Positive Health Online

My spirits have been greatly lifted with the airing of the professional, authoritative and highly informative second series The Truth About Cancer: A Global Quest. This 2015 Series by Ty Bollinger has brought together more than one hundred  individuals  - physicians, scientists, authors, researchers, and cancer survivors - with considerable expertise encompassing the many disparate strands which directly impact upon natural treatment approaches to cancer.

Through skilfully woven and presented filmed interviews we are informed, educated and uplifted about techniques for detoxification, immune modulation, oncolytic virus treatment, hyperbaric oxygen, nutritional supplements and infusions, oxidative and bio-reactive therapies, mind-body medicine, homeopathy, physical therapy, chiropractic, energy medicine, sound and light therapy, environmental toxins - mercury, toxic components of vaccines, genetically modified crops diet, along with impressive accounts of survival by physicians and cancer patients alike.

Viewing these compilations has somewhat mitigated my frustration, indeed fury, regarding the seemingly lack of progress, even backward political / economic progress of the integration of natural (non-drug approaches) with conventional healthcare, which had been building to a crescendo as of late.

The accumulated evidence of 100+ years of nutritional, herbal, Chinese and physical therapeutic medicine continues to burgeon and demonstrate non-toxic, indeed health and immune and life enhancing benefits to patients.[1-2]

“Recently, the respected, peer-reviewed scientific journal Clinical Toxicology published the annual report by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which presents the truth in black and white: in 2009, there were no deaths from multiple vitamins or any single vitamin, no deaths from herbal medicine, no deaths from any amino acid or dietary mineral supplement and no documented deaths from homeopathic medicines.”[1]

“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.”[2]

Whereas the toxic effects and deaths attributed to prescribed drugs and hospital treatment continues to grow - >300,000 patient deaths alone from prescription drugs per year in the US and Europe.[3]

“…properly prescribed drugs (aside from misprescribing, overdosing, or self-prescribing) cause about 1.9 million hospitalizations a year. Another 840,000 hospitalized patients are given drugs that cause serious adverse reactions for a total of 2.74 million serious adverse drug reactions. About 128,000 people die from drugs prescribed to them. This makes prescription drugs a major health risk, ranking 4th with stroke as a leading cause of death. The European Commission estimates that adverse reactions from prescription drugs cause 200,000 deaths; so together, about 328,000 patients in the US and Europe die from prescription drugs each year.”[3]

Positive Health PH Online now holds a considerable archive of articles, research, case studies, book reviews and letters to the Editor assembled over 21+ years, spanning treatment approaches to most health conditions including cancer. Watching the films of The Truth About Cancer unite and reiterate from many strands the impact that natural health methods can have even in seemingly terminally patients is awesome and encourages me to continue the work of Positive Health PH Online which also holds an impressive record.

In this Issue 226 of PH Online, we are witness to Margaret Cahill’s account in Journey and Survival through Mantle Cell Lymphoma Part II of how she has survived the most gruelling and harrowing conventional chemotherapy and stem cell treatment for her Mantle Cell Lymphoma using wide-ranging complementary, energetic and spiritual treatment accompaniments. Carlos Monteiro presents a radical feature Acidity Theory of Atherosclerosis. Aneta Podlaska describes the Ayurvedic Approach to Lung Imbalance, Martin Murray presents Milk - Review of its Composition, Ingestion, Dietary and Health Profile, Dr Amir presents clinical data in Recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia. There are also articles about the Science of Bioresonance, Healing Depression, Personal Development, Universal Energies and that Movement, Exercise and Fitness aren’t just for Losing Weight.

Recently published data from the New England Journal of Medicine presented by Sayer Ji about the Nocebo - the apocolyptic, negative, indeed at times fatal effect that a cancer diagnosis delivers to the patient - sends a powerful message to all of us:[4-5]

“Published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month, researchers looked at data on more than 6 million Swedes aged 30 and older between 1991-2006 using the country's health registries in order to determine how the psychological toll of cancer diagnosis impacts the risk for death.  After analyzing over 500,000 people who were diagnosed with cancer during that period, the risk of suicide was found to be up to 16 times higher and the risk of heart-related death 26.9 times higher during the first week following diagnosis versus those who were cancer free.

“Sometimes called the nocebo effect (In contradistinction to the placebo effect), a doctor's negative attitudes and beliefs surrounding a diagnosis may infect the patient with despair and hopelessness, two psychospiritual states at the very root of dis-ease.” [4-5]

All of us in the natural health community experience the vicissitudes of health and life - happiness, despair, illness and bereavement. We need to support each other to continue our lives and work with hope, optimism and goodwill. Enjoy this Issue 226.

References

1. Adam Smith. Natural Healthcare Proven Amazingly Safe - Once Again. Alliance Natural Health ANH-Intl.  12 January 2011.

2. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs. 19 Jan 2010.

3. Donald W. Light. New Prescription Drugs: A Major Health Risk With Few Offsetting Advantages. Harvard University Edmond J Safra Centre of Ethics. June 27, 2014.

4. Sayer Ji. Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer. GreenMed Info. www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/research-some-cancer-diagnoses-kill-quicker-cancer

5. Fang Fang MD PhD Katja Fall MD PhD Murray A Mittleman MD Dr PH Pär Sparén PhD Weimin Ye MD PhD Hans-Olov Adami MD PhD and Unnur Valdimarsdóttir PhD. Suicide and Cardiovascular Death after a Cancer Diagnosis. N Engl J Med 366:1310-1318. 2012 April 5, 2012 DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa1110307. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1110307#t=articleDiscussion