Category Archives: health care

Research: An Alternative Approach to Asthma

Posted on January 26, 2009 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment

It is estimated that asthma and other allergic diseases affect 20% of the world’s population. The number of sufferers in the United States exceeds 15 million. In the last 20 years, the number of asthma hospitalizations has increased by 50%. In the past ten years the number of asthma death cases has doubled! Dr. Ilan Zamir, one of the pioneers of homeopathy in Israel, has recently reported successful treatment of asthmatic patients with his own homeopathic methods.

Asthma is on the rise. Eight years ago, it was determined that 10% of all new IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) recruits had suffered from asthma at some time in the past, while 6% were current asthma sufferers.

Asthma, shortness of breath and spastic bronchitis are basically the same phenomenon, caused by the sensitivity and super-reaction of the respiratory system, leading to the contraction of the system muscle from any small irritation. In addition, at the time of the spasm of contractions, inflammatory cells are detected in the respiratory system. Some physicians believe that these are responsible for the spasms, coming out in a form of coarseness, whistles, cough and lack of breath – which can lead to death by asphyxia.

Environmental pollution agents, such as household dust, which increase the presence microscopic insects living in bed linen and in other parts of the house, only aggravate the problem, as do the presence of cockroaches, pets, and smoking (including passive smoking). High humidity and sport activities which dry out the respiratory system also serve to aggravate the problem. Mental and psychological stress may also exacerbate asthma symptoms.
Conventional treatment consists of medication to expand the bronchi by means of inhalation or swallowing, imitating the effect of adrenalin in the body. In severe cases, medicines containing steroids are given as preventive treatment to break down the inflammatory process. The generally accepted opinion is, however, that there is no known cure for asthma.

According to Dr. llan Zamir, the basic problem in dealing with asthma is that it almost always starts after an infectious disease, such as ear or throat infections or bronchitis, for which the patient is prescribed antibiotics. (continue)

Posted in adolescents, African American, allergies, alternative medicine, asthma, complementary medicine, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, health care, healthy body, holistic medicine, Homeopathy

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More Americans Turning to Herbs

Posted on January 19, 2009 by continuum wellness| 2 Comments

Sour Economy Sweetens Americans on Herbal Meds
The choice between $75 prescription sleeping pills or a $5 herbal alternative is a no-brainer for Cathy and Bernard Birleffi, whose insurance costs have skyrocketed along with the nation’s financial woes.

The Calistoga, Calif., couple seem to reflect a trend. With many Americans putting off routine doctor visits and self-medicating to save money, use of alternative treatments is on the rise — even though evidence is often lacking on their safety and effectiveness.

Climbing sales of herbal medicines have paralleled the tanking economy, according to an Associated Press review of recent data from market-watchers and retailers.

One prominent example: Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. says its stores nationwide have seen an increase in sales of nutritional supplements and herbal products in the past several weeks. That’s “noteworthy” given the retail industry’s financial slump, said Whole Foods spokesman Jeremiah C. McElwee.

While winter is usually a busy time for herbal medicine sales because it’s the season for colds and flu, “more people are value shopping” now because of the economy, McElwee said.

Cathy Birleffi says she’s among them.

“The doctors are so much higher (in cost), the insurance isn’t paying as much,” said the 61-year-old self-employed bookkeeper and notary. Her husband, a retired dispatcher, has high blood pressure and seizures. Recent changes in their health insurance coverage resulted in $1,300 in monthly premiums, double what they used to be.

Until they tried herbal alternatives, including valerian for insomnia, “every time I turned around, it was $50 here, $75 there” for prescriptions, Cathy Birleffi said.

Among data reflecting the trend:

For the three months that ended Dec. 28, nationwide retail sales of vitamins and supplements totaled nearly $639 million, up almost 10 percent from the same period in 2007. That includes a nearly 6 percent increase in sales of herbal supplements alone, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm. Its numbers do not include Wal-Mart or club stores.
Nationwide herbal and botanical supplement sales totaled $4.8 billion in 2007, when the recession began, up 4.3 percent over 2006. That was a marginally higher increase compared with the previous year, according to Jason Phillips of the Nutrition Business Journal, an industry-tracking publication. Sales of animal oil supplements — mostly fish oils — were up 29 percent from 2006. While that was a decline from the previous year, both categories continued to show strong growth in a faltering economy.
A government survey released in December said concerns about the cost of conventional medicine influenced Americans’ decisions to try alternative remedies. “Nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products,” including fish oil and herbal medicines, were the most commonly used alternatives, taken by almost 18 percent of Americans in 2007, the report said. Among those users, roughly a quarter said they delayed or didn’t get conventional medical care because of the cost.
Report co-author Richard Nahin of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine offered cautionary advice on the topic.

People taking herbal and other supplements should let their doctor know what they’re using, said Nahin, acting director of the center’s branch that oversees outside research the agency funds.

Copyright AP

Posted in alternative medicine, baby boomers, children, complementary medicine, culture, economy, family, folk remedies, Health, health care, herbal therapy, herbs, home remedies, life, medications, medicine, men, people, prescription drugs, self-healing, women, women's health

The NIH is Targeting Stress Related Illnesses

Posted on December 16, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

It appear that the approach taken is analytical using a segregative approach in search of “active components”. Most likely to produce drugs. The methodology of a holistic approach is that all of the components of a root or an herb, etc. work in a synergistic way, together to produce the healing effect. To read about the research products see below for the article.

New Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Centers Target Stress-Related Illnesses, Obesity, Cancer, and Other Conditions

The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has added four new Centers of Excellence for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CERCs) to its research centers program. The new centers will add to knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches and their potential in treating and preventing diseases and conditions that are common among Americans.

In NCCAM’s CERC program, highly accomplished researchers across a variety of disciplines apply cutting-edge technology to projects in CAM. The new centers and their projects are as follows.

Wisconsin Center for the Neuroscience and Psychophysiology of Meditation
Principal Investigator: Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D.
Institution: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Dr. Davidson’s team will examine the impact of two forms of meditation — loving-kindness/compassion meditation and mindfulness meditation — on the brain and body, focusing on the regulation of emotion and on emotional reactivity. Potential applications in health include biological and behavioral processes linked with emotions and/or stress, such as recurrent depression.

Metabolic and Immunologic Effects of Meditation
Principal Investigator: Frederick M. Hecht, M.D.
Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Hecht and his colleagues will study a program combining mindfulness meditation, mindful eating (the practice of awareness and attentiveness in the present moment while eating), and a diet and exercise program, for use in obesity and metabolic syndrome. They will test whether this program helps alter participants’ hormonal responses to stress and helps enhance and maintain weight loss. Metabolic syndrome involves a cluster of abnormalities–including increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance–that increases one’s risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

CAM as Countermeasures Against Infectious and Inflammatory Disease
Principal Investigator: Mark A. Jutila, Ph.D.
Institution: Montana State University, Bozeman
This center will study biologically based CAM therapies and their effects on immune system function in infectious and inflammatory diseases. One project focuses on effects of botanical extracts — from apple polyphenols, which are concentrated in apple skins, and from yamoa, which comes from the bark of an African gum tree — on white blood cells, using models of infection and inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. A second project examines two compounds in licorice root — glycyrrhizin and 18-glyrrhetinic acid — for their potential antiviral effects in models of influenza and stomach virus. A third project will focus on bacterial products to see how they treat autoimmune diseases, like arthritis, which may also help build understanding of probiotics’ action.

Center for Herbal Research on Colorectal Cancer
Principal Investigator: Chun-Su Yuan, M.D., Ph.D.
Institution: University of Chicago
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Dr. Yuan and his colleagues will examine the anti-tumor effects of different preparations of the herbs American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and notoginseng (Panax notoginseng). They will seek to learn more, through laboratory and animal studies, about how these herbs act upon cellular and molecular pathways of the mechanisms of cancer inhibition.

“The new CERCs, all based on strong preliminary work, apply natural-product and mind-body CAM approaches across a range of health conditions that affect the American public,” said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., NCCAM director. “Their multidisciplinary, collaborative structure increases opportunities for improving health and discovering insights into important aspects of human biology.”

The grants provide five years of support and bring the total number of CERCs to 11. To learn more about NCCAM’s research centers, go to nccam.nih.gov/training/centers/.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s mission is to explore complementary and alternative medical practices in the context of rigorous science, train CAM researchers, and disseminate authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCAM’s Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCAM Web site at nccam.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit the NIH

Posted in alternative medicine, complementary medicine, healing, healing philosophy, Health, health care, holistic, holistic medicine, medicine, meditation, stress

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Would You Like to Carry Your Medical Records…under your skin?

Posted on December 16, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

What are you visioning for your health? Medical records embedded in your arm. Is this the future of health? Read on..

Microsoft wants to get under your skin

HealthVault links up with VeriMed RFID chips

Bill Ray / The Register | December 15, 2008

Microsoft’s HealthVault, the medical records database, is to be integrated with VeriMed’s human-embedded RFID tags, allowing doctors to access the medical records of unconscious patients with a quick scan of the arm.

VeriMed consists of an RFID tag that is embedded in the arm of a hopefully willing participant, and responds with a 16-digital identity code when queried at 134KHz. This code can then be used to identify the person through VeriChip’s website, and will soon be able to link to their medical records as stored on Microsoft’s HealthVault system.

“VeriMed adds an exciting RFID-based option for HealthVault users trying to keep themselves and their families safe,” says Sean Nolan, the chief architect for HealthVault, quoted in RFID Journal. If you’re excited about the idea of being electronically indexed then this is probably the technology for you.

Not that the future of VeriMed is in any way certain, despite the Microsoft link. The company’s parent, VeriChip, has already tried to sell off the human-implanting part of the business as punters prove remarkably reluctant to be serial-numbered. Should the business fail entirely, a connection to HealthVault could be the best hope for the poor souls who’ve already succumbed to having chips embedded in their arms.

Posted in Health, health beliefs, health care, life, medical devices, medical news, people, thoughts

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Government Survey, Who Uses Complementary and Alternative Medicine?

Posted on December 11, 2008 by continuum wellness| 2 Comments

Government survey shows 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use complementary and alternative medicine

Approximately 38 percent of adults in the United States aged 18 years and over and nearly 12 percent of U.S. children aged 17 years and under use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), according to a new nationwide government survey.* This survey marks the first time questions were included on children’s use of CAM, which is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic, and acupuncture that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine.

The survey, conducted as part of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences, was developed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey included questions on 36 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the United States—10 types of provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, and 26 other therapies that do not require a provider, such as herbal supplements and meditation.

“The 2007 NHIS provides the most current, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on Americans’ use of CAM,” said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of NCCAM. “These statistics confirm that CAM practices are a frequently used component of Americans’ health care regimens, and reinforce the need for rigorous research to study the safety and effectiveness of these therapies. The data also point out the need for patients and health care providers to openly discuss CAM use to ensure safe and coordinated care.”

The 2007 survey results, released in a National Health Statistics Report by NCHS, are based on data from more than 23,300 interviews with American adults and more than 9,400 interviews with adults on behalf a child in their household. The 2007 survey is the second conducted by NCCAM and NCHS—the first was done as part of the 2002 NHIS.**

CAM Use Among Adults

Comparison of the data from the 2002 and 2007 surveys suggests that overall use of CAM among adults has remained relatively steady—36 percent in 2002 and 38 percent in 2007. However, there has been substantial variation in the use of some specific CAM therapies, such as deep breathing, meditation, massage therapy, and yoga, which all showed significant increases.

The most commonly used CAM therapies among U.S. adults were

* Nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (17.7 percent) Most common: fish oil/omega 3/DHA, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil or pills, and ginseng***

* Deep breathing exercises (12.7 percent)

* Meditation (9.4 percent)

* Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (8.6 percent)

* Massage (8.3 percent)

* Yoga (6.1 percent).

Adults used CAM most often to treat pain including back pain or problems, neck pain or problems, joint pain or stiffness/other joint condition, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions. Adult use of CAM therapies for head or chest colds showed a marked decrease from 2002 to 2007 (9.5 percent in 2002 to 2.0 percent in 2007).

Consistent with results from the 2002 data, in 2007 CAM use among adults was greater among:.

* Women (42.8 percent, compared to men 33.5 percent)

* Those aged 30-69 (30-39 years: 39.6 percent, 40-49 years: 40.1 percent, 50-59 years: 44.1 percent, 60-69 years: 41.0 percent)

* Those with higher levels of education (Masters, doctorate or professional: 55.4 percent)

* Those who were not poor (poor: 28.9 percent, near poor: 30.9 percent, not poor: 43.3 percent)

* Those living in the West (44.6 percent)

* Those who have quit smoking (48.1 percent)

CAM Use Among Children

Overall, CAM use among children is nearly 12 percent, or about 1 in 9 children. Children are five times more likely to use CAM if a parent or other relative uses CAM. Other characteristics of adult and child CAM users are similar—factors such as socioeconomic status, geographic region, the number of health conditions, the number of doctor visits in the last 12 months, and delaying or not receiving conventional care because of cost are all associated with CAM use.

Among children who used CAM in the past 12 months, CAM therapies were used most often for back or neck pain, head or chest colds, anxiety or stress, other musculoskeletal problems, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD).

The most commonly used CAM therapies among children were

* Nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (3.9 percent) Most common: echinacea, fish oil/omega 3/DHA, combination herb pill, flaxseed oil or pills, and prebiotics or probiotics

* Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (2.8 percent)

* Deep breathing exercises (2.2 percent)

* Yoga (2.1 percent).

“The survey results provide information on trends and a rich set of data for investigating who in America is using CAM, the practices they use, and why,” said Richard L. Nahin, Ph.D., MPH, acting director of NCCAM’s Division of Extramural Research and co-author of the National Health Statistics Report. “Future analyses of these data may help explain some of the observed variation in the use of individual CAM therapies and provide greater insights into CAM use patterns among Americans.”

Posted in alternative medicine, baby boomers, complementary medicine, healing, Health, health beliefs, health care, healthy body, holistic medicine, medicine, women, women's health

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Preventing Colon Cancer, a look at B-6

Posted on October 25, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Many of us are not getting nearly enough B6 from our diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (May, 2008) published a study of nearly 8,000 people showing that B6 inadequacy is common throughout the United States. “Across the study population,” the authors said, “we noticed participants with inadequate vitamin B6 status even though they reported consuming more than the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin B6, which is less than 2 milligrams per day.” Three out of four women using oral contraceptives are vitamin B6 deficient, unless they also take vitamin B6 supplements. Smokers and the elderly are also especially likely to be at risk. Remarkably, even among people who take B6 supplements, one in ten is still B6 deficient. (4)

This indicates that we might better take more B6. But many won’t. This is because the public has been warned off of supplementing with this vitamin. So irrational is this fear that, at one point, a so-called “Safe Upper Limit” for daily B6 intake was set at only 10 mg. (6) That was only about six times the US RDA/DRI. Who set such a “limit”? Not the voters, that’s for sure. An unelected committee did it, one created by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board. (5) They have, in a manner of speaking, recently admitted that they were wrong. The “Safe Upper Limit” is now 100 mg.

That is more like it, but still too low. Alan Gaby, M.D., in reviewing B6 toxicity, wrote that adverse effects from B6 (pyridoxine) were occurring in people taking “2,000 mg/day or more of pyridoxine, although some were taking only 500 mg/day. There is a single case report of a neuropathy occurring in a person taking 200 mg/day of pyridoxine, but the reliability of that case report is unclear. The individual in question was never examined, but was merely interviewed by telephone after responding to a local television report that publicized pyridoxine-induced neuropathy.” Dr Gaby adds that there have been no reports of B6 side effects at under 200 mg/day. (6)

Modern processed, low-nutrient diets are not providing anything close to 200 milligrams. In fact, they typically provide less that 1% of that amount. You can get some B-6 from food, if you really like to eat whole grains, seeds and organ meats. A goodly slice of beef liver contains a whopping 1.2 mg of B-6. Chicken liver is only 0.6 mg per serving, and most other foods contain less. Avocados (0.5 mg each) and bananas (0.7 mg each) lead the pyridoxine league for fruits. Potatoes (0.7 mg each) and nuts (especially filberts, peanuts and walnuts) are fairly good vegetable sources.

But people are not eating nuts, seeds, vegetables, and liver. What they are eating is way too many nutrient-poor junk foods. Our diets are low in B6, yet B6 reduces risk of colon cancer. Clearly supplementation is the way to go.

Orthomolecular Medicine News
Orthomolecular.org

Posted in cancer, colon cancer, food, Health, health benefits of food, health care, nutrition, nuts, wellness, Western diet, women's health

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Times are tough, the choice between food and medication

Posted on October 23, 2008 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment

A poll by Macmillan Cancer Support suggests nearly half of cancer patients in England are being forced to cut back on basic necessities in order to pay for their prescriptions.

(rest of the story)

Benefits of Homeopathy

One of the benefits of homeopathy is that the remedies work to arouse your vital force to help your body to heal itself. The care itself is less expensive comparatively, so are the medicines, known as “remedies.” The amount of time the remedy is taken is generally much shorter than allopathic medications, with homeopathy less is more. As the body resets itself and healing is taking place the remedy is not taken.

The homeopathic model doesn’t induce additional financial pressures on someone when their energy is best used to heal.

Posted in alternative medicine, complementary medicine, drugs, healing, healing philosophy, Health, health care, holistic medicine, Homeopathy, medications, wellness, women, women's health

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The Problem with too much corn in your food

Posted on September 30, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

The documentary is called King Corn. It is a well-done documentary that explains why corn is everywhere in the American food supply.

Every eye-opening movie, documentary or book we can get regarding our food supply and how it comes to the table is worth viewing. Even if you are a vegan, or vegetarian it will help to broaden your view of policy choices made over the last 20 to 30 years that have a profound effect on us all. So for a little more eye-opening info, this documentary is worth watching.

The health care crisis is not really that everyone needs health insurance, but one of people having high quality nutritious food and living in a way that builds their life force rather than deplete it.
If what you eat is the standard American diet (SAD), this documentary will help open your eyes.

Posted in diabetes, diet, family, food, healing, Health, health beliefs, health benefits of food, health care, healthy body, healthy eating, meat

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Acupuncture Reduces Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatment

Posted on September 22, 2008 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment

BOSTON – Acupuncture is as effective and longer-lasting in managing the common debilitating side effects of hot flashes, night sweats, and excessive sweating (vasomotor symptoms) associated with breast cancer treatment and has no treatment side effects compared to conventional drug therapy, according to a first-of-its-kind study to be presented Wednesday, Sept. 24 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 50th Annual Meeting in Boston.

Findings also show there were additional benefits to acupuncture treatment for breast cancer patients, such as an increased sense of well being, more energy, and in some cases, a higher sex drive, that were not experienced in those patients who underwent drug treatment for their hot flashes.

“Our study shows that physicians and patients have an additional therapy for something that affects the majority of breast cancer survivors and actually has benefits, as opposed to more side effects. The effect is more durable than a drug commonly used to treat these vasomotor symptoms and, ultimately, is more cost-effective for insurance companies,” Eleanor Walker, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology in Detroit, said.

The reduction in hot flashes lasted longer for those breast cancer patients after completing their acupuncture treatment, compared to patients after stopping their drug therapy plan.

Eighty percent of women treated for breast cancer suffer from hot flashes after being treated with chemotherapy and/or anti-estrogen hormones, such as Tamoxifen and Arimidex. Although hormone replacement therapy is typically used to relieve these symptoms, breast cancer patients cannot use this therapy because it may increase the risk of the cancer coming back. As a treatment alternative, patients are generally treated with steroids and/or antidepressant drugs.

These drugs, however, have additional side effects, such as weight gain, nausea, constipation and fatigue. The antidepressant, venlafaxine (Effexor), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is one of the most common drugs used to treat these hot flashes. However, many women decide against this treatment choice because of potential side effects, including decreased libido, insomnia, dizziness and nausea, or because they simply do not want to take any more medications.

The randomized clinical trial compared acupuncture treatment to venlafixine for 12 weeks to find out if acupuncture reduced vasomotor symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving hormonal therapy and produced fewer side effects than venlafaxine. The study involved 47 breast cancer patients who received either Tamoxifen or Arimidex and had at least 14 hot flashes per week. Results show that acupuncture reduces hot flashes as effectively as venlafaxine, with no side effects, and also provides additional health benefits to patients.

Posted in alternative medicine, breast cancer, cancer, complementary medicine, drugs, health beliefs, health care, side effects, women, women's health

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Blacks Tend to Have Higher Mortality Following Liver Surgery

Posted on September 20, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Results

The study consisted of 3,552 observations representing 17,794 patients undergoing major hepatectomy. Unadjusted analyses revealed that African-American patients had a two-fold increased odds of surgical mortality relative to Caucasians. Even after adjustment for other risk factors, African Americans had a two-fold increased odds of surgical mortality relative to Caucasians.

Conclusions

In-hospital mortality after major hepatectomy varies substantially by race. African-American patients have two-fold higher population-level odds of surgical mortality than Caucasian patients do. Our analyses suggest that clinical factors, insurance status, and hospital factors do not account for these differences. Additional studies to clarify the nature of this disparity and identify targets for intervention are warranted.

Posted in African American, Health, health care, surgery

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