In an observational study, researchers assessed radiation exposure among patients who underwent cardiac CT angiography at 50 sites worldwide. Greater than fivefold variation in radiation doses was observed, and, surprisingly, experience in performing cardiac CT and hospital procedure volume were not associated with lower radiation doses (JW Gen Med Feb 24 2009).

In a second study, investigators estimated lifetime risk for developing cancer from cardiac CT studies. At a dose of 2.3 millisieverts (mSv), a single study at age 55 would result in a lifetime excess cancer risk of 8 cases per 100,000 men and 20 per 100,000 women. Lung cancer accounted for most of the excess risk (JW Gen Med Aug 18 2009).

In a third study, researchers used insurance claims data from nearly 1 million adults and found that 70% of them underwent at least one imaging procedure during 3 years. Procedures with the largest contributions to cumulative radiation doses included CT of the abdomen and pelvis (30%), myocardial perfusion imaging (22%), and CT of the chest (8%; JW Gen Med Aug 26 2009).

Finally, investigators found that patients knew extremely little about radiation doses associated with CT examinations. Fifteen percent of patients didn’t know that CT studies involved radiation, and most patients didn’t know that the radiation dose of a single abdominal/pelvic CT study exceeds annual background radiation dose. For the record, typical radiation doses are 3 mSv for annual background, 0.5 mSv for mammograms, 10 mSv for abdominal/pelvic CT, and 3–15 mSv for cardiac CT (Arch Intern Med 2009; 169:1069).

Some people argue that ionizing radiation from medical imaging might not raise cancer risk in a meaningful way, given that most research has involved extrapolating risk from data derived from atomic bomb survivors. Nonetheless, these findings and others are altering the practice of medical imaging substantially. Manufacturers and imaging specialists have responded by developing new technologies and protocols to lower radiation exposure. Meanwhile, some of our patients receive astonishingly high numbers of CT scans — many of questionable clinical value — during relatively short periods. Before ordering imaging procedures that involve ionizing radiation, clinicians should consider carefully whether such studies are likely to enhance clinical decision making, given that no safe limit of radiation is likely to be established.

— Jamaluddin Moloo, MD, MPH

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine December 31, 2009

No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs
Poison Control Statistics Prove Supplements’ Safety

(OMNS, January 19, 2010) There was not even one death caused by a dietary supplement in 2008, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System. The new 174-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin.

Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or herbal product. This means no deaths at all from blue cohosh, echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, kava kava, St. John’s wort , valerian, yohimbe, Asian medicines, ayurvedic medicines, or any other botanical. There were zero deaths from creatine, blue-green algae, glucosamine, chondroitin, melatonin, or any homeopathic remedies.

Furthermore, there were zero deaths in 2008 from any dietary mineral supplement. This means there were no fatalities from calcium, magnesium, chromium, zinc, colloidal silver, selenium, iron, or multimineral supplements. Two children died as a result of medical use of the antacid sodium bicarbonate. The other “Electrolyte and Mineral” category death was due to a man accidentally drinking sodium hydroxide, a highly toxic degreaser and drain-opener.

No man, woman or child died from nutritional supplements. Period.

61 poison centers provide coast-to-coast data for the U.S. National Poison Data System, which is then reviewed by 29 medical and clinical toxicologists. NPDS, the authors write, is “one of the few real-time national surveillance systems in existence, providing a model public health surveillance system for all types of exposures, public health event identification, resilience response and situational awareness tracking.”

Over half of the U.S. population takes daily nutritional supplements. Even if each of those people took only one single tablet daily, that makes 154,000,000 individual doses per day, for a total of over 56 billion doses annually. Since many persons take more than just one vitamin or mineral tablet, actual consumption is considerably higher, and the safety of nutritional supplements is all the more remarkable.

If nutritional supplements are allegedly so “dangerous,” as the FDA and news media so often claim, then where are the bodies?

Those who wonder if the media are biased against vitamins may consider this: how many television stations, newspapers, magazines, and medical journals have reported that no one dies from nutritional supplements?

Reference:

Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. 2008 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2009). 47, 911-1084. The full text article is available for free download at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2008annualreport.pdf . Vitamins statistics are found in Table 22B, journal pages 1052-3. Minerals, herbs, amino acids and other supplements are in the same table, pages 1047-8.

For Further Reading:

Download any Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers from 1983-2008 free of charge at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/NPDSPoisonData/AnnualReports/tabid/125/Default.aspx

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

To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

It is hard to imagine, but it was not until 1867 that Joseph Lister published his findings about the critical need of using sterile procedures in the surgical setting. Back then, doctors seldom washed their hands prior to surgery, let alone sterilize the instruments they had used on the previous patient.

Before Dr. Lister’s sterile techniques were adopted, patients frequently died from infections introduced during surgery.

Joseph Lister had little interest in financial or social success. These traits enabled him to endure the criticisms hurled by the medical establishment about the extra steps he took to ensure his surgical environments were clean.

One of Dr. Lister’s greatest challenges was to persuade his colleagues that germs did in fact exist. Back then, most doctors still believed in the theory of spontaneous generation.1

Convincing today’s medical establishment about proven methods to save lives may be less daunting than what Dr. Lister encountered, but it is still nonetheless challenging.
Today’s Body Count

Back in 2007, I urged the federal government to declare a national emergency. My rationale was that millions of Americans were going to needlessly die if the epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency was not immediately corrected.2

My article was based on irrefutable scientific evidence documenting how vast numbers of lives could be spared if everyone took at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 each day.2

I went a step further and showed how mandatory vitamin D supplementation could resolve today’s health care cost crisis by slashing the need for expensive prescription drugs and hospitalizations.2

I took it two steps further and offered to donate 50,000 one-year-supply bottles of vitamin D3 so the government could give these away to those who could not afford this ultra-low cost supplement.2

It is now 16 months later. The federal government has done nothing to inform the public of the opportunity to radically reduce their risk of dying by taking a supplement that costs less than 6 cents a day!
Vitamin D More Effective Than Previously Known

A large number of new vitamin D studies have appeared in the scientific literature since I wrote my plea to the federal government. These studies don’t just confirm what we knew 16 months ago—they show that optimizing vitamin D intake will save even more lives than what we projected.
Vitamin D More Effective Than Previously Known

For instance, a study published in June 2008 showed that men with low vitamin D levels suffer 2.42 times more heart attacks. Now look what this means in actual body counts.3

Each year, about 157,000 Americans die from coronary artery disease-related heart attacks.4 Based on this most recent study, if every American optimized their vitamin D status, the number of deaths prevented from this kind of heart attack would be 92,500.

To put the number of lives saved in context, tens of millions of dollars are being spent to advertise that Lipitor® reduces heart attacks by 37%. This is certainly a decent number, but not when compared with how many lives could be saved by vitamin D. According to the latest study, men with the higher vitamin D levels had a 142% reduction in heart attacks.3

This does not mean that you should stop taking medications if you can’t get your cardiac risk factors under control by natural methods. It does mean that you should make certain you are not vitamin D-insufficient.

Please note that all forms of heart disease kill over 869,700 Americans each year.4 These lethal forms of heart disease include cardiomyopathy, valvular insufficiency, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, coronary thrombosis (blood clot in coronary artery), and coronary atherosclerosis (narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries). There is reason to believe that vitamin D could help protect against most of these forms of cardiac-induced death.5
Billions of Dollars in Health Care Savings

There are 920,000 heart attacks suffered in the United States every year.4 According to the American Heart Association, the annual cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity related to these heart attacks is over $156 billion.4

The annual retail cost of all 300 million Americans (including children) supplementing with 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day is $6.6 billion.

So if vitamin D’s only benefit was to reduce coronary heart attack rates by 142%, the net savings (after deducting the cost of the vitamin D) if every American supplemented properly would be around $84 billion each year. That’s enough to put a major dent in the health care cost crisis that is forecast to bankrupt Medicare and many private insurance plans.
Sparing Countless Numbers From the Agonies of Cancer

The evidence supporting the role of vitamin D in preventing common forms of cancer is now overwhelming.2
Sparing Countless Numbers From the Agonies of Cancer

Vitamin D-deficient women, for example, have a 253% increased risk of colon cancer.6 Colon cancer strikes 145,000 Americans each year and 53,580 die from it.7 Based on these studies, if everyone obtained enough vitamin D, 38,578 lives could be saved and medical costs would be reduced by $3.89 billion.8,9

A study published in January 2008 showed that women with the lowest level of vitamin D were at a 222% increased risk for developing breast cancer.10 Most studies show that higher levels of vitamin D can reduce breast cancer incidence by around 30-50%.11-14

Each year, approximately 186,800 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,950 perish from it in the United States.15 This needless toll of suffering and death caused by insufficient intake of vitamin D is unconscionable.

Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in an estimated 189,000 American men this year. Almost 30,000 will die from it.16 Men with higher levels of vitamin D have a 52% reduced incidence of prostate cancer.17

The first-year costs of prostate cancer treatment are approximately $14,540.18 If all aging men achieved sufficient vitamin D status, about $1.4 billion could be saved each year.

So as you can see, there is no real health care cost crisis. What the population suffers from is frighteningly low blood levels of vitamin D. During winter months in Canada, for instance, an estimated 97% of the population is vitamin D-deficient.19
Vitamin D Protects Against Stroke

Stroke is the number three cause of death in the United States.20 It is also one of the most feared diseases because of its high incidence of permanent disability.

In a study published in September 2008, blood indicators of vitamin D status were measured in 3,316 patients with suspected coronary artery disease. The subjects were followed for 7.75 years. For every small decrease in blood indicators of vitamin D status, there was a startling 86% increase in the number of fatal strokes.21

The doctors who conducted this study concluded: “Low levels of 25(OH)D* and 1,25(OH)2D* are independently predictive for fatal strokes, suggesting that vitamin D supplementation is a promising approach in the prevention of strokes.”21

*Note: 25 [OH] D and 1,25[OH]2D are blood markers that measure vitamin D status in one’s body.

If all that vitamin D did was to reduce stroke risk, it would be critically important for every American to ensure optimal blood levels.
Low Vitamin D Doubles Death Rate

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide problem. Yet no conventional medical organization or governmental body has declared a health emergency to warn the public about the urgent need of achieving sufficient vitamin D blood levels.
Low Vitamin D Doubles Death Rate

According to John Jacob Cannell, MD, founder of the non-profit Vitamin D Counsel: “Current research indicates vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing seventeen varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, and periodontal disease.

This does not mean that vitamin D deficiency is the only cause of these diseases, or that you will not get them if you take vitamin D. What it does mean is that vitamin D, and the many ways in which it affects a person’s health, can no longer be overlooked by the health care industry nor by individuals striving to achieve and maintain a greater state of health.”22

Vitamin D seems to reduce the risk of almost every killer disease of aging. In fact, a recent study shows that humans with low vitamin D status are twice as likely to die over a seven-year time period!5

Each year, the federal government spends $1 billion in research aimed at finding ways to prevent or cure the killer diseases of aging.23 Yet the government is oblivious to the most medically effective and cost-effective way of preventing needless death. This is analogous to how the establishment ignored Joseph Lister’s pleas for a sterile environment in the surgical arena.
Difference Between “Deficiency” and “Insufficiency”

Doctors are not trained to recognize a vitamin D deficiency until rickets develop in children or osteomalacia (softening of the bones) develops in adults. Clinical vitamin D deficiency is diagnosed when blood levels of a vitamin D metabolite (25-hydroxyvitamin D) drop below 12 ng/mL.

According to the world’s foremost experts, however, optimal blood levels of vitamin D are between 30 and 50 ng/mL and higher.24,25 Those with blood levels below 30 ng/mL are considered to have insufficient vitamin D.

These widely varying numbers explain why mainstream medicine is at a loss to understand the widespread health problem created by less than optimal vitamin D levels. If physicians view a patient’s medical chart and see a vitamin D blood level of 18 ng/mL, they will think this person has adequate vitamin D. The reality is that a vitamin D blood level this low predisposes this patient to virtually every killer disease of aging and may in fact be the reason that individual has become a “patient” instead of remaining healthy.

There clearly is a need for a new consensus in the medical community to redefine vitamin D deficiency as a blood reading below 30 ng/mL. As we at Life Extension long ago learned, it can take decades for the establishment to change its reference ranges to reflect scientific reality.
What Can be Done?

Despite the startling number of needless deaths, the federal government has done nothing to warn the public of the lethal dangers associated with vitamin D insufficiency.

We will distribute my original 2007 article along with this editorial to every member of the new Congress and the President in January 2009. Hopefully someone will understand the urgency of declaring a health emergency and advise that every American maintain a vitamin D blood level of at least 30 ng/mL.

If the government continues to ignore our pleas, perhaps private insurance companies will consider sending free bottles of vitamin D supplements to all of their subscribers. The outlays for medical procedures and prescription drugs would be expected to plummet in groups who took their vitamin D supplement each day.

The media has done a good job in reporting on the numerous positive findings about vitamin D over the past two years. Sales of vitamin D supplements have been increasing, so at least some Americans are getting the message and taking steps to guard against vitamin D insufficiency.

In the meantime, Life Extension will continue to report on new findings about vitamin D. We have found that if we repeat a message long enough, much of the public will wake up to scientific reality and the desire for self-preservation.
All Hospitalized Patients Should be Tested For Vitamin D

The pioneer of antiseptic procedures in the hospital setting was a Hungarian physician named Ignaz Semmelweis. In one of the world’s great detective stories, Dr. Semmelweis went back 100 years to find out why there was such an increase in puerperal fever (childbed fever) that had killed thousands of mothers in obstetric units.

Dr. Semmelweis correlated increases in autopsies performed at hospitals with greater incidences of lethal puerperal fever. It turned out that doctors would leave an autopsy room with their hands covered in decomposing human tissues (and lots of bacteria) and deliver babies with their fetid hands.

Semmelweis instructed his interns to wash their hands with chlorinated lime solutions and documented an immediate reduction in puerperal fever incidence.

Despite the logic of his arguments and concrete proof shown by the reduction in mortality when hand-washing procedures were followed, Semmelweis faced a wall of opposition. Back in those days, maternity hospitals had horrendous reputations and were sometimes referred to as deathtraps. Some suggested that lives could be saved simply by closing the clinics where people went in with minor problems and ended up dying agonizing deaths. Doctors of the day refused to accept that they were the ones responsible for the deaths of thousands of young woman. Semmelweis was eventually committed to an insane asylum where he died.

Move forward to 2009, and hospitals are still places to avoid. Medical errors, antibiotic-resistant infections, sleep interruption, pneumonia, and malnutrition continue to ravage those confined to the hospital setting.

An overlooked problem with institutional confinement is that patients admitted with insufficient vitamin D can rapidly develop severe vitamin D deficiency due to complete lack of sunlight and malnutrition caused by commotion in the hospital environment.

A strong argument could be made that every patient admitted to a hospital should have their blood tested for vitamin D and supplements administered to ensure that blood levels remain considerably above 30 ng/mL. The improvement in immune function along with reduced inflammatory responses alone could result in many more patients leaving via the hospital lobby rather than its morgue.

There are respected medical authorities today advocating universal vitamin D supplementation, but their pleas are all but ignored by most practicing doctors. Unlike the plight of women in childbirth exposed to puerperal fever by ignorant doctors in the past, no informed person has to suffer from lack of vitamin D. More and more people are taking their supplements with them when they go to the hospital because they know they will need them there more than in any other place.
Where to Purchase Vitamin D

Fortunately, the patent for synthesizing vitamin D expired long ago. It is an ultra-low-cost supplement available at any health food store, pharmacy, and most grocery stores. There is no economic impediment precluding immediate widespread supplementation.

I want to thank loyal Life Extension members for purchasing most of their supplements from our Buyers Club over the past 12 months. We use proceeds from these sales to fund critical research projects aimed at eliminating needless disease and death. We also support an ongoing campaign to reform incompetent government policies that deprive Americans of life-saving medical therapies.

Just once a year, we discount the price of every product we offer. During our annual Super Sale, members stock up on our most advanced formulations and enjoy considerable savings.

Please know we remain relentless in tearing down the walls of medical ignorance that are by far the leading causes of disability and death in the United States.

For longer life,

For Longer Life

William Faloon
References

1. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis. Accessed September 4, 2008.

2. Faloon W. Should the president declare a national emergency? Life Extension. 2007 Oct;13(10):7-17.

3. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men:
a prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 9;168(11):1174-80.

4. Available at: www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1200082005246HS_Stats%202008.final.pdf.
Accessed October 29, 2008.

5. Dobnig H, Pilz S, Scharnagl H, et al. Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-
dihydroxyvitamin d levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 23;168(12):1340-9.

6. Holick MF. Vitamin D and sunlight: strategies for cancer prevention and other health benefits.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2008 Sep;3(5):1548-54.

7. Available at: www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/statistics/. Accessed September 4, 2008.

8. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium
supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91.

9. Brown ML, Lipscomb J, Snyder C. The burden of illness and cancer: economic cost and quality of life.
Annu Rev Public Health. 2001;22:91-113.

10. Abbas S, Linseisen J, Slanger T, et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of post-menopausal
breast cancer–results of a large case-control study. Carcinogenesis. 2008 Jan;29(1):93-9.

11. Rossi M, McLaughlin JK, Lagiou P, et al. Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk:
a case-control study in Italy. Ann Oncol. 2008 Aug 18.

12. Giovannucci E. Vitamin D and cancer incidence in the Harvard Cohorts.Ann Epidemiol. 2008 Feb 19.

13. Abbas S, Linseisen J, Chang-Claude J. Dietary vitamin D and calcium intake and premenopausal breast cancer risk in a
German case-control study. Nutr Cancer. 2007;59(1):54-61.

14. Robien K, Cutler GJ, Lazovich D. Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women:
the Iowa Women’s Health Study. Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Sep;18(7):775-82.

15. Available at: www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/. Accessed October 28, 2008.

16. Available at: www.cdc.gov/cancer/prostate/statistics/. Accessed October 28, 2008.

17. Li H, Stampfer MJ, Hollis JB, et al. A prospective study of plasma vitamin D metabolites,
vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, and prostate cancer. PLoS Med. 2007 Mar;4(3):e103.

18. Wilson LS, Tesoro R, Elkin EP, et al. Cumulative cost pattern comparison of prostate cancer treatments.
Cancer. 2007 Feb 1;109(3):518-27.

19. Available at: http://vitamins-minerals.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_sunshine_vitamin
http://www.vitamindsociety.org/. Accessed September 4, 2008.

20. Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm. Accessed September 4, 2008.

21. Pilz S, Dobnig H, Fischer JE, et al. Low vitamin D levels predict stroke in patients
referred to coronary angiography. Stroke. 2008 Sep;39(9):2611-3.

22. Available at: http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:fgZo6Q5-SO8J:www.vitamindcouncil.org
/+Current+research+indicates+vitamin+D+deficiency+plays+a+role+in+causing+seventeen&hl=en&ct=
clnk&cd=1&gl=us. Accessed September 4, 2008.

23. Available at: www.nia.nih.gov/AboutNIA/NACA/MeetingInformation/DirStatusReportMay2007.htm.
Accessed September 4, 2008.

24. Vieth R. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 May;69(5):842-56.

25. Holick MF. The role of vitamin D for bone health and fracture prevention. Curr Osteoporos Rep.
2006 Sep;4(3):96-102.

When a competent immune system is fighting invaders; cytokines (cell-to-cell messenger proteins) stimulate other immune cells, which then stimulates them to produce even more cytokines. Normally, this feedback loop is kept in check by the body if it has adequate levels of antioxidants and Vitamin D.
For a normal cold (rhinovirus) or normal seasonal flu this causes the common “fighting a bad guy group of symptoms” that can include mucous, sneezing, fever and the like. Lets reiterate that EVERY symptom (well- except for the sore throat- that is the virus busting throat cells) associated with being “sick” is of your immune systems doing. The virus is minding its own business, replicating in your throat cells, it is the discovery of the virus and subseqent reaction that creates our symptoms. Which
limits the number of viruses that get made (viruses cannot grow if it gets too hot- why we mount a fever) and quickly washes it out of the system (via mucous).

The reason for the worry in winter 2009 is that this specific variant of seasonal flu has a special protein on its coat that is hyperstimulating the immune system. Instead of a measured reaction the amount of cytokines produced are 2-100 times too much. This uncontrolled reaction (in the Vitamin D deficient) is called a “cytokine storm”. Cytokine storms have potential to do significant damage to body tissues and organs. If a cytokine storm occurs in the lungs, for example, fluids and immune cells may
accumulate and eventually block off the airways, hence the need of respirators.

H1N1 Facts:
· Incubation (time from exposure until you will feel symptoms) is 2-4 days
· You can potentially pass on virus copies (that are happily dividing in your throat cells and piggybacking on your saliva) for 7 days after the end of your fever
· Symptoms: High Fever, sore throat, body aches, fatigue, diarrhea, vomitting, shortness of breath.

· Conventional Medical Intervention (ER room) is necessary only if:
◦ CHILDREN: respiratory distress (breathing shallow and fast), refusal to take liquids (inside of mouth and eyes dry), bluish skin colour, or a fever with rash
◦ ADULT: pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, dizziness, shortness of breath, persistent vomiting/diarrhea so unable to retain liquidsWhether you choose to vaccinate or not you still have to support your overall health.

Avoiding stress on all systems give your body the best chance of fighting off the many viruses/bacteria
we are exposed to everyday.

PREVENTION :

DO NOT BE AFRAID- BE WISE (stop watching the news)

1. Wash your hands - at least 20 sec/time. Try to not touch doorhandles and the like in public (use
your sleeves or a scarf/gloves)
2. Keep your hands away from your mouth and nose
3. Drink plenty of water
4. Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables/day
5. Have your Vitamin D levels checked (contact the office)
6. Exercise , it moves your circulation- stimulating the immune cells
7. Get enough sleep
8. RAISE YOUR SHIELDS
Nasal Lavage (wash): Wash out any bug before it has a chance of attaching to your mucous membranes (wet surfaces inside nose and back of throat) Upon returning home or before bed rinse your nasal passages with saline water (¼ tsp sea salt, ¼ tsp soda in 8 oz previously boiled & cooled water) Neti Pot or NeilMed/Hydrarinse products from your local pharmacy

Take a Probiotic (6 billion/cells+) to lay down good bacteria to take up the space the bug will be looking for to adhere. Minimize distractions for the immune system (and with 75% of the immune system in and around your intestines- a lot of distractions come from our food). Stop eating any foods you know you react to (known allergy/intolerance/sensitivity), even those foods that always cause you indigestion. Minimize any non-foods with more than 5 ingredients on the label.

AVOID
Sugar and Caffeine- they slow down cells of your immune system, stopping them from killing the virus or bacteria. They will lower your defences and if you are sick they will prolong the illness.

AT FIRST SIGN OF ANY ILLNESS
Call Sandra!

#1 Increase fluids: water, green tea, herbals teas (ginger, elder flowers, yarrow are best), soups/broths
(if hungry), freshly pressed apple juice, 100% cranberry juice or 100% red grape juice

STOP! Rest, rest, rest and rest. Remain as horizontal as you can

Warming Socks Treatment: Apply at bedtime (3 days in a row). Soak a pair of thin cotton socks in cold water, and wring tightly. Put on and cover with a pair of thicker dry wool socks and go to bed. They will be dry by morning, repeat as needed. Unclogs nasal passages and stimulates the White Blood Cells.

DIET: Avoid Dairy Products, orange juice and bananas- they increase mucous and can make coughs worse but eat plenty of garlic, tumeric and onion (raw or in soups). Do not eat if not hungry. Digesting diverts a lot of energy away from fighting the germ, it is natural to lose your appetite when sick.

For congestion:
· Sage and/or Thyme tea, 1 tsp herb per ½ cup water) sage tea also great as a gargle for sore throats
· Place feet in a hot water bath with a cold towel around neck.
· Herbal Rub : Take 4 tablespoons of cold-pressed castor oil and 2 drops of essential oils: eucalyptus,
sage, rosemary, and/or peppermint, rub this mixture onto chest. (Healthy VapoRub)
· Cayenne Foot Bath, 1/8-1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper in a hot footbath.
· Contrasting Showers, alternating hot and cold can invigorate the immune system, and move
mucous.

Sandra Murphy, ND

From the petition:

In October 2009, Dr. Bernard Prigent, Vice President and Medical Director of Pfizer Canada was appointed to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The CIHR Governing Council is responsible for setting the policy, directions, and strategies for publicly funded health research in Canada. This appointment is indefensible.

CIHR has a mandate to promote, assist and undertake research that meets the highest international scientific standards of excellence and ethics. Pfizer has a well-documented history of transgressions against the integrity of science. It has been widely reported that since 2002 it has paid four substantial fines (the last being $2.3 billion) for legal/ethical violations. It is both empirically and symbolically troublesome that an official of a company renowned for its egregious behaviour would be honoured with an appointment to the CIHR Governing Council.

CIHR also has a mandate to facilitate the commercialization of health research and promote economic development through health research. Until now, this mandate has been met by including members of the business sector (but not the pharmaceutical industry) on Governing Council and by consulting with the pharmaceutical industry on an as-needed basis. This approach has allowed CIHR to access the expertise needed without embracing unmanageable conflicts of interest at its governance table – frequently, the interests of the pharmaceutical industry are not and cannot be aligned with the interests of the public. The appointment of any individual who is an active member of a pharmaceutical company therefore cannot be justified by reference to the commercialization mandate.
Petition:
We, the undersigned, call for the withdrawal of the appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent, Vice President and Medical Director of Pfizer Canada to the CIHR Governing Council. Online petition - Petition Against the Appointment of the VP of Pfizer Canada to CIHR Governing Council

The RDA Recommended Daily Amount is often referred to as the upper limit of intake, the amount in which you are getting 100% of your needed nutrients. Wrong again. RDA used to be called the MDR or Minimum Daily Requirements. Minimum. As in the “you need a lot more but by just getting this at least you won’t have scurvy” amount. Well that is different and it all of the ad mans fault. RDA allows for claims via OJ companies of 100% RDA in one serving. Too bad the veggie marketers (not that there are any) didn’t catch on to these slogans because broccoli or Brussels sprouts have almost double the amount of Vitamin C in a serving and a red bell pepper has almost 4 times! Even though they are excellent plant sources of Vitamin C, if humans required as least as much Vitamin C as the family dog we would have to eat 3.5 lbs of red bell peppers, 7 pounds of broccoli or 40 oranges each and every day!

The benefits of Vitamin C are numerous because it does not have one job in the body though its classic role is seen as activating the collagen producing enzymes. Which is why you will find Vitamin C touted as an ingredient in anti-wrinkle creams! The elasticity of our blood vessels absolutely require Vitamin C (think varicose veins, aneurysms, heart disease and high cholesterol), but it also functions as a free-radical scavenger mopping up radiation and bad by-products of metabolism keeping cells young.

Aren’t high doses dangerous? Most magazines and online vitamin info reports the upper safe limit of Vitamin C to be 2000 mg a day.
According to safety data compiled by the University of Oxford the LD50 of Vitamin C (dose at which 1/2 the rat test subjects died) is 11900 mg per kg of body weight. What does this flawed toxicity test (www.pcrm.org/resch/PDFs/ae_ld50.pdf) mean for a human? The “average” human is pegged at 70 kg/154 lbs so the highest allowable dose of Vitamin C would be 833,000 mg or a little over 3 full bottles of the 500 mg standard tablets at once. Yet, this info requires a little common sense interpretation. A rat has the ability to make Vitamin C in its liver from simple glucose (sugar) so its ability to absorb Vitamin C is quite limited as it is not a required dietary nutrient. The massive doses of Vitamin C were lethal because any water-soluble substance given in large doses orally will attract water into the intestines. So much water left the rat tissues that it desiccated itself. Or the weak acidity of Vitamin C given in such massive doses may have caused the erosion of the gastric lining (causing bleeding) or the sheer volume of Vitamin C given burst open the rat stomach. A fully hydrated human body with a functioning intestinal tract will rid the body of any unabsorbed Vitamin C pretty quickly via vomiting or a stool softening effect. The “Bowel Tolerance” level is often cited as pretty close to the optimal daily intake anyways. With help from a naturopathic doctor it is easy to scale up your Vitamin C to find the right dose for you.

Sandra Murphy, ND

The best thing to do is to look up your phone, see what its radiation rating is and decrease your use accordingly.
Thank you Environmental Working Group for doing this important work.

* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed
* 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence
* 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
* 6 fresh medium beets, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
* 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To avoid staining your hands and workspace, wear rubber gloves and use plastic wrap to cover the counter.

In medium bowl, mix vinegar, garlic, herbes de Provence and rosemary. Place beets in mixture and marinate for 30 minutes.

Place beets and marinade in 7 x 11 glass baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes, or until beets are tender. Remove beets, place on a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: You can reserve the extra sauce and blend with olive oil for a tasty salad dressing.

Makes 5 servings.

Per serving: 80 calories, 3 g. fat (0 g. saturated fat), 12 g. carbohydrate,
2 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 80 mg. sodium.

*****
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AICR’s Diet and Health Guidelines for Cancer Prevention.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is the cancer charity that fosters research on diet and cancer prevention and educates the public about the results.

Flu Update September 2009
Jacob Schor, ND FABNO
September 4, 2009
Last Summer New Scientist magazine contacted sixty flu experts, and asked if the H1N1 influenza strain might become more virulent this winter. Only about 8% of those surveyed thought it “likely to happen.” About 23% gave it a “fifty–fifty chance” to happen; most thought it “less likely” but still possible. The experts weren’t that worried.

Those survey results appeared just five months since H1N1 emerged in Mexico. The flu had already spread to 168 countries and caused 160,000 confirmed infections. As of August 16, there were 556 (593 as of 9/4/09) confirmed deaths in the US. As 30 to 50,000 people die yearly in the US from the flu, this is not striking.

In the 1918 pandemic, the virus became more virulent over time. No one knows if this will happen again. The worry is that the Swine Flu, which spreads very quickly, may combine with Bird Flu, which is much more lethal and kills a third of those infected. A fast spreading lethal virus would be reason to worry.

About a third of those experts surveyed had stocked up on Tamiflu, the flu drug just in case. This may have been false security.

A study in the British Medical Journal, August 10 issue, concluded that treating children under 12 with antivirals provided little benefit; it shortened the duration of disease by just a day or so and decreased the odds of an infected child spreading the disease to others by only 8%.

There are other options to consider. Some are may prevent infection or taken before getting ill reduce symptom intensity. Others may be useful to take if you do get ill.

Vitamin D:
Flu is generally a seasonal disease, outbreaks increase in the late winter as vitamin D levels in decline; outbreaks decrease in the summer as vitamin D levels rise. British epidemiologist Edgar Hope-Simpson was the first to notice a relationship between sunlight and flu. He theorized in 1981 that ultraviolet light had a protective effect against infection. A quarter century later, John Cannell suggested vitamin D was the missing piece in Hope-Simpson’s theory: exposure to ultraviolet rays from sun light triggers vitamin D production in the skin and this in turn protects against flu infection. People make vitamin D in the summer and use it up during the winter. By late winter many people are deficient. Cannell argues that’s why infections increase.

We are encouraging our patients to boost their Vitamin D levels in preparation for flu season. We suggest they test their levels and then take oral vitamin D-3 supplements throughout the winter to keep their levels optimal, a 25(OH) D-3 level above 50 ng/ml.

Vitamin D was once thought to be toxic in high doses. Current research says not true, these worries were unfounded. The RDA for vitamin D is 400 IU/day, but doses as high as 10,000 IU per day are now considered safe. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends 1,000 IU/day during the fall and winter to reduce risk of cancer. Health Canada is researching whether vitamin D is protective against Swine Flu but data has not reached publication.

In 2008, Cannell reported that high dose vitamin D, 2,000 IU/kilogram body weight, should be taken for three days at the first onset of upper respiratory disease. For someone weighing 100 pounds (about 50 kilograms) that would be 100,000 IU per day! Supposedly this is useful at fighting off bronchitis, pneumonia and the flu. We are unaware of published research confirming benefit of this high dose technique.

Lower vitamin D levels are correlated with increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D does appear to prevent and treat infectious disease. A review article in July examined, “randomized controlled clinical trials that studied vitamin D for treatment or prevention of infectious diseases in humans.” The authors identified thirteen trials conducted from 1948 to present, ten of which were conducted using rigorous double blind design meeting modern criteria: “…the strongest evidence supports …. adjunctive vitamin D therapy for tuberculosis, influenza, and viral upper respiratory tract illnesses.”

Although not definitive studies, these are promising and as there is little risk in taking vitamin D, we are encouraging all of our patients to do so.

N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC)
N-acetyl cysteine provides the body with cysteine, the raw material needed to make glutathione internally. Glutathione is the main antioxidant used within cells. Increasing antioxidant activity inside cells does a surprising number of useful things. It protects against oxidative damage, of course. Clinically we use NAC for among other things, asthma triggered by air pollution, mercury poisoning, compulsive behavior and to thin mucous.

In a double blinded placebo controlled trial, 262 participants, 65 years or older, took 1200 mg/day of NAC for six months, during the winter. Those taking the NAC reported far fewer episodes and milder symptoms of flu that winter. Yet when tested in the Spring, a similar proportion of the NAC group tested positive for having been infected as the group of people taking only placebo. The NAC didn’t prevent people from catching the flu, it simply prevented them from suffering with it.

Probiotics
Several studies tell us that probiotics, like NAC, also decrease flu and cold symptom intensity even if they don’t always protect people from getting sick. The most recent was published this past August in the journal Pediatrics. This study was published in the August issue of Pediatrics and suggests significant benefit from taking daily doses of probiotics.

Herbs:
The flu changes every season and the treatments that worked well in previous years may not work as well this year. This seems especially true when seeking to treat these illnesses with either herbs or homeopathic medicines. So although we know which treatments have worked in prior years, we are not certain what will work best this coming flu season.

Lively discussion has occurred amongst professional herbalists over the last few months on this emerging flu. Paul Bergner of the North American Institute of Herbal Medicine in Boulder and publisher of the journal Medical Herbalist, informs me that there are a number of factors that may have made that original outbreak more severe. The first consideration was that malnourishment was more common at that time. White flour was a mainstay and whole wheat largely abandoned. This ‘modern’ white flour was not yet enriched and as a result vitamin and mineral deficiencies were common. Vitamin D deficiency was also common. Bergner, after studying the historical record of what herbs were used with success to treat the 1918 flu suggests several herbs to consider using this winter. They are Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Boneset (Eupatorioum perfoliatum) and Echinacea. All three have a long history of successful employment for reducing the symptoms and discomfort of flu both historically
and in recent years.

We often use Boneset for just what the name implies, to help fractured bones set up faster. The keynote symptom that leads us to prescribe it for cases of the flu is bone pain, that deep ache felt. This symptom was common in the flu cases we saw last spring.

Elderberry also has a long history of use for flu. Recently, about ten or fifteen years back, a proprietary extract was developed by a virologist in Israel and it became popular after studies demonstrated that it significantly shortened the duration and intensity of flu infections. This product and other elderberry extracts are also being considered for cancer treatment because they reduce inflammatory cytokines. Reducing inflammatory cytokines is also a goal in treating these H1N1 viral infections. A paper published in August 2009, reported that elderberry extracts have a direct antiviral activity on the H1N1 flu virus, an effect that is comparable to the antiviral prescription drugs.

There are several other herbs and plant extracts to consider for treating flu infections. They include garlic (Allium sativa), ginseng (Panax quinquefolium), olive leaf, Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus,), larch arabinogalactan (Larix), Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceous), and Baptisia tinctoria.

Homeopathy:
This same wait and see attitude also applies to homeopathic medicines. According to homeopathic lore, one does not pick the correct homeopathic medicine based on the disease but on the specific and unique symptoms of the patient. Thus various homeopathic books may list a dozen or more medicines to choose from to treat the flu. Picking which one is a matter of picking out the unique presenting symptoms of the individual patient. Practitioners look at the patient’s mood, body temperature, thirst, and so on. That being said, let me contradict myself and say that it is common to see a particular homeopathic remedy be more commonly used for a particular flu, the problem is that the particular remedy seems to vary year to year. Dr. Paul Herscu, author of the Homeopathic Treatment of Children and founder of the New England School of Homeopathy, has been teaching about this phenomenon for several years. Dr. Herscu surveys homeopathic practitioners to see which medicines are proving most
effective each flu season. Homeopathic phosphorous was the most common homeopathic medicine for the 2007-2008 flu, while last winter, nux-vomica won the award.

The biggest difference in presenting symptoms is that the person who will respond to phosphorous is cheerful despite being ill while the nux-vomica patient will be quite irritable.

Websites of interest:
John Cannel: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
National Institute of Health Flu site: www.Flu.Gov
Center for Disease Control’s weekly flu report: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
North American Institute of Medical Herbalism http://www. naimh.com
Medical Herbalism Journal http://medherb.com
Paul Herscu, ND: http://www.hersculaboratoryflu.org/
Paul Bergner on Flu: http://naimh.com/Influenza-1918.pdf

Serves 4

* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil sea salt
* 1 1/2 cups quinoa, thoroughly rinsed and drained (about 4 Cups cooked)
* 2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
* 1 medium red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
* 1 large cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and diced
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced
* 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
* 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* Sea salt
* 1 medium head red-leaf lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried, small inner leaves reserved for future use
* 2 ripe medium tomatoes, cored and cut in thin wedges
* 1 ripe avocado, pitted and thinly sliced
* 1 lime, cut in wedges
* 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Bring 2 3/4 cups water to boil in a small saucepan and stir in the quinoa and some salt. Return to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat, place corn kernels on top of quinoa, cover pan, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir corn into quinoa, remove from pan, and spread out on baking sheet to cool for about 20 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, oil, and salt to taste; set aside.
3. Place cooled quinoa and corn, red pepper, cucumber, scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing (or more to taste) and salt to taste; mix until combined.
4. Place large lettuce leaves side by side in a circle around a large serving platter so the curly tops extend just beyond the platter rim. Mound quinoa salad in center.
5. Arrange tomato, avocado, and lime around quinoa on top of leaves. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over salad. Serve immediately or hold briefly at room temperature.

Per serving: 643 calories; 17 g protein; 34 g fat; 76 g carb; 13 g fiber.