PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY FROM CORONAVIRUS (& THE FLU VIRUS, TOO!)

In my opinion, there is an enormous amount of unnecessary panic regarding the Wuhan virus. I am in a high risk group, but I am not really worried about it, because I haven’t had a cold or the flu in years. This, after almost dying from London flu in 1968. I was terribly ill for 12 weeks. Since then, I have become a chiropractic physician, a Diplomate of the American Board of Chiropractic Internists and an herbalist.

Therefore, I would like to share with you what my 35 years of clinical experience have taught me.

The first and most important thing to know is that coronavirus is a single-stranded RNA virus, which is encapsulated. This last point is critical. Research has demonstrated that properly extracted St. John’s Wort (SJW) is a potent anti-viral, active against encapsulated viruses. For details regarding the research see this article, which I wrote several years ago when I lived at the epicenter of the West Nile Virus in So. California. Patients in my practice had excellent results; no one died and I don’t believe anyone got sick. You will notice that not only is SJW active against West Nile Virus, it also treats shingles, herpes and the common flu.

In fact, I have used SJW for years to treat shingles. If started early enough, it will eliminate the lesions in 48 hours. Long-standing cases take a little longer.

Why is this important? Because there is NO readily available, effective anti-viral pharmaceutical. This became apparent to me when I developed shingles due to exposure to a patient who had recently been vaccinated. I was taking acyclovir, but it really hadn’t done much to arrest the advance of the lesions, or (more importantly to me) alleviate the symptom of intense itching that made it very hard to function. In the midst of my attack, the Australian representative of MediHerb visited my office. She had two SJW tablets with her, which she immediately gave to me to take. Within ten minutes all of the itching was gone! Needless to say, I ordered a bottle and took the whole thing. By the time I was finished, all of the lesions had dried up and gone away; and, I had not had another episode of itching the entire time. (By the way, I consider the shingles vaccine to be very dangerous. It is a live virus vaccine and can transmit the disease. But that’s another story – for another time, perhaps.)

The only form of SJW that I use or recommend is made by MediHerb, which is a pharmaceutical house in Australia. Ground up leaves have no activity. Nor do American manufacturers preserve the anti-viral fraction effectively.

So, to protect yourself and your family, how do you take this product. For prevention 2 SJW morning and evening. If you have symptoms that concern you, increase to 2 tablets, three times per day. For children, use their body weight in the following formula to calculate how much they need:

Body weight = x/4 tabs

150 lbs

where x is the amount for the child. If symptomatic, use 6, instead of 4.

In addition, to boost your immune system, I recommend one of 2 products: Echinacea Premium or Thymunose. Both of these items boost and regulate the immune system. Thymunose is a mushroom extract that has immune enhancing effects. It is also about one-half the price of Echinacea. Both come in bottles of 120 tablets. Again, the dose for prevention is 1 tablet morning and evening. If symptomatic, double that.

Basically, I am providing this information as a tool that you can utilize if you are seriously concerned about the virus. Personally, I think one of the benefits is protection against flu, which kills far more people every year than coronavirus. If you need to order, please either call me at 626-303-3162 or email me at frontoffice@RichardsFamilyHealth.com. I will be happy to order and provide you with what you need. Take care. Don’t panic. Panic doesn’t serve any purpose.

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Latest re Flu Vaccine

I have received a number of requests about what to do regarding the flu vaccine, so I want to share the following information with you.  Here is the link to the article I published last November detailing the downside of vaccines. At the end of that article is the protocol for avoiding the flu.  Also, I was just introduced to an article regarding a scientist at Merck (the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the MMR vaccine) where he reveals why he refused to vaccinate his four children and shares his concerns as to the science, safety and efficacy of vaccines. You should definitely educate yourself if you have children.  More and more States are making vaccines mandatory. You need to carefully weigh the risks; perhaps you will want to home school as an alternative to the medical Gestapo that is developing all around us.

IMPORTANT INFO RE CHRONIC INSOMNIA AND RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME

At the last MediHerb conference, the subject of resetting your sleep cycle came up. Since Dr. Bone and his associates travel to the U.S. from Australia, they are seriously jet-lagged. Dr. Bone shared with us his technique for being able to sleep and lecture.

First, some important background about what a normal sleep cycle looks like and why achieving deep sleep is so important. The following is a normal sleep cycle:

What is important about this graph is that the only time the lymphatic drainage in your brain opens up is at the deep points of the graph. Not sleeping long enough for deep sleep to kick in prevents your brain from detoxing. The result: dementia. So you see, this is more than a casual conversation.

There are several types of insomnia; this protocol is designed specifically for sleep maintenance insomnia, where you wake up several times a night and have trouble getting back to sleep. Difficulty falling asleep can be helped, as well. However, you need to institute good sleep hygiene as well. Establish a regular bed time; disconnect from your electronic devices two hours or so before going to bed; and keep your bedroom a quiet sanctuary where the only thing you do is sleep. Also, make sure you have a dark bedroom, without ambient light (example: bright green or blue lights on electronic devices).

The herbal way to reset your sleep cycle is by using Chaste Tree (ordinary dose one, three times per day). When Dr. Bone travels here from Australia, he takes up to six per day. Then, about 20 to 30 minutes before going to bed, take two Kava Forte to relax your skeletal muscles and your brain. This allows you to rest in deep sleep.

Be patient: With chronic issues, it can take as much as three weeks for the full effect to kick in.

An interesting side note to this prescription is that Kava Forte is the specific for restless leg syndrome. I have suffered from this for years, intermittently. It had gotten so bad that a good friend wrote me a prescription for Requip to deal with it. Honestly, the Rx didn’t work very well at all. After I went to the MediHerb seminar on Saturday, I didn’t sleep all night because of restless legs. I took the prescription without any success. Well, Sunday morning, in the discussion regarding Kava, it was pointed out that it is excellent for relaxing skeletal muscle. My legs were still terrible, so at the first break I went back to see if there were any samples of Kava Forte available. Unfortunately, all of the sample bottles were empty. I asked several of the reps, and it turned out that one of them had two tablets left. The last two in the whole place! Thankfully, they gifted me with them, and within ten minutes all of the discomfort and tension in my legs was gone! Fortunately, the friends I was staying with had just ordered Kava, so I was able to borrow the bottle and use it during the rest of my trip. Believe me, I will never use the Rx again. No need! The Kava has completely resolved my leg issues.

So, if you suffer from disturbed sleep and/or restless leg syndrome, I strongly recommend you try these protocols. For insomnia: Kava Forte and Chaste Tree. For restless leg syndrome: Kava Forte alone, just before bed. I, of course, can order these items for you, and I would love to hear from you re your success.

Let’s Talk Flu Vaccine

If you’ve been listening to the news, I am sure you have seen the PR campaign promoting flu vaccine. The message is: “You owe it to friends and family to get the vaccine. You need to protect them.” “Thousands of people die every year from being unvaccinated.”

The newest push is for the “senior vaccine.” It’s supposedly “better” for seniors.

There are major problems with all of this and I would like to share the unreported truths with you and give you much safer options than the vaccines.

First of all, let’s address the issue of the number of people who die due to influenza.  In 2005, Peter Doshi, a Harvard graduate student, published an analysis in the British Medical Journal entitled “Are US flu death figures more PR than science?” In this article, he points out that the quoted statistics conflate flu deaths with flu-related deaths, which are quite different. Most of what are called “flu-related deaths” are actually from pneumonia. And, it isn’t viral pneumonia either. It’s a secondary bacterial pneumonia not directly caused by the flu. { BMJ 2005;331:1412}

To quote his article: “[The CDC claims that] influenza and pneumonia took 62,034 lives in 2001; 61,777 of which were attributable to pneumonia and 257 to flu; and in only 18 cases was the flu virus positively identified.” (emphasis added)

Please note: This article was published in the British Medical Journal, not in America. His follow-up article in 2013 was also published in the BMJ. Apparently, the American medical journals simply weren’t interested.

In his second article, he points out that in 2013, 130 million doses of vaccine were sold in the U.S. (up from 90 million in 1990). Of course, there are 315 American residents. If vaccination were so vital, this shortage could be called “medical malpractice.” In that same article he points out that mandatory vaccination laws are popping up all over the U.S. because so many people don’t want the shot.

So, now, let’s examine just how effective the vaccine is; then, I’ll talk about side effects. Finally, I’ll share natural alternatives to protect your immune system. [By the way, I haven’t had the flu in more than a decade, despite treating many patients with influenza, so I am confident the protocol works!]

In the face of aggressive PR campaigns to “get your flu shot,” you may think the flu vaccine is the ultimate solution. “What’s not advertised, however, is just how lackluster the vaccine is. The most commonly used flu shots protect no more than 60% of people who receive them; some years, effectiveness plunges to as low as 1%.” {Science Mag}

So, what is going on? Seasonally, manufacturers produce a vaccine against the strains of flu they expect to circulate that year. This is an “educated guess;” actually, it’s a crapshoot. No one can accurately predict what strains may pop up. An additional problem has been uncovered by more modern genetic testing.

For decades, tests suggested the flu vaccine worked extremely well. However, a better genetic test polymerase chain reaction (PCR), revealed many infections in vaccinated people who would have previously been deemed protected. {Med J Aust} The actual efficacy proved to be between 60% (high) and 10% (low).

Another study conducted in British Columbia suggested that the problems with the vaccine arise in the production process. For years, it was assumed that mutations in the virus caused the vaccine to be ineffective. However, Danuta Skowronski, an epidemiologist at he BC Center for Disease Control in Vancouver, Canada  blames mutations during the culture of the vaccine. The most common vaccine contains an “inactivated” virus, which manufacturers grow in chicken eggs. As Skowronski’s team first reported in 2014, the virus can mutate while it is growing in chicken eggs, resulting in a vaccine that is unable to block circulating strains.

Again, please note that ALL of this information is being researched and published in foreign countries. Access to information in the U.S. is controlled by the pharmaceutical companies.

So, in an effort to boost efficacy, Big Pharma has come up with a “senior” vaccine, which is a “high dose” vaccine that contains four times the antigens of the regular vaccine. The theory is that the extra antigens will boost your immune response and provide extra protection. {source)

However, this increased potency is not without cost. Very common side effects include: myalgia; headaches; tenderness, redness, itching and swelling at the injection site; abnormal crying, malaise and fever; runny nose and nasal congestion; upper respiratory infection; vomiting, nausea and diarrhea; loss of appetite; and irritability. Some of these occur at the rate of 78%!

Merely common side effects include: hemorrhage, chest tightness, chills, shivering, back pain, migraine, sore throat, cough, oropharyngeal pain, rhinorrhea, wheezing, nasopharyngitis, infection and flu-like illness. {source: www.drugs.com re Fluzone} Please tell me how this is different from actually having the flu?!?

Recently, one of my long-time clients had the senior vaccine. She wanted to see her newborn niece. (You are probably aware of the new tactic; family members must receive vaccines in order to visit newborns.) She had a severe reaction, including the central nervous system effects. I recommended she return to her primary care doctor and inform the doctor of the reaction, so it could be noted in her medical records. The M.D. took swift action and specified that my patient should never have any flu vaccine again.

Standard flu vaccine is also a problem. It comes with unrevealed side effects, including: soreness, redness and/or swelling from the shot; headache; fever, nausea and muscle aches. There are also severe allergic reactions, which include: difficulty breathing, hoarseness or wheezing, swelling around the eyes or lips, hives, paleness, weakness, fast heart rate and dizziness.  More seriously, is Guillain-Barre´ Syndrome (GBS), which results in progressive paralysis of the motor nerves, including the nerves that control the muscles of respiration. This information comes from the CDC.

What I found shocking was the extent to which the impact of this life-threatening condition is being minimized. I clearly remember 1976, when the swine flu virus paralyzed 565 infants with GBS; hundreds more suffered major side effects. Eventually the U.S. government paid out $400 million in damages to victims’ families when it was proven that the government had foreknowledge of the risks. {Source: Coulter H, Fisher B, A Shot in the Dark, Avery 1991}

The facts of the case are as follows: The federal agency, the Division of Biologic Standards, is in charge of vaccine safety. Just before the vaccine was released, one of their top research scientists, J. Anthony Morris, was fired by the agency for warning the public that there was no evidence that a swine flu “epidemic” was coming and also that the vaccine had serious side effects. {Ibid}

However, there is an even more serious effect — one that is being not only ignored, but ridiculed by the CDC. The gentleman who revealed this adverse effect, Dr. Hugh Fudenburg, has impeccable credentials in immunology. He published some 850 peer-reviewed papers (the gold standard in medicine). He was a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and an associate professor of immunology at the University of California, Berkeley. He also was the editor of the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology for 15 years, as well as serving on the World Health Organization’s expert committee on immunology for 20 years. Now, however, he is being demonized for making the following public at the first National Vaccine Information Center International Conference on Vaccination and Vaccine Risks. “If an individual had 5 consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980, the chance of Alzheimer’s Disease was 10 times greater than for those . . . getting no shots.” If you Google his name, you will immediately see the attacks against him. Such is the cost of opposing established medical dogma.

So, what is a person to do? Since Medi-Herb’s St. John’s Wort (SJW) is the specific for all encapsulated viruses, it is effective against the influenza virus. For more information, you can read my prior article on St. John’s Wort.

For prevention, the dose is 2 tablets, twice a day, of SJW. They are best taken approximately 12 hours apart. At the first sign of a symptom, increase to 2 tablets, 3 times per day.

To improve your resistance to bacterial pneumonia, you have 2 choices; either Echinacea Premium or Thymunose. (Thymunose is slightly less expensive.) The dose is 1 tablet, morning and evening, of either. Increase the dose to 2 tablets each time if you start feeling ill.

Side effects of this protocol include: alleviation of mild to moderate depression; alleviation of symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder); protection against other encapsulated viruses, including the entire herpes family – oral and genital herpes, shingles, Epstein Barr and cytomegalovirus; also West Nile Virus. Thymunose and/or Echinacea Premium provide protection against secondary bacterial infections by boosting the efficiency of your immune system.

So, it’s really your choice: Take the risk of the toxic pharmaceutical approach; or choose botanicals that provide a host of additional benefits unavailable from the vaccine.

I have stocked up on both SJW and Thymunose, so feel free to place an order if you want to be protected from influenza. You can reach me at frontoffice@RichardsFamilyHealth.com.

Microcirculation Protocol for Heart Disease, Erectile Dysfunction,Venous Insufficiency and Kidney Failure

Health – or disease – begins at the level of the microcirculation. The following is presented with thanks to Dr. Kerry Bone:

1. Microcirculation consists of the small arteries, leading into the arterioles, then to the capillaries and back out the venules and small veins.
2. This is the level at which Neurovascular Dynamics (NVD) operates via the pre-capillary sphincters. NVD is the reflex technique that I teach which directly addresses organ function. However, this protocol nutritionally supports the correction(s) provided by NVD.
3. Recent research has elucidated the importance of the microcirculation to a variety of disease states. The medical research has focused on nitric oxide.
4. “The fundamental role of microvessels is to supply target tissues with oxygen and nutrients; therefore, it appears logical that microvascular disorders will impact on tissue function, given the close coupling between flow and metabolism.” (Ref: Wiernsperger N, Rapin JR. “Microvascular Diseases: Is a New Era Coming?” Cardiovasc Hematol Agents Med Chem 2012; 10(2): 167-183.) In summary, any disease problem comes down to the tissue state. (i.e., ischemia is the root of all pathology)

 

Conditions that are related to poor Microvascular Function

Overweight/obesity	Cardiometabolic syndrome
Diabetes	Non-alcoholic steatotic hepatitis*
Hypertension*	Polycystic ovarian syndrome*
Low birth weight	Gestational diabetes
Sleep disorders	Acromegaly
Alzheimer’s disease	Rheumatoid arthritis*
Gout*	Scleroderma*
Erythromelalgia	Behcet Disease
Venous insufficiency*	Hyperdynamic circulation (RSD)*
Lupus	Mycardial infarct, stroke*
Hemochromatosis*	Beta-thalassemia*
High ferritin	HIV
Liver disease, generally*	Kidney disease*
Neuropathies, neuralgias	Restless Leg Syndrome*
Retinal disease*	Poor tissue healing, including arteriosclerosis*
Erectile dysfunction*

You will notice that NVD treats several of these conditions. (see *, as the ones I have had personal experience with treating.)

A key factor in the health of the microcirculation, in addition to working with the pre-capillary sphincters, is the quality of the blood, which includes: hematocrit, blood viscosity and RBC deformability and aggregation. Essentially, thin blood is good and elastic RBCs are good.

So, the following 5-point nutritional protocol is helpful in supporting the health of your microcirculation and optimizing your NVD treatments.

I have included the herbal options if the you don’t want to change your dietary habits. However, the only herb that is absolutely essential is Medi-Herb Gotu Kola Complex, 3 to 4 per day.

Gotu Kola Complex contains gotu kola, grape seed and gingko biloba. This combination strengthens connective and epithelial tissue, promotes tissue healing, supports blood vessel health, provides anti-oxidant activity and promotes lymphatic drainage from the tissues. In particular, gingko works at the level of the capillaries, by improving RBC deformability, allowing better transit of red blood cells through small vessels.

5-POINT DIETARY PLAN

1. Boost dietary nitrate: green leafy vegetables and especially beets. With regard to beets, they may be juiced, eaten raw or baked. Steaming or boiling removes the nitric oxide; however, they can be cooked into a soup because the nitric oxide is stable in the broth. Portion size: 8 oz. For diabetics, whole beets contain a lot of sugar. An excellent option is the powdered product Super Beets; it has an excellent effect on increasing nitric oxide without raising blood sugar. It is what I use myself.
2. Raw, freshly crushed garlic: ½ to 1 clove per day. Swallowing the clove whole is useless. Deodorized garlic is useless. Alternate: 1 Medi-Herb Garlic Forte tablet is the equivalent of 1 clove of garlic.
3. Eat 2 to 3 oz per day of berries with high anthrocyanin: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Alternate: Bilberry tablets, 4 per day (particularly important in eye disorders)
4. Increase intake of herbs and spices; especially, green tea, turmeric and ginger. Use Japanese green tea, which is steamed, not fermented (3-4 cups per day). (N.B.: in hypertension, add hibiscus tea, as well.) Use chopped ginger, not the tea, and only cook lightly. Lots of yellow curry. Alternate: 2 Medi-Herb Vitanox tablets per day.
5. 2/3 oz 85% dark chocolate per day. Green & Black organic chocolate is best.

In addition, the patient needs to STOP refined sugar and refined carbohydrates; and s/he needs to STOP smoking. Add 5-10 minutes of aerobic exercise daily.

With regard to erectile dysfunction: Use the above protocol, PLUS the following herbs (all Medi-Herb):

Rhodiola & Ginseng, contains Panax ginseng, 2 to 4 in the a.m.

Tribulus, 3 to 4 throughout the day

Additional Gingko, if needed

 

With regard to venous insufficiency: the above protocol PLUS Horsechestnut Complex (2-3 per day).

In extreme cases, with ulceration, add 2 to 4 Echinacea Premium per day.

The primary symptom of venous insufficiency is brown discoloration around the ankles.

 

For chronic kidney failure, the following protocol has proven helpful: The above protocol, PLUS

Echinacea Premium, 4 per day

Vitanox, 2 per day

High potency fish oil (2 gms of omega 3 per day)

 

In the case that Dr. Bone shared, the patient went from an eGFR of 35 (kidney failure) to 74 after 18 months. A medical miracle! Two years later, his kidney function is still normal. His nephrologist said that he had never seen anyone recover like that in 20 years of practice. I add diathermy and NVD to the protocol. Remember: natural health care has much more to offer this condition than the medical profession does.

If you suffer from any of these problems and need help, please call for a consultation, so that I may assess your condition with appropriate lab testing and get you started on the road to recovery. Visit my web site for contact details:  http://www.RichardsFamilyHealth.com.

Zika Virus is Spreading – Are You Concerned?

The recent information about information about zika virus is very alarming. I would like to bring you up to date about the dangers and a natural solution.

First of all, here in California, we are susceptible, because the vector, the tiger mosquito is endemic here. The map below indicates reported cases. (data from Scientific American) The darker the color, the greater the number of cases. Specifically, here in California 6 cases have been reported (2 from 2015 and the rest from 2013 and 2014). The problem is that, with the prevalence of the mosquito in this area, an infected person can be bitten and pass the virus to others.

author: Amanda Montanez ‏@unamandita

In addition to birth defects in pregnant women, the CDC lists the following symptoms in adults from the zika virus:

• No symptoms at all
• Fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes) are the most common symptoms in people who have any symptoms at all
• Other common symptoms: muscle pain and headache
• Rare, but serious, symptoms include Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing neurological disorder which it is possible to recover from

The following information is also from the CDC. The incubation period is unknown, but is probably a few days to a week. The danger is that during the first week of the infection, if you get bitten by a mosquito, that mosquito can then pass the virus to the next people it bites.

The CDC reports the distribution of zika in the U.S. on the following map. There have been a total of 354 cases reported in the U.S. currently, primarily travel related.

This is, of course, an epidemiologist’s nightmare. I remember when I was attending USC in the late 1960’s. Our bacteriology professor had worked for the World Health Organization and was very concerned about Vietnamese malaria coming to the U.S. with returning servicemen. The problem with the Vietnamese strain was that it did not respond to synthetic quinine products; only the natural extract would do. And, the U.S. had just sold off all of its natural stores, now that a synthesized pharmaceutical was available! Fortunately, that scenario never developed, but we are now in the midst of a similar, and far worse, one.

However, there is good news! It turns out that zika is an encapsulated, RNA virus, much like West Nile Virus. Therefore, it too is susceptible to medical grade St. John’s Wort from Medi-Herb. Read my prior article here on my blog regarding the efficacy of St. John’s Wort for a variety of viral diseases. Please remember: the over the counter preparations don’t work, because they aren’t extracted properly and don’t preserve the anti-viral compound.

The dose is 2 tablets, 3 times per day, for a week to 10 days. Prophylaxis (prevention) is 2, 2 times per day. I take it regularly due to my susceptibility to shingles. I always have some on hand, so don’t hesitate to call if you need it.

Combatting the Swine Flu Hysteria

After several days of media hysteria, you are probably concerned about this latest “outbreak” of swine flu. If you listen to the media, we are all in danger of dying. However, that is far from the case, and in this letter, I want to set the facts straight and give you a strategy to protect both yourself and your loved ones.

First of all, let’s put matters into perspective. This viral strain is H1N1, not the dreadful H5N1 bird strain that we’ve been hearing so much about over the last several years. Why is that important? Because – media hype to the contrary – swine flu is generally much less pathogenic than bird flu. People will get sick; people get the flu every year. But, so far, there is no reason to believe that this flu will be any worse than the other flu outbreaks that circle the globe annually.

The latest information is also that the strain is not highly transmissible. The outbreaks have so far been contained in “clusters” – groups of mutually infected people – without spreading to the larger population.

For one thing, the death rate (deaths/100,000 population) is most likely greatly inflated due to the dearth of health care in many of the more rural areas of Mexico. There are undoubtedly many more than the 1600 reported cases of this influenza, almost all of which have been reported in the cities. Many laborers in Mexico actually live in the rural areas and only commute in to the cities to work, returning home each evening to the farm. So, the statistics are not reliable.

The next important fact is that of the cases that have been reported in the U.S., the symptoms have been relatively mild and consistent with influenza in general. In fact, the symptoms are so similar that the CDC and epidemiologists are hard put to determine whether an infection is actually the H1N1 strain they are so concerned about. As of this writing, I do not believe anyone in the U.S. has died from this virus.

So, what can you do personally? The first, and to me most important, fact about this virus is that it is encapsulated, as are all influenza viruses. Why is that important? Because encapsulated viruses are susceptible to St. John’s Wort (SJW). (See my article, “The Flu and St. John’s Wort” on my web site, which contains all the references to the medical literature. The best thing you and your family can do is to begin taking SJW now as a prophylactic. For adults, the dose would be 2 per day. For young children, I recommend ½ tablet per day.

At the first sign of symptoms, begin taking Thymunose (another product we have in stock), 2 twice a day; and increase your dosage of SJW to 4 to 6 per day, depending upon body weight.  You can call the office if you are unsure of how much to take.

If you develop a deep cough and/or chest congestion, call the office and make an appointment for diathermy to the lungs to help your body ward off the virus.

Since every news program I have seen underscores the idea that Tamiflu is somewhat effective against this virus, I have my suspicions about all the hyperbole that is going on. But, remember, Tamiflu is effective only within the first 48 hours of infection, and most patients don’t exhibit symptoms until the 3rd or 4th day. Furthermore, it has some pretty serious side effects as well.

So, the take-away message here is that there is no cause for alarm. And, even if you or a member of your family becomes ill, we are here to help you recover.

Alli™ — Weight Loss Boon or Health Fraud?

I want to comment on the hype around Alli™, the newest, over-the-counter weight loss product.  I couldn’t believe it when it sold out all over the country on the first day of its release.  I would like to inject some sanity into the conversation.

Alli™ is a weaker version of Xenical™, a prescription medication that was introduced about 10 years ago.  I clearly remember the advertisements at that time:  A voice telling you “you won’t look like a supermodel,” while a picture of a model is clearly displayed on the screen.  Then, a picture of a pizza while the voice states, “of course, you can’t eat anything you want.”  And finally, in a very fast, tiny voice, the side effects, including fecal incontinence!  This was a masterful use of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP).  NLP is the study of how people’s brains process information.  The two important rules to apply to the foregoing ad are these:  i) Your brain doesn’t hear negatives; it literally edits them out. And ii) your visual cortex overrides your hearing.  So, the message being communicated is exactly the opposite of the words!!  Talk about misleading!

Now that the product has been around for a while, people are beginning to catch on the side effects, which include:  increased gas and flatulence, oily stools and greasy excretions from the anus.  The package instructions include:  you may want to wear dark pants until you know how this medication will affect you, and you may want to take an extra set of clothes to work!! Excuse me?  Why would anyone subject herself to this indignity?  I suspect because Alli™ is being presented as an “easy solve” to what is really a complex problem.

More seriously, as far as I am concerned, Alli™ blocks the absorption of fat soluble vitamins, including Vitamins A, E and D.  Given the recent research on vitamin D and the increased risk of cancer because of a deficiency state (see my article on this topic.  Click on “Cancer” under “Categories” on the right.), the drug companies are creating a market for their expensive chemotherapy drugs!  Sorry for the cynicism, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

The data on vitamin D is inescapable.  There is a direct relationship between serum vitamin D and the incidence of cancer of the breast, colon and prostate.  In fact, an animal study in 2006, linked the active ingredient in Alli™ to colon lesions believed to be the precursors to colon cancer. (Garcia S, da Costa Barros L, Turatti A, Martinello F, Modiano P, Ribeiro-Silva A, de Oliveira Vespúcio M, Uyemura S (2006). “The anti-obesity agent Orlistat is associated to increase in colonic preneoplastic markers in rats treated with a chemical carcinogen.”. Cancer Lett 240 (2): 221–4. Takayama T, Katsuki S, Takahashi Y, Ohi M, Nojiri S, Sakamaki S, Kato J, Kogawa K, Miyake H, Niitsu Y (1998). “Aberrant crypt foci of the colon as precursors of adenoma and cancer”. N Engl J Med 339 (18): 1277–84)  And, they want you to take this for life?!?

Last, but not least, the weight loss is nominal – only 5% of body weight.  So, if you weigh 250 lbs, you’ll lose 12½ lbs.  Great isn’t it?

A far better option is Coleus forskoli, which is in our herbal product Coleus Forte™.  The dose is two to three per day, based upon your response to the product.  A few people experience diarrhea, which can be handled by reducing the dose.  The side of effects of Coleus include:  lowering your blood pressure, improving your blood sugar by increasing insulin secretion, replacing body fat with muscle mass, inhibiting platelet activation (less clots), increasing the strength of contraction of your heart, while relaxing smooth muscle, and improving thyroid function.  The reason for these wide ranging effects is that Coleus acts directly to increase cyclic AMP, a major regulator of cellular metabolism.

Of course, you will have to watch your portion size and eliminate sugar and white flour (i.e., decrease refined carbohydrates in general).  But, that’s just a healthy approach to eating.  The only people who can’t take Coleus Forte™ are those whose blood pressure is too low to start with (people with severe adrenal problems) and those few people who find their gut becomes too irritable.  In my office, that’s less than 1% of the people who have tried it so far.

So, if you’re interested in a healthy approach to improving your body mass, call and ask for Coleus Forte™.  If you feel you need a more personalized program, you can schedule a consultation and I will be happy to create a personalized plan for you.

West Nile Virus and St John’s Wort

West Nile Virus, although new to the US, is well-documented. The Centers for Disease Control identifies it as a flavivirus, a member of the Togavirus family. It is closely related to yellow fever and dengue fever. This is important because the Togavirus family are encapsulated viruses, i.e., they are covered with a lipid (fatty) coating. This is exciting, because it means the virus is accessible to treatment utilizing high quality St. John’s Wort (SJW). Several studies have been done on a variety of encapsulated viruses, including herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, parainfluenza virus, vaccinia virus, cytomegalovirus and several retroviruses including HIV1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10. Non-encapsulated viruses or “naked” viruses were also studied for comparison purposes10,13. SJW was a potent anti-viral agent across a variety of encapsulated virus families, but showed no activity against naked viruses. Unlike a vaccine that is specific to each organism, SJW is active against encapsulated viruses by a variety of mechanisms, including light activation, interference with DNA transcription, impairing the assembly of intact viral particles and the lipophilic (fat-loving) nature of the ring structures (the quinone and phenolic groups)4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. These ring structures are critical to the biologic activity of SJW. From these results, it is reasonable to use high quality, pharmaceutical grade SJW in combating West Nile Virus, since there are no effective pharmaceutical agents. Quality is critical since the level of hypericin and pseudohypericin are key. I can only recommend the SJW product produced by Medi-Herb, which is a pharmaceutical house in Australia, adhering to pharmaceutical manufacturing standards. The product is distributed by Standard Process through alternative health care practitioners, including doctors of chiropractic, acupuncturists and veterinarians. SJW is quite unstable and the active ingredients degrade on store shelves. An independent analysis of 3 products (all of which were certified to contain 0.3% hypericin) were shown to be widely variant, with one product 25% below label claims. It is critically important that the phytochemical integrity of the whole plant be preserved for maximum efficacy.16 Medi-Herb SJW is available at the RFHC and is the only brand we carry. References: 1. Andersen DO, Weber ND, Wood SG et al. Antiviral Res 1991; 16(2): 185-196. 2. Lopez-Bazzocchi I, Hudson JB, Towers GHN. Photochem.Photopbiol. 1991; 54(1): 95-98. 3. Moraleda G, Wu TT, Jilbert AR et al. Antiviral Res 1993; 20: 235-247. 4. Tang J, Colacino JM, Larsen SH et al. Antiviral Res 1990; 13 (6): 313-325. 5. Hudson JB, Harris L, Towers GHN. Antiviral Res 1993; 20 (2):173-178. 6. Lenard J, Rabson A, Vanderoef R. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993; 90 (1): 158-162. 7. Degar S, Prince AM, Pascual D et al. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1992; 8 (11): 1929-1936. 8. Carpenter S, Kraus GA. Photochem Photobiol 1991; 53 (2): 169-174. 9. Lavie G, Valentine F, Levin B et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1989; 86 (15): 5963-5967. 10. Meruelo D, Lavie G, Lavie D et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1988; 85 (14): 5230-5234. 11. Kraus GA, Pratt D, Tossberg J et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1990; 172 (1): 149-153. 12. Takahashi I, Nakanishi S, Kobayashi E et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1989; 165 (3): 1207-1212. 13. De Witte P, Agostinis P, Van Lint J et al. Biochem Pharmacol 1993; 46 (11): 1929-1936. 14. Panossian AG, Gabrielian E, Manvelian V et al. Phytomed 1996; 3 (1): 19-28. 15. Lavie G, Mazur Y, Lavie D et al. Transfusion 1995; 35 (5): 392-400. 16. Constantine GH, Karchesy J. Variations in Hypericin concentrations in Hypericum perforatum L. and commercial products. Pharmaceutical Biology 1998; 36 (5): 365-367.

CODEX, Supplements & Dianne Feinstein

As promised, here is the text of the letter Senator Feinstein sent one of my clients in response to her inquiry concerning the availability of supplements if CODEX is implemented in the U.S. I have crossed out her name and e-mail address to protect her privacy. If you are affiliated with the Democratic party and are concerned about the availability of natural health care, I recommend you contact the Senator’s office personally and express your dismay at her position. The issue regarding ephedra is a red herring, since the herb was being abused, not used. Yet, we are all being punished as a result of the actions of a few!! “From: senator@feinstein.senate.gov Date: August 12, 2005 9:34:46 AM PDT To: Subject: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message August 12, 2005 Mrs. xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx Pasadena, California xxxxx Dear Mrs.xxxx: Thank you for writing to me with your thoughts about regulating dietary supplements. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome this opportunity to respond. The availability of dietary supplements to the public is important, but it is equally important that these supplements do not put the consumer’s health at stake. I believe that if we are to ensure the safety of those who consume dietary supplements, we must make sure that these supplements are not hazardous to their health. We cannot allow deaths, such as those caused by the dietary supplement Ephedra, to continue. The herbal supplement Ephedra was associated with 164 deaths between 1994 and April of 2004, when it was banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sadly, in the time between the FDA announcement of the ban in December of 2003 and the time of the ban’s implementation in April of 2004, four people died from taking Ephedra. I believe that something more must be done to ensure that dietary supplements are safe and effective. Last year, I cosponsored the ADietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003” that would require all dietary supplement manufacturers to report serious adverse experiences to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. After one or more of these reports are collected, the FDA would conduct a detailed evaluation process and investigate the occurrences. Waivers would be available for certain supplements that would not warrant such concerns. Under the bill, the FDA could only remove products from the market if it determines that the product “is not safe or has not been shown to be safe under ordinary or frequent conditions of use.” As such, unless a vitamin is shown to cause such serious adverse events, it could not be removed from the market under this bill. This bill did not pass the Senate last year, but similar legislation may come before the Senate during this Congress. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for writing. I appreciate knowing your views on this issue. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to call my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein United States Senator http://feinstein.senate.gov Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at http://feinstein.senate.gov/issue.html.”