A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself,
may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Absenger Cancer Education Foundation | ACEF
Helping cancer survivors feel better with yoga, meditation & qigong
A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself,
may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Additional causes of Crohn's disease might include:
Immune System Abnormality Immune system disturbances are thought to be the cause of IBD, but most evidence indicates that a compromised immune system is likely secondary to the disease process.
Who is susceptible to this disease?
Crohn’s disease occurs at the rate of two new cases per every 100,000, while the total number is estimated to be 20 to 40 per 100,000. In Western cultures the rate of Crohn’s disease is increasing, possible culprits: Antibiotic use and diet.
Females get it slightly more than males, Caucasians are developing this disease two to four times more often than people of African or Asian descent, while incidence amongst Jewish people is three to 6 times higher than non-jewish people.
Quick summary of factors:
1. Genetic predisposition
2. Infectious agent or agents
3. Antibiotic exposure
4. Dietary factors
Genetic Predisposition
While there has as of yet no genetic marker been found for IBD disease. IBD occurs two to four times more in Caucasians, is four times more common in the Jewish population and in 15% (fifteen percent) to 40% (forty percent) of all cases multiple members of a family are affected by Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Infectious Agents:
There are many microorganisms which qualify for as potential culprits for IBD, but this possibility is still being debated. To mention some viruses suspected of causing this disease: rotavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and mycobacterium. Possible other organisms are thought to be; pseudomonas-like organisms such as chlamydia and Yersinia enterocolitica.
Antibiotic Exposure (1)
Prior to the 1950s, Crohn’s disease was only found in isolated groups. Evidence for a strong genetic compound. Penicillin and tetracycline have been available in oral form since 1953. The annual increase of Crohn’s disease directly correlates to the annual increase of antibiotic prescription. Statistics have shown whenever antibiotics are used very early and in great quantities, the occurrence of Crohn’s disease becomes very high. Coupled with the fact that since the 50s Crohn’s disease has spread like an epidemic, especially in countries like the United States and in countries previously having virtually no cases of Crohn’s, could one blame antibiotics?
Tomorrow I’ll continue with additional causes thought to lead to IBD. Immune System Abnormality, Dietary Factors and other Miscellaneous Factors.
In the meantime.
Beste Gesundheit
Werner
(1) Demling L., Is Crohn’s Disease Caused by Antibiotics? Hepato-Gastroenterol 41 (1994). Pg: 549-51
The longer I live the less confidence I have in drugs and the greater is my confidence in the regulation and administration of diet and regimen.
John Redman Coxe, 1800
Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body.
Cicero
IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease
This is a general term for a a series of chronic inflammatory disorders of the intestine. There are two major categories: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is characterized by repeated inflammation of particular segments of the intestine manifested with diverse symptoms.
Crohn’s disease is distinguished by an inflammatory reaction in every part of the diameter of the bowel wall. In about 40% (forty percent) of cases the granulomas (inflammatory lesions) are not present at all or abysmally developed. Crohn et al limited the disease segments in 1932 to the ileum, the last portion of the small intestine.
It is worthwhile noticing that the same granulomatous activity may involve oral mucosa, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and the colon. If the small intestine is affected it may be called regional enteritis. If the colon is involved Crohn’s disease might be called granulomatous colitis.
Ulcerative Colitis
This involves a non-specific inflammatory response, mostly restricted to the lining of the colon. Both diseases share many features like: (1)
1. The colon is frequently involved in Crohn’s disease and is invariably involved in ulcerative colitis.
2. Although rare, patients with ulcerative colitis who have total colon involvement may develop a so called backwash ileitis. Thus, both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis may cause changes in the small intestine.
3. Patients with Crohn’s disease often have close relatives with ulcerative colitis, and vice versa.
4. When there is no granulomatous reaction in Crohn’s disease of the colon, the two lesions may resemble each other in both the clinical picture and the biopsy result.
5. The many epidemiological similarities between the two diseases include sex, age, race, and geographic distribution.
6. Both conditions are associated with similar manifestation outside the gastrointestinal tract (extra-intestinal).
7. The causative factors appear to be parallel for the two conditions.
8. Both conditions are associated with an increased frequency of colonic carcinoma.
Tomorrow I will continue with common causes of these diseases.
In the meantime increase your High- Complex Carbohydrate and fiber intake. Stay away from wheat bran, since there is a correlation between high intolerance of wheat in IBD patients. All this will be covered in subsequent posts this week.
In the meantime:
Beste Gesundheit
Werner
(1) Murray M., N.D., Pizzorno J. N.D., Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. (1998). Three Rivers Press, New York, New York. pg. 588
The… patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don’t take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop.
Quentin Regestein
Sports Injuries: Tendinitis and Bursitis
The other day, at work, one of the waiters shows up and asked me what he could do about a strain he had just gotten from playing hoops. Obviously I can not give any medical advise, but researching the above mentioned sports injuries all have one thing in common. These commonalities I shall list below.
First an explanation:
What are the causes?
Tendinitis and bursitis can be caused by an abrupt tension of a tendon or bursae, resulting in a sprain or strain. Much like making quick changes of direction on a basketball court. Contracting a muscle repeatedly to exhaustion could result in a similar injury. Tendinitis can also develop if the bones in which the tendon moves develop spurs inhibiting the movement of the tendon. The most important preventative measures one can take are proper warm-up and stretching before strenuous exercise.
Tendinitis is an inflammation of a tendon. Most common areas of injury would be the Calcaneal (Achilles) tendon, the biceps brachii, pollicis brevis and longus of the thumb, patella (knee), tibial posterior (inside the foot), rotator cuff (shoulder).
Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursae. The bursae are sacs with a membrane lining which can be found in between connective tissue between tendons, ligaments, and bones. Inflammation may result from trauma, strain, infection, or arthritis. The most common locations are shoulder, elbow, hip, and the subcutaneous bursae of the knee (the section of the knee my friend pointed too).
If the injury is serious (like when experiencing excruciating pain) the advice of a physician should be sought immediately. Loss of function, or the injury persists for more than two weeks are other signs to make a stroll to a physician.
Treatment of such injuries involves a couple of phases.
1. Inhibition of further inflammation and protection of injured areas.
2. Promotion of healing after the acute phase.
Apply RICE: Rest, Ice the area, Compress with an elastic bandage, Elevate the injured part above heart level.
After the acute phase, about 24 to 48 hours after injury range of motion, stretching exercises should be used to maintain and improve mobility and prevent abnormal scar formation.
Nutritional support:
A high potency multiple vitamin and mineral formula should be in every-bodies regular diet and repertoire of prevention.
Vitamin C supplementation is essential since Vitamin C plays a major role in prevention and repair of injuries. Effective dosages from studies are 500- 1,000 mg three to four times a day.
Citrus flavanoids have been show in double blind, placebo controlled studies to cut recovery from sports injuries in half.(1,2,3) Citrus bioflavanoids: 500- 1,000mg 3xdaily
Or botanical Medicines:
Bromelain, (an enzyme complex from pineapple) has been shown in studies to reduce bruising, inflammation and swelling caused by trauma. 1,800-2,000 mcu (milk clotting units) or gdu (gelatin clotting units). 250-750mg 3xday (4)
Curcumin, the pigment of Curcuma longa (turmeric) exerts excellent antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects. 200-400mg 3xday
Hope this will help make my friend make a lucid decision on what steps to take.
Beste Gesundheit,
Werner
1. Miller M.J., Injuries to Athletes. Med Times 88 (1960): 313-4
2. Cragin R.B., The Use of Bioflavanoids in the Prevention and Treatment of Athletic Injuries. Med Times 90 (1962):529-30
3. Yoshimoto T., Furukawa M., Yamamoto S., et al. Flavonoids: Potent Inhibitors of Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase. Biochem Biophys Res Common 116 (1983): 612-8
4. Blonstein J., Control of Swelling in Boxing Injuries. Practitioner 203. (1960): 206
He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.
Chinese Proverb
For this Sunday’s Editorial I would like to repost, Kevin Miller’s “Looking For Truth in the Sunshine State.”
I chose this post because it entails a brief history on how “alternative modalities, which some of them were really main stream for millennia, became “alternative”, quackery, and charlatanry”, virtually overnight. The ongoing struggle of the medical monopoly versus true, integrative medicine, is being fought at the expense of people looking to healthcare professionals for sound, pertinent advise to make informed decisions about their health care.
It is my opinion that a true understanding of how our healthcare system became what it is today, will shed some light on the politics of “Modern Medicine” and will give readers an understanding why Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) have to “reclaim” their place in medicine.
I would like to thank Kevin for allowing me to repost his article right here. And now without further ado, here is Kevin Miller’s:
Looking For Truth in the Sunshine State.
http://kevinpmiller.blogspot.com/2006/03/looking-for-truth-in-sunshine-state_09.html
“The American Medical Association is fast degenerating into a political machine bent on throttling everything which stands in its way for obtaining medical supremacy. They propose to own and control every medical college in this country, all the State, municipal and university hospitals, and licensing boards in the United States.”
— DR. DeWITT WILCOX,
President of the Institute of Homeopathy, 1914
Quackery. It’s the one word used by medical purists in dismissing natural medicine and its practitioners. It’s a dark word — a searing indictment. “You’re a fraud,” they say. A charlatan.
A quack.
Over the years thousands of practitioners of so -called alternative medicine have been driven from the practice unfairly and countless others and are on the brink of extinction.
There’s a medical monopoly in the United States…a virulent strain of bias infecting freedom of choice in healthcare. It’s been ongoing for a hundred years…this dirty little secret… and it exists here in every state in the Union. But a new battleground is forming in the Confederacy — and another controversy is brewing in the state of Florida. It’s one that health freedom advocates should be paying close attention to, as it’s another battle over medical freedom of choice — and whether we have the right to choose a Naturopathic practitioner in Florida.
A few weeks ago, two health freedom bills were introduced in the Florida State Senate and Florida House of Representatives. They aim to protect Naturopathy in the state at a time when Naturopaths are literally dying off.
There has not been a new Naturopathic Doctor licensed in the state since 1959. Dr. Michael Dappolonia, an 88-year-old Naturopathic Doctor in Orlando was one of the last to be licensed to practice. “In those days there were over 500 members of the organization back in the early 50s,” he told me a few weeks ago. “And today I’m sorry to say over 500 members at the time we’re down to four — four licensed naturopathic physicians in the state of Florida.”
Even though he is in his latter years as an Octogenarian, Dr. Dappolonia is still a vision of good health — a handsome and articulate man who has watched with horror as the Florida Medical Association and others have depleted his ranks. Until now, legislators in Florida have refused to challenge the medical hegemony enjoyed by conventionally trained doctors and the drug company lobbyists.
The history of the American Medical Association — and its’ statewide chapters — ooze monopoly. To understand why the two bills introduced in the Florida State Senate (SB 2678) and House of Representatives (HB 1261) are so important, a little history is important.
“The AMA in its so called wisdom decided after the Flexner Report in 1910 that it was time to eliminate all competition,” said Dr. Lad Santiago, a Naturopathic Doctor from South Carolina. “By the 1950s, they had almost eliminated all of the reform schools (Homeopathy, Eclectic Medicine, etc), and then they started focusing on naturopathy. Naturopathy presented the greatest threat.”
This claim is borne out by the Cato Institute Report of 1995 entitled, “The Medical Monopoly: Protecting Consumers Or Limiting Competition?” In this groundbreaking report, author Sue Blevins investigated the various methods employed by the AMA over the past century in order to eliminate the real competition from natural remedies. One of the most famous cases highlighted in the report involved the FDA and AMA conspiracy — which was proven in the Courts — to wipe our chiropractic doctors in the United States.
Between 1963 and 1974 the AMA operated a Committee on Quackery with an intent to “expose the charlatanism of chiropractic.” The report details how the AMA urged members to lend “their full support to the continuing vigorous attack on medical quackery and to the education program on the cult of chiropractic,” writes Blevins.
In 1976, four chiropractors filed an antitrust lawsuit against the AMA and other medical organizations, charging them with criminal conspiracy to destroy chiropractic. . .and in 1987 the AMA was found guilty of illegal conspiracy and in violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Yet sadly, restrictions on chiropractic scope of practice and reimbursement remain in place to this day.
These ruthless tactics are nearly identical to those being utilized by the AMA with Naturopathic medicine and its’ practitioners. Dr. Michael Dappolonia says things virtually changed overnight and many Naturopaths were caught completely unaware. “Kevin, to this day I still to this day don’t know why it happened,” he told me. “It was so quick.”
Dr. Santiago, a student of history knows why the pressure from the AMA became so intense. “Naturopathy was using all sorts of therapeutics for all possible maladies, for all illnesses and infirmities that were imaginable,” he said. “They were truly a competitor in the health care field.”
ALMOST EVERYONE AGREES THAT ACUTE MEDICAL CARE —or allopathic medicine as it’s called— can save your life. Conventional doctors employ the very best weapons in their arsenal to bring you back from a near death experience.
Naturopathic doctors, on the other hand, are trained as the primary care physicians of natural medicine — and are committed to finding the source of disease and emphasize health maintenance rather than suppressing symptoms with drugs.
Is there any rational reason why these two forms of medicine cannot coexist? After all, aren’t these Florida bills are being driven by consumers who want the freedom to choose their own brand of medicine? Why is it so difficult to hear the will of the people, who are tired of double-digit inflation on prescription drugs and the runaway cost of healthcare?
How can a system plunging the world into chaos not change? How can a nation with so much suffering and pain and agony and death…..with so many ruined lives and sad tales…NOT honor a system based on the pledge “First Do No Harm?”
Until now, there have been few real opportunities for the public to weigh in on such a critical issue. Just lobbyists, weaving insider deals—politics and business married at the hip. . .the few controlling the many — the same old song. But, according to Dr. Santiago, there is hope brimming in Florida — and it could impact Naturopaths nationwide. “Anything that is true will always remain true no matter how much you suppress it,” he said recently. “It will resurface. . .and it has re-emerged. The outcry for the therapeutic the options that Naturopathic medicine has to offer is greater today than it ever has been.”
It’s the way life is in this sad state of Democracy — begging legislators to give us what is rightfully ours. But this is your chance to shine, Florida. Please write, call, fax, or email the Florida State legislators and tell them to pass Florida House Bill 1261 and Senate Bill 2678.
It may be the last chance we have for decades to stand for what is right — and to give consumers what is so badly needed:
Freedom to choose the practitioner they wish — without the interference of big government and big business.
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