Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine back issues from June 2007:
Letter from the publisher.(The Society for Orthomolecular Health-Medicine's Annual Scientific Meeting )(Conference news)
Jun 01, 2007; ... In February, I attended The Society for Orthomolecular Health-Medicine's 13th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco. This small group, headed by Dr. Richard Kunin, MD, consistently puts on a terrific, information-packed meeting in a quaint San Francisco hotel at a very modest price ....
Are compounded prescriptions "quite dangerous?".(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In a five-minute interview on National Public Radio (NPR) on April 19th, Dr. Deborah Grady, professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco labeled bio-identical hormone therapy compounded by pharmacies as "quite dangerous." She was being interviewed by NPR reporter ...
Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In our May 2007 issue (286:108), the credit for photographs of Borrelia in a spirochete and cyst form was omitted. Alan MacDonald, MD originally provided the photographs to Phyllis Mervine of the Lyme Times. The caption should also have stated that the perfect corkscrew spirochetal form is ...
Mercury contamination of fish warrants worldwide public warning.
Jun 01, 2007 ... The health risks posed by mercury-contaminated fish is sufficient to warrant issuing a worldwide general warning to the public--especially children and women of childbearing age--to be careful about how much and which fish they eat. That is one of the key findings comprising "The Madison ...
Priority #1: environmental protection; Nordic Naturals demonstrates continued commitment to environmental protection issues.
Jun 01, 2007 ... With growing concern over declining fish populations, Nordic Naturals, a leading supplier of fish oil supplements, announced today its continued commitment to protecting the world's oceans by utilizing only fish species that are not endangered and harvesting them from waters not exposed to ...
Compounding legislation-it hurts everyone.(compounded medicines)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Draft legislation that has been circulated by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Pat Roberts (R-KS) to significantly broaden the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority over pharmacy compounding will endanger patients who are prescribed compounded medicines and ...
Dry cleaning risks/safer alternatives.(Health Risks & Environmental Issues)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Governmental regulations get tighter each decade as we learn more about the environmental hazards and increased health risks associated with dry-cleaning chemicals. Industry representatives continue to deny any adverse health effects. Several years ago, this writer was delighted to find a ...
Sustainable fishing.(Shorts)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Overfishing, wasteful practices, and habitat destruction have reduced the populations of every large wild fish species by 90% or more over the last 50 years, according to a 2003 study published in Nature. Fish caught by today's fishermen are one-fifth to one-half the size of the fish ...
Metal detoxification and clay.(Shorts)(www.eytonsearth.org)(Website overview)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Eytons' Earth (www.eytonsearth.org), an informative site about clay therapy, reports that it has received considerable anecdotal evidence about the use of low sodium bentonite and montmorillonite clay to treat heavy metal toxicity successfully. In addition to being rich in minerals, ...
Metal accumulation and health.(Shorts)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Jun 01, 2007; ... "I was taught in neurology residency training in the early 1970s that when symptoms cannot readily be explained, look for toxic metal poisoning," Robert A. Nash, MD, writes in his article "Metals in Medicine" (Alternative Therapies, July/August 2005). Nash is Chairman of the American Board ...
Amalgam filling removal.(Shorts)
Jun 01, 2007; ... No matter how careful a dentist is, amalgam removal exposes patients and staff to mercury vapor and particulates. Biological dentists, who are aware of the metal's toxicity, have developed strategies to lessen this exposure. Stephen M. Koral, DMD, discusses various barrier and ventilation ...
Mercury pollution.(Shorts)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Media stories about mercury pollution and the metal's infiltration into the seafood chain usually blame coal-burning electric power plants for the problem. Airborne mercury from these plants can travel thousands of miles on global air currents before it precipitates into waterways and ...
Alzheimer's disease & mercury.(Shorts)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Exposure to extremely low levels of mercury produces several of the distinguishing features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD, which affects over 4.5 million people in the US, is a progressive mental deterioration, characterized by memory loss, confusion, and behavior changes ....
Canned tuna safety.(Shorts)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Despite concerns about low-level mercury contamination in seafood, researchers and health agencies continue to urge people to eat fish. Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) as well as protein. An October 2006 article in the Journal of the American Medical ...
American Dental Association gag rule.(Shorts)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Since its inception, the American Dental Association (ADA) has maintained that mercury amalgam fillings are safe. The organization prohibits dentists from stating otherwise by threatening a loss of their license to practice. This "gag order" received a severe blow in July 2005, when ...
Op-ed in The New York Times.(War on Cancer)
Jun 01, 2007; ... For the first time, I have had an op-ed piece published in the Sunday New York Times. (It can be viewed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/opinion/01moss.html.) Basically, I was asked to contribute the op-ed as part of an entire page devoted to cancer. The impetus seems to ...
Prevention of cancer associated with human papilloma virus: a new Merck vaccine vs. nutritional approaches.(Townsend's New York Observer)
Jun 01, 2007; ... A front-page news story in The New York Times on February 17, 2007 described the "roaring backlash" roused by a lobbying campaign for state-mandated use of a vaccine that Merck & Co. has developed against human papilloma virus (HPV), a virus associated with cervical cancer. (1) Fueling the ...
New website demonstrates ways to take Charge of our health.(Pathways to Healing)(Website overview)
Jun 01, 2007; ... The Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota has developed a series of online tools to help all of us who want to stay healthy, as well as all of us who are coping with illness. Their new website, Taking Charge of Your Health, offers a series of resources on how to ...
Magnesium and vitamin B6 for ADHD.(Literature Review & Commentary)(attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Forty children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) received magnesium (6 mg per kg of body weight per day) and vitamin B6 (0.6 mg per kg per day) for at least eight weeks. At baseline, the mean erythrocyte magnesium concentration was significantly lower in the patients ...
Nutritional supplement saves lives of critically ill patients.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... One hundred sixty-five Brazilian patients (mean age, 65 years) with severe sepsis or septic shock requiring mechanical ventilation were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, continuous tube feeding with a standard enteral diet or an isonitrogenous and isocaloric diet ...
Magnesium builds bone in adolescent girls.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Dietary magnesium intake was estimated from three-day diet records in 122 healthy Caucasian girls (aged 8-14 years; mean, 10.8 years) from Connecticut. From that group, 50 girls with dietary magnesium intake less than 220 mg per day (mean, 184 mg per day) were randomly assigned to receive, ...
Carotenoids for AIDS patients.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Three hundred and thirty-one adults with advanced AIDS on conventional management received daily oral multivitamins including vitamin A and trace elements and were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, natural mixed carotenoids equivalent to 120,000 IU (72 mg) of ...
Clove as a topical anesthetic in dentistry.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Seventy-three adult volunteers were randomly assigned to receive, in single-blind fashion, topical application of clove gel on one side of the maxillary canine buccal mucosa and placebo on the other side, or topical application of benzocaine 20% gel on one side and placebo on the other ...
Can green tea prevent dental caries?(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of the catechins present in green tea, killed Streptococcus mutans grown in a medium without sucrose, but did not kill the organism when grown in a medium containing sucrose. In a second experiment, volunteers rinsed their mouths with an EGCG solution ...
Coenzyme Q10 for tinnitus.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Twenty patients (mean age, 54 years) with chronic tinnitus received coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10; 100 mg, three times per day) for 16 weeks. The mean severity of tinnitus (as determined by the Tinnitus Questionnaire score) did not change significantly in the group as a whole. However, in a subgroup ...
Curcumin for ulcerative colitis.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Eighty-nine patients with ulcerative colitis in remission were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, curcumin (1 g after breakfast and 1 g after dinner) or placebo for six months. All patients also received sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Among the 82 patients who completed ...
Mercury.(Web Page Potpourri)(Website list)(Column)
Jun 01, 2007; ... I'll begin this column by sharing a terrific campaign sponsored by an advocacy organization called Oceana. They are working to get signs posted at grocery store seafood counters based on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) mercury ...
Addressing mercury bioaccumulation with whole foods.(Therapeutic Nutrition)
Jun 01, 2007; ... What do dental fillings, fish, and a variety of environmental contaminants have in common? They can all contain mercury, a heavy metal that finds its way into the tissues of the body where it is stored through a process known as bioaccumulation. While mercury (or Hg, to use its chemical ...
EDTA-It works, but how?(Chelation Corner)
Jun 01, 2007; ... General Information The role of Ethylene Diamine Tetracetic Acid (EDTA) chelation therapy in diabetes and heart disease has been debated for decades. A Google search leads to 498000 pages of pro and con information, some grossly misleading. To prove or disprove EDTA's use in ...
Fish, mercury, and personalized medicine.
Jun 01, 2007; ... Is Fish Safe to Eat? Is it safe to eat fish? On the one hand, fish is a source of lean protein, the omega-3 fats docosahexenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentenoic acid (EPA), iodine, and vitamin D, to mention a few of its merits. On the other hand, eating fish increases exposure to ...
Turn on your child's smart genes.
Jun 01, 2007; ... Early in the twentieth century, the prevailing view with reference to child development was championed by "behaviorists." These were psychologists who felt that all of our actions, skills, and behaviors were a result of environmental influences. Essentially, they conceived of babies as ...
Study report: effects of combined treatment with Haelan 951 and doxorubicin on the breast cancer cell line BT474.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Introduction Objective of the Study The aim of this study was to investigate the combined action of Haelan 951 and the drug doxorubicin on the breast cancer cell line BT474. The analyses mainly focused on how these substances altered the expression of selected genes ...
Long-lasting remediation of migraine headaches using the neural kinesiology technique of Klinghart and Williams: an outcome study.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract Recurrent migraine headaches are a significant problem for those who have them. They are an important cause of missed work or school and reduce the quality of life. I report results for 31 patients who received a new diagnostic and treatment system called Neural ...
How dental materials create medical diseases.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Autoimmune diseases, whether Multiple Sclerosis (MS), ALS, lupus, diabetes, leukemia, seizures, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or arthritis, may have different fingerprints, but they all come from the same hand. And the frightening part is that all fingers point toward toxic dental materials ....
Chronic mercury poisoning and mercury detoxification.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Introduction Mercury is a neurotoxin and the most poisonous, non-radioactive, naturally occurring substance to which we can be exposed. Chronic mercury poisoning has reached pandemic proportions in the United States and throughout the world. It will directly or indirectly cause, ...
Assessment of toxic metal body burden: ammunition, hot topics, and food for thought.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... The purpose of this article is to provide the practitioner with ammunition to support the use of provocation testing for toxic element burden, and to increase awareness and stimulate thought about current "hot topics" regarding the testing process and interpretation of the test results ....
Chelation, heavy metals, heart disease, and health: an oral detoxification program that is now essential for optimal health and longevity-Part One.
Jun 01, 2007; ... Introduction At the recent Orthomolecular Medicine meeting in San Francisco, I mentioned to Dr. Jonathan Collin the tremendous success I was enjoying with our horses, using an oral protocol called the Oral Detoxification Program[TM] (ODP). My ODP protocol was dramatically ...
Multiple Sclerosis and heavy metals: (a case history).(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... History CB, a 32-year-old woman, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in January 2004, initially presenting with optical manifestations. Her symptoms began as a central smudging effect, which evolved into complete loss of vision in the right eye and severely compromised vision ...
EDTA suppositories for the removal of systemically toxic and cytotoxic heavy metals.(ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... On a daily basis, our bodies come in contact with harmful compounds that can cause numerous health challenges and a decreased quality of life. Harmful toxins are found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. In today's environment, these toxins come in many types ....
Questioning water fluoridation.(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Two recent articles in the Seattle Times (most recently, "Reason to Smile: Outpouring from Readers Will End His Pain" by Kyung M. Song, February 2, 2007) revealed that many poor and uninsured Seattleites have serious, untreated dental problems and that the available public clinics appear ...
Kudos for Paul Yanick.(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2007; ... The Quantum Medicine Update by Paul Yanick (Townsend Letter, April 2007) was well-written and insightful. Paul may be a man so far ahead of his time that few people comprehend and appreciate his comments. We are entering a new age of medicine. Material medicines serve as a ...
A confusion of sources.(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2007 ... I am the lead author of the case report Kerry Bone cites (Lynch CR, Folkers ME, Hutson WR. Liver Transpl. 2006; 12: 989-992) in the December 2006 Townsend Letter ("Phytotherapy Review"). It seems that he alleges that this case was presented at a conference report in 2004; this is not ...
The secrets of Oral Chelation.
Jun 01, 2007; ... Doctors Discover the Alarming Truth about Mercury's and Other Toxic Heavy Metals' Devastating Effects on Patients and the Secrets of Oral Chelation Why is Oral Chelation still such a secret when so many doctors and health care professionals have been aware of its amazing ...
Do antioxidants kill people?(Editorial)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... It seems as if every time we turn around, a new study appears telling us how dangerous nutritional supplements are. The latest was a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, (1) that found that taking antioxidant supplements ...
Chemical sensitivity from September 11.(The Toxic Clouds of 9/11: A Looming Health Disaster)(Movie review)
Jun 01, 2007; ... The Toxic Clouds of 9/11: A Looming Health Disaster Produced/Directed by Alison Johnson, MCS Information Exchange P.O. Box 213, Brunswick, MAINE 04011, 207-725-8570, www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com $20 plus $2 Shipping and Handling; 66 minutes The ...
Is there a cure for Multiple Sclerosis?(Healing Multiple Sclerosis)(Book review)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Healing Multiple Sclerosis by Ann Boroch; Foreword by Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD Published by Quintessential Healing, Inc., Publishing; 818-763-8282; www.annboroch.com Quality Paperback, c. 2007, $15.95, 392 pp. Ann Boroch's book is an excellent ...
Mercury detoxification.(Mercury Detoxification: The Natural Way to Remove Mercury from Your Body)(Book review)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Mercury Detoxification: The Natural Way to Remove Mercury from Your Body by Tom McGuire, DDS Published by www.dentalwellness4u.com; 877-363-1428 Spiral-bound; c. 2006; $29.95 Also available as an eBook; $20.00 Many readers may know ...
Unexplained illnesses emerge from the dark ages.(Explaining 'Unexplained Illnesses' Disease Paradigm for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, and Others)(Book review)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Explaining "Unexplained Illnesses" Disease Paradigm for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, and Others by Martin Pall, PhD, BA Haworth Medical Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, New ...
Guided Digital Medicine, Lyme disease, and Petri dish mentality.(Disease/Disorder overview)
Jun 01, 2007; ... This article is based on the novel medical system--Guided Digital Medicine[TM], which operates diagnostically and therapeutically on the most fundamental level of Man's body--Energy. Its author, Savely Yurkovsky, MD, is internationally known as a teacher and expert in Bioenergetic ...
Is black cohosh beneficial for osteoporosis?(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
Jun 01, 2007; ... As has been reported in previous columns, there has been considerable debate concerning the mode of action of black cohosh (Actaea racemosa, synonym Cimicifuga racemosa) in menopausal patients, specifically whether it acts via estrogenic effects or has some other entirely different ...
Steroid-Sparing effect of wormwood in Crohn's disease.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study in Germany investigated the possibility that wormwood herb (Artemisia absinthium) would be a useful addition to the standard treatment of Crohn's disease. (1) It was thought that the in vitro antiviral activity of wormwood ...
Gentle herbs are effective for colic in infants.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Infantile colic is characterized by paroxysmal, excessive, and inconsolable crying without other identified causes. It is one of the most common problems within the first three months of life for Western babies, affecting as many as 15-30% of newborn children. According to modern ...
Inhalation of essential oil for tuberculosis.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... A case report from Australia has been recently published of the successful use of inhaled eucalyptus oil to effect clinical improvement in a patient with tuberculosis. (1) A 28-year-old woman presented with cough, shortness of breath, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and malaise. She had ...
Fenugreek helps muscle glycogen recovery.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Prolonged exercise depletes muscle reserves of glycogen, which places limitations on physical performance. The speed of glycogen resynthesis in muscle can therefore determine the rate of recovery after exercise. It has been found that while regular carbohydrate feedings are required soon ...
Calendar of events.(alternative medicine)(Calendar)
Jun 01, 2007 ... CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: 5th Annual World Congress on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome. Deadline is AUGUST 15, 2007. CONTACT: http://www.insulinresistance.us/login.php MAY 31-JUNE 2: SOCIETY FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 26th ANNUAL CONFERENCE -- Pushing Scientific Boundaries @ Michigan ...
Menopause symptoms and lesser-known botanicals.(Women's Health Update)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... St. John's Wort St. John's wort is the most thoroughly researched natural antidepressant. The majority of these studies have not been conducted on menopausal women, but in 37 of 39 clinical trials, St. John's wort was shown to be superior to the placebo or equal to the ...
Treating diabetes mellitus with minerals, Part Two.(Nutritional Influences on Illness)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Phosphorus A group of 31 Caucasian, insulin-dependent diabetics with normal kidney function was found to have a highly significant decrease in serum phosphorus. (1) A deficiency of phosphorus is associated with an impaired response to insulin, (2) which suggests that phosphorus ...