart attack and stroke. Most synthetic drugs, if not all, have dangerous side effects of which the public is unaware. Some are very detrimental to unborn babies. So why are these drugs still being sold and at such exorbitant prices?

The general public is not sufficiently made aware of the dangers of conventional drugs. For obvious reasons, no attempt to do so is made by those who should educate the unwary and encourage the use of alternative medicine.

Obviously, if disease is prevented by natural means before resulting in the breakdown of the immune system which is the body’s mechanism of defence against illness, serious diseases such as cancer and other so-called incurable diseases would be prevented, and so there would be little need for the administration of expensive conventional medicine since that would be necessary only in case of surgery and other traumatic conditions.

Another point that I think worthy of note is about products so readily put on the skin. Most of them are formulated with harmful synthetic substances that get into the blood stream and invariably cause dangerous side effects. As it is said, what you would not eat, you should not put on your skin.

Remember that the skin absorbs and cannot differentiate between synthetic chemicals and natural substances. You may not see the adverse effects now, but years later your skin would speak for itself. You do not want to look older than your age, do you? Then do not poison yourself with the topical application of toxic skin products.

No one should be so busy so as not be able to find time to learn about the natural substances that they could take to protect their own bodies and prevent diseases. Many thousands of persons might have been alive today if only they had known, and had been encouraged to use natural remedies.

I enjoy reading to find out about ancient formulas and treatments that have resurfaced today, as well as new discoveries of natural healing methods and remedies that are gaining momentum amongst health conscious persons.

Ã? have collected lots of information on herbal remedies. Among them are such topics as heart health the natural way, aromatherapy essential oils, homeopathy, beautiful skin care, skin diseases, healing for conditions such as acne, hemorrhoids, eczema, etc., weightloss, and many other natural health remedies and detailed information on how to make your own from nature’s herbs, vitamins and nutrients.

Many persons seem to be convinced that natural remedies made by God do not have the efficacy of the synthetic remedies made by man!

God who made this world has said “the leaves of the trees for healing of the nations.” God is truth and cannot lie. Isn’t it time that we took Him at his word?

Why should we put our trust in Satan and his lies and put no confidence in God and His truth?

Since there seems to be no confidence in what God has made, Why don’t we make our own water, sunshine, trees, and fresh air? Why do we walk upon God’s earth? We should make our own basic items to concoct synthetic remedies instead of corrupting the things that God has made.

You can seek relief from disease either through natural alternative medicine by which you can maintain good health and save; or, through conventional medicine with its ill effects of costly synthetic prescription drugs at the risk of further deterioration of your health. It is up to you to prevent poisoning yourself, avoid unnecessary pain and suffering, and be healthy.

Keep this in mind:

If you really want to fight disease,
Natural Medicine is the Healthy Choice.
But if you’d rather be deceased,
Synthetic Medicine might be the Deadly Choice!!

This article is written for information only and is not intended to suggest treatment of any disease. Information contained herein is based on facts I have gathered and just want to share with interested persons. Anyone suffering from a disease or has any other medical issue is advised to consult a recognized practitioner.

We’re testing a new template and have been adjusting it to fit. So if Thoughts On Health & Medicine looks different to you since your last visit, be assured you’re in the right place.

Eating less has an unusual effect on life — it tends to extend it. Cutting calories will not only help you lose weight, it can help you live longer, too.

We did an article on this a few years ago that dealt with research conducted with laboratory animals. Here’s the link.

But a recent study from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri has shown this is also true among humans. Eating less slows down the primary aging process and is apparently linked to lower levels of T3, a thyroid hormone that controls cell metabolism body temperature and the production of free radicals — and to lowering levels of (TNF)-alpha, the inflammatory protein tumor necrosis factor.

The study, led by Dr. Luigi Fontana involved 28 volunteers who ate a calorie restricted diet of 1,800 calories daily for 3-15 years, as well as 28 sedentary adults and 28 endurance athletes. Both of these groups consumed a typical Western diet of 2,700 calories.

T3 concentrations dropped by some 30% only in the calorie restricted group, showing that exercise, once thought to be a factor, had no effect.

* Quit Smoking
* Eat more fruits and vegetables
* Get more exercise

These are three easy and very practical ways to add about a dozen years to your life, according to a Cambridge University study of more than 25,000 Brits.

No, they’re not drastic changes, but their impact can be significant. Four to five years for not smoking, three years for 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, and three more years for moderate exercise.

If your job keeps you moving about on your feet all day, additional exercise may not be necessary. If you’re on your feet and moving about some, you may need an additional half hour of exercise. If your job is sedentary and most of your time is spent seated, an hour of daily exercise would be good.

The British government is officially backing the study and encouraging citizens to make these small adjustments in their lives. As U.K. Health Minister Caroline Flint told BBC News, “This is about showing people that there are everyday, simple choices they can make in their lives which will have a direct impact on their health. Eating an extra piece of fruit or walking up the stairs can help people add years to their lives.”

That kids are drinking so many soft drinks isn’t good fo a lot of reasons. Here’s how cola and it’s acidic content relate to calcium and bone health.

Studies show that teen girls who drink cola beverages are three times as likely to get bone fractures as teen girls who don’t. And more athletic girls are five times as likely to break bones as girls who don’t drink cola.

If you look at the label of Coke or Pepsi, you’ll see phosphoric acid listed among the ingredients. Dr. Pepper contains phosphoric acid, too. Ginger Ale and many others list citric acid. Mountain Dew lists lactic acid. And of course, all list carbonated water which is carbon dioxide dissolved in water or carbonic acid.

pH is a way of determining the acidity or alkalinity of a solution by measuring the concentration of hydrogen ions it contains. If it has a low pH it is acidic. If it has a high pH it is alkaline. The pH scale ranges from 1-14 with 7 being neutral. As far as body chemistry is concerned, we need to maintain a slightly alkaline pH of 7.4 to stay healthy.

Eating enough fruits and vegetables is one way to help keep our system alkaline. Fruits and vegetables will, for example, help buffer acid meat proteins.

Minerals can also help neutralize acids. To buffer the acidic effects of anything we consume, minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are pulled from our system.

Now here’s where this gets interesting.

To prevent damage to the urinary tract, anything with a pH lower than about 5 can’t be excreted by the kidneys.

A 12 ounce can of cola with a pH of 2.8 to 3.2 would require some 100 liters of urine to bring it up to a pH of 5. That’s more than 26 gallons of urine!

Since that isn’t going to happen, what the body does is go the mineral route, first with easily accessible sodium, potassium and carbonate, and later with magnesium and calcium. To bring the pH up to 5, it uses the mineral equivalent of 4 Tums tablets, drawn from the body, mostly from the bones.

So Coke machines in schools may supply districts with needed funds, but there are many health issues at stake not the least of which is bone fractures now and osteoporosis later on, for teen-aged girls who drink cola.

Longevity interests a lot of people who aren’t ready to give up their lives, just yet, and who look to healthy alternatives to culturally defined eating patterns and “health care.”

The benefits of drinking wine have been touted for a while and are thought, by some, to be the reason why the French can get away with eating a high fat diet while enjoying a low rate of coronary disease.

A few years ago, a study by French research team also found that men who regularly drank at least two glasses of wine daily were 50 percent less likely than non-drinkers to suffer a second heart attack.

Previous studies with yeast, a small species of worm, and fruit flies have shown that resveratrol — a polyphenol antioxidant found in grapes, especially red grapes, and particularly pinot noir grapes which are grown in northern latitudes and used in wines coming from New York, Washington, and Oregon — is a life-extending compound.

In a new study from Italy, resveratrol has been used to increase the life span of a short-lived breed of tropical fish by more than 50%. Not only did fish given resveratrol in their food live longer than the control group, they stayed livelier as they aged and displayed better memory in stimulus/response tests. And the neurons in their brains didn’t decay as quickly when they died and were dissected.

Resveratrol, an organic compound contained in the skins of grapes that protects them from disease, is extracted from grapes by the wine making process. The wine becomes a preservative for the resveratrol and prevents its oxidation.

That’s why drinking grape juice or eating raisins doesn’t have the same effect; the resveratrol has neither been extracted nor preserved. It’s also been shown that resveratrol in food supplements oxidizes upon exposure to air and loses its effectiveness.

Red wine may truly be a “wondrous drug!”

Other studies have shown that wine, especially red wine, can help prevent colds, increase the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, reduce the size and number of fat cells in the body, reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and has anti-inflammatory properties to boot.

Drug companies are trying to copy resveratrol, but might not be able to preserve it’s health-preserving benefits. Besides, resveratrol is freely available in red wine and not patentable as such.

Fitness and exercise are important, but how much attention do parents pay to their children when it comes to staying fit by getting enough exercise every day?

Today, too many children spend the majority of their time in front of the television, on a computer, or playing a video game while obesity among children is becoming a serious problem. Fitness and exercise, once a natural part of childhood, are something that most modern children and their parents must work at on a daily basis.

If your child doesn’t get enough exercise to stay fit consider enrolling them in an after school sports program. Soccer is popular and in the right season so are baseball, lacrosse, football, hockey, softball, tennis, and even golf. Many parents know that their children enjoy swimming and since it’s one of the best forms of exercise available, it should be encouraged whether it’s just playing in the water or swimming laps in an Olympic-size pool.

Many children who live in rural parts of the country can find staying fit and getting enough exercise to be almost second nature to them, since in rural areas there are fields to play in and woods to explore, as well as chores to do if growing up on a farm or ranch.

Fitness and exercise may be more ingrained out in the countryside, but children in cities can get exercise at nature centers, the Y, the Boys and Girls Club, a private health club, by taking martial arts lessons, or with after school sports.

Both children and adults who forsake their exercise programs during the winter months, make it harder to get back into shape when warmer weather returns. Sports like ice skating and cross country skiing are excellent ways to remain fit in colder weather and they need not be done at the Olympic level to be enjoyed by all.

When do you feed your baby? Many methods for determining this have been used, but Sue Talbert thinks that PDF (Parent Directed Feeding) will be good for both your baby and you. You’ll find her Feeding Methods article under the New Moms & Newborns page on the menu at the right.

First, let me introduce the D-word. It’s like the F-word except that it’s OK to use the D-word but I choose not to. But I will use it once, so that reading this will make sense to you.

The D-word is DRUG(S) or, as you will see it, D****.

I don’t want to use that word, here, because everything posted to this blog effects the ads Google displays, and the last time I made big mention of D****, Google showed a bunch of ads for rehab programs and that’s not what this site is about.

Now I’m hardly pro-D****. There’s nothing like a clear, rested, lucid mind to reach natural, unstoppable peaks. Read A. H. Maslow if you want a clue. But there are people who really need D**** of the kind that tend to get abused, people who suffer from severe or excruciating pain that no OTC formula can touch.

Opposite those who need them is a class of people who, for whatever reason, choose to short circuit their minds with D**** and who dumb government policies “TRY� to protect from themselves by making D*** use illegal and putting those who use them, without medical approval, in jail, to show just how much the government cares.

The result is an increase in crime and other social problems which, of course, keeps big government perpetually big in an attempt to solve the problems it creates.

But who is being forgotten? Who is hurt in the process? Who does government show the least amount of care for in its pretnese of caring by creating and enforcing D*** laws?

That’s right, the people for whom these D**** have been developed. People in BIG pain.

Anyone who needs drugs to relieve pain is an addict. That’s the basic response from the medical profession. And it seems many if not most doctors would either rather not, or simply refuse to, deal with people in need of what it calls “comfort care.�

Besides being looked at with suspicion, people in real need of pain relief are denied medication or the strength of medication they need. Those who are able to get prescriptions are forced to return every 30 days because, by law, that’s all they may be given lest the D**** turn up on the street.

Yes, they must show up in pain seeking relief from pain, with their D**** or empty containers, and are often required to take an expensive D*** screening test (about $300-$600 on the bills I’ve seen) to show the medications are actually being used and that no illicit D**** are being taken. These compulsory visits generally aggravate the pain and/or the underlying condition, waste everyone’s time, and increase the cost of sick care. No, the required visits aren’t free. Neither is the D*** testing.

For tales about how government D*** policies are harming the helpless, visit the Usenet pain discussion group.

I was looking for a quality liquid nutritional supplement a few months ago when a colleague sent me information about a brand new product that looked like it was well worth trying.

Tablets and capsules may be a convenient way to manufacture, store and ship nutritional products, but not very good if you expect your body to make use of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants they are meant to supply.

Tablets are also loaded with binders and fillers making the nutrients they bind into rock hard pills, barely ready to be absorbed by living cells.

Here’s what the Physicians Desk Reference or PDR that can be found in every doctor’s office in the land has to say about them: “supplements in tablet or pill form are only 10% absorbed by the body.â€?

Ten percent absorbed!

So they’re not only not doing you that much good, you’re throwing away most of what you pay for in the process.

So what’s better?

It’s called VIBEâ„¢ — and it’s “cell-ready,” that is, ready to be absorbed by your body at the cellular level where the nutrients it provides can do you the most good.

VIBEâ„¢ has the highest antioxidant score (ORAC) of any liquid supplement tested. Better than Goji Juice, better than Xango Juice, better than Noni Juice. It’s verified and documented!

And just one ounce contains:

The Vitamin A equivalent of 13 tomatoes.

The Vitamin C equivalent of 20 peaches.

The Calcium equivalent of 25 fresh walleye fillets.

The Zinc equivalent of 13 slices of cracked wheat bread.

The Folate equivalent of 10 cups of raw green beans.

The Vitamin E equivalent of 15 raw mangos.

The Magnesium equivalent of five 6 ounce beef steaks.

And more.

Needless to say, I’m very happy with it.

Try a bottle of VIBEâ„¢ and see if you don’t see a difference in the way you feel.

I sure did!