Event Invitation: June 18: The Free Energy Healing & Qigong Workshop

The Free Energy Healing & Qigong Workshop

"Share. Learn. Heal."

*Note: the public is welcome to attend this FREE event.*

What?:  Brian Brown, MS, MS, will make a presentation about  'Energy Chelation'.  Brian will also lead the group in the 'Xian Gong' qigong exercise set.  (Please note that the 'Xian Gong' qigong exercise set is non-strenuous and can be done standing, seated, or lying down.  Please wear comfortable clothing, bring an open mind, and be prepared to relax.)

When?:  Monday, June 18th from 6:30 – 8:30pm

Where?:  In the 'Aigler Auditorium' of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library

Contact:  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Brian at:

(Please leave your cell phones in your car.)

Energy Healing for PTSD? Are you crazy?

Lately the news has been carrying a lot of stories about our war veterans coping with PTSD.

According to Wikipedia, "Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity, overwhelming the individual's ability to cope."

War veterans are subjected to a myriad of traumatic and stressful events that include some of the following:

1. Being exposed to the terrors of warfare and the death and suffering associated with it
2. Becoming disabled
3. Being away from friends and families for extended time periods
4. Living in a developing country under unfamiliar conditions for extended time periods
5. Working for the armed services
6. Re-integrating with American society upon returning from war
7. Finding a job (or not) after being discharged from the armed services
8. Dealing with friends and family members who have no frame of reference for what they've been through

There are many approaches to treating PTSD.  Energy healing is a gentle, non-obtrusive method for treating individuals with PTSD.

Energy healing posits that mental and emotional traumas create imprints on the human energy field. Alberto Villoldo, PhD, states in his book 'Shaman, Healer, Sage' that 'when these imprints are erased, one can readily change negative emotions and behaviors.'

Furthermore, he says that energy healing 'transforms heavy emotions associated with trauma and disease into nourishing life energy.'

Villoldo also states that energy healing 'helps to release the emotional energy trapped in an imprint, allowing us to understand the painful incident that caused it. But intellectual understanding does not clear the underlying imprint itself. It is as if a cut were cleaned but never bandaged. Within weeks or months, emotional energy again collects around the imprint and reactivates it. Psychological issues we thought had healed long ago again rear their ugly heads, and destructive behaviors resurface. (This is a possible explanation for why some people feel the need to continue talk therapy for years; they need to keep cleaning out the wound.)'

My teacher, Rosalyn Bruyere, says that when a person can experience a sense of love, wholeness, and peace at the same energetic level that they experienced a traumatic event, they will be freed from the trauma and stress of that event as well as all of the subsequent emotional and mental issues associated with it.  They can then use that trapped and blocked energy for healing on all levels.  All of this can be done without saying a word about the traumatic event (though sharing your experience can certainly be helpful too).  (However, too much talking can be counter-productive.  My teacher keeps a roll of duct-tape nearby to threaten her clients that like to talk too much.)  :)

Substituting Vitamins and Supplements for Pharmaceuticals in Type 2 Diabetes

Commentary by Stuart Lindsey, PharmD

(OMNS May 28, 2012) Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the drugstore, we are going to question authority yet again. Readers may remember Dr. Stuart Lindsey as the Frustrated Pharmacist (http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v08n05.shtml). He's back and at it once more, this time presenting an important supplement-based approach to type 2 diabetes. This essay presents ideas that are very possibly a large part of the solution. As with all OMNS releases, it is not meant to substitute for medical advice. Persons should consult their own doctor before making any health decision. - Andrew W. Saul, Editor

The current treatment of diabetes is among the least successful in medicine, despite billions of dollars spent on research. Many scientists make a career of studying diabetes. Medicine has succeeded in making diabetes very expensive for the patient while making the disease a cash cow for the numerous businesses that cater to the diabetic. We should expect to see some improvement in diabetic treatment, but in fact the basic protocols haven't changed much in twenty years. Is research getting close to a solution? In my opinion as a practicing pharmacist, the answer is no.

For fifteen years I was the pharmacy manager for an independent neighborhood drug store. I saw the results of many people over the long term as they were introduced to the "sugar-med treadmill." After prolonged consumption of their diabetic medications, their health did not improve. This was disturbing to me. The long term diabetics all seemed to have the same group of symptoms: they were overweight (due to hyper-insulinemia), edematous (having swelling under the skin), and they all suffered from poor exercise tolerance and had a generally unhealthy appearance. Many of them had peripheral neuropathy (malfunction of nerves), often associated with pain in their hands and feet. Only rarely did they believe their diabetes treatment was actually improving their health.

My interest in the lack of results from standard treatment of diabetes came into sharp focus when pain in my feet led to my being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. From my observations at work, I already knew that the drug treatments for peripheral neuropathy were questionable. Introducing amitriptyline, gabapentin and Lyrica, which are sedatives and pain killers, made the people sleep a lot. Medically, it's obvious that sedating nerves doesn't solve anything. When such patients step up to daily long term narcotics and finally get some pain relief, they still haven't solved their problems.

Current medical practice relies on the HgbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) level as a measure of blood sugar over several months. The glycated hemoglobin is caused by high levels of sugar binding to hemoglobin inside red blood cells. When it builds up, this means that the body's biochemicals and organs are being damaged by too much sugar. It was interesting to note how many of the diabetic patients were in the normal range (i.e. HgbA1c < 6.5) but were still in agony over their feet. The problem was that seeing a normal value of HgbA1c, the doctor would hesitate to change the treatment. Apparently, severe foot pain wasn't a symptom that needed attention.

I decided to explore the whole HgbA1c issue. The biggest argument you see in diabetes is that diabetes is a 'disposal' issue. A high level of blood sugar is a type of metabolic malfunction that needs to be corrected. Blood sugar has a geography problem. The body seems driven to urinate the sugars out of the body instead of jamming the sugars across supposedly malfunctioning membranes and burning the sugars intracellularly. Medical practice can apply insulin and many types of drugs to insure that the body's tissues metabolize the sugars. Most current diabetic research is targeted at 'breaching the barrier' and making the supposedly malfunctioning membranes more permeable to carbohydrates. When those extra sugar calories are crammed into cells you get advanced glycation end-products (AGE's) that are a threat to the body.

In 2005, a UK researcher named Paul Thornalley wrote a paper detailing how many diabetic symptoms are due to a deficiency of thiamine (B-1).[1] Elevated blood sugar promotes a type of toxicity in the kidneys that causes thiamine to be excreted by the kidney at a rate much higher (sixteen to twenty-five times higher) than normal, leading to an acute deficiency of thiamine. From other studies, it is known that deficiencies in all B vitamins, as well as vitamin C and D are common in diabetics.[2] This can cause most of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, which include: polyneuropathy, nephropathy (kidney damage), retinopathy (eye damage) and eventually heart failure. This raises the question of whether the symptoms are from diabetes or acute beriberi?

When I was diagnosed with type II diabetes, I immediately balked at taking the standard diabetic drugs. My doctor wanted to place me on statins, metformin and Byetta, all of which I refused to take. Having researched Dr. Thornalley's theory of diabetes being an acute thiamine deficiency, I started a regimen of vitamin and mineral supplements. Although the pain in my feet was quite severe, I wanted to avoid the regular drug regimen because it relied upon taking lots of pain killers that don't cure the problem. I reasoned that when the body's B vitamin levels are depleted due to high blood sugar, replenishing body stores through diet alone is difficult, so supplementation will be necessary.

I started taking a dietary supplement of thiamine (benfotiamine, 250mg 4x/day). I also added of vitamin B-6 (250mg/day) and pyridoxal 5 phosphate (P5P, 100mg/day) magnesium (aspartate, citrate, malate, or chloride) and acetyl-l-carnitine (1000 mg/day) depending on the severity of my peripheral neuropathy symptoms. More recently I've learned of the importance of taking vitamin C to reduce inflammation and prevent oxidation from high blood sugar levels.[2] My doctor did not approve of my self-treatment but was curious. I told him that I was willing to go back to the standard of care if this didn't work.

"Positive factors for treating type 2 diabetes are magnesium, exercise, weight control, chromium, dietary fiber, the B-vitamins, vitamin E, vanadium, vitamin C, and complex carbohydrates. I have been using the positive factors for the past 40 years. When patients followed such a program, the results are very good." Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD [3]

The most overt of the neuropathy symptoms started to subside rapidly. Within a week, the shooting pains in my ankles were mostly gone. All of the other symptoms of numbness of the toes and overall pain of the feet including the "boot effect" (the feeling that you have your boots or socks on) were mostly gone in three weeks. Now I know this treatment may not be a cure for diabetes. But it is a valid and reasonably inexpensive way to control the symptoms, which are held at bay as long as you keep your thiamine levels high. If you quit taking thiamine and the other B vitamins, the symptoms come roaring back.

I looked for the inevitable deterioration of my health that had been predicted. Ignore your blood sugar levels at your peril I was told. I was going to have kidney problems, my pancreas would stop cooperating and my vision would become blurry as the elevated sugars damaged my retinas. But the only sign of an active problem was the neuropathies in my feet which were quite painful at times: numbness of my toe area and shooting pains in my foot joints. I also had the feeling that the circulation of my feet was poor as my feet were always cold.

After two years I finally got blood tests. I still felt very good having lost some weight, with no vision problems, and my energy level and psychological attitude were all fine.I was actually afraid to look at the results and finding out that I had finally outsmarted myself and got hurt. There is a quite a propaganda machine built around the treatment of diabetes. As I drove over to retrieve my blood tests I did a mental check of how I felt. I decided I couldn't have a lot wrong with me as I just felt too good. My blood tests were amazingly free of problems related to elevated blood sugar, and I had few other related discernible health defects. This thiamine treatment did not change my HgbA1c (which is currently 9.1, and that is high) or my resting blood sugars (fasting blood sugars still between 180-190, and those also are high). Values like these are supposed to indicate a poor quality of health. My recent blood tests indicated:

Creatinine, urine 86.7mg/dl. Scale 20-370; low normal.
Microalbumin/Creatinine ratio 9.2mg/GCr. Scale 0-30; low normal.

Creatinine and microalbumineria values are the so called "Canary in the Coal Mine" indicators. The kidneys are supposed to go first when Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) have started your march to health failure because you didn't keep your HgbA1c values within range. I think my two-plus years is long enough for this to play out. I had my eyes checked for sugar damage to my retinas. I have no sugar damage to my eyes whatsoever. I am 61 years old and have 20-25 vision in both eyes. Jonathan Wright, MD, is among those who have noted that skin tags may be connected to diabetes; interestingly enough the skin tags on my arms have all disappeared.

However, my health hasn't failed due to hyperglycemia, although it is still a problem. In my case, the unusual positive results are evidently due to my nutritional approach. I substituted supplements of several essential nutrients for pharmaceuticals and stayed in relatively good health. And I continue to try supplementing with other nutrients such as antioxidants which are known to help prevent diabetes. [2] This suggests that the health issues are actually caused by nutritional deficiencies that can be easily prevented.

I am hoping this simple (and non-toxic) experiment on myself will lead the field to discussing the validity of substituting vitamins in diabetes treatment. The treatment of diabetes as it now stands is complicated and expensive. I am spending about $130/month on supplements, and during this two year experiment I have not given my doctor a single dime for advice on how to regulate my HgbA1c value. I imagine I've saved more than twice that amount by avoiding paying for drugs and doctor visits. Is this justified? If my health remains good and I have no other serious problems, I believe it is.

If all diabetics would supplement with B vitamins and vitamins C, D, and E, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium, they would lessen their problems with insulin and blood sugar, and the other serious symptoms of diabetes.[2] The reason is that most people in our society, especially including diabetics, have deficiencies of these essential nutrients that are known to be related to diabetes. But this essay is also an attempt to unseat some basic tenets of the medical fiasco known as diabetes. The prevalence in 2011 of type II world-wide according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is 346 million, and some 3.4 million people dies in 2004 as a consequence of the disease. The WHO predicts that the deaths attributable to diabetes will double between 2005 and 2030. [4] With this kind of projection a "Manhattan Project" kind of response seems necessary.

So what is the intellectual problem that seems so intractable to the medical research community? The standard treatments to lower blood sugar and HgbA1c were recently tested in medical trials. The ACCORD trials were meant to validate once and for all that the closer a patient got to a HgbA1c level of 6% the healthier a person became. Instead there was 22% increase in mortality from heart failure.[5] This unexpected value caused the FDA to terminate the trial midstream. Is it possible that the HgbA1c value should not be a primary goal in evaluating diabetes treatments?

If you go to PubMed and enter the keywords "thiamine deficiency" and "diabetes" you will get dozens of references that describe how many symptoms of diabetes are caused by a thiamine deficiency it generates. Deficiencies of B vitamins and other essential nutrients are important in diabetes.[2] This should be required reading for all doctors who treat or research diabetes. Currently in conventional management of diabetes, supplement based nutrition therapy is utterly neglected. The National Diabetes Fact Sheet reported that in 2007, the direct medical costs of diabetes nationally was estimated at $116 billion (USD). [6]

Diabetic patients can feel overwhelmed by a diagnosis of hyperglycemia, but are often comforted by the complicated explanations and sudden increase in activity and attention directed at them. The possibility that they are being misled just doesn't come up. Even if patients decide to do their own research it can be confusing. The cause of diabetes is basically unknown, but they are told that with some major alterations to one's lifestyle and lots of drugs liberally applied they can lead a relatively normal life. However for the truly curious, a large block of mainstream nutrition ideas of which the doctors are mostly ignorant can be freely accessed on the internet. When a patient presents this alternative information to the doctor today, they are comforted and told that they are already getting the cutting edge treatment. But even three years after the revelations of the ACCORD trials there has been no major correction of the type II treatment protocols that addresses the unexplained mortality issues revealed by the trials.

Even if my vitamin arguments are only partially correct, the implications for mainstream medicine are staggering. These ideas need wide discussion the field, because patients with diabetes need some new ideas.

For further reading:

Melvyn R. Werbach's Nutritional Influences on Illness contains a valuable review of research indicating the therapeutic value of supplements, and their specific dosages, for diabetics. Third Line Press, 2nd Edition, 1996 ISBN-10: 0961855053; ISBN-13: 978-0961855055.

Endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine (University of Kentucky) J. W. Anderson is perhaps the world's leading researcher on fiber and diabetes. http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_anderson.html

As much a book about fiber as it is about overconsumption of sugar, The Saccharine Disease by T. L. Cleave (1975) is available in its entirety for free online at http://www.cybernaut.com.au/optimal_nutrition/information/library/saccharine_disease.pdf and also at http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/Cleave/cleave_toc.html

References:

1. Thornalley PJ: The potential role of thiamine (vitamin B-1) in diabetic complications. Curr Diabetes Rev, 2005; 1:287-298

2. Brighthope IE (2012) The Vitamin Cure for Diabetes: Prevent and Treat Diabetes Using Nutrition and Vitamin Supplementation. Basic Health Publications ISBN-13: 978-1591202905.

3. http://www.doctoryourself.com/diabetes.html

4. World Health Organization. Diabetes. Retrieved from [ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/index.html ]

5. Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Study Group, Gerstein HC, Miller ME, Byington RP, et al: Effects of intensive glucose lowering in type II diabetes. N Engl J Med, 2008; 358: 2545-2559.

6. National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2011. Retrieve from: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf

(Much of this article is drawn from Lindsey SL Substituting vitamins and supplements for pharmaceuticals in type 2 diabetes J Orthomolecular Med 2012, 27:1; p 5-8. We thank the Journal for permission to reprint it here in edited form .)

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

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

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Dean Elledge, D.D.S., M.S. (USA)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org Readers may write in with their comments and questions for consideration for publication and as topic suggestions. However, OMNS is unable to respond to individual emails.

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

Fukushima Radiation Release is Worse than You Have Been Told

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

by Steve Hickey, PhD; Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD; Andrew W. Saul, PhD; Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD; Damien Downing, MD

(OMNS May 14, 2012) People have been misinformed about the tragedy at Fukushima and its consequences. There is a continuing cover up, the reactors have not been stabilized, and radiation continues to be released. The Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy (JCIT) has recently released a video for people wishing to learn more about how to protect themselves from contamination by taking large doses of vitamin C.

Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbm_MH3nSdM

Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4cyzts3lMo

Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYiRo2Oucfo

Part 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Ie8FuuYJw

All four parts of the video are also available here http://firstlaw.wordpress.com/. Readers may link to, embed in their webpages, and make copies of the video for free distribution.

Japanese Government Minimizes Danger; Ignores Vitamin C

In the fall of 2011, JCIT presented a study that Fukushima workers had abnormality gene expression, which may be avoided using dietary antioxidants, especially vitamin C. The data was presented in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. The JCIT sent letters to the government urging the government to tell the people how they may protect themselves from radiation. To date, the recommendation has been ignored by Japanese government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company).

Linus Pauling gained the Nobel Peace Prize in part based on his calculations of the number of deaths from nuclear weapons fallout.[1] He was supported by physicist and father of the Soviet bomb Andrei Sakharov, who also later received the Nobel Prize for peace.[2] These and other scientists estimated that there would be an extra 10,000 deaths worldwide for each megaton nuclear test in the atmosphere. A nuclear reactor can contain much more radioactive material than a nuclear weapon. Fukushima had six reactors, plus stored additional radioactive material and nuclear waste.

How Radiation Damages Cells

Ionizing radiation acts to damage living tissue by forming free radicals. Essentially, electrons are ripped from molecules. Removing an electron from an atom or molecule turns it into an ion, hence the term ionizing radiation. X-rays, gamma rays, alpha- and beta-radiation are all ionizing.

Most of the damage occurs from ionizing radiation generating free radicals in water, as water molecules are by far the most abundant in the body. While avoiding unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation is clearly preferable, people affected by Fukushima do not have the luxury of avoiding contamination.

Antioxidants: Free-Radical Scavengers

Free-radical scavengers, as the name suggests, mop up the damaging radicals produced by radiation. The more common term for free radical scavenger is antioxidant. Antioxidants replace the electrons stripped from molecules by ionizing radiation. Antioxidants have long been used in the treatment of radiation poisoning.[3-7] Most of the harm from ionizing radiation occurs from free radical damage which may be quenched by the free electrons antioxidants provide. Fortunately, safe antioxidants are widely available as nutritional supplements. Vitamin C is the prime example.

Why Vitamin C?

Vitamin C is of particular importance and should be included at high intakes for anyone trying to minimize radiation poisoning. High dose vitamin C provides continual antioxidant flow through the body. It is absorbed from the gut and helps to replenish the other antioxidants. When it is used up, it is excreted in the urine. Importantly, it can chelate, or grab onto, radioactive heavy metal atoms and help eliminate them from the body. Large dynamic flow doses of vitamin C (about 3,000 mg, taken 4 times a day for a total of 12,000 mg) would exemplify antioxidant treatment. Higher doses have been used by Dr. Atsuo Yanagisawa and colleagues. [8,9]

Shortly after the disaster, Dr. Damien Downing described how supplements can help protect against radioactive fallout.[10] OMNS issued an update on the response to Fukushima in Japan.[11] Recently, Dr. Gert Schuitemaker has provided a review of vitamin C as a radio-protectant for Fukushima contamination.[12]

Persons living in the areas affected by radioactive contamination can take antioxidant supplements, especially high doses of vitamin C, to counteract the negative consequences of long-term low dose radiation exposure, as well as to protect the health of coming generations.[12,13] People who have a possible internal or external radiation exposure should take antioxidant supplements to maintain an optimal antioxidant reserve. Because of the enormous size and oceanic spread of Fukushima contamination, this literally applies to everyone.

"The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine is pleased to have participated in the making of this important DVD on the protective effects of intravenous vitamin C on radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011. We are in full support of the valuable work of Dr. Yanagisawa and his colleagues, and we very much appreciate the commitment of Mr. Daisuke Shibata, who has made it possible for the free distribution of the video around the world. May this orthomolecular message raise awareness and foster improvement in the treatment of radiation exposure." Steven Carter Director, International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine

References:

1. The Nobel Foundation (1962) The Nobel Peace Prize 1962, Linus Pauling Biography, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1962/pauling-bio.html.

2. Sakharov A. (1975) The Nobel Peace Prize 1975, Andrei Sakharov, Autobiography, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1975/sakharov-autobio.html.

3. Brown SL, Kolozsvary A, Liu J, et al: Antioxidant diet supplementation starting 24 hours after exposure reduces radiation lethality. Radiat Res, 2010; 173: 462-468.

4. Zueva NA, Metelitsa LA, Kovalenko AN, et al: Immunomodulating effect of berlithione in clean-up workers of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident [Article in Russian]. Lik Sprava, 2002; (1): 24-26.

5. Yamamoto T, Kinoshita M et al. Pretreatment with ascorbic acid prevents lethal gastrointestinal syndrome in mice receiving a massive amount of radiation. J Radiat Res (Tokyo) 2010; 51(2):145-56

6. Gaby A. Intravenous Nutrient Therapy: the "Myers' Cocktail". Alt Med Rev 2002; 7(5):389:403

7. Narra VR, Howell RW, Sastry KS, Rao DV. Vitamin C as a radioprotector against iodine-131 in vivo. J Nucl Med 1993; 34(4):637-40

8. Yanagisawa A. Orthomolecular approaches against radiation exposure. Presentation Orthomolecular Medicine Today Conference. Toronto 2011 http://www.doctoryourself.com/Radiation_VitC.pptx.pdf )

9. Green MH, Lowe JE et al. Effect of diet and vitamin C on DNA strand breakage in freshly-isolated human white blood cells. Mutat Res 1994; 316(2):91-102

10. Downing D. (2011) Radioactive Fallout: Can Nutritional Supplements Help?, A Personal Viewpoint, OMNS, May 10, http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v07n04.shtml.

11. OMNS (2012) Vitamin C Prevents Radiation Damage, Nutritional Medicine in Japan, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 1. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v08n06.shtml

12. Schuitemaker GE. Vitamin C as protection against radiation exposure. J Orthomolecular Med 2011, 26: 3; 141-145. [Also in Dutch: Schuitemaker G.E. Radioactiviteit in Japan: Orthomoleculair antwoord. Ortho 2011:3, June. http://www.ortho.nl ]

13. Yanagisawa A, Uwabu M, Burkson BE, Weeks BS, Hunninghake R, Hickey S, Levy T, (2011) Environmental radioactivity and health. Official JCIT Statement, March 29. http://media.iv-therapy.jp/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Statement.pdf

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

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

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Dean Elledge, D.D.S., M.S. (USA)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org Readers may write in with their comments and questions for consideration for publication and as topic suggestions. However, OMNS is unable to respond to individual emails.

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

Event Invitation: May 24: The Energy Healing & Qigong Group Gathering

The Energy Healing &  
Qigong Group Gathering

*Note: the public is welcome to attend this FREE event.*

What?:  Brian Brown, MS, MS, will make a presentation about the 'Human Energy Field'.  Brian will also lead the group in the 'Xian Gong' qigong exercise set and demonstrate 'Energy Chelation'.  (Please note that the 'Xian Gong' qigong exercise set is non-strenuous and can be done standing, seated, or lying down.  Please wear comfortable clothing, bring an open mind, and be prepared to relax.)

When?:  Thursday, May 24th from 6:30 – 8:30pm

Where?:  In the 'Children's Program Room' of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library

Contact:  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Brian at:

(Please leave your cell phones in your car.)

The ⊕ Positive Earth Energy ∞ Retreat

I now offer a single person or a single couple energy retreat.  The energy retreat is described in detail below.

"Escape to the countryside for the tailor-made experience of an 'energy retreat'. The 6 hour energy retreat takes place in an old, earthy, and relaxing country location not far from Dubuque. The retreat can be focused upon whatever the client wishes, but the typical retreat blueprint is as follows: (a) bookend qigong exercise sessions and energy sessions, (b) a slow walk and some conversation in nature or at the nearby abbey, (c) prayer or meditation at the neighboring church or secluded natural area, (d) organic fruit and vegetable juice lunch, and (e) qigong meditation and qi self-massage instruction. Other topics that might be of interest to individuals or couples include learning how to do energy healing, qigong techniques and theory, weight training for qi growth, fasting for qi development and meditation, and sexual kung fu."

Cost: $300/person or $500/couple

Also, two typical one hour energy healing sessions that I offer are described below.  Please keep in mind that sessions can be focused on whatever the client wishes.

(1) Energy Chelation: 1 hour: $50:

"Slip away into deep relaxation as you experience a hands-on energy treatment known as 'chelation'. Energy from the Earth is directed into your feet, up through your legs to your sacral chakra, then to your heart chakra. This calming Yin energy is then directed into your hands and down your arms to your heart chakra, then up to your head and back to your heart chakra. Energy chelation opens up the body's entire energy system, balances it, grounds it, and fills it up like a balloon, welcoming feelings of of peace, expansion, well-being, and energy."

(2) Energy Brain Balance: 1 hour: $50:

"Experience extreme relaxation as you receive a hands-on energy treatment known as 'brain balancing'. Energy from the Earth is directed into your major chakras via access points in the upper spine. This relaxing Yin energy is then directed into your head providing a very balancing, calming, and grounding feeling."

Energy healing sessions and retreats can be purchased on the Products page.

Thanks and enjoy!

The 3 Day Water-Only Fast (or The Morbidly Obese Person's Diet)

"A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best of medicines and the best doctors.  I do not mean a restricted diet: I mean total abstinence from food for one or two days. I speak from experience; starvation has been my cold and fever doctor for 15 years, and has accomplished a cure in all instances." ~ Mark Twain

I recently finished a 3 day water-only fast.  That's right, for a period of 72 hours I consumed no food and only drank water!  It sounds crazy, but it's true, and it was quite an amazing experience!

(Also, I subtitled this piece "The Morbidly Obese Person's Diet" as a follow-up to this seemingly popular piece of writing with a similar name: The Morbidly Obese Person's Workout.)

Background

The other day I finished reading the book 'The Pleasure Trap' by Douglas Lisle PhD and Alan Goldhamer D.C.  One of the last chapters of that book mentioned the amazing healing powers of a water-only fast.

I've heard of people doing different kinds of fasts such as a juice-only fast, fasting from dawn until dusk, and fast-like cleanses such as 'The Master Cleanse'.  But I've never heard of anyone doing a water-only fast.

A water-only fast consists of consuming nothing (no food, no juice, no nothing!) but water (and preferably distilled water) for a period of several days.  Lisle and Goldhamer point out that this ancient healing method is contrary to modern medicine's typical healing remedy of 'take this and do that to feel better'.  Instead, the water-only fast remedy can be described as 'take nothing and do nothing to feel better.'

This is also contrary to common sense.  You would think that not consuming any food or calories for several days would be bad for you, but you would in fact be wrong!

Oftentimes when a person is sick they lose their appetite.  This is a sign from the body to not eat any food so that the body can expel accumulated toxins and direct all of its energy towards healing rather than using a large portion of energy for food digestion. 

Physician-supervised water-only fasts of several weeks are not unusual and the longest recorded is 382 days, according to Lisle and Goldhamer (WOW!).  (Please note that unsupervised water-only fasts longer than three days in duration are not recommended.)

Prelude

When I first considered doing a 3 day water-only fast I was afraid.  I was afraid and actually surprised I was afraid because I don't consider myself as someone who has any food-related 'issues'.  But I certainly realize that food is necessary for life, especially mine.  :)

I've never gone a day without eating anything.  I think the smallest amount of food that I've eaten in one day was a single meal.  And to go 3 days without food, well that's just nuts!  Only people who are kidnapped, shipwrecked, imprisoned, lost in the wilderness, undertaking a vision quest, living in a 2012 end-of-days apocalypse scenario, or very poor have to go without food for more than a few hours.

Then it occurred to me that if this is indeed an ancient healing technique, if this is something that is so out of my realm of possibility, if this is something that native people do before ceremony, and if this is something that suffering people must endure, then it is probably something I too should experience.

For a few days after reading the book I schemed in my head about just when the perfect 3 day time window would be.  In the meantime I searched the web for stories of other people who had tried water-only fasting and decided to heed the advice of one author, which was to basically start the fast as soon as possible.  I resolved to start my fast the next day after eating breakfast.

Day 1

Now I certainly can't recommend starting a water-only fast on a day that you are invited to a large holiday party that includes feasting and snacking galore, but that's what I did.  Fortunately only one person at the party knew that I was fasting and the rest of the people there didn't even notice that I wasn't eating food.

Luckily it was the first day of the fast and there was a never-ending supply of water coming out of the tap at the party.  I was relieved when I finally laid myself to sleep that night as I thought the hardest part of my fast was completed.  I was proud of myself too for not snitching a handful of peanuts or a deviled-egg or a piece of chocolate.  Typically at such events I tend to overindulge myself, so it was a real test of my self-control.

Day 2

The next morning I woke up and started to think about breakfast as I usually do the first thing in the morning.  And so it was strange to walk into my kitchen and merely fill a large glass of water, consume it, and then exit the kitchen as quickly as possible.

Over the course of the fast and especially on this day I considered and realized how much time I spend thinking about food, preparing food, eating food, cleaning up after food, buying food, and eliminating food.  All of these things were put on hold during the fast.

I recall walking into my kitchen later in the day and realizing that I have a room in my home entirely dedicated to food.  And for these days of my fast, this food room was almost entirely useless to me.

Luckily I was also spared from doing the dishes for a few days, which is a real perk of the water-only fast.  That and the cost of the water-only fast is next to nothing, unless of course you live in a desert.

I would estimate that I gained an extra 2-3 hours of free time per day during the fast by erasing all food-related activities.  Fortunately I obtained a copy of the book 'Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease' by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. which I started to read after I downed my first glass of water.

Fuhrman states in his book that most of the diseases that plague our culture today (and which were virtually unheard of a hundred years ago) are caused by the kinds of food we choose to eat and the quantities we choose to consume.  Many of these diseases can be cured by water-only fasting and most of them can be avoided by eating the diet that Fuhrman recommends.  (FYI, it's likely that the remaining diseases can be cured (if they can't be avoided) using the Gerson Therapy.) 

Here's a partial list of diseases that have been cured with water-only fasting:  high blood pressure, diabetes, congestive heart failure, angina, atherosclerosis, digestive disorders, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, food and environmental allergies, skin problems, fibrocystic breast disease, chronic fatigue, low back pain, and chronic headache.

Day 3

On the morning of this day I started to feel nauseous.  Fortunately I finished Dr. Fuhrman's book the day before and I recall him saying that if you feel nauseous it's likely that you are dehydrated and haven't been drinking enough water.  So, I quickly drank two glasses of water and started to feel better immediately.

It was not long after drinking the glasses of water that I realized how aware of my body I was starting to be, which accelerated sometime the day before. 

The first thing I noticed was that the left side of my head was throbbing for several hours and then it stopped.  I recall being very aware of my heart and my liver.  There was almost a slowing-down of my heart.  And I could almost feel my liver pumping, as if it was working out bits of toxins.  This might sound far fetched, but at some point I noticed that my liver stopped doing this pumping action.  My veins typically pop out and I noticed that my veins were totally flat, almost imperceptible, like I've never seen them before.  The last thing I noticed was that my calves and ankles were sore and painful. 

Strangely enough, this body awareness appeared to start at my head and work its way down to my feet.  If you ever feel the need to have some grounding, to stop thinking about everything under the sun, and to be in your body, a water-only fast is the way to go.

At one point during the fast I could feel all sorts of weird energetic sensations in my body.  It was amazing!  Most people tend to numb their bodies with food, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, television, and exercise.  A water-only fast will remove that numbness quickly! 

On this day I did not feel very hungry at all.  I just felt like I wanted to take things slowly.  However, I managed to go grocery shopping and meet with some friends, and even this bit of activity felt like too much.  Fuhrman states in his book that lean people will typically feel like they have less energy during a fast and people with more fat on their bodies will feel like they have more energy.  I'm pretty lean.

Fuhrman says that somewhere around day 2 of the fast your body has used up all of the food in your colon and all of the carbohydrate stored in your liver (perhaps this is what I was feeling in my liver?).  At this point your body switches over to consuming bodyfat for fuel and starts preserving muscle.  He says that individuals only lose about 1-2 pounds of muscle during a fast, but can lose many, many pounds of fat during the same time period.

I didn't weigh myself, but I don't think I lost too much weight during the fast.  However, my waist was as wasp-thin as I have ever seen it, which makes sense since it's never been emptied of food in this manner.

I also noticed that I slept like a rock each night of the fast.  I'm usually a light sleeper and am typically awakened by a sound in the night, but not so during the fast.

Day 4:  The Morning of Breaking the Fast

I recall sitting at my kitchen table exactly 71.5 hours after last eating and thinking that I felt the most peaceful feeling that I've ever felt in my entire life.  It was calm serenity without a care in the world.  It was a truly sublime sensation.

And at exactly five minutes before 72 hours that feeling vanished as I washed an apple, a pear, and a banana for consumption.  That first bite of apple was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted in my life!

As I went back to my similar eating patterns over the next 24 hours I could feel the effects of food filling up my belly and moving its way down my digestive tract.  It was then that I vowed to eat less meat, less sugar, and more fruits, vegetables, and legumes, per Dr. Fuhrman's suggestions.

A fast is a fascinating journey that I hope to take at least once a year in the future.

The Disease of Our Collective Uncaring

Someone very close to me passed away recently after a long and difficult sickness.

This person was young and vibrant.  This person was perhaps one of the most creative, original, and fearless persons that I have ever known.

When this person became ill it was a huge surprise to everyone that knew this person.

"Why?" I wondered.  Why does a young person, so full of life, and so unique in every way, become stricken with disease and eventually succumb to it?  According to what I have come to understand about life, this should not happen.  People, especially people with free spirits (and especially people who I am so fond of), should live to ripe old ages after long exploration of themselves and the world around them.

As I mentioned before, this person was very unique.  In some ways this person went against the mainstream.  And some thought poorly of this person for not being like everyone else.  But truly we can only ever be who we are and what our hearts tell us we long to be.

When I learned of this person's illness I had a sinking feeling that the illness was caused not by what the Western medical doctors said, but rather by the negative thoughts directed at this person simply for being who this person was; an original, out-of-the-ordinary, spectacular human being.

My deeply held notion was that this person's disease was caused by the collective uncaring of all of us.  This collective uncaring having been created even by those who said they loved this person, but who in fact harbored secret ill feelings or fear of this person.

Our thoughts contain creative and destructive power.  Our thoughts direct and assemble our realities.  Some of our thoughts are prayers.  Prayers are powerful things.  The power of prayer multiplies when more people focus their prayers on the same thing.  If you were ill and were given the choice between having (a) the best healer on the planet and (b) 1000 people praying for you, what would you choose?  I would choose the praying people, every time.

The same holds true for negative thoughts.  When many people focus their minds upon negative thoughts, the power of their negative thoughts multiplies.  Our thoughts of fear and destruction have power and create reality.

I recently read Hyemeyohsts Storm's fabulous novel 'Seven Arrows' which contains a plethora of timeless wisdom.  In the following excerpt, a wise old man named White Clay/Shining Arrows is telling a story about the power of Uncaring.

'The old man clapped his hands together and laughed.  Do you and your brothers here wish to learn of one of my Medicines?  It is probably my greatest.

"Yes, Yes, Yes," each man there said aloud in his own tongue, and also signed.

Then here it is, Shining Arrows began.  We will Talk about a People, for example, who Number One Hundred.  My greatest Medicine is One of the Mind, and Body, and Heart.  If you have One Hundred People who Live Together, and if Each One Cares for the Rest, there is One Mind.  The Power of this One Single Mind is a Great One, and is a means of Keeping Sickness from Among them.  If there are but One or Two Among them who Hate, there is little Threat to Any of the Hundred.  But if Ten of that Hundred do not Care for the Rest of their Brothers and Sisters, then there is a Threat.

The Threat is One of Sickness.  I Know what you are all Thinking; that you have Heard of those who are able to make Others Sick, but this is not what I Mean.  Nor do I Believe this is Possible.  I do not Say that there has never been One who had the Power to Direct his Hate, Causing Illness to Another.  This may sometimes have Happened, but I Think the Possibility of it is Remote.

The Truth of the Matter is this.  The Hate these Ten People have Among the Hundred will Strike Out and Cause Sickness.  We are Each a Living Spinning Medicine Wheel, and Each of us Possesses this Power to Destroy or to Create.  When Ten of the Hundred do not Care, it Makes our Shield that much less Capable of Stopping Sickness.  This Sickness Strikes out at Random, and can Hurt Anyone.

I am Sure you have Seen a little Child or a Person who is Gentle, Stricken with Sickness and sometimes Crippled by it.  This Happens more because of the People not Caring than because of the Haters.  If Twenty of the Hundred instead of Ten do not Care for the Rest of their Brothers and Sisters, there is Twice the Chance of the Sickness Affecting Someone.
 ...
Not caring for one another has always caused sickness among a People.  It is one of the means of the Medicine to teach man to care for his brothers.  Caring is the only way to end sickness completely.
...
I am an old man, and I have seen clearly what happens when a People are not one.  Before the whiteman began to destroy the unity of the camps, there was very little sickness.  I had never seen a child born bad or dead.  I never knew a man who was crippled by disease.  Crippled men, yes!  But they were crippled by carelessness upon the great prairie.  This other is a carelessness much more deadly.  It is the torn lodge, open to endless diseases.
...
Both the Stone of Harmony and the Stone of Uncaring can be the Drums that Set the Rings of Water Into Motion Within the Dance of the Medicine Lake.  And it is the Last Leaf, the Tiniest Leaf, that is Set into Movement at the Edge of the Lake.  This Leaf could be the Leaf that will Affect Everyone.  If the People Care for One Another, then the Rings of this Dance are Harmonious.
...
This Teaching is the greatest of all my Medicines.'

Several passages in 'The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine',  written by the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di, in the third millennium BCE, refer to 'people in ancient times, spoken of as the immortals' who lived in excess of 100 years of age.  This is amazing considering that these people lived many thousands of years ago and they had no access to our modern system of healthcare!  These 'immortals' achieved longevity by being in harmony with themselves, with those around them, and with their environment.

Today we have endless examples of young (and not-too-old) people who take excellent care of their bodies by eating right, exercising, and managing stress properly, but who get sick and die nonetheless.

Perhaps we should reconsider our definition of health to include the way we care for people and the way we think about everyone we come in contact with, whether our thoughts are expressed out loud or not.

Like the ancient peoples of our world we must find a way to be in harmony with ourselves, with others, and with the Earth herself.

Are Energy Healing and Qigong Similar to Psychiatry for Mental and Emotional Issues?

That's an interesting question.  And here is the answer: no and maybe.

Psychiatry uses primarily psychotherapy (which is essentially talk therapy) combined with psychoactive drugs to deal with mental issues.

Energy healing and qigong do not utilize psychotherapy or drugs at all. However, it can be useful for the client to share part of their story or their issues, but only if they are inclined to do so.

Energy healing posits that mental and emotional traumas create imprints on the human energy field.

Alberto Villoldo, PhD, states in his book 'Shaman, Healer, Sage' that 'When these imprints are erased, one can readily change negative emotions and behaviors.' Furthermore, he says that energy healing 'transforms heavy emotions associated with trauma and disease into nourishing life energy.'

Villoldo also states that energy healing 'helps to release the emotional energy trapped in an imprint, allowing us to understand the painful incident that caused it. But intellectual understanding does not clear the underlying imprint itself. It is as if a cut were cleaned but never bandaged. Within weeks or months, emotional energy again collects around the imprint and reactivates it. Psychological issues we thought had healed long ago again rear their ugly heads, and destructive behaviors resurface. (This is a possible explanation for why some people feel the need to continue talk therapy for years; they need to keep cleaning out the wound.)'

My teacher, Rosalyn Bruyere, says that when a person can experience a sense of love, wholeness, and peace at the same energetic level that they experienced a traumatic event, they will be freed from the trauma and stress of that event as well as all of the subsequent emotional and mental issues associated with it. They can then use that trapped and blocked energy for healing on all levels.

All of this can be done without saying a word about the traumatic event (though sharing your experience can certainly be helpful too). (However, too much talking can be counter-productive. My teacher keeps a roll of duct-tape nearby to threaten her clients that like to talk too much.)

 The first energy healing experience I ever had was a very emotional one for me.  I believe it released about 20 years of trapped emotional baggage within the span of about 45 minutes (you can read about that experience here).

Similar effects can be achieved with qigong, but typically over a longer period of time.

Over time, as your energy increases and you become more grounded with your daily qigong practice, you notice that your emotional issues and your typical reactions to things associated with them start to melt away.  You become literally more emotionally grounded, balanced, and full, as your body's energy system becomes more grounded, balanced, and full.  The 'Xian Gong' qigong set, available here, is an excellent qigong practice that I do every day as part of my daily energy regimen.  I also recommend it to all of my clients.

The Mother Earth Energy Healing Self Treatment Recording

The Mother Earth Energy Healing Self Treatment recording is a 29 minute MP3 format audio recording that walks you through a hands-on energy self-treatment. 

This self-treatment sequence is very relaxing and is similar to a popular energy healing treatment that I use with my clients.

A free 7 minute preview of the self-treatment sequence is available here.

The entire self-treatment sequence is available for purchase here.

Thanks and enjoy!