Holistic Doc's Pain Support Blog

Or your lower back? Epidural injections can help here.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:24:07 GMT

The abstract, introduction and discussion parts of this paper will give you a lot of the information.
People with facet joint pain or sciatica were excluded, leaving those who had pain possibly from discs.
Caudal injections helped more than half of these people with chronic low back pain which had resisted previous treatments.

Sore neck? Read on

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:21:34 GMT

"No important differences in pain were found between SMT and HEA at any time point."
Spinal manipulation therapy and home exercises were equally effective and both better than just swallowing pills.
Jaw problems and low blood sugar are also worth considering as possible aggravating factors.

Maybe better to leave our germs alone

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:10:11 GMT

Paraben antiseptics are also weak oestrogens.
In breast tissue they were found more near the armpit, probably from underarm deodorants. That's where more breast cancers are found, so questions are being asked about a possible connection.
Probably better to avoiod them.

Trauma to teeth and mouth pain

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:00:15 GMT

I had a rough dental cleaning that chipped teeth and took enamel off and cracked fillings. I have been with this dentist 30 years. He tried to say normal

Raw (milk) action

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:58:32 GMT

Some judge has denied people have the right to consume the milk from their own cow.
Something is distinctly wrong in the state of Wisconsin, and apparently in most of North America.
Please consider helping Support Michael Schmidt.

The Raw Milk Institute

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:57:21 GMT

This won't be news for you if you subscribe to Dr. Mercola's newsletter.
Perfectly good food, if properly produced and handled. Should be legal everywhere.
Worth some effort to ensure this.

Latest dampener on prostate screening.

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:53:13 GMT

Half of the men in the control arm did have at least one PSA test. This would reduce but not eliminate any benefit in the active arm of this study.
About prostate cancer screening, the jury is still out, but any benefit is very likely to be small and counterbalanced by bad effects.

Electronic cigarettes apparently acceptable

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:13:43 GMT

In this Italian study, 22 of 40 volunteers who didn't want to stop smoking, actually did end up reducing it.
"Participants would enthusiastically recommend the e-Cigarette to friends or relatives who wanted to stop/reduce smoking."
The full study report is here...

Dangers of self diagnosis.

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:48:42 GMT

These people probably had some health concern for them to consider taking supplements.
Their efforts were off the mark sufficiently often for whatever they had wrong to catch up with them and influence the statistics.
Iron deficiency in women after their menopause, needs investigation for gastro-oesophageal bleeding.

More from New Zealand on cervical dysplasia

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:28:57 GMT

From the land where the Cartwright Commission of Inquiry¹ in 1988 dealt with unethical research on this subject, new evidence emerges.
CIN 2 resolved without treatment in 2/3rds of the young women whose doctors considered delay was safe. None of them got cancer of the cervix.
Folate isn't enough² but I wonder if that figure would have been higher if comprehensive nutritional advice had been given.

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartwright_Inquiry#Green_experiments
2.http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/4/2/155.short

Men and fitness, chickens and eggs.

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:32:00 GMT

Middle aged men whose fitness increased, subsequently died less during this study. Increased fitness and death were inversely related.
Perhaps the men with (eventually) lethal diseases were less able to get fit.
Association doesn't prove cause and effect.

NRDC taking on the FDA on BPA

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:43:46 GMT

Don't you just love acronyms.
The National Resources Defense Council sounds like a worthy cause. They have forced the government to do their duty, clearly something which wasn't going to happen any time soon.
While on that subject, if you're not already an avaaz petitioner consider looking at them at http://www.avaaz.org/en/

A Blog about a blogger.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:12:01 GMT

I was just asked to renew my subscription to the HealingWell Newsletter, and had a look at Peter's blog.
You may like to do likewise.
Good guy.

Science proves yoga benefits

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:16:54 GMT

Shreelaxmi Hegde and co-workers have shown what was always obvious. Yoga helps people.
The malondialdehyde is a nasty from oxidative damage of polyunsaturated oils. If you take a supplement of the latter, it's a good idea to also supplement with vitamin E to protect the oil from oxidation.
Vitamin E is recycled by vitamin C, and that in turn by glutathione and that finally by lipoic acid. These antioxidants are team players.

Hooray for the Raw Milk Freedom Riders

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:59:22 GMT

See also http://rawmilkfreedomriders.wordpress.com/home/
Good stuff if you can get your hands on it.

Interested in your germs?

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:39:59 GMT

This is pretty readable and very interesting. We've about 100 trillion germs apiece and they obviously have a large role in our health.
If you are buying a probiotic, look for one with a lot of different organisms rather than just one or two.
Feed them well. They like fruit and vegetables.

Insecticide madness - dementia actually

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:46:32 GMT

Xenobiotics abound - chemicals foreign to us and often disagreeable. Deltamethrin is supposed to be one of the safest insecticides, but rat brain obviously doesn't like it.
The Nrf2 protein it increases is to protect the brain, and is even touted as a treatment for human neurodegenerative dieases.
See http://www.news.wisc.edu/10564, which is a bit more interesting than the reference below...
Use mechanical methods against insects whenever possible.

Another call to action.

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:52:37 GMT

Hi everyone, I hope you don’t mind receiving this e-mail. I am sending it to everyone in my e-mail address book and to anyone I think can help Dr. Burzynski fight the injustice he has endured in order to bring the world effective cancer treatments. The Texas Medical Board and the FDA in the USA have taken Dr. Burzynski to the highest court in the land in order to stop him curing people of some of the most aggressive cancers such as Glioblastoma Multiforma using non-toxic antineoplastons. I viewed the Dr. Burzynski movie; a documentary movie about Dr. Burzynski’s 40 years of research and success with cancer treatment and about the corruption at the highest level of government to stop this noble doctor from saving lives and bringing the world his amazing treatments. The legal action taken against him is unprecedented, which only confirms that they are seriously threatened by this man’s discoveries. Apparently, the FDA policy is that they would not approve a cancer treatment from an individual, it has to be a major pharmaceutical company, for obvious financial reasons. While they were bleeding Dr. Burzynski financially through legal action, they stole his patents, raided his hospital and stole patient files and research files. Now they are at it again, this time stopping him from using FDA approved drugs off label which when used in combinations appropriate to the genetic makeup of the person and their cancer cells, amazing success was achieved, with rapid shrinkage of tumours. I urge you all to watch and buy the Burzynski movie and share this information with your friends. All funds raised go towards research and to pay for legal expenses. Without our help, Dr. Burzynski could lose his licence, his hospital and all future research will be halted. The world would have to wait a long time for an effective cancer treatment to be developed. Please do not ignore this call for help! Kind regards, Miryana Baran ( who relayed the message from Renee Trimble Director, Public Relations Burzynski Clinic 9432 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77055 (713) 335-5697) Also see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCrsn8ziGWU

Antioxidants work in teams

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:14:40 GMT

Fatty liver is the most common liver disease in the world, affecting 20% of people in USA.
In this condition vitamin E plus alpha lipoic acid was better than either alone (combined with a diet.)
Very refreshing to see this sort of work being done in mainstream medicine.

Curing your new diabetes rapidly

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:05:03 GMT

These people had type 2 diabetes for less than 4 years, but lost it in a week!
The treatment was a 600kcal per day diet. Not an easy ask, but it shows it can be done.
An excellent way to start if just diagnosed with diabetes.

Vitamin D and breast cancer prevention

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:57:54 GMT

Carole Baggerly talking to Dr. Mercola about an all too frequent scenario - her own.
Enough vitamin D and breast cancer down to 50%!!
It's enough to bring a tear to one's eye.

And I like to nag or harp, on my soapbox

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:18:45 GMT

Hale Dwoskin has some nice little exercises here, for helping one to "get connected."
I'd like to push once again for people to learn about our banking system and credible alternatives, at Paul Grignon's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 video.
We need more than just protest.

And I like Ted too

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:36:30 GMT

You probably know him already. My son just introduced us.
This post is just in case, like me, you need new horizons opening up to wile away the (otherwise boring) hours.
I dream (when I have a minute.)

I like Jamie Oliver

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:07:05 GMT

Adolescent nutrition is an extremely important cause. http://www.jamieoliver.com/school-dinners is recommended reading.
The reference below is work showing diet and mental health go hand in hand. This is not new information. The Alexander Schauss book "Diet, Crime and Delinquency" was written in 1981.
Action is happening now.
Please consider getting behind it.

How to give vitamins a bad name

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:50:03 GMT

In the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention "SELECT" Trial, 400 IU of alpha tocopheryl caused a small increase in prostate cancer.
Natural vitamin E is a mixture of different tocopherols. The absorption of dietary gamma tocopherol was probably inhibited by the large dose of alpha.
Vitamin E plus selenium didn't cause a definite increase in prostate cancer, and is the combination recommended anyway. Vitamin E should always be taken as natural mixed tocopherols.

Good food for the next generation

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:09:29 GMT

The National Birth Defects Prevention Study interviewed women about their diets before and during pregnancy.
The Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and the Diet Quality Index (DQI) were calculated.
Anencephaly, spina bifida and cleft lip were all associated with poor diet.

Work for all ages together

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 07:41:27 GMT

These young people are acting for everyone, including our children's children.
Our present world systems and habits are far from ideal. http://www.occupytogether.org/ and http://www.moneyasdebt.net/ are good places to start.
There's no time like the present .

Reassurance for us geriatrics

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:16:02 GMT

"The complaint of forgetting things from one second to the next, generally considered part of normal aging, was not associated with cognitive impairment."
I know. Most of you young fry couldn't care less.
Well, I personally was very happy to hear this.

Listeriosis information I didn't know

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:03:25 GMT

"Unlike other many other kinds of food-borne pathogens, listeria bacteria can continue to grow despite the cold temperatures of a refrigerator."
The time between when you consume it and when you get sick is longer than it is for many other bacteria, so people may continue to develop illness days or weeks after eating the contaminated food.

Blame the germs at all costs.

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:32:35 GMT

Very little concession to host factors in bacterial vaginosis, in this article.
"Professor Bradshaw said cure rates for bacterial vaginosis were “dismal”, with her previous research showing almost 60% of women had the condition again within 12 months of treatment."
Maybe something to do with their immune system?

Long chain fatty acids for long life.

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:11:13 GMT

Military evidence - soldiers dying of suicide had less DHA. This omega 3 oil is essential for our brain structure and function and is hard to come by.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#Plant_sources has lots of info.
Emulate a whale today.

Kids in rural areas in Europe and raw milk

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:12:43 GMT

They had less hay fever and asthma, than kids on boiled milk.
Healthy cows produce good food, for calves and human kids.
Organic or biodynamic farms are likely to have healthy cows.

From my daughter's Facebook friends

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:32:23 GMT

"A study found that an average Australian walks about 1440km a year. Australians drank on average 93.4 litres of alcohol a year. That means that on average, Australians get about 15.4km to the litre. Makes you damned proud to be an Australian."

Interesting reading on neuroscience

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:09:44 GMT

Something out of the ordinary, may have an article of interest and not too technical.
16 page pdf, 12.4MB
Hope you enjoy.

RED ALERT: FDA Set to Ban Your Supplements

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:42:40 GMT

I apologise for harping, but Dr. Mercola has a convenient draft letter at the foot of his article.
Massive public outcry is very simple these days. Avaaz.org The World in Action, is a wonderful example.
Let's tell them.

Have you ever met a tight arsed chocaholic?

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:26:24 GMT

People in these studies who ate chocolate got less coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
Probably because they were more laid back, but it sounds as though eating chocolate did no harm either.
Good news.

Something for Australians

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:11:42 GMT

And Figians.
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Enterprises is owned by a couple of very good friends, who are absolutely honest and ethical.
They are also very innovative, and the SAFE Carbon Program is about helping farmers improve the soil. Soil organic matter, of which 58% is carbon, is one one any nation's most important natural resources.

Fight the good fight.

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 23:26:55 GMT

It's no fanciful idea. The regulatory authorities really are actively working all the time, against anything likely to reduce pharmaceutical company profits.
Everyone can help protect natural treatments. Just contact your politician directly and sign petitions.

If physical exercise were a drug, it would be hitting the headlines.

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:18:06 GMT

This quote related to cancer treatment, is right on the money.
Dr. Josef Issels is dear to my heart, having saved a good friend who was dying of melanoma. He was way ahead of his time in many ways, including in recommending exercise. People would be brought to his clinic on stretchers and a few weeks later would be climbing the hills near the Ringberg Clinic.
Gordon Thomas co-produced the film "Go And Climb A Mountain" for the BBC after they investigated the Issels Clinic results. Pressure should be put on the BBC to dig it out of the archives and put it up on the net.

Modified citrus pectin, by EcoNugenics, worth a look

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:28:28 GMT

This study is in vitro, in a laboratory rather than an intact human.
Nevertheless, it is impressive stuff.
One would need to have all the nutrients in place, to get the most advantage. Cars without oil don't respond well to a foot on the accelerator.

We each have uniquie chemistry

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:47:54 GMT

This was brought home forcibly to the great Professor Roger J. Williams, when he had a very nasty "idiosyncratic" reaction to morphine.
The day will come when such unpleasant and dangerous reactions to drugs will be predictable and avoidable, through laboratory tests using one's own cells.
Even more importantly, unique requirements for greater than normal amounts of individual nutrient substances, can be detected with the same tests.
Search "SpectraCell Laboratories."

The perfect drug - another contender

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:56:18 GMT

PPIs join NSAIDs and benzodiazepines in the list of drugs which cause or worsen the very disease they are meant to treat.
Good for buisness.

Fry those dust mites

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 09:56:47 GMT

Can you leave a car closed up in the sun all day?
This will heat sterilize pillows and duvets (doonas) easily and cheaply.
These researchers did the whole house, with good effect on asthma. The online pdf has all the details.

Smart Indians

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:25:10 GMT

They use loads of tumeric in curries.
They don't spend as much of their time in cars and buildings either, probably.
Help yourself today, to prevent future Alzheimers.

It's Fluoride Awareness Week.

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:26:43 GMT

I know this is a well worn theme in this blog, but just in case you need convincing...
Dr. Susheela is very well qualified to speak on the subject. She makes a lot of sense.
If you get an upset tummy or are weak and tired, a urinary fluoride level over 1mg/litre would make removal of the source of fluoride a worthwhile therapeutic trial.

Some interesting reading on toxicity and beyond

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 08:08:23 GMT

Despite the protestations, hormesis is the same as homeopathy (in low potencies.)
It reminds me of John Ott's work on the benefits of UV/full spectrum light. UV was a dirty word for a long time, now being restored to respectability on account of vitamin D.
U-shaped curves everywhere.

Latest dampener on mammography

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:55:07 GMT

The second research article, full text available free. This quote is from their conclusions at the end.

“Our study adds further population data to the evidence of studies that have used various designs and found that mammographic screening by itself has little detectable impact on mortality due to breast cancer,”

Growing vegetables

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:15:50 GMT

This woman is out there doing it. She has raised some eyebrows, copped some flack.
Surreptitious vegetable gardening, mixed in with your flowers, won't get unwanted attention. It can look good.
Why waste a chance to enjoy tasty and nutritious home grown produce.

Something I pay for, happily.

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:53:59 GMT

Most of my reading is from free-to-web sources, but this one is worth spending a little money on.
This month the article is on back pain, and their approach is excellent.

Very good review of acne - gut - brain connections

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:08:12 GMT

For acne, I think food intolerance and zinc deficiency first.
This full article is free, and is an excellent read, of general interest quite apart from acne.