Last night we
decided to take the night off and watch a couple old TV series episodes (Outer Limits and
Buck Rogers), then went to bed early (radical change for me). This morning, at the
breakfast table, Lannie was perusing the latest issue of Readers’ Digest (we like the
jokes mostly), when she started cursing and ripping out those annoying pieces of cardboard
that are stuck in all magazines these days. Readers’ Digest is a fairly conservative magazine and the kind
of cards that used to be in there were opportunities to get more education (NRI,
ICS, etc.) or DR mower/chipper ads, but as these pieces of cardboard flew across the table
(the garbage can is on my side), I saw first a mail-in card to get your free guide to
Understanding Overactive Bladder so I could “…learn
what causes those frequent, strong and sudden urges, and to find out about a proven
treatment option.” Ah, OK, here’s part of that
“push-pull” drug marketing plan I mentioned a couple newsletters back. Pfizer
first wants to convince me that I have a bladder problem with their free booklet, then
they want me to go to the doctor and tell him I need a prescription for another pill.
Garbage it! The next card tells me I need to “find out if you’re at risk of developing a DVT blood
clot.” Nowhere in this ad does it explain what DVT
is. This is another mail-in to “Please send me
my DVT Risk Assessment Kit today.” Sanofi Aventis
tells me that, “What you don’t know can
kill you!” I do believe that phrase, but luckily I
am not stupid enough to believe that Aventis can fix all my worldly problems. It should
have said, “What we don’t want you to know about this pill is that it can kill
you.” More garbage. You know all those grocery ads with the cents-off coupons? Those
appear in the paper because either a store is overstocked or a manufacturer isn’t
selling enough of any given product and needs to convince you to save money by buying
theirs. Well, that was the third card that flew across the table this morning: “Try Crestor Free for
your first 15 days. 1) Take this voucher to your doctor and ask whether Crestor is right
for you. 2) If your doctor prescribes Crestor 5mg or 10mg, present both this voucher and
your prescription to your pharmacist.” Gee, what a
bargain! I get the first two weeks of this drug, whatever it is for, absolutely free!
Damn, I think I’ll run right down to my doctor today and make him prescribe this for
me! Oh, and by the way, in the tiny print, it says one of the side-effects is “Sudden acute kidney failure.” Sigh. AstraZeneca group, kiss my rosy red butt! Garbage, garbage,
garbage. If you have a doctor, and you trust your doctor, s/he will tell you
if you need a drug without you demanding one just because you saw it on TV or in a
magazine. And then, when s/he prescribes that drug, throw away the script and just learn
to eat healthier instead. J ----- OK, this next rant is a theory I have formulated based on some
research papers I have been reading. Take it as a theory because there is not one doctor
or natural medicine dispenser that is yet ready to agree with me. Said papers are not, as
yet, accepted by mainstream anybody. And the theory I have devised based on those papers,
while it fits logically with other data we have, is still a theory (i.e., untested,
unproven – not as yet disproven either). But, if you have a cholesterol problem,
maybe you’ll want to think on this awhile before you try your next
cholesterol-lowering drug. You might want to pull up the ladder diagram of your major organs
that I gave you in issue 5. This is about the connection between the stomach to
intestines, to blood, to liver, to gall bladder, and back to intestines. Your liver creates HDL cholesterol (the good stuff). It does this to
help break down fats in the blood, and, by way of the gall bladder metering bile into the
duodenum when food is put into the stomach, it also helps digest dietary fats prior to the
nutrient absorption through the intestinal walls. That part is fact, not theory. What about the cholesterol that is in the food you eat? Remember we
gave you the egg test already. Eggs are high in cholesterol, but low in fats. Nothing
needs to be argued there, and the intestine must not absorb the cholesterol in foods…
The egg test pretty much proves this because after a few weeks of eating three a day, your
blood cholesterol will actually be lower. You did get low fat and high protein food with
those eggs (no, I do not own stock in a chicken ranch). So why does the blood cholesterol rise when people eat most high
cholesterol foods? Because most high cholesterol foods are also high in fat. It is the fat, not the cholesterol
in the foods, that causes the liver to go on a rampage of creating more and more
cholesterol to break down that fat. And that is why many of the current Atkins’ Diet
followers are losing their gall bladders. That diet tells you to cut out all the carbs and
scarf as much fat as you want. Then the liver goes into overload (in many areas besides
HDL production) and dumps more crap into your poor gall bladder than it can handle. Along
with a few items in the blood, provided by your friendly local mycotoxins, J balls of garbage form. Your nice doctor now proclaims, “Ah! You
have gall stones. Let’s take the gall bladder out because you don’t need it
anyway.” Yeah, I’m sure God put it there because you don’t need it. And I’m
sure the doctor’s wife needed a new Mercedes this week too. Anyway, back to whether your body absorbs the cholesterol in your
foods. That is a bone of contention between me and every doctor and nutritionist on the
planet. Again, the reason they get away with their claim is that most of the high
cholesterol foods are also high in fat, which causes this over-production, so why should
they search any further than that? Wait, what’s the difference between their
measurements of LDL and HDL cholesterol? HDL is the good guys, LDL is the bad guys. Where
does the LDL come from if the liver produces HDL? Good question, and I can’t prove
this either, but I suggest it is fungal in nature (pasta, breads, the coating on your
deep-fried chicken, etc.). We do know that most fungi make LDL cholesterol (and all fungi
make triglycerides), but can that account for 100% of the LDL count? I honestly don’t
know, and I am still researching that issue. What about the cholesterol-lowering drugs you are (might be) taking?
How do they work? Many of them simply suppress the intestine’s ability to absorb
cholesterol. Great! So none of the high cholesterol foods you eat will get into your
bloodstream. But wait. Didn’t I just say you don’t absorb those anyway? Yup. So
how come the pill works? Back to the body diagram, folks. If the liver is making
cholesterol to break down the fats in your blood, and some of that is metered into your
intestine through the gall bladder, then this pill is also stopping that good cholesterol
from getting absorbed along with the other nutrients your intestine is trying to put in
your blood. The overall effect on the blood test is that your cholesterol is, in fact,
lowered. I seriously doubt those pills are capable of discriminating between good and bad
cholesterol; they stop all of it. So, why would that be bad? What happens if the HDL cholesterol in your blood gets too low? The
doctors will want to shoot me for this, but if the good cholesterol can’t get into
the bloodstream in sufficient quantities to continue breaking down the fats (fat globs in
your blood are called lipids), then those lipids will start sticking to the artery walls
and in all the narrow places. Then you have a condition called atherosclerosis, and the
nice doctor will happily provide you with another prescription for another pill (or
several). And, folks, if that fat glob sticks in a narrow blood vessel in your brain, you
get an overload condition (no oxygen or nutrients arriving at a critical circuit in the
brain) that is known as a stroke. If your blood pressure is high enough, that clog can
cause a rupture, called an aneurysm, then you’ve got blood leaking out into your
brain and building up pressure in other areas. I’ve been there and it ain’t no
dang fun at all! The operation to repair my head cost about $20,000 and, even though I had
the “best in his field” working on me, I almost died. So, Mr. Smarty Pants, what do you suggest we do for high cholesterol?
Start by immediately lowering the fat content of your diet. I did not say to eliminate
fats; you need some fats. But lower it, then get off the fungi-laden food types as much as
you can. Now, go eat a carrot. Better yet, shred a couple every day and eat a carrot
salad. There are a lot of anti-fungal foods you can eat instead of your daily overdose of
Doritos, Popcorn, Potato Chips, Pastas, etc. At least that is what I am doing, and it is working wonderfully! Arthritis: the Fungal
Connection by David Holland, M.D. The following text is copied from the book The Fungus Link: An
Introduction to Fungal Disease, copyright © 2000, by Doug A. Kaufmann, with
permission of the author. The painful fact about most forms of arthritis is that, with the exception of some infectious arthritis conditions, the cause is unknown. For example, the Arthritis Foundation describes rheumatoid arthritis as a “chronic, systemic, inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology.”1 Etiology simply means “the cause or origin” of a disease. What does fungus have to do with arthritis? First, we’ll read what several doctors have to say about the connection, and then we will visit, first hand, the story of one of our patients. Fungi can cause arthritis by either infecting a joint directly, usually spreading via the blood from the primary infection (e.g., the lungs or intestines), or they may indirectly affect a joint by giving off fungal poisons or “mycotoxins.” When this happens, several different types of arthritis may occur. Let’s start with gout. Nearly every medical school in the country teaches that gout is caused by uric acid which, when reaching critical levels, forms crystals in the joints. These crystals cause inflammation and are followed by excruciating pain. Dr. A.V. Costantini, M.D., retired head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Center for Mycotoxins in Food, disagrees. At a 1994 symposium held in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Costantini presented a series of studies by fellow researchers showing that we can’t prove that the human body can even manufacture uric acid. In fact, he said, uric acid in the blood stream is more likely of fungal origin.2 It is the result of fungus entering the body from outside. Furthermore, the studies showed that the urate crystals found in the patients with gout occurred days after their inflammation had already set in! Urate crystals were not the cause of the pain experienced by gout patients. So sure was Dr. Costantini of this research that he offered $1,000 to anyone who could prove that the human body created uric acid. As of today, he is not a penny poorer! Now, let’s examine rheumatoid arthritis. In the January 1995 edition of The Townsend Letter for Doctors, 19 doctors wrote that a condition known as candidiasis (from the yeast Candida albicans) could mimic symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis.3 Dr. O. Truss, M.D., one of the authors, explained that fungus may play the leading role in symptoms and diseases such as allergies, gastrointestinal and bladder problems, fatigue, weight gain, and even “brain symptoms” like headaches, poor concentration, and irritability. Dr. Costantini’s work also found evidence that mycotoxins caused rheumatoid arthritis.2 If you have not had success with your arthritis, talk to your physician about this research and request that he or she prescribe any one of the several systemic antifungal medicines for a few weeks. While taking these, you must also avoid foods that would feed the fungi in the joints. Simply stop eating sugars (including those in dairy products, oranges, and melons), potatoes, and beans (including peanuts) for a month or two. If successful, you might want to terminate the drugs and try herbal antifungal remedies. Either way, your success will demonstrate to you and your doctor that the cause of your arthritis is no longer listed as “unknown.” References:
Happy Days are Here Again A Testimonial by Debbie, O., Dallas, Texas Our daughter was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis when she was 14 months old. It is common with this kind of meningitis for infection to settle in the joints. In Julie’s case, it was her left elbow that was to be infected. After 14 days at the hospital on intravenous antibiotics, we finally came home ready to forget the previous three weeks. Fortunately, Julie returned to our family as a happy, healthy little girl, with the exception of a total hearing loss in one ear. Each year we saw an orthopedic doctor to be certain that the infection and her slightly enlarged elbow did not abnormally affect the growth of her arm. All was well for ten years. After turning 11, Julie began to complain that her elbow was sore. We assumed that this pain was related to a change in the weather, or a bump, or a fall. Several days passed with no improvement and we decided to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. After observation, X-rays, and Advil for a few weeks, it was decided that she should have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). The results of the MRI determined that Julie suffered from synovitis, which is a condition where fluid collects in the sac surrounding the elbow joint. The recovery and rehabilitation were very slow, painful, and frustrating for an 11-year-old and her parents. Unfortunately, the doctors were never able to determine what caused the inflammation in the elbow. Just when we thought rehabilitating the elbow would mark an end to our ordeal, Julie began experiencing joint stiffness in different areas of her body. Most of the pain was in her neck, right index finger, and right ankle; however, some days her knee or her hip would also bother her. The stiffness, besides limiting her physical activity, affected her emotionally. Needless to say, we were worried and frightened by this unexplainable condition. After another trip to the doctor, countless questions, blood tests, and a visit to a pediatric rheumatologist, she was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. We followed conventional medical advice and, through many tears, conversations, and lots of reading, decided to put Julie on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Unfortunately, it did not help. It was then suggested that we “needed to be more aggressive with our approach.” The next step was a more potent anti-inflammatory and gold injections. Everything we read made us more disheartened and disappointed. What we were reading and hearing made us think that we would be doing more harm than good. It was at that point that we made a desperation call to Doug Kaufmann. A friend of ours had mentioned Doug’s work and encouraged us to call him. After talking with Doug on the phone for a few minutes, he gave us our first real hope since our personal nightmare began. After visiting with Julie, Doug and Dr. David Holland told us that her problems might be yeast related. Dr. Holland prescribed an antifungal medicine and placed Julie on a restrictive diet. After two weeks, she felt 99% better. Once again, Julie was able to walk around easily and resume her normal physical activities, pain free. Most importantly to us, she donned her sweet smile. Julie continued on the diet another month and, while it was not easy, it sure beat the alternatives! For the first time in seven months, Julie felt and acted like a happy, healthy 11-year-old – thanks to the wise counsel and commonsense advice of Doug and Dr. Dave. |