PEER-REVIEWED AND PUBLISHED STUDY FINDS PHYSICIANS AND NURSES USE AND RECOMMEND SUPPLEMENTS | |
| WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14, 2009 — Physicians and nurses are as likely as members of the general public to use dietary supplements and most physicians and nurses recommend supplements to their patients (1), says a new study published in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed, on-line journal that focuses on the field of human nutrition. The study, which utilized data from the “Life…supplemented” Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, found that 72 percent of physicians and 89 percent of nurses used dietary supplements and that 79 percent of physicians and 82 percent of nurses said that they recommend dietary supplements to their patients. “Health professionals including physicians and nurses are just as interested in healthy lifestyles as members of the general public and are just as likely to benefit from rational supplementation,” the authors—Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., consultant and past president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition; Andrew Shao, Ph.D., vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, Council for Responsible Nutrition; and Nicolas Boyon, senior vice president, Ipsos Public Affairs, who conducted the HCP Study—state in the article. The study found that the dietary supplement product most commonly used was the multivitamin, with or without minerals. Vitamins and other minerals most commonly used by both physicians and nurses after multivitamins included vitamin C, a B vitamin complex, vitamin D, vitamin E and calcium. However, physicians and nurses seemed to differ slightly on the non-vitamin and mineral products they used most often—physicians reported higher usages of green tea, fish oil, glucosamine, soy, flax seed and chondroitin (in that order) while nurses tended to use green tea, fish oil, echinacea, glucosamine and flax seed, respectively. Overall health and wellness is the biggest motivator for taking dietary supplements, according to 40 percent of physicians and 48 percent of nurses who take supplements. However, more than two-thirds cited multiple motivations, including bone health, flu or colds, heart health, immune health, joint health, energy and musculoskeletal pain. Most physicians and nurses cite similar reasons for recommending dietary supplements to their patients, with the most common reason being for overall health and wellness (41 percent of physicians who recommend supplements and 62 percent of nurses who do), followed by bone health, joint health, flu or colds, heart health, immune health, musculoskeletal pain, and energy. Over three-quarters (75 percent of physicians and 79 percent of nurses) also indicated that they would be interested in Continuing Medical Education regarding dietary supplements. This latest survey adds to the growing body of published data suggesting that healthcare professionals are among the highest users of supplements. For example, in a survey of women physicians, it was reported that 64 percent used vitamin or mineral supplements at least occasionally and 47 percent of the women used a vitamin or mineral supplement at least 5 days a week. (2) “It may appear surprising that physicians and nurses are as likely as the general population to be using dietary supplements, given the negative views sometimes expressed editorially in medical journals,” the authors conclude. “Physicians and nurses, as well as lay consumers, are exposed to these divergent views and must make their own decisions regarding their personal approach to wellness. The majority opt to use dietary supplements.” 1 Dickinson A, Boyon N, Shao A. Physicians and nurses use and recommend dietary supplements: report of a survey. Nutrition Journal 2009, 8:29 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-8-29. 2 Frank E, Bendich A, Denniston M. Use of vitamin-mineral supplements by female physicians in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:969-975. Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements, CRN members also agree to adhere to voluntary guidelines for manufacturing, marketing and CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. |
Saturday, February 25, 2012
PEER-REVIEWED AND PUBLISHED STUDY FINDS PHYSICIANS AND NURSES USE AND RECOMMEND SUPPLEMENTS
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Biofeedback Coaching at Best Self USA
First Nationwide Counseling Available
in the Privacy of Your Own Home
Best Self USA is a full spectrum counseling and life skills training facility in Naples , FL
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: www.bestselfusa.com
Email: infos@bestselfusa.com
Phone: 239-591-4565
(Naples , FL
Biofeedback Coaching – a shortcut to therapeutic results
Dr. Sam Sewell was privileged to work personally with Dr. Elmer Green, the father of biofeedback therapy. In the early 1970’s Dr. Sewell was recruited to participate in a research project at the famous Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. Dr. Green was the first person ever to receive a National Institutes of Health research grant, given for his autonomic research program. Dr. Green investigated voluntary control of internal states by individuals like Swami Rama, and American Indian medicine man Rolling Thunder. A film containing footage from their investigations was released as Biofeedback: The Yoga of the West (1974)
Dr. Sewell’s participation in these studies in the early 1970s strongly influenced him. He has been using biofeedback therapy at Best Self USA ever since.
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to have volitional management of autonomic functions, thus improving overall health and performance. Precise instruments measure physiological activity. These instruments rapidly and accurately 'feedback' information to the user. Becoming aware of this information — often in conjunction with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior —results in desirable therapeutic changes. Over time, these changes become responsive to the individual’s will, and can be implemented without the use of an instrument.
Biofeedback has many therapeutic applications, but the primary goal of biofeedback training at Best Self USA is to empower the individuals to have volitional input into and management of the autonomic functions that create stress and emotions.
STRESS MANAGEMENT – In just a few coaching sessions clients learn to turn off stress responses to stimulus quickly; stimulus that has heretofore always resulted in uncomfortable feelings. EXAMPLE: The usual stress-related responses to situations at work or in the family can be reduced, and perhaps eliminated, by finding the internal “switch” that controls such stress responses. Biofeedback coaching can help the client find the On/Off switch for stress.
ANXIETY DISORDERS – We all have anxiety “triggers.” They range from feeling somewhat uncomfortable in an elevator to the significant anxiety attacks associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. EXAMPLE: A client has developed obsessive patterns of anxious thinking related to an automobile accident that happened three years ago. With biofeedback coaching the client leans how to “turn on” and “turn off” such uncomfortable feelings and becomes better able to manage such feelings, eventually becoming desensitized to the original trauma.
PERSISTENT TRAUMA – Many of us have trauma buried in our personal histories. Grief or guilt can feel very uncomfortable, even if the events happened years ago, as far back as during childhood. Biofeedback coaching can help clients identify the intensity of buried traumatic memories and feelings, and can help desensitize them to such memories and feelings. EXAMPLE: An elderly man who cheated on his wife one time when he was 24 years old continues to have very uncomfortable feelings about his “one night stand.” By experiencing these feelings and memories while connected to a biofeedback device he can get accurate readings about his progress in “letting go” of his history, progressively transcending the event, and finding peace.
Clients who request biofeedback coaching will begin with a brief orientation session to establish the guiding principles of biofeedback science. In the next session they are introduced to the biofeedback device and familiarized with the effectiveness of biofeedback training. A significant advantage of biofeedback training over conventional therapy is instantaneous, objective progress measurement. After completing the introduction to biofeedback training the client will be invited to work with a biofeedback device that is connected to a computer so that they can work on their skills independently, without supervision. The eventual goal is for the clients to become so comfortable and proficient with these skills that they will be able to apply them in real life situations without the need of the biofeedback unit.
Most people can identify with the plaintive cry “Help! My brain has a mind of its own!” We all know what it feels like to have our brain taking charge of our thinking, feeling, and behavior. Biofeedback training can help you become the master of your brain, rather than your brain being in charge of you.
Two short videos of Dr. Green’s research are on YouTube
This is an example of a modern biofeedback device.
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Other groundbreaking services provided by Best Self USA include:
- Marriage and Family Counseling services, delivered by a husband/wife therapy team.
- A MENSA Gifted Child Coordinator on staff for children and teens
- Cognitive/Behavioral techniques. Short term, solution focused therapy.
- Secure and confidential services for clergy and lay leaders
- Excellent results using drug-free nutritional solutions for treating emotional problems
- On staff medical doctor for nutritional consultation.
- Coaching for successful business executives and those who want to become successful
- State of the art Diagnostic tools to pin-point problem areas and strengths
- Training materials provided to supplement counseling sessions, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
The staff at the Best Self Clinic can help you to
become the best you can be!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Our Annual Valentine Message - Most visited link on our clinic web site
VALENTINE MESSAGE
LOVE or love?
by Sam and Bunny Sewell
Every time we try to explain the two kinds of love to someone, they know very well what we are trying to say. We all have noticed a distinct difference between LOVE and love. However, we don't seem to be able to make the distinction between the two until after we are hurt and confused. We all get smart too late! It is as if love had the power to cast a spell over us and make us believe that we are experiencing LOVE. In an effort to keep all of us from being hurt or hurting others, the Best Self Clinic offers the following comments on the subject.
First, the lesser love is a biologically motivated mating behavior similar to that which can be seen in the animal kingdom. Second, in humans it shows up as a deficiency need. love is a hole that yearns to be filled! This lesser kind of love is an emptiness, a lack of emotional self-sufficiency. This deficiency is almost like a lack of vitamins or other dietary shortcoming. It results in "love craving" or "love hunger" just as dietary deficiencies often result in cravings for certain kinds of food. Our whole culture seems to be suffering from "love craving". Most of the so called "love songs" are about this lesser love.. Romance novels, movies, TV programs, and Valentine cards all have this lesser love as their theme. "How can I live without you?" and "Without you I am nothing at all!" are not examples of healthy love. We have all seen those people who grasp at relationships and fall in love twice a week. Men who suffer from this condition tend to be very charming and are skillful in the art of courtship. They sweep women off their feet as the prelude to a relationship filled with attempts to dominate, suspicious jealousy, and often, abusive behavior. Women who are lesser lovers often make friends with nice guys and “fall in love” with the type of men described in the previous sentence (usually referred to as an unmentionable body orifice). Nice guys just aren't "romantic" enough for them.
Many people, when given a chance to make a choice, are so blinded by their cravings that they foolishly choose love. Then, these same people begin to question the worth of all members of the opposite sex, rather than questioning their own mate selection habits. Choosing love rather than LOVE reminds us of addicted laboratory animals who will choose drugs and die of starvation rather than choose nourishment.
Persons suffering from this deficiency disease are so obsessed with filling their emptiness that they can't even think about giving to another person. Their whole reason for existence is to fill up the aching bottomless pit inside them. They operate from their need to receive from others. We all know people like this. Maybe we even see parts of ourselves in this behavior. These lesser lovers make very poor friends, mates, or sex partners. They suffer and everyone who becomes involved with them suffers.
If you suffer from this problem, PLEASE quit looking for a relationship! Quit hanging around bars, going to church to meet that “special someone”, or joining singles groups. The only relationship you should be seeking is an intense, honest involvement with a good psychotherapist. If you are someone involved with (not married to) a lesser lover, save yourself a lot of trouble and get out of the relationship at once. If you are married to a lesser lover get some help for both of you before you suffer any longer and your family is destroyed. Don't be the model for your children growing up to be lesser lovers!
One of the odd things about these two kinds of love is that everyone can recognize them. The person who has evolved into a healthy, emotionally self sufficient individual has also been a lesser lover at some point. The lesser lover probably has caught a glimpse of what it is like to really LOVE. Perhaps none of us is totally one kind of lover. There seems to be a broad spectrum of human behavior between LOVE at one extreme and love at the other. We all experience both kinds of love in varying combinations. Lets look at some contrasts between the two kinds of love:
1.) Since LOVE is non-possessive and admiring, rather than needing, it makes no trouble and is practically always a joy to all concerned. love causes plenty of heartache and trouble.
2.) LOVE can never wear out. LOVE grows greater rather than disappearing. You can't "lose that LOVE-ing feeling". love seldom lasts.
3.) The LOVE experience is closely akin to the inspiration of poets and artists. LOVE is mystical and holy. LOVE is humans involved in the Divine. love can be observed in livestock every spring breeding season.
4.) The healing and nurturing effects of LOVE are profound and widespread. The caring nurse heals patients with her LOVE. The nurturing LOVE of parents guides their child's growth into a healthy adult. love doesn't heal, it makes people sick. love doesn't nurture, it takes from everything that comes into contact with it.
5.) LOVE does not seek to be gratified. Gratification doesn't even enter the picture since LOVE comes from a person's fullness, not from his need. love is always seeking gratification and can never be satisfied. love "can't get no satisfaction".
6.) Couples who know how to LOVE are more independent of each other. They are more individual, less jealous or threatened, they need less and give more, they are more eager to help the other toward becoming their best self. love is cloying, clinging, dependent, jealous, and threatened by the other person's independence and personal growth.
7.) LOVE helps create both partners’ best selves. LOVE is the ultimate environment for personal growth. The full development of a human being may be impossible without it. love takes from one at the other's expense.
LOVE eliminates the need for love.
Contact us if we can help!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Best Self USA - nutritional solutions to emotional problems - NEWS RELEASE
Best Self USA
NEWS RELEASE
Web Page: www.bestselfusa.com
Email: infos@bestselfusa.com
Phone: 239-591-4565
Media Inquiry: 1-800-850-1987
(Naples , FL Naples , FL
Best Self USA is well known for finding nutritional solutions to emotional problems. They use the highest quality nutrients from the largest natural nutrition company in the world. Nutritional counseling is offered without fees.
Neurotransmitters (NTs) are essential chemical messengers that regulate brain, muscle, nerve and organ functions. People with low levels of neurotransmitters can suffer from one or more of the following conditions: obesity, depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, insomnia, attention deficit, learning disorders, panic attacks, migraines, PMS, menopausal symptoms, digestive complaints and many more.
You own the source of neurotransmitters. They are only manufactured inside your own body. The natural treatment for optimizing your neurotransmitter levels is to provide the basic amino acid precursors, or building blocks, so the body can replenish the inadequate neurotransmitter levels. Using natural molecules, rather than drug company molecules, to create emotional wellness, is called ORTHOMOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY, and is explained here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIqioywu9_0
Other groundbreaking services provided by Best Self USA include:
- Marriage and Family Counseling services, delivered by a husband/wife therapy team.
- A MENSA Gifted Child Coordinator on staff for children and teens
- Cognitive/Behavioral techniques. Short term, solution focused therapy.
- Secure and confidential services for clergy and lay leaders
- Excellent results using drug-free nutritional solutions for treating emotional problems
- On-staff medical doctor for nutritional consultation.
- Executive Coaching for upper level management and those who wish to become successful in business.
- State of the art Diagnostic tools to pin-point problem areas and strengths
- Training materials provided to supplement counseling sessions, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
The staff at the Best Self Clinic can help you to
become the best you can be!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Drs Sam and Bunny Sewell, will be interviewed by Linda Dietz on the topic of HEALTHY SENIORS and OPTIMIZING LONGEVITY..
On Tuesday, January 24th at 7:45 CT (8:45 ET) PRODUCT TALKS welcomes Drs Sam and Bunny Sewell, who will be interviewed by Linda Dietz on the topic of HEALTHY SENIORS and OPTIMIZING LONGEVITY..
Tune in by calling: 212/990-8000 6262# Send questions in advance, or during the call to bunnysam@bestselfusa.com
Life Style Changes that enhance health and longevity
Water – Exercise - Weight Loss
Basic Nutrition for overall health
Holistic rather than silver bullet approach to health
Vitalizer as a minimum requirement
RX for a healthy life as a more adequate nutritional safety net
Target Nutrition
For healthy heart – For blood sugar regulation and diabetes symptom management – Healthy bones – Brain health
The Pharmaceutical Industry's Secret
Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the world's 2nd largest drug manufacturer, said fewer than half of the patients prescribed drugs actually derived any benefit from them. It is an open secret within the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time that such a senior pharmaceutical executive has gone public.
Dr Roses spoke at a recent scientific meeting in London
"The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 or 50 per cent of the people," Dr Roses said. "I wouldn't say that most drugs don't work. I would say that most drugs work in 30 to 50 per cent of people."
According to recent surveys, 4 out of 5 Americans – 80% of our population – take at least one medication each week. Men and women age 65 to 75 take an average of 6 medications per week and among those over age 75, the average is 11 medications per week. If you’re helping to look after elderly parents, those numbers probably don’t surprise you.
In general, the use of prescription drugs increases 9-10% a year. That means that within 3 years, the average American will take at least one medication each week.
I don’t believe that any of us is born with a drug deficiency, nor do we acquire one later on in life. We all have an innate Life Force that is capable of doing amazing things when given the right conditions, nutrients, and opportunity to do so. With the right approach, most people can eliminate high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, excess weight, migraines, arthritis, and fatigue, just to name a few.
When you give up personal responsibility for your health, you pay a high price. Don’t worry, Big Pharma will be glad you’re paying it.
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The average person over age 65 has taken 19.1 prescriptions.
The average person 50 to 65 has taken 7.6 prescriptions.
The Shaklee user for 20+ years has taken 0.6 prescriptions. (avg. age 62)
The average person 50 to 65 has taken 7.6 prescriptions.
The Shaklee user for 20+ years has taken 0.6 prescriptions. (avg. age 62)
To see the full Landmark Study click the link below
Source: http://www.landmarkstudy.com/
MEDICATION ROBS YOUR BODY OF NECESSARY NUTRIENTS
If you are on medications your nutrition is probably depleted.
Many of the side effects associated with prescription drugs are related to the nutritional deficiencies caused by those drugs.
New health challenges can emerge which are caused by drug induced nutritional deficiencies.
Full spectrum nutrition available from Shaklee “VITALIZER” will protect you from these health risks.
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Links to supporting articles for Drs Sam and Bunny Sewell Product Talk of Jauary 24th 2012
Sometimes the Solution is as Simple as Water
"Water - The Stuff of Life”
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These are before Vivix and after Vivix photos.
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Boost Your Health with Vitamins
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Naturally Get Ready for Cold and Flu Season
Give Your Immune System a Natural Super-Boost - Vitamin D, Colds the Flu and You
Would you rather choose the natural solution to Immune Heath, or do you prefer the government flu shot?
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Don't die-it! - Live it! – Losing inches & gaining health;
http://thenaturaladvocate.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-dont-die-it-live-it.html
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Who do you know with heart issues?
Doctors, drugs and surgery are not always the best answer!
Includes LANDMARK STUDY, and scientifically validated Total Life Saving Regimen available at:
Read our famous Chapter 16 on Stress Management at:
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Should I Worry about Taking Supplements?
Worry?—No. Supplements have a remarkable record of safety. Give it careful thought—Yes.
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Science is always better than propaganda!
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Bunny and Sam Sewell
FREE - Read our famous Chapter 16 - Stress and Mood Management
Local and Long Distance Marriage Counseling and Cognitive Therapy - Children, adults, and couples
Nutritional solutions to emotional problems - FREE nutritional counseling
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sometimes the Solution is as Simple as Water
"Water - The Stuff of Life”
E-Club — An editorial written by Phillip Day
E-Club — An editorial written by Phillip Day
"Chronic pains of the body which cannot easily be explained as injury or infection should first and foremost be interpreted as signals of chronic water shortage in the area where the pain is registered. These pain signals should first be considered and excluded as primary indicators for dehydration of the body before any other complicated procedures are forced on the patient." - Dr F Batmanghelidj
"Insanity: Viewing an overflowing sink and going for the mop instead of turning off the tap." - Phillip Day
The human body is a bio-electrical water machine that requires a quart a day for every 50 lbs of body weight. The blood alone is made up of a large percentage of watery serum. The lymph fluids which transport waste and nutrients, comprising four times the volume of blood in the body, are made from the water we consume. Every cell that makes us who we are literally owes its life to an adequate supply of fresh, clean water. When the body does not receive a constant, reliable supply of water, it has to ration what is available and cut back on certain functions to make the supply go round. Essential systems like the brain are prioritized; others are impaired or cut back until the brain has decided a reliable source of water has been garnered.
Here's the rub. Most citizens have become chronically and dangerously dehydrated (especially the elderly), since we decided water was too bland to drink and ignored it in favor of tea, coffee, beer, wine, addictive sodas, flavored water and other chemical-laced water alternatives. A disastrous and dangerous move for the body and society's health in general, to be sure, compounded further since most doctors today cannot readily identify the many water-deficient diseases and associated pains. Thus the underlying dehydration process continues to wreak its havoc while the inevitable drugs given will switch off the warning signals (symptoms).
Consider the following conditions:
Heartburn, arthritis, lupus, asthma, 'high cholesterol', high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer formation, hot flushes and menstrual problems, obesity, allergies, bulimia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, angina, lower back pain, gout, kidney stones, skin disorders, diabetes, fungal/yeast overgrowths, multiple sclerosis, allergies, migraine headaches, general aches and pains, morning sickness, depression, heavy/burdensome periods, colitis, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers.
Heartburn, arthritis, lupus, asthma, 'high cholesterol', high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer formation, hot flushes and menstrual problems, obesity, allergies, bulimia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, angina, lower back pain, gout, kidney stones, skin disorders, diabetes, fungal/yeast overgrowths, multiple sclerosis, allergies, migraine headaches, general aches and pains, morning sickness, depression, heavy/burdensome periods, colitis, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers.
All, in various ways, linked to a chronic state of dehydration?
World-renowned water expert Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, in his latest bestseller, Water and Salt - Your Healers from Within, maintains that the above conditions are the body's many cries for water, complaints dramatically improved with a consistent and long-term intake of the fresh, clean stuff. Dr Batman's timely work has helped thousands quash long-term health problems effortlessly and inexpensively. He writes:
"The report of my having successfully treated with water more than three thousand people with symptoms and clinical signs of peptic ulcer disease was published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in June 1983. I came away from that experience with the understanding that the people I treated were thirsty, and I uncovered the phenomenon that 'pain' in the body indicates thirst, even though the condition is classified as a disease."
Water is used by the body for digestion, detoxifying cells, watering the lungs, lubricating joints, keeping the body alkalized and a host of cleaning duties. Many warning signals ('symptoms') arise out of the body's inability to neutralize or rid itself of acid, a common enough complaint given the number of antacids sold around the world each day. And the common and dangerous misconception that fuels it?
'I drink coffee, tea, diet sodas, beer and a host of other liquids. They contain water, don't they?'
Many of today's designer drinks are diuretic in their effect (water-expelling) because their mostly acidic compositions require the body to give up water and alkalizing minerals to eliminate their harmful residues. Diet sodas especially are harmful in that they require large amounts of body-water to neutralize the phosphoric acid component (2.8 pH). Cells that started off healthy and 'plum-like' shrivel to “prunes” as water, the stuff of life, is progressively denied them. The sick in our hospitals are fed the sodas, tea and coffee they ask for in woeful ignorance of the damage wrought to the micro cell-world within them.
Your body and dehydration
Batmanghelidj's extraordinary work should rightly be considered by a mainstream medical community ever fixated on the drug cure:
Batmanghelidj's extraordinary work should rightly be considered by a mainstream medical community ever fixated on the drug cure:
· Brain function: The brain comprises 2% of the body's total weight, yet receives 15-20% of the blood supply, mostly comprised of water. Dehydration will affect cognitive ability drastically, and, through histamine's action, can create depressive states (many anti-depressant medications are anti-histamines).
· Bone function: Bones require plentiful supplies of water. 75% of the weight of the upper body, for instance, is supported by the water core contained within the fifth lumbar disc, the remaining 25% by muscle fibers around the spine.
· Nerve function: Microstreams exist along the length of nerves which transport nutrients and conduct energy along microtubules to the synapses to transmit messages. Dehydration disrupts proper nerve function, resulting in the sensation of pain.
· Hydrolysis: Water, far from being an inert solvent, is intricately involved in the body's water-dependent chemical reactions. Lack of water means incomplete or faulty metabolic processes, with obvious implications for continued health and well-being. Proteins and enzymes, for instance, do not function as well in acidic solutions of higher viscosity (stickiness) where the body is dehydrated.
· Cellular energy: As water is drawn through the cell membrane, its osmotic flow generates a voltage gradient which can be used in the manufacture of ATP and GTP energy. Dehydration will obviously affect the proper functioning of cells and even kill them.
· Histamine: This neurotransmitter plays a major role in activating systems which encourage water intake when dehydration is detected. Functions in the body which consume large quantities of water are cut back, namely the bronchial tubes constricted to cut down on water use in the lungs; increased peristalsis in the bowels to wring more water out of fecal material, and so on. Other signs of histamine's activity, namely allergies, asthma, depression and chronic pains, are interpreted by the physician as 'disease' and treated with anti-histamines, pain-killers (analgesics), etc. Thus the signals of thirst are turned off and the dehydration state continues unabated.
· Dyspepsia (heartburn/reflux): Over time, this can lead to ulceration and even cancer. Dr Batmanghelidj recommends that these conditions - also gastritis and duodenitis - be treated with water alone as they are one of the body's major thirst signals. Arrested in his native Iran by the Revolutionary Council during the troubles of the late 1970's, Dr B was confined to Evin prison, Tehran
· Digestion: Requires plentiful supplies of water. The stomach relies on mucus lining the walls to shield it from the effects of the stomach's hydrochloric acid. A bicarbonate solution is produced from the cells in the lining which neutralizes any acid attempting to break through the mucus. Water is needed to maintain this effective defense system. Too little water, and the mucus barrier is ineffectual, the acid will penetrate and will lead to pain. Ideally, water should be consumed half an hour before a meal, in time to anticipate the production of digestive acid from glands in the stomach wall.
· Ulcers: Often located at the valve between the stomach and duodenum. Said to be caused by curved bacteria known as helicobacters. Yet many people have helicobacters in their small intestine, yet not all of them suffer from ulcers. Histamine-producing nerves are located at this site, which monitor the through-put of acidic food chyme from the stomach into the intestine. Histamine has growth-hormone effects on these micro-organisms, resulting in small intestine bacterial overgrowths (SIBOs). Once again, an adequate regime of water intake will allow all the functions relating to digestion to normalize.
Prolonged water intake should therefore be considered before more drastic drug treatments are entered into.
All you need to get one full year of healthier, great-tasting water*
Retail Price: $124.65
Member Price: $105.95
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Millions of kids' antibiotic Rx's unneeded: study
Millions of kids' antibiotic Rx's unneeded: study
(Reuters Health) - Pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions -- for conditions like the flu and asthma -- every year, suggests a new study.
Those ailments, and others not caused by bacteria, don't respond to the drugs. But misuse of antibiotics contributes to drug resistance -- so those same medications might not work in the future when they're really needed."Antibiotics are wonderful. There are times you really need them, the question is just being judicious about when we use them," said Betsy Foxman, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor who was not involved in the research.
The new study involved a nationally-representative sample of almost 65,000 outpatient visits by kids under 18 in 2006 through 2008. Using medical codes, researchers were able to determine the type of diagnosis kids were given, as well as what kind of drugs, if any, they were prescribed.
In total, doctors prescribed an antibiotic at one in every five visits. Most prescriptions were given out for kids with respiratory ailments, including sinus infections and pneumonia.
Some of those infections are caused by bacteria, and antibiotics are warranted. But almost one-quarter of all antibiotic prescriptions were given to kids with respiratory conditions that probably or definitely do not call for antibiotics -- such as bronchitis, the flu, asthma and allergies.
That translates to more than 10 million antibiotic prescriptions each year that likely won't do any good but might do harm, Dr. Adam Hersh of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and his colleagues reported today in Pediatrics.
Half of all antibiotics prescribed were "broad-spectrum" drugs -- meaning they act against a wide range of bacteria. Those "kill more of the good bacteria in our bodies and can set the child up for infections with antibiotic resistant bacteria down the road," Hersh wrote in an email to Reuters Health.
"In many of these instances antibiotics are not indicated at all," he added.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics include macrolides and certain types of cephalosporins and penicillins.
Foxman said that wiping out the non-harmful bacteria in the intestines has been linked to asthma and, recently, to obesity.
"We think of antibiotics as being wholly beneficial, but they are not very specific, they hit everything in your body," she said. "By making our microbes that are supposed to be with us disappear, we can be causing other health problems we don't know about."
And even when the drugs are prescribed for just a few days, giving them to lots of kids unnecessarily raises the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections in the kids themselves, and for society as a whole, she added.
"It's been known for a very long time... that people are prescribing antibiotics for upper respiratory infections where they have no benefit," Foxman told Reuters Health.
"To me this wasn't a big surprise, though it's certainly disturbing."
Hersh said that there are a number of reasons why doctors might prescribe antibiotics when they're not likely to help. "One reason overuse occurs is because the diagnosis is often unclear -- this is common with ear infections. The decision is made to prescribe an antibiotic even though the diagnosis isn't certain, just 'to be on the safe side,'" he said.
In those cases, a "wait and see" approach in which the kid comes back to the office a couple days later might avoid an unnecessary prescription, he added.
"If your doctor suggests an antibiotic prescription, for instance for an ear infection, ask how certain the diagnosis is. If the diagnosis is still a little unclear, ask if it would be safe to wait a day or two with close follow up rather than starting the antibiotic right away," Hersh advised.
Dr. Aditya Gaur, who has studied antibiotic prescribing at St. Jude Children's
"Parents and families should be part of the decision and ask why (something) is being done," Gaur, who wasn't linked to the study, told Reuters Health. They should also know "not to expect an antibiotic every time an infection is diagnosed."
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