Naturopathic Medicine Can Head Off Dementia

September 8, 2010

A new study has determined the individual percentages by which a variety of lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia and suggests that these interventions – in the absence of a new treatment for the mind-robbing disease – are likely to have the greatest impact on reducing dementia levels in the future. The study assessed previously identified risk factors such as depression, diet, alcohol consumption, educational level and vascular factors, which include heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Results found that three changes together – eliminating depression and diabetes and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption – reduced dementia risk by a full 21 percent. Depression alone accounted for a 10 percent risk. Higher education was linked to an 18 percent lower risk. To illustrate the extent of these factors, the genetic tendency towards dementia accounts for seven percent of cases. The study was released August 5, 2010 and will be published in the British Medical Journal. But the journal already has made the full-text version of this important study available to the public, online without the usual requirement of a journal subscription or access fee.

Naturopathic Medicine is an effective approach to preventing and reversing depression and type two diabetes. Paired with diet ad lifestyle recommendations that are based on your unique constitution, licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctors have the tools to prevent and halt the progression of Dementia, even in the face of genetic predisposition. That offers true hope to millions of people!  It is time for Naturopathic Medicine, practiced by licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctors, to enter the mainstream and offer simple, genuine solutions to our healthcare crisis worldwide.

In health,

Dr. Gina Cushman

Leave a Comment » | Depression, Diabetes, Diet and Disease, Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Prevention | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

The Wall Street Reform Bill…Stop FTC Censorship of Science Based Health Information and Nutritional Supplements

May 12, 2010

Below is a reprint of a call to action by the Citizens for Health regarding deceptive language hidden within the Wall Street reform bill that grants the FTC the power to end access to information about the health benefits of the nutritional supplements you rely on.  The provisions relating to this increased legislative power (which incidentally was taken away from the FTC before because they abused it) has already passed the House (H.R.4173) and is now being considered by the Senate Commerce Committee.  Act now  to help stop these provisions from becoming law.

In health,

Dr. Gina

—

Hidden inside the Wall Street reform bill are provisions that would grant the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the equivalent of extraordinary legislative powers. These provisions have already been passed by the House (H.R. 4173) and are being considered by the Senate Commerce Committee.

If signed into law, this bill would grant the FTC:
Unbridled authority to create rules about “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” across all but a few sectors of the American economy;

Power to seek immediate civil penalties for “unfair or deceptive acts or practices without first giving companies the opportunity to change their practices”;

Authority to go after companies for allegedly “aiding and abetting” others in an FTC Act violation, even without actual knowledge of the violation; and

Power to seek such penalties without coordinating with the Justice Department. 

Make no mistake – this is a serious threat to manufacturers, distributors and retailers of dietary supplements, and would censor your access to truthful, science-based information about the positive health effects of supplements, vitamins, herbs, and other natural health products.

The Senate Commerce Committee is ready to act –  click here to send a letter now urging them to oppose this bill.

Examining the impact of this dangerous legislation further shows that delegating such unbridled regulatory authority would harm the economy, limit market innovation, and jeopardize the jobs and products that flow from such innovation. The FTC could use expanded rule-making authority to regulate areas where its involvement would hinder new and emerging business practices, such as internet marketing. The threat of FTC rule-making would lead to the stifling of innovation in the marketplace, stunting growth that would otherwise create a projected 2.6 million new jobs in the internet marketing workforce over the next five years.

Citizens for Health will continue to fight efforts to limit your access to truthful, science-based information about the benefits of supplements – but we need your help.

Click here to contact your senators today and stress the importance of upholding the long-standing safeguards that prevent FTC over-reaching. 

Thanks for making your voice heard,

The Citizens for Health Team

2 Comments | Diet and Disease, Healthcare Politics, Latest Nutritional Research, Nutritional Supplements and Disease | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Flaxseeds Lower Cholesterol in Men

April 30, 2010

A new study just presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2010 shows that consuming 150 milligrams – about three tablespoons – of flaxseed lignans daily decreases cholesterol in men by almost 10 percent within three months. PureMeal, a part of the 21 day LTP Medical Purification Program, includes flaxseed meal and is a convenient, tasty way to support purification and lower your cholesterol on a daily basis!

Leave a Comment » | cholesterol, Diet and Disease, heart disease, Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Your Voice Was Heard! McCain Withdraws Support of Dangerous Supplement Bill

March 8, 2010

Supplement Safety Act Loses Senator Support

Thank you to those who took action and contacted Senator McCain to request that he reconsider supporting his new bill that threatened to block your access to natural medicines. According to Alliance for Natural Health USA, Senator McCain was embarrassed by an ad they placed, that pointed out that he was misrepresenting and did not seem to understand his own bill. McCain met with Senator Orin Hatch, who is a strong supporter of natural medicine, and shortly thereafter news came that he was withdrawing his support of the Dietary Supplement Safety Act.

A word of caution…it is likely that another, modified version of this Bill creeps up and we will be watching for this.  In the meantime, I want to extend my gratitude to those of you that were willing to take action and make your voice heard. It is the ONLY way we are going to see genuine, lasting change in our healthcare system.

Let’s start making the  healthcare needs of the people, and of  the future generations known. What I am seeing in practice is that the newest generation is suffering from unhealthy habits of at least the past two generations (e.g. poor diet, lack of exercise, more stress, exposure to industrial chemicals and pesticides, synthetic hormones, introduction of more chemicals in the food supply).

This means that genetically,  they are more vulnerable to chronic illness, which is an area of healthcare where our current system fails to provide real solutions.

These children are much more sensitive to the effects of poor diet, chemicals in the environment, and high potency medications.  They will not  benefit from access to the current system of healthcare that is heavily focused on prescription medications and the suppression of symptoms. The younger generation, and future generations will be seeking to address the root cause of their symptoms-be it mental, emotional and/or physical.

It is time to design a new healthcare bill, where the focus is on optimal health, the principles and practice of naturopathic medicine, treating the cause rather then masking the symptoms, detoxification, and working with and respecting the body’s innate ability to heal itself, given the proper support.

In health,

–Dr. G

Leave a Comment » | Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Pharmaceuticals | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Protect Your Access to Quality Nutritional Supplements

February 28, 2010

Protect Your Access to Safe and Effective Dietary Supplements

I am reprinting an urgent Action Alert from Citizens for Health. Senators McCain and Dorgan have introduced a destructive bill that threatens your access to safe and effective nutritional supplements. I urge you to read the bill and take action today!

-Dr. Gina

S. 3002 Must Be Overhauled or Scrapped – Act Now!

Senate Bill 3002 (S. 3002) is the worst bill we at Citizens for Health (CFH) have seen in the last 34 years, since the “Vitamin Volstead” Act was introduced.

Introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) on February 4th as the “Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010,” it is designed, says the bill preamble, to “more effectively regulate dietary supplements that may pose safety risks unknown to consumers.”

The bill follows a surge of anti-doping initiatives and announcements dating back to September 29, 2009 (when the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs heard the testimony of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency USADA), and to a December 2nd, 2009 USADA press conference. If passed, the proposed bill would:

Dramatically harm consumers;
Cripple the nutritional products industry; and
Do absolutely nothing to stem the tide of laboratory-concocted, performance-enhancing drug hybrids masquerading as dietary supplements.

Once this bill is shelved, CFH will be happy to work with Senators McCain and Dorgan to come up with solutions directed at increasing and improving U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement against labs-for-hire that spike food products with steroids and other banned drugs.

Click here to send your letter today, and urge Congress to preserve DSHEA and your access to supplements by opposing S. 3002!

9 Comments | Latest Nutritional Research, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Prevention | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

The National Library of Medicine Censors Research on Nutritional Medicine- Take Action Today!

January 30, 2010

Medical Research Bias

Below is an interesting news release provided by Orthomolecular Medicine News Service that demonstrates the clear and unfortunate bias against nutritional and natural medical therapies from the world’s most reputable and trusted medical research site- Medline.  It is not surprising but it is disappointing, given that medical writers for all of our major news media outlets rely on this research site to create their reports on health.   This bias is not to be taken lightly.  The research both in clinical practice and in the lab, does exist, that shows the efficacy of using natural and nutritional therapies to prevent and treat disease, especially chronic diseases that place the greatest financial burden on our country.  The healthcare industry is broken. Using Naturopathic Medicine and other natural and environmentally friendly medical modalities proven effective, will contribute to a new, simple, realistic and affordable healthcare system in our country- a system that can serve as a demonstration to the rest of the world of a better way to mange health, for the betterment of humanity and the planet.

In health,

Dr. G

—

Want to be a MEDLINE Information Censor?
The National Library of Medicine Needs You!

Would you like to dictate what nutritional research people may or may not access? Why not join the NLM’s Literature Selection Technical Review Committee?
We think a good preparatory step is to take the Medline Censorship Aptitude Test (MED-CENT).
Not to worry; it’s multiple choice.

First question: Which of the following research papers is NOT indexed by the National Library of Medicine’s Medline?

A) Olfactory responses and field attraction of mosquitoes to volatiles from Limburger cheese and human foot odor. (J Vector Ecol, 1998)

B) Heated socks maintain toe temperature but not always skin blood flow as mean skin temperature falls. (Aviat Space Environ Med, 2003)

C) Jefferson JW, Thompson TD. Rhinotillexomania (nose-picking): psychiatric disorder or habit? (J Clin Psychiatry, 1995)

D) Pauling L, Rath M. An orthomolecular theory of human health and disease. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Answer: Only choice “D” is not available on Medline. The others most certainly are. Search each one and see for yourself at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Let’s try another: Which of these studies is NOT indexed by Medline?


A) Psychophysiological responding during script-driven imagery in people reporting abduction by space aliens. (Psychol Sci, 2004)

B) The eyebrow frown: a salient social signal. (Emotion, 2002)

C) Staring at one side of the face increases blood flow on that side of the face. (Psychophysiology, 2004)

D) Rath M, Pauling L. Solution to the puzzle of human cardiovascular disease: Its primary cause is ascorbate deficiency leading to the deposition of lipoprotein(a) and fibrinogen/fibrin in the vascular wall. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Answer: “D” is not on Medline. All the rest are.

Ready? Select the study below that is NOT on Medline:


A) Espresso kiosks can be profitable addition to hospital foodservice. (Health Foodserv Mag, 2000)

B) Espresso maker’s wrist. (West J Med, 1990)

C) Characterization of particles in cream cheese. (J Dairy Sci, 2004)

D) Rath M, Pauling L. Case Report: Lysine/ascorbate related amelioration of angina pectoris. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Yes, the study that Medline does not think is important enough for you to see is choice “D”. The others are all indexed online by NLM at taxpayer expense.

Next:

A) The Easter bunny in October: is it disguised as a duck? (Percept Mot Skills, 1993)

B) Increasing the portion size of a packaged snack increases energy intake in men and women. (Appetite, 2004)

C) A piece of my mind. Reflections while listening to the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto. (JAMA, 2003)

D) Rath M, Pauling L. Apoprotein(a) is an adhesive protein. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

You guessed it: “D” is not on Medline.

One last chance, now:


A) How dogs navigate to catch Frisbees. (Psychol. Sci, 2004)

B) Effect on tipping of barman drawing a sun on the bottom of customers’ checks. (Psychol Rep, 2000)

C) An objective evaluation of the waterproofing qualities, ease of insertion and comfort of commonly available earplugs. (Clin Otolaryngol, 2004)

D) Hoffer A, Pauling L. Hardin Jones biostatistical analysis of mortality data for a second set of cohorts of cancer patients with a large fraction surviving at the termination of the study and a comparison of survival times of cancer patients receiving large regular oral doses of vitamin C and other nutrients with similar patients not receiving these doses. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1993)

Choice “D” is not indexed by Medline. The others are. Yes, they really are. Just type in the title at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

If you got all the above items right, you are well qualified to become a member of the NLM’s Literature Selection Technical Review Committee, because you can discern what research should and should not be available to the public.

Censoring Linus Pauling

If you look carefully at the first four questions, you will see that four of Linus Pauling’s papers appeared in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine in just one year. That year was 1991. Two years after this, JOM was reviewed by the National Library of Medicine’s Literature Selection Technical Review Committee. NLM uses a point scale of zero to 5, with five being the highest recommendation for indexing, and zero being the lowest. On March 4, 1993, the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine received a “0.0” score.

One cannot escape the significance of such judgment. After all, “0.0” is not merely a low mark. “0.0” represents an absolute dearth of merit. And “zero point zero” states it so flatly as to leave no room for alternate interpretations.

To this day, after additional reviews, Medline still does not include the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

To read the Linus Pauling papers that Medline decided rate a “0.0”: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/toc3.shtml and http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1993/toc3.shtml
For free online access to 600 more full-text papers from the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/

To personally thank your National Library of Medicine for keeping all this information from the taxpayer:
Ms Betsy Humphreys, Deputy Director, NLM
email: betsy.humphreys@nih.gov or betsy_humphreys@nlm.nih.gov
phone: 301-496-6661

You can also call the NLM Customer Service desk at 1-888-FIND-NLM (1-888-346-3656). Remember to be polite, because, after all, they are the “World’s Largest Medical Library.” http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.
Editorial Review Board:
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (Canada)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, PhD (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, MD, Ph.D (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)

OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html
OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml are included.

2 Comments | Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Orthomolecular Medicine, Prevention | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Do Vitamins Cause Cancer?

November 30, 2009

Weighing the benefits of nutritional supplements

I am reprinting a press release from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service that discusses a newly published study, sure to get press, that implies that a simple folate supplement increases cancer rates in patients who are diagnosed with heart disease.  This press release does an excellent job of helping readers read between the lines when articles are released that are biased against natural health products.  I encourage you to read and listen to all health related discussions and advertisements through a similar, more well-informed lens.

Yours in health,

–Dr. G

—

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, November 29, 2009
 

Does Everything Cause Cancer, Even Vitamins?
Folate, B-12 and Cigarettes: Guess Who the Real Culprit Is

(OMNS, November 29, 2009) A newly released study suggests that folate supplements can increase cancer rates in patients who have heart disease [1]. But the data for the study was not collected to test the effect of supplemental folate on cancer, and appears to be biased by the high fraction of smokers and by the low levels of supplements given. All of the groups in the study had high rates of cancer, whether or not they took a folate supplement. The suggested increase in cancer risk is very small, only 1.6%. Because of these problems, the report appears to be biased by uncontrolled factors in the data collection and analysis.

The study combined the data from two recent trials performed in Norway that tested the effect of folate and vitamin B-12, two closely related B vitamins, on the homocysteine levels in the blood and on overall mortality [2,3]. The rationale for these trials was that high levels of homocysteine are known to be a risk factor associated with atherosclerosis, and are sometimes associated with low folate levels [4,5]. Folate and vitamin B-12 are important for growth because they involved in the synthesis of DNA. Folate is crucial for the prevention of spina bifida and other developmental defects in babies. Folate is also known to prevent the occurrence of cancer, and to reduce atherosclerosis and related heart problems [6,7].

Another reason to be cautious about the conclusion of the study is that most of the cancers detected were slow-progressing and would not be expected to be initiated by a relatively low dose of an essential vitamin, such as folate, over the 3-year period of the study. It would appear much more likely that the vitamin supplements actually reduced new cancer incidence as shown in previous studies [7], but that any cancers that showed up later were already initiated but undetected at the start of the study [8]. The real cause of cancer may be connected to the heart disease in these subjects because of their long history of smoking and ill health.

In these two trials, the subjects were selected for having heart disease and were therefore quite ill. The vitamin amounts were small: 0.8 milligrams/day of folic acid; 0.4 mg/day of vitamin B-12, and 40 mg/day vitamin B-6. These amounts are low by comparison with other studies, where commonly much larger amounts of folate and vitamin B12 are given (40 mg/day folic acid, 2 mg/day of vitamin B12) [9]. Orthomolecular (nutritional) physicians maintain that larger nutrient doses are more effective in preventing illness than are small doses.

Indeed, the data from the two trials showed a cancer increase that was non-significant. That’s right, it could be merely random variation. This is important. One reason this is likely is that the point where a subject stopped being considered as part of the statistical significance was either any cause of death, or a heart-related event, or a stroke [2,3]. Thus subjects who died of unrelated causes were tallied in the statistics, which would tend to obscure any effects of the treatment. Other uncontrolled factors, for example the general ill health of the subjects, or behavioral factors like the amount of smoking, very likely contributed to the variability. In an attempt to give more statistical significance the study combined the data from both trials to double the number of subjects. A claimed increase in cancer due to increased folate levels is not borne out by statistics for the population of the US where folate levels have increased recently , because the cancer rates have significantly dropped [7].

Interestingly, health was actually improved in the subjects that received folate plus vitamin B-12, because for them the rates of acute hospitalization for angina and the incidence of stroke were lower by about 4% than for the placebo group.

In conclusion, any apparent increase in cancer risk is close to the expected random variability in the cancer rate, implying that much or all of any alleged “vitamin problem” is purely due to chance.

Findings due to chance are not scientific findings. Isn’t it interesting that a major journal (Journal of the American Medical Association) would publish this research? Perhaps nonsignificant data are acceptable if you have an anti-vitamin orientation. Researchers previously found that in major medical journals, more pharmaceutical company advertising resulted in the journal having more articles with “negative conclusions about dietary supplement safety.” [10] JAMA carries a large number of pharmaceutical ads.

Bottom line: vitamins do not cause cancer. Smoking does.

References:

[1] Ebbing M, Bonaa KH, Nygard O, Arnesen E, Ueland PM, Nordrehaug JE, Rasmussen K, Njolstad I, Refsum H, Nilsen DW, Tverdal A, Meyer K, Vollset SE (2009) Cancer incidence and mortality after treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12. JAMA 301: 2119-2126.

[2] Bonaa KH, Njolstad I, Ueland PM, Schirmer H, Tverdal A, Steigen T, Wang H, Nordrehaug JE, Arnesen E, Rasmussen K; NORVIT Trial (2006) Homocysteine lowering and cardiovascular events after acute myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 354:1578-88.

[3] Ebbing M, Bleie O, Ueland PM, Nordrehaug JE, Nilsen DW, Vollset SE, Refsum H, Pedersen EK, Nygard O.(2008) Mortality and cardiovascular events in patients treated with homocysteine-lowering B vitamins after coronary angiography: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 300:795-804.

[4] McCully KS. (2009) Chemical pathology of homocysteine. IV. Excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 39:219-232.

[5] Terwecoren A, Steen E, Benoit D, Boon P, Hemelsoet D. (2009) Ischemic stroke and hyperhomocysteinemia: truth or myth? Acta Neurol Belg. 109:181-188.

[6] Imamura A, Murakami R, Takahashi R, Cheng XW, Numaguchi Y, Murohara T, Okumura K. (2009) Low folate levels may be an atherogenic factor regardless of homocysteine levels in young healthy nonsmokers. Metabolism. 2009 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print]

[7] Drake BF, Colditz GA (2009) Assessing cancer prevention studies: a matter of time. JAMA 302:2152-2153.

[8] Kim YI. (2008) Folic acid supplementation and cancer risk: point. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 17:2220-2225.

[9] Jamison RL, Hartigan P, Kaufman JS, Goldfarb DS, Warren SR, Guarino PD, Gaziano JM; Veterans Affairs Site Investigators. (2007) Effect of homocysteine lowering on mortality and vascular disease in advanced chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 298:1163-1170.

[10] Pharmaceutical advertising biases journals against vitamin supplements. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 5, 2009. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n02.shtml

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.
Damien Downing, M.D.
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D.
Steve Hickey, Ph.D.
James A. Jackson, PhD
Bo H. Jonsson, MD, Ph.D
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D.
Erik Paterson, M.D.
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D.

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org

OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

12 Comments | heart disease, Latest Nutritional Research, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Orthomolecular Medicine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Naturopathic Options for the Flu

September 29, 2009
Child receiving Flu Shot

Child Receiving Flu Shot

Many patients are expressing concern over the Swine Flu, and asking whether or not to get vaccinated.  My recommendation is to avoid vaccination, due to a lack of certainty as to the new vaccine’s effectiveness, and more importantly, the short and long term risks associated with the vaccine.  It has not been sufficiently tested, and there is well justified concern as to its safety in humans.  In the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, Homeopathic medicine became the treatment of choice for many physicians, as it proved to be highly effective, with little to no incidence of death among those patients treated with homeopathic medicines as compared to pharmaceutical preparations. In 1921 the American Institute of Homeopathy documented the effects of homeopathic medicine on treating the Spanish flu, which killed over 40 million people worldwide.  In that study, the death rate among 24,000 flu cases treated through conventional medicine was 28.2 percent while the death rate among 26,000 flu cases treated exclusively using homeopathic medicine was 1.05 percent. Among the most effective homeopathic remedies at the time, and throughout history, for treating the flu have been Gelsemium, Influenzinum (which is best used as a preventive medicine- one dose per week for four weeks beginning in October), and Oscillococcinum.  In practice, Engystol and Gripp Heel by the German homeopathic medical company BHI/HEEL are also clinically effective for flu prevention and treatment.

In addition to homeopathic medicine, I recommend the following:

  • Get your Vitamin D3 levels tested through blood work and take enough Vitamin D3 to keep your levels around 60 ng/mL
  • Take probiotics. I recommend lab testing to determine which probiotic strains will work best for your system.
  • Avoid sugar, fried foods, hydrogenated oils, and all processed food.  Stick with whole, fresh organic produce and lean protein sources.
  • Avoid all sodas, and make water your drink of choice. 
  • Ideally chose a high pH source of charged water such as Kangen/Enagic 9.5pH water.  We use this water filtration system at LTP Natural Medical Center and for those of you who are local, you can stop by to test it out. You can use Distributor # 7193577 if you chose to purchase a unit online for your home or office.
  • Keep moving- make sure you are getting exercise at least 4-5 times per week for at least 30 minutes.

An article was just published in the San Fransisco Chronicle that goes into more detail on the treatment and prevention of the Flu using Naturopathic Medicine. Click here to read the article.

In health,

Dr. Gina

4 Comments | Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Vitamin D3 & Curcumin for Brain Health

July 30, 2009

human brainA new research study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, points to the combination of Vitamin D3 and curcumin (derived from the common spice turmeric) to protect the brain against beta amyloid deposits. Beta amlyoid deposits can build up to form plaque.  This plaque is associated with an increase in brain cell damage and a significant increase in Alzheimer’s disease, which affects over 13 million people worldwide.

The combination of Vitamin D3 and curcumin help boost the immune system to the point of neutralizing and/or preventing the formation of these amlyoid deposits. The deposits are caused by excessive free radical production in the brain.  Other well researched foods that help to neutralize free radical production in the brain are spinach and raspberries.   Unfortunately, they are also at the top of the list of foods that have a higher content of pesticides, which increase free radical production and DNA damage. I recommend consuming these foods if they are locally grown and organic.

There are several genetic forms of Alzheimer’s.  The research shows that while one form responds well to curcumin, the other form does not.  However, when you combine the curcumin with Vitamin D3, it supports the immune system’s ability to eliminate the beta amyloid deposits from two different mechanisms, so that it also impacts patients with the genetic form of Alzheimer’s that does not respond to curcumin alone.

I am always in awe of the medicines offered in nature that impact even the most troublesome of health challenges.

In health,

Dr. Gina

2 Comments | Diet and Disease, Inflammation, Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Orthomolecular Medicine, Prevention | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

Alternative to Statin Medications to Lower Cholesterol

June 16, 2009
Safe Alternatives to Statin Medications

Safe Alternative to Statin Medications

CNN just reported on a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, supporting previous research that red yeast rice extract paired with a healthy lifestyle is a safe and effective alternative to popular statin medication therapy (e.g. Crestor,Lipitor and Zocor), particularly in patients who suffer from muscle pain as a result of taking this class of cholesterol lowering drugs.  Red yeast rice contains a naturally occurring lovastatin called monacolin K, however it is only one of a plethora of compounds found within this natural medicine, that work in harmony to lower the production of cholesterol in the liver.  As with most natural medicines, you cannot isolate a single compound and attain the full spectrum of healing that is part and parcel to administering natural substances in their whole, unadulterated form.  There is a whole that is greater then the sum of its parts. 

In any case, it is nice to see research being published, albeit not perfect (the study was small and of short duration), to support what licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctors see clinically in their practice everyday.  The study author Dr. David Becker MD cautions against running out to buy a red yeast rice extract at your local health food store.  He advises working with a doctor if you are trying to lower your cholesterol and are seeking an alternative to statin medications. There are effective natural therapies for lowering cholesterol, and licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctors are trained to customize their treatment protocols to the individual patient for safe and optimal results.

In health,

–Dr. G

1 Comment | cholesterol, Diet and Disease, Latest Nutritional Research, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements and Disease, Pharmaceuticals | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick

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