# 1542

Posted: 30/10/2009 15:55

Well if this study is so good get on the jet to the US and you when you tell the statin makers they can say " statins give you a longer & healthier life" you will for sure make the big money. Yes statins can help a small segment of people but not all the people who take them. Re hospitals please go back and ask the docs about all the people who get heart attacks & their cholesertol is just fine - how can you explain this. Re the West of Scotland study is it really so great: as follows "18.8% of the participants originally assigned to pravastatin died, compared with 20.5% of those originally assigned to placebo" so I am sticking with my fish oils & niacin. One other point re statins: do they effect brain power as your brain is mostly fat (OK mine too) and the statins do reduce the buidling blocks the brain needs. I am not sure if this is true but certainly I will be watching as the years go by.

# 1541

Posted: 17/10/2009 10:21

Joe L.

The study that you are looking for is called The West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study.

I shall sumarise it for you:

-15 year long study

-All cause mortality and morbidity reduced

Funnily enough you say that there is no evidence that they prolong life. Well why is it then that in a person is in ICU all of their medicines are generally stopped, except their statin? This is because it has been shown that stopping their statin leads to increased death simply enough.

Read the study, then comment further.

# 1540

Posted: 23/09/2009 01:34

Well George you have lost me completely with the comment what is the point of studies. All medicine of every strip is based on the principle that the treatment will extend lifespan (yes of course it should be a reasonably health life). Standard treatments for breast & skin cancer extend life, as do heart operations, antibiotics etc. and anyone who does not use these is a fool in my opinion. But the studies on HRT for women showed HRT did not extend life so there was a change in policy.

In fact the whole (entire & complete) basis for medicine is "this study shows our new drug keeps more people alive longer so buy it" (if you can afford it of course) so please be good enough to expand on your comment re studies. Still I am happy to know that you do not run Pfizer as their study for their new statin showed people were dropping dead more on it so they dropped (good that Pfizer believes in some studies). Bad news for Cork of course as the plant is finished now as their is no future for it - and now losing the All Ireland is

# 1539

Posted: 22/09/2009 14:25

Thank you, Lisann.  Many thanks to you, George. I will discuss that information with my doctor.  Your added research is invaluable to me particularly as my oncologist has decided not to do any further ct scans as he feels the results would make no difference to his prognosis.

# 1538

Posted: 22/09/2009 11:48

The recent posts have gone above my head [i have through all this before ].To Myrtle,i am glad to see you more positive in your outlook and wish you well.regards

"an excuse is not the reason for saying why"

# 1537

Posted: 19/09/2009 16:50

Joe, Your point about whether or not statins "extend lifespan" is ridiculous. Show me the studies that prove that aspirin extends lifespans, or for that matter, any one of a number of popular supplements. Who really cares (aside from you, of course)? One could argue that quality of life is more important than minor changes to lifespan. Statins are KNOWN to reduce vascular inflammation and that is a good thing. It is an especially good thing when used with people who have issues with vascular inflammation. Of course, like any other medication, statins have risk factors. With a little common sense, most, if not all, of those risk factors can be mitigated. As to who told me these things, I found them out because I CARE about my health and the health of friends and family and I take it upon myself to do some investigation into these things. If people don't care about their health, there is not a whole lot one can do to help them. When I learn these things, I try to share the information personally and publicly on forums like this. Again, most people really don't seem to care. That is their problem, not mine.

- George

# 1536

Posted: 17/09/2009 15:54

Ah good man George you do seem to know one of the reasons why statins do not extent life span (please ask your doctor to show you the independent study that shows statins extent lifespan - there is none that is a fact), so yes George the statins stop the production of CoQ10 which is estential for you body to have . Now please tell me who told you this fact and list some websites of drug companies where they inform the public of this. I look forward to seeing this list as this would be informed consent. Re people eating fat I do not care they can do as they wish but I do expect scientific, truthful & logical disclosure from the companies that sell drugs (or anything else).

# 1535

Posted: 17/09/2009 15:44

Myrtle, I'm so very happy for you! It sounds like you are really taking charge of your own health in a way which will greatly improve your outcome. There are so many opportunities out there for those of us who commit to doing our best to work with our doctors and not against them. Most of them have so many patients and so little time to spend on each one these days. But they do have the time to help us evaluate the possible options we discover. And their advice is usually hugely valuable. I am also very happy to hear about the possiblity of access to dendretic therapy. That approach is also extremely promising. I would also alert you to a new study at Harvard Medical School that is indicating that Metformin, a common diabetes drug, seems to be able to kill cancer stem cells and, combined with ordinary chemotherapy, completely wipe out cancer. They think that the fact that diabetes patients commonly use this drug is responsible for the fact that they have a far lower risk of cancer. Some are speculating that Metformin alone, an inexpensive and very safe drug, can lower cancer risk by as much as 60%. You may want to look into this one as well and pack it away in your bag of future options. We will continue to keep you in our prayers and wish you the very best! - George

# 1534

Posted: 17/09/2009 09:26

You are absolutely right, George.  My gp who, by the way, is amazed at what I am doing to sort out my own condition, told me that one of his patients who has diabetes could make a huge difference if only he would make an effort to reduce his weight and take some exercise.  Instead, the patient opts to pop pills.

Thank you, George, for the info about vitamin D and naltrexone with regard to cancer.  I have increased my intake of vit D and downloaded the info on naltrexone for my doctor who was most surprised to hear about it.

I have finished sono/photo dynamic therapy and I am in the process of having dendritic cell vaccine for my cancer.  Hopefully, the outcome will be good. However, I have also incorporated all of this with an extremely healthy and stress-free lifestyle.

I think lots of doctors are overloaded with work and exasperated with the lack of cooperation from their patients.  People need to realise that their health situation is their own responsibility and not hand it over to someone else and expect them to wave a magic wand.

# 1533

Posted: 16/09/2009 01:55

Joe, Statins are medications and ALL effective treatments whether medications or supplements have potential side effects. In the case of statins, the most severe side effects can be avoided by practicing some common sense precautions such as making sure ones vitamin D levels are adequate and taking some supplemental CoQ10. Obviously a healthy diet and appropriate exercise are a preferrable alternative, but few people are willing to make the sacrifices that go with that. A few years ago that option was not well understood, but now it is. In my own case it brought my bad cholesterol levels (which ARE a marker for vascular inflammation) down precipitously and raised my good levels. When I tell people about this they are ecstatic and want to know all about it until I tell them what they need to give up (like ALL their favorite foods with high fructose corn syrup). Then they get mad and decide they prefer their pills. What else can one do? People are now taking more of these drugs than ever before and if they were failing to extend life expectencies that would be obvious from the life expectancy statistics. Now you COULD argue that they are not improving quality of life, and I wouldn't argue that one, but people make choices. And neither you nor I can force them to make healthy ones. One thing I know. I don't envy the challenges faced by todays primary practitioners in trying to manage their patients healthcare. Patient compliance is probably at an alltime low, just look at the waistlines. But doctors are expected to perform the impossible with inadequate resources to maintain the health of their often unappreciative patients. If people REALLY want off pills, they need to seriously adjust their lifestyles and I just don't buy the line about it all being a matter of genetics. - George

# 1532

Posted: 15/09/2009 16:00

I have asked for an independent study that shows statins extend life span, I see nothing extremist about that. That is (to me anyway) a logical & sane request. Yes when I go to the US I see their TV ads for statins and they avoid the point about lifespan (they say stuff life "stops heart attacks" some yes but the side effects end many lives and other comments such "this drug has been studied for 15 years" so what. Where is the study?

Please note that calling me names does not help anyone or anything.

# 1531

Posted: 10/09/2009 20:10

George. Your contribution was very good and one of the most balanced appe on this thread.

# 1530

Posted: 10/09/2009 16:30

I have just been waiting for someone to jump in and challenge Joe on his rather extremist position.  With life expectancies generally up everywhere around the globe, there is no doubt that modern pharmaceuticals deserve significant credit.  So I don't think they should be painted as being evil with a broad brush as Joe seems bent on doing.  I also think that statins are, in general, good drugs that work by reducing vascular inflammation.  I could say the same about a number of other controversial drugs.  But I would balance that by saying that a lot of things could be improved on.  For example, I believe that the current practice in the US of allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise their wares in the mass media and to lobby physicians via thinly veiled "educational" programs is just wrong.  Also the current practice of depending on pharmaceutical companies exclusively for the disovery and development of new treatment therapies is equally wrong.  These are both symptoms of an anemic public sector that is cowering in the presence of a wave of hyper capitalism that has been sweeping the globe for the past thirty years.  The private sector is woefully under regulated and the public sector is underfunded and asleep at the switch.  The result is over use of patent drugs, inappropriate use of patent drugs and under use of off-patent drugs that are often actually more effective for certain uses than their heavily promoted on-patent counterparts.  It also means that very effective, useful and dirt cheap supplements are under investigated and under utilized.  The regulators have to understand that they are there to protect the health of the public and NOT the health of the pharmaceutical companies.

# 1529

Posted: 10/09/2009 11:39

People do not think drug comapnies are as pure as snow, but some have more common sense than others. Thsoe who support the companies tend to have a fairly level headed approach and realise that for every AE there are thousands of benefits. For most, pharma hating has actually become a hobby. That's fine, but don't try to stop the rest of us from being able to avail of protection and treatment. If you want to put yourself in danger fine, but be prepared to live with the consequences.

# 1528

Posted: 08/09/2009 20:58

Note the Pfizer fine is in billions 2.3 of them. Note if they happy to pay that means they admit they are guilty (ust want to move on out of the limelight)

# 1527

Posted: 04/09/2009 19:15

Pfizer has just paid a $2.3 fine for dubious marketing practices. - so  it seems strange to me that people still think the drug companies are as pure as snow while all the alternative stuff is quackery. Now let us see when people ask questions re statins (drugs that reduce cholestrol) because there is NO study that proves they extend life (yes some fewer heart attacks but death from the many side effects. It surprises me that the great statin thing has gone on so long

# 1526

Posted: 21/08/2009 15:51

John-It's really up to you if you wanted to buy those products, anyway it has also good advantages on it. As a consumer make sure to check the products that you are buying.

# 1525

Posted: 18/08/2009 16:04

Hello Myrtle,

I hope you are doing well. Just a note re Dr Hoffer, Canada (note I  misspelled his name in a post before) He has passed on in May may he RIP. Main focus was mental health but he did work with cancer patients also.

Joe

# 1524

Posted: 25/07/2009 19:10

Hello Myrtle

I second George's thoughts he has given good advice as well. I am delighted you have decided on dietery changes to complement your recovery as this has a proven track record see Bernie Bohans webpage by googleing The Choice this woman is an inspiration she has beaten the dreaded C word twice, there are many good links there leading to wellness resources one in particular being Dr Mercola you need  to register to recieve health and wellness news letters which really are an eye opener this man has helped so many he is a saint no beating around the bush he makes all the research available on the website so we the general public can decide for ourselves, the good Dr has advocated vit D as a therapy also.

I hope you are feeling much better and as each day goes by your energy and health returns.

# 1523

Posted: 22/07/2009 17:25

Hello Myrtle, Glad to hear you are doing well! As I have stated before, I recommend that you look into getting your vitamin D levels up to an optimal range now that you have completed your chemo. For more info on that you can look up "vitamin d council" and "grassroots health" on Google. Both provide extensive information. Additionally I suggest you look up "low dose naltrexone" on Google. Neither of these are a guaranteed cure, but there is evidence they can help, in some cases very significantly, they are very low risk when pursued under medical supervision and both vitamin D and Naltrexone are dirt cheap. You might want to print out some of this info and discuss it with interested family members as well as with your GP and Oncologist. Congratulations for cleaning up your diet and sticking with the chemo! You now have more time to look at additional options and continue to enjoy your precious family! I wish you the very best! - George

# 1522

Posted: 22/07/2009 12:17

Thank you, George. I would appreciate anything that helps. 

I have finished my chemo and I am currently in remission.  According to the oncologist, the cancer (ovarian stage III, grade 3) will return.

Chemotherapy was hell and I ended up in hospital a few times, having to be pumped with steroids, antibiotics etc. I was house-bound most of the time suffering from all the side-effects of taxol and carboplatin, the worst being chronic fatigue.

I did numerous things to help myself while on chemo. I changed my diet, kept my stress levels low, listened to relaxing music, meditated , had bio-energy , used visualization techniques , and drew inspiration from the scientist Gregg Braden who wrote ‘The Divine Matrix’.

I read numerous books on health and cancer. Most interesting were “Everything you need to know to help you beat cancer” by Chris Woollams , “Anti-Cancer:  a new way of life” by Dr David Servan-Schreiber and “The Biology of Belief” by Bruce Lipton. I also availed of the wonderful services of a psychiatrist who helped me understand and manage the fearful thoughts and overwhelming feelings that cancer causes. I believe in a Higher Energy and connected to God on a daily basis; in this respect I had some interesting experiences.

In all the books I read, I learned the important role the immune system plays in fighting all diseases not just cancer.  I asked my oncologist if I could have immunotherapy but I was told they don’t give it to Ovarians.  If I wanted anything that was not basic treatment, I would have to go abroad for it. I can assure you that advanced ovarian cancer calls for a lot more than basic medical treatment. Am I angry with the health service in Ireland?  The answer is no: they are limited in their attitudes and their budget so I think their help would always have been limited no matter what their circumstances.

As you can imagine, my situation calls for an open mind and, in particular, for me to be proactive. Doctors can’t wave magic wands. It’s up to me to sort out my situation and I refuse to resign myself to the fact that cancer will kill me.

# 1521

Posted: 20/07/2009 22:02

Hello Myrtle, I hope you are doing well. If you are still following this forum, I think I might have something potentially useful for you. - George

# 1520

Posted: 08/07/2009 12:08

Hi Fergi, not sure if this will help but did you know that in order for iron to be absorbed, you need viamin C. Maybe introducig vitamin c with the iron will help it absorb and so reduce the constipation. Just a thought.

# 1519

Posted: 07/07/2009 09:40

My son has cystic fibrosis and over the last few years has developed constipation for which he takes Movicol.  His iron levels are low and he has been put on iron tablets which has made the constipation worse.  He increased the Movicol but that didnt help.  Now he is refusing to take the iron tablets.  I would appreciate ideas on alternative solutions.

# 1518

Posted: 29/06/2009 09:37

I hede heard that in addition to folowing your doctors advice - always a MUST when it comes to conditions such as diabetes, adding cinamon to your daily diet is helpful for diabetes.

# 1517

Posted: 29/06/2009 09:21

Do you know whats so annoying about these threads? If you have a recommendation for someone (as I do now) you feel as if you cant actually post it because of the amount of fanatics who will light on you...

# 1516

Posted: 26/06/2009 15:16

What alternative medicine would you recommend I  take for Type N0 2 Diabetes.

# 1515

Posted: 22/05/2009 17:00

Well it would appear that all here agreed that the usual treatment for schizophrenia is mostly useless (only 1 in 4 live a normal life the rest live a sad life with suicide a common factor). So how does change come about so people may look to the much better therapies of Dr Hoofer - NO the doctors DO NOT CHANGE - but look at change in child abuse etc. usually the change comes from the legal way of lawsuits etc. So a person gets schizophrenia, then hurts themselves or others, then the lawsuit can ask why did the doctors not try the methods of Dr Hoofer (note he is a real doctor and never lost his license). The lawsuit can ask "You admit your methods are mostly useless why would you not try something else, after all it could hardly be worse"

The other way of course is what parent/friend/etc. would not try to get the person with schizophrenia to try Dr Hoofers methods themselves (harmless & cheap - well until the EU bans them). Once the ordinary people of Ireland start to change then the docs will have to change.

# 1514

Posted: 25/04/2009 18:05

Well Anon you can say leaky gut is a fad etc. but once I fixed my stomach problems my allergies went away. So people can say it is nonsense but I am doing much better now. Thanks Niamh for mentioning that 2 sugar test as it looks a simple and easy way to check. re 20 years to get an idea accepted I would say more like 50 or more but with the Internet many of us can get information faster. Re my posts on schizophrenia I have in several posts over several weeks tried to establish the present treatment is not much good - this is agreed by all doctors of all strips BUT many people here cannot accept a fact (note that fancy marketing campaigns by big pharma "we are working on a great future cure" does NOT constitute a fact)

# 1513

Posted: 24/04/2009 10:12

My mum (56) has Ortho Static Tremor as does her father my grand father (88). My mum has had it for 15 years and my grandfather has had it for 20 years. Mum has been an outdoor bowler for the 20 odd years and is very good at it in fact she proberly would have been an international bowler if not for OT. This year she as had to make the decision to give up bowling all together which is heart breaking as bowling is her life!! MY grandfather is also very bad combined with old age he will be in a wheelchair soon, it's hard to tell how much of it is old age and how much is the OT.Obviously it's sad for my grandfather but my mum is young and has so many years left ahead of her with this debilitating disease! I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about OT or has any advice or tips in relation to OT. Or maybe you know of a good doctor or treatment.I would very much appreciate it if you could share any information you my have. Kind Regards, Julie.

# 1512

Posted: 23/04/2009 17:12

That is interesting Niamh, for many years doctors and scientists not only here but in the U.S and UK claimed that Leaky Gut Syndrome was a faddist invention and did not exist medically speaking. Where where our body meets the out side world is actualy the skin so if this is the first line of defence shouldn't, logially, the skin have problems with permeability too given all it has to deal with? It doesn't of course - or we'd all drown when we go swimming!! The lymph system is not in the stomach tho - there are lymph nodes in various loctions around the body - as I unfortunately found out when I had glandular fever - which my endo thinks as the trigger for my hashimotos. With regard to the 2nd line of defence, you are I take it, referring tothe auto-immune system when it 'betrays' (so to speak) the body by attacking organs, such as the thyroid gland, as if they were foreign bodies or invaders in the system? That said, as I mentoned, I do not have any inflammation. In fact since my Hashi's was medicated, my healing ability has greatly improved. And also, now you come to bring it to mind, I rarely get the usual colds which are going around and when I do I get better in something like half to a third of the time. Stess, I imagine affects us all and has an impact on many illnesses and conditions. But as I said, my immunity seems greatly improved and I suffer with no inflammation since I started treatment and stabilised so supplements aimed at retoring gut health in order to improve immunity would be of little practical use as they'd be redundant. Also, no amount of gut-improving supplements are going to restore my thyriod gland - unfortunately. Yes, the meds have made a fantastic differnce to my life - they replace what the thyroid can no longer produce. It is a very interesting subject and from an acedamic point of view, I would be interested in hearing about supplements for improving immunity - and a lso why they ccannot be got from a good healhty diet but on a personal level I can't see that they would be of any use to me. Interesting all the same tho.

# 1511

Posted: 23/04/2009 16:21

Adding to last comment there is a US Doctor Popper who treats bipolar disorder with a nutrient mix - again with great result but of course ignored by the main stream. Just search Dr Popper & bipolar. Yes he is a real doctor.

Also a correction of my past post re 1% of the population has schizophrenia in fact Ireland has a far higher rate or 3 to 4%.

# 1510

Posted: 23/04/2009 16:09

Well John where do you get "Modern drugs such as Risperdal have made huge improvements in the treatment of schizophrenia"  From the Schizophrenia Ireland website here are the FACTS: "Generally, it has been estimated that for people with schizophrenia, 25% will experience a full recovery, 40% will experience recurrent episodes with some degree of social disability and periods of unemployment; and 35% will experience long-term schizophrenia, with a high rate of both hospital admission and social disability" Why can you not accept these facts? These are dismal success rates why do you go on about some great improvement (the usual promise of a great drug down the road 2 years or so). Note the drugs to try and treat it are big sellers so lots of money in the status quo.

# 1509

Posted: 23/04/2009 14:36

John, now that is very interesting. Your comment was why I said that I had attended  trained,registered, medically qualified nutritionists. It would seem that those whom Niamh is referreing to are not actually medically trained and qualified or recognised. This is where people need to be extremely careful about names such as nutritionist, nutritional therapist or allergy specialist.

# 1508

Posted: 23/04/2009 00:59

Candida used to be something which the medical profession did not believe in.  In fact it can take up to 20 years for new scientific research to reach medical college text books and indeed some hospitals.  Genova Diagnostics are a research based testing laboratory which is recognised as a centre of excellance with some of the most cutting edge medical diagnostic tests.  I went to one of their lectures and the guy giving it was a biomedical scientist.  They have a test to check for intestinal permability or leaky gut as I was referring to it.  It involves drinking a solution containing 2 insoluble sugars.  One which is a small molecule which can pass through the intestine wall easily and the other which is a larger molecule which shouldn't have the ability to pass through a normal healthy gut wall.  Then a urine sample is taken to check which has passed through the body.  Obviously if the larger molecule is present then the gut wall has increased permeability which means it may be letting other unwanted molecules through.  It's interesting that you say you have Hassimoto's disease because he said specifically that he sees a lot of auto immune thyroid patients testing positive for leaky gut.  I think the immune system becomes confused with all it has to deal with.  You see where our body meets the out side world is where our first line of defence lies ie in the stomach.   70% of your immune system lies here and it includes your lymph nodes and beneficial bacteria which act both as detoxifiers and stimulators of the secretory IgA glands.  When this first line of defence is compromised then the 2nd line will become over active as a compensatory measure.  The 2nd line of defence involves more pro inflammatory cytokines but is not as affective at fighting off infections.  So you see if somebody has a compromised first line of defence then they will have poor immune resistance but they will also be in an inflammed state.   Another thing that can suppress this first line is stress.  If you are experiencing low immunity then you probably have a compromised first line of defence and it would be worth restoring gut health to help boost immunity and also other supplements which you can take to help modulate the immune system reducing inflammation.  You seem to be happy with your meds that’s good that they are working.  If you are interesting in hearing about the supplements to help with your immune system I can tell you in another post.  It is an extremely intersting subject : )

# 1507

Posted: 22/04/2009 21:28

Niamh. Once again I have to correct you. You recommended a website of registered nutritionists. The members of this organisation are self-selected self-trained and have the cheek after 10 week-ends of so-called training to put their names up and take money for the sort of 'advice' and mis-information which you give in your posting.

The web address I gave, is the site of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, members of which are recognised by the Dept of Health as the only qualified people to give nutritional advice. They all have to have a University degree which involves three or four years full time study under properly qualified university lecturers. They are the recognised by the HSE and employed in hospitals as clinical nutritionists, in research, in industry, in education etc.

I think this points up the arrogance of the 'alternative' brigade. With no proper training or qualifications they pooh-pooh the advice and knowledge of those that are recognised, not only in Ireland, but world wide as being competent in the fields of nutrition and diet.

# 1506

Posted: 22/04/2009 15:49

Hi Niamh, I have been to a couple of trained registered medically qualified nutritionists and they have agreed that my Hashimotos does not have a nutritional element excpet in so far as I should avoid supplemental iodine as it could make me very ill indeed, also soya as it is likely to worsen my condtion and also goitrogenic foodds (tho I sometikmes havea weakness for spinach) . But that aside  have no allegies - I have had alergy testing and no intolerances to things like dairy or wheat as some ppeopel have, My medicla specialist tracked my condition onset back to when I had glandualr fever - which is common enough in late teens. Leaky gut is not a medically recognised condition as far as I am aware altho and candida is, but thankfully I don't have candida nor has my gut lining shown any signs of being damaged. That said I was on a heck of a lot of antibiotics - which seemed to get me through early childhood - due to having a dreadfully poor immune system from the get-go. From babyhood to about the age of 12 or 13, I seemed to spend months at a time very ill with a wide range of bacterial infections. If it was going around Id get it, sort of thing.  My diet and nutrition was very good, that said as was that of my siblings - altho they didn't seem to get anywhere near the infections I got. Everyone differs. In my case my immune systme is not attacking any possible food particles but instead is attcking one of my body parts. My diet is still excellent, thankfully but no amount of improving the gut wall will re-instate the gland which has been rendered next to useless my an auto-immune attack, unfortunately. As for toxins, this is anoher medical myth which surely has been debunked. The ogans for removing toxins are the skin, lymph system, liver and kidneys (and medical testing can certainly be done to establish the function of the latter two) otherwise the build up of toxins - i.e poisons would kill. Funny you should mention inflammation - it in only since my hashimotos was medicated (yes, with what was agred by all as the best course of action - what yu might call 'driug' therapy) that my ablity to heal - even tiny cuts has vastly improved. Never had thush despite many years on thge pill nd IUD (which can make women more sensitive to it) or siffered with wind or bloating - thankfully, I had athletes foot as a teen but this was cured with an OTC remedy - similarly with a episode of dandruff which I had - in common with most of the population. Interesting discussing all this tho.

# 1505

Posted: 22/04/2009 12:36

Niamh which other reputable medical sources opine that  dairy - which is excellent for calcium - is not a healthy food?? Additionally fish oil can be very high in mercury which is toxic. What exactly is a 'good probiotic'? The probiotics in someo of the supermarket milk drinks are destroyed by stomach acid long before they can do any good and as for travelling to exotic deastinatiosn - I would be ar more concerned about gettign my shots and malaria tablets to protect me from life threatening illnesses. Many of the bugs you mention are watrer brine and will be avoided by only drinking bottled water.  I do agree with with you say about the food pyrameid but wasn't there a new one published about 5 years back which was revised to incude soem of what you mentioned?

# 1504

Posted: 22/04/2009 11:08

Hi Anon, in regards to auto immune disease and nutrition.   If you went to a good nutritionist, registerd with NTOI.  They will look at your whole history, when your condition started occuring, taking in dietary factors such as food intoerances, emotional timelines etc.  With auto immune disease (the people who are against alternative treatments are going to go crazy here), some auto immune reactions have been linked to leaky gut and candida.  Leaky gut is a condition where the gut lining becomes damaged through anti biotic usage, poor diet and nutritional deficiencies. Our gut wall is porous but when the lining of it becomes weakened larger molecules such as food particles and bacteria can then gain access to body tissues and eventually get into the circulation.  A doctor may not agree with this theory as they are only now coming around to the concept of candida.  Once things get into our circulation that shouldn't be there for example food molecules (before they are fully digested) the immune system will look at them as foreign and begin attacking them.  A nutritionist who is up to date in their studies should be aware of this condition, will look at improving the diet, healing the gut wall using foods and supplements to nourish the cells and supplementing with probiotics.  Another thing they might suggest when improvements have been made in the bowel is detoxification of the body to remove any toxins that may be accmulating in the tissues, this would also be source of inflammation.  You see that's what they would look at.  Not really the name of the disease but taking the body out of this state of inflammation.  Nutrition can be a really good tool to use along your doctors advice.  Or indeed for people who would like to try alternative options before trying drugs.  Indications of leaky gut would be passing a lot of wind especially the smelly kind, bloating with candida symptoms such as athletes foot, dandruff, thrush.

# 1503

Posted: 22/04/2009 10:35

The fever thing was just an example to show two different sides of the coin. I understand with children especially this can be dangerous. In regards to our food pyramid it's totally out dated!! It doesn't encourage people to eat whole grains, a balanced diet should include more vegetable than fruit as fruit is high in sugar this isn't stated in the food period and it also includes sweets and cakes! The last time I checked nobody became mal nourished from not eating sweets and cakes! These are supposed to be our optimum guidelines. It actually encourages people to include them in a balanced diet?? Also it is now agreed that 7-9 portions of fruit and vegetables combined is the optimum amount to aim for, therefore this group should be on the bottom. I think I’d like to get my information from a more up to date source. For example these websites will promote eating 3 portions of dairy a day to prevent osteoporosis. However our rates of osteoporosis here are far higher than for example asia where they don’t consume dairy products at all? Along with all the other research that shows dairy is not a healthy food source. The B vitamins especially B5 are very good for stress, omega 3 fish oil is excellent for concentration coming up to exams especially, Magnesium, b vitamins and chromium are all needed to metabolise sugar so if you’re low in these you’ll have less energy and be more likely to store calories as fat. 70% of your immune system is in your gut this is agreed on both sides of the fence, topping up your defences by using a good probiotic will help boost your immune system. People travelling to places like India for example can take a course of probiotics to help prevent picking up bugs. They act like a shield on your gut lining helping to move the pathogenic bacteria through and they also have detoxification properties so what your saying is out dated. By the way you won’t get any up to date information on the websites you recommended, it’s all 2 years old or more.