Showing posts with label alternative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alternative. Show all posts

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Top 10 Signs of Spotting a Medical Quack

We hear a lot of warnings about medical quackery these days as the interest in complementary and alternative therapies rises.  Most of the finger pointing is toward the alternative care fields.  NaturalNews.com has an interesting point of view on what constitutes "Quackery".  The author has put together a list of 10 signs that a practicioner may be a quack.

If I might add, I think the author may have hit on some important points to consider.

Enjoy.

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013 by: Mike Bundrant

(NaturalNews) We've been brainwashed into believing medical quackery and this article offers the logical proof. As you read the following 10 signs, think through your interactions with your medical provider. Do more than one apply?

1. He prescribes medication without testing you for anything.

Doctors are big on scientific evidence. They demand that millions of dollars be poured into research to prove that things work.

Yet, when you visit their office, they often don't gather any verifiable evidence on what they are treating YOU for. Isn't that interesting?

You spend a few minutes with a guy who prescribes powerful medication to mess with your neurotransmitters. No tests - not even a questionnaire. You bring your kid in to a pediatrician and leave a few minutes later with powerful brain stimulants for ADHD - and the doc never did one test!

Quacks don't know of any tests for many of the conditions for which they regularly prescribe medication.

2. He tells you it's all in your head.

Telling you that your real symptoms are all in your head (translation: he thinks you are crazy) means that the answers are NOT in his head. When quacks don't have the answer, they don't consider that there is anything for them to learn. They just blame you. Nice.

A legitimate practitioner will admit when he doesn't know something and commit to finding solutions by expanding his knowledge, or working with other practitioners on your case who may shed fresh light on the subject.

3. He denies the role of lifestyle, nutrition and stress.

Eat the donuts, camp out on the couch, drink the booze...no problem. This has nothing to do with disease. Just take your pills.

Nowadays, some quacks are conceding that diet and lifestyle have something to do with the onset of disease, but they are STILL NOT TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IT. They never mention it. They don't ask you how you eat, sleep or manage stress.

It's because quacks don't know much about these things. When practitioners do not know much about the cause of 90% of disease - I call that a scam.

4. He'll put you on the medication roller coaster.

Some unfortunate folks, after dealing with a quack that doesn't know what he is doing, end up on 10-20 pharmaceutical medications and have lost touch with what it is like to feel normal. They live in a world of symptoms and side effects and - for some reason - keep going back for more.

The quack responds by continuing to dish it out, but he has NO IDEA how these medications are interacting with each other, really. He is just guessing and writing more prescriptions.

5. His own health is a mess.

Walk your talk. Does your doc do it? Is he an example of true health? If not, then he may not even know what genuine health feels like. How is he going to get you there?

Doctors are among the most stressed out and suicidal populations on earth. Bless them, for they maintain crazy schedules and are truly under duress. Still, it is no excuse. We are all stressed. Docs are supposed to be examples, are they not?

6. He doesn't involve you in your own treatment.

So, you heard that this or that lab test might be worth doing. You read an article or did some of your own research, huh? Is your doctor interested? Is he willing to consider that you may know something?

Quacks look down their nose at you, but real health practitioners will cooperate with you in your own treatment. They will investigate with you, consider your ideas, your feelings and work as a member of your team.

7. He believes you cannot heal, but treats you anyway.

You have a disease for which there is no cure. You will need to take these pills for the rest of your life. Please don't believe that nutrition, vitamins, herbs, God or anyone can heal you. You are stuck. Take your medicine.

Meanwhile, thousands of your fellow human beings are healing from the very symptoms that trouble you. You are dealing with a quack who will medicate you into oblivion and witness your inevitable decline according to his expectations.

8. His communication skills are pathetic.

You have six months to live. Nothing more we can do. There's the door.

Thanks for the compassion, doc.

9. He spends less than 10 minutes with you.

Recent research shows that new doctors are spending less time than ever with patients - an average of eight minutes per. This is NOT headed in the right direction folks! This is your health - the most precious gift you have. It needs time and attention and real expertise. Eight minutes is not enough.

New docs are quoted as saying, "We just don't have time."

Translation: "We don't have time if we are going to make a lot of money."

Money before patients = quackery.

10. He thinks he is God.

In spite of all the obvious signs of quackery, he still thinks he is all knowing. You still cannot connect with him as a person. He doesn't see you as a person. He won't take your ideas and suggestions, because you obviously don't know anything. After all, he is omniscient.

Stop supporting your quack and find real help. Do it intelligently. Begin to seek integrative and alternative practitioners who, according to the 10 signs, qualify as real health practitioners.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040950_quackery_doctors_modern_medicine.html#ixzz2XQNgv4Ra

Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.

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Remember, healthcare is about more than prescribing a pill to cover the symptoms.  You and your loved ones deserve more!

For your better health,

Dr. Heller

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Healing Foods: Turmeric (Curcumin)

For centuries folk medicine depended on natural, herbal and nutriceutical remedies.  With the advent of pharmaceutical medicine many of the old remedies and their benefits were lost by the wayside. Much to the detriment of society. However, with the ever growing lists of side effects of today's patent drugs, their lack of true healing and the epidemic of secondary chronic disorders that they leave behind, interest is once again being shown to the old ways, their benefits and their safety.

The following article, exerpted from greenmedinfo.com, reviews the benefits and the recent research behind the age old spice, turmeric.  Definitely an impressive resume' of benefits and a spice worth adding to your diet.
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Turmeric is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today.  Its medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin) have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.  In fact, our five-year long research project on this sacred plant has revealed over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic applications, as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects.

Given the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including:
  • Lipitor/Atorvastatin(cholesterol medication): A 2008 study published in the journal Drugs in R & D found that a standardized preparation of curcuminoids from Turmeric compared favorably to the drug atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor) on endothelial dysfunction, the underlying pathology of the blood vessels that drives atherosclerosis, in association with reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients. [i] 

  • Corticosteroids (steroid medications): A 1999 study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that the primary polyphenol in turmeric, the saffron colored pigment known as curcumin, compared favorably to steroids in the management of chronic anterior uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease.[ii]  A 2008 study published in Critical Care Medicine found that curcumin compared favorably to the corticosteroid drug dexamethasone in the animal model as an alternative therapy for protecting lung transplantation-associated injury by down-regulating inflammatory genes.[iii] An earlier 2003 study published in Cancer Letters found the same drug also compared favorably to dexamethasone in a lung ischaemia-repurfusion injury model.[iv] 
  • Prozac/Fluoxetine & Imipramine  (antidepressants): A 2011 study published in the journal Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica found that curcumin compared favorably to both drugs in reducing depressive behavior in an animal model.[v]
  • Aspirin (blood thinner): A 1986 in vitro and ex vivo study published in the journal Arzneimittelforschung found that curcumin has anti-platelet and prostacyclin modulating effects compared to aspirin, indicating it may have value in patients prone to vascular thrombosis and requiring anti-arthritis therapy.[vi] 
  • Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A 2004 study published in the journal Oncogene found that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) were effective alternatives to the drugs aspirin, ibuprofen, sulindac, phenylbutazone, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, dexamethasone, celecoxib, and tamoxifen in exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity against tumor cells.[vii]
  • Oxaliplatin (chemotherapy drug): A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that curcumin compares favorably with oxaliplatin as an antiproliferative agenet in colorectal cell lines.[viii]
  • Metformin (diabetes drug): A 2009 study published in the journal Biochemitry and Biophysical Research Community explored how curcumin might be valuable in treating diabetes, finding that it activates AMPK (which increases glucose uptake) and suppresses gluconeogenic gene expression  (which suppresses glucose production in the liver) in hepatoma cells. Interestingly, they found curcumin to be 500 times to 100,000 times (in the form known as tetrahydrocurcuminoids(THC)) more potent than metformin in activating AMPK and its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). [ix]
Another way in which turmeric and its components reveal their remarkable therapeutic properties is in research on drug resistant- and multi-drug resistant cancers. 

We have found no less than 54 studies indicating that curcumin can induce cell death or sensitize drug-resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[x]

We have identified 27 studies on curcumin's ability to either induce cell death or sensitize multi-drug resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[xi]

Considering how strong a track record turmeric (curcumin) has, having been used as both food and medicine in a wide range of cultures, for thousands of years, a strong argument can be made for using curcumin as a drug alternative or adjuvant in cancer treatment.

Or, better yet, use certified organic (non-irradiated) turmeric in lower culinary doses on a daily basis so that heroic doses won't be necessary later in life after a serious disease sets in.  Nourishing yourself should be the goal of a healthy diet.

For the references go to the original article: 

For your better health,

Dr. Heller