Jason Bussell MSOM, Licensed Acupuncturist

Aspartame is NOT better than sugar

2012-03-03T07:34:00.002-08:00

This article is taken from http://www.naturalnews.com/035126_aspartame_side_effects_withdrawal.html . Please visit their web site.

(NaturalNews) If you have been drinking diet soda and chewing gum, chances are you have been enjoying aspartame in generous quantities. Aspartame is a popular sugar substitute that can be found in diet soda drinks, chewing gum, fruit spreads and sugar-free products to name a few. It is also known by the brand names, Sweet One, NutraSweet and Spoonful. Despite its popularity in the market, what many do not know is that aspartame accounts for 75 percent of side effect complaints received by the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) of the US Food and Drug Administration.

Can aspartame be addictive?

Yes, according to Dr. Betty Martini, popular anti-aspartame advocate. She explains that it is an "addictive, exitoneurotic, carcinogenic, genetically engineered drug and adjuvant that damages the mitochondria." Moreover, Dr. Janet Hall, another famous advocate against aspartame, shares on her website that all artificial sweeteners create an artificial need for more sweetness. She goes on to add that forced sweetness, being a class of altered food, is a trap that cause people to become addicted to sweeter tasting food with no nutritional value.

Recent studies have shown that aspartame is addictive because it affects the absorption of dopamine in the brain.

Side Effects of Aspartame

Aspartame is made up of 3 components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. Understanding the effects of aspartame will require us to look into its genetic make up.

In its website, manufacturers of aspartame continue to assure the public that low-calorie sweeteners are effective for weight reduction, weight maintenance, reduction of tooth decay, management of diabetes and reduction of risks associated with obesity. They claim that consumers of low-calorie, sugar-free beverages were able to incorporate these products into a healthy lifestyle not because they need to manage their weight (since a majority of people use low-calorie foods and beverages for reasons other than dieting) but because use of low-calorie products is part of a healthy lifestyle.

Despite the benefits cited in the aspartame website, independent studies have been shown that aspartame is not as safe as it appears to be. In a recent study conducted by researchers from the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center, it was discovered that those who drank diet soft drinks on a daily basis were more likely to contract vascular diseases compared to those who took none.

Supporters of aspartame insist that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are found in many foods. What they have conveniently left out, however, is that the said neurotoxins are harmless only when consumed with other nutrients like fats, amino acids (protein) and carbohydrates. On their own, they are absorbed by the nervous system in large concentrations causing the stimulation of brain neurons and cell death. Symptoms of the conditions include headaches, confusion, balance problems and seizures.

Methanol, on the other hand, is also a highly toxic substance. It is released in the small intestine gradually with the assistance of chymotrypsin and then broken down into formaldehyde: a chemical used for embalming which is a carcinogen that causes birth defects, retinal damage and DNA replication.

Again, supporters of aspartame insist that methanol is safe because it is found in vegetables and fruit juices. What they neglect to mention, however, is that methanol in vegetables and fruit juices is bound with pectin and the body does not possess the digestive enzyme to break down pectin and release ethanol into the body. Furthermore, ethanol, the methanol toxicity antidote, is found in natural sources of methanol, inhibiting the metabolism of methanol and giving the body sufficient time, through the lungs and kidneys, to clear it. Methanol found in aspartame is easily absorbed because it is in a free form.

Aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine and their breakdown in the body are cumulative because of their fast absorption and slow excretion.

In 1984, studies conducted revealed that the toxicity of NutraSweet (aspartame) to living organisms. The State of Arizona arrived at findings which showed that aspartame in carbonated drinks can break down into free methanol in temperatures of 99 degrees Fahrenheit. On May 13, 1998, the University of Barcelona also arrived at results revealing that aspartame was transformed into formaldehyde in the bodies of living creatures, and on later examination formaldehyde had spread through the vital parts of the body.

"Artificial sweetener disease"

The US Food and Drug Administration has received reports of 92 medical health problems resulting from aspartame, ranging from abdominal pain to migraines, dizziness and hives. Aspartame poisoning is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms mock other syndromes. It changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, lowering or blocking levels of hormones like dopamine and tyrosine that are necessary for bodily function.

Since aspartame cannot be detected through lab tests and x-rays, these diseases and disorders may actually be a toxic load. Below are some specific health conditions that are associated with aspartame you might want to recall next time you open a can of diet soda:

1. Cancer - The Ramazzine Foundation, a European Cancer Research Center, conducted a study on aspartame which revealed that aspartame increases the risk of cancers (lymphoma, leukemia and breast cancers). Despite the National Cancer Institute's stand that no such connection was ever firmly established between aspartame and cancer, it might well be worth thinking that what is harmful to rats is also harmful to humans. Moreover, the dismissive stand of regulatory bodies concerning aspartame is merely based on the absence of data that can conclusively support such a connection and NOT on a finding that establishes that aspartame does not cause cancer.

2. Mental disorders and degeneration of brain cells - Excessive ingestion of artificial sweeteners, according to researchers from the University of Praetoria and the University of Limpopo, may lead to various mental disorders and the degeneration of the brain. Publishing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers noted that aspartame appeared to cause excessive signals, damage and even death to nerve cells. Since aspartame disrupts the functioning of the cell's energy source, it will lead to a cascade of effects on the whole system.

3. Headaches - As early as 1994, a study conducted published on PubMed.gov showed that ingestion of aspartame was associated with headaches. Subjects in the study revealed that they experienced headaches 33 percent of the time when taking aspartame compared to 24 percent when on placebo treatment. Moreover, Dr. Robert Milne and Blake More in their book "Headaches" report that headaches are the most reported side effect given by those who take products containing aspartame. They add that in a University of Parkinson's at Florida study, it was found out that the incidences of migraines doubled for a majority of test subjects who took aspartame. Their headaches lasted longer and were marked by significant signs of shakiness and diminished vision.

4. Weight gain and increased blood sugar - Aspartame is not a healthy alternative for diabetics or those wanting to lose weight. Contrary to popular belief, a recent study has shown that regular consumption of diet soft drinks is strongly connected with abdominal obesity and that aspartame can increase blood sugar. Researchers from the University of Texas Health Center San Antonio reported in a study that, as a group, 70 percent of those who drank diet soft drinks gained weight as opposed to those who did not. Moreover, those who drank 2 or more diet sodas regularly experienced an increase in their waist circumference by 500 percent more than those who did not drink them.

In another related study that analyzed a possible relationship between intake of aspartame and fasting glucose and insulin levels among 40 diabetes-prone mice, one of the researchers in the study, Dr. Gabriel Fernandes, revealed that heavy aspartame exposure might potentially contribute to the associations noticed between soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans.

The above health conditions are just some of the 92 reported medical health problems reportedly associated with aspartame. Despite the stand of aspartame manufacturers that their product has been declared safe for human consumption, it is still strange that there are still reports from sectors who do not stand to benefit from such declarations that aspartame is not safe. Prudence would dictate that avoiding a product may be better in the long run than to discover firsthand that all that was said about it was true. Why? Because you happen to be living proof of it.

How to protect yourself

To keep yourself safe from contracting "artificial sweetener syndrome," it is suggested that you stop taking all products containing this chemical.

If you have brought or stocked up on products containing aspartame, you can arrange to return the products so you can get a refund of your money. If you feel that you may need professional help in getting over the disease, please see your doctor as soon as possible. Take a proactive approach to being healthy.

Finally, for those taking aspartame simply because they want to observe a healthy diet, replace your aspartame habit with real sugar. Although it may have more calories, it offers a far better solution than being poisoned. Those who want to manage their weight problems are advised to seek a healthier course of action like eating more whole foods, vegetables and fruits and getting regular exercise. True and sustainable weight loss cannot be achieved through a quick fix without a change in lifestyle. Set a personal example to be healthy and watch yourself regain your life.

Sources for this article

http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131092746.htm
http://www.whale.to/a/sbs17.html
http://www.janethull.com/askdrhull/article.php?id=007
http://489679www.nogw.com
http://www.ssvictory.com
http://www.colorado.edu

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035126_aspartame_side_effects_withdrawal.html#ixzz1o4IJXO4p

The Asian Diet: Before and after photos

2011-12-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

I received these pictures and story from a woman who is following the advice in my book.

"Dear Mr. Bussell,
I thank you for writing this book. It has helped me tremendously. You can see from the attached photos that at one point I was overweight. As you can also see, I am Asian, so one might think that an Asian would not need to read your book. We should just know all of this information, right? Well, I didn't.

I was raised in a Korean household and ate Korean food and I was in fine shape. After I moved away from my family, I adopted a much more American diet and quickly started gaining weight. Now after reading this book, I can see why that difference was so profound. Now that I understand how food affects me, it is easy to make the better choices. I still eat a lot of non-Korean food, but by following the principles in your book, I eat much better for myself.

I never thought I would have a weight problem. Now that I have read your book, I don't think I ever will again. Thank you again for writing it. I tell all my friends about it.

K.L."

PT's should not be doing acupuncture!

2011-12-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

This patient experience was sent to the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

"I started going to PT in December of 2010 and Didn't finish until May of 2011 for a simple case of tendinitis in my left foot. They started needling my foot and calf about a month into PT. It was explained to me briefly, but not in great detail... I was told it was a new practice in PT offices and that it would speed up my recovery (it did not). I asked about his training, saying I had a friend who was in school for acupuncture and that it was going to take her years, so how was he able to needle me without that schooling? He said that PT's didn't need to go through acupuncture school because they already knew human anatomy. The needling was usually uncomfortable, but I was willing to do anything to get my foot in running shape again (even taking severe bruising on my calf from "massages"). I became concerned when the following happened. First, I started bruising a lot and the spot they were needling me was always red and swollen for weeks at a time, looking like I had about 10 little bug bites all over my foot. They were itchy and irritating. Then, I saw the PT assistant (a boy younger than me who had dropped out of college and was way too rough when massaging patients) needling himself and getting ready to needle someone else on multiple occasions... something I am quite sure he was not certified or even qualified to do. Overall, my PT experience was bad and dragged out longer than it needed, but the needling was what really made it uncomfortable for me, many times making my foot hurt worse for days after the needling instead of relieving the pain as it was supposed to do. When I went to a real acupuncturist, the experience was completely different and calming and it never hurt at all!"

Stay away from untrained acupuncture

2011-12-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

A Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac) will typically have about 3000 hours of training, 660 of which are supervised clinical practice. MD"s can take a distance-learning course and become "certified" in 500 hours (although many states do not recognize that certification and do not allow them to practice". Chiropractors can take 200 hours as part of their schooling and earn their own "certification" (and again many states do not recognize them as qualified and do not allow them to practice acupuncture). Now physical therapists are "certifying" themselves in acupuncture with 27 hours of classroom instruction and NO supervised clinical practice. They call it "Dry Needling" and claim it is not acupuncture but is like massage. It is the insertion of acupuncture needles into acupuncture points by untrained hands. Beware and stay away.

Acupuncture treats nerve pain associated with cancer treatment

2011-12-07T09:23:00.001-08:00

Acupuncture 'could ease nerve pain after cancer treatment'

6 December 2011
Acupuncture could reduce severe nerve pain experienced as a result of cancer treatment, according to a new study.
Research published in the Acupuncture and Medicine journal suggested that patients who undergo treatment with drugs such as taxanes, vinca alkaloids or platinum compounds can often develop chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which damages nerves in the calves and feet and could lead to sharp pains as a result.
Out of 11 patients experiencing the peripheral neuropathy, six had acupuncture sessions and commented that the intensity of the nerve signalling improved and pain lessened. In comparison, those who did not receive any acupuncture treatment felt the same.
Authors of the study said: "The data suggest that acupuncture has a positive effect on CIPN, as measured by objective parameters [nerve conduction studies]."
They added that results were similar to those who suffered nerve damage as a result of diabetes and also patients with CIPN from an unknown cause.
Conclusions were made to further the research to distinguish the true benefits of the therapy.
According to the National Cancer Institute Cancer Bulletin, around 30 to 40 per cent of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy experience CIPN.

As found on spirehealthcare.com

If nutritionists sold cars

2011-12-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

Introducing the new Chevy Bounce. The best car in the world. Most cars have only 20 pounds of rubber. Our scientists know that rubber is integral to the performance of a car. So we have made the Chevy Bounce which has over 300 pounds of rubber in it. No other car can compete with it. 15 times the rubber of a standard car must be better; so buy yours today.

Here's the point. Things are more than just the sum of their parts. Vegetables are good and vegetables have vitamins. That does not mean that you can give people isolated vitamins and think that they are a substitute for food. Green Tea causes health benefits. Green Tea extract has 100 times the ingredients, but is it 100 times as helpful? I have heard nutritionists argue that no one could ever drink enough green tea to get the benefits. How then did they discover the benefits before the extract was available?

There is no substitute for good food. Anyone who tells you different is just trying to sell you something.

Don't take these drugs!

2011-11-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

Writing in AlterNet, Martha Rosenberg says:

"In the pharmaceutical industry's rush to get drugs to market, safety usually comes last.

Long studies to truly assess a drug's risks just delay profits after all -- and if problems do emerge after medication hits the market, settlements are usually less than profits. Remember, Vioxx still made money."

Here are some of the drugs she identifies as being so plagued with safety problems, it's astonishing they're on the market:

Lipitor and Crestor

These worthless statins are so over-prescribed that far too many patients get their side effects -- such as weakness, dizziness, pain and arthritis.

Yaz and Yasmin

These birth control pills were so hyped in their advertisements that they sounded too good to be true -- and they were. 18-year-olds experienced blood clots, gall bladder disease, heart attacks, and strokes.
(I would add ALL birth controls are dangerous and should be avoided. In my view there is virtually no reason to ever take these dangerous and completely synthetic hormones.)

Lyrica, Topomax and Lamictal

These epilepsy seizure drugs are now prescribed for pain. But all seizure drugs increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and all three drugs can make you lose your memory and your hair.

Humira, Prolia and TNF Blockers

Not only are biologics like Humira and Prolia made from genetically engineered hamster cells, and not only do they suppress your actual immune system, but they can lead to tuberculosis, lethal infections, melanoma, lymphoma and "unusual cancers in children and teenagers". In addition, the Humira warns against the possible side effect of "new or worsening" psoriasis -- a condition it is supposed to treat.
(These drugs should be banned. No reason to EVER take any of them as there are loads of natural therapies that are far superior. Please use my site as resource to find out which ones you can use in these autoimmune conditions like MS, RA and Crohn's.Disease)

Chantix

After 397 reported cases of possible psychosis, 227 domestic reports of suicidal behavior and 28 suicides, the U.S. government banned pilots and air traffic controllers and interstate truck and bus drivers from taking Chantix. It is also linked to angioedema, serious skin reactions, visual impairment, accidental injury, dizziness, muscle spasms, seizures and loss of consciousness.

Ambien

Sleeping pills like Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata and Rozerem only decrease get-to-sleep time by 18 minutes. Then Ambien adds in somnambulism side effects -- people walk, drive, make phone calls and even have sex while they are sleeping.

Tamoxifen

Tamoxifen causes cancer and birth defects. One study showed that 57.2 percent of women on continuous Tamoxifen developed atrophy of the lining of the uterus, 35.7 coexisting hyperphasia and 8.1 percent uterine polyps.

Boniva

After you take Boniva, you have to avoid lying down for at least 60 minutes to "help decrease the risk of problems in the esophagus and stomach." Then you need to wait at least 60 minutes before eating or drinking anything except water, and you must never take it with mineral water, sparkling water, coffee, tea, milk, juice or other oral medicines -- including calcium, antacids, or vitamins.
(I would most definitely include ALL the biphosphonates here, like Fosamax. They are dangerous, loaded with side effects, do not lower fracture risk and should never be taken unless you want to further enrich the drug industry coffers)

Prempro and Premarin

The hormone drugs Prempro, Premarin and Provera cause a 26 percent increase in breast cancer risk, 41 percent increase in stroke risk, 29 percent increase in heart attack risk, and double your risk of blood clots. They have also been linked to deafness, urinary incontinence, cataracts, gout, joint degeneration, asthma, lupus, scleroderma, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and lung, ovarian, breast, endometrial, gall bladder and melanoma cancers.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The list above includes many of the most dangerous drugs, but the reality is that there's no shortage of dangerous drugs. Even commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are not as benign as most people assume. This is because they are fatally flawed from the get-go, as they in no way shape or form address the cause of the disease and only treat symptoms, which is typically a prescription for disaster if used for the long term.

Is there Such a Thing as a Safe Drug?

It's important to understand that even under the best circumstances -- such as with a drug that has gone through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing -- when it is released into the uncontrolled environment of your body, literally anything can happen.
This is largely because the FDA does not require independent testing but relies on the tests the drug company submits to them, which are flawed.

Unfortunately, studies are frequently biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved long before anyone knows whether they're safe. Additionally, interactions with other drugs are rarely ever investigated
In essence, it's all a gamble, and there are NO 100 percent safe drugs. And the more drugs you combine, the riskier it gets.

More Dangerous Drugs

In addition to the drugs listed above, here are several more that most doctors won't even take themselves, due to the risks involved:
Advair – This asthma medicine can make your asthma deadly... It contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol, which researchers have found can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Salmeterol-containing drugs such as Advair contributes to an estimated 5,000 asthma-related deaths each year in the US alone.
Avandia (rosiglitazone) – This diabetes drug can make your health go from bad to worse, as it can cause a heart attack. One study found that people who took rosiglitazone for at least a year increased their risk of heart failure or a heart attack by 109 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Celebrex -- This painkiller has been linked to increased risks of stomach bleeding, kidney trouble, and liver damage. And, according to a 2005 study, people taking 200 mg of Celebrex twice a day more than doubled their risk of dying of cardiovascular disease. Those on 400 mg twice a day more than tripled their risk.
Insulin. While this hormone can save your life if you are a type 1 diabetic, it is predominately prescribed for type 2 diabetics, which is the kiss of death. If you or anyone you know has type 2 diabetes and is on insulin, have them read this article by Dr. Rosedale and get off this insulin ASAP.
Ritalin – This drug is commonly prescribed to children diagnosed with ADHD, despite the fact it has the same pharmacological profile as cocaine. By definition, Ritalin stimulates your central nervous system, leading to side effects such as increased blood pressure and heart rate.

When taken over a period of years, as Ritalin often is, the drug can cause severe health problems, including cancer. Short-term, it can still lead to chromosomal damage.

Americans are Dangerously Over-Drugged

It's important to remember that whenever you chose to treat disease symptoms with a drug, if you take that drug long enough it will invariably end up creating other health problems. This frequently leads to yet another prescription to counteract the side effects from the first one, followed by another one, and another…
It's a vicious cycle that is clearly evident when you review the statistics of prescriptions, which have exploded over the last 75 years.
In 1929, the average American received less than two prescriptions per year. According to the latest statistics from 2009, the average annual prescription rate per capita in the United States is now:
Almost 4 prescriptions per child (age 0-18)
Just over 11 prescriptions per adult (age 19-64), and
More than 31 prescriptions per senior, aged 65 and over!
If these drugs could successfully treat and cure disease, the United States would have the healthiest inhabitants on the planet, based on these statistics. Instead, the rates of preventable diseases like diabetes have skyrocketed, and we're seeing a mounting death toll directly attributable to prescription drugs.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.! As a sobering comparison, illegal drugs claim about 10,000 lives annually...
It doesn't have to be that way. I haven't taken drugs in years and my mother is 76 and my dad is 82 and both are drug free because they have been following my health advice.

Do You REALLY Need Those Drugs?

In more recent years, a growing body of studies shows that simple lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are effective remedies for many common health problems. At the same time, we're seeing more and more evidence of the lethal harm being brought by poorly tested drugs.
To me, the choice is clear.
But a lot of people still do not realize just how effective lifestyle changes can be in treating their disease. Many diabetics, for example, are convinced they need drugs, and resist the idea that treating or even curing their disease is entirely within their own control.
The truth is, type 2 diabetes is virtually 100 percent avoidable and treatable entirely without drugs. If you're still in the dark about how to accomplish this, please see this link.
Other common conditions that can be managed without medication include:
Arthritis
Diabetes
High cholesterol
Depression
High blood pressure
Osteoporosis
Heart disease
Insomnia

To Medicate or Not to Medicate, That is the Question

Ultimately, it's your body, and it's up to you to decide what works for you.
However, I urge you to research each drug before taking it. Do not believe for one minute that your physician will have all the answers and all the latest research findings at his or her fingertips. They won't.
Most of the knowledge they have comes directly from the lips of drug reps.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you. Then decide whether the potential benefits truly outweigh the potential risks.

Take Control of Your Health

If you make drugs a last option, not a first choice, you will have taken a major step in the right direction.
It may require a massive thought shift for some people to accept that your body can heal itself and that drugs oftentimes will only hinder the process. But I can't stress enough the importance of the most basic principle of HOW to resolve an illness: finding the underlying cause of the problem.
Masking it with a drug that lessens your symptoms does not fix anything. Disease can only be resolved by addressing its root cause.
What many people fail to realize is that it is possible to maintain optimal health by simply avoiding unnecessary drugs and by understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition and exercise, which include:
Eliminating sugar/fructose and most grains
Eating unprocessed, high-quality foods, preferably organic and right for your nutritional type
Eating your food as close to raw as possible
Consuming enough omega-3 fats
Getting appropriate exposure to sunshine to optimize your vitamin D levels
Exercising regularly

This info comes from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/09/15-dangerous-drugs-big-pharma-shoves-down-our-throats.aspx

The CDC and American Dental Association recommend NOT drinking flouridated water

2011-11-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

This from Consciousness TV

A new study in the Journal of the American Dental Association finds once again that, contrary to what most people have been told, fluoride is actually bad for teeth.

Exposure to high levels of fluoride results in a condition known as fluorosis, in which tooth enamel becomes discolored. The condition can eventually lead to badly damaged teeth. The new study found that fluoride intake during a child’s first few years of life is significantly associated with fluorosis, and warned against using fluoridated water in infant formula.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is of a similar opinion. According to their website:

“Recent evidence suggests that mixing powdered or liquid infant formula concentrate with fluoridated water on a regular basis may increase the chance of a child developing … enamel fluorosis.”

It was 2007 when the American Dental Association (ADA) first warned that parents of infants younger than a year old “should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride” when mixing baby formula, due to concerns about fluorosis.
Now the Journal of the American Dental Association has published a study that found increased fluorosis risk among infants who were fed infant formula reconstituted with fluoride-containing water, as well as used fluoridated toothpastes.
The authors noted:
“Results suggest that prevalence of mild dental fluorosis could be reduced by avoiding ingestion of large quantities of fluoride from reconstituted powdered concentrate infant formula and fluoridated dentifrice.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also followed suit, warning on their Community Water Fluoridation page that mixing powdered or liquid infant formula concentrate with fluoridated water on a regular basis may increase the chance of a child developing enamel fluorosis.
They also state:

“In children younger than 8 years of age, combined fluoride exposure from all sources—water, food, toothpaste, mouth rinse, or other products—contributes to enamel fluorosis.”
This is as far as the CDC warnings go, however, and they continue to state that water fluoridation is safe — and dental fluorosis is only a “cosmetic” problem. In reality, neither of these assertions is true.
Dental Fluorosis is a Sign of Excessive Fluoride Intake

Dental fluorosis results in white and brown spots on your teeth. It is only caused by fluoride — typically due to ingesting too much fluoride during your developing years, from birth to about 8 years of age. According to the CDC, about one-third of U.S. children aged 12 to 15 years have very mild to mild forms of enamel fluorosis on their teeth.
Promoters of fluoridation say that these markings are “just cosmetic,” but it can also be an indication that the rest of your body, such as your bones and the rest of your organs, including your brain, has been exposed to too much fluoride also.
As Dr. Paul Connett, a chemist specializing in environmental chemistry, explained in our recent interview:

“We know that 32 percent of American children have been overexposed to fluoride because you have this telltale sign of dental fluorosis, which in its mildest form is little white specs. But when it gets more serious, it affects more of the surface of your teeth and it becomes colored; yellow, brown and orange mottling of the teeth …
The teeth are the window to the bones. If you’ve seen the damage to the teeth, what damage can you not see?”
In other words, if fluoride is having a detrimental, visual effect on the surface of your teeth, you can be virtually guaranteed that it’s also damaging something else inside your body, such as your bones.
Bone is living tissue that is constantly being replaced through cellular turnover. Bone building is a finely balanced, complicated process. Fluoride has been known to disrupt this process ever since the 1930s.
Why it’s Dangerous to Swallow Fluoride

The United States is one of only eight countries in the entire developed world that fluoridates more than 50 percent of its water supply. It is added under the guise that it helps prevent and control tooth decay …
This is in spite of the fact that there never been any demonstrated difference in tooth decay between countries with fluoridated and non-fluoridated water, and no difference between states that have a high- or low percentage of their water fluoridated.
Even promoters of fluoridation concede that the major benefits are topical; fluoride works from the outside of the tooth, not from inside of your body, so why swallow it?
The fluoride added to your drinking water is in fact a chemical waste product! It is NOT something you should use as a supplement to your diet.
There are plenty of studies showing the dangers of fluoride to your health, such as:
Increases lead absorption
Disrupts synthesis of collagen
Hyperactivity and/or lethargy
Muscle disorders
Brain damage, and lowered IQ
Arthritis
Dementia
Bone fractures
Lowers thyroid function
Bone cancer (osteosarcoma)
Inactivates 62 enzymes
Inhibits formation of antibodies
Genetic damage and cell death
Increases tumor and cancer rate
Disrupts immune system
Damages sperm and increases infertility
As far as tooth decay is concerned, this is not caused by lack of fluoride.
Tooth decay is caused by acids in your mouth, typically created from sugar being metabolized by bacteria (Streptococcus mutans), and as you may already know, the number one source of calories in the United States is high fructose corn syrup.
The acid produced then attacks your enamel. Eventually the bacteria can get into the dentine, at which point tooth decay sets in. So there are far better options for decreasing tooth decay than using a topical or ingested poison, with a chief one being minimizing your intake of sugary foods and eating a healthful diet.
You typically don’t find dental caries in more primitive societies that do not consume vast amounts of sugar like in the United States.
Make Sure Your Children are Not Exposed to Fluoride

One of dentist Bill Osmunson’s main concerns is water fluoridation for infants. The ADA and the CDC now both recommend that infants NOT receive fluoridated water for drinking, nor for making their formula, as fluoridated water contains 250 times more fluoride than mother’s milk.

“We shouldn’t fluoridate water and harm our most vulnerable,” Dr. Osmunson says.
It is my strong belief and recommendation to avoid giving your children fluoridated water.
Unfortunately, the only way to ensure your water is pure enough to drink is by installing ahigh quality water filtration system in your house, such as a reverse osmosis filter that can filter out much of the fluoride and other dangerous water contaminants like disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
Remember that most bottled water also typically contains fluoride, even though it’s not stated on the label, and whatever you do, avoid using “nursery water,” which is fluoridated water sold specifically for infants.
Fluoride in your drinking water is one more reason why breast feeding your infant is so essential. Nature has kept breast milk virtually fluoride-free for a reason.
If you are unable to breastfeed and are instead using formula, make sure the water you use is fluoride-free. Again, for now the best way you can provide pure, fluoride-free water to your family is by using a reverse osmosis filter, which you can install in your home.
Even better, if you are unable to breastfeed use this recipe to make homemade infant formula using raw milk and no water at all.
Keep in mind also that if you are a pregnant woman it is equally important for your water to be fluoride-free, as this chemical can harm your developing fetus.
The Ultimate Solution is to Get Fluoride Out of Tap Water

Even though the ADA and the CDC have issued warnings that parents not use fluoridated tap water to make infant formula, neither of them has openly informed the public!

So there are millions of parents out there using tap water to make up formula, oblivious of the fact that the agencies that promote fluoridation in this country have issued a specific warning against using fluoridated water for this purpose.

Not only that, but by fluoridating the municipal water supply you doom many low-income families to fail to protect their young children from this dangerous drug, even if they have this information, as they simply don’t have the resources to install a reverse osmosis system.

This is why the only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water fluoridation in the United States.

The Fluoride Action Network is an absolutely phenomenal resource for further education, and they’re doing much to pressure the US government for change. We will be working together to devise a complete game plan to tackle this issue head on. Once we reach the tipping point, which may be as little as 5 percent of the population, we will be able to reverse the policies of water fluoridation.

Our strategy will begin with addressing Canada, because 60 percent of Canada is already un-fluoridated. If we can get the rest of Canada to stop fluoridating their water, we believe the U.S. will be forced to follow.

You can visit www.FluorideAlert.org for the most recent updates and progress, as well as tips on how you can get involved and take action in this important cause.

In addition, I highly recommend getting a copy of Dr. Connett’s new book, The Case Against Fluoride, for more information on the bad science and political agendas that got this toxic chemical in our drinking water and is, at least for now, keeping it there.

Beware: Aspartame has changed name and is calling itself a "natural sweetener"

2011-11-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

From the Health Freedom alliance http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/02/15/aspartame-has-been-renamed-and-is-now-being-marketed-as-a-natural-sweetener/

Artificial sweeteners especially aspartame has gotten a bad rap over the years, most likely due to studies showing they cause cancer. But not to worry Ajinomoto the company that makes Aspartame has changed the name to AminoSweet. It has the same toxic ingredients but a nice new sounding name. And if you or your child happens to be allergic to Aspartame, well don’t take it personally it’s just business.
Despite the evidence gained over the years showing that aspartame is a dangerous toxin, it has remained on the global market . In continues to gain approval for use in new types of food despite evidence showing that it causes neurological brain damage, cancerous tumors, and endocrine disruption, among other things.
Most consumers are oblivious to the fact that Aspartame was invented as a drug but upon discovery of its’ sweet taste was magically transformed from a drug to a food additive. HFA wants to warn our readers to beware of a wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing or in this case Aspartame dressed up as Aminosweet.
Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the contrary.
Aspartame was an accidental discovery by James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to produce an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino acids, he discovered that the new compound had a sweet taste. The company merely changed its FDA approval application from drug to food additive and, voila, aspartame was born.
G.D. Searle & Company first patented aspartame in 1970. An internal memo released in the same year urged company executives to work on getting the FDA into the “habit of saying yes” and of encouraging a “subconscious spirit of participation” in getting the chemical approved.
G.D. Searle & Company submitted its first petition to the FDA in 1973 and fought for years to gain FDA approval, submitting its own safety studies that many believed were inadequate and deceptive. Despite numerous objections, including one from its own scientists, the company was able to convince the FDA to approve aspartame for commercial use in a few products in 1974, igniting a blaze of controversy.
In 1976, then FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt wrote a letter to Sen. Ted Kennedy expressing concern over the “questionable integrity of the basic safety data submitted for aspartame safety”. FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill believed that a grand jury should investigate G.D. Searle & Company for lying about the safety of aspartame in its reports and for concealing evidence proving the chemical is unsafe for consumption.
The details of aspartame’s history are lengthy, but the point remains that the carcinogen was illegitimately approved as a food additive through heavy-handed prodding by a powerful corporation with its own interests in mind. Practically all drugs and food additives are approved by the FDA not because science shows they are safe but because companies essentially lobby the FDA with monetary payoffs and complete the agency’s multi-million dollar approval process.
Changing aspartame’s name to something that is “appealing and memorable”, in Ajinomoto’s own words, may hoodwink some but hopefully most will reject this clever marketing tactic as nothing more than a desperate attempt to preserve the company’s multi-billion dollar cash cow. Do not be deceived.
Update: As many comments are being posted by readers who are allergic to Aspartame we ask that you please forward this article to as many people as you can.

Air fresheners cause and exacerbate asthma

2011-11-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

As written at http://www.nrdc.org/policy/

Protect Your Family from the Hidden Hazards in Air Fresheners
Air fresheners have become a staple in many American homes and offices, marketed with the promise of creating a clean, healthy, and sweet-smelling indoor atmosphere. But many of these products contain phthalates (pronounced thal-ates)—hazardous chemicals known to cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects, and reproductive problems. NRDC’s independent testing of 14 common air fresheners, none of which listed phthalates as an ingredient, uncovered these chemicals in 86 percent (12 of 14) of the products tested, including those advertised as “all- natural” or “unscented.”
To protect consumers, government action to conduct more thorough tests and enact basic measures to limit exposure to phthalates is urgently needed. Until consumers are given the information they need to make informed decisions about whether to use these products, it is best to avoid using air fresheners—especially in places where there are children or pregnant women.

Phthalates: Health Hazards in Many Forms Phthalates are used in many common consumer products—to soften plastics in children’s toys, as sealants and adhesives in nail polish, and in perfumes and air fresheners. When people use air fresheners, the phthalates are released into the air where they may be inhaled or may land on the skin and be absorbed. Once these chemicals enter the bloodstream, they can alter hormone levels and cause other health problems.

Phthalates are known to interfere with production of the male hormone, testosterone, and have been associated with reproductive abnormalities. Numerous animal studies have linked prenatal exposure to certain phthalates with decreases in testosterone, malformations of the genitalia, and reduced sperm production. The State of California notes that five types of phthalates—including one that we found in air freshener products—are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.” Phthalate exposure in indoor environments has also been associated with allergic symptoms and asthma.
Improving Your Home’s Air Quality and Safety Air fresheners are not a solution for poor air quality and cannot substitute for good ventilation. The best solution is to open windows to bring in fresh air or to use fans to maintain air circulation.

Health Facts
Protect Your Family from the Hidden Hazards in Air Fresheners
If you decide to use an air freshener, however, careful selection may reduce phthalate exposures to you and your family. The table shows which brands we tested contained phthalates.
Stronger Regulations Are Needed to Protect Consumers There is a clear need for closer monitoring of the types of chemicals manufacturers are allowed to put into air fresheners—and for consumers to be provided with better information about what is in the products they do purchase. NRDC recommends the following immediate steps:
n Consumers should avoid using air fresheners, but when necessary should use products with the lowest levels of phthalates to limit exposures to these potentially dangerous chemicals.
n The Environmental Protection Agency should require manufacturers to test and submit data on phthalates found in air fresheners, the extent of human exposure to phthalates in air fresheners, the health effects of the exposure, and the toxicity, persistence, sensitization, and other health effects of inhaling chemicals in air fresheners.
n The Consumer Product Safety Commission should ban phthalates in consumer products and should require that manufacturers provide ingredient information on the label.
According to studies done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the majority of the U.S. population is routinely exposed to at least five different phthalates. Although the measured levels in the human blood stream are small, they are significant because a mixture of phthalates at low doses can act in an additive manner to cause the same health hazards as just one phthalate at a higher dose. The difficulty of avoiding general exposure is all the more reason to eliminate further exposure in an environment over which you have much more control—your home.
Toxic Phthalates Found in Air Fresheners
The chemicals below were found in at least one of the 14 air fresheners NRDC tested.
n Di-ethyl Phthalate (DEP): Has been associated with changes in hormone levels and genital development in humans.
n Di-n-butyl Phthalate (DBP): Is recognized as a reproductive toxicant by the National Toxicology Program and the State of California, and can lead to changes in genital development.
n Di-isobutyl Phthalate (DIBP): DIBP metabolites have been associated with changes in male genital development.
n Di-methyl Phthalate (DMP): Inconclusive evidence has shown reproductive toxicity in animal studies.
n Di-isohexyl Phthalate (DIHP): Limited toxicity testing has shown that DIHP is probably a developmental and reproductive toxicant.
Phthalate Level in Air Fresheners Tested
Brand    Level of Toxic Phthalates Found    Phthalates Found
Air Wick Scented Oil    Ω    0.75 ppm DBP; 6.3 ppm DEP; 1.6 ppm DIBP; 2.1 ppm DIHP
Citrus Magic    0.25 ppm DBT
Febreze Air Effects Air Refresher    0
Febreze NOTICEables Scented Oil    Ω    0.19 ppm DBP; 1.5 ppm DIBP
Glade Air Infusions    Ω    1.5 ppm DEP
Glade PlugIn Scented Oil    Ω    4.5 ppm DBP
Lysol Brand II Disinfectant    0.12 ppm DBP; 0.49 ppm DEP
Oust Air Sanitizer Spray    Ω    5.7 ppm DEP
Oust Fan Liquid Refills    0.78 ppm DEP; 0.24 ppm DIBP
Ozium Glycol-ized Air Sanitizer    l    360 ppm DEP; 0.15 ppm DMP
Renuzit Subtle Effects    0
Walgreens Air Freshener Spray    l    1,100 ppm of DEP
Walgreens Scented Bouquet Air Freshener    l    7,300 ppm of DEP; 0.47 ppm of DBP; 6.5 ppm DMP

Another study shows acupuncture helps cancer patients

2011-11-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

Good report from Amy Chan. View the whole article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/acupuncture-dry-mouth-xerostomia-cancer-radiation_n_1087017.html

An ancient therapy could prove effective at relieving a common side effect of cancer treatment, a small, new study shows.
Acupuncture was able to reduce dry mouth in people who were receiving radiation therapy to treat their head and neck cancers, reported researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center.
Dry mouth, also known as xerostomia, occurs when there is not enough saliva in the mouth.
"The medical implications are quite profound in terms of quality of life, because while chronic dry mouth may sound benign, it has a significant impact on sleeping, eating and speaking," study researcher Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., director of MD Anderson's Integrative Medicine Program, said in a statement. "Without saliva, there can be an increase in microbial growth, possible bone infection and irreversible nutritional deficits."
Researchers examined 86 people with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were undergoing radiotherapy for their cancer. Forty of the patients received acupuncture three times a week while they received their radiotherapy over seven weeks, while 46 just had regular care.
Researchers monitored the study participants' saliva flow using a Xerostomia Questionnaire -- a score under 30 meant that dry mouth was mild or completely gone.
A month after all the study participants had finished their therapies, researchers found that 54.3 percent of the people who had acupuncture had a Xerostomia Questionnaire score of over 30, while 86.1 percent of people who didn't have acupuncture had a score of over 30.

And then six months after undergoing treatment, researchers found that just 24.1 percent of the people who had acupuncture had a score over 30, while 63.6 percent of the people who didn't had a score of over 30.
Researchers said more studies are needed to see why exactly acupuncture has these benefits.
In 2009, MD Anderson researchers had also found that acupuncture twice a week seemed to relieve dry mouth in cancer patients being treated with radiation therapy, ScienceDaily reported.
Previously, studies have shown that acupuncture can help relieve people experiencing chronic back pain. WebMD reported on a 2009 study showing that acupuncture was actually more effective than physical therapy and drugs at relieving this kind of pain.
Acupuncture is also used to help relieve pain in the neck and joints, as well as headache pain, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Chinese Medicinal Herbology Explained

2011-11-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

-By Jason Bussell MSOM, L.Ac

As an herbalist, I am often asked questions like, "what are some good herbs for allergies?" Or for migraines, of fertility, or energy, or whatever. There is never one particular herb (or herbal formula) for a single symptom. That is not how Chinese medicine works and it has never been practiced that way. The health magazines always have stories promoted on their covers promoting this fallacy- "The top 5 headache herbs" or similar. It is important that you understand how Chinese medicinals are prescribed and why.

But first, if herbs have not been practiced that way, why do we have this notion? It is only to sell us products. It is much better for me as a manufacturer to sell one formula to everyone, rather than having to customize a formula to each specific patient. Supplement makers are guilty of this as well- "This pill is specifically beneficial and necessary for everyone in the world!" There is no magic bullet and no one-size-fits-all.

Every symptom can come from at least two different imbalances. We do not prescribe based on the presenting symptom but rather on the underlying imbalance that is causing the symptom. The same imbalance can cause different symptoms in different people and require the same treatment. The same symptom can be caused by different imbalance and require different treatments. There is a saying in Chinese Medicine: Same disease, different treatment. Different disease, same treatment. This is not just Confucious-style obscure communication. It makes sense and is how Chinese medicine is practiced.

One important difference in the way that the Chinese view the body compared to the way we in the West tend to see it is: The Chinese see us as being part of our environment (and nature) whereas in the West we view ourselves as distinct and separate from nature. Because of the Chinese view, they tend to understand the way things work inside the body in terms of how they work outside the body. In nature, things can be too hot, too cold, too damp, too dry, too still, too active, too windy, too replete, too deficient, etc.

Too much heat in the body can manifest as myriad symptoms. What does heat do in nature? It makes things red, it makes things move (like a still pot of water coming to a boil), it can dry things out, etc. In the body, heat can give you fever, a red face, agitation, hypertension, constipation, scanty menses, insomnia, red rashes, and more.

What does cold do in nature? It makes things pale. It makes things contract and slow down. Heat is necessary for transforming water, so too much cold can impair water metabolism. Too much cold in the body can manifest as stiff joints or arthritis, feeling cold, constipation, excessive urination, and much more.

You may have noticed that Constipation is on both lists. Heat can dry out the stool and make it difficult to pass. Cold can make things contract and stop moving. So it is not enough for me to know that you have constipation. I need to evaluate you to determine why you have that constipation and that will help me decide what formula to give you. If you have cold constipation and I give you a cooling formula, it can make you worse. This is why you should never take herbs based on an article or the advice of a friend or store clerk. As much as herbs can help in the right circumstance, they can harm when not used properly. When you hear about adverse reactions to herbal formulas it is usually when the patient self-prescribed and did not seek the guidance of a trained herbalist.

So I can see two patients with constipation and give them completely different formulas. I could see patients with constipation, arthritis, wheezing, and excessive urination and treat them all with the same formula. Same disease, different treatment. Different disease, same treatment.

Herbs have been studied continuously for the past 4,000 years. The Chinese invented the printing press and the first thing they started printing with it were medical texts. The field of Chinese medical herbs is the result of thousands of years of experimentation, observation, and documentation. Because of the written language, a new physician can start his or her research at the end of the previous generation's research. The knowlege base has been expanding for millenia. In the West, we lost all of our classically-gained knowledge with the fall of the Roman empire. It was not until the Renaissance that we started rebuilding, so our medicine is at best some 500 years old. Chinese medicinal herbs are safe only when properly prescribed.

In Chinese medicine, there is a saying: If an herbal formula causes unwanted side-effects, then it is clearly not the right formula. Can you imagine if we had such expectations from Western medications? We accept side-effects as just part and parcel of treatment. We don't have to. I am not anti-drug. Medications have helped billions of people too. For every medication, it will be a great fit for 10-30% of people, a fair fit for about 50% of people, and it will be a lousy fit for another 10-30% The problem with medications is that they are not easily modified for those patients in whom they are not a great fit. And there are so many instances where the latest miracle drug has to be pulled off the market because it is killing people. I worry about every new drug just because they have not been studied long enough. This is one of the things that I love about Chinese medicine- it's longitudinal research. I don't prescribe anything for a patient that has been studied for less than 1000 years.

When you have an ailment, I suggest you start your treatment with the safest, longest-studied, and most natural remedies. If they fail, then you can progress to the more risky and powerful drugs. But why take risks if you don't have to?

Antibiotics may cause obesity

2011-11-03T08:42:00.001-07:00

From the New York Times:

n Theory

In Some Cases, Even Bad Bacteria May Be Good

By KATE MURPHY

Published: October 31, 2011

THE HYPOTHESIS
Overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of obesity.
THE INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Martin Blaser, New York University Langone Medical Center.

Overuse of antibiotics has led to the creation of drug-resistant bacteria — so-called superbugs, like methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. But now some researchers are exploring an equally unsettling possibility: Antibiotic abuse may also be contributing to the increasing incidence of obesity, as well as allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and gastroesophageal reflux.
Among those sounding the alarm is Dr. Martin Blaser, a professor of microbiology at New York University Langone Medical Center. In a commentary published in August in the journal Nature, he asserted that antibiotics are permanently altering microbial flora of the human body, also known as the microbiome or microbiota, with serious health consequences.
The human gut in particular is home to billions of bacteria, but little is known about this hidden ecosystem. Take Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium associated with an increased risk of ulcers and gastric cancer. Many doctors are quick to prescribe antibiotics to kill it even when the patient has no symptoms.
But in 1998, in a paper published in the British Medical Journal, Dr. Blaser was more circumspect, arguing that H. pylori might not be such a bad actor after all. “We’re talking about a bug that’s been in the human gut for at least 58,000 years,” Dr. Blaser said in an interview. “There’s probably a reason for that.”
His lab has since produced a stream of findings supporting his suspicion. Dr. Blaser and his colleagues discovered, for instance, that the stomach behaves differently after a course of antibiotics eradicates resident H. pylori.
After a meal, levels of ghrelin, a hunger hormone secreted in the stomach, are supposed to fall. But in subjects without H. pylori, the amount of ghrelin in the bloodstream held steady, in essence telling the brain to keep eating.
Moreover, mice in Dr. Blaser’s lab fed antibiotics in dosages similar to those given to children to treat ear and throat infections — which is enough to kill H. pylori in many patients — had marked increases in body fat even though their diets remained the same. (Indeed, farmers have long given antibiotics to livestock to promote weight gain without increasing caloric intake.)
These results dovetail with research by Peter Turnbaugh, a Harvard University geneticist, in collaboration with Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, a gastroenterologist at Washington University in St. Louis. They have found that the ratios of various bacteria in the guts of obese mice and obese humans were significantly different from those of lean controls, suggesting that altering the stomach’s microbial balance with antibiotics might put patients at risk for gaining weight.
Antibiotic overuse may be the root of other health problems, too. An epidemiologist at New York University, Yu Chen, has found an inverse correlation between H. pylori infection and childhood-onset asthma, hay fever and skin allergies in 7,600 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Survey.
Observation research has shown that the elimination of H. pylori actually increases the risk of gastric reflux, which is itself associated with asthma as well as esophageal diseases. Researchers in Switzerland and Germany have reported that mice given H. pylori actually are protected against asthma.
Dr. Barry Marshall, the professor of clinical biology at the University of Western Australia in Perth who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005 for his part in the discovery of H. pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, had a more measured reaction. “I’ve never killed anyone giving them antibiotics for H. pylori, but people have been killed who didn’t get antibiotics to get rid of it,” he said.
Patients whose internal flora are disrupt by antibiotics tend to reacquire the bugs over time, particularly if the person lives with others, Dr. Marshall said.
Nevertheless, he agreed with Dr. Blaser that antibiotics are overused and even said he foresaw a day when a detoxified strain of H. pylori might be administered as a treatment for conditions like obesity and asthma.
But wider use of antibiotics may be wreaking havoc far beyond that resulting from the loss of H. pylori. “We have so far focused on H. pylori because we have the diagnostic tests to detect it, but you could say H. pylori is an indicator organism for what is probably a vast and disappearing microbiota and increasing disease risk,” said Dr. Blaser.
The National Institutes of Health shares his concern, not only awarding him a $6.5 million grant last year to investigate the role of the disappearing microbiota in the current obesity epidemic but also allocating $115 million in 2008 to fund the Human Microbiome Project, which proposes to identify microbes that reside on and within a healthy human being.
“You can think of it as the second human genome project, where we will sequence the genes of the tremendous diversity of bacteria that populate our bodies,” said Julie Segre, senior investigator at the N.I.H.’s Human Genome Research Institute. “We will take samples from 200 healthy volunteers to get an idea of what is a normal, healthy microbiota.”
It’s an ambitious project, given that bodily bacteria outnumber human cells 10 to one. But researchers involved in the effort said advances in DNA sequencing technology make it an achievable goal. The effort is so far focusing only on microbes on the skin and in the nose, mouth, gut and genital area.
Dr. David Relman, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, said the Human Microbiome Project is important because it’s not just antibiotics that are changing the human microbiota: “Many aspects of modern life, including diet, smaller families, more hygienic practices and improved public sanitation, are affecting our bacterial communities.”
Getting a genetic snapshot of bacteria populating humans today would provide a benchmark for tracking further degradation and resulting disorders.
“We need to get an understanding of how our microbial communities operate and what to feed them so they will bloom again,” said Dr. Relman. “It’s intriguing and entirely possible that in the future we will get a cocktail of strains and species of bacteria to repair the collateral damage that antibiotics and other practices have done to our inner ecology.”
Dr. Blaser’s ideas have not always been popular, but he is gratified by the gathering interest in the human microbiome and its links to health. “I know I am now doing the most important work of my career,” he said.

Back Pain

2011-10-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm carrying my 3-month old most of the time while I'm at home these days, and it has started to wear on me. I developed some back pain about 5 days ago. I tried to stretch it out but it kept getting worse. It went into my butt, knees, and even along my shin. I know, you are all saying "try acupuncture". But with two small kids, it has been hard to find the time for my wife to treat me. Finally, we found a free 20 minutes where she could throw a couple needles into me. I see most of the pain conditions in our office, so I directed her in what points to use. She put 10 needles into my hands, feet, and abdomen. 20 minutes later my pain was reduced by 25%. The next morning I woke up and the pain was down by 75%. By 2pm that next day, my pain was all gone.

I'm not only a promoter of Oriental Medicine, I'm also a client.

High Fructose Corn Syrup and violence

2011-10-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Children of the Corn (Syrup)

Wednesday, 26 October 2011 10:05 By Erik Goldman

High school kids who drink more than 5 cans of soft drinks per week are 15% more likely than their non-soda'd counterparts to act violently, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health.
Researchers surveyed 1,878 inner-city Boston public school kids, and found an unequivocal correlation between self-reported soft-drinking and aggression. Among those who drank 14 cans/week—that's roughly one third of the kids---58% had histories of violence toward peers, and an alarming 43% carried guns or knives. For those who drank 1 or less, the numbers were 35% and 23%---still disturbingly high, when you think about it.
"Dose-Dependent" Relationship
Investigator David Hemenway says the correlation between soft drinks and violence was "dose dependent," and similar in magnitude to correlations between teen alcohol use and violence. The data were published earlier this week in the online edition of the British journal, Injury Prevention.
Is it the sugar (corn syrup) or the caffeine? Dr. Hemenway said nobody really knows. He stressed that correlation does not prove causation, though it does raise suspicion.
It also raises the specter of the "Twinkie Defense"—a weird judicial episode in which a killer pleaded—somewhat successfully--that his murderous behavior was triggered by junk food. HPC wonders whether it'll also give the gun lobby some new ammo: "Guns don't kill people, Soft Drinks do!"
Whether or not soda makes kids go ballistic, it'll probably help make 'em fat and sick. Princeton researchers showed that high-fructose corn syrup---the stuff Corn Refiners Association now wants us to call "corn sugar"—is significantly more metabolically detrimental than plain white sugar.
Rats that free-fed on HFCS—a top ingredient in most non-diet sodas and many junk foods—showed a 48% greater weight gain, higher abdominal fat deposition and higher triglycerides than rats free-fed plain sugar water. These effects were independent of overall caloric intake.
"Some people have claimed that HFCS is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true," says neuroscientist Dr. Bart Hoebel, who specializes in appetite, weight and sugar addiction.
"When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this." The study was published in the journal, Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior.
Cane vs. Corn
Predictably, the Corn Refiners Association decried the Hoebel study, claiming "gross errors" in the methodology. In a press release, CRA claims the Princeton investigators "failed to put into perspective the excessive amount (of HFCS) consumed by the rats," amounts they estimate would translate to roughly 3,000 kcal per day in human terms.
The issue has huge economic implications: HFCS is an ingredient in an estimated 40% of all prepared foods and beverages consumed in the US, and the average American consumes nearly 38 pounds of the stuff every year, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. HFCS production requires millions of tons of domestically grown corn, which has bee federally subsidized to the tune of $40 billion since the mid 1990s.
The sweetener has been implicated as a major contributor to the diabetes and obesity epidemics by numerous studies. While none of these studies is definitive, the repeated bad press prompted corn refiners to seek a new image, hence the effort to rename HFCS as "corn sugar."
Earlier in October, Federal District Judge Consuelo Marshall (Central California) ruled in support of a lawsuit brought by US cane sugar farmers against the corn refiners. The suit contends that CRA's $50 million "Sweet Surprise" ad campaign, with it's claim of equivalence between HFCS and plain sugar, constitutes false advertising.
An FDA ruling on whether food manufacturers can legally call HFCS "corn sugar" is pending.

http://www.holisticprimarycare.net/news/1212-children-of-the-corn-syrup posts this important info.

Another use for acupuncture in comprehensive cancer care

2011-09-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Acupuncture is not "alternative" medicine, it is "complementary". No where is that more important that in the treatment of cancer. Chemo, surgery, and radiation are the best tools we have to eliminate cancerous growths, but they come at a price. Acupuncture can reduce or eliminate all the side effects. This is my area of expertise. If you know anyone fighting cancer, please encourage them to get acupuncture in conjunction with their regular treatment. They will have fewer and milder side effects, greater quality of life, greater survival times and greater survival rates. The following article reports a study showing acupuncture's ability to help lymph edema (swelling) after breast cancer surgery.

Recent Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center research demonstrates that acupuncture significantly reduces lymphoedema related arm swelling in women after breast cancer surgery. Lymphoedema is a when there is fluid retention and tissue swelling in the body due to disorders of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system controls the return of interstitial fluid to the bloodstream. After breast cancer surgery, the lymphatic system can be damaged by lymph node surgery or radiation therapy. Symptoms may appear quickly or take several months or years to become apparent. Swelling of the arms and sides of the body is most common after lymphatic system damage due to breast cancer procedures.

The researchers at Sloan-Kettering in New York note that existing conventional treatments for lymphoedema are only “marginally beneficial, rarely reducing arm swelling in any meaningful way.” The new study concludes that acupuncture is safe and that some of the women in the study showed a 30 percent or better reduction of lymphoedema related arm swelling.

Acupuncture Results
In this study, lymphoedema was diagnosed when the affected arm was greater than 2cm in circumference than the unaffected arm. Participants received acupuncture at a rate of 2 times per week for a total of four weeks. Results were tabulated after a six month follow-up. No serious events were reported and the study concludes that “acupuncture appears safe and may reduce lymphoedema associated with breast cancer surgery.”

Reference:
Acupunct Med. doi:10.1136/aim.2011.004069. A safety and efficacy pilot study of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic lymphedema. Barrie R Cassileth, Kimberly J Van Zee, Yi Chan, Marci I Coleton, Clifford A Hudis, Sara Cohen, James Lozada, Andrew J Vickers.

Author Affiliations:
Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Breast Cancer Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Integrative Medicine Service and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Jeanie Bussell is Back to Work

2011-09-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Jeanie Bussell, the top fertility acupuncturist in the Midwest, has completed her maternity leave and is again treating patients at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette. If you are trying to conceive naturally or with Assisted Reproductive Therapies, Jeanie can help. And the sooner you start, the more she can help. Please call 847-251-5225 to set up an appointment.

Feedback letter about Asian Diet from Belgium

2011-08-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Dear (Dr.) Jason,

Thanks so much for your answers which I greatly appreciate and now I know my new way forward and I am confident that it will work out for me THIS TIME

Yes indeed, I think I have found my diet answers in your book which arrived already. I have made specially time today to read the whole book

It is indeed A TOTAL DIFFERENT view.....I like the yin/yang principle which I followed for years by doing the Macrobiotic diet but there again I became very sick following it in the very strict level for 2 years.......and had to stop

I have a BETTER understanding now where I went wrong in Macrobiotics, totally Raw and vegan, high meat diets and the McDougal diet to name a few
I just KNEW the answer was out SOMEWHERE there, I just never gave up, even it it took me most of my life to look for it

As I am doing diets 100%, I can better judge it they work or not than people who cheat all the time
In fact they did NOT work for me usual between 1 and 2 years after starting, I always got sick

I like the mostly grains, vegetables idea and a little of everything else approach as it gives me total freedom to include all the many, many wonderful natural foods who are out there and not be so restrictive as the McDougal diet was which I indeed followed to the letter and did not even cheat once in just under two years and then got sick, very sick and it happened suddenly.....!!!!!

Now, I realize why they all did not work....the were to one-sided.....The Asian wisdom prevails!!

Thank you so much. I did your Diet already since 3 days with the Info on the Internet but nothing replaces having the Book in my hands, there is more to it than just eating certain foods.....

I always had a problem with moderation in food and I know I have to work on it to have a more balanced food attitude in general as I am a Black and White person. Bringing in some shades of grey will surely benefit me

So, thanks to your help, I am on my way again and have found Peace that my diet will work out this time

I will re-read your book The Asian Diet many times, will study it and take it from here

I must admit that I already bought white rice as I only at Brown Rice in the past. I could ONLY find white rice that cooks in 15 minutes and none who takes an hour to cook as per your book
I also found that it constipated me terrible and so I went back to include them both.

Thanks so much, thanks for your time and for your great book!!!!

Wishing you well and much happiness

Thanks again,

Theresia

It doesn't usually work like this

2011-07-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

A woman who is a teacher and has worked at day-care centers was concerned about one of her twin boys, who we will call twin A. At 18 months, his speech was delayed, and his motor function was uncoordinated compared to his twin (twin B). While twin B would play with one toy for a while and then move on to another, twin A would just hold a box next to his face for hours. He did not let anyone touch him, threw a lot of tantrums, and banged his head against the wall in his sleep. His eye contact was poor and he was very afraid of strangers. Mother suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder Her physician arranged for testing. Before the testing, mother decided to try acupuncture for her son.

I treat pediatrics in my practice, and most of the time we do not need to insert needles. Acupuncture is about moving the energy of the patient- and the energy of children is a lot less stuck than that of adults. Typically we will do a technique called "touch-needling" where we touch the back of the needle to the point for 30-60 seconds and then move on to the next point. I used this technique on twin A.

A week later, they returned for a follow-up. Immediately after the treatment, he became more affectionate and would let his parents touch and cuddle with him. He bagan making the "D" sound and saying words that start with "D" (which he had not done previously). He stopped throwing tantrums and became more engaging with strangers. His eye contact improved to normal. And he stopped clinging to boxes and started playing with toys. He stopped banging his head at night and slept better.

Mother took him for the Autism testing and the doctor could see no abnormal behaviors. She is thrilled and so am I. It is known in China that early intervention (before age 2 ideally) can remedy developmental problems. But it usually takes a course of treatment. Twin A had an amazing response just from one treatment. I saw him a week later, and now we will wait 10 days before his third session. I expect that we will graduate him soon.

important statements about dairy

2011-07-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

"Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein." {Science 1986;233, 4763}

"Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures... metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium.
{American Journal of Epidemiology 1994;139}

Another blog mentions sidewalk sale acupuncture

2011-07-13T22:21:00.001-07:00

http://homemademothering.com/2011/07/learning-alternative-medicine.html is a blog by a woman who received acupuncture from me at the Wilmette Summerfest. She liked it. It's mentioned in the last paragraph.

5 tips to prevent childhood obesity

2011-07-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

We hear many conflicting opinions on what constitutes healthy eating. There are many "fads" and "new ideas", but no one has studied nutrition longer or more successfully than the Chinese. If we eat like the Asians, we will look like the Asians (thin). When they eat like us, they look like us (not thin). The food choices we make for ourselves and our children are the greatest factor in determining our health. An analogy is 'building a house'. If you were to build a house, you would want the top-quality lumber and materials you could find. As adults, we are constantly re-building our house; but for children, they are also laying the foundation. Top quality means natural, simple, and organic.

Once kids have their teeth, they can begin to eat a diet that is similar to how adults should eat. I used to work in elementary schools and saw that the lunches most children take to (or buy at) school are not healthy according to the wisdom of The Asian Diet. So here are a few things you may want to consider when deciding what to feed your kids (and yourself).   Balance and moderation are the keys.

1. Don't give them too much raw food
Whatever you put in your body that is cold and raw, you have to heat and cook. This steals your energy and slows your metabolism. There is a fad idea that says we should eat only raw food; but cooking has been a part of every recorded culture. It is a form of pre-digesting food so we can just serve as the filters- send the good stuff to the tissues, bad stuff to the tissue paper.    Of course your child will not be able to steam their veggies at school, but you can steam them ahead of time (slightly), refrigerate them, and have your child eat them at room temperature. Pickling is another way to pre-digest and improve metabolism. We want efficient digestion.

2.    Limit Dairy
Dairy is intended by nature for infants. The internal fire of an infant is sufficient to transform this rich and viscous material into usable tissue. By the time we have our teeth, we do not need it anymore. This is why lactation ceases around 18-36 months. In a non-infant, the tissue it turns into is Phlegm. Phlegm may manifest in many different ways. It can lodge between skin and muscle as fat; clog up the sinuses, cause or exacerbate asthma, impair clear thinking; it can also congeal to form cysts, fibroids, and tumors. (The Chinese understand cancer and these other abnormal growths to be basically phlegm-balls and noticed more in the populations that consumed dairy). Dairy is not necessary for bone health, but vegetables are.

3. Increase Variety
If your child said "I like math but not other subjects" would you say that it is OK for him/her to only do his math homework? I hope not. Then why should we accept it when kids tell us that they like french fries but not broccoli? It is not OK for kids to have too limited a repertoire of food. It would be like trying to build a house using only 2x4's and no nails or insulation.

All foods have something unique to give us and we need a little of most foods. A good diet is like a good stock portfolio- diversified. If you have the same thing too much, you'll be overloaded in one sector. That makes you more prone to the dangers of that sector; and you are missing out on other good things happening in the market. So like a good portfolio, hedge your bets. Serving a little of more foods ensures no single one can have too great an influence.

4. Avoid processed foods
The more processed a food is, the more difficult it is to un-process. Difficult digestion=slow metabolism. Rice and other simple grains are easier for us to handle than breads or pastas, which are easier than crackers, cookies, cakes, candy and sodas. There is no ingredient list on an orange, but check out the label on that Orange Drink. If your grandmother would recognize it as a food, it's probably OK. Your grandmother probably never cooked with potassium benzoate or aspartame. These new ingredients are not natural and confuse our bodies. The more natural the food, the better.

5. Soft drinks will make them soft
Soda/Pop should not be considered on OK choice as beverage with meals. Every now and then, if you want to give your child a cola, get the real deal from the health food store. Natural colas will have: filtered water, cola bean, pure cane sugar, and salt. These are all ingredients our bodies can recognize. They make natural lemon-lime, orange soda, and root beer too. But commercial sodas have too many unnatural ingredients. Diet drinks are NOT better. The number-one beverage should be water, room temperature or above.

Another rule is that "the way things are outside the body is how they will act inside the body." Sweet things are sticky, and sticky impairs proper circulation. For this reason, things like juice and peanut butter should be kept in moderation. Plus, juice is a concentrate; which violates the "moderation" principle.

*****
So you see, the typical lunches of: raw veggies, cream-based dips , milk, mac and cheese, string cheese, pb&j, cracker-sandwich packs, and juice boxes are not very good. Sandwiches should be on sprouted-grain bread and contain veggies. Try sending them with a bowl of rice, some cooked vegetables, a little bit of meat, fruit, and water. P.S. Eating like this will make you healthier too.

Jason Bussell is Author of "The Asian Diet: Simple secrets for eating right, losing weight, and being well." He is an acupuncturist and herbalist, trained in the US and in China; is President Emeritus of the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, serves on the State of Illinois Government's board of Acupuncture; and is a Teacher and Speaker.

130 treatments in two days

2011-07-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

This past Friday and Saturday, A Center for Oriental Medicine helped sponsor the Wilmette Summerfest and Sidewalk Sale. We had a tent set up and offered free acupuncture to all who desired. Over the two days, Lisa Alvarez and I administered over 130 treatments. 118 of them said that they felt improvement as a result of the treatment. We treated headache, neck pain, tennis elbow, sciatica, stomachache, toothache, shoulders, knees, hips, plantar faciitis, neuropathy, tmj, trigger finger, carpal tunnel, sinusitis, post-nasal drip, cough, menstrual cramps, hamstring pain, and more. Of the 130, about 100 had never had acupuncture before; so this was a great success in introducing folks to the safest healing system in the world.

If you have never tried acupuncture, what are you waiting for? It's helped Billions of people. It can help you too.

-Jason Bussell MSOM, L.Ac

20,000 visitors

2011-06-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

www.theasiandiet.com just passed 20,000 unique visitors from 141 different countries. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. If you have read The Asian Diet and liked it, please tell everyone. If you have not yet read it, what are you waiting for?

Diet soda linked causes weight gain and diabetes

2011-06-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

This is something I presented in my book, The Asian Diet: Simple secrets for eating right and being well

We have evolved with sugar. The body knows how to handle it (in the proper proportion). Our biochemistry has never seen aspartame, sucralose, nutrasweet, saccharine, spenda, equal, etc. The body does not know what to do with them. The following article is from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/diet-soda-weight-gain_n_886409.html

Diet soda might not help you stay trim after all, new research suggests.
A study presented at a American Diabetes Association meeting this week shows that drinking diet soda is associated with a wider waist in humans. And a second study shows that aspartame -- an artificial sweetener in diet soda -- actually raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes.
"Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised," study researcher Helen P. Hazuda, Ph.D., a professor and chief of clinical epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio's School of Medicine, said in a statement. "They may be free of calories but not of consequences."
In the first study, researchers collected height, weight, waist circumference and diet soda intake data from 474 elderly people who participated in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. They were followed up an average of 9.5 years later, according to the research.
Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumference increases of 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.
Artificial sugar didn't produce any better results in the second study in mice. Researchers for this study found that diabetes-prone mice that were fed a diet that included aspartame for three months, had higher blood glucose levels than mice not given aspartame.
This isn't the first news illuminating diet soda's health risks. A study published earlier this year found people who drink the beverage every day have a higher stroke and heart attack risks. And UK researchers found earlier this month that sugary drinks can dull taste buds, leading consumers to crave the sweet stuff even more.

You love your children so you give them milk right? Wrong!

2011-06-30T07:36:00.001-07:00

The dairy industry has spent a ton of money and done a fantastic job of “educating” us to why we need to buy their product. The National Dairy Council sounds like a government agency, but it of course a professional trade group that is made up of the people who produce and distribute milk. So they have a vested interest in us believing that it is good for us. Their information is therefore suspect.

They tell us in the commercials they buy that “if you don’t get your three servings a day, then your bones will become brittle and break.” I would like to ask these people ,”Why do horses have strong bones?” They don’t eat yogurt, they eat green leaves (which are one of the best sources of calcium). Actually, every other animal on the planet goes dairy-free after infancy and their bones are just fine.

Humans are the only animal that have dairy after infancy; and it’s not all humans. It is mostly consumed in America and Europe. They don’t use much dairy in Asia nor in Africa. And by and large, they have stronger bones in Asia and Africa. But wait, that’s not what the commercials tell us.

Commercials tell us that dairy has calcium and that calcium is necessary for bone health. That is true.   You know what other foods have calcium? All of them! Every fruit, vegetable, nut, bean, legume, root, leaf, meat, etc. Every food has calcium; dairy is the only one that bought commercial time to tell you. Dairy is also one of the few foods that takes more calcium away from you than it gives you.

The commercials tell you about the calcium, but it does not tell you about the casein. Casein is a milk protein that is highly acidic. Every acid that you pour into your body has to be neutralized, and the body’s natural base is Calcium Carbonate. Some of this is flowing in the blood; but after that gets exhausted, the body steals it from the bones. So dairy gives you one calcium and then takes two away. The parts of the world with the highest rates of milk and milk-product consumption have the highest rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures.

Over the past 70 years, there has been a concerted campaign to get people to drink more milk in the name of preventing osteoporosis. And it has been very successful. There are more people drinking more milk into later in life. But we have not seen osteoporosis rates fall at all. In fact, they have skyrocketed.   Milk is not the only factor in this, but if it is supposed to be protecting u, it is not working.

The other problem with dairy is that it is a food designed by nature to GROW TISSUE. This is appropriate for infants as they A) need to grow a lot of tissue in a hurry and B) have the digestive enzymes necessary to turn this rich and viscous material into usable tissue. By the time we have our teeth, we don’t need it anymore. Most mothers who breastfed long enough will agree that teeth are nature’s way of telling us that it’s time to wean.   In a non-infant, the tissue that dairy turns into is phlegm; which can manifest many different ways. It can show up as: Sinus congestion; post-nasal drip; wheezing and asthma; and mental fog It can lodge between the skin and muscles as fat. Kids get a lot of dairy these days and that could be a contributing factor in the explosion of childhood obesity. This is true with normal, unadulterated milk; but is likely much worse when juiced with growth hormones. Phlegm can also congeal to form cysts, fibroids, and tumors. The Chinese understand cancer and these other types of abnormal growths as being basically phlegm-balls and noticed more in the populations that consumed dairy. Recent research is showing that casein is carcinogenic and is implicated in a whole host of auto-immune diseases. For more on this, read “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell, a PhD nutritional biochemist.   You would think that evidence that dairy causes health problems would be on the front page of newspapers, but the billions of dollars at stake have prevented most of us from ever hearing about it.

I advocate the Asian Diet, which states that most things are fine in moderation. This is true for dairy as well. You can eat and drink all the things you like. You just need to keep them in the proper proportion. And the best proportion for you and your children (except infants) is to have in rarely.

The doctors can't believe it

2011-06-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful story of the power and utility of acupuncture.

I had a patient with throat cancer. He just finished a course of radiation and had acupuncture throughout the 8-week course. I saw him today for a follow-up and he reported to me the sentiments of his cancer team of physicians.

Firstly, they were very impressed that his mouth still has as much saliva as it does. Often the radiation kills salivary glands and patients are never able to salivate again. They were also impressed that he did not completely lose his voice; which is a very common but temporary side-effect.

They could not believe that he was able to eat food throughout the treatment. Most patients require a feeding tube after a few weeks. They also said it was very remarkable that four weeks after his treatment, his burns had completely healed. And they commented that while he had lost weight, the typical patient loses a lot more weight and continues to after the end of treatment. In all, the doctors and the patient were very impressed at how acupuncture twice a week could protect him so well.

Cancer is my passion. If you know people who are battling it, please let them know that acupuncture can reduce all the side-effects and improve clinical outcomes (better survival rates and survival times). It should be a part of everyone's comprehensive cancer care.

In the Chicagoland area, patients can see me at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette and the Tiffani Kim Institute in Chicago's River North neighborhood.

-Jason Bussell

Coca Cola is now "educating" dieticians

2011-06-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

The American Dietetics Society has endorsed a continuing education about nutrition that has been created by the Coca Cola Company. This program seeks to eliminate "urban myths" about sugar, fluoride, artificial colors, and non-nutritive sweeteners. According to them (and their well-paid experts), there is no evidence that any of these ingredients are anything but wonderful for developing children. Apparently, all the science that has shown otherwise was just hype and hysteria. But the people who stand to gain the most from the continued sale of these products assure us that they are safe, so we are just supposed to believe them. Actually, they know that we would never believe them, so they are targeting nutritionists and dieticians to spread their propaganda.

First it was the dairy industry "educating" doctors about why every human needs to drink milk throughout their entire lives (even though no other species has any dairy after infancy). Now it is the sugary, crap-filled beverage industry that is trying to take over our nutritional advisors. Beware of the influence of big money. All they want is more money; and they don't care if your kids get hurt in the process.

You can read all about this "nutritional education" and the conflicts of interest involved at the Alliance for Natural Health. http://www.anh-usa.org/dietitians-are-buying-cokes-line/

Foods with the most pesticides

2011-06-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Environmental Working Group just released its list of the top 12 pesticide-laden foods. This is what they call the Dirty Dozen. Remember, pesticides are toxic. We don't want them in our food. If we got away from the huge factory farms that specialize in only one or two crops, we would not need to use so much pesticide. We would also not need as much fertilizer, as we would not deplete the soil as badly. But here is the list

Apples
Celery
Strawberries
Peaches
Spinach
Nectarines
Imported Grapes
Sweet Bell Peppers
Potatoes
Domestic Blueberries
Lettuce
Kale and Collard Greens

It is best to eat all your food organic and locally grown. If that is not possible, at least try to avoid these 12 conventional produce items.

Korea Supreme Court rules that only Oriental Medical Doctors can perform acupuncture

2011-05-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

In the US, physical therapists and other health care providers are trying to gain access to provide acupuncture without the same training required of Licensed Acupuncturists (L.Ac's). One of their tactics is to change the name of what they are doing- instead of calling it acupuncture, they will call it "dry needling" or "intra-muscular stimulation". L.Ac's know that what they are doing IS acupuncture and know that acupuncture should be left to those who are fully trained in its practice. There is now a debate about this in the US.

Who knows more about the practice of Acupuncture than the Asians, though? The Korean Supreme Court has just ruled that acupuncture, by any name, is the sole domain of practitioners of Oriental Medicine and that its practice by anyone other than Oriental Medical practitioners is illegal.

The following article is from the Korean Herald:

Should acupuncture be exclusive to Oriental medicine or a general practice for Western medics too?

The medical field is in uproar over the Supreme Court’s ruling that Western medical doctors’ practice of acupuncture-related IMS violates Medical Law. While some Western doctors claim that IMS is a legitimate Westernized form of acupuncture popular throughout the world, Oriental doctors are seeking to take the ruling as an opportunity to promote acupuncture as their exclusive domain.

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled against a doctor identified by his family name, Uhm, who had his license suspended for 45 days for using acupuncture needles on his patients in 2004. According to the court file, when a local public health care center and police investigated his clinic, seven patients were lying down with needles stuck all over their bodies under infrared lights irradiators.

“Since all the spots pinned were body energy meridians according to the Oriental medical books, the practice could be referred as an Oriental medical treatment, which is guaranteed to Oriental doctors only,” the court ruled, striking down a lower court’s decision in favor of the doctor who appealed the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s suspension of his license.

Uhm insisted that his practice was IMS, intramuscular stimulation. It is used as a treatment for chronic pain conditions that occur in the musculoskeletal system, according to the Sitka Physio & Wellness clinic’s definition.

IMS is grounded in Western medical science but is believed to be heavily inspired by the Oriental medicine, where it uses acupuncture needles to penetrate deep inside muscle tissues, to target injured muscles that have contracted due to distress. It has rapidly gained popularity among Western doctors, especially those dealing with spinal areas.

The Association of Korean Oriental Medicine on Friday welcomed the ruling.

“The court has showed that any acupuncture practice conducted by other than Oriental doctors is illegal,” the association spokesman Chang Dong-min said.

“For nearly a decade, the Western medicine has attempted to intrude the Oriental medical field in the name of IMS. It is time they showed modesty,” he added.

Some Western doctors admitted that Uhm’s deeds could be regarded as an illegal Oriental medical practice.

“All the needles were involved in meridians. Had his practice been based on muscles, joints and others as indicated by Western medicine, the ruling might have been different,” a member of the Korean Society for Anesthetic Pharmacology was quoted by saying to a local daily.

The Korean Medical Association, the largest interest group of doctors, also requested the government screen the effect of the IMS practice.

“The government should make the final call. The ruling was all about whether Uhm’s individual practice was illegal, not the legitimacy of IMS itself,” the KMA stated.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldm.com)

Acupuncture helps stroke recovery, study finds

2011-04-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Acupuncture stimulation could help the blood circulation in patients who have suffered strokes, according to a recent study conducted by a team of local doctors.

The study, published in the March edition of Microvascular Research, documented the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on 18 Taiwanese patients who had suffered strokes, Taipei City Hospital said.

The patients, all in the rehabilitation stage, received acupuncture in certain areas associated with improved blood flow and were later tested for changes, said Chen Chao-tsung, the director of traditional Chinese medicine at the hospital.

The results showed that acupuncture can decrease blood flow resistance and increase microcirculatory blood flow, a situation that is deemed helpful for the recovery of stroke patients, he said.

“Many Chinese people have trust in the effectiveness of acupuncture, but there has been little supporting evidence, aside from patients’testimony,”he said.

“The main contribution of this research was its evaluation of acupuncture therapy in a scientific way,”the doctor said.

The next step would be to come up with more scientific evidence to explain how acupuncture stimulation can be used to supplement Western treatments for stroke, he said.

The study was based on a trial launched by the Department of Health to combine oriental and western therapy. Patients in the trial can ask their doctors to refer them to Chinese medicine doctors and receive treatment at a reduced cost.

Free fertility boot camp

2011-04-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

If you are in Chicago and are trying to conceive, you have to jump on this one.

In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, my wife, Jeanie Bussell (one of the top fertility acupuncturists in the country) and the Tiffani Kim Institute (one of the first and best medical spas in the country) are presenting the Fertility Boot Camp, Saturday April 30th, from 9-4. Call 312-260-9020 right now and sign up, then read the rest of this post.

This one-day retreat features experts in the fields of Reproductive Endocrinology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Urology, Oriental Medicine, Nutrition, Psychology, and more. This program has been offered in the past and the reviews were glowing. Participants loved the fact that this retreat is so intimate and personal. You don't have to share your story if you don't want to, but past participants really bonded. And over 60% of past participants conceived within 6 months! This event is open to both women and men.

Fertility-friendly snacks and lunch will be provided. In the past, this retreat cost nearly $200. For National Infertility Awareness Week, they are offering it for FREE. Space is limited and this class will fill up, so call and reserve your spot today.

Details: Where? Tiffani Kim Institute, 310 W. Superior in Chicago
When? Saturday, April 30th, 2011 from 9-4
Cost? Free
Register? Call 312-260-9020 now

Stroke recovery

2011-04-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have a patient who at age 58 suffered a debilitating stroke. This was two years ago. Since then, his ability to walk has been severely impaired by lack of strength and poor balance. His right hand is contorted like a lobster claw- he cannot use the fingers independently and frequently he would have cramping pain in the hand that required he take narcotic medication. But worst of all is that he has aphasia. He cannot express himself. His only words are "oh" and "why". He also has trouble understanding questions and instructions. His wife brought him to me to try and help the pain in his hand.

After 3 weeks of twice-weekly treatment, he is improving. He can now move all his fingers independently. He requires medication for the pain less frequently, and when he does need it, tylenol is sufficient to relieve the pain and he no longer needs narcotics. His balance is better and he can walk further and more steadily. Yesterday in speech therapy, he said the first full sentence since his stroke two years ago.

We still have a long way to go, but this is very encouraging, especially considering that it has been so long since his stroke. There is a documentary out now called "9000 needles" about a man who goes to China for his stroke rehab and makes an amazing recovery. If you know anyone who has suffered a stroke, suggest to them that they get acupuncture. In China, stroke's are not such a big deal as they are here.

In the Chicagoland area, you can see me at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette, and at the Tiffani Kim Institute in Chicago's River North area.

Acupuncture no better than placebo???

2011-03-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

You must be wary of studies that make such bold conclusions. This article will discuss problems with research into acupuncture.

There is a fundamental incompatibility with using Western methods to evaluate Eastern techniques. In the West, the gold-standard of research is the Randomized, Controlled,double-blind Trial (RCT). In this design, subjects are randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group that receives either no treatment or a placebo. There are concerns that if patients know that they are receiving the real treatment, that this expectation could alter their response (they think they should be getting better and therefore do get better, independent of the treatment they receive). This is why the patients are blinded- that is they don't know whether or not they are receiving the real treatment. And the subjects in the control group do not know that they are not receiving a real treatment. There is also concern about the influence that the treatment provider can have if he or she knows who is receiving the real treatment vs. placebo. If I know you are getting the real treatment, I may treat you differently somehow and that could alter your response. For this reason, the one providing the treatment is also blinded. This is what they mean by a double-blind study. Both the person receiving the treatment and the one administering the treatment do not know who is getting the real thing and who is getting placebo. This design works best for pills. It is arguably impossible to use this model for acupuncture research.
But the RCT not the only way to determine something's effectiveness. I have read skeptic columns who assert that the lack of RCT evidence is PROOF that acupuncture does not work by anything more than placebo. My response to this is, "Can someone show me the RCT that show's that hip replacements work? If not, then any benefit that the patients experience must be due to expectations." Think about it; it is impossible for a surgeon to do the procedure and not know whether or not she performed the real replacement. Hip replacements have helped a lot of people and we don't need an RCT to prove it.

I find the placebo argument amusing. Although the number of skeptics has dropped significantly over the past 15 years (with the Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, the World Health Organization, the National Institute of Health, and the American Medical Association all concluding that acupuncture DOES work), there are still a few die-hard skeptics that insist that acupuncture only works as a placebo. Most patients do not come to acupuncture as a first-line approach to a problem. For low back pain, a lot of my patients will start with over-the-counter medication, then see a physician, then physical therapy, then a chiropractor, and then finally come to see us. And then 90% of our back pain patients experience relief. For the placebo hypothesis to hold up, that patient must have had no faith that medication, Western orthopedics, physical therapy NOR chiropractic could possibly help them. But for some reason, they were sure that the acupuncture (their fifth choice) would be effective. I'm confident you see the flaws in that logic. Why do acupuncturists give the best placebo? If it is truly that we take more time with our patients and that alone truly improves patient outcomes, then don't all physicians then have the obligation to provide this "placebo" care?

Another argument against the placebo hypothesis regards animal acupuncture. There are points that, when stimulated, produce measurable changes in animal physiology. For example, there are points that will increase the t-cell counts of rats. Even skeptical rats experience this improvement. The camel at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago had an arthritic hip a few years ago and could not run. She was treated with acupuncture and was soon running again. This story was covered in the Chicago Tribune and the WGN news. Again, this was a skeptical camel. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-09-08/news/0409080104_1_animal-acupuncture-camel-lincoln-park-zoo

But there are studies out there with headlines that read, "Acupuncture no better than placebo". First let's talk about what is placebo acupuncture. In fact, it does not exist. One method that researchers (usually MD's and not acupuncturists) use is called "Sham Acupuncture" where they pretend to put a needle into an acupoint but do not insert it all the way. Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture typically inserts needles, but not all forms of acupuncture do. Japanese style frequently uses this superficial technique and get great results.

The other method of "placebo" acupuncture is to do traditional needling at points other than the main acupuncture points, which I will call "wrong point" acupuncture. There is no spot on the body that is energetically inert. Every point will fall within an acupuncture meridian's path and inserting a needle there will affect the physiology. There was one study I read that found that "real acupuncture" was 50% effective in treating back pain, "wrong point" acupuncture was 40% effective, and standard Western care was 13% effective. The conclusion: Acupuncture does not work, because real acupuncture was not significantly more effective than "placebo". My take on this data is: one set of points helps 40% of people, another set of points helps 50%, and both are more effective than Western care. This is like saying Vicodin doesn't work because it was not significantly more effective than Ibuprofen.   What they call "placebo" is not a true placebo.
And lastly, a big problem is that the RCT treats everyone the same. Chinese medicine treats everyone individually. If I have to treat everyone the same in a study, I am not practicing Chinese medicine and the results say nothing about Chinese Medicine's effectiveness. If the study does not show benefit, then the conclusion is: "This set of points does not work for everyone".   And every acupuncturist already knows that using the same points for everyone will not be effective.
So don't worry about the studies that try to discredit acupuncture. For some reason, most of the literature that is arging against acupuncture is coming from the UK lately. There seems to be a real campaign to deter people from using natural (translated - affordable) remedies. Believe in the Billions of people who know first-hand that it does work. Of course it does not work for everyone, nothing does. But it's safe, effective, and should be our first line of defense.   If it doesn't help, then you can proceed to the newer, less-studied, and riskier pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.

--

Jason Bussell MSOM, L.Ac

President Emeritus - IL Assn of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Invited to participate in the National Headache Foundation conference

2011-03-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

I was honored to be invited as the only acupuncturist involved with this year's Midwest Regional conference of the National Headache Foundation. The event will be June 25th, 2011 at the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Chicago. If you suffer from chronic headaches, check out the NHF at http://www.headaches.org/ and come to the conference.

Thank you to the organizers for inviting me. I look forward to educating the public and the doctors about how acupuncture can help ease the suffering from headaches.

an email sent to me about The Asian Diet

2011-03-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr Bussell,

I stumbled on your book at the Pilates Center on Morse Avenue in Chicago and read it within a week. I love how you break down the different functions of each food item we eat and the yin and yang. I just bought my first home and have no clue which box I packed it in and my issues are surfacing again. I would love to schedule a session with you. I am a 31 year old fairly healthy 130lb female who is lactose intolerant and who just realized eating healthy is key (as I have a family history of breast cancer and diabetes). So any tips would be appreciated. Thanks a lot for your help and for sharing your knowledge in your book "The Asian Diet", it definitely made an impact on my life.

12 things you really should get organic

2011-03-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is from Health.com

1. Beef
You've probably read plenty of stories about the risks of eating chicken. But the most important protein to buy organic may well be beef. "Research suggests a strong connection between some of the hormones given to cattle and cancer in humans, particularly breast cancer," says Samuel Epstein, M.D., professor emeritus of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

Specifically, the concern is that the estrogen-like agents used on cattle could increase your cancer risk, adds Ted Schettler, M.D., science director at the Science and Environmental Health Network.

Though there are strong regulations about the use of hormones in cattle, "not all beef producers are following those regulations strictly, and some studies continue to find hormone residue in cattle," Dr. Schettler says.

When you buy beef that's been certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), you're not only cutting out those hormones, you're also avoiding the massive doses of antibiotics cows typically receive, which the USDA says may lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in people.

2. Strawberries
Strawberries may be a superfood -- but they pose a potential risk unless you go organic. In addition to having up to 13 pesticides detected on the fruit, according to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis, conventional "strawberries have a large surface area and all those tiny bumps, which makes the pesticides hard to wash off, so you're ingesting more of those chemicals," explains Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat."

If you can, also skip conventional peaches, apples, blueberries, and cherries, which are typically treated with multiple pesticides and usually eaten skins-on.

3. Cookware
Your pots and pans are just as crucial to upgrade as the food you cook in them: "Most nonstick cookware contains a fluorochemical called PTFE that breaks down to form toxic fumes when overheated," says Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the EWG. "Those fumes can coat the inside of the lungs and cause allergy-like symptoms."

Tests commissioned by the EWG showed that in just two to five minutes on a conventional stove top, cookware coated with nonstick surfaces could exceed temperatures at which the coating emits toxic gases. Switch to stainless steel, ceramic, or cast iron cookware.

4. Popcorn
The linings of microwave-popcorn bags may contain a toxic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is used to prevent the food from sticking to the paper. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PFOA is a likely carcinogen.

"We don't know all of the hazardous effects of PFOA yet, but we have some evidence of a link to cancer, as well as to effects on the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems," says David Carpenter, M.D., director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany.

Pick up an air-popper or make your popcorn in a pan on the stove top.

5. Yard pesticides
Some lawn and garden pesticides contain suspected carcinogens, according to EPA data. Long-term pesticide exposure may be related to changes in the brain and nervous system, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reports.

"Not only are you breathing the chemicals in, but you bring them indoors and onto carpets via your shoes," says McKay Jenkins, Ph.D., a journalism professor at the University of Delaware and author of What's Gotten Into Us?

Healthier brands like BurnOut and EcoClear are made from vinegar and lemon juice, and are effective weed-killers. To find less-toxic lawn-care companies in your area, go to Health.com/lawn-care.

6. All-purpose home cleaners
Time for spring-cleaning? Using common household cleaners may expose you to potentially harmful chemicals. Ammonia and chlorine bleach can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. And some cleaners contain phthalates, some of which are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with normal hormone activity, says EWG senior scientist Becky Sutton, Ph.D..

Although there's no definitive proof that phthalates cause problems in humans, "the greatest concern is how early-life exposure will affect male [reproductive] development," Dr. Carpenter says. There's weaker evidence, he adds, that phthalates affect the nervous and immune systems.

Go natural with the cleaner you use the most frequently and in the most places, such as kitchen-counter spray -- look for brands approved by Green Seal or EcoLogo, two organizations that identify products that have met environmental label guidelines.

7. Water bottles
You've probably heard that many hard, reusable plastic water bottles could be bad for you because they may contain BPA, or bisphenol A, another endocrine disruptor according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

"For adults, the biggest concern with BPA is that it may increase the risk of breast cancer in women and reduce sperm counts in men," says Dr. Carpenter, who explains that BPA can leach out into the water in the bottle. To be safe, sip from an unlined stainless steel or BPA-free plastic bottle.

8. Food storage containers
BPA strikes again: Many food-storage containers are made of the hard, clear polycarbonate plastic that may contain BPA. As is the case with water bottles, the BPA can leach out of the plastic in these containers and seep into your leftovers.

"The leaching is increased during heating, but it also leaches to a smaller degree even when cold foods are stored," Dr. Carpenter explains. Glass containers are your safest -- not to mention planet-friendly -- bet. Both Rubbermaid (at left) and Pyrex make glass ones with BPA-free plastic lids.

9. Milk (although you would do better to eliminate it completely)
The milk you're drinking may not be doing your body good: Dairy products account for a reported 60 to 70 percent of the estrogens we consume through our food. If that seems like a shockingly large number, it's mainly because milk naturally contains hormones passed along from cows.

What worries some experts is that about 17 percent of dairy cows are treated with the hormone rBST (or rBGH), which stimulates milk production by increasing circulating levels of another hormone called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1).

"Elevated levels of IGF-1 in people are associated with an increased risk of cancer, including breast cancer," Dr. Schettler explains. In fact, the use of rBGH is banned in Europe and Canada. Although research has yet to definitively conclude whether drinking rBGH-treated milk increases your IGF-1 levels high enough to cause concern, Dr. Schettler says it's advisable to buy milk that hasn't been treated with it. So pick up milk that's labeled rBGH-free, rBST-free, or is produced without artificial hormones.

10. Celery
When researchers at the EWG analyzed 89,000 produce-pesticide tests to determine the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, celery topped the chart. "In terms of the sheer number of chemicals, it was the worst," says Sonya Lunder, senior analyst at the EWG.

Celery stalks are very porous, so they retain the pesticides they're sprayed with -- up to 13 of them, according to the EWG analysis. Lunder also advises buying organic bell peppers, spinach and potatoes because they scored high for pesticides, as well.

11. Tomato Sauce
When picking up tomato sauce or paste, choose the glass jar or box over the can. "The lining on the inside of food cans that's used to protect against corrosion and bacteria may contain BPA," explains Cheryl Lyn Walker, Ph.D., a professor of carcinogenesis at MD Anderson Cancer Center and past president of the Society of Toxicology.

In 2009, Consumer Reports tested BPA levels in a variety of canned foods and found it in nearly all of the brands tested, suggesting that the chemical leaked in. "What can happen is that BPA in the lining can leach into the food," Walker explains.

12. Mattresses
Some regular mattresses may have been treated with potentially toxic flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which have been linked to learning, memory, and behavioral impairments, according to Lunder.

Though PBDEs were phased out of mattresses in 2005, they can still be found in other household items, including carpet padding and some electronics. The EWG advises opting for products that haven't been treated with brominated fire retardants and choosing less-flammable materials, such as wool.

new blog for my political opinions

2011-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

In order to add come cohesion to my blogging, I have created another page which will house all my political rants. the acfom.blogspot.com will remain the site for acupuncture, Oriental medicine, complementary therapies, and The Asian Diet. If you are interested in following my political opinions, check out www.progressiveman.blogspot.com

Acupuncture reduces breech presentations

2011-03-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Cost-effectiveness of breech version by acupuncture-type interventions on BL 67, including moxibustion, for women with a breech foetus at 33 weeks gestation: a modelling approach.

van den Berg I, Kaandorp GC, Bosch JL, Duvekot JJ, Arends LR, Hunink MG.

Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ineke.vandenberg@erasmusmc.nl

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess, using a modelling approach, the effectiveness and costs of breech version with acupuncture-type interventions on BL67 (BVA-T), including moxibustion, compared to expectant management for women with a foetal breech presentation at 33 weeks gestation.
DESIGN: A decision tree was developed to predict the number of caesarean sections prevented by BVA-T compared to expectant management to rectify breech presentation. The model accounted for external cephalic versions (ECV), treatment compliance, and costs for 10,000 simulated breech presentations at 33 weeks gestational age. Event rates were taken from Dutch population data and the international literature, and the relative effectiveness of BVA-T was based on a specific meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the results.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We calculated percentages of breech presentations at term, caesarean sections, and costs from the third-party payer perspective. Odds ratios (OR) and cost differences of BVA-T versus expectant management were calculated. (Probabilistic) sensitivity analysis and expected value of perfect information analysis were performed.
RESULTS: The simulated outcomes demonstrated 32% breech presentations after BVA-T versus 53% with expectant management (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43, 0.83). The percentage caesarean section was 37% after BVA-T versus 50% with expectant management (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59, 0.88). The mean cost-savings per woman was euro 451 (95% CI euro 109, euro 775; p=0.005) using moxibustion. Sensitivity analysis showed that if 16% or more of women offered moxibustion complied, it was more effective and less costly than expectant management. To prevent one caesarean section, 7 women had to use BVA-T. The expected value of perfect information from further research was euro0.32 per woman.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that offering BVA-T to women with a breech foetus at 33 weeks gestation reduces the number of breech presentations at term, thus reducing the number of caesarean sections, and is cost-effective compared to expectant management, including external cephalic version.

Acupuncture helps polycystic ovarian syndrome

2011-03-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

Undergoing acupuncture may help women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a recent studyAmerican Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. from the
For the study, researchers assigned 84 PCOS patients to 16 weeks of acupuncture, exercise, or no treatment. Members of the acupuncture group were given treatments in which the needles were stimulated both manually and with a weak electric current (a technique called "electro-acupuncture"), while members of the exercise group worked out at least three times a week. Study results showed that both acupuncture and exercise improved hormone levels and led to more regular menstruation.
The most common hormonal disorder for women of childbearing age, PCOS is marked by abnormally high levels of male hormones. In past research, scientists have found that certain Chinese herbs and medicinal mushrooms may also help enhance hormone health in PCOS patients.

Borrowed from http://altmedicine.about.com

over 15,000 visits to The Asian Diet website so far

2011-02-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

The internet is amazing. I don't know how many of these folks actually bought the book, but our website has been visited by over 15,000 people from 134 different countries and territories in the past 18 months. Including:

1.	United States	9,446
2.	Canada	789
3.	United Kingdom	609
4.	Brazil	588
5.	Australia	417
6.	Philippines	198
7.	Netherlands	177
8.	France	173
9.	Italy	152
10.	India	148
11.	Mexico	126
12.	Ukraine	107
13.	Malaysia	103
14.	Spain	102
15.	Germany	101
16.	Russia	95
17.	Portugal	80
18.	Argentina	72
19.	Sweden	70
20.	Singapore	70
21.	Poland	67
22.	Indonesia	64
23.	Belgium	64
24.	New Zealand	62
25.	South Africa	59
26.	Thailand	54
27.	Denmark	53
28.	Hungary	53
29.	Romania	50
30.	Switzerland	47
31.	Turkey	45
32.	Ireland	36
33.	Czech Republic	35
34.	Chile	35
35.	Norway	35
36.	(not set)	33
37.	Israel	32
38.	Colombia	32
39.	Finland	32
40.	Greece	30
41.	South Korea	30
42.	Bulgaria	28
43.	Venezuela	26
44.	United Arab Emirates	24
45.	Hong Kong	21
46.	Austria	20
47.	Peru	19
48.	Pakistan	19
49.	Japan	16
50.	Vietnam	15
51.	Saudi Arabia	15
52.	Ecuador	13
53.	Malta	13
54.	Puerto Rico	12
55.	Lebanon	12
56.	Estonia	12
57.	Slovenia	11
58.	Taiwan	11
59.	Serbia	11
60.	Croatia	10
61.	Lithuania	10
62.	Uruguay	9
63.	Georgia	9
64.	Costa Rica	9
65.	Egypt	9
66.	Brunei	9
67.	Cyprus	8
68.	Qatar	7
69.	Slovakia	7
70.	Belarus	7
71.	Morocco	7
72.	Sri Lanka	7
73.	El Salvador	6
74.	Macedonia [FYROM]	6
75.	Honduras	6
76.	Bangladesh	6
77.	Latvia	6
78.	Trinidad and Tobago	6
79.	Kazakhstan	6
80.	Nigeria	5
81.	Cambodia	5
82.	Dominican Republic	5
83.	Oman	4
84.	Jordan	4
85.	Mongolia	4
86.	Moldova	4
87.	Kuwait	4
88.	Bahamas	4
89.	Nepal	3
90.	Maldives	3
91.	Iceland	3
92.	Guatemala	3
93.	Luxembourg	3
94.	Kenya	3
95.	Panama	3
96.	Nicaragua	3
97.	Iraq	3
98.	Bahrain	3
99.	Tunisia	3
100.	Algeria	3
101.	Jersey	2
102.	Botswana	2
103.	China	2
104.	Grenada	2
105.	Jamaica	2
106.	Barbados	2
107.	Armenia	2
108.	Ghana	2
109.	Guam	2
110.	Azerbaijan	2
111.	Netherlands Antilles	2
112.	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2
113.	Senegal	2
114.	Tonga	1
115.	Northern Mariana Islands	1
116.	Afghanistan	1
117.	Zimbabwe	1
118.	Antigua and Barbuda	1
119.	French Polynesia	1
120.	Haiti	1
121.	Fiji	1
122.	Montenegro	1
123.	Libya	1
124.	Mozambique	1
125.	Mauritius	1
126.	San Marino	1
127.	Namibia	1
128.	Myanmar [Burma]	1
129.	Kyrgyzstan	1
130.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1
131.	Greenland	1
132.	Uzbekistan	1
133.	Bolivia	1
134.	Isle of Man	1

I was quoted in a local article

2011-02-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

This article appears in the Winnetka-Glencoe Patch, written by Katy Heider

Local Nutritionists Weigh in on Healthy Eating

After my New Year's diet failed, I turned to three local experts for advice on what it means to 'eat healthy' and how to instill good habits in my daughter.

My New Year’s diet failed miserably after a few short weeks. I have a hard time sticking to rules and regimens. I like to shop for and cook what appeals to me on any given day, and I don’t have the energy or patience to make separate meal plans for myself and my daughter.
I haven’t given up on my New Year’s resolution, though, and I’d still like to know: What does it mean to "eat healthy?" How do you sort through all of the conflicting information out there? What’s the best way to help kids to make sensible choices?
I turned to three local nutritionists for advice, and they all agree on some basic points. Proper nutrition for the whole family begins by gradually incorporating changes, having a plan and encouraging kids to help shop and cook.
Healthy eating is a family affair
Winnetka nutritionist Anne Milling suggests getting your kids involved in meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking. If they feel like they have some control over the process, they’re more likely to take an interest in it.
She also advises parents to introduce as many fruits and vegetables to kids as early as possible.
"A young palate is naturally averse to trying new foods,” Milling says. “If your child is resistant to something for the first time, [you should] have them try it more than once.”
For meal planning, Milling uses “the plate model” for adults and kids. With a 9-inch plate as a guide, half of the plate should contain a nonstarchy vegetable, a quarter should have a starch and the remaining quarter a protein. Make your child’s plate attractive and appealing. Sometimes children will refuse to eat if food doesn't "look right" to them.
“The best way to instill healthy eating habits in kids is to model good behavior,” says Jason Bussell, a North Shore acupuncturist and author of The Asian Diet. “Psychologists know that our children learn vastly more from what we do than from what we tell them. Teach your children from an early age that we do not just eat for the pleasure of taste. We have to feed all our organs, not just our tongues.”
Make gradual changes
Extreme diets don’t work, and drastic changes eventually backfire. In The Asian Diet, Bussell writes: “The best way to get into balance is to live a little more in balance today than yesterday, and not to grossly overcompensate for yesterday’s mistakes.”
“Food changes take a long time to play out, so it's important to take the long view and not expect immediate results,” Bussell says. “We didn't get out of shape overnight; we should not expect to get back into shape overnight.
"With slow, sensible change, the pounds will naturally melt off and stay off,” he added.
North Shore nutritionist Karen Raden agrees. “Whether clients come to me for weight loss or dietary adjustments, I tell them to begin where they’re at,” she says. “Huge changes are not right for everyone.”
Milling also advises her clients to make simple adjustments, like doubling up on vegetable servings. “It’s better to tweak and make little changes,” she says.
Have a plan
Finally, it’s important to plan ahead, even just a few days in advance. Milling noted a study she read recently. It found people who were fit spent only six minutes more each week than the average person in planning out their regimen.
“I advise my clients to take that little bit of extra time and think ahead," she says. "It keeps them from stopping at McDonald’s on the way home from work or reaching for the junk food in the vending machine.”
As an example, she suggests packing a healthy snack in the briefcase or the car in case you’re running late after work.
“We lead hectic lives and convenience food is everywhere,” Raden says. “Nutrition takes thinking. Write out grocery lists before going to the store. Read labels. Slow down and take time to educate yourself.”
“Many restaurants post menus and nutritional information on their website,” Raden continues. “This way you can find out what the lower-calorie or lower-fat options are before you go.”
Bussell concludes with some food for thought.
“We have lost the connection between what we put in our bodies and how they function,” he says. “We need to become aware of the importance of how we are nourishing ourselves.”

Acupuncture treats retinitis pigmentosa

2011-02-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

(This is taken from healthcmi.com )

Mounting evidence suggests that acupuncture is an effective treatment for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disorder that may to lead to blindness. A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion concludes that acupuncture treatment protects the optic nerve from damage caused by intraocular pressure by alleviating stresses on retinal and optic nerve axonal ultrastructures.¹ The Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine published that the use of Chinese medicine improved retinal cone activity for patients with retinitis pigmentosa, even in cases of advanced retinal degeneration. Using electroretinograms for the investigation, the study also concludes that, “TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) treatment could also enhance the bioactivity of (the) nerve network and therefore have a definite significance in retarding the progression of disease and keeping the central vision.”² In another study, injections of She Xiang into acupuncture points UB18 and UB23 helped patients with retinitis pigmentosa. The study concludes that injection of She Xiang into Ganshu (UB18) and Shenshu (UB23) “can improve effectively the function and metabolism of optic cells, promote blood circulation of the retina, enhance the visual acuity, and protect the central vision for the patient of retinitis pigmentosa.”³ Yet another study of retinitis pigmentosa patients receiving acupuncture (ranging from ages 7 – 75 years) showed significant improvement and a halting of deterioration of the visual field.⁴

References:
1 Sun He , Zhang Hu. The Protective Effect of Acupuncture Treatment on Retinal and Optic Nerve Axonal Ultrastructure in Rabbit Eyes with Chronic Elevated IOP. Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 2010-05.
2 Wu Xing-Wei; Tang You-zhi. Study on Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa with Traditional Chinese Medicine by Flicker Electroretinogram. CHINESE JOURNAL OF INTEGRATED TRADITIONAL AND WESTERN MEDICINE. 1996-06.
3 Hao Xiaobo, Wang Guihong, Peng Changxin, et al. (Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of TCM, Nanning 530023, China). Study on treatment of retinitis pigmentosa with acupoint injection of Shexiang Injection. Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 2003-4.
4 Reddy NS, Fouzdar NM. Role of acupuncture in the treatment of `Incurable' retinal diseases. Indian J Ophthalmol 1983;31:1043-6.

Undergrad University students in Chicago! Earn $10 for a 1-hour acupuncture study

2011-02-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

My research project has just been granted approval by the Institutional Review Board of National University of Health Sciences. Now I need 100 undergraduate University Students as subjects. Candidates must be between ages of 18-30, be in good health, not be pregnant nor breastfeeding, must not have received acupuncture in the past three months, and must be willing to receive acupuncture for the study. Subjects will be paid $10 for the one-hour study. Subjects will fill out self-evaluation questionnaires, perform tests of memory, and may receive acupuncture.

The study will be conducted at A Center for Oriental Medicine, at 415 1/2 Fourth St. in Wilmette. Available times are Tuesdays and Fridays 9am-6pm. The study will also be conducted at the Tiffani Kim Institute, 310 W. Superior, Thursdays from 9am-1pm. Both locations are 1/2 block from CTA 'L' stations.

All interested candidates should contact lead researcher, Jason Bussell, at 773-480-8920.

H1N1 vaccine increases miscarriage

2011-01-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

No one is telling you this though, because there are hundreds of millions of dollars to be made selling us the shot.

This article was forwarded to me by a concerned patient. It can be found at philipbrennan.net

A shocking report from the National Coalition of Organized Women (NCOW) presented data from two different sources demonstrating that the 2009/10 H1N1 vaccines contributed to an estimated 1,588 miscarriages and stillbirths. A corrected estimate may be as high as 3,587 cases. NCOW also highlights the disturbing fact that the CDC failed to inform their vaccine providers of the incoming data of the reports of suspected H1N1 vaccine related fetal demise.

NCOW collected the data from pregnant women (age 17-45 years) that occurred after they were administered a 2009 A-H1N1 flu vaccine. The raw data is available on the website.

Using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), including updates through July 11, 2010 as a second ascertainment source, capture-recapture statistical methods* were used to estimate the true number of miscarriages and stillbirths following A-H1N1 flu vaccination in the U.S. Typically, even so-called “complete” studies conducted by the CDC have been shown to miss from 10% to 90% of the actual cases because of under-reporting.

The statistical method employed is an expeditious and cost effective method of attempting to ascertain a complete count of all cases when two or more ascertainment sources (VAERS and NCOW survey) have failed to collect all the existing cases. Overall, this approach shows that approximately only 15% of the occurrences of a miscarriage or stillbirth were actually reported.

The corrected estimate for the total number of 2009-A-H1N1-flu-shot-associated miscarriages and stillbirths during the 2009/10-flu season is 1,588 (95% goodness-of-fit confidence interval, 946 to 3587). That is, the lower and upper range-probability of miscarriage and stillbirths due to the H1N1 vaccine was as low as 946 and as high as 3,587.

Eileen Dannemann, Director of NCOW, presented the findings for the second time to Dr. Marie McCormick, chair of the Vaccine Risk and Assessment Working Group, during the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV) meeting, Sept 3, 2010. Just prior to Ms. Dannemann’s presentation Dr. McCormick, had pronounced that there were absolutely no H1N1 vaccine-related adverse events in pregnant women in 2009/10, directly contradicting the evidence publicly available. “This baseless and fallacious assessment by the CDC assessment group” says, Dannemann, “has given the green light to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to continue their recommendation to give the 2010/11 flu shot to all people, including pregnant women. This upcoming 2010/11 flu vaccine contains the same elements that are implicated in the killing of these fetuses, the H1N1 viral component and the neurotoxin mercury (Thimerosal). Additionally, it contains 2 other viral strains- a 3 in 1 shot for all people”.

The very next week at the Sept 14th National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) meeting Dr. McCormick, (despite having been informed on two previous occasions of the VAERS data) pronounced, once again, that there were no adverse events in pregnant women. At the conclusion of the NVAC meeting, during public comment, Dannemann submitted the data for the 3rd time and concluded with, “Why hasn’t Dr. McCormick looked in the VAERS data base?” “She looked where she knew she would not find”, a disquieting thought, Ms. Dannemann, said in retrospect.

Excerpts and adaptation from speech delivered by Eileen Dannemann, Director, National Coalition of Organized Women Friday, September 3, 2010 to the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV) meeting.

“Initially, at the beginning of the H1N1 pandemic consequence management drill there were allegedly 30 maternal deaths. It was these deaths that the CDC used as the basis to initiate a strenuous and aggressive campaign to vaccinate the pregnant population with the untested H1N1 vaccine. The CDC ascertained that there were eventually a total of 56 maternal deaths (assuming the fetuses died with them). Dr. Alicia Siston’s JAMA study (CDC) acknowledged that most of these deaths were ‘unconfirmed’ H1N1 virus caused deaths despite the fact that the CDC had tests that could have verified, for certain, that these were H1N1 related deaths.

Vaccine-related fetal demise reports from VAERS increased 2,440%–from 7 cases in 2007/8 to 178 in 2009/10. Seventy deaths reported from another source had 7 overlapping cases with VAERS, yielding 241 unique cases. Simplistically speaking, it would have been 85 to 192 times safer not to vaccinate from the perspective of the in-utero child.

Considering that the total of 56 maternal deaths in Dr. Alicia’s Siston’s study, allegedly due to the H1N1 virus itself, are unverified and in light of the overwhelming adverse events reported, we emphasize that inoculating pregnant women with another untested vaccine containing a combination of components found in the offending 2009 H1N1 vaccine is insupportable. Thus, it must be argued that the CDC was grossly negligent to fail to inform their vaccine providers of the incoming VAERS data, while providers blindly followed the CDC “standard of care” guidelines to vaccinate every pregnant woman in 2009/10. Furthermore, in the face of these findings and the purposeful withholding of these findings by CDC’s Dr. Marie McCormick and her vaccine risk assessment group, for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend another iteration of the same vaccine to pregnant women in 2010/11 may be argued as more than gross negligence -but rather- an act of willful misconduct.

We strongly recommend that the CDC withdraws their continued recommendation to pregnant women, instead, strictly adhering to the FDA/manufacturers warning on the insert packages that the flu shot not be given to pregnant women unless clearly needed. As well, we suggest that the CDC advise all Ob/Gyns, vaccine providers and the public this year, of last season’s VAERS reports on H1N1 vaccine-related fetal deaths” despite the fact that it may be contrary to CDC’s vaccine uptake performance goals”.

*Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D, author of various peer-reviewed medical journal publications, has verified the capture-recapture (C-R) figures published in the NCOW report. Dr. Goldman previously worked for 8 years as a Research Analyst for the L.A. County Department of Health Services in an epidemiological study project funded by the CDC.

NCOW Press Release: Contact: Eileen Dannemann [phone: 917-804-0786, e-mail: ncowmail@gmail.com] Sept. 17, 2010

For Immediate Release: Science Contact: Dr. Paul G. King, NCOW Sci. Advisor [phone: 973-997-1321, e-mail: drking@gti.net]

How Blue Cross can save money

2011-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

I have a patient who submitted a bill from us that had four dates of service on it. They divided the claim up into four separate claims. Then they sent both her and me individual letters stating the disposition of each claim. So instead of sending one or two letters, they paid to mail eight. Let's consolidate people.

2 year old responds well to acupuncture

2011-01-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have a patient who is just under two years old. She has been diagnosed with "failure to thrive" because she does not eat enough. She is very small and light for her age. They also diagnosed her with acid reflux, although she has not been scoped to confirm it and she does not exhibit discomfort after eating. She sees an occupational therapist, a pediatric GI specialist, and a swallowing specialist and often has multiple appointments per week. Her mother heard that I treat pediatrics and decided to bring her in.

First I should explain how we treat children with acupuncture. The trick is to not use acupuncture. We use a technique called "touch-needling" where we touch the back of the needle to the point for 30-60 seconds and then move on to the next point. Acupuncture is about moving the energy of a person; the energy of children is a lot less stuck than that of adults and requires less stimulation to affect. In China, the stick needles into kids the same way they do to adults, but this is mainly a function of the time constraints. When I am over there working in the hospitals, we are with doctors who see 80-100 patients per day. They do not have the time to dedicate to touch-needling.

So she came in last week and I evaluated her. I was not convinced that she has reflux and I encouraged the mother to discuss the possibility of weaning the girl off the daily prevacid that she has been taking. Then I performed touch-needling for about 10 minutes to the girl.

She came in today for a follow-up and mother reported that she has been eating like a champ ever since the first treatment. For the first time in her life, she is eating amounts similar to normal children her age. Her doctor has given the go-ahead to start weaning her off the medication. The effects were most pronounced for 6 days following the treatment and are now starting to wane a little, so we will see her weekly for a few weeks and then taper the frequency.

I love working with kids. If we get them early, we can improve their whole lives. I love helping older folks too, but later in life pathologies can be much more entrenched and difficult to remedy.

For more information about acupuncture, visit my website www.acfom.com

Acupuncture restores sense of smell

2010-12-19T10:20:00.001-08:00

Acupuncture Helps Olfaction

A recent controlled study published in the Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery notes that acupuncture is effective for restoring the sense of smell. The researchers studied participants with dysosmia (loss of sense of smell) due to viral infections. Acupuncture was applied to acupuncture points Du16 (Fengfu), Du20 (Baihui), LI20 (Yingxiang), Lu7 (Lieque), Lu9 (Taiyuang), St36 (Zu San Li), and K3 (Tai Xi). The needles were manipulated by an expert acupuncturist with more than ten years of professional experience and were retained for 30 minutes. Several acupuncture treatments were administered over a 10 week period. A statistical analysis revealed a significant improvement in the acupuncture patients. A control group receiving standard vitamin B complex therapy did not improve greatly.
Acupuncture and Pharmaceutical Drugs
Also of interest is that the patients chosen for this study had already tried standard western medical therapies but did not recover the sense of smell. Yet, these patients enjoyed a significant improvement in their olfactory senses with acupuncture treatment. Western medicine approaches include systemic and topical steroids, vitamin B therapy, caroverine, alpha lipoic acid, and several other medications.
Scalp Acupuncture
Scalp acupuncture was employed in this study by choosing Du16 and Du20. Scalp acupuncture is especially well suited for both head injuries and post-viral neurological dysfunction. Hopefully, future studies will choose to include Du24 (Shenting) in the acupuncture point selection. Use of triple needling, also referred to as ranked needling, at acupuncture point Du24 is a powerful method for benefiting the sense of smell. Du24 is known to eliminate wind, calm the spirit and benefit the brain, nose, and eyes. It is the meeting point of the Governing vessel with the UB and Stomach meridians. Its actions to expel pathogenic head wind make it an excellent choice for the treatment of post-viral dysosmia. Commonly used to treat rhinitis, this acupuncture point is well regarded for its ability to benefit and stimulate the nose.

Acupuncure treats Lazy Eye

2010-12-15T11:13:00.001-08:00

Acupuncture can be an effective treatment for amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, especially in older children with a poor response to the common patching therapy, a new study says.

Amblyopia, a state of miscommunication between the brain and the eyes, is characterized by vision problems in one eye. About 5 percent of individuals around the world suffer from lazy eye, considered as the most common cause of poor vision in children.

According to the study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, visual acuity with eyeglasses improved in more than 66 percent of the children receiving two hours of daily patching therapy, compared with more than 75 percent of the acupuncture group.

''These results suggest that the treatment effect of acupuncture is equivalent to that of patching for anisometropic amblyopia in older children," said lead researcher So Dennis Lam.

Chinese researchers failed to explain the mechanism through which acupuncture improved lazy eye. They, however, suggested that the treatment may have affected the regional blood flow in these children.

Previous studies have shown that acupuncture increases the blood flow in the brain and eye, stimulating the release of retinal nerve growth factors and subsequently leading to metabolic changes in the central nervous system.

While the findings of the present study have surprised many ophthalmologists, they still do not recommend parents to swap patches for acupuncture. Many of them believe further researches are needed to confirm these results.

excerpts from a very nice letter to me about The Asian Diet

2010-12-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

"I have just completed* The Asian Diet and wanted to tell you that, in my opinion, this is one of the most important books I have ever read in my 76 years, I use the word "completed" because I believe it was just that - a course of study and understanding of the principles you present....As a survivor of five (5) types of cancer (it runs in my family on both sides) and a long-time diabetic with A1C readings usually around 5.4, I have always tried to surround myself with positive energy and maintain good eating habits...As an avid fan of Asian cooking, I am absolutely delighted to know that my penchant for Japanese noodles and white rice can once again be on my grocery list. ... I am so glad you included the section on green tea in your book, because I started drinking at least 6 to 8, 8-oz. glasses each day since in my early 30's, when I had my first encounter with cancer. I love the ritual of loose leaf tea. Since reading (and rereading) your book, I have lost a total of seven pounds...I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for such a marvelous book. I am a native of Chicago and only wish I had had knowledge of you before I moved.

Most Sincerely, Susan V" (full name withheld)

My book was reviewed on Yahoo!

2010-11-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

I was excited to see today that my Google Alert had a link to a Yahoo! article concerning my book, The Asian Diet. They reviewed it on their Associated Content page relating to Health and Wellness and gave it 4.9 out of 5! Click here to read the article.

Thom Hartmann liked my book!

2010-11-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Thom Hartmann is my favorite talk show host. He is brilliant and is a strong voice for progressives (and just plain rationals) in the country. He was in town a few weeks ago for an event called "The Great Debate 2" where he sparred with a conservative talk show host. At that event, I got to meet him and gave him a copy of my book.

I just learned from the Melissa, the woman who drives him to and from the airport when he is in town, that he is often inundated with book when he comes to town. Most of the time, he does not have time to read them. Well apparently he read mine and took it back home with him. He even sent a text to Melissa asking her to thank me for the book and telling her that he liked it. That makes me feel pretty happy right now.

Cutting through the confusion about Organic foods

2010-11-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I believe this article is from Men's Health, authored by Maria Rodale I found it here

1. Americans are very confused about what organic is and is not, and why organic matters. The majority of Americans think foods with the word "natural" on them are better and safer than "organic." And yet there are no governmental safety standards for using the word "natural." Natural, in fact, means nothing. But it's a happy word, so food companies slap it on anything they can to make their products sell better.
The proliferation of other labels: "beyond organic," "locally grown," "humanely raised," "free range" and "sustainable" adds to the confusion. And when people are confused (and frankly, many times even when they are not confused), they revert to their primary emotional driver of decisions, which is most often price. So they choose the cheapest food rather than the safest for the planet. That confusion plays right into the hands of the chemical food industry.

2. The organic industry must focus on clearing up that confusion and communicating why organic food is so important and the safest food you can buy. We, in the organic industry, have spent most of our time and energy trying to prove that organic is more nutritious, when instead, as Kanthe Shelke from Corvus Blue (a nutritional technology think tank) told us, we should be focusing on "what organic does not have." Organic foods do not have neurotoxin pesticides, endocrine disruptors, herbicides and other chemicals, which some doctors and scientists believe might play a role in everything from diabetes and obesity to infertility, autism and cancer -- especially childhood leukemia
The medical studies that support these seemingly inflammatory hypotheses do exist, and they are not getting picked up by the media. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has even issued a call for a moratorium on GMO foods because it has seen evidence of liver, kidney, and digestive failure as well as infertility and accelerated aging (hello, Hollywood, are you listening?). But it's almost too late already, since over 75 percent of all processed (non organic) foods in America already include GMOs. The tragedy of this statistic is that the pollen from these plants has been unleashed into our environment and can't ever be reined back in.
For any environmentalist to not be a raving organic supporter is outrageous. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by agricultural runoff all the way down the Mississippi, existed even before the BP oil gusher -- and this year it is the largest it has ever been. A giant dead zone is what the whole world is headed for if we don't stand up and do a better job of educating the American public. Colony collapses affecting our bees, frog mutations and amphibian declines, jaw deformities in the wildlife of our national parks (which yes, use chemicals like crazy), and the melting polar caps can all be attributed to agricultural chemicals.
Finally, here's what organic does not do: destroy the soil, which destroys the carbon-capturing capability of our planet, which destroys our atmosphere and causes global warming. Numerous studies have shown that chemical agriculture destroys soil structure, leading quickly to desertification and even more quickly to way too much carbon dioxide leaching into the atmosphere. Yes, it's complicated. But we can't keep living on this planet if we don't start understanding this and paying attention to it soon.

3. If we are going to save the world, we will have to unite and work together instead of fighting among ourselves. One thing is true about Americans, if you believe what you see in the TV ratings, we prefer arguing to action. But there comes a time when all that philosophical hot air (left and right, mind you) needs to take a back seat to true responsibility.
What does that mean for the organic world? We actually have enough scientific evidence to know that modern organic farming is our best shot at long-term survival for all, so now it's time to unite and focus on what is most important. The vegetarians need to get along with the omnivores. The locavores need to draft a peace treaty with the fair traders. Slow foodies will need to hang out a bit more with the fast foodies. Those who support their local, small family farmer will have to learn to appreciate industrial organic, which feeds a lot of people without creating tons of toxic waste. And we all need to start singing from the same songbook.
"Inconsistency is the hobgoblin of ineffective communications," one speaker at the summit said. And while we have each been singing our own songs and marching to the beats of different drums, chemical companies -- including Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, Pioneer, Cargill, ADM and DuPont -- have been making huge profits with the financial and legislative support of our government. But here is the good news: Despite all our stumbling and well-meaning confusion and the worst economic times since the Great Depression, the organic industry grew 5.3 percent in 2009. The USDA Certified Organic label is still the strongest, safest and most trustworthy label available to consumers and is backed up by independent testing. Many of the longtime leaders who spoke at the summit have already exceeded their expectations of success.
So now, together, we are all standing on a precipice. We can all work together to build the road to the other side (where the water is pure and clean, the children are healthy and strong, the air and soil and forests alive and thriving). Or we can continue to go our separate ways, each one thinking his own path is the best path, and creating a web of meandering, poorly marked trails that lead in circles going nowhere fast.
The first step is supporting the USDA Organic Label, supporting certified organic farmers, buying certified organic foods, and not being embarrassed or apologetic for using the word "organic." The scientific evidence exists to prove it is safer and healthier for everyone and the environment. Now it's time for action. It's time to demand organic, support organic, buy organic, and protect and defend organic. It's our best hope for a healthy future for us all.
Maria Rodale is CEO and Chairman of Rodale Inc., and the author of "Organic Manifesto."

I was quoted in Medill Reports article

2010-10-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

This report was published here on Medill Reports. The article follows:

Acupuncture helps women find balance

by Kirsten Tellam
Oct 07, 2010

Julie Segall pushes a needle into the flesh between her thumb and forefinger.
“It’s not like they go in that far,” says Segall, a licensed acupuncturist, as she demonstrates the correct way to insert an acupuncture needle.
Forget the needles of horror films and nightmares: the needles used in modern acupuncture are flexible, solid, disposable and “the width of one or two of your hairs,” Segall explains. And contrary to the popular misconceptions of acupuncture, Segall uses not hundreds but on average only 12 needles per treatment.
Originating in China roughly 5,000 years ago, the most frequently studied form of acupuncture involves “penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation,” says the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Jason Bussell, president emeritus of the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, says acupuncture helps with more than just pain relief.
“Acupuncture and herbs are the medicine of China,” he says. “Not the pain relief of China, but the medicine of China. A common misconception is acupuncture’s just for pain. But it’s been used to treat everything in China.”
Segall founded the Healing Ground Center for Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Northbrook about seven years ago. She explains acupuncture is driven by the body’s inherent search for balance.
“Chinese medicine is based on the philosophy that in all of us we have this life-force called Qi,” Segall says. “And it travels along 12 primary pathways in the body called meridians. And as long as there’s balance between these meridians, then the individual’s healthy. But when imbalances occur—which can happen to any of us because of stress or environment or something inherent from your family members—your body throws out a symptom.”
Acupuncturists diagnose the root of that symptom by taking the client’s regular pulse, where she says she can feel all 12 meridians, six per wrist, depending on the amount of pressure and finger position she uses. Then she can determine where to insert the needles.
“Based on which meridians we put the needles on, which points on the meridians we put the needles in, it helps either calm the meridian down if that path is too strong or nourish it if it is too weak,” Segall says. “And once the body has restored its balance it does its own healing work.”
Juliet Berger-White, an acupuncture client from Chicago, says balance restoration is what makes acupuncture so effective.
“Unlike anything else I’ve tried, acupuncture really seems to be the thing that allows the body to rebalance,” says Berger-White, 37. “The effects can come as you’re getting off the table.”
Segall agrees, noting the importance of balance for women in particular.
“Women in particular, I think, strive for balance,” she says. “So I think that’s one reason why women gravitate more toward this type of work than men.” Segall notes her clientele is 90 percent women.
“I see adolescents. I see girls starting with their first periods,” Segall says. “I see women who are in their 70s and 80s for aches and pains or insomnia or whatever their issues are. I see women through menopause. So through the whole lifespan.”
Jeanne Poorman of Chicago says acupuncture helped her with the discomforts of menopause and aging.
“Acupuncture changed my life,” says Poorman, 57. “As people get older, I think for women especially, you start to have more physical issues, not even menopause issues. You start getting arthritis. You have pain where you never had pain before. And it’s really helped me with hot flashes. During menopause, to help with some of the symptoms.”
Bussell notes the different term for menopause used in Asia.
“In China and Korea they refer to it as a ‘second spring,’” says Bussell, who practices at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette. “Menopause is a non-event in Asia.” He says this is the result of a lifelong healthy diet coupled with regular acupuncture and herbal treatments that are more characteristic of Asian lifestyles.
Segall says regular acupuncture treatments can help women with “PMS, anxiety, depression, menopause—so hot flashes, migraines.” She also works with couples on improving fertility.
Berger-White notes she delivered all three of her children without using pain medication by receiving acupuncture treatments while in labor.
“I think there are definitely benefits for acupuncture in labor,” she says. “It helps grab on to what our bodies want to do and move it along.”
But as with acupuncture, Segall strives to find a balance in all things, including forms of medicine.
“I think Western medicine and Eastern medicine go beautifully together,” she says.

Early detection is not prevention

2010-09-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Just to be clear, Mammograms do not prevent cancer. They can prevent the spread of cancer, but the procedure itself does not constitute prevention. The best is to live in balance, avoid environmental and emotional toxins, feed yourself well, etc. Early detection is good, but prevention is better.

debunking food myths

2010-09-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

Cooking foods destroys essential enzymes, therefore raw foods are better.

“Raw foods are unprocessed so nothing’s taken away; you don’t get the nutrient losses that come with cooking,” says Brenda Davis, R.D., co-author of Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets (Book Publishing, 2010). But the claim by some raw-food advocates that eating raw boosts digestion by preserving “vital” plant enzymes, Davis explains, just doesn’t hold water. “Those enzymes are made for the survival of plants; for human health, they are not essential.” What about the claim by some raw-foodistas that our bodies have a limited lifetime supply of enzymes—and that by eating more foods with their enzymes intact, we’ll be able to spare our bodies from using up their supply? “The reality is that you don’t really have a finite number of enzymes; you’ll continue to make enzymes as long as you live,” says Davis. Enzymes are so vital to life, she adds, “the human body is actually quite efficient at producing them.”

Eggs are bad for your heart

Eggs do contain a substantial amount of cholesterol in their yolks—about 211 mg per large egg. And yes, cholesterol is the fatty stuff in our blood that contributes to clogged arteries and heart attacks. But labeling eggs as “bad for your heart” is connecting the wrong dots, experts say. “Epidemiologic studies show that most healthy people can eat an egg a day without problems,” says Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State University. For most of us the cholesterol we eat doesn’t have a huge impact on raising our blood cholesterol; the body simply compensates by manufacturing less cholesterol itself. Saturated and trans fats have much greater impact on raising blood cholesterol. And a large egg contains only 2 grams of saturated fat and no trans fats. The American Heart Association recommends limiting cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg daily—less than 200 mg if you have a history of heart problems or diabetes or are over 55 (women) or 45 (men). “That works out to less than an egg a day for this population—more like two eggs over the course of the week,” notes Kris-Etherton.

Carbs will make you fat

Contrary to the theories of the low-carb/no carb manifesto, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution, first published in 1972 (and the similar books that followed), there’s nothing inherently fattening about carbohydrates, says Jean Harvey-Berino, Ph.D., R.D., chair of the department of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont and co-author of The EatingWell Diet (Countryman, 2007). “It’s eating too many calories, period, that makes you fat.”
There’s no question that loading up on sugary and refined-carbohydrate-rich foods, such as white bread, pasta and doughnuts, can raise your risk of developing health problems like heart disease and diabetes. But if you cut out so-called “good-carb” foods, such as whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, you’re missing out on your body’s main source of fuel as well as vital nutrients and fiber. What’s more, for many people, a low-carb diet may be harder to stick with in the long run.
When a handful of major studies recently compared low-carb diets with low-fat diets and other approaches to losing weight, notes Harvey-Berino, they found that in the first few months, those following the low-carb diets tended to lose slightly more weight. “That’s because low-carb diets are more restrictive,” she explains. “Anything that limits your choices will help you lose weight initially.” But after a year or as much as three years, weight-loss differences between the diets tend to even out. One recent report noted that although there was a greater weight loss initially, low-carb dieters tended to regain more weight by the end of three years when compared with low-fat dieters.
But Harvey-Berino acknowledges that low-carb eating can help many people manage their weight—especially if you’re “one of those people who has a hard time staying in control when you eat carbohydrate-rich foods.” No matter how you slice it, the best diet is one you can stick to, she adds. “If you can stick with an Atkins-like regimen, then go for it.”

You must fast or detox periodically to cleanse the body

The truth: Your body has its own elegantly designed system for removing toxins—namely, the liver, kidneys and spleen. There isn’t any evidence that not eating—or consuming only juice—for any period of time makes them do this job any better. Source: Keith-Thomas Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine

This info was taken from the Huffington Post article that was culled from Eating right magazine's article by By Joyce Hendley
I don't agree with everything in the full article, but I do agree with the info I posted here.

Atkins increases mortality from all causes

2010-09-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

I find it so amusing when people tell me that white rice is bad for us. They learned that from Dr. Atkins and, although most people know that his diet plan is a failure, many still hold on to this misconception. Today, an article from Dr. Dean Ornish, published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-dean-ornish/an-atkins-diet-increases-_b_707005.html reports a study that showed the Atkins diet increases mortality (death rates) from all causes. Yet another resason to stop following all the latest fads and stick to what has worked for millenia. It's all in my book, "The Asian Diet: Simple secrets for eating right, and being well. The text of the article from Dr. Ornish follows. I agree with just about all of what he says, but he too lumps white rice in with white flour and white sugar; where it does not belong. If white rice makes people fat, or if it leads to nutritional deficiciencies, then why don't we see those things in the billion plus people in Asia who have white rice every day?
###############################

A major study was just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine from Harvard. In approximately 85,000 women who were followed for 26 years and 45,000 men who were followed for 20 years, researchers found that all-cause mortality rates were increased in both men and women who were eating a low-carbohydrate Atkins diet based on animal protein.

However, all-cause mortality rates as well as cardiovascular mortality rates were decreased in those eating a plant-based diet low in animal protein and low in refined carbohydrates. Although this plant-based diet was called an "Eco-Atkins" diet, it's essentially the same diet that I have been recommending and studying for more than 30 years.

In many debates with Dr. Atkins before he died, I always made the point that it's important to look at actual measures of disease, including mortality, not just risk factors such as HDL cholesterol. This is the first study that examined mortality rates in those consuming an Atkins diet, and it confirms what I've been saying all along: an Atkins diet is not healthful and may shorten your lifespan.

Dr. Atkins and I agreed that the American diet is too high in refined carbohydrates such as sugar, white flour and concentrated sweeteners) which promote a variety of chronic diseases. That's why people often lose weight on an Atkins diet when they restrict their intake of refined carbohydrates.

However, the answer is not to replace refined carbohydrates with animal protein such as beef, pork rinds, bacon and sausage, which Dr. Atkins claimed were good for your heart. I'd like to be able to say that they're good for your heart, but they are not. It's much more healthful to replace refined carbohydrates ("bad carbs") with healthy carbs instead.

It's not low-fat vs. low-carb. An optimal diet is high in healthy carbs such as fruits and vegetables and whole grains (including whole wheat, brown rice), legumes, soy products, nonfat dairy and egg whites in their natural forms and some good fats such as the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil and salmon. It's low in unhealthy carbs such as sugar, white flour, white rice, white flour pasta and low in saturated fats and animal protein.

The message that many studies -- including one in the Annals last month -- have been giving the public and health professionals is that the Atkins diet is no worse for your heart than a plant-based diet, but all these studies examined only risk factors such as HDL, not measures of disease or mortality. That's why this new study is so important. (The Annals recently published my letter to the editor that expressed these concerns, which I appreciate.)

A recent study reviewed in The New England Journal of Medicine found that an Atkins-type diet "promotes atherosclerosis (heart disease) through mechanisms that do not modify the classic cardiovascular risk factors" such as HDL. Other studies also showed this.

Your body makes HDL to remove excessive cholesterol from your body. Eating a stick of butter will raise HDL, but butter is not good for your heart. Pfizer discontinued a study of its drug, torcetrapib, which raised HDL but actually increased risk of heart attacks.

Conversely, a whole foods plant-based diet that's also low in refined carbohydrates may reverse coronary heart disease and beneficially affect the progression of prostate cancer and even improve gene expression despite reductions in HDL.

Finally, what's good for you is also good for our planet. Livestock consumption causes more global warming than all forms of transportation combined. It takes 10 times more energy to produce animal-based protein than plant-based protein.

It's not all or nothing. You have a spectrum of choices. What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. If you indulge yourself one day, eat healthier the next. To the degree that you move in a whole foods, plant-based direction, the better you're likely to feel and the healthier you're likely to become.

Dean Ornish, M.D.

Medical Editor, The Huffington Post

Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute

Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

A Clarification On The Evidence For Acupuncture’s Efficacy

2010-09-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

*ACUPUNCTURE’S RIGHTFUL PLACE IN HEALTHCARE*

*A Clarification On The Evidence For Acupuncture’s Efficacy*

On August 25th, Steven Salzberg posted a blog, published by Forbes.com,
titled "Acupuncture inflitrates the University of Maryland and NEJM." *This
posting is full of highly transparent techniques to misinform the public
about a proven form of medicine that, along with other forms of oriental
medicine, serves over a billion people worldwide.* Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine (AOM) is a low-cost, safe, and effective form of holistic medicine
that has evolved over millennia into its current form today. In the U.S.
alone, thousands of highly trained, licensed practitioners treat millions of
patients each year with AOM.

In his blog, Mr. Salzberg states that most scientists believe that
acupuncture does not work. It is quite interesting that Mr. Salzberg is
focusing on *scientists* and not on *doctors* when it comes to healthcare. *
Fact*: According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (NCCAM), numerous surveys show that of all the complementary and
holistic medical practices, of which there are many, *acupuncture enjoys the
most credibility in the medical community*. There is a growing field of
medical doctors practicing acupuncture or referring patients to AOM
practitioners.

Next, Mr. Salzberg goes on to say that most studies are done poorly and that
real needles are just as (in)effective as "sham" needles. *Fact*: Over 500
clinical trials measuring the efficacy of acupuncture have been conducted in
the past three decades. At least fifty systematic reviews of these trials
(as profiled in the Cochrane Library) have been completed by researchers
from credible institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic, resulting in
substantial evidence that acupuncture is more effective than sham
acupuncture and that *acupuncture is very effective in treating chronic
pain, fatigue, anxiety, arthritis, headaches, chemotherapy sickness, and
infertility*, among other ailments.

At the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM), we
believe that articles like Mr. Salzberg's perform a damaging disservice to
the American public. As a society, we need new and creative solutions to
confront our healthcare crisis and improve the overall health and wellness
of our citizens. This requires integrating the best from both eastern (AOM)
and western (allopathic) approaches to improve how we *prevent* and
*treat* pain
and illness, and realize optimal health and healing. *We applaud the
University of Maryland and its Center for Integrative Medicine for their
leadership and outstanding work.**
*
Christian M. Ellis
Executive Director
American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Dr. Mercola explains why microwaving is bad

2010-08-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

borrowed from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/microwave-cancer_b_684662.html

This common appliance can harm your health

By now, you probably know that what you eat has a profound impact on your health. The mantra, "You are what you eat" is really true.

But you need to consider not only WHAT you buy, but how you cook it.

Eating much of your food raw is ideal. But most of us are not going to be able to accomplish a completely raw diet, and we'll end up cooking some percentage of our food.

Smart food preparation starts with high quality foods and food preparation and that means saying sayonara to your microwave oven. Need to sterilize a dishcloth? Use your microwave. But zapping your casserole is a BAD idea if you are interested in preparing healthy food.

Why the no nukes policy?

When it comes to microwave ovens, the price for convenience is to compromise your health. In this article, I will review what we know about the effects microwaves on your food and on your body.

Sad State of Our Soils

Over the past century, the quality of fresh food has declined due to soil depletion, unsustainable farming practices, overproduction of crops, and the use of pesticides and herbicides. You can no longer assume you're getting all of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients you need by eating a multitude of fresh produce--even if you're eating organically.

Not surprisingly, the amount of nutrition in a calorie of food has been reduced over the past 50 years.

Three recent studies of historical food composition have shown 5 to 40 percent declines in some of the minerals in fresh produce, and another study found a similar decline in our protein sources. [1]

So now, more than ever, you must be careful to maximize the "bang for your buck" when it comes to the foods you eat.

Research shows that your microwave oven will NOT help you in these efforts--and in fact will threaten your health by violently ripping the molecules in your food apart, rendering some nutrients inert, at best, and carcinogenic at its worst.

Convenience Comes at Significant Toxic Threat to You and Your Family

Microwaves heat food by causing water molecules in it to resonate at very high frequencies and eventually turn to steam which heats your food. While this can rapidly heat your food, what most people fail to realize is that it also causes a change in your food's chemical structure.

There are numerous issues that have emerged since microwave ovens were first introduced to consumers more than 40 years ago, besides depleting your food's nutritional value, which will be addressed a bit later.

The first thing you probably noticed when you began microwaving food was how uneven the heating is.

"Hot spots" in microwaved food can be hot enough to cause burns--or build up to a "steam explosion." This has resulted in admonitions to new mothers about NOT using the microwave to heat up baby bottles, since babies have been burned by super-heated formula that went undetected.

Another problem with microwave ovens is that carcinogenic toxins can leach out of your plastic and paper containers/covers, and into your food.

The January/February 1990 issue of Nutrition Action Newsletter reported the leakage of numerous toxic chemicals from the packaging of common microwavable foods, including pizzas, chips and popcorn. Chemicals included polyethylene terpthalate (PET), benzene, toluene, and xylene. Microwaving fatty foods in plastic containers leads to the release of dioxins (known carcinogens) and other toxins into your food. [8] [2]

One of the worst contaminants is BPA, or bisphenol A, an estrogen-like compound used widely in plastic products. In fact, dishes made specifically for the microwave often contain BPA, but many other plastic products contain it as well.

Microwaving distorts and deforms the molecules of whatever food or other substance you subject to it. An example of this is blood products.

Blood is normally warmed before being transfused into a person. Now we know that microwaving blood products damages the blood components. In fact, one woman died after receiving a transfusion of microwaved blood in 1991 , which resulted in a well-publicized lawsuit.

Microwave Radiation Leakage

You may have heard that there is some danger of microwaves escaping from your microwave while it's operating. This was more of a risk with earlier models than with recent ones, which undergo more rigorous testing.

Theoretically, there are very small amounts of radiation leakage through the viewing glass, but the FDA reports these levels are "insignificant" and "well below the level known to harm people."

The FDA has been regulating microwave ovens since 1971 through its electronic product radiation control program, which is mandated by the Electronic Product Radiation Control provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act [3] .

The FDA limits the amount of microwaves that can leak from an oven throughout its lifetime to 5 milliwatts (mW) per square centimeter at approximately 2 inches from the oven surface. Because microwave energy decreases dramatically as you move away from the source of the radiation, a measurement made 20 inches from your oven would be approximately one-hundredth of the value measured at 2 inches. [2]

The federal standard also requires all ovens to have "two independent interlock systems that stop the production of microwaves the moment the latch is released or the door is opened."

And a monitoring system is also required, which stops the operation if one or both interlock systems fail.

You would think, with all these tests and regulations, that you'd be safe. However, according to Powerwatch, a non-profit independent organization with a central role in the microwave radiation debate:

    "Even when the microwave oven is working correctly, the microwave levels within the kitchen are likely to be significantly higher than those from any nearby cellular phone base-stations. Remember also that microwaves will travel through walls if the microwave oven is against an inside wall."

Powerwatch also states that we don't really know if the current regulations about leakage are truly safe and recommends ovens be checked at least annually, since microwave emissions can change with normal use.

You might also consider purchasing a $20 testing device that allows you to check the radiation in your home.

Make sure that, if you are going to use your microwave for cleaning sponges or for any use at all, regularly examine the door and hinges to make sure they are sealing properly. If the door doesn't close correctly, or if it's warped, bent, or otherwise damaged, don't use it at all!

Since your eyes are known to be particularly susceptible to microwave radiation (high microwave exposures are known to cause cataracts), I recommend stepping away from your microwave while it's in use.

New Study Confirms Microwaves Affect Your Heart

A recent study examining the effects 2.4 GHz radiation (which is the frequency of radiation emitted by Wifi routers and microwave ovens) on the heart was just completed. The study found "unequivocal evidence" that microwave frequency radiation affects the heart at non-thermal levels that are well below federal safety guidelines, according to Dr. Magda Havas of Trent University [4] .

Dr. Havas says:

    "This is the first study that documents immediate and dramatic changes in both heart rate and heart rate variability caused by an approved device that generates microwaves at levels well below (0.3 percent) federal guidelines in both Canada and the United States."

No longer can skeptics claim that microwaves produce no immediate biological effects at ordinary household levels!

The study will be appearing in a peer-reviewed journal sometime during the summer of 2010. If you are experiencing rapid or irregular heartbeat, pain or pressure in your chest, you will want to visit your physician and share this video with him or her (second video on this page).

There is also evidence that this same frequency of radiation causes blood sugar to spike in susceptible individuals and may actually be the cause of one type of diabetes. For details about this, watch the first video below.

Microwaving Also Zaps the Nutrients Right Out of Your Food

There has been surprisingly little research on how microwaves affect organic molecules, or how the human body responds to consuming microwaved food.

Wouldn't you expect that a product that sits in more than 90 percent of kitchens, as well as practically every break room in the country, would have been thoroughly investigated for safety?

The handful of studies that have been done generally agree, for the most part, that microwaving food damages its nutritional value. Your microwave turns your beautiful, organic veggies, for which you've paid such a premium in money or labor, into "dead" food that can cause disease!

Heating food, in and of itself, can result in some nutrient loss, but using microwaves to heat food introduces the additional problem of the "microwave effect," a phenomenon that will be discussed in detail later.

The majority of studies on microwaves and nutrition were conducted prior to 2000, I suspect because the focus of radiation research of late has shifted toward a more ominous threat: environmental radiation from electromagnetic devices, such as cell phones and computers, which has mushroomed into a gigantic cloud of electrosmog worldwide over the past decade.

Nevertheless, some excellent scientific data has been gathered regarding the detrimental effects of microwaves on the nutrients in your food:

•A study published in the November 2003 issue of The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture[5] found that broccoli "zapped" in the microwave with a little water lost up to 97 percent of its beneficial antioxidants. By comparison, steamed broccoli lost 11 percent or fewer of its antioxidants. There were also reductions in phenolic compounds and glucosinolates, but mineral levels remained intact.

•A 1999 Scandinavian study of the cooking of asparagus spears found that microwaving caused a reduction in vitamin C[6] .

•In a study of garlic, as little as 60 seconds of microwave heating was enough to inactivate its allinase, garlic's principle active ingredient against cancer[7] .

•A Japanese study by Watanabe showed that just 6 minutes of microwave heating turned 30-40 percent of the B12 in milk into an inert (dead) form[8] . This study has been cited by Dr. Andrew Weil as evidence supporting his concerns about the effects of microwaving. Dr. Weil wrote:

    "There may be dangers associated with microwaving food... there is a question as to whether microwaving alters protein chemistry in ways that might be harmful."

•A recent Australian study[9] showed that microwaves cause a higher degree of "protein unfolding" than conventional heating.

•Microwaving can destroy the essential disease-fighting agents in breast milk that offer protection for your baby. In 1992, Quan found that microwaved breast milk lost lysozyme activity, antibodies, and fostered the growth of more potentially pathogenic bacteria[10] .

Quan stated that more damage was done to the milk by microwaving than by other methods of heating, concluding:

    "Microwaving appears to be contraindicated at high-temperatures, and questions regarding its safety exist even at low temperatures."

•Another study about breast milk/infant formula by Lee in 1989[11] found vitamin content becomes depleted by microwaving, and certain amino acids are converted into other substances that are biologically inactive. Some altered amino acids are poisons to the nervous system and kidneys. (Numerous authors mention this study, yet I was unable to find the original article/study, so I cannot personally validate.)

Although many of the above studies are not new, there is certainly ample evidence that microwaving is NOT good for your food.

How Your Microwave Actually Heats Your Food

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation--waves of electrical and magnetic energy moving together through space. EM radiation ranges from very high energy (gamma rays and x-rays) on one end of the spectrum to very low energy (radio waves) on the other end of the spectrum.

Microwaves are on the low energy end of the spectrum, second only to radio waves. They have a wavelength of about 4.8 inches--about the width of your head.

Microwaves are generated by something called a magnetron (a term derived from the words "magnet" and "electron"), which is also what enabled airborne radar use during WWII. Hence the early name for microwave ovens: radar ranges.

A magnetron is a tube in which electrons are subjected to both magnetic and electrical fields, producing an electromagnetic field with a microwave frequency of about 2,450 megaHertz (MHz), which is 2.4 gigaHertz (GHz).

Microwaves cause dielectric heating. They bounce around the inside of your oven and are absorbed by the food you put in it. Since water molecules are bipolar, having a positive end and negative end, they rotate rapidly in the alternating electric field. The water molecules in the food vibrate violently at extremely high frequencies--like millions of times per second--creating molecular friction, which heats up the food.

If the food or object place in the microwave had no water it would not be able to have this resonance heating type effect and would remain cool. Or, as investigative journalist William Thomas[12] calls it, "electrical whiplash."

Structures of the water molecules are torn apart and forcefully deformed. This is different than conventional heating of food, whereby heat is transferred convectionally from the outside, inward. Microwave cooking begins within the molecules where water is present.

Contrary to popular belief, microwaved foods don't cook "from the inside out." When thicker foods are cooked, microwaves heat the outer layers, and the inner layers are cooked mostly by the conduction of heat from the hot outer layers, inward.

Since not all areas contain the same amount of water, the heating is uneven.

Additionally, microwaving creates new compounds that are not found in humans or in nature, called radiolytic compounds. We don't yet know what these compounds are doing to your body.

In addition to the violent frictional heat effects, called thermic effects, there are also athermic effects, which are poorly understood because they are not as easily measured. It is these athermic effects that are suspected to be responsible for much of the deformation and degradation of cells and molecules. [13]

As an example, microwaves are used in the field of gene altering technology to weaken cell membranes. Scientists use microwaves to actually break cells apart. Impaired cells then become easy prey for viruses, fungi and other microorganisms.

Another word for these athermic effects is the "microwave effect," a subject of controversy that I'll get into a bit later.

Microwave Sickness

When your tissues are directly exposed to microwaves, the same violent deformations occur and can cause "microwave sickness."

People who have been exposed to high levels of microwave radiation experience a variety of symptoms, including:

•Insomnia, night sweats, and various sleep disturbances

•Headaches and dizziness

•Swollen lymph nodes and a weakened immune system

•Impaired cognition

•Depression and irritability

•Nausea and appetite loss

•Vision and eye problems

•Frequent urination and extreme thirst

There is a good amount of data emerging that people are suffering, to various degrees, these kinds of symptoms from living next to cell phone towers and other high-frequency radiation emitting antennas, which emit microwaves around the clock.

According to Professor Franz Adelkofer, a leading scientist in the area of biological effects of EMF fields:

    "There is real evidence that hyperfrequency electromagnetic fields can have geno-toxic effects. And this damaged DNA is always the cause of cancer.

    We've found these damaging effects on the genes at levels well below the safety limits. That's why we think it's urgent to base our safety limits on the biological effects, not the thermic ones.

    They should be based on biology, not on physics."

Twenty Years of Russian Research Supports Microwave Concerns

The Nazis are credited with inventing the first microwave-cooking device to provide mobile food support to their troops during their invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II [14] . These first microwave ovens were experimental. After the war, the US War Department was assigned the task of researching the safety of microwave ovens.

But it was the Russians who really took the bull by the horns.

After the war, the Russians had retrieved some of these microwave ovens and conducted thorough research on their biological effects. Alarmed by what they learned, the Russians banned microwave ovens in 1976, but they later lifted the ban during Perestroika in the late 1980's.

Still, 20 years of Russian research (and German studies as far back as 1942 Berlin) make a strong argument against the safety of microwave cooking.

Their findings led the Russian government to issue an international warning about possible biological and environmental damage associated with the use of microwave ovens and other similar frequency electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones).

I was not able to personally evaluate any of these older bodies of research, since those documents are now difficult to track down, so I can't attest to their methodology or conclusions. All you can do is weigh their findings appropriately, as best you can.

The Powerwatch article cited above summarizes the Russian research quite well, which I will duplicate below.

•Russian investigators found that carcinogens were formed from the microwaving of nearly all foods tested.

•The microwaving of milk and grains converted some of the amino acids into carcinogenic substances.

•Microwaving prepared meats caused the formation of the cancer-causing agents d-Nitrosodienthanolamines.

•Thawing frozen fruits by microwave converted their glucoside and galactoside fractions into carcinogenic substances.

•Extremely short exposure of raw, cooked or frozen vegetables converted their plant alkaloids into carcinogens.

•Carcinogenic free radicals were formed in microwaved plants--especially root vegetables.

•Structural degradation leading to decreased food value was found to be 60 to 90 percent overall for all foods tested, with significant decreases in bioavailability of B complex vitamins, vitamins C and E, essential minerals, and lipotropics (substances that prevent abnormal accumulation of fat).

I might add that this finding is supported by the 1998 Japanese study by Watanabe7 about vitamin B12 in milk, cited above.

The Swiss Clinical Study: Hans Hertel

Some fairly compelling evidence supporting the destructive effects of microwaves comes from a highly cited study by a Swiss food scientist named Hans Hertel. Dr. Hertel was the first scientist to study the effects of microwaved foods on the blood and physiology of human beings.

His small study, coauthored by Dr. Bernard Blanc of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University Institute for Biochemistry, revealed the degenerative forces produced by microwave ovens on the foods they cooked.

Dr. Hertel concluded that microwave cooking changed the nutrients in the food, and that changes took place in the blood that could cause negative health effects.

Hertel's conclusions were that microwaving food resulted in:

•Increased cholesterol levels

•Decreased numbers of leukocytes (white blood cells), which can suggest poisoning

•Decreased numbers of red blood cells

•Production of radiolytic compounds

•Decreased hemoglobin levels, which could indicate anemia

Not surprisingly, Dr. Hertel's study was met with great resistance from those with much to lose.

A gag order against Dr. Hertel was issued by a Swiss trade organization in 1992, which was later removed in 1998. But an American journalist, Tom Valentine, published the results of Hertel's study in Search for Health in the spring of 1992 [15] .

The study was not without its shortcomings. It involved only eight participants, of which Hertel was one. As compelling as his findings were, his methodology did not stand up to the scientific rigors of the field.

In spite of Hertel's methodological shortcomings, his findings do raise concerns about what this form of radiation is doing to your food and should be taken as a launching point to larger, more robust studies in the future.

Hertel wrote:

    "There are no atoms, molecules, or cells of any organic system able to withstand such a violent, destructive power for any period of time. This will happen even given the microwave oven's low power range of milliwatts."

And then there is the issue of biophotons.

Possible Microwave Effects on Your Biophotons

Biophotonics is the study, research, and applications of photons in their interactions within and on biological systems. Much of the work in the area of biophotons was done in Germany. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt discusses biophotons in our 2008 interview.

Biophotons are the smallest physical units of light that are stored in and used by all biological organisms--including you. Vital sun energy finds its way into your cells via the food you eat, in the form of these biophotons.

Biophotons contain important bio-information and are very important to many vital processes in your body. They are partly responsible for your feeling of vitality and well-being. You gain biophotons by eating foods rich in them, such as naturally grown fresh vegetables and sun-ripened fruits, which are rich in light energy.

The more light energy a food is able to store, the more nutritious it is.

If the "microwave effect" exists (as you shall see, there is a huge amount of evidence that it does), then microwaves can potentially destroy biophotons in the same way that it alters other structures, rendering your food dead and lifeless.

It seems quite plausible that microwaves could disrupt or destroy biophotons, since they are capable of breaking apart DNA bonds!

As far as I can find, there haven't been any studies of the direct effects of microwave radiation on biophotons, but it seems like an important angle of investigation for the future.

Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Non-Ionizing Radiation

One of the basic controversies about the effects of microwaves centers on whether or not microwaves exert some sort of force beyond heat, commonly called "microwave effect" or "athermic effect."

It is first necessary that you understand the difference between ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation.

There are two basic forms of radiation: ionizing and non-ionizing[16] :

1.Ionizing Radiation: Creates charged ions by displacing electrons in atoms, even without heat. Examples are radiation emitted from radioactive substances in rocks and soil, cosmic rays of the sun, and radiation from man-made technology such as x-rays machines, power stations, and nuclear reactors.

2.Non-ionizing Radiation: Can change the position of atoms but not alter their structure, composition, and properties. Examples are visible light, ultraviolet and infrared waves, waves from radio or television, cellular phones, microwaves, and electric blankets.

Despite not being able to break atoms apart, non-ionizing radiation (such as microwaves) CAN cause physical alterations.

For example, sunlight can damage your skin and eyes. Overexposure to radiation can affect tissues by causing molecular damage, DNA mutations, and other changes that can lead to cancer.

The serious concern is, with all of this radiation surrounding us from cell and cordless phones, radio towers, satellites, broadcast antennas, military and aviation radar, home electronic devices, computers and Internet, we are all part of an involuntary mass epidemiological experiment, on a scale never before seen in the history of the human race.

And the truth is that we don't really KNOW what long term, low-level (but persistent) radiation does to us--even the non-ionizing type.

But here are some of the things we DO KNOW:[17]

•Effects at low levels can be more noticeable than at higher levels. There is something called a "window effect," meaning an effect occurring only at specific frequencies or power densities, but not occurring just above or below them. A number of studies demonstrate effects of microwave radiation on blood cells via this phenomenon.

•For a complete discussion of this, you can read Microwaving Our Planet, written by Arthur Firstenberg, president of the Cellular Phone Taskforce.

•Cindy Sage of Sage Associates, an environmental consulting firm, has compiled a comprehensive list of studies [18] showing biological effects at radiofrequency exposure levels far below what would be explainable as "thermic effects" and well within the range you are commonly exposed to every day.

•Resonance intensifies biological effect. Resonance occurs when a form of radiation has a similar frequency as a body part. For example, microwave frequencies are similar to the frequencies of your brain!

•Studies are typically done for short exposure periods, at higher intensities. Scientists claim that duration of exposure is equally important to intensity of exposure, but is often NOT studied, and that long-term, low-level exposure can have effects equivalent to short-term, more intense exposure.

•The effects of radiation are cumulative. Your body becomes more sensitive to it over time.

•There are no longer any control groups, since human beings are all now exposed to such pervasive radiation. Lack of a control group makes it even more challenging to conduct meaningful studies.

The point is, standing in your kitchen while your microwave is zapping your dinner, night after night, will not make you glow in the dark. But over the months and years, what is the cumulative effect on your body and health?

Why expose yourself to these potential dangers when there are safer alternatives for cooking available?

Is Microwaving Food Any More Dangerous than Heating it with a Conventional Oven?

Some experts claim that the effects microwaves have on molecules can all be explained simply as the "thermic effect" of heating--in other words, microwave cooking is no more detrimental to food than conventional heating.

They argue that, since microwaves are non-ionizing radiation, then it's impossible for them to damage your blood cells, or eradicate the folic acid in your spinach.

Others have proposed there is some sort of "microwave effect" that causes changes in the molecules in a way that conventional heating does not. For many years, the party line was that "microwave effect" is a myth.

However, study after study has resulted in evidence to the contrary, showing effects that cannot be explained away as simple thermal effects.

In a letter entitled "DNA and the Microwave Effect" [19] (sourced as Penn State University, 2001), the author reviews the history of the controversy surrounding the microwave effect and the research findings to date. He explains that, although fundamentals of thermodynamics and physics would tell you the microwave effect is impossible, studies keep turning up evidence of its existence.

Some of the main points made in the letter are the following:

•Microwave heating and conventional heating may appear identical on a "macro" level, but the two appear very different on a molecular level.

•Microwaves are effective for sterilization, which has been studied for several decades. There is controversy, however, is about whether it's the heat they generate or if it's something else altogether.

•One scientist (Kakita 1995 [20] ) was successful in demonstrating that microwaves are capable of extensively fragmenting and destroying viral DNA, something that cannot be accomplished by heating alone.

•Multiple studies offer evidence that there are multiple mechanisms for breaking apart DNA without ionizing radiation, but no theory currently exists to explain this phenomenon.

Some scientists are taking advantage of the microwave effect and using microwaves in the laboratory to greatly accelerate chemical reactions, sometimes by a factor of a thousand, resulting in the completion of reactions in minutes that formerly took days or months and a lot of toxic chemicals [21] .

This newly found interest in "microwave chemistry" has spurred skeptic scientists into taking another look at what microwaves actually do and how they do it.

Sometimes common sense trumps empirical evidence.

The Penn State letter/article said it best:

    "...It would seem there is reason to believe that the microwave effect does indeed exist, even if it cannot yet be adequately explained. What we know at present is somewhat limited, but there may be enough information already available to form a viable hypothesis.

    The possibility that electromagnetic radiation in the non-ionizing frequency range can cause genetic damage may have profound implications on the current controversy involving EM antennae, power lines, and cell phones."

Breaking Free of Your Microwave: A Few Basic Tips

Am I asking you to toss your microwave oven into the nearest dumpster?

Not necessarily. It can be a useful tool for cleaning. But if real estate in your kitchen is at a premium, it should probably be the first thing to go.

You really CAN survive sans microwave--people are living quite happily without one, believe it or not. You just have to make a few small lifestyle adjustments, such as:

•Plan ahead. Take your dinner out of the freezer that morning or the night before so you don't end up having to scramble to defrost a 5-pound chunk of beef two hours before dinnertime.

•Make soups and stews in bulk, and then freeze them in gallon-sized freezer bags or other containers. An hour before meal time, just take one out and defrost it in a sink of water until it's thawed enough to slip into a pot, then reheat it on the stove.

•A toaster oven makes a GREAT faux-microwave for heating up leftovers! Keep it at a low temperature -- like 200-250 degrees F -- and gently warm a plate of food over the course of 20-30 minutes.

•Prepare your meals in advance so that you always have a good meal available on those days when you're too busy or too tired to cook.

•Try eating more organic raw foods. This is the best way to and improve your health over the long run.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is the founder and director of Mercola.com. Become a fan of Dr. Mercola on Facebook, on Twitter and check out Dr. Mercola's report on sun exposure!
References:
[1] Davis D R. (February 1, 2009) "Declining fruit and vegetable nutrient composition: What is the evidence?" American Society of Horticultural Science

[2] Rust S and Kissinger M. (November 15, 2008) "BPA leaches from 'safe' products" Journal Sentinel Online

[3] "Microwave oven radiation," Food and Drug Administration

[4] Havas M. "DECT phone affects the heart!"

[5] Vallejo F, Tomas-Barberan F A, and Garcia-Viguera C. "Phenolic compound contents in edible parts of broccoli inflorescences after domestic cooking" Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (15 Oct 2003) 83(14);1511-1516

[6] Kidmose U and Kaack K. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica B 1999:49(2):110-117

[7] Song K and Milner J A. "The influence of heating on the anticancer properties of garlic," Journal of Nutrition 2001;131(3S):1054S-57S

[8] Watanabe F, Takenaka S, Abe K, Tamura Y, and Nakano Y. J. Agric. Food Chem. Feb 26 1998;46(4):1433-1436

[9] George D F, Bilek M M, and McKenzie D R. "Non-thermal effects in the microwave induced unfolding of proteins observed by chaperone binding," Bioelectromagnetics 2008 May;29(4):324-30

[10] Quan R (et al) "Effects of microwave radiation on anti-infective factors in human milk," Pediatrics 89(4 part I):667-669.

[11] Lee L. "Health effects of microwave radiation-microwave ovens," Lancet December 9, 1989 (Article)

[12] Thomas W. "Cooked" Alive.com

[13] "Microwave oven and microwave cooking overview," Powerwatch

[14] "History of microwave ovens" Green Health Watch

[15] "Microwave ovens: A danger to your health?" (January 26, 2010) Nutritional and Physical Regeneration

[16] Villablanca E (December 19, 2007) "Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation: Their difference and possible health consequences"

[17] "Health effects of microwave radiation (Western view)"

[18] Sage C. "Reported biological effects from radiofrequency non-ionizing radiation" Wave-Guide.org

[19] Penn State University. "DNA and the microwave effect" posted from MailBag (April 8, 2002)

[20] Kakita Y, Kashige N, Murata K, Kuroiwa A, Funatsu M and Watanabe K. "Inactivation of
Lactobacillus bacteriophage PL-1 by microwave irradiation" Microbiol. Immunol. 1995;39:571-576.

[21] Adams C. (May 6, 2005) "Does microwaving kill nutrients in food? Is microwaving safe?" The Straight Dope

acupuncture treats hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating)

2010-08-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

14 year old girl, starting high school just developed a problem of underarm sweating through her shirt. She and her mother were concerned about the embarrassment she may experience. One acupuncture treatment and her perspiration is back to normal. We've had two more sessions just to make sure the result held, but she has now had three weeks free of this excessive sweating.

I love what I do. I get to help people every day. If you're in Chicago and want to feel better, visit me at A Center for Oriental Medicine or at the Tiffani Kim Institute on Thursday mornings.