Fight the Flu with Elderberry Syrup

Like it or not, cold and flu season is here! We should all be thinking about how to keep our immune system strong so it’s ready to combat these viruses. One of my favorite remedies to help boost my immune system to prevent these nasty viruses from taking a hold is Elderberry syrup. Loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and immune supporting minerals, Elderberries have been used for centuries in Europe, North American, North Africa, and Western Asia, and people are catching on to its medicinal benefits. The bioflavonoids in the juice weaken the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. It enhances the body’s immune system, and can be used not only for colds and the flu, but to lower cholesterol, improve vision and heart health.




Raw or unripe elderberries contain a toxic chemical called cyanogenic glycoside. Once you cook the elderberries, the chemical is not a problem, so if you do decide to buy them to make your own syrup, don’t try them raw! Otherwise, you can find this already made in a syrup, or in capsules. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you shouldn’t take this. Otherwise, if you feel that cold coming on, you may be able to thwart it with this amazing berry! To make your own elderberry syrup, click here.

All You Need to Know About Water

By Addison Landry

-Our bodies are made up of 70% water and for good quality health good quality water is needed. 

- A common misconception. Some people are under the impression that they can remove toxins from water by boiling it. Boiling water kills harmful organisms but does nothing to remove toxic chemicals, compounds, salts, and metals.

What toxins can be found in water and how they harm the body:

Unfortunately, water quality issues are not a recent development. Industrial dumping, pesticide runoff, leaky storage tanks, and government mandates have created big problems. Let’s take a look at some of the nastiest water contaminants that may be pouring out of your tap.



1. Fluoride

Adding fluoride to drinking water is a process that began back in the 1940’s to help reduce tooth decay. However fluoride is a neurotoxin and an endocrine disruptor. It can harm the thyroid gland and calcify the pineal gland. It’s so toxic that several countries have banned water fluoridation.



2. Chlorine

Chlorine has disinfectant properties that make it useful for cleaning products and swimming pools. It’s even used to sanitize sewage and industrial waste. Chlorine is added to drinking water as a purification technique, despite not being safe.

Chlorine is a reactive chemical that bonds with water, including the water in your gut, to produce poisonous hydrochloric acid in gas form. Chlorine exposure can cause respiratory problems and damage cells . Long term effects include memory loss and impaired balance.



3. Lead

Corroded pipes are releasing up to ten times the allowable amount of lead into the water. Lead is toxic to almost every organ  and affects children the worst. Developmental issues, stunted growth, deafness, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and brain damage can all result from exposure to lead. If ingested during pregnancy, lead can cause premature birth. Lead exposure has even been linked to autism, prostate cancer, and reproductive problems for both men and women. It’s damaging to the cardiovascular system and kidneys, too.



4. Mercury

Although mercury is a naturally occurring element, “natural” does not mean “safe. Mercury is extremely toxic  and can cause brain damage, blindness, nerve damage, cognitive disability, impairment of motor functions, headaches, weakness, muscle atrophy, tremors, mood swings, memory loss, and skin rashes.



5. PCBs

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are chemicals used for industrial purposes such as insulation, machinery, oil, paints, adhesives, electronics, and fluorescent lights.

Although PCBs were banned in 1979, they’re still present in landfills and pose a danger to the environment. PCBs break down slowly and infiltrate the environment. They have been found in snow and sea water thousands of miles from where they were produced.



6. Arsenic

Arsenic, despite being poisonous, is used in a multitude of industrial processes. Environmental contamination may result from improper waste disposal, or from poorly-planned wells that hit a natural source.

Arsenic poisoning can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea.



7. Dioxins

Dioxins are released during combustion, such as burning of hazardous waste, forest fires, cigarette smoke, and burning oil and coal. They settle in the environment and destroy water sources.

Short term exposure can cause lesions and respiratory problems. Long-term exposure can affect the immune, nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared dioxins are carcinogenic. In developing fetuses, dioxin poisoning can cause birth defects or stillbirth.



8. DDT

DDT was used as an insecticide in the 1940s to combat insect-borne diseases like malaria and typhus. It had widespread use as an agricultural insecticide until it was banned in the United States in 1972 due to environmental concerns.

It remains in use in other parts of the world and is still a major health concern for all of us. DDT molecules are persistent and can travel vast distances in the atmosphere.

Animal testing has found DDT causes reproductive problems and liver damage. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared DDT is a cancer risk.



9. Dactyl (Herbicide) 

Dacthal (dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, or DCPA) is an herbicide that contaminates soil and water sources. Unlike HBA and DDT, Dacthal is still in use today. Animal tests have found dacthal damages the adrenal glands, kidneys, liver, thyroid, and spleen.



Why water filtration is important: 

With all these toxins contaminating our water its extremely important to remove them for good quality health. When you drink these toxins it depletes the bodies minerals to help balance the body form the toxins. This depletion of minerals creates a nutritional deficiency as the body has lost the minerals needed to perform at a healthy functional level. With depleted minerals then follows organ dysfunction. Organ dysfunction can cause cause anything skin rashes, digestions issues, acne, lowered sex drive, changes in mood, auto immune challenges, joint pain to name a very small amount. The body is is an interconnected machine so one organ dysfunction can lead to many others. So you can see how important it is to remove toxins form you life style especially water.  



Best Filtration systems:

Zero water filters - Are a great cost effective filter option that removes total dissolved solids most specifically lead. Total dissolved solids being any chemical, metal or  toxin that will dissolve in water which includes fluoride, chlorine, lean, mercury, herbicides and pesticides to name a few. It comes with a TDS meter which allows you to test your water to see the level of total dissolved solids giving you level in which you should change the filter. They are sold on amazon, target, bed bath and beyond and come in different sizes. 



Additional ways to improve water quality:

Ozone-  In the office we recommend a machine that adds extra oxygen to your water called the Ozo-pod. The ozone process is adding a three extra oxygen molecules to the 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen molecule (2:1).Because ozone is unstable, the newly formed bond is only temporary and must be used or preserved no more than 20 minutes after creation to be most effective. 

Ozonated water in a number of scientific studies has shown to remove bacteria, viruses and eliminate impurities. When you drink ozonated water it increase energy,  and blood detoxification. Increased oxygen in the brain heightens its function. Single oxygen cells introduced into the immune system makes it stronger and better able to fight infections. Drinking cold ozone water on an empty stomach every day can detoxify your intestinal tract. For most people we suggest 16 ounces a day.  



Water on the go:

The best options for water would be glass and stainless steal. Plastic is a toxin that we test for in the office any form of plastic even if BPA free actually acts as estrogen in the body playing off our hormones and causing imbalance. If this toxin shows up in patients we ask them to stay away form all plastic where possible and help them detox through diet changes and whole food supplements. To start improving your health I would give this recommendation to everyone. The less toxins the better. 

It is hard to stay away from plastic when traveling, Voss water and Mountain Valley water have the option of water in glass bottles if it's available. If there is no glass options I would recommend Evian, Volvic or Mountain Valley water in the plastic bottles.

Water bottles to check out:
I personally use the Flaska bottle and love it!

glass: 

Flaska water bottle with cover 

Life Factory- silicon sleeve for grip and protection 



Stainless steel:

Klean kanteen 

S’well

Try Bee's Wrap Instead of Plastic Wrap

Considering how anti-plastic I am (read the blog) I can't believe it took me this long to find Bee's Wrap®!  It is kind of like wax paper but can really seal when putting over a dish and is reusable for about a year.  

I would suggest buying the assorted pack contains 3 sizes of wraps (Small 7" x 8", Medium 10" x 11", and Large 13" x 14") for $18. It is not just beeswax but also made with certified organic cotton, organic jojoba oil and tree resin.  It is amazing how reusable it is. Wash it before you use it and after every use with cool water and soap and air dry. Each wrap will last about a year with use a few times per week. Wrap cheese, half of a lemon, a sandwich (gluten-free), or cover a bowl. When wrapping this product around food or over a bowl, the warmth of your hands helps the wrap to form a seal. As the wrap cools, the seal will hold its shape.



The only warning it comes with is from the company: beeswax has a natural fragrance that can vary depending on the time of year that it is harvested. Since beeswax is the primary ingredient in this product, each piece will exude that fragrant scent. If the scent if too strong for you, we recommend you wash it a few times before the first use, which may dilute the fragrance. Additionally, during your first use, cover a container that does not allow the scent to directly touch the food. If wrapping food directly such as bread or cheese, use a cloth directly on the food and then Bee's Wrap™. Over time the scent will fade. 

I personally don't mind the scent at all.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

For the Health of it! Sprouted Grains

The health benefits of wheat, rye, rice, quinoa and other grains are entirely dependent on how they are eaten. Refined, processed grains are stripped of most of their nutrients, as the bran and the germ of the grain are removed. When making white flour, most of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, E, folic acid, calcium, zinc, iron, and fiber are lost leaving you with a useless starchy food that has a host of negative health consequences.

Eating refined grains can directly contribute to obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Traditionally, all grains and seeds, including rice were SPROUTED. As much as 20x more nutrients are found in sprouted seeds compared to processed seeds.
Before the usage of commercial farm harvesters, grain naturally sprouted in the field before it was milled into flour. During the industrial revolution grain was quickly harvested unsprouted and moved to storage bins.

Sprouted foods are considered wonder foods. They rank as the most nutritious of all foods available.



Benefits of Sprouted Flour:
Easier to digest - sprouting breaks down the starches in grains to simple sugars so your body can digest them like a vegetable
Increased Vitamin C
Increased Vitamin B
Increased Carotene - sprouting increased the carotene up to eight times
Increased enzymes - enzymes are produced during sprouting
Reduction of anti-nutrients - Sprouting neutralizes enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid which is present in the bran of all grains that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

Sprouted grains are significantly higher in protein, vitamins and enzymes. In fact, one of my favorite protein powders is Garden of Life because they use sprouted grains for the protein. Sprouted grains have low GI so they are digested more slowly by the body, keeping the blood sugar levels stable for longer, making people feel more satisfied. This leads to snacking less.

Those who have allergies or intolerances to wheat or grains in general may find that they have absolutely no negative health reactions to sprouted grains.

Organic sprouted grains or flour is available here. www.organicsproutedflour.net

Sprouted grains can be found in health food stores too. "Food For Life Ezekiel" has bread and cereals which are tasty. Making your own sprouted food is also an option. Read here for details.

Have You Had Your Bulletproof Coffee?

[Guest Post from Hanna Sender]

I love coffee. The smell, the taste, the morning ritual of it. However, too much caffeine, especially during certain points of a healing journey, can put a lot of stress on our bodies. It is best to stick to one cup of coffee a day and to avoid putting ourselves on that all too familiar caffeine rollercoaster! And if we’re going to be sticking to one cup a day, we should strive to make it the best cup possible, right?

Like any other food or beverage, the quality of coffee can really differ and it is extremely important to know what you’re getting. Conventional coffee is one of the most chemically treated crops around, full of toxins, pesticides, and mold that can wreak havoc in your body. To avoid accidentally drinking these unwanted toxins every morning, always choose organic and look for coffee that is proud of where it has been sourced from! Once you’ve got quality covered, you’ll be well on your way to making my personal favorite coffee drink…
Bulletproof Coffee!



You may or may not have heard of this growing trend that advocates for putting butter and oil in your coffee. Though this might sound a bit odd at first, I guarantee you will be a convert once you try it. This coffee is delicious, creamy, satiating, and moreover, good for you! It is a great way to start your day with some healthy fats, which are not only extremely beneficial on their own, but also serve to slow down the effect of the caffeine in your body (see you later, caffeine crash!) Additionally, the MCT oil helps you to feel extra clearheaded and alert. Recipe below!


Ingredients:
- Organic coffee beans or grounds
- Boiling Water
- Grass-fed butter (Kerrygold is my favorite!)
- High quality MCT oil (most health food stores carry this, or you can order it online)

Tools:
- French Press (this is my favorite way to make bulletproof coffee; it creates a rich, full-bodied, smooth flavor.)
- Blender or immersion blender

Directions
Brew French Press coffee. Once brewed, pour into blender (or large immersion blender cup if that is what you are using.) Add one tablespoon grassfed butter and 1-2 teaspoons XCT oil, and blend! Blending, as opposed to just stirring, allows the fats to become emulsified and creates a delicious layer of foam on top of your drink. Enjoy!

**Don’t worry… if coffee can’t be included as a friendly part of your diet at the moment, we have a great post on a healthy, caffeine-free coffee alternative!

Why You Need to Detox

To achieve health in the office, our goal is to get rid of toxins and with the right nutrition, the body can heal.  Healing is all about detoxing.  There are two types of toxins: external toxins (exotoxins) and internal toxins (endotoxins).  It is normal to have a certain amount of toxicity in the body.   A healthy body, toxins in, toxins out for we have our natural detox pathways where toxins end up in urine, bowel movements and sweat.  But when these pathways get overloaded by too many toxins and we can't eliminate them fast enough an imbalance occurs.  It first occurs as inflammation at the cellular level.  If this imbalance is not fixed at the cellular level then it increases to inflammation of the tissues and then inflammation of the organ.  When the organ is inflamed we start feeling symptoms. All disease starts with inflammation.  High toxicity can cause any symptom, it just depends on where it is in the body.  Manifestation also depends on the person's weak link which is determined by genetics.  Most commonly toxicity can cause digestive issues, skin reactions, feeling tired or unfocused or headaches.

Endotoxins are by-products of normal, everyday metabolic activities, but they can also be the result of destructive thoughts, emotions or stress.There are fleeting thoughts and then there are those bigger, all-consuming emotions you push aside.  You think they're gone because you're not actively thinking about them, but in fact, they may be impacting your immune, digestive or nervous systems.  Stress, anxiety and other negative emotions have a real impact on your health and so a key part of detoxing is not only nourishing the body, but also nourishing the mind.  

What creates endotoxins?

anger and resentment
anxiety
bacterial end products
bowel toxins
fear
free radicals
jealousy
hormones
self-criticism
metabolic waste
pessimism



Exotoxins enter your body when you ingest them in food or drink, or inhale them into your lungs.
What creates exotoxins?
air pollution
alcohol
skin care
cleaning supplies
food sensitvities
heavy metals

We know these toxins come out through the urine, bowels and skin but how do they get there?  Through the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a complex network of vessels and nodes that carry lymphatic fluid throughout the body, like the way arteries and veins circulate blood.  In fact, lymphatic vessels flow alongside your blood vessels.  Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system does not have a pump (the heart).  Instead it relies on muscle movement to push fluid through its channels.  This means exercise and massage aren't just important for soothing your mind and muscles; they're also essential for a healthy lymphatic system.  

Lymphatic fluid carries white blood cells called lymphotcytes.  These cells disable harmful foreign invaders picked up from your blood.  When you are sick your lymphnodes can be swollen because they are working overtime to rid your body of foreign invaders.  

Your GALT is also part of the lymphatic system.  The GALT is the intersection of our gastrointestinal system, immune system, and nervous system and it is made up of a network of immune cells and membranes that line the inside passages of our body.  Think of it as our "inside skin".  The functions of the skin are to absorb nutrients and provide a barrier that protects toxins from getting into the body.  The GALT works similarly, but it lines the inside passages of our body including the sinuses, nose, lungs, mouth, esophagus, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, colon, vagina, urethra and bladder.

So your GALT protects you from toxins leaky from those areas into the rest of the body but when the body is overloaded with toxins the GALT barrier won't work well and toxins start to leak out in other areas of the body.  When this happens to the digestive system it is known as Leaky Gut Syndrome.  

More on the GALT and Leaky Gut Syndrome next blog.

How Scar Therapy Can Make You Healthier

In the office we check for different stressors on the body.  These stressors can interfere with health and scar tissue is considered to be one of the five major stressors.  The reason scar tissue can be a stressor is because it is shown that 80% of nerve fibers go to the surface of the skin.  This abundance of fibers is so dense under the surface of the skin that if one were able to remove the skin from the body without upsetting the network of sympathetic nerve fibers underneath, the individual would still be recognizable.  When a scar occurs and the body heals it, the skin and nerves heal in a mish-mash way creating scar tissue.  It is in the scar tissue that electronic impulses get lost and cannot flow through properly causing stress on the body. The end result can often be a concentration of electrical energy in the area of the healing scar.  Dr. Ulan (the founder of Nutrition Response Testing) refers to this effect as acting like a condenser which collects electrical energy.  As electrical energy is collected in this area it can randomly discharge amounts of this energy.  This random discharge of energy can most certainly upset the control and balance of nervous system. When the nervous system is under stress and the brain is not communicating well with the body healing will be slow.  This is why treating scars is so important.



Considering the effects of scars it is important to realize the following facts.  The size of the scar does not correlate with how much stress it can put on the body.  A small, seemingly insignificant scar may cause a great deal of harm as compared to a large scar which may have no effect on the individual.  So size has no bearing on the effects a scar may or may not cause.  Another important point of consideration is that not all scars cause the electrical stress on the body.  A scar that causes this type of stress we call active.  A scar may be active for a protracted period of time, may be active spontaneously, may be inactive for years and suddenly, for no apparent reason, become active, and vice versa.  When the possibility of scars presents itself, it is important to check and correct the active scars as often as necessary until they no longer present as active.  Periodical checking is also a good idea because of the possibility of their becoming active again later in the future.

Topical application of wheat germ oil or sesame oil, whichever the scar tests for, often will inactivate a scar.  This may occur immediately or take several weeks to accomplish.  Cold laser application is another method of inactivating a scar.  This is done for a period of four minutes, usually done in the office but the practitioner can rent out a laser or have the patient buy one for home use.  

No Stress Bone Broth Powder

Bone broth is a wonderful, medicinal drink to help heal the gut, immune system, skin, hair, and brain.  I have written on it's health benefits before and in my office have handouts with recipes.  Even though simmering a bone for hours sounds easy sometimes it's hard for my patients to comply.  It's only worth making if the bone is organic and sometimes that can be hard to find.  The broth is also a warm drink that can be hard to drink in the heat of the summer.  So I went looking for alternatives to making your own and found some online companies where you can buy it but it's on the expensive side.  Bare and Bones has a great one but with shipping it is $90 for 6 pounds of it.  In my research, a patient actually brought  to my attention, Epigenetic Labs that makes a bone broth powder.  How convenient!  I already do a morning shake for most of my breakfasts and instead of protein powder I would try the bone broth powder that is 20 grams of protein for a scoop.  I bought the original for $49 for about 25 scoops (chocolate and vanilla are sweetened with stevia which are great options for the original does have to be hidden in a smoothie).  



Besides a great source of protein the bone broth helps heal the gut, grow healthier nails, skin and hair and is great brain food!  A wonderful way to start the day!  So you can add just water or milk to the powder or make a smoothie.  Here's the recipe I use for my morning smoothie with my Ninja blender:

1/2 an avocado with the pit
1 cup spinach
1 scoop bone broth powder
1 Tbsp. flax seeds
8 cocoa beans
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1Tbsp. bee pollen
1/2 inch turmeric root
1/2 inch ginger root
1/2 inch sunchoke
1 Tbsp. spirulina

'Healthy' Ice Cream!

With my diet being sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free one of the hardest foods to find for me to eat is ice cream.  It's not easy to be constantly telling my daughter no as we pass by ice cream trucks.  Luckily she understands when we go to birthday parties and we bring our own dessert.  At certain stores you can find ice cream made from coconut milk or almond milk and sweetened with agave or cane sugar.  Cane sugar or evaporated cane juice is different than 'sugar' and it will be labelled as 'cane sugar'.   It is the same sugar that comes from the cane stalk but is less processed and therefore the body recognizes it as food and not as a toxin and doesn't do harm to the body.  But still too much does spike the blood sugar and cause a flood of insulin which puts stress on the pancreas and digestive system.  So even too much of a healthy thing is still too much.  I test for both sugar and cane sugar as food sensitivities so it can be decided if your body can handle the cane sugar or not.  Luckily for my daughter and I, we can.  

So that brings us to 620 Manhattan Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11222, across the street from my Brooklyn office, to an artisanal ice cream shoppe, Van Leeuwen, where they make  delicious ice cream using organic cane sugar.  They have flavors that use dairy and they have others that use coconut cream and cashew milk.  The vegan flavors include: 

DARK CHOCOLATE

SALTED CARAMEL 

CHOC CHIP COOKIE DOUGH 

MINT CHIP

COFFEE BEAN

BANANA NUT

PEANUT BUTTER CHOC CHIP

MATCHA GREEN TEA

My daughter had a scoop of the chocolate and I had a scoop of the coffee and it was delish!

They have 3 trucks in NYC that if you go to their website you can find the locations of for they change daily.  They also have trucks in LA.  They have 8 shops with 5 in NYC and 3 in LA.  They have 3 in Brooklyn (Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Boerum Hill) and 2 in Manhattan (West Village, East Village).  So check it out and enjoy!  Happy summer!

Is Butter Healthy For You?

I am an avid supporter of eating butter. I truly believe it is a healthy fat that should be in your diet. For those of you not eating or drinking milk or cheese you can still eat butter for butter does not contain mold, casein or lactose in it which are the main reasons why people cannot digest milk or cheese well. I put butter in the same category as olive oil and coconut oil for healthy cooking and science is slowly catching up now declaring butter 'may not be bad' for you which is a far different story than what science was saying decades ago when it was declaring butter will clog arteries and cause heart attacks.

A systematic review and meta-analysis looking at the association of butter consumption with chronic disease and all-cause mortality made headlines. Senior author Dariush Mozaffarian noted that “overall, our results suggest that butter should neither be demonized nor considered ‘back’ as a route to good health.”

What the study missed unfortunately is there is no specific comparison (i.e. butter vs. olive oil), so the default comparison becomes butter vs. the rest of the diet. That means butter is being compared to a largely unhealthy mix of refined grains, soda, other sources of sugar, potatoes, and red meat (for reference, less than five percent of the US population meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans). Partially hydrogenated oils—a source of trans fat—were also in the mix, as they would have been high in the food supply during much of the time period of the studies included.

Overall, the study reported that butter consumption was weakly associated with increased total mortality, not associated with cardiovascular disease, and slightly protective against diabetes. These predominantly neutral findings for butter were also acknowledged in the press release:

“Even though people who eat more butter generally have worse diets and lifestyles, it seemed to be pretty neutral overall,” said lead author Laura Pimpin. “This suggests that butter may be a “middle-of-the-road” food: a more healthful choice than sugar or starch, such as the white bread or potato on which butter is commonly spread and which have been linked to higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease".

So with this step of declaring butter as neutral maybe in another decade science will actually agree with me. We shall see!

Green Vaccine

The concept of the vaccine is accurate.  Introducing a germ into the body in a low dose so the immune system can build antibodies to it and not get sick in the future is how the body was made to deal with germs.  The problem with vaccines is not the germ but the mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde and any other toxins they put in it.  There is a way to get a vaccine using homeopathy and not injections.  The method is called homeoprophylaxis, or HP for short. HP is delivered on tiny sugar pellets, one disease at a time, devoid of adjuvents, preservatives, antibiotics, animal viruses, GMOs or excipients of any kind. It contains only the frequency of the disease. This is how illness occurs in nature. The innate developing immune system recognizes one disease, begins an immune response by producing a fever, then a discharge or eruption, and then resolution by developing lifelong immunity to a specific virus. HP produces a similar response yet in a much milder way. We might observe a very brief runny nose or perhaps a longer nap. However, there is no immune system confusion, no viral competition, no crossed signals, and no system overload like with conventional vaccines!



HP is made by serial dilution of an original substance, either from a natural disease or from an animal, mineral or vegetable source. It’s this stimulation to the immune system that primes it to recognize a disease when encountered in the environment to effectively mount an immune response in the most natural way.
 
There has never been a death from homeoprophylaxis, nor are there dangerous side effects. Large-scale observational studies have been conducted for the following diseases:

Leptospirosis in Cuba (2.5 million people)
Meningitis in Brazil (85,000 people)
Japanese encephalitis in India (20 million people)
Homeoprophylaxis is also effective for the prevention of childhood diseases as observed in 3500 children (Golden, Isaac. “Homeoprophylaxis-A Fifteen Year Clinical Study: A Statistical Review of Efficacy and Safety of Long Term Homeoprophylaxis. Gisborne. Vic. 2004).
When and Where to Use Homeoprophylaxis

There are 3 applications for HP –
Endemic disease (such as leptospirosis)
Short term epidemics (such as influenza)
Childhood diseases
For endemic disease there have been large studies (millions of people) and over time with annual dosing, the stats improve and disease incidence reduces significantly. In short term epidemics, like flu, you just dose for a few weeks/months until the risk is past.  For childhood disease there are single monthly doses for a period of about 3 years.  This includes 8 diseases that are on the recommended schedule that parents typically vaccinate for.  Protection begins immediately with the first dose and continues for a period of about 10 years. Re-doses can be administered in teen years or young adulthood depending on exposure to disease and risk of the specific disease.

For those traveling to foreign countries, HP is an easy and safe alternative to tropical disease vaccines. While some travel clinics will claim that you ‘must’ receive vaccines to travel, this is inaccurate. The only vaccine required to re-enter the US is yellow fever if you have visited a country where yellow fever is endemic. This information can be found on the CDC site under “travel” where you can click links to each country and learn of the yellow fever risk. All other vaccines for hepatitis, dengue fever, typhoid, malaria, and others can be declined and suitable HP doses can provide protection. Many of the studies already conducted have taken place in countries where these tropical epidemics exist.

To learn more the second international conference for parents and healthcare practitioners is taking place in St. Petersburg Florida, October 7-9, 2016.
Click here to find out the details:  worldwidechoice.org/conference

Healthy Living App

Environmental Working Group has a great website called Skin Deep that lets you search for over 60,000 products and rates them according to toxicity. Not only does the product get a score of 1-10 with 1 being the best for 1 is least toxic but it also scores each of the ingredients in the product telling you which ones are safe and which ones may cause cancer. Just type your product into the search box and see what comes up.

Many times I tell female patients to look at their makeup and see what products have titanium in them but ingredient lists are usually not on the product but the box that it came in that was thrown out a long time ago. So this website would be a great resource to see if there is titanium in your makeup.



They also have an app called Healthy Living that allows you to scan products and the info will then come up. It has been a lot of fun scanning my products at home. For example, I use Kiss My Face roll on deodorant in lavender that scores a 1. Interestingly only the lavender or fragrance-free scores a 1. The other scented roll ons score a 3 due to the fragrance they use and the deodorant sticks with fragrance score a 4. Who would have known? So next time you go shopping do some scanning first!

Here are some really safe, non-toxic products according to the Environmental Working Group.

Biossance™ THE REVITALIZER
isoi Bulgarian Rose MoisturiZIP
MyChelle Refining Sugar Cleanser
Sea Kind Elysium Serum
Silk Theraputics C Advance Anti-Aging Intensive Serum, Lemongrass
Silk Theraputics Nurture+, Silk+E Balanced Hydration
W3LL PEOPLE Bio Brightener Stick
W3LL PEOPLE Bio Bronzer Stick

Silence is Golden AND Good for Your Health

Back in February 2016 I went to an ashram for 3 days of silence and it forever changed my life.  Just the concept of being unplugged from my electronics and instead tapped in and centered without distractions was enough for a wonderful recharge from my busy life.  But the silence was key for transformation.  

Healing is with the mind, body and spirit and in these stressful times, the mind can become our worst enemy.  It is bombarded by thousands of sensory impression, continually ruminating on what if and reiterating the mind's habitual patterns.  Medical research tells us that the epidemic of modern disease is largely the result of stress and one of the greatest sources of stress is excessive levels of noise.

(Photos are from Self-realization Fellowship Ashram in Encinitas, CA)

Notice the common sources of noise in your life: automobile traffic, electric appliances, neighbors, airplanes and if that's not enough, we invite more noise into our lives in the for of cell phones, televisions, radios and loudspeakers.  All of these leave our nervous system overworked, weakened, and dispersed.  Is it any wonder that the young are suffering from modern diseases such as attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity and are failing in school at unprecedented levels?  Is in any wonder that many people feel thy lack sufficient time and suffer from anxiety and that more than a quarter of American adults have great difficulty falling asleep.  Is it nay wonder that, in America during the past ten years, the consumption of mood altering prescription drugs has exploded and that many people choose alcohol or pot to help them unwind.  

One of the best ways to stop being absorbed in the mind's games and to manage the effects of all this sensory stress is to learn how to observe silence for extended periods.  Silence is our origin and it is our destination: before we were born and at the end of our lives.  We experience it on a daily basis, before we wake up in hte morning as as we fall alseep at night.  It is not  so strange to us.  We all cherish the moment when we put our head on the pillow at night.  Who doesn't appreciate a good night's sleep?
 

Most of us discharge a great deal of energy through unnecessary talking.  By the end of the week we are exhausted.  But instead of recharging by observing a day of silence we spend our weekend with more noise.  Ideally if you could spend 24 hours a week in silence you could experience the benefits of more energy, stronger nerves, greater mental focus, dissipation of anxiety, better sleep and a more purposeful life.  On a physical level you can expect to develop better health and heal faster because silence promotes the conditions necessary for recuperation and stress management.  If 24 hours doesn't fit into your schedule do a half day,  6 waking hours.  Any silence will help.  

The regular practice of silence allows us to develop patience and resist emotional movements such as anger, lust and greed.  With cultivating silence intentionally when we are angry it will be easier to hold our tongue, reflect before we speak and then only say what is helpful, calmly.  With silence we can learn to witness the mind's fantasies, not as our own but with detachment and learn to stop their repetitive cycles.  Silence is not the absence of thought but the ability to be present with your thoughts as they arise.  That power of now is how practicing silence will help you in all ways, mind, body and spirit.  

The Power of Hopetance

Hopetance – where acceptance and hope meet in a current situation to bring about clarity, wisdom and discernment. To have hopetance, the first step is to find the courage to look at the situation differently than you have been doing. Yes, courage. It takes courage to look at the situation differently. It takes courage to let go. We have trouble letting go because we feel there is something to be gained from looking at the situation from our perspective. What satisfaction do we gain? We have to be gaining something otherwise we would not be viewing it that way. Do we gain a sense of power or a sense of safety? Maybe we gain a sense of victimization. Yes, wanting to feel like a victim is what we sometimes prefer because then we don't have to take any responsibility for the situation. Having it be the other person’s fault is the payoff for thinking of yourself as a victim. We often choose to blame others rather than take responsibility.  So it takes courage to make that transition to choose not to blame others. It is with responsibility that empowerment comes to do something about the situation instead of the situation doing something to us.

Sometimes we truly are a victim of unforeseen circumstances and even though there is no responsibility to take we can still find hopetance when we have the courage to find meaning in our suffering.  Viktor Frankl, in his book “Man’s Search For Meaning”, tells the story of how he survived the Holocaust by finding personal meaning in the experience, which gave him the will to live through it. Frankl expresses in his writing a strong relationship between “meaninglessness” and criminal behaviors, addictions and depression. Without meaning, people fill the void with hedonistic pleasures, power, materialism, hatred, boredom, or neurotic obsessions and compulsions.

Frankl writes ‘In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen.  The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action.  There were enough examples, often of heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed.  Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.  They offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.  And there were always choices to make.  Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate." 

He continues, "The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity to add a deeper meaning to his life.  He may remain brave, dignified and unselfish.  Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal.  Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him.  And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.  Of the prisoners only a few kept their full inner liberty and obtained those values which their suffering afforded, but even one such example is sufficient proof that man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate. Such men are not only in concentration camps.  Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering.  One could make a victory of those experiences turning life into an inner triumph or one could ignore the challenge and simply vegetate, as did a majority of the prisoners."



One time a prisoner was trying to raise morale and Frankl explains, "He talked about the many comrades who had died in the last few days, whether of sickness or suicide.  But he also mentioned what may have been the real reason for their deaths, giving up hope.  Whoever was still alive had reason for hope.  Health, family, happiness, professional abilities, fortune, position in society – all could be achieved again or restored.  After all, we still had all our bones intact.”  

Yes, that’s what gave them hopetance, that their bones were still intact.  They had nothing, and I mean nothing left other than their body, which was malnourished, cold, and in pain with a high chance of being diseased but they still had it.  Think about the courage it took to find hopetance in such a situation in order to live another day or even another moment. Frankl’s writing is a perfect example of how the situation doesn't have to change, only the way you think about it does. 

When in a challenging situation what do you do first?  Does your mind go to worse case scenario?  Do you go into denial? Do you blame others? The reason I ask is because it matters. The outcome of the situation depends only on one thing, how you think about it.  What you think matters because thoughts lead to feelings.  Feelings lead to actions and actions lead to the outcome.  You may be in a situation you think you don’t have any control over but you do, you have 100% control over what you think.  So why not be a tragic optimist? An optimist is a person who always believes in the good.  A tragic optimist is someone who no matter how tragic the situation is believes that the higher power, Spirit, universal intelligence, etc. has a plan for all things to come to good who believe in such.  Even if that coming to good is death, death does not have to be bad for it is the release of suffering.  A tragic optimist has the ability to experience anything and in that ability is a power so great that it can change the world.  Gandhi was a tragic optimist, so was Nelson Mandela and who knows where the world would be without these people.

To be a tragic optimist the key is to have enough discipline to stop and think before acting.  We all get in trouble when we are reactive, which is acting without thinking.  But it’s best to be active, which is to act with thinking.  Thinking is the process of being in the now.  Thinking allows you to take in all that you can in the moment to make the best possible choice. Whereas when you are reactive you can’t take in much at all because you’re too busy with what you are feeling.  At times, emotions can get in the way of thinking clearly especially emotions of overwhelm, guilt, fear, grief, or anger.  Make a pact with yourself now that the next time you are feeling these during a heated conversation take time out and recollect yourself and then try the conversation again when you can be more centered and think clearly.   If we don’t take time out we act from our emotions and this reliance on our instincts tends to get us in more trouble. We do things we tend to regret and in this way we lose our own personal power.  

The placebo effect is a prime example of how what you think matters. Research shows that taking a placebo, a sugar pill, actually makes a change in symptoms 33% of the time. That means that one out of three times if you believe it's going to work it will even if there is not physical reason for it. The same can be said for if you don't think it will work, and then no matter what it is, you are right. It won't work precisely because you decided it wouldn't. So if you have a choice in the matter (and you always do) why not choose optimism? Know that you always have a choice.

Health Benefits of a Himalayan Salt Lamp

I have blogged about the benefits of eating Himalayan salt.  Due to its high mineral content I think it's the best salt to eat! It is also full of negative ions that helps reduce indoor air pollution, allergens, improves mood & sleep, and reduces stress.  How can negative ions do all that?  Well, back to Science 101, “An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving the atom a net positive or negative electrical charge.”  Our bodies are full of positive ions from all the chemical reactions that occur.  Positive ions also come from electronic devices like computers, TVs, microwaves, and even vacuum cleaners and can often exacerbate problems like allergies, stress and sleep trouble. Negative ions can neutralize positive ions (they bond together) and help cleanse the air.

Negative ions occur more often in nature and they are often created by things like lightening storms, sunlight, waterfalls, and ocean waves. This is one of the reasons people often report feeling renewed or refreshed after a storm or at the beach. Earthing mats also help the body by producing negative ions.  If you are having trouble sleeping they are good to use in bed.  or to put your feet on under the desk while you are at the computer.

Having the negative ions in the air that you breathe cleans the air but also as you breath it in the positive ions in your body and the negative ions you just inhaled come together to create an atom without a charge which puts less stress on the  body.  Otherwise, an ion having a charge is known as a free radical and causes oxidative stress in the body.  That's why eating and drinking antioxidants is healthy for your body.  Foods highest in antioxidants are cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries in the fruit category. Beans, artichokes, and Russet potatoes were tops among the vegetables. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts ranked highest in the nut category.

So for  better health purchase a salt lamp. eat your blueberries and if you really are having trouble with sleep or inflammation use an Earthing mat.

Need a Snack? Try Paleovalley

A lot of my patients come to me asking about good snack ideas. They are working hard to change their diet as per my recommendations after giving them a very personalized, specific diet and as they read ingredients they realize how food they once thought was healthy really isn't very healthy especially when it comes to 'health bars'. If you like beef jerky and you can do fruits in your diet Epic bars are a great option that you can pick up at Whole Foods and other health food stores. But what about Kind bars, Cliff bars, Lara bars? Cliff bars have soy in them and are not necessarily organic so I would stay away from them. Lara bars are fruit based and so that can be hard for some of my patients. Kind bars have nuts and fruit in them, sweetened with honey. Not all of them have fruit in them so that can be a good option but some of my patients cannot do nuts so what is left?



Organic, pure, whole food is the best snack. Meaning, anything your great, great grandmother could have eaten, you should eat as a snack too. A boiled egg, a piece of chicken, carrot sticks, etc. the less processed the better but I know we are a society on the go so what is a healthy 'on-the-go' snack? Try Paleovalley Superfood Bars. They are full of antioxidant rich foods such as spirulina and chlorella, but are cashew butter based. Cashew is seen as a nut but is truly a bean so cashews may be something you can do even though you are staying away from nuts. These health bars do however have fruit in them. They have blueberries, acai berries and cherries for antioxidant properties and it does use dates and honey for sweetness for a total of 11 grams of sugar. So if you are avoiding fruit these would not be the bars for you. Instead try their beef snack sticks, given you aren't a vegetarian. Their beef is grass-fed just like in the Epic bar but unlike the Epic bar, they do not contain fruit. There are not chemical preservatives and they use the tiniest bit of sweetener from tapioca. You can also make your own health bar with the recipe in this newsletter! If you make your own it will definitely save on the grocery bill and you can make it exactly the way you want.

Life is a Story

We each have a story, actually many stories.  Our lives are full of the stories that we tell ourselves.  We each have a story about family, our work, our home, etc. And I want you to know that if there is a story about your life that you don’t like, you can change it.  You can tell yourself a different story, for we are the author and each of us is writing a book of life.

We can literally tell ourselves a different story.  We can believe in a different story.  What we believe in, what we think and tell ourselves, matters for our thoughts give way to feelings. Feelings give way to actions. Actions give way to character. Character is our identity and what we use to create and write our book of life.  If we think a certain thought long enough it becomes a belief that we then act on. Take an inventory of your beliefs.  Do you believe life is fun or a struggle?  Do you believe in love at first sight or love is something to be earned?  Do you believe money should come easily or do you need to work hard for it? There is a danger in believing in a thought that does not serve you and then it comes out in actions of self-sabatoge.  There is also a danger in believing that what other people think matters. Your thoughts and feelings are fleeting and so are theirs. What do you want to believe in? Choose that. Yes, thoughts are a choice. They are not truth. What is truth? Truth is defined as 'in accordance with fact or reality'. But if our thoughts or feelings are fleeting then is it a fact? Is it truth? No. Truth is not your fleeting feelings or thoughts. But your feelings and thoughts do give rise to a 'truth for now'. Meaning as we grow and learn and have new feelings and thoughts we are creating a new truth for now, we are creating a new story. We are not the same person we were a year ago because we are not thinking or feeling the same things. We may be thinking happier thoughts or we may be thinking more depressed thoughts but they are not the same and the choice is ours.

If you don't like an aspect of your life, then change the way you think about it. Tell yourself a different story.  If you have different thoughts about it then you will feel and act differently and your life will change.  If you tell yourself a better, happier story your life will change for the better.  If something upsetting happens to you, or even traumatic, something that should never happen to anyone, it is okay, you can rewrite your story with courage.  Courage allows you not to get stuck in that sad story.  For if you do get stuck in a sad story your character starts changing and becoming sad.  That is depression. But even with a sad story we can find some silver lining about it, something, even if it’s small, to be grateful for.  And when we find that something to be grateful for that is what we can choose to think about.  We can do a paradigm shift.  We can tell ourselves a different story and think different thoughts and create a different life instead of being stuck in a story that doesn't help serve us. Maybe the story, at some point, did help us. Such as the story of love gone wrong and we aren't going to make that choice again. But do we really want to close ourselves off from all chances of finding love or do we just want to be smarter about it next time. We can learn from our stories and make better, healthier choices. That is the point. Learn and move on. The point is not to get stuck in them and replay them again and again in our minds and feel miserable about our book of life. 

When life blindsides you and you are working through a story that you don't have any control over or you wake up one day and you realize you don't like your story, you can learn to move through it with courage, the best way you know how. Feel your feelings. Get mad, get sad, cry, etc. whatever you feel, feel it. Do not numb yourself with distractions. Do not eat a gallon of ice cream, drink a bottle of wine or numb out on television. 

Feel your feelings because they are telling you something, but don't identify with them. We should not define who we are by our thoughts or our feelings. There is no truth in fleeting feelings. 'I am sad,' is not true. 'I feel sad' is true. Give your feelings space to be the energy that they are and let them come up.  Allow your feelings to communicate what they need to. Listen to them. Act accordingly for the highest good and then let them go. No need to hold onto them. No need to identify with them. In fact, unless they are feelings that make you feel good they need to be felt in order to be let go and nothing more.  If you don’t feel them then you can't let them go.  If you don't let them go they hold you down, emotionally and physically.  Feelings are energy and you keep that energy and store it in your body.  That is what stress headaches are. Stomach knots, shoulder pain, low back pain can all be areas too where you put your stress.  Stress occurs in the body when you are thinking thoughts or tell yourself a story that doesn’t make you happy.  It is at those times your body is telling you to tell a different story. The goal is to try to change your thoughts and change your story before it starts to change your character and affect your body.  You need to change your story when you don’t feel good about it. You know you are telling yourself the right story when you do feel good about it. 

When anger comes up as a feeling we tend to be confused by it.  It is an easy feeling to ignore for we have the stigma that nice people aren't supposed to get angry.  I want you to know that anger is nothing to be scared of.  It is a feeling that comes up to make us pay attention to what is going on for it is an indicator that something is not right.  If this feeling is ignored we act out in different ways.  We become passive aggressive or we take it out on others. Or maybe we are in denial and don't let ourselves feel it until one day it is too much pressure and we explode.  So next time you feel anger, first practice gratitude for it, because it is telling you to pay attention to something.  Then just be aware of your anger and really confront what is going on and use courage to change what needs to be changed in the situation so you feel safe again.  I will tell you most of the time what needs to be changed is not the other person involved in the situation but something within yourself needs to change that you are not seeing and your anger allows you to see it and do something about it.   If there is truly nothing you can change about the situation then acceptance is a choice.  It is a choice that will get you out of anger, vibrating higher and feeling better.

In your book of life if you don’t like your story about work or relationships but you like your story about taking sailing lessons then keep your thoughts on sailing.  Keep whatever thoughts make you happy.  Thoughts are vibration.  Vibration is energy.  Higher vibrating thoughts are happy thoughts.  The higher vibrating thoughts will give you more energy, put you in a higher vibrating place to have the energy to shift and move the lower vibrating thoughts and energy about the stories you don’t like and want to change.  Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” So go to a different level.  Go to a higher level with happier thoughts.

An easy example is when we break up with someone and we are devastated by it.  Our heart is broken, our lives are in pieces and we don’t know how to get out of the sadness and despair.  We slowly pick up the pieces and life does go on without them.  But how it goes on is up to us.  Do we stay in our sad story or do we practice gratitude for what we did learn from the relationship and trust that it’s over for a reason and move on with a story of trust and gratitude.  How we move on is especially important now in order to attract the next person into our lives.  If we are telling ourselves a sad story and vibrating low we are more likely to attract someone also vibrating low with their own sad story, for like attracts like.

Another example, a personal example, is when life blindsided me when my father died. I did the best I could to cope and go through the emotions of losing a loved one. Shock, denial, anger, bargaining, guilt, depression and acceptance and hope.  Nine months after he died I was stuck on anger. I was angry. Every thought justified my anger.  I was so, so, so angry that it was affecting every aspect of my life and I was miserable. So how do you go from anger to hope? You tell yourself a different story. For me, when I finally admitted to myself I was angry, I picked up the Bible, being raised Christian, that's all I knew at the time and I said to myself, 'you better figure out who you are mad at'. It took about six weeks of reading the Bible and other spiritual writings daily before my anger turned soft and started slowly transforming into acceptance. Now, 7 years later, after studying the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh while meditating daily I can say, my dad's death served as the spark I needed to find my beautiful, loving relationship with God. Before his death I thought maybe I believed in something but I wasn't even sure what that something was. My father gave me the best gift he could have ever given me, he lit my path towards enlightenment, but only by his death did this happen and that is the paradigm shift I needed to go from anger to hope. 

So that is my new story. The story of my father and I. It is no longer a story of anger and loss but of love renewed between God and I. A story of all the loving things my father did for me and when I miss him and start thinking about the loss I watch my feelings and then choose thoughts that make me happy.  I choose to think of my father and the memories I hold so dear in my heart that bring a smile to my face.  These thoughts fill me with love and gratitude. Whereas, if I stayed thinking of the loss I would probably still be stuck in anger and filled with bitterness.

In her book “On Death and Dying”, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described the 7 steps one takes to emotionally cope with death. But these steps are really taken to cope with any loss or sad story we are trying to emotionally process. Again, the steps are shock, denial, anger, bargaining, guilt, depression and finally  acceptance and hope. The steps are not written in stone. You may not go through them in order and you may be able to process in a way where you do not have to go through all the steps. You may also get stuck in a step. You may get stuck in a story. Know that your goal for happiness is to find a story of hope and acceptance. You have to hope to cope! To move through the steps think thoughts that give you hope. Have the discipline to hold onto these thoughts and the feelings that come about due to these thoughts. And with those thoughts and feelings you will build an energetic momentum to get you out of the unhappy step you are in and closer to hope and happiness.  This energetic momentum means it will be easier and easier for you to go to the higher vibrating thoughts.  You won’t have to consciously choose the higher vibrating thought but you will start thinking it automatically and soon have higher vibrating thoughts on different aspects of your life as well.  And it is in this way that you create your life and have the freedom to write a happy book of life.

Cancer Fighting, Cancer Preventing Apricot Seeds

Research is being done that shows apricot seeds are a source for a natural substance that kills cancer cells without destroying the cancer victim's health and wealth. The essential ingredient has been called laetrile or vitamin B17.

What is B17, or Laetrile?

In 1952, a biochemist named Dr. Ernst Krebb, Jr. in San Francisco decided that cancer was a metabolic reaction to a poor diet, and a missing nutrient from modern man's diet could be the key to overcoming cancer. His research led to a compound found in over 1200 edible plants throughout nature. That compound is amagdylin,

Amagdylin is found with the highest concentration and necessary enzymes in apricot seed kernels. A primitive tribe, the Hunzas, were known to consume large amounts of apricot seed kernels. The hard pit had to be broken to get into the soft kernels. There was no incidence of cancer with them at all, ever. And they had long, healthy life spans. Laetrile was created by simply extracting amagdylin from the soft apricot kernels, purifying it and putting it into a concentrated form.

The seeds are more available to consumers now than laetrile because in 1971 the FDA banned laetrile. Reasons are unknown but I assume it's because it would hurt Big Pharma's 200 billion cancer drug industry.  Laetrile is difficult, but not impossible, to purchase. The seeds are actually the soft almond shaped, bitter tasting kernels from inside the pits. 


So How Does It Work?

Amagdylin contains two specific things: one is benzaldyhide, and one is cyanide. Yes, cyanide and benzaldyhide are poisons if they are released or freed as pure molecules and not bound within other molecular formations. Many foods containing cyanide are safe because the cyanide remains bound and locked as part of another molecule and therefore cannot cause harm.

There is even an enzyme in normal cells to catch any free cyanide molecules and to render them harmless by combining them with sulfur. That enzyme is rhodanese, which catalyzes the reaction and binds any free cyanide to sulfur. By binding the cyanide to sulfur, it is converted to a cyanate which is a neutral substance. Then it is easily passed through the urine with no harm to the normal cells.

But cancer cells are not normal. They contain an enzyme that other cells do not share, beta-glucosidase. This enzyme, virtually exclusive to cancer cells, is considered the "unlocking enzyme" for amagdylin molecules. It releases both the benzaldyhide and the cyanide, creating a toxic synergy beyond their uncombined sum. This is what the cancer cell's beta-glucosidase enzyme does to self destruct cancer cells.

Amagdylin or laetrile in conjunction with the protective enzymes in healthy cells and the unlocking enzymes in cancer cells is thus able to destroy cancer cells without jeopardizing healthy cells. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, kills a lot of other cells and diminishes one's immune system while killing an undetermined amount of cancer cells.

Laetrile Treatment

There are many success stories from people using just laetrile or apricot pit kernels. The usual recommendation for prevention is around 5 to 7 over the course of a day. For actual cancer cases use 2 to 3 times that. Some say one kernel for every 10 lbs of body weight. For maintenance after a cure, go back to 5 to 7 per day.

Some laetrile therapists have patients use vitamin B15 tablets and digestive enzymes such as papaya's papain and pineapple's bromalene. Too many apricot pit kernels can create nausea or dizziness. 

For example, Gerson's cancer cure therapy's juicing protocol with the right type of juicer and using coffee enemas to detox the liver could be added with laetrile use. It's hard to go wrong with that healthy combination!

Do your own research by starting with the source links below this article.

Excellent interview of G. Edward Griffin on laetrile and the cancer industry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFnP9sU1KW4

A vast, indexed and categorized free source of cancer cure options with details you can use - It's the free online bible of cancer cure options
http://www.cancertutor.com/index.html

Vitamin B17 - contains information on supplements to include with B17 and a list of foods with B17, also a few caveats on using B17
http://www.detailshere.com/cancerb17.htm

The Magic of Bees: The Health Benefits of Honey and Bee Pollen

Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners.  In Russia, the extremely potent honey from Siberian bees was give out as a prescription for almost all ailments.  In ancient Egypt honey was used to heal wounds. However, not all honey on the store shelves is the same.  Honey is extremely heat sensitive due to the sheer number of beneficial enzymes, vitamins and minerals.  Honey that has been processed in any way losses most of its benefits.  Also, honey that was not properly harvested and made by bees that have been fed sugar instead of naturally collecting pollen from flowers and improper storage can contribute to a loss in nutrients.  Honey that is mass produced is just as bad as sugar.

Raw honey is the best honey.  It is an alkalining food that doesn't ferment in the stomach.  It can be used to counteract acid indigestion.  When mixed with ginger and lemon juices it also relieves nausea and supplies energy.  Raw honey has been reported to be good for respiratory infections, liver problems. stomach ulcers, digestive problems, constipation, strengthen the immune system and promote general vitality.

Manuka honey is most nutritious of honeys.  I have never been able to find it raw but it is worth the hype and the price.  It is only made in New Zealand and Australia from European honey bees foraging on the manuka tree. To be labelled New Zealand mānuka honey at least 70% of its pollen content should come from the manuka tree. In 2004 Britain's National Health Service (NHS) licensed the use of medical grade manuka honey as a wound dressing, And in recent tests conducted at Sydney University's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, manuka honey killed every type of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant "superbugs". For some reason this antibacterial property is stable and doesn't lose its potency when exposed to dilution, heat or light as in other processed honeys.  So I always have a jar of it in my house that I take out when I feel I am starting to come down with something. Manuka honey comes with a number on the label +5, +10 etc.  the higher the number the more enzymes are in the honey and so the more medicinal the honey is but also the more expensive it is.  So i buy the highest number and use it only when I feel my throat or lungs need it and  when I just want something sweet I use raw honey. 

Also made from bees is bee pollen and it is so full of nutrition it is labeled as a super food! It is about 40% protein and since about half of that is in the form of free amino acids it is ready to be used directly by the body and can contribute significantly to one's protein needs.
It interestingly cannot be synthesized in a laboratory.  When researchers feed bees manmade pollen the bee dies even though all the known nutrients are present in the lab-produced synthesized food.  It is important to recognize that one teaspoon of pollen takes a bee working eight hours a day for one month to gather.

Pollen is known to improve endurance and vitality, aid in recovery from chronic illness, reduce cravings and addictions, regulate intestines, build new blood and boost the immune system.  It is thought to protect against radiation and to have anti-cancer qualities.  Pollen is rich in proteins, free amino acids, and vitamins including B-complex and folic acid. It is a complete food. and according to researchers at the Institute of Apiculture, Taranov, Russia, "Pollen is the richest source of vitamins found in nature in a single food." Research still continues in how many nutrients are in bee pollen but so far over 5,000 enzymes and co-enzymes have been found, far more than is naturally present in any other food!

How Eating Sugar Effects the Thyroid

Susan keeps busy all the time. She is a mother of two, career woman and loves to volunteer at church on Sundays. However, each day is a struggle. She has a hard time waking up in the morning even when she gets 8 hours of good sleep. Her energy crashes at about 2-3pm when she reaches for a sugary snack as a pick-me-up or that cup of coffee with 3 packets of sugar. She knows if she does the coffee then chances are she will wake up at 3 am with worry and anxiety over something small but sometimes it's the only thing that works to get her through the day.

If this sounds like you know that you are not alone for there are many who are addicted to sugar, caffeine and/or carbohydrates riding high and low on blood sugar swings. Whether someone eats something sugary or carb-loaded, which will turn into sugar once digested, that sugar goes into the blood stream forcing the body to produce insulin, a specific hormone to manage it. The body produces a lot of insulin to take care of the high amount of sugar to get it out of the blood stream and into the cells for energy. It then produces it in excess and the blood sugar drops too low, sending signals to the brain to eat again. So it truly is a swing of sugar-spike and then sugar-crash and when that crash comes we then reach for the next sugary thing to make us temporary feel better and start the cycle again.

Dysglycemia, the condition of the body not being able to keep the blood sugar stable, effects the adrenal glands and their production of cortisol and if the cortisol levels are swinging for a long period of time then it will end in hypothyroidism or a low functioning thyroid. Dysglycemia weakens and inflames the digestive system and weakens the lungs and brain. It drives the adrenal glands to exhaustion, causing adrenal fatigue syndrome. It also sets the stage for other hormonal imbalances including PMS, polycystic ovary syndrome or a miserable transition into menopause. If the dysglycemia doesn't get managed, attempts at helping the thyroid are futile.

When the blood sugar goes to low, either in response after eating something sugary, reactive hypoglycemia or if their blood sugar is just chronically low, hypoglycemia symptoms include

cravings for sweets
irritability if meals are missed
dependency on coffee for energy
becoming lightheaded if meals are missed
eating to relive fatigue
feeling shaky, jittery
feeling agitated
become upset easily
poor memory, forgetfulness
blurred vision

Now when the blood sugar is too high for extended periods of time you have insulin resistance that turns into diabetes. Symptoms include

fatigue after meals
general fatigue
constant hunger
craving for sweets that is not relieved by eating them
must have sweets after meals
frequent urination
difficulty losing weight
aches and pains that move
Whether hypoglycemic or insulin resistant, you must make changes to your diet. When insulin resistant you can no longer eat what you please when you please; with hypoglycemia,m you cannot continue missing meals or snacking on something sugary or starchy. The worst thing a person can do for their blood sugar is overeat carbs and if you feel sleepy or crave sugar after a meal, you just ate too many carbs. Sticking to a diet to change your blood sugar is not easy due to the addictive nature of sugar and simple carbs. Know that the first three days is the hardest and if you can make it through that you'll make following a new healthy way of easting easier and more rewarding.

Here are some tips:
1. Eat a high quality protein breakfast. Which I know is not easy if you have dysglycemia for you may either be nauseous or not hungry at all. That is a side effect of your adrenal glands and the cup of coffee you are about to have is not going to help things.

2. Eat a small amount of protein or fat every 2-3 hours. This will keep the blood sugar from dipping down and prevent exacerbating your thyroid. Nuts, seeds, a boiled egg, meat or a low-carb protein shake are some examples.

3. Find your carbohydrate tolerance and stick to it. You can use an app to count carbohydrates for the day (try to be under 100 grams/day) but if you carb overload in one meal that will through the blood sugar off. Again, I will reiterate, if you feel sleepy or crave sugar after you eat, you just ate too many carbs.

4. Never eat sugary foods without some fiber, protein or fat. IF and when you do eat something sugary or starchy eat it will some high quality fiber, protein or fat to slow down the rate at which the glucose is absorbed into the blood stream. This helps prevent 'insulin shock'.

5. Avoid all fruit and carrot juice. They are very sugary, even though it is fruit sugar and without the fiber, the sugar goes straight into the blood stream, causing insulin shock.

6. Avoid caffeine with the exception of green tea which can actually help people with insulin resistance.

For more info on the blood sugar, adrenal, thyroid triad read Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal by Datis Kharrazian

Happiness is Medicine

Yes, happiness is something that can be learned. You may have heard that happiness is a choice but the question is how do you learn to make that choice?  When everything is going the way you expected or maybe even better than you expected, it is easy to be happy. Feeling happy is our default when our expectations are met.  What needs to be learned, and it can be learned, is to be happy when our expectations are not being met.

Some people say not to have expectations is the easiest thing to do but I don’t think so.  For the definition of expectation is to have a strong belief that something will happen.  To not have an expectation is to stop believing, to not have hope and what kind of life would that be?  The goal would be to have hope, to have expectations AND trust that if your expectation is not being met that it is for your greater good.  The goal is to have expectations and be flexible for expectations are assumptions and you know what happens when one assumes sometimes.  When an expectation is not met, when you assumed wrong, when you were blindsided, there is something to be learned from the situation and it is usually not about the situation itself or the other people in it, but to learn something about yourself.  If you do learn the lesson you will grow from it.  In that growth your comfort zone increases, meaning you have more situations that no longer make you uncomfortable and you can handle more of life with ease.  Fewer things will stress you out.  In being able to handle more you can live a fuller life.  A fuller life means a happier life for it will be easier to choose happiness with a wider comfort zone.    

When your expectations are not being met you may not be able to see the greater good in that moment or even a year later but somewhere down the line of living your life you will look back on that moment and know that what happened made you stronger.  That’s why the saying, ‘If it doesn’t kill you, it will only make you stronger”, is so well known.

But what happens when your expectations are not being met and you’re in the middle of that growth process?  It can be really uncomfortable.  It can feel awful and look ugly.  You have two choices.  You can either resist the growth and make it feel even more uncomfortable or you can surrender to the process knowing that what you are going through and the way you are feeling is only temporary.

Signs of resistance include addiction, anxiety, insomnia, negative distractions like too much TV, eating too much chocolate and illness.  You can feel resistance in your body in the form of a tension headache, upset stomach or constipation.  When your body is upset stop and check in with your thoughts and find the pattern of thinking that is causing the dis-ease and choose a better way of thinking.  Reframe your thinking whether it is a more healthy thought, reasonable thought, truly happy thought or even humorous thought that puts a smile on your face. Keep a sincere smile on your face and I promise you will feel better!

What does surrendering look like?  The process of surrendering means you choose thoughts that bring you peace and happiness.  You have to have the discipline to 1) watch your thoughts and 2) when you have a thought that makes you unhappy stop yourself and start thinking about something that makes you happy even if it’s a different topic all together. I have personally found the quickest way to put a smile on my face is to think of my daughter.

Only think about the topic that is causing upset in order to problem solve.  Do not dwell on it.  Do not go back and forth in decision-making and if you catch yourself doing so have the discipline to stop.  When we first start watching and choosing our thoughts the easiest thing to do is to distract ourselves as a way of choosing another thought.  When your upset about the topic and you can’t problem solve it then take your mind off the topic all together but make sure you if you are going to distract yourself do it with a healthy outlet like exercise, productive work or an enjoyable book.

If you don’t choose happiness, by default you are choosing sadness or somewhere on the spectrum of sadness, including fear, anger, frustration, irritation, desperation, and on the extreme end, depression.  Yes, depression is a choice that if chosen enough times creates a biochemical reaction in the brain that gets hardwired and starts becoming second nature.  The good news is if you can choose depression you can also choose to get out of depression.

If the depression is due to circumstance, for example a breakup, loss of a job or death of a loved one, watch your thoughts carefully as you process and integrate the new circumstance.  Feel your feelings, think your thoughts but do not get stuck on thoughts that drag you down.

If the depression was a slow process and somehow you find that you went from child-like happiness to adult depression it can be a slow process to get out of depression once you choose to do such.  For once the goal is set, every choice after that either takes you towards your goal or away from your goal. So maybe 10,000 good choices have to be made to get you out of your depression and that will be a lot of work, a lot of self-love, but it can be done.  The progress may be slow at times but you have to have the expectation, the belief in yourself, that you can do it. That mindset will make all the difference.  Know that it is a journey with ups and downs but if you check in with yourself once every 3-4 weeks and you see progress in how you are feeling then stay on the path, keep doing the work, making good choices on what you think, eat, work and how spend your free time. Let go of the bad choices and keep the good choices firm. If you check in with yourself and you do not see progress then figure out what things need to change and start making changes.  One change at a time, to not feel overwhelmed, and start with the change that will be easiest for you to make.

Another key to learning happiness is to have the discipline not to give in to instant gratification, those things that make you happy in the moment but that you later regret.  Happiness is something to be created for the long haul so you have to have enough discipline to see the big picture and choose not to give in to your every whim.

One has to have the wisdom to choose for the greater good, to choose what is best for the long haul.  You have to have a goal in sight and know what choice is going to get you there.  If you think losing 30 pounds will make you happier because you will be able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath, take less blood pressure medication and fit back into your favorite jeans then you have to have the knowledge that eating that donut that your coworker brought into work is not actually going to make you happy.  You are living an illusion if your goal is to lose weight and you choose to eat that donut.  Yet how many of us sabotage ourselves? How often do we set a goal and end up making choices that don’t get us anywhere other than 5 steps forward just to later make choices to take 5 steps back and end up in the same place. During these times of self-sabotage take time to be introspective and look at your thoughts and debug your brain to find which thoughts are not serving your goal.  It could be a thought of, “I’m working really hard and deserve that donut, “ or “I ate poorly this morning so today is ruined so I might as well enjoy eating the donut”.  No matter how we justify it, it will not make us truly happy. In fact we will feel guilt, remorse, maybe even an upset stomach or a headache from too much unhealthy fat and sugar.

There are subconscious reasons for self-sabotage and they are due to a lack of self-love in forms of lack of self-worth and feeling disloyal to our friends and family if we are happier. In order to reach any goal one has to feel worthy of it.  So watch your thoughts for negative self-talk and ask yourself where that thought came from.  Is the thought something you truly believe or is it the voice of a parent, teacher, or friend?  We are programed with thoughts all the time so take the time to deprogram your thinking when the thought does not serve you by choosing a thought to replace it.  Maybe the thought used to serve a purpose but if it is now holding you back from happiness then it is of no use. For example, you have a goal of making more money but you have a thought that creeps up every now and then that rich people are selfish.  But is it really true?  No. Could you replace the thought with another thought? Absolutely.

Another way we self-sabotage is by thinking if we reach our goal we are being disloyal to our friends and family.  Let’s say you do start making more money and your fear is that your friends or family will be jealous and so that type of thinking actually keeps you from making the money.  If they really do become jealous that is not your fault and shows that there is growth from them to do which is something you are not responsible for. You need to first and foremost be loyal to yourself.

Loyalty to self, self-worth, self-love are all attributes that need to be cultivated for they will bring happiness.  In other words you do have a relationship with yourself and that relationship, just like any other, needs to be worked on with love and compassion.  A daily spiritual practice of meditation, journaling or reading can help you spend time with yourself.  During this time be introspective to figure out what thoughts are holding you back.  It is best to spend this time alone in the morning so you have more inner strength to make good choices throughout the day, bringing you closer to what you really want, bringing you closer to happiness.

Babies are naturally happy and we should be too but something happens down the line of life where happiness feels more like a luxury than a natural state of being. I challenge you now to work towards moving back towards your natural state.  I challenge you to choose happiness. Choosing happiness leads us to feelings of joy, love, bliss, peace, patience, and satisfaction. If you feel that any one of these feelings is lacking in your life take the advice in this article to heart and learn to choose happiness.