Alternative Health looks at alternative ways of treating illness apart from the medical system.
Medical Cannabis: The REAL Reason the Government Wants to Keep it Banned
“Cannabis” refers to the plant that is commonly called "marijuana." The two terms are often used interchangeably. However, "cannabis" is the historical name that has been used in the medical literature. While public sentiments towards marijuana have recently changed to the point where two states have now voted to make it legal for recreational use, few people understand the actual history of cannabis as a medical plant in the United States, and how it came to be classified as an illegal drug. It is crucial to understand this history in order to fully understand what is happening at the state and national level with regards to both medical cannabis and recreational marijuana. Did you know that medical cannabis at one time was a widely prescribed drug in the U.S., and that physicians were originally opposed to its regulation? Did you know that while the U.S. government continues to list cannabis as a Schedule 1 illegal drug preventing doctors from prescribing it because it supposedly has no therapeutic value, that the government is also patenting drugs based on cannabis? What about recent laws passed to legalize the recreational use of marijuana: are these good or bad for medical cannabis use? Learn all this and more:
Big Pharma Wants to Monopolize the B Vitamin You Can’t Live Without
Last week we told you about FDA’s sneak attack to ban folate, the B9 vitamin essential to human life. This week, we tell you why the drug industry may want to ban folate and keep it all to itself: it could be a ploy to make billions on a new, patented SSRI/folate combo drug.
LDL “Bad cholesterol” Indicates an Amino Acid Deficiency, 99 Year Old Researcher Says
Fred Kummerow is an emeritus professor of comparative biosciences at the University of Illinois, and at 99 years of age, he is still conducting and publishing research. For over 60 years Professor Kummerow has warned about the dangers of trans fats, even suing the FDA for not removing the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status on them years after most other countries had banned them. Professor Kummerow has also battled against the standard thinking regarding cholesterol, stating that dietary cholesterol is good for your heart and that there are other factors that contribute to heart disease. In a paper published in 2013 in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease, he explained once again that oxidized lipids (and oxidized cholesterol), as is found in overheated polyunsaturated oils like corn and soy, are leading contributing factors to heart disease. In 2014, Professor Kummerow was still going strong at age 99, and has just published a new paper showing that LDL cholesterol is simply a marker for an amino acid deficiency and not the cause of heart disease at all.
Woman Battles Brain Cancer Using Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet Without Chemo
Alix Hayden has brain cancer, but instead of undergoing surgery and grueling chemotherapy, she's fighting it with the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet and has been doing great so far. Some of the most exciting research to come out in the past few years regarding the high-fat low-carb ketogenic diet has been in the area of cancer treatment. The results are so promising that new "ketone" drugs are in the pipeline. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb, and moderate-protein diet that was first developed in the 1920s at John Hopkins hospital to treat epilepsy. Some children with seizures saw great success on the diet, often where drugs had failed. Today, the ketogenic diet principles -- particularly using coconut oil as the main fat -- are being used to treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, as well as successfully treating cancer.
Vitamin C Elevates Moods, Reduces Distress and Anxiety
Recent research has confirmed that vitamin C is more than just an antioxidant: It also elevates moods, reduces stress and distress, and reduces anxiety.
FDA’s Sneak Attempt to Ban Another Vitamin
You can’t live without this vitamin. But the FDA wants to reserve the natural form for monopoly drug companies, leaving only the synthetic form for supplements. The FDA has just released a new 109-page guidance on the revision of nutrition and supplement labels. On page 69, the agency slipped in two little paragraphs that could risk the health of millions of people who desperately need folate. It’s a sneak attack so quiet and unobtrusive that few people will even realize it’s there.
Pathogens in Your Mouth Can Lead to Cancer in Other Parts of Your Body
Two independent new studies found a causal link between a common oral bacterium (F. nucleatum) and colorectal cancer; pathogens in your mouth can enter your bloodstream to colonize other parts of your body. Oral hygiene is even MORE important than previously thought, to reduce pathogenic microbes that can travel from your mouth to other parts of your body and cause disease. Consuming naturally fermented foods and incorporating “oil pulling” with coconut oil are two effective ways of balancing your oral and gut flora, which will improve your oral health, as well as your overall health.
Aromatherapy Can Help Reduce Anxiety
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to support physical health and well-being. Essential oils carry biologically active volatile compounds of flowers and plants in a highly concentrated form. They are, in many ways, the essence of the plant and can provide therapeutic benefits in very small amounts. There are about as many uses for aromatherapy as there are essential oils, but one of the most exciting areas of research is for anxiety, with research showing essential oils may help relieve symptoms without the side effects of anxiety drugs.
Alzheimer’s Deaths Vastly Under-reported: Actually 3rd Leading Cause of Death
This week, a study published in the journal Neurology stated that the number of deaths attributed to Alzheimer's Disease is vastly under-reported. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia, according to Bryan James Ph. D., a researcher at Rush University Medical Center. The new study indicates that Alzheimer's disease may be one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The study reports that Alzheimer' may be an underlying cause of five to six times as many deaths as currently reported. "The numbers that we estimate from this study, about half a million deaths from Alzheimer's disease a year, would put it right behind heart disease and cancer," said Dr. James. As we reported earlier this year, Big Pharma has a terrible track record in producing Alzheimer's drugs. Many drugs have been abandoned after years of research because they were ineffective or harmful. With this new study, however, the market for new Alzheimer's drugs just grew by "five to six" times. The standard statement regarding Alzheimer's Disease is that "there is no cure." This statement simply means there are no drugs approved by the FDA to cure Alzheimer's. One has to wonder if this study is not a pre-cursor to approving ineffective drugs for Alzheimer's, since the market is so huge. Even Alzheimer's vaccines are currently in development. There is plenty of research, however, showing that Alzheimer's is a form of diabetes, and is now referred to as a type 3 diabetes. Like type 2 diabetes, there are lifestyle and dietary actions that can be taken to prevent, and even reverse, Alzheimer's Disease. The ketogenic diet, specifically incorporating coconut oil into one's diet, has shown remarkable results.
Government Attack Against Homeschoolers Takes Unexpected Turn
On Monday the sober news that the Supreme Court was not going to take up the German homeschool family case brought cries of anger all across the Internet. The Romeike family had originally been granted asylum in the United States when German authorities had threatened to seize their children for simply homeschooling them. But last year, for some reason the Obama administration decided to challenge the asylum and seek to deport this homeschooling family back to Germany. As of Monday, it seemed like the hope of keeping Romeike family here in the U.S. was gone. But in a sudden reversal that was never expected, the Homeland Security department contacted Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA) and informed them that they were not going to pursue having the Romeikes deported. This case drew national attention and it is possible that in an election year this became too hot of an issue for the Obama administration. We have HSLDA to thank for keeping pressure on the government's attacks on homeschoolers. Earlier this year HSLDA opposed the U.S. Department of Education's attempt to collect data from homeschoolers who move from one state to another.
Health Benefits of Dry Skin Brushing
The benefits of dry skin brushing go beyond skin deep, offering whole-body benefits to your health. Dry skin brushing stimulates your lymphatic system, aiding in detoxification; when your lymphatic system is not working properly, waste and toxins can build up and make you sick. Dry skin brushing also boosts your circulation, exfoliates your skin, may reduce cellulite, and offers both stress relief and invigoration.
Researchers Establish Benefits of High-dose Vitamin C for Ovarian Cancer Patients
Few things infuriate the medical community more than the health claims for simple vitamin C. The fact that simple vitamin C is as effective or more effective than drugs is information they fight hard against, not wanting the public to know or believe. The FDA goes after companies or doctors who make health claims for vitamin C, and doctors can lose their license if they use vitamin C openly in their practice. According to the FDA, vitamin C is not approved as a drug, and therefore it is risky to use it professionally to cure anyone. This is in spite of the fact that there are well over 200 diseases that vitamin C is effective in treating, which have been documented through research, including such distinguished scientists such as Linus Pauling who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. So when another study is published from a major university in the United States on vitamin C, this time in its use for ovarian cancer patients, you can be sure it will cause a lot of contention in the medical field. We probably have Dr. Jeanne Drisko, M.D., director of the Integrative Medicine program at the University of Kansas to thank for getting this study published.
Big Pharma’s War on Supplements
Why are the attacks on supplements becoming so loud? By now anyone not living in a cave has heard the message from the mainstream media and Big Pharma loud and clear: don’t use supplements. Either they are a harmless waste of money, or they’re a harmful threat to your health (note that these points are contradictory). This message has been repeated over and over both in journals and in conventional media outlets. It is, with very few exceptions, junk science. Even in the few instances when it is right, it is wrong. AMA-helmed medical journals twist nutritional science and the mainstream media gobbles it up. Both are financially supported by Big Pharma. It’s not surprising that “leading” medical journals and doctors continue to argue against natural alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs—they’re even more drug and drug money-dependent than even the average American.
IRS Seeks to Limit Free Speech
The IRS has no business in politics or interfering with free speech. Recently, the Alliance for Natural Health told us about newly proposed IRS rules that would dictate what they are allowed to tell their readers and what they cannot. To give an example, they would be forced to remove every single reference to a candidate’s connection to any legislation from their website sixty days before an election—giving incumbents a free pass to introduce legislation with almost no public scrutiny. If this stands, Senator Durbin would be allowed to introduce an anti-supplement bill knowing that the Alliance for Natural Health (and other organizations) could not link him to it in print. Now is the time to tell the IRS to rescind this political gag order and protect the right of political dissenters and organizations that represent individuals like you!
Coriander Oil Treats Vigorous Athlete’s Feet Between the Toes
Researchers from Germany’s University of Hamburg Medical Center have confirmed in a clinical study that coriander oil treats the most vigorous type of athlete’s feet: interdigital tinea pedis – which means athlete’s feet that has developed between the toes.
Should Supplements Be Regulated Like Drugs?
Pro-pharmaceutical spokesmen have been repeatedly quoted as saying that dietary supplements are unregulated and need stricter oversight due to the hazards they pose to your health. This is patently false, and you only have to look at the very first sentence on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Website to settle that dispute. There, it plainly states: “FDA regulates both finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients. FDA regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering ‘conventional’ foods and drug products. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA): FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.” Dr. Paul Offit and others want supplements to be regulated like drugs, ostensibly to ensure their safety and effectiveness. But are drugs really safer? Prescription medications kill over 100,000 people each year when properly prescribed, while vitamins have not caused a single death in 27 years.
Fenugreek – 6 Reasons Why This Herb and Spice Belongs In Your Medicine Cabinet
Trigonella foenum in graecum (Fenugreek) is a traditional herbal plant used to treat disorders like diabetes, low lactation, respiratory ailments, wounds, inflammation, gastrointestinal ailments, detoxification of heavy metals, pain, colds and even cancer.
The Top 5 Health Benefits of Oregano
Oregano contains vitamins A, C, E, and K, as well as fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, vitamin B6, calcium, and potassium. Oregano has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal effects, and may kill MRSA, listeria, and other pathogens. Oregano essential oil may be useful for respiratory ailments like colds and flu. Adding oregano to meat before cooking may help reduce the amount of toxic compounds created by the cooking process.
Confessions of an ex-TSA Agent
I hated it from the beginning. It was a job that had me patting down the crotches of children, the elderly and even infants as part of the post-9/11 airport security show. I confiscated jars of homemade apple butter on the pretense that they could pose threats to national security. I was even required to confiscate nail clippers from airline pilots—the implied logic being that pilots could use the nail clippers to hijack the very planes they were flying. Once, in 2008, I had to confiscate a bottle of alcohol from a group of Marines coming home from Afghanistan. It was celebration champagne intended for one of the men in the group—a young, decorated soldier. He was in a wheelchair, both legs lost to an I.E.D., and it fell to me to tell this kid who would never walk again that his homecoming champagne had to be taken away in the name of national security. But the only people who hated the body-scanners more than the public were TSA employees themselves. Many of my co-workers felt uncomfortable even standing next to the radiation-emitting machines we were forcing members of the public to stand inside. Several told me they submitted formal requests for dosimeters, to measure their exposure to radiation. The agency’s stance was that dosimeters were not necessary—the radiation doses from the machines were perfectly acceptable, they told us. We would just have to take their word for it. When concerned passengers—usually pregnant women—asked how much radiation the machines emitted and whether they were safe, we were instructed by our superiors to assure them everything was fine.
Tropical Traditions Announces New Line of Organic Essential Oils from France for U.S. Market
Tropical Traditions announced today that they are now offering Florihana organic essential oils imported from France. From the company's website: "Florihana is a distillery located in Provence, France, not far from the cities of Grasse and Cannes. Their distillery is located in an extraordinary site rich in biodiversity: The Caussols plateau in the heart of the French Riviera. The French are world-renowned throughout history when it comes to high-quality plant fragrances, and Florihana carries on the tradition today with much pride. Florihana has a world-renowned history of producing some of the highest quality essential oils in the world, and their products are well-known in Europe, as well as throughout Japan and China." Tropical Traditions reports they have been using Florihana organic essential oils in their skin care products for over ten years. Tropical Traditions skin care products are based on their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil sourced form the Philippines. With over ten years of experience in using Florihana essential oils, they felt that it was time to offer the same essential oils to their customers in the United States.