Whole Life Vitality

Dr. Heather Zwickey, Immunologist, clarifies vaccinations

2010-04-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Photo by I woz ere.

Dr. Heather Zwickey has a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. She completed a post doctorate fellowship at Yale’s School of Medicine and currently serves as Director of Research at Helfgott Research Institute, Dean of Research at National College of Natural Medicine, and co-founder of a physician level vaccine educational service, Vaccine Consult. We discussed vaccines, adjuvants (the additives in vaccines to induce an immune response) and the controversial Wakefield study.

Gibran Ramos: What is the most common question you hear from parents?

Heather Zwickey: Is it healthy to give our newborns and infants so many shots? When parents look at the current CDC vaccination schedule, they notice that there are between four to eight shots at every single well-baby visit – at 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and sometimes 24 months. That is 42 shots by the time they are three to four years old. Vaccine manufacturers are starting to reduce the number of shots by including more vaccines into a single shot. The multiple vaccine combinations are shown to induce an effective immune response, but the safety is still unstudied and unknown. The safety studies will not be complete until the vaccine is licensed and actually given to a large number of children. If these multiple vaccine combinations are found to be unsafe, they are then recalled. There is no way to test the safety ahead of time.

GR: Is there an alternative to the current CDC vaccination schedule?

HZ: Usually the alternative is breast feeding. If a parent is breastfeeding, they can often avoid many of the vaccines that are currently recommended.

GR: When a mother is breast feeding, which vaccines are still necessary?

HZ: This is where individualized medicine is needed. Every single patient has different risk factors that need to be considered when a parent is making an informed medical decision. If it were me, I would still vaccinate against polio because of the possible permanent neurological effects. A different vaccination that may or may not be needed is pertussis. Pertussis was much more deadly in the 1950s, but with the advent of antibiotics, it is much less deadly. Even with modern day anti-biotic treatment of pertussis, it is important for parents to ask themselves if they are okay with staying up late into the night with a child who could have whooping cough so bad that they are red to blue during six minute coughing fits and throwing up. Certainly there are pertussis outbreaks in certain communities. Whether pertussis is a vaccine required for a child, the decision must be, like all other vaccines, discussed with your physician. Ultimately parents must ask themselves, can they live with the permanent consequences of their decisions.

GR: Let’s talk about the Wakefield study.

HZ: In the 1980s, Andrew Wakefield did a large study on kids that have autism. He was looking for potential causes that were related to vaccination. On a side note, one of the public misconceptions is that there was mercury or thimerosol in the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. There has never been mercury/thimerosol in the MMR vaccine. An observation was made that children developed autism around the time they received the MMR vaccine and so a responsible ingredient in the MMR vaccine was sought. Dr. Wakefield collected blood and stool samples from children to research any possible immunological response that could be attributed to the MMR vaccinations. Dr. Wakefield found antibodies to measles and may have found some live measles virus in some of autistic children in his study.

GR: The study (finding that vaccination causes autism) was dismissed by the Lancet Journal. Why?

HZ: There were a few problems with the study. The sample size was really small (at 12 autistic children). Also, Dr. Wakefield was paid by the parents of the kids to do the study. Although this was a blatant conflict of interest, this phenomenon is common in scientific research and even more so in medicine. Almost every new drug being studied is being paid for by a pharmaceutical company. It is rare to have purely independently funded scientific research. Regardless of Dr. Wakefield’s conflict of interest, he had a poorly designed cross-sectional study in a very specific group of autistic kids without a control group (who didn’t get the MMR vaccine). Another poor design aspect was that the evidence in blood and/or stool of an “adverse” reaction to the MMR vaccine is the same immune response you get in all children whether autistic or not.

GR: At the time of Dr. Wakefield’s study, was it known that there were measurable immune responses to vaccines in blood and/or stool?

HZ: Yes, they did know that an immune response could be measured through titers [a quantifiable concentration of immunoglobulins], but the medical community did not know, and they were surprised, that the immune response could be sustained at such an elevated level over one year after the MMR vaccination.

GR: What is the most common myth that “alternative” medicine practitioners hold and what does the actual science show?

HZ: Benedict Lust has this wonderful quote which he says, and I am paraphrasing here, “Who ever is so foolish as to put the putrid pus of another organism in their blood is crazy and they’re just going to get sick.” I think that there are a few things that stand out from teaching hundreds of alternative medicine students. First, it’s a downplaying of germ theory. Alternative medicine emphasizes the concept that disease is not from infectious agents, but that most disease is a result from an imbalance in your body’s overall health. I totally understand the belief that if you have a strong immune system, and are exposed to an infectious agent, you will not get sick. I would say that there are actually some very infectious diseases that if exposed to, no matter how strong or in balance you are, you will get sick and even have long term or permanent consequences.

The other misconception I see is that a homeopathic vaccination is going to give you a measurable titer or immune response to a microbe. I have not ever seen raw or even statistically analyzed results showing a homeopathically induced immune response. I am told that this data exists, but I have never seen this personally. When I do see these results, I will be cautiously excited, but I will also want to see if the results are scientifically reproducible. To me, an immunologist, the idea that you can give no antigen and get a response is not within my conception of probability. There are homeopathic studies out there that show symptom modulation suggesting an immune response is occurring, but quantifiable data has never been recorded.

GR: What is the most common myth that conventional medicine practitioners hold and what is does the actual science show?

HZ: Most medical doctors think that the current CDC vaccination schedule is used because it is somehow more healthy for the child. Actually, the whole schedule is set up based upon well-baby visits and convenience for the parents and doctors. The CDC vaccination schedule is not based upon optimal health of the child.

GR: What would be the ideal vaccination schedule?

HZ: Of course it should be based upon each individual child’s situation, but assuming that a parent is breast feeding and being health conscious, an optimal vaccination schedule would start between nine to twelve months. It definitely would not start at birth and be every two months. The argument made by most medical doctors is that the CDC schedule is from birth onwards because this is when these microbes are the most dangerous. If you are breast feeding and the child is in a low risk environment, most infectious microbes are not that dangerous.

GR: So how much breast milk is adequate to protect an infant from infections?

HZ: Research to answer that question is in process. They are looking at women who don’t produce milk and have to use supplementary milk from other mothers. A small study out of Sweden seems to show that any amount of breast milk is enough.

GR: When are adjuvants important?

HZ: Adjuvants are important in vaccines that are only protein and/or polysaccharide parts of bacteria or viruses. An example of this would be the Hib or DTaP vaccine. Adjuvants are not in “live” vaccines like the MMR, polio, or the influenza vaccine. One of the new adjuvants is a chemical called MF59 that is found in some makeup and beauty products. In Japan, MF59 it has been outlawed as it is a known carcinogen in laboratory tests. MF59 was used in some of the H1N1 flu vaccines and the hope was that it would be a good widespread test of MF59 safety. Since the vaccine came out after many people had already become infected with H1N1, MF59 never really got tested well in the general public.

GR: Often times bacterial vaccines are grown on a substrate that contains egg or other foods. Do you think there is a connection between adjuvants, manufacturing residuals and allergies?

HZ: There may be a connection between allergies and vaccinations not because of the adjuvants or manufacturing residuals, but because of the timing of the vaccinations. In an infant, a TH2 [allergy] response is much more likely than a TH1 response to a vaccination. The TH1 response is an immune response seen in a mature immune system. I also think that the timing of food introduction is very important in
determining food allergies.

I'll take the sweetener without the mercury

2009-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

A study released recently by the Environmental Health peer reviewed journal found that there is mercury in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Everyone knows that HFCS is a very common sweetener in everything from soda to baby food. What shocked most of the scientists conducting the study was the prevalence of mercury in the HFCS containing products sampled. 45% of the samples contained mercury from 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram.

"But that doesn't seem like a lot"...

It is if you consider that the average American consumes 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of corn syrup per day. This is anywhere from 0.25 to 28.5 micrograms per day of mercury consumed. This is an average which means some Americans, like this Doctor, don't consume any corn syrup in an average day to those that consume many times the average.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends women limit their dose of methylmercury to 5.5 micrograms per day. The mercury found in the corn syrup was elemental mercury which the EPA has yet to set an acceptable dose.

The mercury is believed to have been introduced into the corn syrup during the refining process in which caustic soda is used.

So the next time you reach for a product, choose one that has the most unrefined sweetener in it. The more we adhere to nature's ways, the better our health and well-being for ourselves, others and the planet.

President Obama’s Inaugural Address

2009-01-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

President Obama's Inaugural Address

As prepared for delivery.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

2008-10-28T08:39:00.001-07:00

A Story by Kent Nerburn

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One night I took a fare at 2:30 AM, when I arrived to collect, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once.

But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened.

A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knick-knacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good man," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

"What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse. "Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered. "Oh, there are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy." After a slight pause, she added, "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware, beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Why do we get sick?

2008-05-05T22:41:00.001-07:00

Why do we get sick? Answering this question can help physicians understand whether or not a treatment is palliative or curative. As physicians, we must acknowledge that what we call disease is actually an adaptive physiological response to some imbalance or stressor. The stressor can be a pathogen, an environmental stress like subzero cold, or even emotional like mania.

Often physicians mainly focus on treating symptoms. It is often very insightful to ask why does the person need this or that particular treatment? Is this treatment needed to bring about balance again, or is it being given or performed to remove or cover over a natural physiological process? There really should be no need for a medication if the person could maintain homeostasis before. Ultimately we want to re-create the natural homeostatic balance of the body.

A patient reaches an imbalance due a combination or, more accurately, an accumulation of events that move the patient away from homeostasis. The body “normally” can maintain homeostasis, yet sometimes these homeostatic events cause a build up in the body. The build up of metabolic can be due to the body’s inability to release these now toxic substances. It can also lead to the body ability to holding onto the metabolic waste and walling it off. These different responses depend upon are a person’s constitution or their lifestyle combined with their genetic make-up. The way in which people respond, or the response-ability is the result of everything that came before (all the past events and places).

Ultimately understanding how a being responds to stressors, a physician can teach a person how daily activities can create restore an optimal healthy homeostasis to the body. The physician must consider the person’s constitution, past experiences and present manifestations/symptoms into a treatment plan that can help restore balance. The treatment is unique for the disease within the context of the person. That way the cause of the disease and the way the person manifests the disease is treated simultaneously. Disease can start in any of the aspects of a whole being whether it be spiritual, mental/emotional, or physical – Healing can being within any aspects of a person’s being but wellness will require addressing the entirety of that person and restoring complete balance.

What is Holistic Medicine?

2008-04-28T21:23:00.001-07:00

A couple of questions to begin with in an exploration of defining holistic medicine are: “How is health different from wellness and How is illness different from disease? In the modern materially based medicine of “western” society, health has become the focus and goal of healing. I would posit that even if a patient is ill they can still be well. It comes down to the “direction” of a patient’s/doctor’s intent in healing. By the same reasoning a disease-free person can still be in a state of illness.

Illness and wellness are on a continuum and intent plays the role of directing the course towards one end of it or the other.

Illness <---------------------------------------------------> Wellness

When a healer considers the whole of a patient, the intent (direction) on the Illness-Wellness continuum can be determined. In a “non-holisic” or materially based medicine, the direction towards illness or wellness could never be determined, only whether the person is diseased or not-disease (healthy). This limit is present because material medicine does not acknowledge the whole of a person’s life. It only acknowledges the materially reality. If the mental state, emotional state, spiritual state of a person is considered, then the “direction” on the above continuum can begin to take shape.

Modern materially medicine is even more “blind” to the concepts of illness/wellness because, the material reality of the concept of the patient is limited to the immediate physical body. Even further limiting is the “Descartian” view of segmenting, into tinier and tinier parts that make up the body. Modern medicine is at a point at which it cannot even determine whether the body is functioning well as a whole. In dissecting of the person into more and more parts, the discarded/disregarded aspects are loss and fall out of importance.

A good example of this is human genome project. One intent of this project, is to elucidate the genes that “control” disease processes. It could be posited that to “understanding” what “controls” disease will never be reached because with each layer into the physical world that is probed, medicine moves another step further from the whole person.

To practice a holistic medicine requires a re-membering of the person. The holistic practitioner needs to break free of the material world and begin to acknowledge and understand the patient on many different levels. This requires a taking into account all the health aspects of a person – spirit, emotional, mental, and physical. Out of this whole consideration, a direction of intent along the illness/wellness continuum can be determined.

One problem with modern day “wholistic” medicine is that the “considerations” are still physically based. While there is a consideration of the whole person it is only on the physical body and its environment. One way around this is to remember that the physical is just one aspect of the whole person. Take the word emotion as an example. From Latin, the root “emote” means to move. There are many things that make up the person, including emotions. To describe breathing we use the word inspiration. When we breath in we have stimulation of the mind or emotions to move us in the act of breathing.

Human beings are more than just a phrenic nerve signal stimulating the diaphragm to contract and causing a breath in. The flesh is one aspect of our manifestations in the world. We are multifaceted. We are not just a thing in space to be poked and dissected; we are a place that must be placed into a context. When this occurs we can once again determine where a person is on a continuum of illness and wellness. We know where there person came from and where they are headed.

You are what you wear: Organic cotton and its impact on your health and the planet!

2008-04-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Appearance is only skin deep…right?

Actually, the answer within our modern world is a definite, “No.”

What we wear changes not only our appearance, but also our long term health especially when what we’re wearing is cotton.

“…but cotton is all natural so its safe, right?”

Not as natural as you think

Cotton is a natural fiber derived from the Gossypium spp. plant and grows best in dry tropical and subtropic climates. The world demand for cotton is huge at 56 trillion pounds per year and keeps increasing annually. Although cotton does grow in tropical places well, the large demand for the crop and the fickleness of the cotton plant for ideal growing conditions production in non-tropical places, makes for cotton production using 25% of the worlds insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides^{^[1]} while using only 2.4% of the world's arable land.[2]

During lifecycle from when the cotton first sprouts to when you purchase it in the store, over forty-six different types of insecticides are used. Of these, “Five of these are classified as extremely hazardous, 8 as highly hazardous, and 20 are moderately hazardous”[3] .

Pesticides’ impact on your health

From the beginning to end of cotton textile production, there are impacts on even the healthiest person due to the plethora of pesticides involved. Degradation to health begins in the cotton fields with the health of agricultural workers. Studies have estimated the human impact from pesticides used on cotton to be as high as 20,000 people killed and 3 million poisoned every year[4]. This type of exposure continues from the field to cotton factory mill employees as not only an accumulation of respiratory pollution, but also increasing and persistent pesticide body burden. Pesticide exposure continues into the home with pesticides that arrive on fabric from the clothing manufacturer. In fact the Environmental Working group found that just nine adult volunteers were found to have over 167 pollutants and pesticides in their bodies.[5]

Wearing what you are

So what can you do? You want to be as healthy as you can be. Wear nothing? There is a solution out there and it lies in organic agricultural practices. In organic farming, principles such as crop rotation and an understanding of pest lifecycles are used to eliminate pesticides. You can change your health by committing to buying organic cotton. As your commitment to your health increases along with your individual demand for organic cotton, manufacturers will take notice and increase their use of organic products. In 2004 an estimated 93% increase in manufacture demand for organic cotton. In fact, in 2006, Walmart and Sam’s Club bought the most organic cotton textile products of any retailer.[6] Organic cotton use can not only better your health and wellness, but also improve health and wellness for all inhabitants of the planet.

Resources:

http://www.sustainablecotton.org

http://www.planetearthgreenlabel.com

http://www.pan-uk.org/Projects/Cotton/pdfs/my%20sustainable%20t-shirt.pdf

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/agriculture_environment/commodities/cotton/environmental_impacts/agrochemicals_use/index.cfm

[1] Allen Woodburn Associates Ltd./Managing Resources Ltd., "Cotton: The Crop and its Agrochemicals Market," 1995.

[2] Clay, Jason. World Agriculture and the Environment A Commodity-By-Commodity Guide To Impacts And Practices. World Wildlife Fund 2004 pp. 283-305

[3] Soth, J., Grasser, C., and Salerno, R. (1999) ‘The impact of cotton on fresh water resources and ecosystems: A preliminary analysis’, WWF, Gland, Switzerland. preliminary analysis’, WWF, Gland, Switzerland.

[4] World Wildlife Fund. Agriculture and the Environment: Cotton. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/agriculture_environment/commodities/cotton/environmental_impacts/agrochemicals_use/index.cfm. 2007.

[5] Houlihan, J. Body Burden: the Pollution in People. Environmental Working Group. http://archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden1/index.php. 2003.

[6] Volheim, E. “Next to the skin.” In Good Tilth: Organic fibers – Values that you wear. Sept/Oct 2007. p. 4.

What is natural medicine?

2008-04-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Natural... is...Overused. You will find it on anything and everything from toothpaste to sugar...What, sugar!? Yes, I even saw "all natural" on a sugar package the other day at the supermarket. The entire sugar industry is disappointed that the FDA refuses to define the word "natural."

Sugar is natural and is derived from nature, but nothing in nature is ever that sweet. This brings me a bit closer to my current thought of what natural medicine is. Today I had an interesting discussion with my Chinese medicine colleagues on imbalance. In Chinese medicine, there is a line from a classical text stating that "Imbalance is treated with imbalance." What this means is that disease is basically an imbalance of yin and yang and so to bring a predominantly yin disease or yang disease back into balance, the equal but opposite imbalance is needed to restore equilibrium. The more out of balance and further from our equilibrium or true natural state, the more un-natural the intervention has to be to restore balance.

So although sugar is "natural," there is no "natural" high concentration of sweetness like that found in the modern refined white stuff. [side note: researchers find "Intense sweetness surpasses cocaine as reward."] This is how people become can "addicted" to sugar and gain weight from sugar.

The closer we are to nature, the more healthy we are. When we are further from being "in harmony," with natural processes, we are less natural and thus disease starts to develop. Sugar is more natural than Nutrasweet, but sugar is less natural than honey. As I wrote in the last couple of blogs, getting to sleep by 11pm is more natural than staying up all night and sleeping during the day. On the other hand, getting to bed an hour or two after the sun sets is much more natural than staying up until 11pm if the sunset was at 6pm.

Iatrogenic diseases are diseases caused by a medical intervention - especially a physician's. These are often called "complications" or "side-effects" in modern medical jargon or a "healing crisis" or "healing reaction" in natural medicine. Iatrogenic diseases could be interpreted as the side-effects of interventions that are farther from nature than say a more natural intervention. Many modern pharmaceuticals fall into this category. Its used to be that in all pharmacopeias (list of drug actions and chemical make-ups), all the pharmacological substances listed the plant, bacteria, etc that they were derived from in nature. That is no longer so because drug companies can now molecularly characterize the exact shape of a receptor site and synthetically create a drug that can fit the exact shape of the receptor.

Yes, modern pharmaceuticals are very powerful, but since they are in fact very refined and precise yet distant derivative of some substance in nature, they often have many associated undesirable side-effects (The side effects are then treated with more drugs). The same trend holds true for the supplements.

Often times people think that because this or that supplement is "natural" it is free of any side-effects that would be seen with a drug. Supplements are becoming more and more refined as well. A good example of this is "red yeast rice extract." This supplement is used to lower cholesterol and works as well as Lipitor...because red yeast rice extract is, as the name describes, an extract of yeast. This is basically a drug labeled as a supplement. Red rice yeast extract shares many of the same side-effects as Lipitor because it acts exactly the same - as a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.

So is a supplement that acts like a drug natural? I would say not if its a refined to an extent like the sugar example above. Remember the ultimate goal of natural medicine is to bring people back into balance in a manner that is the least harmful and thus the closest to a natural physiological process and the rhythms of nature. If we take our cholesterol example, food and exercise can often lower cholesterol significantly. Lifestyle change may be slower, but there are less side effects to eating fiber containing fruits and veggies and exercising daily.

So in order to get better and heal, should we all sell our possessions and live in the woods with only animal pelts to cover us? Not exactly, the ultimate job of a natural medicine practitioner is to guide the patient back to his or her natural state and life rhythms. If you are a child, is it good to sit inside all day and play video games? If you are an adult, is it best to stay up until 2 am watching the "Late Show?" If your a woman in menopause, should hormones be used to create the hormone levels similar to that of a teenager? All of these questions should be answered on whether or not this substance or that habit restores natural physiology and rhythms of life.

The body develops disease because it is trying to adapt and bring itself back into a natural balance. The farther we are from nature, the more imbalanced our physiology becomes and a more diseased state develops.

Natural medicine is restoring a balance back into human beings' lives. Natural medicine is restoring our strong connection to nature and its rhythms.

Until next time,
Gibran

Sleep tight...How to get a good nights sleep.

2008-03-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last posting, sleep is one of the most important ways to optimal wellness. In my clinical experience, I have yet to see a person "recover" and "heal" from disease and move toward wellness without good sleep.

Lack of sleep contributes to many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. It is no wonder these diseases are considered now to be at epidemic proportions. Sleep can help us not only prevent many chronic illnesses, but also recover faster from acute diseases such as the common cold.

So on to the how to part...

Routine. After committing oneself to sleeping an adequate amount, the next step is sticking to a routine. Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. What? No sleeping in on weekends? Exactly. When our sleep wake cycles are on a routine, our bodies physiological processes also become more rhythmical. We will have an easier time falling asleep and waking up. Think about times when you get hungry at work. Its probably about 1/2 hour before you have your lunch break. Your body starts to secrete digestive enzymes and hormones to prepare for food. The same holds true for sleep. Your body starts to secrete evening hormones and begins the repair and regeneration process if you are on a routine. Your dog or cat wants to go to bed at the same time every night...listen to them and listen to your body. To accompany and reinforce the routine, be in bed by 11pm at the latest.

Getting ready. A good nights sleep begins before bed. How many of us do email, work, or watch tv right before bed. To be in bed by 11pm requires some preparation. Ideally when 10pm rolls around we would turn down the lights and start the evening routine of washing up and brushing one's teeth. Even in the bathroom, try to brush your teeth with only a night light on as this low light level signals your brain that it is time to turn off and turn-in. I have notice when I am camping, I am tired within an hour of the sun setting and am zipped up in my sleeping bag soon after. Don't eat within 1 to 2 hours before bed as it can stimulate your mind into thinking its actually time to be awake. Also avoid fluid intake 1 hour before bed so that you can avoid waking at night to urinate.

The Bed. When in bed either sleep or have sex. Do not do other things associated with waking activities in your bed. Avoid using your laptop, watching TV, eating or even reading. This way your mind will associate bed with sleep and sleep with the bed. Make sure your bed is comfortable by getting what you need to be comfortable at night. Invest in the pillow, bedding and mattress that you want. You will spend the more time in your bed than on any other piece of furniture in your house. Splurge.

The Room. Quiet. Eliminate as many possible distractions as you can. Find ways to make your bedroom more sound proof - Area rugs, wall hangings, etc. When you wake at night even for a moment, your mind and body resets itself and starts the sleep cycle again. It takes almost 2.5 hours for the first sleep cycle to be completed. When sleep is interrupted, we start the sleep cycle from the beginning. According to numerous sleep studies, we function best with about 4 sleep cycles, which works out to an average of 8.25 hours.

The Room. Dark. Also sleep in complete darkness by having light proof window coverings and getting a non-continuously illuminated alarm clock. Melatonin requires complete darkness for its production. It is a very powerful anti-oxidant that mops up free-radicals in our brain produced by our daily mental activities. Melatonin is also a hormone that resets our circadian rhythms so that we can restore during the night and be active during the day. Sleeping eight hours in a completely dark room is one of the best ways to have amazing energy the next morning and to even regulate the menstrual cycle.

Sleep tight and sleep well,
Gibran

Good night!

2008-03-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'll just check my email one last time after clicking that stumble upon button one last time...you struggle to keep your eyes open...

All the while we get the latest news report on the Center for Disease Control study finding that "Sleep Deprivation, a Public Health Problem."

Do we have less hours in the day than before? It sure feels that way sometimes.

Although it seems like we can make it through the day just "fine" on 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep, we were never meant to function, to live and to thrive with these habits. The effects of our sleeplessness go beyond the perceived drop in alertness. It may not be all that important to catch every single word during your company's budgeting meeting, but there are many more things your body is missing out on.

Repair begins at night. It is the time of not only rest, but also of renewal. It is the time for your cells to regenerate and to remove toxins, and for your mind to process all the day's events and release stressful events.

In Chinese Medicine nighttime is understood as a key to preserving the vital life force. Nighttime is a time when the Yin of the body replenishes itself and the Yang of the body goes inwards to repair the internal organs. It is a time to be still like the natural world around you.

So as long as the news reports keep coming out stating that a "Lack of Sleep Increases Childhood Obesity Risk," or that "Lights at Night Are Linked to Breast Cancer," it may be good to listen to that yawn and call it an early night.

More in the next post on sleeping soundly.

Good night,
Gibran