Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from December 2002

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from December 2002

Letter from the publisher.
December 1, 2002... With the holidays soon upon us and with our collective sugar-binge about to commence, it is fitting that this issue examines natural approaches to diabetes and liver disease. Actually both are sugar disorders, but adult-onset diabetes is...

AHCC[R] study published in Journal of Hepatology: AHCC intake can improve prognosis for postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma patients.(active hexose correlated compound)
December 1, 2002... A nine-year study conducted on 269 post-operative liver-cancer patients using AHCC[R] (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) was recently published in the Journal of Hepatology (2002;37:78-86), The Official Journal of the European Association for...

New study shows Thymic Protein A improves symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
December 1, 2002... A recently published human clinical study has shown that thymic protein A, when delivered as an oral powder, is significantly effective at relieving symptoms associated with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS). The...

JAMA study reveals vitamin C and magnesium benefits for cardiovascular patients.
December 1, 2002... A reevaluation of the EDTA Chelation study (Knudson, et al.) published in the January 23/30, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and magnesium exhibit substantial and...

Landmark acupuncture bill by Assemblywoman Judy Chu signed by Governor Davis.
December 1, 2002... On September 23, Governor Gray Davis signed landmark legislation by Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) that will increase curriculum hours for students who enter acupuncture training programs beginning January 1, 2005. Current law,...

Hepatitis C. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... The second National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference on the Management and Treatment of Hepatitis C occurred in June 2002 (www.consensus.nih.gov). The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted via exposure to contaminated blood and...

'Shaving' bills. (Shorts).(health insurance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Cigna and about 450 other health insurers are using software programs that automatically restrict doctors' fees, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal (July 31, 2002). The insurers say they are trying to keep health care costs down...

Maggot therapy. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... In Alternative Therapies (July/August 2002), Larry Dossey, MD discusses the history of maggot debridement to heal wound and ulcers, including bed sores and diabetic ulcers. Cultures around the world and throughout history have used fly larvae...

Transplant organs. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... A Swiss study may help ease the shortage of transplant organs and bypass some of the ethical dilemmas posed by the need for suitable organs. An Associated Press article, dated July 25, 2002, reported that survival rates among patients receiving...

Sleep deprivation & diabetes. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... A 1999 study by researchers at the University of Chicago found that sleep deprivation inhibits the body's ability to process glucose [Spiegel K; Leproult, R; Van Cauter, E; Impact of Sleep Debt on Metabolic and Endocrine Function, The Lancet....

Dietary Supplements. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) announced in its Fall 2002 newsletter that it is co-funding with the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, four centers for dietary supplement research. The research centers,...

Drumming and the immune system. (Shorts).
December 1, 2002... A study published in Alternative Therapies (January 2001) by Barry Bittman, MD, and researchers from Loma Linda, and 0. Carl Simonton, director of the Simonton Cancer Center (Pacific Palisades, CA), found that a lighthearted group drumming...

Literature review & commentary.
December 1, 2002... 301 Dorwood Drive * Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Iron restriction beneficial in hepatitis C Seventeen patients (mean age, 54 years) with chronic hepatitis C who did not respond to, or were not candidates for, interferon therapy were...

Gymnema: a key herb in the management of diabetes. (Phytotherapy Review & Commentary.).
December 1, 2002... P.O. Box 713 Warwich QLD 4370, Australia +617 4661 0700 Fax +617 46610788 www.mediherb.com.au FNIMH = Fellow, National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK) FNHAA = Fellow, National Herbalists Association of Australia ...

The Health Emergency Powers Act. (Health Risks and Environmental Issues).
December 1, 2002... 156 Sparkling Ridge Road * New Paltz, NewYork 12561 USA 845-255-0836 * Fax 845-255-5101 An urgent email received from a fellow health advocate became the impetus for this month's column. The message sounded an alarm about "The Health...

Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology review and commentary.
December 1, 2002... 614 Daniels Drive NE East Wenatchee, Washington 98802 USA Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology is the term describing the unity of mental, neurological, hormonal and immune functions with its many potential applications. PNIE addresses the...

The war on cancer.
December 1, 2002... 800-980-1234 * www.cancerdecisions.com Cytoluminescent Therapy I recently spent two weeks in Ireland studying cancer treatments there. I have returned with extremely important news. East Clinic, in Killaloe, has developed a new program...

A case of Airplane phobia. (Healing with Homeopathy).
December 1, 2002... 131 - 3rd Ave., North * Edmonds, Washington 98020 USA Phone 425-774-5599 Fax 425-670-0319 www.healthyhomeopathy.com Parts of this article are excerpted from our book, Prozac-Free: Homeopathic Alternatives to Conventional Drug...

Hepatogenic diabetes & Chinese medicine. (Chinese Medicine Update).
December 1, 2002... c/o Blue Poppy Press * 5441 Western Ave. #2 * Boulder, Colorado 80301 USA www.bluepoppy.com Excerpted in part from Bob Flaws, Lynn Kuschinski & Robert Casanas' The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus with Chinese Medicine, Blue Poppy...

A novel mechanism of liver enhancement from a Traditional bee product. (Medical Anthropology).
December 1, 2002... www.anthrocode.com timbatchelder@hotmail.com Royal jelly is perhaps more than any other dietary supplement one of controversy. With a brief history of use and scant biochemical studies it appears to be an unlikely contender in the...

Stress-related eating and metabolic syndrome: an important cause of obesity among women. (Medicinal Properties in Whole Foods).
December 1, 2002... Longevity Through Prevention, Inc. PO Box 627 Brookfield, Wisconsin 53008 USA Phone: 888-299-2863 E-mail: drgina@ltponline.com Metabolic syndrome, the aggregation of ailments including obesity, type 2 diabetes,...

New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct: are its policies and performance becoming a political liability?
December 1, 2002... Part 5: Long-Term Reform of the OPMC When a drug has been adequately tested and has been found to have the effect claimed for it, this claim should be permitted even though there may be preponderant evidence to the contrary based upon...

The fluoride controversy continues: an update - part 1.
December 1, 2002... Most Americans associate the fluoride in their drinking water with positive images of tooth protection, strong bones and a government that cares about their dental needs. So it may come as a surprise that water fluoridation, long portrayed as a...

Insulin and diabetes: a Metabolic Typing perspective.
December 1, 2002... Human beings are dependent on food for their survival. Without food, we will inevitably die; and if we eat poor quality food, parts of us will die. Awareness of which foods are best for each individual has always been an issue among...

Diabetes breakthrough: homeopathic insulin nearly everything needs rethinking.
December 1, 2002... Summary The fundamental physiology of insulin, as one of many regulatory signals in the body, is often misunderstood; thus doctors and patients often mismanage diabetes. Science magazine pointed out that diabetes is a metabolic disease,...

The Hepatitis C patient: functional assessment and effective botanical remedies.
December 1, 2002... Hepatitis C is a Major Public Health Threat Hepatitis C is a major Public Health threat and of major concern to all Health Care Practitioners because of the prevalence and long-term consequences of the disease. It is the most common US...

A decrease in cirrhosis of the liver.
December 1, 2002... Artichoke Bud/Sarsaparilla Root Extract (ASE) This extremely effective combination of ingredients has Double Blind Studies to verify the decreases in degenerative liver damage in patients with chronic liver disease (cirrhosis of the liver)...

Gluten intolerance: a paradigm of an epidemic.
December 1, 2002... "My stomach is really bothering me. What can I do about it?" "She's been so depressed and tired lately." "I've never had any problems with allergies before, why now?" Doctors would usually regard and treat these conditions separately with...

Artemisinin: from malaria to cancer treatment.
December 1, 2002... Artemisinin, the key ingredient obtained from Artemisia annua, has a long history of use as an antimalarial remedy. Artemisia annua, or "sweet wormwood," is mentioned in the Recipes For 52 Kinds Of Diseases found in the Mawangdui Han Dynasty...

Enzyme Therapy, digestion, and Acidosis.
December 1, 2002... Abstract Enzyme Therapy (ET) has been practiced successfully for a wide range of disease states. Often, the enzymes used are fungal based because they are effective over a wide range (mostly acidic due to the digestive environment they are...

Maitake D-fraction: a potent mushroom extract product against human malignancies.
December 1, 2002... The medicinal aspects of mushrooms have been known for centuries in the Orient, and the Chinese and Japanese people have long consumed a wide variety of mushrooms. However, Western people have neither known nor gained from the potential...

Diet and nutrition principles.
December 1, 2002... We eat to live, not live to eat, but...we should choose well, and thoroughly enjoy what we eat. Food should contain bulk, nutrients and fuel. It should be grown in non-toxic soil full of minerals and microbes which convert the raw...

Predigested liver supplements for anemia. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: In January 1998, my doctor very kindly insisted on paying a house-call to give me what was to be the beginning of parenteral nutrition. My atrophied stomach had ruptured because I had (and still have) a stricture in the small...

Banning pet supplements. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: I'm not sure where the FDA/AAFCO Set to Remove Animal Supplements from Sale stands (See: http:// alvetmed.com/supplements.html and the next page), but there is an interesting psychology at play. Tell people that perhaps 2 million...

Learning from our elders. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: I work at Fresh Fields in Marlton, New Jersey in the Nutrition Dept. We sell the Townsend Letter at our store and I read every issue. It is the best magazine you can buy. I encourage people who shop in the Nutrition Department to...

Sunflower oil for autoimmune disease. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: In the the evening on the local news on CBS on July, 8, 2002 there was a report about a teenaged girl who had had a vaccination for hepatitis C and had thereafter developed the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Her disease was not severe....

Liver spots query. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: I recently read the following, which may or may not be true.... ". . .most older people have so-called "liver spots," which are just larger deposits of melanin in the skin. There's no getting rid of these, contrary to popular...

Alternative to allergy therapy. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: An eight-year-old boy with a learning disability problem entered my office with the mother's complaint that he couldn't read well or write. I had him write the phrase, "My dad is the best!" He had no problem writing the phrase, but...

Abnormal gastric motility. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: I wanted to know if you could help us. My daughter has been diagnosed with "abnormal gastric motility," and we are looking for a couple of things concerning this syndrome: 1. a list of foods that are easily digested for this...

Biowarfare. (Letters to the Editor).
December 1, 2002... Editor: That there is a worldwide movement to damage health and increase illness is obvious, and it is called Biowarfare, and many people have warned against it. People have been brainwashed not to use the word conspiracy, and if they...

"Herbs don't work". (Editorial).
December 1, 2002... Recently, the media focused attention on a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicating that ginkgo does not improve memory in elderly individuals. "Forget the ginkgo" was the headline that appeared on one of...

Clinical human studies with vanadium compounds.
December 1, 2002... INTRODUCTION Vanadium compounds in animals are able to reverse the illness and restore normal carbohydrate metabolism through three mechanisms. First, vanadium revives and rejuvenates nonfunctional beta cells and restores them to normal...

Treating ADD with Neurofeedback. (Book Corners).
December 1, 2002... Getting Rid of Ritalin: How Neurofeedback Can Successfully Treat Attention Deficit Disorder without Drugs by Robert W. Hill, PhD and Eduardo Castro, MD Hampton Roads Publishing Co., 1125 Stoney Ridge Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia...

A customized diet - is it for everyone? (Book Corners).
December 1, 2002... The New Millennium Diet Revalution by Keith De Orio, MD with Robert Dursi, CNM Prominence Publications, 2271 W. Malvern Ave. #507, Fullerton, California 92833 USA 1999, 8-1/2 x 10 softcover, $24.95 US/$36.95 Canada, 316 pp. Dr. De...

Some user's guides: reliable and informative. (Book Corners).
December 1, 2002... Basic Health Publications has issued several user's guides on subjects of great current interest to all who are concerned about health and fitness. The series is edited by Jack Challem, a respected writer in the field, and editor of The...

The many faces of thyroid disorders. (Book Corners).
December 1, 2002... Overcoming Thyroid Disorders by David Brownstein, MD Medical Alternatives Press, 4173 Fieldbrook Rd. West Bloomfield, Michigan 48323 USA; www.drbrownstein.com; 1-888-647-5616; Softcover, 2002, US/$15.00 272pp. Overcoming Thyroid...

Living with chronic illness. (Book Corners).
December 1, 2002... Beyond Chaos One Man's Journey Alongside His Chronically Ill Wife by Gregg Piburn Published by the Arthritis Foundation, 1330 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30309 USA Paperback, 1999, ISBN: 0-912423-20-X, 346 pgs ...

During which I abuse myself but don't need to pay the piper. (G-Jo Acupressure).
December 1, 2002... Executive Director, The G-Jo Institute P.O. Box 1460 * Columbus North Carolina 28722 USA One of the joys of living at DeerHaven Hills Farm is its peaceful, pristine atmosphere. Yet this can also be an occasional drawback, for within my...

A personal profile: addiction treatment specialist & medical intuitive, Rhonda Lenair. (Medical Journalist Report of Innovative Biologics).
December 1, 2002... Freelance Communications 484 High Ridge Road * Stamford, Connecticut 06905 USA Phone 203-322-1551 * Fax 203-322-4656 Email: Drmortwalker@cs.com Website: www.Drmortonwalker.com A sports newswriter who specializes...

A quick look at music, medicine, death & dying.
December 1, 2002... Earlier this year I was privileged to attend a workshop on the unusual topic of "The Harp and Creative Healing," with international performance artist and second-generation harpist, Christina Thurin. What I didn't realize at the time is the...

How do you treat diabetes and syndrome X?--part I. (Ask the Herbalist).
December 1, 2002... Health Concerns 8001 Capwell Drive; Oakland, California 94621 USA Phone: 510-639-0280, Fax: 510-639-9140 herbalist@healthconcerns.com * www.healthconcerns.com Introduction Diabetes mellitus affects 16 million people in the US. It is...

Calendar.
December 1, 2002... NOVEMBER 21: AMERICAN BOARD OF HOLISTIC MEDICINE 4TH CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION @ Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver, Colorado. CONTACT: 509-884-1062; fax 509-886-3708; nhf@msn.com NOVEMBER 21-23: QUANTUM MEDICINE SEMINAR (Level I) in Salt Lake...

Women's health update.
December 1, 2002... 2067 N.W. Lovejoy Portland, Oregon 97209 USA 503-222-2322 womanstime@aol.com Soy Extract and Hot Flushes This latest double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted on 75 patients in either physiological...

The importance of vitamin c in diabetes mellitus. (Nutritional Influences on Illness).
December 1, 2002... 4751 Viviana Drive Tarzana, California 91356 USA Phone 818-996-0076 Fax 818-774-1575 Compared to apparently healthy people, diabetics appear to consume less vitamin C. (1) Even when vitamin C intake is in the range normally...