The Internet, As Seen In 1969

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

Here is an exerpt from “The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are” by Alan Watts.  The book was originally published in 1969.  For a writing done in 1969, this is a pretty good description of the internet, which was not even remotely possible back then.

Despite the fact that more accidents happen in the home than elsewhere, increasing efficiency of communication and of controlling human behavior can, instead of liberating us into the air like birds, fix us to the ground like toadstools. All information will come in by superrealistic television and other electronic devices as yet in the planning stage or barely imagined. In one way this will enable the individual to extend himself anywhere without moving his body—even to distant regions of space. But this will be a new kind of individual—an individual with a colossal external nervous system reaching out and out into infinity. And this electronic nervous system will be so interconnected that all individuals plugged in will tend to share the same thoughts, the same feelings, and the same experiences. There may be specialized types, just as there are specialized cells and organs in our bodies. For the tendency will be for all individuals to coalesce into a single bioelectronic body.

Consider the astonishing means now being made for snooping, the devices already used in offices, factories, stores, and on various lines of communication such as the mail and the telephone. Through the transistor and miniaturization techniques, these devices become ever more invisible and ever more sensitive to faint electrical impulses. The trend of all this is towards the end of individual privacy, to an extent where it may even be impossible to conceal one’s thoughts. At the end of the line, no one is left with a mind of his own: there is just a vast and complex community-mind, endowed, perhaps, with such fantastic powers of control and prediction that it will already know its own future for years and years to come.

 

When Antidepressants Do Not Work

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

What happens when an individual is depressed, and antidepressants do not work? Typically, another type of antidepressant will be prescribed, but the new pill is often found to be of no more benefit than the first pill. Eventually, it is on to a third pill with some hope in sight, but the prospects of getting well fades into a cruel illusion, a mirage that is seem far off in a distance. This scenario need not be the case if the actual cause and type of depression are discovered, and treated appropriately. In this article, intended for the healthcare provider who addresses the patient’s issues from a natural perspective, I will address one type of depression that is almost always overlooked, rarely diagnosed, does not respond well to antidepressants, and has a very simple solution.

Depression has many causes. Some causes of depression have a physiological basis, other causes have dietary, environmental, social or psychological factors involved. Objective evidence is rarely, if ever, present in most forms of depression. Subjective evidence supporting the diagnosis is, on the other hand, almost always present. No specific laboratory tests are diagnostic of depression. Laboratory tests, however, are often performed specifically to identify any potential illnesses or disorder that may be causing the associated symptoms of depression. In some cases, the diagnosis of depression is offered on the basis of exclusion, based purely on patient history and current subjective complaints. A diagnosis of exclusion is issued when no other explanation for the signs and symptoms can be found. In many cases, the cause is not searched for following the diagnosis of depression. If the cause of depression can be discovered, elimination of the causative factors would cause the depression to cease, and is the only logical treatment leading to a cure.

Depression can often be linked to scarce or missing nutrients in the diet. One common dietary cause of depression is a reduced level of Omega-3 fatty acids. This is largely due to the lack of these essential fatty acids in the modern day diet. Another dietary cause of depression is a nutritional deficiency of the amino acid tryptophan, which is the precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. If tryptophan levels are low, serotonin levels subsequently decrease.

Certain nutrients must be present in order for the brain to synthesize neurotransmitters. In order for the body to synthesize serotonin and melatonin, the amino acid tryptophan must be present. For the synthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, the amino acid tyrosine must be present. Another neurotransmitter, Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA), is synthesized from the amino acid glutamine. The presence of these amino acids, however, is not sufficient in itself to guarantee that the neurotransmitters are synthesized in normal levels in the brain. Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and zinc are two important nutrients that must be present for the body to synthesize serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and GABA. Without B6 and zinc, conversion of the aforementioned amino acids to the respective neurotransmitters cannot occur.

Some people have a marked deficiency of vitamin B6 and zinc due to a specific genetic cause. In these people, insufficient amounts of vitamin B6 and zinc are available to allow for the synthesis of normal levels of neurotransmitters. The genetic condition is called pyroluria, which is a genetically based abnormality involving hemoglobin synthesis. Pyrrole, a by-product of hemoglobin synthesis, is found in remarkably high levels in the person with pyroluria. The astute practitioner would recognize pyrrole as the simplest compound from the imidazole family. Pyrrole binds to pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and zinc, forming kryptopyrrole. Kryptopyrrole, when literally translated, means “hidden pyrrole.” Kryptopyrrole is excreted in the urine. When the pyrrole binds with B6 and with zinc, marked depletion of vitamin B6 and zinc occurs within the body, resulting in a severe deficiency of these two nutrients. Individuals with pyroluria become deficient in vitamin B6 and zinc, therefore subsequently deficient in the neurotransmitters serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA.

Signs and symptoms of pyroluria are simply those of a severe combined zinc and B6 deficiency. If one would to look up the symptoms of pyroluria, the psychological symptoms will be listed to be the inability to handle or manage stress, depression, anxiety, fearfulness, nervousness, mood swings, severe inner tension, and intermittent anger. Other symptoms would include increased sensitivity to sounds or noise, increased sensitivity to light, poor dream recall, and avoidance of social interaction. Signs, or that which can readily be observed by another individual, are often reported to be pale skin that easily burns, white marks on their nails (from zinc deficiency), and stretch marks on the skin. Other characteristics of pyroluria include avoidance of breakfast, impaired glucose tolerance, fatigue, poor sleep quality, and, occasionally, increased weight. In severe cases, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and loss of contact of reality may be evidenced. The symptoms of pyroluria are increased when the individual is under stress. Remember, however, that when neurotransmitter levels drop or are out of balance with each other, just about any psychological or neurological symptoms can be experienced by the patient.

A urine test is often prescribed to determine the level Kryptopyrrole being excreted. The test, however, is highly subject to false negatives. Kryptopyrrole is very sensitive to oxidation and should not be exposed to air. Pyrrole darkens on exposure to light, especially when exposed to direct sunlight. The darkened color is due to the polymerization of pyrrole upon exposure to light. Any urine sample should be stored in sealed darkened glass tubes without air entrapment in the tube. Unless the levels of Kryptopyrrole in the urine are very high, Kryptopyrrole will most likely be oxidized by the time the urine is prepared to be sent off to the lab. This will lead to a possible false negative test. Serum levels of B6 and Zinc provide a better diagnosis, but vitamin and mineral supplements must be avoided for three to four days before the test.

Persons with pyroluria cannot efficiently synthesize serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, or GABA. This is due to the significantly decreased levels if B6 and zinc in the body. Many of these persons have been prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), which may have only marginal benefit for a limited time. In order to reuptake a neurotransmitter, existence of a sufficient amount of the neurotransmitter must be present in order to achieve the desired results. You simply cannot reuptake that which is not there. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are also prescribed for depression. MAOI’s work by inhibiting the breakdown of Monoamine oxidase, thus prolonging the action of the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin at the sympatic junction. Attempting to prolong the action of drastically deficient levels of neurotransmiters with an MAOI is of not much help, and is often worse than the SSRI for the patient with pyroluria. In some cases, MAOI’s often make the patient with pyroluria worse, instead of better, but that is a whole other topic.

The notion that health can be restored or every disease can be cured by ingesting chemical compounds manufactured in a chemistry lab is actually quite absurd. To believe that chemicals can cure a disease requires us also to believe that the reason the disease was allowed to occur in the first place is because of a deficiency in the body of some manufactured chemical. That notion is equally absurd, and is nothing more than ad ridiculum. Logic would dictate that restoration of deficient neurotransmitter levels through appropriate nutrient supplementation is the only sound approach for the patient with pyroluria.

Persons with pyroluria are often under chronic stress. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands when the body is under stress. Biochemically and physiologically, the body does not see any difference between chemical, physical, or emotional stress. Cortisol is released as a response to chronic stress, no matter the source of the stress. Cortisol is also known to be elevated in depression and sleep disturbances. An elevated cortisol level activates a liver enzyme called tryptophan pyrrolase, which breaks down the amino acid tryptophan, decreasing the amount available by the body to make serotonin. Chronic stress therefore leads to reduced serotonin levels because of tryptophan being broken down by tryptophan pyrrolase. Because of the actions of the enzyme tryptophan pyrrolase, tryptophan supplementation may be indicated in some cases of pyroluria.

In some cases, patients with pyroluria may develop tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia is generally characterized by repetitive and involuntary movements involving the facial muscles. These movements include grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing of the lips. Tardive dyskinesia is most commonly seen in some psychiatric patients who have been taking dpoamine-blocking agents for a prolonged period. In the patient with pyroluria, tardive dyskinesia is most likely a result of a manganese deficiency. Manganese supplementation may be indicated in these cases.

In order to properly address pyroluria, supplementation of vitamin B6 and the mineral zinc is in order. B vitamins should be taken as a group since the ingestion of an excess of one vitamin in the B group could cause a deficiency of other vitamins in the group. The RDA of B6 is 2 mg, which is totally inadequate for the person with pyroluria. The B-complex used to treat pyroluria should typically contain at least 50 mg. of vitamin B6. In some cases, additional vitamin B6 in addition to that found in the B-complex may be necessary. The preferred form for the mineral zinc is zinc picolinate. The RDA of zinc is 15 mg., again inadequate for the person with pyroluria. 30 to 60 mg. would be more appropriate when treating pyroluria. Results are generally seen rapidly, generally within a few days. Complete balancing of the involved neurotransmitter systems generally takes 30-45 days.

In the patient with pyroluria, vitamin B6 and zinc supplements are used to ensure that adequate amounts of these nutrients are present for the biochemical reactions that they support. If the appropriate levels of vitamin B6 and zinc are not present, the associated biochemical reactions involved in neurotransmitter production cannot go to completion, therefore cannot produce the neurotransmitter. A biochemical reaction that cannot go to completion is essentially “hung” in that state, awaiting some nutrient to become available. When the nutrient becomes available, the hung reaction then can proceed toward completion. When vitamin B6 and zinc are available again, the cascade of biochemical reactions involved in neurotransmitter synthesis will occur quite rapidly by the unsaturated enzymes associated with the hung reactions. Obtaining adequate levels of vitamin B6 and zinc will virtually eliminate these hung reactions, therefore, eliminating the causative factor in the development of pyroluria.

Hung biochemical reactions, however, are not limited to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Other nutrients involved in neurotransmitter production, such as amino acids, may also be deficient. Amino acid deficiencies are often seen among persons taking antacids and medications designed to suppress hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach. These medications are commonly prescribed for ulcers and acid reflux disease. Unfortunately, these medications also inhibit protein digestion by either neutralizing the acid medium of the stomach or suppressing the secretion of the acid required by the enzymes that perform protein digestion. As a result, amino acids, which are the products of protein digestion, become scarce. If an amino acid deficiency is suspected, supplementation with appropriate free-form amino acids would enhance neurotransmitter production. Supplementation with free-form amino acids should, however, be done with care. An understanding of the psychological profile of an individual would be desirable when choosing the appropriate amino acid supplements.

Should vitamin B6 and zinc supplements be used by the patient taking antidepressants, it should be done under the close supervision of a qualified practitioner. The patient with pyroluria will most likely experience rapid production of neurotransmitters when beginning vitamin B6 and zinc supplementation. Any medications may have to be adjusted quickly to account for the rapidly changing biochemistry of the brain. The patient should be familiarized with the signs and symptoms of Serotonin Syndrome, a rare, but potentially serious side effect of marked increase of serotonin activity.

It is quite sad when someone finds out too late that something could have been done earlier to restore their health. Years of accumulated damage, years of pain, and years of lost enjoyment could have been averted if only the right information or the right health care practitioner were only found earlier.

 

Swine Flu Vaccine – Another Controversy

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

The swine flu vaccine is supposed to induce antibody production in the human body against the swine flu virus. This is, in fact, how any vaccine works. Introduce a partial, attenuated, or otherwise somewhat deranged virus into the body, and the immune system will create antibodies against it. The immune system will then be better equipped to handle the real threat, in this case the swine flu, when the person is exposed to it. This is immunology 101.

The swine flu vaccine, in addition to an attenuated form of the swine flu virus, contains a chemical called squalene. Squalene is a chemical synthesized by the human body. Squalene is the biochemical precursor to cholesterol. Squalene is supposed to be found in the body. Squalene has a specific chemical structure, there is no difference between chemically synthesized squalene and the squalene synthesized by your body.

If squalene is ingested, no problem exists. In fact, squalene is found in certain foods and supplements. When squalene, however, is injected into the body, we have a problem. Injected qualene incites the immune system to create antibodies against it. This antibody is called the anti-squalene antibody. Anti-squalene antibodies will attack ALL the squalene in the body, not just the squalene that was injected.

When the immune system creates antibodies against something that is supposed to be found in the body, it is called an autoimmune disease. When the body produces anti-squalene antibodies, the immune system will attempt to destroy the squalene molecule wherever it finds it. This will lead to systemic inflammation, the hallmark of autoimmune disease.

Most autoimmune diseases have both a genetic factor and an environmental factor associated with it. The genetic factors related to autoimmune disease cannot be modified. We cannot change our DNA. Successful treatment of an autoimmune issue, then, involves elimination or modifiction of the environmental factors responsible for autoimmunity. This principle is familiar to anyone who has purchased my book, Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , available on Amazon today.

Autoimmune disease in which antibodies are created against a chemical that the body normally produces is in a different league all together. In this case, the body creates both the squalene and the antibodies against the squalene. Needless to say, this is a dire situation.  If there ever is little or no hope of reversing an autoimmune disease, this is it. Once the body produces anti-squalene antibodies, there is no known way to stop the antibody production. This can possibly lead to a life-long autoimmune condition.

A basic rule of modern day society regarding controversies applies to the swine flu vaccine. This rule is, that for every controversy, two diametrically opposing views will be discovered. These two views can be always reduced to two reasons surrounding the controversy, the real reason and the stated reason. The stated reason is always what will calm the public. Following the money trail, one will always arrive at the real reason. In the book Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , available on Amazon today, this principal is discussed with respect to all of health care. It is just a matter of time before it is evident which side was correct.

But, don’t take my word for it. Do your own research and come to your own conclusion regarding the swine flu vaccine.  Here are some Google search terms for you to begin your search -

anti-squalene antibodies

anti-squalene antibodies vaccine

squalene injected

And, an interesting research article written in 2000, before the controvery began -

http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/full/156/6/2057

Read more about healthcare at www.rue309.wordpress.com

 

ObamaCare – What Will Really Happen

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

A federally mandated healthcare program cannot be implemented without significant (read: dire) consequences. I will explore several areas of concern regarding any proposed governmental healthcare system. Please be aware that, regardless of the plans proposed by those in Washington, any proposed socialized healthcare system will be subject to the problems discussed herein.

Fees & Insurance

Fees and insurance are closely related, primarily because the insurance industry, not the doctor, sets the fee schedule for the modern medical system. Initially, with respect to fees charged, we will experience the following in the healthcare industry:

1. The government will define and publish the mandated fee schedule. This fee schedule will most likely be based upon the current Medicare fee schedule. The current Medicare fee schedule contains, by far, the lowest reimbursement (payment) rates to the doctor.

2. Any private insurers will also adopt the governmental fee schedule. The private insurers will claim that they must make this change, or they would go out of business. The real reason private insurers will adopt the governmental fee schedule is to maximize profits.

3. Doctors will be forced to accept the governmental fee schedule. This means that the salary of the doctor will go down.

4. Doctors may be allowed to opt-out of the insurance system. If any proposed plan allows the doctor to opt-out, it will be a complete opt-out, ie., the doctor will not be allowed to take any insurance whatsoever. The doctor will then be able to set his or her own fees. The doctors who chose to opt-out will have limited hospital privileges.

Medical Records

Everyone is concerned about the privacy of their medical records, and justifiably so. When any government health care plan is implemented, the government will require the full and complete access to the patient file. The following will occur:

1. Any doctor on the governmental plan will be required to disclose the complete patient file to the government when requested to do so. This will be drastically different from the “Minimum Necessary” standard used today in the private insurance system with regards to records disclosure for claim payment.

2. The access to the doctor’s records by the government will unlikely be limited to only those patients who subscribe to the governmental healthcare plan. The doctor will be required to disclose ALL records for ANY and ALL patients if requested to do so, even those who have private insurance. Failure of the doctor to comply will result in hefty fines and / or imprisonment. The doctor will, therefore, disclose records when required to do so. The doctor will not pay a fine because you think your records should not be released.

3. Patients will realize that the government will soon have access to their complete medical records. To prevent this, a small percentage of patients will attempt to get the originals of their medical records. These patients will get very angry, because the doctor is required by his or her state licensing board to keep the records for a certain number of years.

4. Significant parts of HIPAA, which are designed to protect the privacy of the patient’s medical records, will be replaced with an “access on demand” policy with regards to the patient’s medical records.

5. As a result of the above, the government will eventually have a complete dossier on the health history of every citizen. A central database will be created, which will, of course, be marketed as being in the best interest of all Americans.

The Doctors

1. The doctor’s reimbursement rates will be cut because of the new governmental fee schedule. The doctor, then, will have to see more patients in order to attain the same salary as before. This means the 10 minute office visit you used to get will be cut to four minutes.

2. If the doctor is well respected or highly skilled, he or she will most likely opt-out of the entire system if allowed to do so. The doctor, in this case, will then be allowed to set their own fee schedule. Anyone who sees this doctor must pay their going rate.

3. Many doctors will flee to foreign countries. Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Brazil, Mexico, and many island nations will probably see a significant influx of doctors who are looking for a less stressful system to deal with. The doctors will be welcomed with opened arms.

The Newly Insured

When the governmental healthcare plan is passed, all of the uninsured people today will join the ranks of the insured. This will have both a short term and long term effect on the healthcare system. The following short term effects will occur:

1. Upon getting their insurance card, the currently uninsured will see this card as a free pass to the healthcare system. They will flock to medical offices in mass.

2. The newly insured will bring a laundry list of complaints to the doctor’s office. The doctor will be faced with many pre-existing problems that have gone unaddressed for years. This scenario will result in medical test after medical test, likely costing tens of thousands of dollars.

3. Laboratories, imaging facilities, pharmacies, and other adjunct facilities will become backlogged. This will result in expansion of these facilities. Once the newly insured have had their problems addressed, the sudden influx of patients into the medical system will decrease rapidly. Those facilities that chose to expand will realize, in two or three years, that they have made a big mistake.

Many years later, the long term effects will be felt. The long term effects will be:

4. People who have serious medical conditions will have to stand in line behind people with insignificant issues. When an office is called for an appointment, the appointment will be weeks or months away, not today or tomorrow.

5. Even today, appointments with certain specialists must be made weeks to months in advance. This situation will only get worse over time due to the doctors who have left practice, and the decreased enrollment in medical schools.

6. Anyone with a serious medical issue, and able to afford it, will seek care outside the governmental healthcare system. This will include trips to foreign countries.

7. The long term effects will lead to a black market healthcare system. The black market healthcare system will be superior to the governmental system in every way. The black market system will, however, be legal in every respect, because it would be governed and administered under foreign law. This is because rich doctors and attorneys would have created the system for themselves.

Lurking Dangers

If the government is paying the healthcare bill of a patient, the government will undoubtably grant themselves certain rights. Consider, for a moment, the following:

1. A hypothetical patient requires a blood test for one reason or another. When the blood is shipped to the laboratory, additional tests, such as HIV tests, drug tests, and genetic tests, are also performed unknowingly to the patient. Results would be forwarded to the appropriate governmental agency.

2. Genetic databases would be formed. This would be marketed to the public as being in the best interest of the patient. For example, if you need a kidney transplant, potential donors could be matched very quickly. You, however, may be required to relinquish the rights to your organs when you die.

Find your favorite site below and spread the news.

 

Do You Feel Like We Do?

As I entered the examining room, a couple were arguing about a Peter Frampton song, Do You Feel Like We Do ?   This song appeared on the album Frampton Comes Alive!, released in 1976.

As I was opening the patient chart on the computer, I listened to their discussion of a particular verse in that song. He was claiming that the verse was

Spunk Mann on the keyboard, Spunk Mann

She was insistent that the verse was

Chuck Mann on the keyboard, Chuck Mann

Before I could get started with the patient, I was asked if I knew the song. Yeah, I know the song … real well. I grew up with it and can play it on my drums. In 1976, my grandmother heard me listening to that song on my stereo, and she said in her Austrian accent while raising her index finger and shaking it in the air, “You should a not listen to dat music, you are a gonna take a da dope”. But I didn’t tell them any of that, I just responded “I’ve heard it”.

OK, then, she asks, “which is it, is it Chuck Mann or Spunk Mann?” I suppose, perhaps, that I would be elevated to the grandmaster of music knowledge if I took her side. “Well”, I said, “I got news for ya … you’re both wrong”. That line in the song is

Bob Mayo on the keyboards, Bob Mayo

I don’t know how they got Chuck or Spunk Mann out of that song. But, maybe it’s because there’s a bad moon on the rise, or … was that a bathroom on the right.

 

The Medical Conveyor Belt

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

The following is an exerpt from book Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , by Dr. Robert Zee, available on Amazon today. See if any of this sounds all too familiar.

In medicine, we are constantly trying to eliminate the possibility of medical mistakes. More powerful technology, more specific tests, better imaging techniques, increased efficiency of communication, and better safety precautions are all put in place so that no one can make a mistake. This, of course, requires more extensive documentation and greater coordination of care. Recent legislation regarding patient privacy, licensing board requirements, insurance company guidelines, and more complex procedures for maintaining and distribution of medical records creates administrative nightmares. The sheer amount of paper work involved in keeping the patient chart in order has seemingly become more important than what the chart actually contains. Evolution of the health care system has recently turned it into a complicated network of documentation, communication, and medical billing. As if that is not bad enough, two or three administrative employees are required for every doctor just to keep the paperwork moving. The patient chart is inspected closely by the doctor to make sure the forms are in proper order and double checked by the staff. Before the chart is filed and billed, it is rechecked in case of a future audit by an insurance company, the State Board of Examiners, or worse yet, an attorney bringing malpractice charges. In the mean time, no one has any clue what is wrong with the patient, but at least no administrative mistake was made and the documentation is in order.

The health care system has not only evolved into a tremendous communication machine, but has also evolved into a sophisticated conveyor belt for moving the patient from practitioner to practitioner, and from facility to facility. Any belief that the patient may have a condition that might be later construed as a possible malpractice issue will result in a referral issued to a specialty practitioner to shift the responsibility of care, and therefore liability, to someone else. The specialty practitioner is then assigned the responsibility of diagnosing some ill-defined condition, utilizing lab tests, imaging, and any other tests required to identify a disease that may or may not exist. Referrals are often made to avoid liability, and medical tests are often prescribed to avoid malpractice claims rather than for medical necessity. Tests and referrals often require insurance company approval, adding convoluted twists to both the medical documentation machine and the patient conveyor belt. The patient, trapped on the medical conveyor belt, has little or no chance of ever getting off. If nothing is wrong, the patient is allowed off temporally, and given a ticket to get back on the conveyor belt next year for a follow-up examination “just in case something may have changed.” Unknown to the patient, however, is that the follow-up visit was probably scheduled for issues of liability or financial profit, and not medical necessity. With all this sophisticated technology to move both information and the patient around, the diagnosis, if any, arrives three months later than it would have if the simpler system of patient care used decades ago was still in operation.

During the process of solving existing problems with the newly developed technology, what we have done, in essence, have created newer, more complicated problems. Any new technology creates new problems that have never existed before the technology came into existence. The problem solvers must keep working harder and harder, faster and faster, just to stay afloat to remain ahead of the competition. Ironically, problems created by technology must be solved with even more technology. The new technology must be purchased, put into operation, and connected to other technology using wires and connections that require an engineer to understand. When the new technology is finally installed and running, it is already obsolete and must be replaced by even newer technology using the newest hardware and updated software. The question is, then, whether technological advances have actually made any progress at all. The medical field ends up spending disproportionately more time playing with the new and advanced technological toys, and disproportionately less time actually working with the patient. Taking an objective view, the project of conquering disease with all this new technology appears more and more of an impossibility, a mirage of sorts, in which technological innovations are a way to get to an unobtainable destination even faster. In other words, we have gotten nowhere very quickly, and have done it faster than we could have if we did not have the technology.

Even with all this new technology, the experience of the patient has not changed much since the last generation, and, if anything, this experience has gotten much worse. To the patient, it almost seems like the doctor speaks some foreign language, and what transpires during the five or ten minute office visit raises even more questions than were answered. Unimpressed by level of the examination performed, the patient is given either the name of a test that is supposed to find the problem, or a piece of paper with the name of some chemical that is supposed to cure the problem. Often, the patient also acquires some level of doubt during the office visit, primarily due to his or her perception that the doctor did not truly hear everything they had to say. The modern day office visit to the doctor is analogous to trying to see the world through a peep hole in a door, or through a slit in a fence. The patient often gets the feeling that if they can only get to the other side of the fence, or through some door, the big picture will become evident, and everything will become crystal clear. When everything becomes clear, the path to healing is then evident. Often, however, the reason the patient cannot get any clear and definitive answers from the doctor is because the doctor simply does not have any. When the patient does not get an answer from the doctor, they usually begin to search for the answers on their own, which usually involves exploring the possibility of any number of alternative treatments.

In the mean time, while the patient is on their own search for the answer, the doctor may have ordered even more tests to “rule out” a particular disease. To rule something out is a statistical and mathematical nightmare, and is literally the dead end street of diagnosis. A potential diagnosis is ruled out when little belief, if any, exists in the possibility that the proposed diagnosis is even remotely correct. This is why the particular disease is being ruled out, and not being ruled in. The process of ruling out disease after disease leaves both the doctor and the patient with a list of diseases that the patient does not have. Even the casual observer will find little value in a list of diseases that the patient does not have. Obtaining the correct diagnosis by the procedure of ruling out is literally hoping to stumble upon the right answer. One by one, every possibility is ruled out. The processing of ruling something out in conjunction with little or no analysis gets us nowhere very quickly. By using this method, we have tremendous amounts of evidence proving what diseases the patient does not have, yet still have no evidence at all of what disease the patient does have. This exploration of dead ends is exactly what happens all too often in medicine. If the medical doctor has a good idea about what the problem is, they rule something in. If, on the other hand, they have no clue about what the problem is, they start the process of ruling out. It does not take a genius to figure out that time and energy put into finding the problem is more valuable than attempting to discover what is not the problem. When the medical doctor starts ruling out diseases, the doctor should be ruled out and a new doctor should be found.

Following a few minutes of listening to the patient, the infamous words “Let’s go ahead and try this” usually ends the office visit. This is perhaps the biggest red flag in medicine, and is actually worse than the protocol of ruling out specific diseases. Health care should not be delivered using a trial and error methodology. Trying something, just to see if it works, suggests a very low confidence level in the treatment. This trial and error methodology is also suggestive of the possibility that the doctor has no clue about what the problem actually is. The suggestion made to the patient of trying something does nothing more than give the doctor more time in hoping to discover what the real problem is. The fact that something is at least being tried is supposed to give the patient the comfort that something is being done to solve the health problem. One undisputable fact, however, is often overlooked; to deliver the proper treatment, it must first be known exactly what is being treated. This is simply common sense, and is a nonnegotiable requirement of the treatment of disease. Randomly prescribing medication in order to find the one that best suppresses the symptoms actually borderlines upon stupidity. We cannot simply rely upon luck or a Magic 8 Ball when treating disease.

The notion that health can be restored or every disease can be cured by ingesting chemical compounds manufactured in a chemistry lab is actually quite absurd. To believe that chemicals can cure a disease requires us also to believe that the reason the disease was allowed to occur in the first place is because of a deficiency in the body of some manufactured chemical. That notion is equally absurd, and is nothing more than ad ridiculum. This absurd principle of a chemical cure is most evident in healing a disease, particularly a chronic disease, or a “syndrome,” in which no specifically identifiable cause is known. The healing of a chronic disease or syndrome cannot simply be reduced to a chemical formula. In addition, if the cause of the disease or syndrome cannot be identified, how can the cure be known? What really happens is, in most cases, multiple factors contribute to any chronic disease process. Rather than address each individual issue of the disease at the root cause level, a chemical is prescribed to give the illusion that the disease is being cured. The illusion eventually, over time, becomes a very expensive illusion. Equally expensive, but much more practical, would be to take the time with a practitioner willing to treat the problem at the root cause. Unraveling the cause of a disease at the level at which it originated and subsequently treating it at that level is very time consuming, but, in the end, well worth the effort. The practice of treating only the symptoms will only allow a further unhealthy state to develop, making the real problems even more difficult, and therefore more expensive, to solve in the future.

If the above sounds like your experience with the modern day medical system, you may want to consider purchasing Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , available on Amazon today. If you know of anyone on the medical conveyor belt, send them a link to this article!

 

17 Reasons to Buy a Hummer Today

GM has sold its Hummer line to a Chinese company, the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company. In just a few years, we can expect the Hummer to evolve into a completely new type of vehicle. Based upon recent news from China, we can expect the following:

1. The new Hummer will be painted with lead-based paint. This paint will be similar to the lead-based paint used by the Chinese in children’s toys.

2. The new Hummer will be fitted with Chinese tires. These tires will be the same ones which experienced tread separation (falling apart) with no warning.

3. Somehow, the Chinese Hummer will be contaminated with melamine. The melamine will be most likely found in the part of the automobile that children will put in their mouth. The lead-based paint will be also sure to be contaminated with melamine.

4. The durable metal accents on the Detroit-built Hummer will be replaced with cheap plastic parts. These plastic parts will be found to contain high levels of bisphenol-A. The cheap plastic parts will be concealed with lead-based paint.

5. The Hummer will be shrunk to 2/3 its original size. This is because the average Chinese person is 2/3 the size of the average American.

6. The fabric seats in the new Hummer will be manufactured with fabric made in Chinese sweatshops where children are employed, making 50 cents an hour. These are the same sweatshops that make clothing that barely lasts a year.  Designer fashions use this same fabric.

7. In an attempt to provide an esthetically pleasing color coordinated interior, the fabric used in the seats will be also used for the new Seatbelts. A thick piece of cardboard will be sewn inside the fabric to give the illusion that the seatbelt is thicker and stronger than it really is.

8. The standard lead-acid automobile battery will be replaced by an improved lithium ion battery similar to the batteries which caught fire in laptop computers. The lithium ion battery will be relocated closer to the fuel tank.  Surplus lead-acid batteries will be dumped in the famous Chinese Yellow River.

9. In consideration of the new lithium ion battery, the fuel tank will be relocated closer to the passenger compartment.

10. The new Hummer will be fitted with suspension similar to that found on the Hot Wheels toy cars manufactured in China. Have no fear, no Hot Wheel car has ever been recalled due to suspension problems. In addition, the Hot Wheel design has been time tested by the most destructive children.

11. Child safety locks will be improved. The locks will be so secure that even a skilled locksmith will not be able to open the doors.

12. Four wheel drive will not be discontinued. The transfer case, however, in an attempt to lower costs, will be eliminated. The front wheels in the new design will be driven by the forward momentum of the vehicle. This engineering masterpiece will eventually be known as Chinese 4 Wheel Drive.

13. The new Hummer will be built with Chinese steel. It will come pre-rusted from the factory. If you go into the garage where the Hummer is kept, at 2:00 AM when it is very quiet, you will be able to hear the car rust. The rust proof warranty will be limited to all non-metal components.

14. Somehow, the Chinese will figure out a way to make plastic rust. This will be corrected in future Hummer vehicles by painting the rusted plastic with an extra coat of melamine contaminated lead-based paint.

15. All nuts and bolts will also be made from Chinese steel. This will eliminate the need for lock washers. Rapid rusting will insure the bolts will fuse with whatever they attach, and therefore will not fall off.

16. Once the lead-based paint is discovered, a new lead-free paint will be used on all future Hummers. This new paint will later be discovered to be radioactive. The discovery of radioactive paint will cause a factory recall. Dealers will then have to paint the vehicles with a coat of special lead-based paint to prevent the radioactivity from escaping.

And finally,

17. In an attempt to make the Hummer a world class vehicle, the customer service department will be relocated to India.

Sooo … buy a Hummer today before it’s too late

 

Mexican Swine Flu – Part I

 

To My Many Readers,

 

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

 

If my email inbox and patients questions are any indication, the recent outbreak of Swine Flu raises several concerns in the minds of many people. What I will do in this article is to address some of the concerns many of you have raised.
 

Where Did This Flu Come From?

First, some background on the genetics of the recent Mexican Swine Flu strain is in order. The current strain, of the subtype H1N1, has components from Asian Swine Flu, European Swine Flu, avian flu, human flu Type A, and human flu Type B. These components originate from Asia, North America, and Europe. These components were recombined into the current Swine Flu strain, which appears to be able to replicate in pigs, birds, humans, and possibly other animals. Statistically, the chances of this strain of flu occurring naturally are very remote. The current flu strain has all of the hallmarks of a genetically engineered virus. There is some evidence that the current H1N1 strain is similar in some respects to the strain that cause the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.If one was to release a genetically engineered influenza virus into society, one of the best places on Earth to do it would be Mexico City. Several factors are present in Mexico City which make it an ideal location to spread disease. Mexico City is the largest city on Earth. The population density is very high, and many people live in poverty. People come in close contact with each other on a daily basis. Mexico City also has inadequate sanitary standards compared to modern day standards. The combination of these factors lead to a great number of people being infected before the extent of the outbreak is clearly recognized. By the time the influenza virus is detected and analyzed, it will have already been distributed throughout the world. This, in fact, has already occurred.

What Makes This Flu So Bad?

The death rate is on the order of 10%. This is a high figure for any influenza virus. The death rate, however, is not the only reason this particular swine flu is bad. This form of the influenza virus appears to have an efficient human to human transmission. Drug resistant strains have already been discovered. It is the combination of these three factors, a high death rate, efficient transmission, and drug resistance, which make this Swine Flu strain a more serious threat to the population.

Why Does This Swine Flu Only Kill Healthy People?
Certain strains of flu affect individuals differently. The general garden variety flu generally affects the elderly and those with compromised immune systems to a much greater extent than the young and healthy population. The current Swine Flu, however, appears to affect people who have a healthy immune system to a much greater extent than those who are elderly, in poor health, or have a compromised immune system. Whenever this is seen, there are several possibilities that exist which will explain this occurrence. This occurrence, incidently, is also seen with the H5N1 “bird” flu. As of this writing, it is not known which of the following scenarios apply to the current Swine Flu outbreak. Most likely, multiple factors are involved.

The first scenario involves the death of people who have an immune system which is out of balance. In these people, an excessive amount of cytokines are released in response to the virus. Cytokines are one method in which the body deals with an infection. Cytokines are chemical mediators produced by specific types of white blood cells called T-Cells. If the T-Cell response is exaggerated, massive amounts of cytokines may be released in response to the viral infection. When the immune system is out of balance, a massive cytokine release occurs at the end stage of the H1N1 viral infection. In those without an imbalance, the massive cytokine release does not occur.

The second scenario involves survival of people who have a well-developed immune system. These people have been exposed to many pathogens over their lifetime. The immune systems of persons over the age of fifty appear to be better equipped to handle the H1N1 Swine Flu than those of persons less than fifty. This is presumably due to the greater exposure to various pathogens during their lifetime, resulting in a better developed immune system. As a result, in the patient over the age of fifty, the immune system responds quickly and more efficiently, destroying the Swine Flu virus before the virus can kill the patient. This efficiency, in part, comes from the memory T and B cells of the immune system, which enable the body to respond in an expedient and appropriate manner when threatened by a pathogen. In the patient under the age of fifty, however, the immune system response is inadequate or too slow to eradicate the virus before the virus kills the patient.Another scenario involves the survival of those with an underdeveloped or suppressed immune system. An underdeveloped immune system is typically found in younger children. Children have immune systems that are still developing, and generally do not have full immune capacity at their young age. The elderly, people who are chronically ill, the immunosuppressed individual, or those taking certain medications would fall into the category of people who have a suppressed immune system. In both of these groups, the immune system is incapable of producing the massive cytokine release leading to death. In other words, the immune system is unable to efficiently combat the virus, and the virus reaches end stage and just burns out.

Do Any Drugs Help?
Tamiflu and Relenza have a preventive effect against human flu Type A. As the Swine Flu virus mutates, depending on the mutation, these medications may be found to be more effective or less effective. Most likely what will happen is a drug-resistant strain of the Swine Flu will arise, and spread more effectively since it will be difficult to eradicate.How About Those Surgical Masks People Are Wearing?
Surgical masks provide some protection. These masks are termed N95 surgical masks. Once worn, they must be discarded and not worn again.

The dust masks found in the corner hardware store offer no protection whatsoever against a virus.

I Got a Flu Shot. Am I Protected?
If you received a flu shot for this past winters flu season, you are not protected against the recent Mexican Swine Flu outbreak. Remember, this is most likely a genetically engineered flu. The recent outbreak of the Mexican Swine Flu was not foreseen by the developers of the vaccine at the beginning of the last flu season, therefore, its components were not part of the vaccine.

The CDC, in cooperation with other agencies, is currently developing a vaccine. It will arrive too late.

More coming on this subject, if necessary, at a future date.

 

Can a Food Allergy Cause All This???

 

To My Many Readers,

 

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

 

Can a food allergy cause muscle pain, muscle spasms, joint pain, bursitis, lack of energy, water retention, and disturbed sleep? How about numbness and tingling in the hands?

Case Study: A 51 Year-Old Male.

The patient is a 51-year-old male, with a fairly clean medical history. The patient does not take any medications, either prescription or over-the-counter. The patient is in excellent physical condition. He has participated in athletics over his life, which included bicycling, weightlifting, springboard diving, running, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, kayaking, among a few other sports. The patient’s diet is well varied, comprising lean meats, fruits, low fat cheese, yogurt, vegetables, and unrefined grains. The patient generally avoided carbonated beverages, refined sugar, and fried foods. Once a week, however, on Friday, he would indulge in Pizza for dinner. From August to December 2008, the patient reported he had four cases of food poisoning, from eating in local restaurants.

Approximately six to nine months ago, the patient began to develop shoulder pain. The bursae and tendons in the shoulder region were found to be inflamed. Hip and knee pain followed about a month later. Muscle spasms developed, which the patient attributed to a heavy work schedule. Occasional numbness and tingling in the hands began to worsen over time. The patient noticed energy levels began to decrease significantly, for which no reason could be identified. Mild water weight gain was noticed, worse at some times than others. The patient obtained chiropractic care and massage therapy, with only marginal results.

Based upon the complete patient history, an IgG₄ ELISA food allergy test was ordered. The actual lab report can be found at the end of this article. The test revealed a severe reaction to casein, a protein found in milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products. In fact, the reaction to casein was so severe, it was literally off the scale. Several mild food allergies were noted, which included many foods the patient has just started eating in the last few months. These mild food allergies most likely followed the four cases of food poisoning. After obtaining the lab report, further questioning of the patient revealed that he began eating the Friday night pizza dinner about a year ago.

The recommendation was given to the patient to avoid all reactive foods found in the lab results. Foods containing casein, such as dairy products, yogurt and cheese, must be completely eliminated from the diet. A free-form amino acid supplement was recommended, to speed the healing of the digestive tract lining. Probiotics were also recommended, in order to restore the microbial flora which was undoubtably disrupted by the four recent cases of food poisoning.

After three days, the patient lost 3 pounds, attributed to water weight loss. In only two weeks, the shoulder pain is reported to be 90 percent better. The numbness and tingling in the hands is completely gone. Hip and knee pain are completely absent. The patient is sleeping much better, and energy levels have increased significantly.

Three common signs of an IgG food allergy are 1) joint and muscle pain, 2) fatigue or lack of energy, and 3) water retention. These symptoms are often overlooked or ignored for a long time, until they begin to interfere with daily life. Food allergies are often mis-diagnosed as Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or written off as “just the normal aches and pains of life.” The truth is that an IgG food allergy causes systemic inflammation. In this case study, every symptom the patient experienced was a result of inflammation. Once the cause is found, as in the above case study, any symptoms related to the cause can be expected to resolve.

This case study represents a real life application of discovering the cause of a disease, rather than just covering up the symptoms. The protocol followed is outlined in the book book Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , available on Amazon today.

Below is the lab report for the IgG₄ food allergy test.  You may have to use your browser magnifier to clearly see the results.  Note the antibody levels reactive to casein of >2000.  Casein must be avoided, in this particular case, for at least a year, and cannot be reintroduced into the diet without retesting.  The mild food allergies, in this case, most likely followed the 4 cases of food poisioning,  The mild allergies are expected to resolve quickly, and are not too much of a concern. 

 

 

More on Melamine: The FDA Position vs. Philosophy

 

To My Many Readers,

 

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

 

The FDA’s revised position on melamine, dated November 28,2008, deserves even more special attention. Melamine is toxic to the body, and has no business being ingested in any quantity. No food containing melamine should be ingested, and this is particularly true for infants. The facts regarding melamine toxicity are being distorted to make it sound like, to the general public, that melamine is safe. In my previous discussion on melamine, I addressed the toxicity of melamine and the associated cover-up. This time I shall discuss melamine, and any toxin for that matter, from a philosophical viewpoint. This discussion is adapted from the book Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , available on Amazon.

Ingestion of any toxin has absolutely no role in health. While the body can effectively eliminate certain toxins found in the environment, other toxins either cannot be readily eliminated from the body or are eliminated from the body very slowly. When this happens, damage to the body results. Since this damage often occurs at the cellular and sub-cellular level, it often goes undetected until considerable damage has accumulated. By the time damage is detected at the system level, the disease process initiated by the toxin has been in progress for quite some time. Obviously, removing ourselves from the exposure to the toxin is the appropriate countermeasure. In addition, methods can be used to hasten the elimination of certain toxins from the body. Fortunately, in most cases, the body is able to repair the damage cause by these toxins.

Toxins are a unique form of stress encountered by the body in the sense that they not only invoke the body’s natural stress response as chemical stressors, but also have a mechanism of toxicity that subsequently causes tissue damage. This tissue damage further invokes the body’s stress response. In essence, the natural stress response of the body is invoked by both by the toxic chemical stressor and the tissue damage caused by the toxin. This factor is often overlooked by those publishing “safe exposure limits” of their favorite toxin.

For every controversy regarding any toxin presented in the discussion, two opposing positions can be found. One position is that the substance is known to be toxic and therefore can cause harm to the body. This position is substantiated by biochemists, professors, and other independent researchers. The other position maintains that the toxin is safe. This is the position that will calm the public, and is often financed by those having a vested financial interest involving that toxin in one way or another. One cannot legislate away the detrimental effects of a toxic compound. In addition, propaganda cannot be used to reduce the toxicity of a toxin.

Governments have issued documents defining safe exposure levels to various toxins, such as Mercury and other heavy metals, pesticides, and various organic and inorganic compounds, and now, melamine. The safe exposure level is determined through extensive research, and the safe exposure limit is typically set at a level where symptoms are not evident. This research is performed by men and women who have PhDs and specialize in biochemistry and human disease. Various factors are taken into consideration and, based upon the findings, a number is generated representing the upper limit of safe exposure. The fundamental problem with this methodology is that we talking about a toxin. The safe exposure level of the toxin is therefore zero. If the PhD performing the research arrived at a safe exposure level of zero, they would be fired from their job, plain and simple. The truth is that, since these toxins are present and eliminating them is impossible, something must be done to make the public feel safe. Exposure limits, therefore, are set, published, and adhered to, giving the illusion of safety. This amounts to nothing more than a game of “how much can we get away with and not get caught.” In other words, a game is being played in setting limits to how much damage that can be done to the body, and, at the same time, keeping the damage undetected as far as physical or mental symptoms are concerned. The stated intent of setting these limits is always related to, in one way or another, the protection of the health of the public. The real reason, however, is to avert any legal liability as a result to exposure to these toxins. Obviously, not being a participant in such a game would be in the best interest of health.

The same nonsense of setting safe limits is also applied to human laboratory tests designed to measure exposure to toxins. In this case, however, the nonsense is carried quite a bit further. Limits of the presence of heavy metals, various organic and inorganic compounds, or other toxic compounds are set for the urine, blood, or hair by various organizations. Several quantitative methods are available for determining whether a toxic level exists. Different organizations publish different limits of these toxins, and no agreement can be found as to what constitutes a safe level. To complicate matters further, occupational limits in exposed workers are also defined, and safe exposure levels to the toxins used in industry are different from the limits for the general population. For example, for the general population, the upper limit of Lead found in the blood should not exceed 19 ug/dl. For industrial exposure, the limit defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 40 ug/dl. If the level exceeds 60 ug/dl, according to OSHA, the employer must remove the employee from exposure to the hazard. While it appears that these limits are as a result of careful and extensive research, they represent nothing but pure nonsense. The question arises as to why 39 ug/dl is safe and 41 ug/dl is not safe. Another question arises as to why employment in industry warrants a higher safe exposure level as opposed to someone who does not work. The cynical observer would question why all these figures published by the government all mysteriously ends in a zero. Why is 40 ug/dl the accepted limit, and not 37.5 ug/dl? For any test designed to measure the level of a known toxin in the body, regardless of whether the toxin is being measured in the blood, urine, hair, or other tissue, the only safe level of that toxin is zero. Furthermore, determining safe levels of exposure based upon the factor of employment is, at best, absurd.

Biochemistry is a very well defined and well understood scientific field. Biochemistry does not lie. If the biochemist can clearly demonstrate the disruption to the biochemical processes of the body caused by a particular toxin, and can clearly show exactly how the toxin is toxic, no further discussion or argument is necessary. If a particular compound is shown to disrupt a particular chemical reaction through a specific mechanism of action, no guidelines or legislation issued by any governmental organization is going to affect the biochemical reaction. When something is defined as a toxin, in most cases the mechanism of actions is clearly understood and demonstrable. In other cases, the mechanism of action of the toxin is unknown, which, in a way, is indicative of a potentially more dangerous toxin. If the mechanism of action is not known or not fully understood, no one really knows exactly how that toxin is poisoning the body. A toxin in which the mechanism of action is unknown is analogous to Pandora’s Box.

Melamine is a toxin for which safe exposure limits have now been set for the sole purpose of calming the public. The limit of melamine exposure has been set at 1 part per million (ppm). This limit, as expected, is the proberbial “round number,” and represents pure nonsense as arrived at through junk science. This limit will ultimately be refined, and defined for specific age groups. Just like with Lead, there is no safe exposure limit to a toxin that can, and will, cause harm to the body. Since we are talking about a toxin, the safe exposure limit is therefore zero. Avoiding any food imported from China would be the only prudent measure regarding melamine.

The FDA’s official statement, revised on November 28, 2008, can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html

How the FDA determined what level of melamine is safe can be found here: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra4.html

A list of products tested by the FDA can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine/testresults.html

 

The Zen of Parenting

To My Many Readers,

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

A three year child made it a habit to have her mother lay in bed with her as she fell asleep. Her mother’s presence gave the child some type of comfort, knowing that mommy is right there beside her. Once the child fell asleep, the mother would quietly sneak out of the room. This is not unusual for a child of that age, but at some time, the child must be broken of this desire.

The mother tried in many ways to break her daughter of this behavior. The parent gently explained to the child that mommy has her own bed, and that’s where mommy sleeps. This, not surprisingly, did not convince the child. The mother, as many parents do, attempted to bribe the child, telling the girl that if she slept in her bed alone, she will buy her a new toy from the local toy store. The child, however, with her own view of the universe and the way things should be, could not be easily bribed. The possibility of receiving a future toy simply could not outweigh the comfort of mommy next to her as she fell asleep. The parent failed in every attempt of reasoning with the child.

One night, the child started to cry, and wanted mommy to sleep with her in her bed. Giving in to the child, the mother consoled and comforted the child as she lay down to sleep. Thinking to herself “how did I get here again,” the mother got an idea. With the daughter almost asleep, the mother started to cry. The three year old girl asked “what’s wrong mommy?” Still crying, the mother said “I want to sleep in my own bed.” The child took her mommy by the hand, and led her back to her own bed. Pulling back the covers, the parent got into her own bed. The child tucked her mommy in, gave her a kiss, and said “you sleep here mommy, you’ll be OK here.”

The child never again asked her mother to lie in bed with her as she fell asleep.

 

The Holiday Season is Upon Us

 

To My Many Readers,

 

All of my new articles can be found on my website www.rue309.com.  Please bookmark that website for future reference, and let everyone you know about the site.  Also, my book, Why Am I Sick, And What To Do About It is now available on my website free.  You can still buy a hard copy if you wish from Amazon.  And … now on to the article you searched for …

 

The holiday sesaon is upon us!  With his unusual sense of humor, Dr. Robert Zee puts the events of the season in quite an interesting perspective.  The following is an excerpt from the book Why Am I Sick? And What To Do About It , by Dr. Robert Zee, available on Amazon today. This is a timely message considering the holiday season is just around the corner. Permission is granted to distribute this post in electronic form provided is distributed in its entirety, including this paragraph.

Health and sickness quite predictably follow periodic seasonal patterns. The great yearly downturn in health begins on October 31, but is not readily apparent until a few months later. To kick off the annual down slide of health, all the kids dress up in costumes and go house to house knocking on every door in hopes of bagging the coveted treasure – candy. For the next two weeks, sugar enters their body like a tsunami, paving the way for a Candida albicans yeast overgrowth in the intestines, and creating blood sugar swings that resemble an EKG. This results in mood swings and crankiness, and the parents give in by giving the kids even more candy just to quiet them down. Unknowingly to the kids, the parents sneak some of their candy while they are away in school, desperately trying to reduce the private stash so the kids will not gorge themselves on something that is so unhealthy. Then comes the big feast on the fourth Thursday in November. In preparation for the festivities revolving around the large meal, the hosts make their guest lists, buy all sorts of food – vegetables, bread, pies, cakes, wine, and the twenty two pound bird that will be the centerpiece of the celebration. When dinnertime finally arrives, the whole home is filled with more stress than a bad day on Wall Street. The kids are cranky, the wrong team won the big football game, and the one relative with more than one screw lose somehow showed up at dinner anyway despite many desperate attempts to leave him off the guest list, quite by accident of course.

For the next few days, the menu is the same, with the words “turkey again” seeming to echo around the house. All the desserts that were left over seem to have disappeared first, and everyone is frantically searching around for something to satisfy their sugar craving. In keeping perfect tradition, the stress level rises higher than Mount Everest as the events turn from eating to shopping. Panic arises as everyone wants to be the first in line to get this year’s coveted new toy, Roto-Annihilator, an ugly piece of molded plastic with its head mounted on a turret, a remote control, a computer inside, imported directly from China. With any luck, junior is really not interested in that toy this year and hopefully spare anyone from having to wait in lines or searching the internet to find one. The shopping spree continues for four more weeks, with stress levels rising each day.

In anticipation of the next great celebration at the end of December, choir practice for the Christmas caroling adventure is mandatory, never mind the fact that everyone has sung these songs their entire life, and knows them quite well by now. To make things worse, the kids are let out of school as the parents are trying to arrange dinner plans for the big event. Every spare moment is used frantically to find that Roto-Annihilator contraption from China because, at the last minute, junior decided he needed one because Johnny down the street is getting one. Checking every store, Roto-Annihilator cannot be found anywhere, and the Korean knock off, Roto-Flunkkor, simply will not do.

After returning from church on Christmas Eve, the parents try to get the kids to sleep, which finally happens at 2:00 A.M., and two hours later the parents finally get to sleep. The kids are then up at 5:30 A.M., tearing open boxes and packages, many of which were wrapped only three hours earlier. Within no time, the living room looks like a dump truck backed up and dropped a load meant for the local toy store. A little time later, the remote control toy aircraft somehow flew itself around inside and shredded everything in sight, including the furniture. No one seems to know how the plane could fly by itself, primarily because no one was around when it happened. Right before the crash landing, the plane’s propeller chopped the head off that stupid Roto-Annihilator thing, which, in the future, will prove to be a blessing. The parents try to restore order and clean up the home so it looks presentable when the guests arrive, shoving presents back under the tree and in the corner. As usual, the relative with more than one screw loose arrives late, opens his presents, and wonders why, yet again, he got four brand-new screwdriver sets.

For the next week, the kids are off from school, and everyone’s emotions are running in high gear. Finally, New Years Eve gets here, and in a day or so everything will be back to normal. The adults all go out and get drunk in order to forget about the last three months, only to repeat the same thing next year. Finally, some semblance order seems to be restored when the holiday season is finally over.

However, that is not the end. For the last three months, everyone has been stressed, and the immune system was being compromised and is now most likely functioning at its yearly low. All the refined carbohydrates, desserts, and foods served during the holiday season, which are not typically served during the rest of the year, has taken their toll on the digestive system and immune system, not to mention the mind. As a result, colds, the flu, and other seasonal maladies seem to run rampant, being passed from person to person. Just as one person in the family gets over it, another one gets something else and passes it around. Nevertheless, soon Spring is on its way, and everyone will begin to feel better. Since Spring is bathing suit time, it is time for everyone to go on a diet, and lose those extra pounds gained over the holiday season. The newly discovered diet and a desperate attempt to lose some weight now put the body into a nutritional deficit mode, and everything eaten turns to fat. Severe lack of energy follows, and what looked to be a promising new year starts off as a disaster.

A type of individual, however, can be found that rarely, if ever, gets sick. Oddly, this type of person also rarely, if ever, seeks the advice of any health care professional. How could excellent health be afforded to this group of people considering the fact they are not even searching for it? What are they doing that the majority of society is not? Equally important, what are they not doing that the majority is constantly doing? Do they have a secret? If so, what is their secret? Why are they not sharing it with others? If we can somehow learn their secret, and apply those principles to our life, will it make us healthier too?

Their secret is explored in the bookWhy Am I Sick? And What To Do About It ,  available on Amazon today.