Positive Health Online

Reply to PH Editorial: Regulation of Complementary Healthcare

We at The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) were extremely disappointed with the
inaccurate and misleading comments contained in the final paragraph of your Editorial in the February issue of Positive Health.

Aromatherapists, Reflexologists and Reiki practitioners have not been ‘thrown off’ any scheme; attempts have been made and continue to be made to engage with all three therapies. Interestingly, a number of professional bodies from within these professions have contacted the FIH expressing the wish that their members should be able to join the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council’s (CNHC) register. The FIH has passed this information on to the CNHC which is keen to work with Aromatherapists, Reflexologists and Reiki practitioners.

The formation of the CNHC is the successful culmination of many years of work on the part of the complementary healthcare professions themselves and of FIH, which steered and facilitated the process, initially through the individual therapy regulation working groups and latterly through its Federal Regulation Working Group, chaired independently by Professor Dame Joan Higgins. At every stage the process has been informed by practitioners.

The purpose of the CNHC is to improve public safety and confidence, given the popularity of complementary therapies. Members of the public will be able to check that practitioners are properly qualified and registered, and will be able to complain to the CNHC if they feel a practitioner has not been acting properly. Registration gives the practitioner the opportunity to demonstrate to actual and potential clients that they are bona fide and have signed up to certain standards, and in so doing enhance their professional credibility.

Readers who want to find out for themselves what the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council stands for, how it will work and the advantages of joining can visit www.fih.org.uk.

Response to FIH from GRCCT

The Prince’s Foundation states that the professions of Aromatherapy, Reiki and Reflexology were not excluded from the Federal Working Group.

Joan Higgins, Lay Chair of FWG, in a letter counter signed by Kim Lavely CEO of Prince’s Foundation, on 28th August 2007 (Copy reproduced below) and addressed individually to each of the representatives for Aromatherapy, Reiki and Reflexology, wrote:

“We are writing to say, with considerable regret, that we do not think it is appropriate that you continue to be a member of the Federal Working Group… On the assumption that your alternate shares your view on the direction of travel for regulation, we do not think there is any point in having him attend the remaining FWG meetings.”

Like all the other groups who received identical letters, the “alternate” would of course have the same view; the representatives are mandated by their therapy groups. ANY representative of the therapy group would be expressing the same view!

There are no minutes of any discussion by the Federal Working Group prior to this decision. It would appear that the Lay Chair and (for some reason) the CEO of the Foundation – whose involvement in this ‘independent process’ is difficult to fathom – simply chose to ignore procedure and exclude these large groups.

The groups made several attempts to be re-admitted to the process. The Reflexology Forum invited Mr Cambrey-Smith to attend a full meeting and formally requested that the Federal Working Group be permitted to view the model for regulation supported by the major therapy groups.  This request was declined.

The groups requested and were granted a meeting with Joan Higgins and Kim Lavely. (a full report of this meeting is available on the website of the Aromatherapy Council http://www.aromatherapycouncil.co.uk/index_files/PFIH-FWG%20meeting% 2024-09-07.htm ) Again, the groups
were informed that they would only be permitted back into the process if they agreed not to promote their model for regulation:

“Carol Bailey (Lay Chair) said that if the Reflexology Forum were to come back, they would like the opportunity of presenting the alternative model, but Joan Higgins said no, that this was not possible.”

These bodies were not “excluded”; they were just not permitted to contribute. They were not “thrown
off”, they were just told not to come back.   

How long can the Foundation continue to persist in their denial? I suspect about as long as they continue to inform Aromatherapists, Reiki Practitioners, Reflexologists and now Homeopaths, that they WILL all be regulated under the CNHC whether they want to be or not!


Dear Mr Tanner
We are writing to say, with considerable regret, that we do not think it is appropriate that you continue to be a member of the Federal Working Group.  It is clear that the model which you wish to promote is not in line with currently recommended principles on governance and accountability in regulation (as set out in the recent White Paper), and is quite different from the wishes of the majority of members of the FWG. With only two meetings of the Group remaining, we intend to concentrate our efforts on developing, in detail, the model preferred by most of the Group.

On the assumption that your alternate shares your view on the direction of travel for regulation, we do not think there is any point in having him attend the remaining FWG meetings.

We would be very pleased to get together with you and your colleagues outside the FWG meetings to see whether there is the possibility of developing a collaborative way forward and will be in touch to arrange a date.

Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s

by David Klein PhD
Colitis and Crohn’s inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are debilitating afflictions which ruin the lives of millions of people worldwide. The consensus by the medical community is that there is no ‘cure’ for the conditions and, at best, they can only be ‘managed’ via a lifetime of detrimental drugs.

The majority of sufferers place themselves under medical care, only to be told that: diet is not a causative factor; no specific diet will result in lasting healing; lifelong drug therapy is the only sensible course to follow; and, if drug therapy does not successfully manage the symptoms in chronic cases, surgical removal of the colon is generally the prudent course to take to eliminate the symptoms and avoid impending cancer.

Yet, none of those common beliefs are true, and tragically, millions of lives are wreaked year after year by this medical stance which is based upon ignorance of human physiology. While the attending gastroenterologist means well, he unfortunately does not know anything outside of the realm of drug and surgery treatment, and he possesses no knowledge of the cause and purpose of disease and the conditions required by the body to heal itself. Few gastroenterologists are sanctioned to provide or even recommend non-pharmacological healing approaches to IBD. Medicine never results in health.

Happily, when we give ourselves proper care, that is we remove the causes of disease and supply the requisites for health, the body invariable works its wonders, healing itself completely and restoring health. A close study of physiology in the context of health science, such as taught by natural hygiene educators, reveals that the body is a marvellous self-healing organism. The body will heal inflammatory bowel diseases, even advanced cases under the proper care (such as I did 23 years ago after severe, chronic ulcerative colitis, and around 1,000 of my clients have likewise experienced).

Yes, there are a few thousand healing success stories validating this. And there is even more good news: several natural health doctors, such as myself, and other health coaches are available to guide IBD sufferers to complete lasting health. The guide book Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s, is the world’s bestseller in its field and it is readily available via my office, online at and a growing number of bookstores. I take great pleasure in counselling several new clients every week, and most heal up within 2 to 8 weeks. Since 1993, over 1,000 clients have healed and gone on to enjoy a new life free of IBD.

So, what causes IBD? In a nutshell, stress on four fronts: 1. Lifestyle stress (including the biggest factor: dietary, i.e., eating foods which are not natural to our biological disposition and are, therefore, indigestible and toxifying); 2. Mental/ emotional stress (including holding incorrect, disempowering beliefs about health and disease); 3. Societal stress (such as working too-long hours); and environmental stress (pollution). No, genetics and germs do not cause IBD; rather, IBS is caused by our lifestyles and lack of proper education about the factors  which cause disease and health. In other words, we need to learn how to restore health and live (and eat) healthfully. And we can!

For almost 200 years, natural hygiene teachers have taught that unhealthful habits (including ingesting and injecting poisons into the body) cause illness, and the body is a self-healing organism which expresses symptoms when its vital domain is threatened. In cases of IBD, the biggest culprit is acid-forming diets including indigestible, cooked, fatty, high-protein foods primarily, animal meats, dairy products and fried oils. As a result of heating, they provide little if any useable protein or fibre and they putrefy and ravage the gut, causing inflammation, diarrhoea and other distressful symptoms. Irritants (toxic matter and gases) cause bowel inflammation in a body which is overloaded and enervated to the point where toxins have built up to a life-threatening level. The body does its best to expel the irritating substances, but it is overwhelmed in cases of IBD.

The inflammation response (as well as diarrhoea) is a self-purifying, self-healing action intelligently enacted by the body for restoring health. Inflammation is the body’s protective immune system – our ‘guardian angel’ hard at work, preserving its vital domain. Remove the causes of the disease action, secure rest and allow the inflammation process to proceed and complete its job and the body will become purified, the inflammation will cease and health will be restored. That’s self-healing physiology!

Inflammation is not something to be suppressed under any condition. When we suppress inflammation, we suppress healing. Only the body can heal itself and it will under the proper conditions. Understanding your self-healing power is liberating!

What is the proven healthy, healing alternative to an unhealthful meat-based diet? In general, during the healing phase, a simple, low-residue, low-fat, vegan diet of certain fruits and lightly cooked vegetables, potatoes and squashes with fresh juices. This is followed by a post-healing diet with more fruits plus raw salads and lightly cooked plant foods and moderate amounts of fatty vegan ‘protein foods’ such as raw avocados, nuts and seeds to maintain health. Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s teaches the specifics of how to do this. Specific eating guidelines must be followed; they are simple and wonderfully liberating. Improper eating of even the best foods can be detrimental, so one must get the right education and guidance needed for a successful healing outcome.

Yes, a vegan diet can supply all the protein, fat and carbohydrate satiation we need to heal and stay happy and dynamically healthy. Living Nutrition, the magazine I have published since 1996, also teaches the principles of healthful vegan living and it includes amazing self-healing testimonial stories in each issue. Virtually every disease condition, from A to Z, has been overcome via the application of the principles of natural hygiene, the science and art of health-ful living. For a disease-free life filled with youthful vitality, it behoves each of us to implement more and more healthful living practices. This invariably results in our feeling better and better and getting more and more enjoyment out of life. Here’s to your glorious health!

Vitamins Cure Skin Conditions

Skin troubles are a common, often painful problem. Topical applications of vitamin E, and/or vitamin C and niacin provide rapid relief. The first reports indicating that vitamin E, and concentrated topical and IV solutions of vitamin C were a highly effective treatment for burns surfaced over 50 years ago. Vitamins may be used to treat both thermal burns and sun burns, as well as wrinkles, pigmentation, scrapes, bug bites, and even bed sores.

Foods alone do not provide sufficient vitamins to provide maximum healing. Vitamins also provide protection against skin-ageing damage caused by exposure to the sun. The benefits of vitamin C and niacin have been proven in numerous controlled clinical trials using high potency vitamin C and niacin creams.[1-9] The scientific literature contains at least 29 reports published since 2003 using niacin creams and 8 using vitamin C creams. Even before the Korean War, orthomolecular physicians were reporting topical vitamin E to be a superior treatment for burns.10 Recent research conforms this.[11,12]

Linus Pauling reviewed the scientific literature on burns in his book How to Live Longer and Feel Better. In the two decades since publication of this book, claims about burns have been tested and confirmed.[13-20] One animal study confirmed that, in severely burned animals treated with IV vitamin C,  high intravenous doses of vitamin C are required to optimize burn treatment, equivalent to 120,000 mg/day for a human.[21]

Vitamin skeptics continue to argue that there are no proven benefits to vitamins at doses higher than the RDA. The case of vitamins and skin conditions is a clear case proving the skeptics wrong. It is time that physicians start to put the remarkable healing powers of vitamins to work for their patients. In the meantime, the low toxicity and ready availability of vitamin supplements and creams enables the self-educated to act for themselves.

References:

1.    Inui Shigeki. Perifollicular Pigmentation is the First Target for Topical Vitamin C Derivative Ascorbyl 2-Phosphate 6-Palmitate (APPS): Randomized, Single-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study. Journal of Dermatology. 34(3): 221-223. 2007.
2.    Humbert Philippe G. et al. Topical Ascorbic Acid on Photoaged Skin. Clinical, Topographical and Ultrastructural Evaluation: Double-Blind Study vs. Placebo. Experimental Dermatology. 12(3): 237-244. 2003.
3.    Ichihashi, Masamitsu. Effect of Vitamin C on Skin Disease. Fragrance Journal. 25(3): 29-33. 1997.
4.    Tanno, Osamu. The New Efficacy of Niacinamide in the Skin and the Application to the Skin Care Products of Cosmetics. Fragrance Journal. 32(2): 35-39. 2004.
5.    Jacobson, Elaine L. et al. A Topical Lipophilic Niacin Derivative Increases NAD, Epidermal Differentiation and Barrier Function in Photodamaged Skin. Experimental Dermatology. 16(6): 490-499. 2007.
6.    Moro, Osamu. Antiaging Topical Formulations Containing Niacin and Ubiquinones. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho. JP 2005298370; A 20051027. Patent written in Japanese. 2005.
7.    Sore, Gabrielle; Hansenne, Isabelle. Peeling Composition Containing Vitamin B3 and Vitamin C. Fr. Demande FR. 2861595; A1 20050506. Patent written in French. 2005.
8.    Evans, Erica Louise; Matts, Paul Jonathan. Skin Care Composition Containing Glycerin and a Vitamin B3 Compound that Increase and Repair Skin Barrier Function. Eur. Pat. Appl. EP 1459736; A1 20040922. Patent written in English. 2004.
9.    Yates, Paula Rachel, Charles-Newsham, Rebecca Louise. Skin Lightening Compositions Comprising Vitamins and Flavonoids. PCT Int. Appl. WO 2005094770; A1 20051013. 2005.
10.    The Vitamin E Story. by Evan Shute, M.D. James C. M. Shute, editor. Forward by Linus Pauling. (Burlington, Ontario: Welch Publishing, 219 pages, softcover.) ISBN 0-920413-04-8.  1985.
www.doctoryourself.com/estory.htm links to a review published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Vol. 17, No. 3, Third Quarter, pages 179-181. A bibliography of the Shutes Principal Written Work is posted at www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_shute.html and http://www.doctoryourself.com/shute_protocol. html. 2002.
11.    Trevithick JR et al. Topical Tocopherol Acetate Reduces Post-UVB, Sunburn-Associated Erythema, Edema, and Skin Sensitivity in Hairless Mice. Arch Biochem Biophys. 296(2): 575-82. Aug 1, 1992.
12.    Trevithick JR et al. Reduction of Sunburn Damage to Skin by Topical Application of Vitamin E Acetate Following Exposure to Ultraviolet B Radiation: Effect of Delaying Application or of Reducing Concentration of Vitamin E Acetate Applied. Scanning Microsc.  7(4): 1269-81. Dec, 1993.
13.    Dubick, Michael A. US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio, TX, USA. A Review of the Use of High Dose Vitamin C for the Treatment of Burns. Recent Research Developments in Nutrition Research. 3:141-156. 2000.
14.    McGregor, Gerard P, Biesalski, Hans K. Rationale and Impact of Vitamin C in Clinical Nutrition. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. 9(6): 697-703. 2006.
15.    Berger, M M. Nutrients as Antioxidants – Effect of Antioxidative Trace Elements and Vitamins on Outcome of Critically Ill Burns and Trauma Patients. Aktuelle Ernaehrungsmedizin. 28(6): 376-379. 2003.
16.    Horton, Jureta W. et al. Antioxidant Vitamin Therapy Alters Burn Trauma-Mediated Cardiac NF- B Activation and Cardiomyocyte Cytokine Secretion. Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. 50(3): 397-408. 2001.
17.    Arslan, Emrah. et al. The Additive Effects of Carnitine and Ascorbic Acid on Distally Burned Dorsal Skin. Medical Science Monitor. 11(6): BR176-BR180. 2005.
18.    Wang, Ying et al. Effect of Early Nutritional Support on Plasma Superoxide Dismutase, Malondialdehyde and Nitric Oxide… With Burns in a Hot and Humid Environment. Diyi Junyi Daxue Xuebao. 25(1): 93-95. 2005.
19.    Sakurai, Masaru et al. Reduced Resuscitation Fluid Volume for Second-Degree Experimental Burns with Delayed Initiation of Vitamin C Therapy (beginning 6 h after injury). Journal of Surgical Research. 73(1): 24-27. 1997.
20.    Boyce, Steven T. et al. Vitamin C Regulates Keratinocyte Viability, Epidermal Barrier, and Basement Membrane in vitro, and Reduces Wound Contraction After Grafting of Cultured Skin Substitutes. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 118(4): 565-572. 2002.
21.    Dubick, Michael A. et al. US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio, TX, USA. High-Dose Vitamin C Infusion Reduces Fluid Requirements in the Resuscitation of Burn-Injured Sheep. Shock. 24(2): 139-144. 2005.

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource. Andrew W. Saul PhD, Editor and contact person. omns@orthomolecular.org