Addressing the Canny Investor

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Four out of ten Americans were using alternative-medicine and not telling their doctors(1). Chinese herbal medicine helped people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome(2). A ketogenic diet decreased intractable seizures in children(3) But according to other researches, Echinacea extracts did not prevent upper respiratory infections(4) and chiropractic manipulations did not improve episodic-tension-type headaches.(5)

These researches may have had their own flaws. But according to another article published in British Journal of Medicine, double standards exist in judging traditional and alternative medicine.6 In a conference in integrated medicine in London, Dr. Iain Chalmers said, “critics of complementary medicine seemed to operate a double standard”. It is thought that 60% of orthodox treatments have not been scientifically proved.(6)

In 1999, a series of articles was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) under the title-ABC of Complementary Medicine. Catherine Zollman and Andrew Vickers authored these articles. In an article in this series published in BMJ of 11 September 1999, the authors defined Complementary Medicine as ” …a group of therapeutic diagnostic disciplines that exist largely outside the institutions where conventional health care is taught and provided. Complementary medicine is an increasing feature of healthcare practice, but considerable confusion remains about what exactly it is and what position the disciplines included under this term should hold in relation to conventional medicine”.(7)

According to another article published in BMJ of 25 September 1999, an UK survey of use of Complementary medicine estimated that in1993, 33% of the population had used some form of Complementary medicine. 55-65% of those who consulted complementary practitioners were female, a similar proportion to users of conventional healthcare. The other highlights of this survey were:

The highest users were those aged 35-60 years.

Children made up a relatively small proportion of users of complementary medicine.

Users of complementary medicine tended to be in higher socio-economic groups and had higher levels of education than users of conventional care.

More people used complementary medicine in the south of England than in Wales, Scotland and the north of England.But evidence suggested that this reflected access to availability of complementary practitioners rather than any fundamental regional differences in public attitude or interest.(8)
On acupuncture, the authors wrote: - “There is good research evidence that acupuncture has effects greater than placebo. Randomised trials have found that true acupuncture is more effective in relieving pain than ’sham’ technique such as inserting needles away from true points.” “Studies showing that acupuncture can affect anaesthetised animals provides further evidence that its effects probably cannot be explained purely in psychological terms.”(9)

“The best known evidence about a herbal product concerns St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) for treating mild to moderate depression. A systematic review of 23 randomised controlled trials found the herb to be significantly superior to placebo and therapeutically equivalent to, but with fewer side-effects than antidepressants such as amitryptyline.” “Eighty seven adults and children refractory to conventional first and second line treatment were randomised to a crossover study that compared a preparation of about 10 Chinese herbs with a placebo consisting of herbs thought to be ineffective for eczema. Highly significant reductions in eczema scores were associated with active treatment but not with placebo. At long term follow-up, over half of the adults (12/21) and over 75% of children (18/23) who continued had a greater than 90% reduction in eczema scores”.(10)

Studies on Homeopathy

An evidence of the efficacy of homeopathic medications was published in BMJ.

The paper was authored by Morag A Taylor and associates. It concluded that homeopathic dilutions differ from placebo. This study was done on fifty patients suffering with perennial allergic rhinitis. The results showed significant nasal airflow improvement compared with the placebo group(11). An earlier paper authored by Andrew Vickers and Catherine Zollman in BMJ quoted an article in Lancet in favour of homoeopathy. The authors of this article in Lancet were quoted as: - ” the results of our meta-analysis are not compatible with the hypothesis that the clinical effects of homoeopathy are due to placebo.” “Laboratory studies have reported biological effects of homeopathy medicines on animals, plants and cells, some at ultramolecular dilutions.”(12)

Mind-Body Connection in Modern Medicine

On another note, there are many researches published in journals of modern medicine that corroborate mind-body connection. Role of emotional distress and the origin of cardiac illnesses are an accepted fact in modern medicine. In a recent research conducted by Dr. Ketterer and colleagues from Henry Ford Health Sciences Center in Detroit, it was recommended that “chest pain should be considered a marker of emotional distress.” “Reducing emotional distress may benefit the (healthcare) system as well as the patient by spontaneously decreasing emergency room visits, diagnostic tests and hospital admissions.”(13)

A study done in the Cancer Institute of New Jersey by Dr. Pandya and associates concluded that conventional mind-body therapy has been poorer with valuable non-invasive way to manage coronary disease. Yoga practice is valuable in coronary disease by improving resistance to stress.(14)

People with diabetes are twice as likely as non-diabetics to suffer from depression, according to an analysis of 25 years of data authored by Dr. Patrick J. Lustman of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Two of every three cases of depression in diabetes go untreated by primary care physicians”.(15) He recommends that both conditions need to be treated together.

In a study published in Digestive Diseases and Science authored by Dr. Svein Blomhoff of National Hospital, Oslo, it was demonstrated that there is a clear connection between mind and body. Emotional responses have an impact on intestinal reactivity in-patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and in normal controls.

“The close interaction among mind, brain and gut” indicates that “gut motility may be a dynamic indication of level of stress or emotional state.”(16)

Non-Physical Treatments

Psychotherapy is helpful for patients with intractable dyspepsia. One study was done by Dr. Elspeth Gutherei of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and was published in Gastroenterology in the year 2000.(17) In the same issue, Dr. David H. Alpers of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, advised gastroenterologists to pay attention to psychological diagnostic and therapeutic tools and to learn to apply them to patients in functional bowel disorders.

Results from some controlled trials of “distant healing” show that such forms are positively effective. A study by Dr. John A Astin and associates at Kernon Hospital Mansion, in Baltimore Maryland, concluded this finding. 23 trials including five trials of prayer, 11 studies of non-contact therapeutic touch and seven trials of mental healing and spiritual healing were studied.(18)

Conclusion

There is ample evidence in modern medical literature that suggests that there are links between physical illnesses and emotional and mental distress. Research evidence shows that there is learning involved in “observation.” Every “scientific” discovery starts with “observation.” The observation is then followed by “scientific research.”

Complementary therapies are following the same pattern of knowledge as modern medicine has followed. Practitioners can make themselves more aware of the scientific basis of medicine by reading and researching on modern medicine. Complementary medicine will need to become more scientific sooner rather than later.

References:

1. Journal of the American Medical Association (1998) 280:1549-640
2. Journal of the American Medical Association (1998) 280:1585-90
3. Archives of Neurology (1998)55: 1433-8
4. Archives of Family Medicine (1998) 7: 541-5
5. Journal of the American Medical Association (1998) 280:1576-9
6. British Medical Journal (1998) 316:1694
7. British Medical Journal (1999) 319:693-696
8. British Medical Journal (1999) 319: 836-838
9. British Medical Journal (1999) 319:973-976
10 British Medical Journal (1999) 319: 1050-1053
11. British Medical Journal (2000) 321: 471-476
12. British Medical Journal (1999) 319: 1115-1118
13. Journal of Behavioural Medicine (2000) 23:437-44
14. Comparative Therapy (1999) 25(5): 283-93
15. Diabetes Care (2001) 24: 1069-1078
16. Digestive Diseases and Sciences (2000) 45: 1153-1165
17. Gastroenterology (2000) 119: 661-669, 869-871
18. Annals of Internal Medicine (2000) 132: 903-910

Pradeep K Chadha is a psychiatrist who specialises in helping patients with meditation and imagery using little or no medication. He is the author of The Stress Barrier-Nature’s Way To Overcoming Stress published by Blackhall Publishing, Dublin. He is based in Dublin, Ireland.His website address is http://www.drpkchadha.com

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A paradigm is a sort of cultural, consensual pattern of thought or model of something. For example the ‘current consensus in scientific medicine’. Paradigms change, like the impact of Galileo’s work on disproving the flat-earth theory or Copernicus’ heresy that the Earth moves round the Sun. New ideas meet a great deal of resistance from orthodox philosophy but eventually give rise to a changed perception of the world we live in.

We live now in a time of ‘paradigm shift’ which creates fundamental changes in our assumptions about the world, and even this contributes to modern stress! Although our physical sciences have discovered new fields of quantum reality, medical science is lagging far behind. Philosophy has traditionally been an important part of medical practice since the medieval days of Paracelsus, even Hippocrates, an ancient Greek (and originator of the Hippocratic Oath).

How we perceive the world and our part in it is central to how we perceive the role of dis-ease and our reaction to it. One of the present problems of finding effective cancer treatment within Western scientific medicine is a ‘paradigm gap’. There are different perceptions of the world at work speaking incompatible languages. These have deep roots in our philosophy. This gap is presently condemning millions of people world-wide to suffer treatments for cancer that are often as destructive as the disease itself.

Paradigm 1: The mechanistic view

This can be traced back to Descartes and other scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton. The universe is a vast machine and we are all cogs, all with our part to play in its function. The healthy body is a well made clock and if it goes wrong we simply take it apart and tinker with the insides until it goes again. If it breaks it doesn’t really matter because there are plenty more where that came from. Nothing exists unless it has been proven through logical methods.

cancer: something had gone wrong with this body, it has a lump. Cut it out and throw the lump away.

Paradigm 2: The anthropomorphic view

This paradigm is central to the philosophy of Darwinism and others who helped set humans as ‘apart and above’, or at the head of other life forms. Humanity is the supposed crown of creation, we are created to lord it over every other creature as ‘head of the food chain’. The planet is ours to dominate and exploit to our own demands. We must conquer every mountain and battle against disease. We are the most evolved and dominant species in a process of natural selection. We exist for no purpose and have just evolved through sheer luck. In this world our media fantasy industries create pigs and fish that can talk human. Animals are anthropomorphised through culture to have the same needs, desires and dreams as humans. The animals, forests, oceans and environment around us exist purely for our convenience. This paradigm is human self-centred and exploitative to everything including ourselves.

cancer: something has gone wrong with this body, it has grown an enemy inside it. I will root it out and battle with it.

Paradigm 3: The Gaian view (an emerging paradigm)
This paradigm started with Einstein and the science of energy. Its inception combines an age when we saw the first images of the Earth as a whole entity from space. James Lovelock and his search for life on Mars is a central figure in its development through his identification of the Gaia Hypothesis regarding Earth.

This planet we inhabit is a self-balancing, homeostatic system similar to our own as single biological entities. It maintains the optimum conditions for life despite our best efforts to pollute it. Our bodies are a miracle of biology, constantly flexible and adaptive but easy to harm. Anything we do to it or each other, we do to ourselves as we are part of the same ‘web’ or ‘circle’ of life. We exist for a purpose but do not yet know what it is. We are part of an evolving cycle of life, a happening miracle.

cancer: something has gone wrong with this body, it is trying to tell me something. I will listen to it and get help to understand why it has happened and what I need to learn and do to get better.

This is an extract from ‘Don’t Get Cancer’a new ebook available only at: http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/don’tget1.html

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There are several methods of treatment for mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate. In general, the chances of curing a mesothelioma patient depends on how much the cancer has developed and matured when treated. If tackled aggressively in its early stages, there is a good chance of survival. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing mesothelioma in its early stages, many mesothelioma treatments focus on improving the quality of life for patients.

Before a patient is treated upon, a doctor will decide what the best course of treatment is by considering the patient’s age, medical history, general well being and even weight. From here, the doctor will decide which of the three most common treatments are most suited to the patient’s condition. These treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Surgery

Surgery comes in two different types. Aggressive surgery is treatment which aims to gain long term control against the cancer and palliative procedures which aims to just relieve the patient of symptoms.

Aggressive surgery involves removing the pleura, the lung, the diaphragm and the pericardium. This procedure is known as extra pleural pneumonectomy. The aim of this is to remove as much of the tumour as possible without harming the patient. However, this is a very risky type of surgery and the chances are high of patient fatality within a month. Due to this, only young, fit individuals are referred to this form of treatment. Palliative procedures involve removing just the pleura in order to control the symptoms of the cancer. This is performed when mesothelioma is in an advanced form and is impossible to cure.

Chemotherapy

This is the most commonly known cure of cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma although many of these drugs have a poor success rate on patients. Combinations of drugs are often used to improve their effect. Some of these combinations have proved to be effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses radiation to kill the tumour which mesothelioma creates. However, this procedure is extremely difficult because of where the tumour grows. Due to the closeness of the tumour and many vital internal organs such as the heart and lungs, doctors have to be very careful as to the doses of radiation they use. Lower radiation doses can be used however this lowers its effectiveness.

Dual Therapy

This is often used and is just a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy combined. Surgery removes the majority of the tumour cells while chemotherapy and radiation therapy work on removing the remainder. This is an effective method and also lessens the symptoms of the cancer.

All the detailed information you need on the symptoms, treatment, risks, science and more about mesothelioma can be found at:

www.1-mesothelioma.co.uk

Be sure to visit to learn more about this deadly cancer and how you can prevent it.

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A diabetic diet is a specially designed eating plan that is high in carbohydrates and low in fat. People with diabetes don’t need to go out and purchase special foods to maintain a diabetic diet, they can eat the same foods as the whole family. A healthy diet based on the diabetes food pyramid is beneficial to diabetics and non-diabetics alike.

Making healthy food choices is not so hard. All it takes is a little bit of planning to include all your favorite foods. But first, you need to understand the basics of a diabetic diet.

A diabetes diet or meal plan should be based on the specially designed diabetic food pyramid. The diabetes food pyramid groups foods based on their carbohydrate and protein content and not on how they classify as a food. Foods are divided into six groups, with fats, oils and sweets on the very top (so eat less of these) and bread, cereals, pasta and rice on the bottom (so eat more of these).

Breads, cereals and the like are foods that are high in carbohydrates. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggests 6-11 servings per day. Sample servings are: 1 slice of bread; cup dry cereal or 1/3 cup of rice or pasta.

Vegetables should also be eaten in plenty as they are naturally low in fat and a high in fibre, not to mention vitamins and minerals. The ADA suggests eating 3-5 servings per day. A sample serving is 1 cup of vegetables (raw) or cup (cooked). Fruits are also recommended, so add about 2-4 servings, which translates to about 1 small fresh fruit or cup canned fruit. Eat a little less of meat and beware of foods like potato chips, candy, cookies, which have high levels of sugar and fat.

Your fat and sugar intake should be limited. The ADA suggests keeping servings very small (sample serving size is cup of ice cream or 2 small cookies) and to keep them for a special treat.

A quick Internet search for “Diabetes diet” or “Cooking for people with diabetes” brings up numerous dietary suggestions in the form of recipe books to buy and have at home or online diet recipes which you can print out and use. The ADA has a “Recipe of the Day” section with lots of great ideas targeted at those living with diabetes or friends of diabetics. As for books, the ADA recommends “Mr. Food’s Quick and Easy Diabetic Cooking” and Nancy S. Hughes’s ” Quick & Easy Low-Carb Cooking for People with Diabetes”.

The right plan will help diabetics improve blood glucose levels, blood pressure, cholesterol and keep weight balanced. To complement your diet, add regular exercise to your lifestyle to help your body use glucose.

Dean Erickson. Journalist, and web site builder Dean Erickson lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.diabetes-diet-resources.info on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

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This may be taken for four seconds to 20 minutes at a temperature ranging from 100C to 23.80C. Before entering the bath, cold water should be poured on the patient’s head, chest, and neck and the head should be protected with a cold moist towel. During the bath, the patient should vigorously rub his or her body. After the bath the body should be quickly dried and wrapped up in a blanket. If the climate is favourable, moderate exercise should be undertaken.

This bath helps to bring down fever. It also improves the skin when taken for five to 15 seconds after a prolonged hot bath, by exhilarating circulation and stimulating the nervous system.

This bath should not be given to young children or very elderly persons, nor be taken in cases of acute inflammation of some internal organs such as acute peritonitis, gastritis, enteritis, and inflammatory conditions of uterus and ovaries.

To learn more about the energy principle in healing, please read:

Cost-free Miracle Asthma Cure
Overcome Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes Naturally
Alternative Treatments for Incurable Diseases made easy

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