Positive Health Online

Now in its 23^rd year, Positive Health PH Online continues to publish articles and research pointing out how certain conventional treatment (drug-led) approaches are apparently being based upon an incorrect disease paradigm (model). This has shed light upon alternative hypotheses / paradigms in the causes and treatments for the following conditions:

• Antibiotics / Infections: Pasteur vs Béchamp – Microbe vs Terrain;
• Cancer - Chemotherapy Toxicity – Genetic vs Metabolic Disease;
• CFS/ME – Opposing Diagnostic and Treatment Approaches;
• Depression - Mental Health Disorders;
• Heart Disease / Cholesterol / High Blood Pressure
• Vaccinations / Toxicity, Safety, Herd Immunity / Autism Links

The above tell the story about how over 22+ years, paradigm models of causes and treatments in the majority of health conditions, have been transformed, at least in my understanding and that of substantive members of the natural health community.

However, it is a novelty and quite unprecedented for Positive Health PH Online to publish an article The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and Its Deficiencies: the New Science of Homeostasis describing a hitherto unknown - at least among the majority of scientists and healthcare professionals - physiological / endocrinological / neurological system called the Endocannabinoid (ECS) System and evidence of a putative Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Syndrome (CECDS).

“The ECS system is a unique biochemical signalling network of lipid ligands, receptors, and enzymes present in all vertebrate from the sea squirt to humans. The ECS system performs a variety of essential homeostatic functions across a broad spectrum of biological processes related to  "relaxing, eating, sleeping, forgetting, and protecting."…

"...there is hardly any physiological process that is not affected by the (ECS System) to some degree". It may turn out that even this is an understatement, as it appears that the ECS is ultimately responsible for keeping all of the fundamental processes of everyday life in balance, including psycho-social processes such as our sense of self and our relationship to the world - both psychologically and spiritually. Metaphorically then, proper regulation of the ECS system may be in fact the primary mechanism that balances mind and body.”

“List of Diseases

• Neuropathic pain;
• Movement Disorders (Huntington's and Parkinson's);
• Dementia (Alzheimer's);
• Chronic Pain; Migraines;
• Mood Disorders, such as depression and anxiety;
• Sleep Disorders; Epilepsy;
• Auto-immune diseases; Multiple Sclerosis;
• Palliative Care for Chemotherapy;
• Treatment of some forms of Cancer (notably breast cancer);
• Autism;
• Arthritis; Osteoporosis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome;
• Fibromyalgia;
• Spinal Cord Injury;
• Stroke; Myocardial infarction; Hypertension; Glaucoma;
• Metabolic syndromes;
• Diabetes.”

“…Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Syndrome is the aetiology of a complex array of physical and mental conditions, typically (mis-diagnosed as discrete diseases, such as migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. A broader spectrum of chronic pain disorders, autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal issues, as well as mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression, may also have their pathophysiological origins in a deficient ECS system.”

A second article in this issue -  Health Benefits of Legal Hemp Extracts: Sorting Fact from Fiction - reports on clinical progress of legal hemp Extracts including Cannabidiol (known as CBD).

“There are also studies looking into the use of CBD to treat some conditions associated with ageing. Hemp oil is high in omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 and it is thought that hemp oil could delay the onset of age-related conditions that result in mental deterioration. Currently affecting more than 35 million people worldwide, Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of neurodegenerative disorders and results in a progressive loss of cognitive processes. Patients with Alzheimer’s experience build ups of amyloid-[beta] as well as inflammation and signs of oxidative stress. Recent studies have indicated that taking CBD extracts can reduce amyloid-[beta] production as well as having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which could potentially slow down the effects of the disease for many people.”

Recent reports in the scientific and general media have suggested that the virtually exclusive focus in the past twenty years upon amyloid proteins in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease may be going down the wrong road and that modulating immune brain microglia cells, blocking inflammation, may in fact improve memory in mice with Alzheimer’s. So there may be a confluence of ideas and strategies in our understanding of complex conditions such as Alzheimer’s if the clinical results with endocannabinoids are conveyed to and included in the future strategies of Alzheimer’s research scientists.

Other informative articles in Issue 237 discuss Mindfulness for People Living with a Long Term Condition (LTC), Illusions, Trump’s Metaphors, Work-Life Balance, Role of Photographs in Happiness, Role of the MTHFR Gene, Sleeping in a Radiation Free Bedroom, Indian Holistic Therapies for Addiction, Natural Approach to Women’s Health, Natural Approaches to Cancer, and Bodywork, including Myofascial Release Techniques, Chaos Complexity and Paradigm Shift, and Pilates to Boost Immunity.

Sound, ever-truthful advice for all of us is to not necessarily accept / believe conventional medical advice before thoroughly researching alternative approaches and models.