Holistic Doc's Pain Support Blog

More on calcium supplements, re: vitamin D levels

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:35:54 GMT

"More than 800 people participated in the Calcium Polyp Prevention Study, a four-year randomized trial conducted through the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. That study documented the benefits of calcium supplementation for preventing the growth of the benign tumors. The new analysis found that calcium supplements prevented adenomas only among poeple with higher-than-average baseline vitamin D levels, and serum vitamin D levels were associated with reduced adenoma recurrence only among those taking calcium supplements."

Homeopathic first aid kit for travellors

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:50:11 GMT

A naturopath friend put together a kit including these remedies...
Arnica for sprains, strains and bruises
Ars alb for food poisoning
Belladonna for sudden red hot throbbing things
Cocculus for travel sickness with dizziness
Lycopodium for constipation
Nux vom for indigestion and overindulgence
Tabacum for travel sickness better out in cool air

A wonderful story of recovery due to vitamin C

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:32:35 GMT

About a New Zealand man who owes his life to his determined family. An amazing story of the incredible value of giving vitamin C intravenously.
I've used this for many years and can vouch for its value in lots of illnesses, and its safety.

The yearly flu injection propaganda is coming

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:35:04 GMT

This is really just a plug for yet another good online health resource (three of them actually, if you include the Cochrane collaboration.)
"Read all about it" on flu shots, if you're undecided.

Cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:56:52 GMT

Brave people - studied marijuana as a pain killer, found it useful.
Neuropathic pain is often difficult to treat, so this is quite significant.

Calcium supplements for your bones - probably not

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:45:23 GMT

The best medical evidence is randomised, placebo controlled trials, where no-one knows who is getting what treatment, until the trial is over.
These authors summarized 15 such trials of calcium supplements (≥500 mg/day), with 100 or more participants of mean age more than 40 years and study duration more than one year.
The people getting calcium had more heart attacks, all for reducing the risk of fracture only marginally.

Mercury - bad stuff if your mouth is full of it

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 02:21:07 GMT

Best get rid of "silver" (mercury amalgum) fillings as soon as you can afford to.
In the meantime, Selenium (50-150mcg/day, as selenomethionine) may be handy.
It binds with mercury and parks it in the liver in an insoluble form, as well as aiding the manufacture of glutathione (for mercury detox.)
This is from a very good article on "methylation" processes in our body, commonly to do with vitamins B6, 9 and 12.
See the site below...

T helper cell balance and asthma

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:30:53 GMT

Here Th2 cells of our immune system, encourage asthma and make it hard for our Th1 cells to fight viruses.
The study below found over half of children attending a hospital with bad asthma, had the recently discovered group C human rhinoviruses.
Th1 Th2 balance needs adequate zinc, which can be assessed with the zinc taste test (see page on zinc nutrition.)

Far too much phosphate

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:58:56 GMT

Soft drinks (soda) and excess meat, combined with common agricultural excess superphosphate use, result in many people suffering from too much phosphate.
Phosphate is well known to be a competitive inhibitor of at least one enzyme (alkaline phosphatase.)
Phosphate up, calcium down, and your bones suffer.
Need to reduce your soda or meat?

Add selenium, avoid cancer

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:52:50 GMT

The first randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled prevention trial on this in Americans, found 200 micrograms of selenium reduced total cancer by 41 percent, prostate cancer by 69.

Your brain can grow, if stretched

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:24:27 GMT

Dr Norman Doidge talking about our brain's response to exercise, on ABC radio. It is nice to know it can grow.
You need to stretch it, though. Repeating things you're already good at, doesn't wash.
http://www.positscience.com is worth looking at.

Cholesterol is not all bad

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:13:15 GMT

In fact it's not bad at all, being an important raw material, mostly manufactured by our body, to make hormones etc.
What causes artery damage is oxysterols, damaged LDL - due to "thiotoxidative modification," caused in turn by elevated homocysteine, and that in turn by lack of vitmins B6, 9 and 12.
If you get your homocysteine measured, pay no attention to the quoted reference range (up to 13 or so.) It should be no more than 7-8.

Mouth to mouth is out, in CPR

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:20:41 GMT

Compressing the chest without mouth to mouth, has given the same survivals in two recent trials.
Svensson et al. Compression-only CPR or standard CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:434-442.
Rea TD et al. CPR with chest compression alone or with rescue breathing. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:423-433.

Greens and cheese combo - for your vitamin K

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:35:22 GMT

Dr. Mercola's recent interview with Cees Vermeer on vitamin K, is cutting edge stuff.
VKD proteins are present in virtually every tissue and are important to bone mineralization, arterial calcification, apoptosis, phagocytosis, cell growth control and chemotaxis.
Dr. Vermeer mentions a study where those with the best vit K levels had 50 less prostate cancer.
Vitamin K1 from greens, is better absorbed if there is some fat in the meal.
"Vitamin K2" refers to a number of different substances, obtained from natto, cheese and especially from the good germs in our bowel.
These are called menaquinones, abbreviated MK1, MK2 etc. MK1 and 4 are used by our liver, for blood clotting control. The others are used in lots of other tissues as mentioned above.
The best tests for your vitamin K status, depend on measuring the activation of VKD proteins, such as osteocalcin and matrix GLa protein.

I'm on holidays, or vacation if you prefer.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:37:43 GMT

This is coming from Brisbane, capital of the Australian state of Queensland, a distinctly warmer place than my home town.
Just for fun, have a look at this site, and have a go at his caption competition. I had a few tries, got mentions, but was totally upstaged by my wife, who won with her "What's the chance of non identical twins."

Migraine - commonly from multiple food intolerances

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:15:15 GMT

The people in a recently published trial averaged 24 foods out of the 266 foods tested, with IgG antibodies present.
Diets of positive test foods v. negative, were compared, without anyone knowing which was which.
Their migraine was better off the foods they were allergic to.
See more details at the link below.

Latest on prostate cancer screening

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:16:06 GMT

The Gotenburg study, just published, showed a small benefit of 1 less death from prostate cancer in 294 men screened from (median) ages 56 to 69.
More details on the page at this link.

The value of pain - sometimes

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:24:28 GMT

Trials of a promising new pain drug, tanezumab, have shown occasional worsening of knee osteoarthritis.
A worn weight bearing joint without pain sensation, obviously may be damaged further by overuse.
Strong muscles are the best protection for an osteoarthritic knee.

Had a thyroid test? Best get your exact results -

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:39:00 GMT

An Italian study (J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Jun 9) has confirmed in pregnant women, that the TSH test should be up to 2.5 rather than the usually accepted figure of 5.
Women with tests 2.5 to 5 had nearly twice the rate of pregnancy loss, compared with those <2.5.

Endometriosis - womb lining cells growing in wrong place.

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:23:38 GMT

More than half of women and teenage girls with pelvic pain, have this. It affects up to 10 of women in their childbearing years.
A really good book available on abebooks.com, is "Endometriosis: Natural & Medical Solutions" by Kaz Cooke and Ruth Trickey.
Anything you see by either of these people will be good value.

Your vitamin D level is worth measuring

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:33:41 GMT

Treatment trials have shown improvement in impaired glucose handling and risk of falling over, and low vitamin D levels have been associated with vascular disease, autoimmune disease, cancer and bone disease.
Up to half the adults in developed countries are deficient in vitamin D.
Get out and enjoy the sunshine when you can.

Early and late pregnancy pains, stomach, back, ribs, leg or head, wherevever.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:21:48 GMT

Some hints re various pregnancy pains, hopefully helpful.

New buzzword - angiogenesis - blood vessel growth

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:46:40 GMT

William W. Li, M.D, 22 years in angiogenesis research, mentions that strawberries, red grapes, cooked tomatoes, parsley, garlic, Earl Grey tea and fermented soy all contain anti-angiogenesis substances.
New blood vessel growth being essential for cancer to progress, here's another reason to enjoy such pleasant foods.

Nutrient deficiency overly enhances appetite.

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:09:22 GMT

This lecture by Bruce Ames of UCLA is really good stuff even if you don't follow all the technicalities.
27 minutes into it, he tells of appetite suppression by a health bar containing the micronutrients needed by mitochondria.
It seems that if our body is desperately short of some essential nutrient, our brain tells us to keep eating until we find it.

Dietary sodium - a message on moderation

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:03:55 GMT

Restricting salt intake is still advised indiscriminately, many years since this was debunked.
I see people who are conscientious with their diet, giddy from low blood pressure due to inadequate salt intake.
Apart from the link below, see also http://www.traceelements.com/newsletter.html

Excellent lecture on Mercola, sugar does cause diabetes.

Tue, 25 May 2010 22:20:01 GMT

Today's newsletter from Dr. Mercola has an excellent lecture by Dr. Richard Johnson, on the fallacy of the cholesterol story and the likely correct cause of our epidemic overweight, diabetes and heart disease.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/25/startling-research-findings-a-newly-discovered-cause-of-high-blood-pressure-and-obesity.aspx

Please be careful with antibiotics

Thu, 20 May 2010 22:40:43 GMT

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics prescribed in primary care may last up to 12 months, according to the results of a study just published in the British Medical Journal.
It's really important to rotate different antibiotics, if you need repeated courses. The germs otherwise have more chance of getting resistant, with repeated exposure to the same one.

Ear pain when an earache isn't an ear ache, and when it is just that

Thu, 13 May 2010 09:37:22 GMT

You've ear pain, but your doctor says the ear's OK. Your child always has earaches. Here's information that may help.

Go go vegetables

Sun, 09 May 2010 00:02:52 GMT

Half way down this journal article abstract, is the following sentence.
"The greatest reduction in endometrial cancer risk was observed among non-users of (B vitamin) supplements in the highest quartile of dietary folate intake."
The emphasis was mine, wanting to point out the value of nutrients in your food.
Pills can't make up for inadequate diet.

Mid facial pain here, or cheek pain. Also lower jaw pain

Sat, 08 May 2010 09:31:36 GMT

Early Bells palsy causes facial pain, requires very urgent medical treatment.

Sinus pain - easy to relieve, hard to prevent (just requires some work)

Fri, 07 May 2010 09:23:20 GMT

Your sinus pain from nasal congestion can be due to increased or decreased pressure in your sinus cavities, depending on whether you have sinus infection.

How is your health? See howsyourhealth.org

Thu, 06 May 2010 09:10:01 GMT

Here you can have a look at yourself, healthwise, get information and print out gentle suggestions for useful actions.
It is really quite good, every which way.
From Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.

Local removal OK for pure ductal carcinoma in situ

Tue, 04 May 2010 22:29:02 GMT

Breast cancer in situ, with no sign of spread just outside the milk ducts, needs only local removal.
A new study of 690 women with this, who also had removal of armpit lymph glands, was presented at the ASBS meeting on 30th April this year.
This extra step didn't improve survival, and Dr. Bremner also pointed out that the women who ultimately ended up having a recurrence had no cancer in the armpit glands. It had skipped past them in the first place.

The death of asprin

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:40:18 GMT

Acetyl salicylic acid,(asprin) was developed from white willow bark, and is inferior to it.
It is currently copping a hammering for not preventing heart attacks.
It has been pointed out that medical journals have no small negative medical studies of aspirin use after heart attacks, and no large studies showing positive benefit.
Probably small negative trials were either never submitted for publication or were rejected by editors of medical journals, who accepted small positive ones.

Do you have a painful fracture of a vertebra?

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:25:16 GMT

Injection of special cement into the broken bone resulted in immediate pain relief quite frequently, in recent European studies.
Earlier negative studies included people with pain lasting much longer than the time needed to heal a fracture.
I suspect that these people with more prolonged pain, needed someone to treat fixations of spinal joints as described on the upper and lower back pages of this site.
Their inclusion in the trials would have reduced the apparent benefits of the acrylic cement vertebroplasty injection.

thyroid medicine common mismatch disease symptoms v. test results

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:37:39 GMT

thyroid medicine harbours a silent epidemic of subclinical hypothyroidism, not picked up well by conventional pathology tests

Dr. Andrew Wakefield interview with Dr. Mercola

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:40:34 GMT

Do you have a child with inflammatory bowel disease or autism? Has your child had MMR vaccine?
This is a very important series of videos - enlightening and disturbing.

Sciatic nerve pain results from a genuine "slipped disc" and is not common.

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:11:02 GMT

Inflamed sciatic nerve pain actually, usually due to pressure from a prolapsed disc

New Chronic Pain Guidelines Published

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:07:46 GMT

The American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Chronic Pain Management has just updated its chronic pain guidelines. (Anesthesiology. 2010;112:810-833)
Their list of treatment types may be of use when you are considering new treatments for yourself.
It is ablative techniques, acupuncture, blocks, botulinum toxin, electrical nerve stimulation, epidural steroids, intrathecal drug therapies, minimally invasive spinal procedures, pharmacologic management, physical therapy, psychological treatment, and trigger point injections.
Further explanation of these at the bottom of the home page of this site (below.)

Pelvic pain misery - unnecessary, don't put up with it

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:51:02 GMT

Pelvic pain diagnosis often requires both a gynaecologist and ultrasound specialist with particular interest in this area.

PainSupport Newsletter 181 - Bouncing Back, April 2010

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:35:09 GMT

Jan Sadler has a useful piece on how to quickly bounce back if pain starts to get you down, in her current PainSupport newsletter.

musculoskeletal chest pain -examining your muscles

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:05:25 GMT

How to find the specific muscles responsible for your musculoskeletal chest pain

Physical exercise helps fibromyalgia pain

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:20:30 GMT

Do you suffer from fibromyalgia? Just published research¹ again confirmed exercise is likely to help your pain.
73 of 84 people with fibromyalgia, managed to complete the 12-week trial, doing 30 minutes of activity such as climbing stairs, gardening, and walking at least 5 days per week
1. March 29 2010 issue, of Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Chest Muscle Pain - diagnosis and treatment methods

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:03:44 GMT

In chest muscle pain, the culprit is often within reach of your fingers. You can seek and deal with a lot of the muscles responsible, producing rapid relief.

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate in knee osteoarthritis

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:57:00 GMT

In the recent GAIT trial of this treatment, it was only better than dummy treatment in the people with moderate-to-severe knee pain.
In my experience, many people with osteoarthritic knees have referred pain from thigh and pelvic muscles. In the trial, many of these people would have the same, and their pain would not be expected to improve with nutritional treatment.
If you examine your knee and treat any muscles, as outlined on my site, any remaining pain is probably much more likely to respond to glucosamine etc.

Skin burns, wounds and ulcers - your treatment guide.

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:59:49 GMT

Immediate first aid for skin burns, wounds, and what to do after that to encourage rapid healing.

New book on Near Death Experiences

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:50:42 GMT

Dr. Jeffrey Long's new book, "Evidence of the Afterlife,The Science of Near-Death Experiences" sounds like a good read.
It's based on many accounts of near death experiences, as was Raymond Moody's 1975 book "Life after life"
Interesting stuff.

Calf pain on walking, the case for wearing high heels.

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:22:36 GMT

Walking, calf pain, stop, pain stops, walk again just as far then repeat the whole deal all over again.

Lactose intolerance - less frequent than commonly believed.

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:38:26 GMT

Lactose intolerance due to malabsorption and fermentation in your colon - good for germs, not you.

Thoracic outlet syndrome? - pain and numbness in little finger?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:27:09 GMT

Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome is a very dubious diagnosis, mostly. It's usually the spine joints at fault.