How and When to Be Your Own Doctor Part 20

It can make an important difference which type of vitamin C is taken because many people are unable to tolerate the acid form of C beyond 8 or 10 grams a day, but they can achieve a therapeutic dose without discomfort with the alkaline (buffered) vitamin C products such as calcium as...o...b..te, sodium as...o...b..te, or magnesium-pota.s.sium as...o...b..tes.

Vitamin C also speeds up the healing of internal tissues and damaged connective tissue. Damaged internal tissues might include stomach ulcers (use the alkaline form of vitamin C only), bladder and kidney infections (acid form usually best), arthritic disorders with damage to joints and connective tissue (alkaline form usually best). Sports injuries heal up a lot faster with a therapeutic dose of vitamin C.

As medicine, vitamin C should be taken at the rate of one or two grams every two hours (depending on the severity of the condition), s.p.a.ced out to avoid unnecessary losses in the urine which happens if it were taken ten grams at a time. If you regularly use the acid form of vitamin C powder, which is the cheapest, be sure to use a straw and dissolve it in water or juice so that the acid does not dissolve the enamel on your teeth over time.

And this is as good a point as any to mention that just like broccoli is not broccoli, a vitamin is not necessarily a vitamin.

Vitamins are made by chemical and pharmaceutical companies. To make this confusion even more interesting, the business names that appear on vitamin bottles are not the real manufacturers. Bronson's Pharmaceuticals is a distributor and marketer, not a manufacturer.

The same is true of every vitamin company I know of. These companies buy bulk product by the barrel or sack; then encapsulate, blend and roll pills, bottle and label, advertise and make profit. The point of all this is that some actual vitamin manufacturers produce very high quality products and others shortcut. Vitamin distributors must make ethical (or unethical) choices about their suppliers.

It is beyond the scope of this book to be a manual for going into the vitamin business. However, there are big differences in how effective vitamins with the same chemical name are and the differences hinge on who actually brewed them up.

For example, there are at least two quality levels of vitamin C on the market right now. The pharmaceutical grade is made by Roche or BASF. Another form, it could be called "the bargain barrel brew," is made in China. Top quality vitamin C is quite a bit more costly; as I write this, the price differential is about 40 percent between the cheap stuff and the best. This can make a big difference in bottle price and profit. Most of the discount retail vitamin companies use the Chinese product.

There's more than a price difference. The vitamin C from China contains measurable levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, iron and other toxic metals. The FDA allows this slightly contaminated product to be sold in the US because the Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamin C is a mere 60 milligrams per day. Taken at that level, the toxic metals would, as the FDA sees it, do no harm. However, many users of vitamin C take 100--200 times the RDA. The cheap form of C would expose them to potentially toxic levels of heavy metal poisons. The highly refined top-quality product removes impurities to a virtually undetectable level.

I buy my C from Bronson who ethically gives me the quality stuff. I know for a fact that the vitamin C sold by Prolongevity is also top quality. I've had clients who bought cheaper C than Bronson's and discovered it was not quite like Bronson's in appearance or taste.

More importantly, it did not seem to have the same therapeutic effect.

The distributors I've mentioned so far, Bronson, NOW, Cooper, Prolongevity and Vitamin Research Products are all knowledgeable about differences between actual manufacturers and are ethical, buying and reselling only high quality products. Other distributors I believe to be reputable include Twin Labs, Schiff and Plus. I know there are many other distributors with high ethic levels but I can not evaluate all their product lines. And as I've mentioned earlier, businesses come and go rather quickly, but I hope my book will be read for decades. I do know that I would be very reluctant to buy my vitamins at a discount department store or supermarket; when experimenting with new suppliers I have at times been severely disappointed.

Co-enzyme Q-10. This substance is normally manufactured in the human body and is also found in minuscule amounts in almost every cell on Earth. For that reason it is also called "ubiquinone." But this vitamin has been only recently discovered, so as I write this book Co-enzyme Q-10 is not widely known.

Q-10 is essential to the functioning of the mitochondria, that part of the cell that produces energy. With less Q-10 in heart cells, for example, the heart has less energy and pumps less. The same is true of the immune system cells, the liver cells, every cell. As we age the body is able to make less and less Q-10, contributing to the loss of energy frequently experienced with age, as well as the diminished effectiveness of the immune system, and a shortened life span.

Q-10 was first used for its ability to revitalize heart cells. It was a prescription medicine in j.a.pan. But unlike other drugs used to stimulate the heart, at any reasonable dose Q-10 has no harmful side effects. It also tends to give people the extra pick up they are trying to get out of a cup of coffee. But Q-10 does so by improving the function of every cell in the body, not by whipping exhausted adrenals like caffeine does. Q-10 is becoming very popular with athletes who measure their overall cellular output against known standards.

Besides acting as a general tonic, when fed to lab animals, Co-Enzyme Q-10 makes them live 33 to 45 percent longer!

DMAE is another extremely valuable vitamin-like substance that is not widely known. It is a basic building material that the body uses to make acetylcholine, the most generalized neurotransmitter in the body. Small quant.i.ties of DMAE are found in fish, but the body usually makes it in a multi-stage synthesis that starts with the amino acid choline, arrives at DMAE at about step number three and ends up finally with acetylcholine.

The body's nerves are wrapped in fatty tissue that should be saturated with acetylcholine. Every time a nerve impulse is transmitted from one nerve cell to the next, a molecule of acetylcholine is consumed. Thus acetylcholine has to be constantly replaced. As the body ages, levels of acetylcholine surrounding the nerves drop and in consequence, the nerves begin to deteriorate.

DMAE is rapidly and easily converted into acetylcholine and helps maintain acetylcholine levels in older people at a youthful level.

When laboratory rats are fed DMAE they solve mazes more rapidly, remember better, live about 40 percent longer than rats not fed DMAE and most interestingly, when autopsied, their nervous systems resemble those of a young rat, without any evidence of the usual deterioration of aging. Human nervous systems also deteriorate with age, especially those of people suffering from senility. It is highly probable that DMAE will do the same thing to us. DMAE also smoothes out mood swings in humans and seems to help my husband, Steve, when he has a big writing project. He can keep working without getting 'writers block', fogged out, or rollercoastering.

DMAE is a little hard to find. Prolongevity and VRP sell it in powder form. Since the FDA doesn't know any MDR and since the product is not capped up, the bottle of powder sagely states that one-quarter teaspoonful contains 333 milligrams. Get the hint? DMAE tastes a little like sour salt and one-quarter teaspoonful dissolves readily in water every morning before breakfast, or anytime for that matter. DMAE is also very inexpensive considering what it does. A year's supply costs about $20.

Lecithin is a highly tonic and inexpensive food supplement that is underutilized by many people even though it is easily obtainable in healthfood stores. It is an emulsifier, breaking fats down into small separate particles, keeping blood cholesterol emulsified to prevent arterial deposits. Taken persistently, lecithin partially and slowly eliminates existing cholesterol deposits from the circulatory system.

In our cholesterol-frightened society lecithin should be a far more popular supplement than it currently is. It is easy to take either as a food in the granular form or when encapsulated. Lecithin granules have very little flavor and can be added to a home-made vinegar and oil salad dressing, where they emulsify the oil and make it blend with the vinegar, thickening the mixture and causing it to stick to the salad better. Lecithin can also be put in a fruits smoothie. A scant tablespoon a day is sufficient. Try to buy the kind of lecithin that has the highest phosphatidyl choline content because this substance is the second benefit of taking lecithin.

Phosphatidyl choline is another precursor used by the body to build acetylcholine and helps maintain the nervous system.

Algae. Spirulina or sun dried chlorella are also great food supplements. Both make many people feel energized, pepped-up. It is possible to fast on either product and still maintain sufficient energy levels to take of minimal work responsibilities. Algae reduces appet.i.te and as a dietary supplement can a.s.sist in weight loss. It contains large amounts of highly-a.s.similable protein due to it's high chlorophyll content, as well as a large amount of beta carotene. It also a.s.sists in detoxification of the lymphatic system.

It can be purchased as tablets or powder. Take a heaping teaspoon daily, or at least six tablets.

Chapter Seven

The a.n.a.lysis of Disease States: Helping the Body Recover

From the Hygienic Dictionary

Diagnosis. [1] In the United States, making a diagnosis implies that you are a doctor duly licensed to engage in diagnostic function....

The making of a diagnosis is reserved only for doctors.... The term "a.n.a.lysis" does not have such an explicit legal definition.

Thus, it is the term of choice of iridologists and the one most often used by them. It is essential for the survival and promotion of iridology that those who choose to engage in its practice avoid naming any disease condition. As we have seen, to do so is to infringe on rights reserved exclusively for doctors and can land the iridologist, sooner or later, in a snarl of legal troubles.

It is better for the iridologist to refrain from suggesting to a person that he has any particular disease, letting such diagnostics remain the province of licensed doctors. In so doing, the iridologist will avoid transgressing the law and stepping on the toes of those who are legally qualified to diagnose.

It is indeed unfortunate that one of the greatest pitfalls awaiting the iridologist is the temptation to name diseases. The feelings of satisfaction and power resulting from conferring a name are deeply rooted in the human psyche. For example, the Bible tells us that man's first task on Earth was to name the animals, thus giving him power and dominion over them.

Strong is the temptation to name diseases because nearly everyone has come to expect that his malady has a name. Patients have come to expect, and doctors have been trained to make, a diagnosis... .

"After all," the patient may reason, "how can you hope to deal with my condition if you aren't knowledgeable enough to call it by name?"

It is not necessary to name diseases in order to exercise dominion over them. _Dr. Bernard Jensen, Visions of Health._

In self defense, I must make it very clear from the first word that hygienists and most other naturopaths of various persuasions, and especially I myself, have never in the past, never!, and do not now, diagnose, treat or offer to cure, disease or illness. Diagnosis and curing are sole, exclusive privileges of certified, duly-licensed medical doctors and may only be done with a grant of Authority to do so from the State. Should an unlicensed person diagnose, offer to treat or attempt to cure disease or illness, they will have committed a felonious act. With big penalties. Therefore, I do not do it.

When one of my clients comes to me and says that a medical doctor says they have some disease or other, I agree that the medical doctor says they have some disease or other, and I never dare say that they don't. Or even confirm on my own authority that I think they do have some disease or other.

What I can legally do for a client is to a.n.a.lyze the state of their body and its organs, looking for weaknesses and apparent allergies.

I can lawfully state that I think their liver tests weak, the pancreas appears not to be functioning well in terms of handling meat digestion, that the kidney is having a hard time of it. I can say I see a lump sticking out of their body when one is obviously sticking out of their body; I can not say that lump is cancerous but I can state that the cells in that lump test overly strong and that if I myself had a ma.s.s of growing cells testing overly strong and if I believed in the standard medical model, then I would be rus.h.i.+ng my overly strong testing cells to an oncologist. But I don't dare say the person has a cancer. Or diabetes. Or is getting close to kidney failure. That is a diagnosis.

To me, diagnosis is a form of magic rite in which the physician discovers the secret name of the devil that is inhabiting one's body and then, knowing that secret name, performs the correct rite and ritual to cast that demon out. I don't know why people are made so happy knowing the name of their condition! Does it really matter?

Either the body can heal the condition or it can't. If it can, you will recover (especially if you give the body a little help). If the body can't heal a condition you will die or live a long time being miserable. No "scientific" medical magic can do better than that.

By describing a disease in terms of its related organ weaknesses, instead of pinning a Latin name on it, I am able to a.s.sist the body to achieve recovery in a superior way that the physician rarely does. By discovering that the body with the lump of overly strong cells also has a weak spleen, liver and thymus gland, I can take actions to strengthen the spleen, liver and thymus. If the body can strengthen its spleen, liver and thymus, then the overly strong cells miraculously vanish. But of course I and what I did did not cure any disease. Any improvements that happen I a.s.sign (correctly) to the body's own healing power.

The way I a.n.a.lyze the organic integrity of the body is through a number of related methods, including the general appearance of the body, the patient's health history, various clues such as body and breath odor, skin color and tone, and especially, biokinesiology, the applied science of muscle testing. Biokinesiology can be used to test the strength or weakness of specific organs and their function.

A weak latissimus dorsi muscle indicates a weak pancreas, for example. Specific acupuncture points can be tested in conjunction with muscle strength to indicate the condition of specific organs or glands. The strength of the arm's resistance to downward pressure could be calibrated with a spring scale and precisely gauged, but experienced pract.i.tioners have no need for this bother, because they are able to pick up subtle changes in the arms resistance that are not apparent to the testee. Thus muscle testing becomes an art form, and becomes as effective as the person using it is sensitive and aware.

Biokinesiology works because every organ and gland in the body is interconnected with other parts of the body through nerve pathways and nerve transmissions, which are electrical and can be measured through muscle testing. This may seem too esoteric for the "scientific" among you, but acupuncture points and energy manifestations around and in the body--are now accepted phenomena, their reality demonstrated by special kinds of photography.

Acupuncturists, who heal by manipulating the body's energy field with metal needles, are now widely accepted in the western hemisphere. Kinesiology utilizes the same acupuncture points (and some others too) for a.n.a.lytic purposes so it is sometimes called "contact reflex a.n.a.lysis."

I have studied and used Kinesiology for 25 years with the majority of my clients with very good success. There are some few people who are very difficult to test because they are either too debilitated, lack electrical conductivity, or their state of mind is so skeptical and negative about this type of approach that they put up an impenetrable mental barrier and/or hold their body so rigidly that I can hardly determine a response. A skilled can overcome the obstacle of a weak body that can barely respond, but the person who is mentally opposed and determined to prove you wrong should not be tested. If you proceed it is sure to have an unsatisfactory outcome for all concerned. For even if I manage to accurately a.n.a.lyze the condition of a skeptical client, they will never believe the a.n.a.lysis and will not follow suggestions.

The "scientific," open-minded, "reasonable" client can be better approached using an academic-like discussion based on published literature that demonstrates how people with similar symptoms and complaints do very well on a particular dietary regimen and supplements. This type of person will sometimes follow dietary recommendations to the last letter, because their scientific background has trained them to be obedient.

When a client comes to me, I like to take a real good look at who is sitting in front of me. I take my leisure to find out all about their history, their complaints, their motivation to change, their experience with natural healing, their level of personal responsibility, whether or not they have to work, whether or not they can take time out to heal, will they fast or take supplements, do they have sufficient finances to carry a program through to a successful completion, do they have people closely connected to them that are strongly opposed to alternative approaches, can they withstand some discomfort and self-denial, do they have toxic relations.h.i.+ps with other people that are contributing to their condition, are they willing to read and educate themselves in greater depth about natural healing, etc. I need to know the answers to these questions in order to help them choose a program which is most likely to succeed.

Even though fasting is the most effective method I know of, it is not for people who are compelled to keep up a work schedule, nor is it for people who are very ill and do not have anyone to a.s.sist them and supervise them. Nor is it for people who do not understand fasting and are afraid of it. People who have a.s.sociates that are opposed to it, and people who do not have a strongly-functioning liver or kidneys should not fast either. Seriously ill people that have been on a meat-heavy diet with lots of addicting substances need a long runway into a fast so as to not overwhelm their organs of elimination. Does the person in front of me have an eating disorder, or an otherwise suicidal approach to fasting, etc. Clearly fasting is not for everyone, and if I recommend it to the wrong person, the result will be a bad reputation for a marvelous tool.

Given that many clients can not fast without a lot of preparation, the majority of my clients start out with a gentle detox program that takes considerably more time, but works. These gradients have been outlined under the healing programs for the chronically ill, acutely ill, etc.