A Great Blog

Doctor CRA Tribute

2007-12-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Beauty of CRA

By Dr. Michael Billig

I started practicing in 1965 as a graduate from Lincoln Chiropractic College. One of the things I found after a while in my practice was that patients kept coming back who were not getting as well as I wanted them to do. I got very frustrated as to why adjustments weren’t holding and why I was not getting responses the way I wanted them.

At that time Dr. George Goodheart came along with his development of Applied Kinesiology and I picked up some good things from him. I actually started doing Applied Kinesiology. I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with Dr. Goodheart in Gaylor, Michigan, and I respect him a great deal as well as his work. It was very beneficial in helping me with my chiropractic profession. But as time went on, again found I was looking for certain responses. I wanted to know why what I was doing were not responding so well. Kineslogy did help immensely but did not satisfy a lot of whys I need to know.

I had been in practice about 20 years and I was using a lot of nutrition in my practice. One of the representatives of Standard Process came by and told me about Dr. Versendaal. I said to him, “Ya, ya, ya” and just brushed it off. Well, about this time my wife had become very ill. For many years, prior to my involvement with her, she always became deathly ill from a yearly flu shot. That year, immediately after getting the flu shot she developed Mono and Hepatitis. The Doctor said it wasn’t from the flu shot. I said, “Boulder dash.” Anyway, she became deathly ill every year and it would last for a long time. She was totally wiped out, exhausted and could not hardly function. At that time I took her down to one of our premier medical facilities, Dartmouth Hitchcock. They just threw their hands up in the air and said “Go home and put her things in order.” Well, that was unacceptable to me and I said to myself, “Well, God, you’re trying to tell me something.” It was a turning point for me. I decided to attend a Dr. Versendaal seminar in Danvers, Massachusetts. I made a point of being there early on Friday night so he could possibly see my wife. He did test her and he told me what to do. Consequently she consistently got getter. We still have some issues but she improved immensely. That happened over 20 years ago.

So as time went on I figured the good Lord is trying to teach me something and I had better learn this stuff. Consequently since that point on I’ve been attending Dr. Versendaal’s workshops and seminars.

One of the most potent reminders of how valuable this work can be is, of course, that we see people every day in our practice that need help. CRA is a type of work that the practitioner has to have a firm belief in that what they’re doing is correct because we do come under a lot of criticism from our own people in our own profession simply because they do not understand or do not care to understand. Therefore, we get a lot of ridicule for what we do. But again the facts speak for themselves.

For example, a number of years ago I had a woman from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, come into my office who had fallen down a flight of stairs. She was taken to the hospital where they supposedly did a CAT Scan, X-rays, and all kinds of tests but she still had constant neck pain. So she came to me insisting that I adjust her neck. I hadn’t seen her for awhile and told her before I do that I want to do a cursory examination. I did the CRA reflex test for injury to the bone. I told her I did pick up an injury to the bone, particularly in the neck, and I really don’t want to adjust her neck. Well, she was going to leave in a huff and find someone who was going to fix her neck. So I said I would need to take an X-ray first. She went ballistic and said she didn’t want any more X-rays. I told her I just needed to take a lateral view which is only one X-ray. So she consented. When I looked at the X-ray, the hair on my neck stood up on the back of my neck. She had a broken neck. The first vertebrae was fractured. I told her to please go home and put on her cervical collar until she heard from me and don’t do anything. I was not an expert in radiology but I figured this could be a lawsuit if not the biggest one in New England. I decided it best to send the X-ray out to an expert. When the radiologist called me after he examined the X-ray he said, “I hope you didn’t adjust her.” I told him that I didn’t touch it. Well, he said she was 1 centimeter away from being a quadriplegic. He said he was returning everything back to me and to get it looked at immediately. I called her husband in, showed him the X-ray and the report. He got pretty upset about it. I asked him where his wife was. He said she was at the hospital in traction. I handed him the X-ray and the report and told him “I’m out of it.” So he grabbed the X-ray, took her out of the hospital and took her to the facility where she had initially been treated. They in turn wouldn’t give them the time of day until this concerned the doctor that worked on her and told him that he had better take the time to look at the X-ray and the report. The doctor turned white as a sheet. She was in the operating room within six hours being taken care of. She did recover. This experience was one incredible testimony to CRA, the fact that through testing I could pick up an injury and did not manipulate it. It was through this CRA work that I was able to save this situation that could’ve become a nightmare for all of us.

I also work a lot with animals. I have race horses myself. The work has been very beneficial for all animals particularly race horses. It’s been a fun experience.

But that’s just the fraction of the stories that have certainly saved my life in many ways from what I’ve been through professionally and what CRA means to me.

CRA is a matter of wanting to learn how to listen to the body. I think one of the biggest factors why I like it is that it does give us answers where we could not get answers before. I have clinically found through the reflex testing that I’ve been more accurate then most any other testing I’ve run across even within the medical profession and at times they would admit it but not very often.

I think the two great men in this profession are Dr. Dick Versendaal and Dr. George Goodheart. They are both very gifted men and very perceptive and they are certainly a credit to their profession and their dedication to it.

These are some of the reasons why I got into CRA. People ask me why I continue to practice when I could easily retire. I’m 68 years old. I simply tell them I enjoy my work too much and I do.

Had I practiced traditional chiropractic, I would have been out of the business years ago because quite frankly, I find it boring because I wasn’t getting results or the challenges I hoped for. I wanted to know why people weren’t getting better.

The beauty of this work is I get the patients that everyone else has given up on them. It’s a real challenge and I like challenges. CRA has been very helpful to me and my patients.

_______________________________________________________________________

Dr. Michael Billig, DC, Lincoln Chiropractic College, 271 Portland Street, St. Johnsbury, Vermont 05819, 802-748-4064.

Patient CRA Tribute

2007-12-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Note from Dr. Michael Billig:

When Holly Provoncha first came to see me, she was in extremely poor health. She was taking about $6,000 worth of medication per month. She was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and told she would never walk again, among other things that were wrong with her. After the CRA analysis and recommending specific supplementation, there is a remarkable difference in Holly today. She is now going to college and working, and she even goes snowmobiling. Here is her story in her own words.

By Holly Provoncha

“To think of how I was in May 2001 to how I am now, amazes everyone as well as me. The medical doctors have no clue what to think and they don’t even try. I went into the hospital on November 3, 2000, where they put me in a coma for eight weeks. After they started bringing me out of it, I started having seizures from all their medicines that they gave me. Before that, while in the coma, I ended up getting secondary infections from the medicine but they let it go to the point it was supposed to kill me. I started physical therapy just to find out that while in the coma, they had never braced my feet so I got the rare disease called ‘In Unit Neurological Paralysis.’ I was only one in five in the world with it. So my feet dropped down and turned to the side and I would probably never walk again or if I did, I wouldn’t walk properly.

The medical doctors sent me home in the beginning of March at which time I kept saying I had a sinus infection but they never believed me. They said there was no way to have an infection with all the meds I have had. Twenty days later I was back in the hospital with double pneumonia in both lungs. Once again I wasn’t supposed to live. Early mid-April came and they got me prepared for future hospital visits since my life would be going in the hospital all the time from here on out. They put on infuse port in my right upper breast, near the collar bone. The next morning they came into tell me that they had screwed up once again. They put me fully under for the procedure and they shouldn’t have because I was too weak, then they kept me under for too long. This meant that I was retaining CO2 and my lower lobes were collapsing and the rest of my lungs would follow along. I was going to die. They put me on what is called a Bi-Pap to help. Finally they sent me home again but this time with the wrong Bi-Pap Unit and I was home for 23 hours, up for 30 hours, and back into the hospital I went. Luckily the respiratory staff at that hospital and the nursing staff were smarter than the doctors, because if it wasn’t for them some of the time, I could have never pulled through. The respiratory staff at the hospital hadn’t cleaned the Bi-Pap I had used in the hospital, so they got in the ambulance and made the two hour ride to my house to get me and bring me back so I could sleep in peace knowing that I had the right equipment. Once again I wasn’t supposed to live. I finally got the machine and went home for good. On the way out of the hospital, I asked my Mom to please take me to a real doctor that could save me and not kill me. I thank certain ones everyday for their help. I say that because without them I could have never made it to a real doctor.

It was the longest ride of my life to get to Dr. Michael Billig’s office in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, a 45-minute ride from my home. I remember telling my Uncle who was driving sometimes I speak like I’m drunk. I didn’t know why but I did. Then I would pass out. Forty-five minutes to me seemed like forever. When we finally got to Dr. Billig’s office, I had to walk in with my walker. My Mom and Uncle helped me in and Dr. Billig put me right into an exam room. I sat in a chair with my arms on my walker and my head hanging on my arms, half alive. Dr. Billig looked at me and said, “Well, kid, we have a long road ahead of us. Are you ready?” All I could think of is that something’s got to be better than this. He tested me with the CRA Method by using my Mother’s arm since I was too weak. My Uncle thought it sounded funny you could test me through my Mother. Dr. Billig showed him that you could do that. My Uncle thought my Mother was just weak but he found out the truth.

Since we lived so far from so many of the doctors my parents got me a converter for the car so I could take my Bi-Pap Unit with me and be able to breath and not pass out on the way home. That first trip to Dr. Billig’s was almost my last, since it took so much out of me. How would I handle a two hour ride to my Cystic Fibrosis doctors? Although I don’t remember every trip to see Dr. Billig, I know I went at least once a month if not more for the first six months. After awhile I didn’t need my Bi-Pap Unit in the car, then I did not need my walker, just a cane. I could walk in and up the steps to Dr. Billig’s office like I was fine. No one could believe it. The medical doctors wouldn’t ask what happened. It was like some miracle. I was doing better. All the medical doctors could do was scratch their heads and wonder. One day I got mad and told the doctors off “What you couldn’t do, some guy that you call a witch doctor did for me.”

I may not remember what was done for me or given to me every trip I saw Dr. Billig but I do know it got easier and easier. I started loosing things that I thought I would have to have for all my life, such as my Bi-Pap Unit, In-fuse-port, oxygen and most of all I do not have all those meds to take any more. However, I have just a few meds from my medical doctors and whatever supplements that Dr. Billig has me take. After every trip to Dr. Billig I grow stronger and stronger, to the point I’m out four wheeling, snowmobiling, and now living on my own working and going to college.

My medical doctors couldn’t help me, but Dr. Michael Billig and CRA could, and still does.

- Holly Provoncha
Newport, Vermont

December Health Tip

2007-12-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

Healthy Holidays

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

Sparkling lights on the Christmas trees, festive music, the eggnog and fruit cake are all enjoyable reminders of the holidays. Perhaps it also means parties with good tasting food that we indulge in through the month which leads us to one of our New Year’s Resolutions to lose the weight gained over the holidays.

Why not start a new tradition this holiday season by making wise healthy choices about what you eat and your level of physical activity to possibly avoid the after-holiday weight gain. Hopefully your season will look brighter.

Here are a few recommendations on what you can do to find the right balance during this holiday season.

When at a party, remember to eat fruits and vegetables first. If you fill up with the right foods first, you won’t find much room for the extra appetizing-looking foods.

Taking time to exercise at least two times a week during December to give you the energy to get through the holidays as well as boost your immune system through what is usually the cold and flu season. By exercising it may also help you feel less guilty and shed those pounds when you eat a few of those favorite treats associated with the season.

Hold out for the things you enjoy the most rather than eating them all. In other words, look forward to the pie that you know your mother will make for the family holiday dinner rather than buy doughnuts on the way to work that week.

Avoid stress. Take time to relax and enjoy the season. Plan healthy meals instead of resorting to fast foods justifying that you are too busy to cook.

In fact, food choices can lessen or magnify stress. With all the holiday eating, make sure you eat a breakfast that includes protein and carbohydrates as it will help you find a balance of energy. Eat several small meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar level up plus it will decrease your focus on food. Stay well hydrated. Dehydration can contribute to stress and fatigue. Don’t go hungry to holiday gatherings. This is not the time to put yourself on a calorie-restricted diet. By so doing, it may delete your energy and diminish your enjoyment of the holidays.

Think ‘weight management’ during the holidays. Don’t feel guilty for eating the extra food. Choose one meal during the day to eat something extra, such as one slice of fruit cake or eggnog.

Make healthy choices now and enjoy the holidays.

Worth noting

2007-12-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

By Thaya E. Gilmore, Editor

Cautions about being outside in cold weather should be noted seriously. Even though you check the outside thermometer through the kitchen window and notice that the mercury shows a temperature of 30 degrees, you think going out for an invigorating walk. Pretty soon you may come back to put on warmer clothing. The thermometer may say 30 degrees but that 25 miles-an-hour wind outside makes 30 degrees equivalent to a calm day’s zero in its chilling effect on the human organism. The “chilling factor” would still be significant, even if the wind were blowing just 10 miles an hour, 30 degrees would have a cooling power on exposed flesh comparable to a temperature of 16 degrees under windless conditions.

Don’t forget the wind’s chilling power when you head for the great outdoors in wintertime. Even on a calm day you create your own wind in fast sports such as skiing and biking. So be sure to figure on the wind as well as the temperature.

Here are some other helpful hints on safeguarding your health when it gets cold. Especially in winter you want to make exercising a regular part of your daily program. Exercise not only warms you up while you’re at it but fits you for cold stress to come.

Dress your feet with special consideration. Wool socks are a help around the house and for outside weather wear wool socks on top of regular socks (the air film between the two provides extra insulation).

Wear shoes and socks loose enough to let you wiggle your toes. Tight socks may also restrict circulation in the feet and might make them feel like two lumps of ice.

Ultraviolet rays from the sun are cut down by the shift to indoor living during the winter time. Without the help of ultraviolet rays, our bodies can’t manufacture Vitamin D. Vitamin A may also be a wintertime victim of sun deprivation. So adequate doses of nutrients (whether in food or supplements) with Vitamins A and D are a wintertime must.

Also with colds and flu getting its start this winter, try this homemade cough syrup remedy for relief. I have found that it is very effective by taking one teaspoon every half hour, or as needed.

Cough Syrup: ½ cup melted honey, one juiced lemon, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Keep refrigerated after making. The honey relieves the tickle, the lemon has the Vitamin C and the cayenne pepper reduces the mucus. Take as often as needed as it is all natural.

November Health Tip

2007-11-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Holiday Eating Tips

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

Starting at Halloween, continuing to the Thanksgiving dinner and through the Christmas season, all the goodies that come during that time can perhaps put the pancreas into a constant overload thus causing more insulin to be released. When this happens, there is the feeling of still being hungry and you eat more. So goes the Fast Sugar Cycle.

What to do? Enjoy your healthiest of holidays with some of these ideas:

Holidays offer food we don’t usually indulge in such as cakes, pies, candy, cookies, drinks, and we give ourselves permission to eat more of them during this time then we do throughout the rest of the year.

This is the time to really pay attention to what you are putting into your mouth. The rich foods that we eat during this season will pass through the body faster and maintain energy if you eat them along with healthy foods. For instance, eat a large dark green leafy salad before you go to a party, drink water before the party or have cut-up veggies to munch on in the car on the way to curb your appetite.

At the party fill your plate with the foods that support your healthy lifestyle, such as vegetables, fruit and grilled items. If possible, offer to bring a salad, veggie or fruit plate that you can share as well as eat. On other days, Inbetween parties, be wise about eating healthy meals.

Normally, your body requires movement to help get rid of the toxins and reset the metabolism to burn fat. And during the holidays there is even more of a need to exercise. Mild exercise helps to release the excess fat and toxins in the body. (Utah Health, November 2006, page 42) Make time to fit in a workout to keep off those extra pounds from the extra food consumed during the holidays.

Be sure to eat! It is tempting to skip meals or hit the vending machines while shopping or at work because you feel you are too busy to eat with last minute shopping to do. Keep nutrition bars, fruit, and cut-up vegetables with you in your purse or in your desk for healthy eating. Avoiding holiday weight gain involves balance, variety and moderation. “We need to re-learn to listen to our bodies, and stop eating when we’ve had enough. Eating holiday foods we enjoy is allowed—when moderation is practiced.” (About Nutrition Guide, Rick Hall)

A good night’s sleep is also very important especially with the busy holiday season and will keep you from going into a stress-mode.

You’ll enjoy the holidays more if you are stress-free and feeling good about yourself. And relax!

Book Review: Perfect Bones: A Six-Point Plan to Promote Healthy Bones

2007-11-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

By Pamela Levin, RN, The Nourishing Company, Ukiah, CA, 2000, 292 pages.

Levin was diagnosed with Osteoporosis. She researched the topic and learned some important well-documented points about the disease. The book tells her story and what she did about coping with the disease and actually reversed it. She offers hope to others who have developed this disease.

She lists 84 warning signs that one can check to see if they are present in your body, such as extreme fatigue, heart palpitations, periodontal disease, weak muscles, stooped posture, fractures, declining height, just to name a few symptoms.

Rather than panic if you have one of those symptoms, Levin offers consultation—the sooner you become aware of your individual situation, the easier it is to do something about it. She knows that Osteoporosis can be turned around because it happened to her and many like her.

After seeing many doctors, Levin became a patient of chiropractic to get some relief who in turn referred her to a health practitioner who analyzed her body through a technique called Contact Reflex Analysis (CRA). After taking the nutritional protocol recommended specifically for her, she began to experience greater health improvements. Levin said, “It had taken 25 years to reduce my bones to their current porous state, so I’d have to give this method a chance to work, as indeed it did.” Within a few years, she said, not only had her bones recovered but she was more active, agile, vital, and stronger than she had been since her mid-twenties.

To help understand why her body was able to reverse the disease process was to bring it back to balance with important nutrients that the body could work with to be healthy again. Levin compares the bone bank to a business bank account. Deposits are made during childhood but then withdrawals are made throughout one’s life. She said there are six points to be considered: (!) Healthy connective tissue, (2) Sufficient minerals and their vitamin helpers, (3) Essential fatty acids and the ability to metabolize them, (4) A balanced hormonal system, (5) Proper digestive, eliminative and muscular activity, and (6) A clean environment and healthy immune system.

I feel that Perfect Bones is a worthwhile book to read to learn what Osteoporosis is, how it can strike silently and what one woman did to promote healthy bones once again.

You can order the book here at Amazon.com

Worth Noting

2007-11-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

By Thaya E. Gilmore, Editor

Fall is the time of year, when the gang, whether young or old, come bustling into the warm kitchen after being bundled up watching the high school or college football game. Have a piping hot pot of homemade soup, chili or stew simmering on the stove to taunt their nostrils and warm their bodies.

Set the table ahead of time in a buffet style with servers ready to hold crackers, breads, snacks, dips, drinks and the crockpot full of the main item can be set on last, all make up the food game plan.

Easy cleanup strategy calls for the use of disposable paper and plastic cups, plates, bowls and platters to be thrown away.

For dessert, serve hot apple cider with a homemade cookie, such as Harvest Cookie, not only is it delicious cookie in keeping with the season but it is filling and very nutritious. The recipe can be made weeks before the occasion. The baked cookies can be kept in the freezer and set out the day they are to be served.

HARVEST COOKIES

¾ cup shortening
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons vanilla extracts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup nuts (any kind)
¾ cup raisins
½ cup chopped dates or dried pineapple
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup sesame seeds

Combine shortening, honey, vanilla and eggs, alternate with flour, salt and baking powder. Add the rest of the ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

October Health Tip

2007-10-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Keeping the acid and alkaline balanced in your body

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

You don’t have to be a chemist to keep your acidity and alkalinity in balance, however, it is a critical part of staying healthy and fit. If you feel tired, achy, or just plain lousy, you may have an imbalance between the alkaline and acid within your body.

Why does the acid and alkaline have to be in balance? Too much acid in the body can damage your internal ecosystem. In fact being overacidic can be the cause of many disorders in every function of the body.

First of all, let’s have a short lesson in chemistry: pH is the measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Solutions with a pH less than 7.00 are considered acidic while those with a pH greater than 7.00 are basic or alkaline.

Your body tries to avoid overacidity and what you eat can throw the whole system out of balance. A healthy body’s fluids are slightly alkaline and the body tries really hard to keep it that way. For instance, the blood pH should be between 7.35 and 7.45 in order to carry oxygen to the cells. To maintain an alkaline pH is also essential for immunity, digestion metabolism, energy production and healthy cardiovascular function.

In addition to a poor diet, stress, medication and infectious diseases all can promote acid production. Stress alone reduces oxygenation and blood flow to tissues which in turn increases acidity. An acidic pH decreases the immune system’s ability to kill bacteria and viruses. An imbalance includes bloating and feeling full after eating small amounts of food and leaves you feeling stiff and achy as well as continually tired or lethargic. To counteract the imbalance, the body will release minerals such as calcium into the bloodstream, thus robbing it from the bones.

When your body accumulates an excessive amount of acid, you are at risk for acid-related illnesses. “A healthy cell contains large amounts of alkaline substances. However, the wear and tear of daily life and the aging process itself gradually cause our cells to lose their healthy alkalinity and become more acid over time, thereby, making us more prone to disease,” said Dr. Susan Lark, nutrition authority and the author of The Chemistry of Success.

It’s easy to test your current acid/base balance by using the litmus strips you can purchase over-the-counter at any drug store. The litmus strip can be placed in the mouth before any eating or drinking or through a urine sample. The best time to conduct the test is first thing in the morning time arising either through the saliva or urine. Match the color of the moistened strip and see where you are on the scale of acid or alkaline.

Once you determine your acid/alkaline number, you need to assess what goes into your mouth. A destructive diet can contribute to an acid overload. A typical diet loaded with refined products, soft drinks, processed and fried foods, and animal products are many of the culprits.

What to do to correct the diet? Cut down on unhealthy fats and processed carbohydrates, and increase dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and good fats to improve your pH balance. Now keep in mind that not all acid-forming foods are bad, it’s the overabundance of them versus the alkaline-form foods which contributes to the imbalance. That’s what it means—-you need to have a balance of both foods in the diet. “The amount of alkalizing foods should be greater proportionally than the amount of acidifying foods at any one meal,” said Dr. Christopher Vasey, a naturopathic physician who specialized in detoxification and author of The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health (Health Arts Press).

The antioxidant and phytochemicals are found in all vegetables but the leafy green vegetables help to balance your pH. Wheat grass and sprouts are also immunity-builders that help keep your pH in balance.

You can’t just add lots of alkaline foods to your diet, you have to also cut out the acid-producing foods such as refined flour and sugar, hydrogenated (trans) fats, and sweeteners and concentrate on foods that are in their whole form the way nature made them. Use meat sparingly, not eating it often or not having large portions. Keep hydrated by drinking 10-plus cups a day of water-based, non-caffeinated fluids, and decreasing alcohol, soda and sugar-based drinks.

Eating a pH diet will help your body maintain the correct acid/alkaline balance, stay energized and fight off disease. It will be worth it in the long run. (Energy Times, H. K. Jones, June 2007, pages 43-46).

Bouquets and Weeds

2007-10-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Editor’s Note: In this column of Bouquets and Weeds, we will throw “bouquets” for a job well done for companies or individuals who promote and keep us informed about good health. With “bouquets” also come some “weeds”—those topics will be addressed that are detrimental to the health and well-being of our patients.

BOUQUET

Information on chemical released through heat or freezing

Editor’s Note: Thanks to John Hopkins Hospital for the information they released in their recent newsletter in the article “Cancer Update.” Research studies have found that Dioxin chemicals emitted from plastic when heated or frozen are causing cancer. Therefore, the following information from their newsletter is one of those topics that we should all be aware of and be concerned about to help ourselves as well as our patients know of these health issues.

“Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of the body. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases Dioxins from the plastic.” Therefore, (1) “No plastic containers are to be placed in the microwave. (2) No plastic water bottles should be placed in the freezer, and (3) No plastic wrap should be used in the microwave.”

Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, said that we should not heat food in the microwave using plastic containers, especially foods that contain fat. The combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases Dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass containers for heating food in the microwave. So items such as TV dinners, should be removed from the original container and heated in something else. He also pointed out that plastic wrap is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. “As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wraps and drip into the food. Cover the food with a paper towel instead.” (Submitted by Dr. Corey Cameron, DC)

WEED

You Be The Judge

In rebuttal to the article above under “Bouquet,” recently in a special health report “Is It Safe?” scary health stories make you think twice about everyday activities. “Experts” give the facts on one common health fear: “Freezing or microwaving plastic containers will release toxins.”

This report stated the opposite of the information published in the newsletter by the John Hopkins Hospital. Who do you believe? In the article “Is It Safe?” it states “FACT: It’s Safe,” FDA says. “That while some chemicals used to make plastics can leach into food, there is no evidence that Dioxins could be among them” AND “…any chemicals that do leach into food are well within safe limits,” states Joseph H. Hotchkiss, PhD, food packaging, safety and toxicology expert and Cornell University Professors.

Hotchkiss continues: “I have a freezer full of things in plastic containers. I warm up the plastic container a little to loosen the food so it can be removed and than I put the food into a heat-safe ceramic dish and microwave it.”

Editor’s Note: If the plastic container is safe to microwave in as Hotchkiss states, then why does he transfer the food into a ceramic dish before microwaving it? And I personally wouldn’t want ANY chemicals to leach into my food even if it was considered by the FDA to be within the safety limits or not! But then is microwaving safe and what does it do to your food? But that’s a whole other article to be addressed!

The report concludes “SAFETY TIP: Seek products labeled ‘microwave-safe’ including containers and plastic wrap. Freezing poses no risk.” (USA Weekend, January 5-7, 2007, page 16).

You be the judge!

For the Practitioner

2007-10-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Keep The Brain Young

New research published in the Neurology Journal, October 2006, found that eating vegetables may help keep the brain young as well as slow the mental decline associated with growing old. “On measures of mental sharpness, older people who ate more than two servings of vegetables daily appeared about five years younger at the end of the six-year study than those who ate few or no vegetables,” reported Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer. “The research involved 1,946 people aged 65 and older who simply filled out questionnaires about their eating habits. They also had mental function tests three times over about six years measuring short-term and delayed memory.”

Vegetables containing healthy amounts of the antioxidant vitamin E believed to help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells include green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards and kale to be the most beneficial. Because vegetables contain more vitamin E than fruits, and if eaten with healthy fats, help the body absorb the vitamin E, reported Martha Clare Morris, lead author of the study, a researcher at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center. Commenting on the short-term and delayed memory tests, Morris said, “Overall, people did gradually do worse on these tests over time, but those who ate more than two vegetable servings a day had about 40 percent less mental decline than those who ate few or no vegetables. Their test results resembled what would be expected in people about five years younger.”

An interesting “side effect” to eating vegetables that was also found in the study was that the people were more physically active, possibly proving the point that “What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” said neuroscientist Maria Carillo, director of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Mother was right. Eating your vegetables can be beneficial to your health!

September Health Tip

2007-09-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Fats: The Good and The Bad

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

Why is it that consumers are eating less fat, low-fat, no fat, yet they are getting fatter, sicker, and obesity is on the rise?

Could it be that they are eating the wrong kind of fat? Choosing the right fats is essential. Some fats increase the blood cholesterol (we’ll call them “bad” fats) while others play an important role in lowering the risk of heart problems (we’ll call them “good” fats).

Let’s start with the big culprit—-hydrogenated vegetable oils better known as Trans Fatty Acids. Trans Fatty Acids are a man-made processed fat made from liquid oil. When hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oil and then pressure is added, the result is a stiffer fat (like found in shortening). In other words, Trans Fats are artificial fats made when hydrogen gas is added to the oil.

Manufacturers started including Trans Fats in their processed foods 20 years ago to prolong the shelf life of their product (not for health reasons).

Trans Fats are bad for the body because they pose a high risk of heart disease than saturated fats. They also raise cholesterol levels but they also deplete good cholesterol (HDL) which helps protect against heart disease. The problem is that the stiffer the fats are the more they clog up the arteries which can result in a stroke or heart attack. (Utah Health, December 2004, page 26)

The sad part about having Trans Fats in consumed products is that children are continually being fed products that contain them; such as pop tarts, fish sticks, French fries, donuts, crackers, margarine, cake, candy, cookies, microwave popcorn, etc., clogging their arteries starting at an early age. Children’s obesity is also on the rise.

Saturated fats (derived from animals) raise “bad” cholesterol (LDL). These fats are found in meat, butter, high-fat dairy products, and tropical oils (coconut and palm), to name a few.

Good Fat is essential to life functions. The confusion about Fats is due to misinformation that no fat or low-fat advertised in stores as a healthy lifestyle. The body does need fat but the right kind of fat. Monounsaturated fats (found in plants and animals) and Polyunsaturated fats (found in plants) lower “bad” cholesterol. The “good” fats are found in avocado, extra virgin olive oil, flax see oil, sesame seeds and oil, fish, most nuts, and olives. Omega-3 and 6 (rich sources that lower blood triglycerides).

Good Fats supply essential fatty acids. Fats supply energy, stay in the digestive tract for longer periods of time than proteins or carbohydrates giving a feeling of fullness, and they act as an intestinal lubricant. They generate body heat. They carry fat-soluble vitamins in the body such as Vitamin A, D, E, and K. In fact all cell membranes are composed of fats. (Know Your Fats, Mary Enig, Bethseda Press, Maryland, 2000)

Rather than gaining weight by eating good fats, a great way to loose weight and/or to balance it is to eat good fats. (Enter the Zone, Batty Sears, Regan Books, New York, 1995). Yes, eat good fats. That sounds contradictory, you say. Not really because good fats are important for several reasons. Eating good fats satisfies the appestat. In other words, with good fats in the meal, you will stop eating sooner.

Steps that can be taken to incorporate good fats into your diet include simply avoiding foods labeled “hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats.” If it is listed as the first ingredient on the label, that means there is a lot of it in the food. Since January 2006, many fast foods were legally required to curtail hydrogenated fats, however, there are still some establishments whose foods still use Trans fats.

Foods that come from nature are naturally low-fat foods, such as fruits of all types, vegetables, fish, beans, and whole grains. Plan meals and snacks so you won’t be tempted to buy fast foods, do not shop on an empty stomach, buy foods you can fix quickly at home that are healthy.

Remember, what you bring into the home will be readily accessible and eaten. Make sure it’s the right food for your family.

Book Review: A Different kind of Healing

2007-09-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

By Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

In his book A Different kind of Healing: Doctors speak candidly about their successes with alternative medicine, Dr. Oscar Janiger, MD, and Philip Goldberg, support alternative medicine techniques. Invited by Jeremy Tarcher of Putnam Book, to do research on how doctors treat themselves and then write a book about it, Dr. Janiger selected physicians at random to interview.

He learned that most physicians treated themselves and their family like they would their patients. However, through other questions, he also learned about their use of unconventional treatments, such as the use of herbs, power of the mind over the body in healing, hands-on techniques, biofeedback, acupuncture, homeopathy, and the importance of eating good foods.

All of the chapters were very enlightening and interesting case studies are shared to show their results which are worth reading.

The chapter I found to be the most profound and the most important in the book was on food. Janiger quotes Hippocrates “Your foods shall be your cures,” “Your foods shall be your remedies, and your remedies shall be your foods,” stating that as a doctor, even though he took the Hippocratic Oath he has been “remiss” in heeding Hippocrates’ injunction regarding the medicinal value of food. He noted that diets are different and individuals are different, therefore, it would be difficult to recommend a diet to cure any disease.

One example Janiger cites is of a surgeon who, when he operated on many patients, found “long yellow sausage-like fatty material clogging the arteries as a result of all the animals eaten over the years.” After pathologic analysis reporting “cholesterol and saturated fats,” he made some changes in his practice regarding diets to keep those people off the operating tables.

A number of doctors agreed that there are foods that can be harmful, such as sugar, fats, salts, and caffeine. One physician said, “People are not very selective or careful about their foods. Foods can be great from a nutritional point of view yet they can also make a person sick.”

Another surprising aspect learned is when eliminating eggs, wheat, milk, chocolate, corn sugar, preservatives and dyes from children’s diet who are on Ritalin, one physician found that about “…two thirds of them stopped being hyperactive.” He also found that different foods caused different symptoms in different children.

Although the book is to promote the successes of physicians using alternative medicine, it does give a balanced picture of the traditional as well as the alternative methods. One physician stresses “I think medicine is very tunnel-visioned. There isn’t one treatment, one magic potion for everything. Medicine is an art and an empirical process. A good doctor uses the best of everything.”

I encourage health care practitioners to read this informative account to give new insight in their approach to the healing process.

I agree with Dr. Jangier’s conclusion “With more emphasis on disease prevention and wellness, we would perhaps return to Hippocrates’ injunction to regard our foods as our remedies.”

August Health Tip

2007-08-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Eat Fresh Berries Daily For Antioxidants Benefits

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

Before the summer is over and the berries are all gone, be sure to have a taste or add one or two different ones daily to your diet.

Before the summer is over and the berries are all gone, be sure to have a taste or add one or two different ones daily to your diet.

Probably the most important reason for eating berries is for the high antioxidant properties in all berries. In fact, the darker the berry, the higher the antioxidant, such as red and black currants, elderberries, blueberries and chokeberries which have more antioxidants than any other berries, which are excellent for your health.

Berries particularly with the deep red and purple hues not only are loaded with the health-boosting antioxidants but they also have properties that help to eliminate disease and needless aging because they are packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients that can be lost due to aging. Along with the antioxidant, berries are also high in Vitamin C. Plus, berries are rich in natural enzymes that aid digestion.

The important part is to eat foods high in antioxidants, which mainly are all berries. A fun way to eat berries every day is to make smoothies on a hot day combining mangoes, nectarines, papayas, peaches with blackberries, blueberries, grapes, and cherries, etc., with a yogurt base.

Not only are berries packed with vitamins and minerals but they also contain soluble fiber and enzymes which help with digestion and help the body fight off chemical reactions daily because of the antioxidants.

July Health Tip

2007-07-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

Healthy Summer Snacks For Children

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

It's summertime and the children are out of school. With lots of time to play, spending time out-of-doors, running off excess energy, it seems the children get hungry faster and snacking may increase throughout the day.

Snacks play a big role in children's daily nutrition. Children who may be cranky and sluggish may simply just be low on fuel, but the right kind of fuel. Additional sweets may contribute to those problems. Also because stomachs are small and energy is high, several snacks a day plus regular meals are a must.

Together with your children, make a list of healthful snacks. Healthful snacks give kids energy to keep going and growing and possibly foods they can make without help.

Here are a few ideas for snacks:

Sliced fresh vegetables prepared ahead of time and placed in containers and kept in the refrigerator will be ready to eat for hungry snackers.
Sliced fresh fruit prepared ahead of time and placed in containers and kept in the refrigerator will be more accessible then having to stop and prepare the fruit when they're hungry.
Celery is a good thirst-quencher stuffed with cream cheese, fresh ground peanut butter or almond butter (my favorite), plus very satisfying. This can be made ahead of time or on the spot. It doesn’t time long to prepare.
Fresh ground peanut butter (no preservatives) sandwich on whole wheat bread or crackers with bananas, raisins, and/or applesauce, can be filling as well as energy boosting.
Sliced cheese and apples can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Pita bread stuffed with tuna or hard boiled egg can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Make fruit smoothies in a blender on the spot.
Yogurt topped with fruit can be stored in the refrigerator with little or no preparation.
Pretzels dipped in sauces
Popcorn can be made ahead of time and left out in a bowl on the counter.
Homemade granola bars
Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the table or countertop for those who come in one door and out the other
Turn snack time into a learning time by teaching children basic nutrition, hand washing, and good sanitation.

June Health Tip

2007-06-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

Tips To Healthy Eating

Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

There are many excellent suggestions in publications found on the newsstands on healthy eating but if you read them, do you heed their words?

Good eating habits begin at an early age. Children watch their parents how they eat. Be a good role model. Make an effort to take time everyday for a nourishing breakfast as well as other meals.

You also have control over the types of food you allow in the house. If you don't buy junk food, you won't eat it, at least not at home.

Set a regular time to eat and sit at the dining table and not in front of the television. It is also important to eat regular meals at the same time everyday, rather than skipping meals or snacking all day long.

Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. Your daily food selection should include the whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Most Americans don't eat enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Start now by increasing your servings of both especially during the summer months when these products are in abundance. Eat vegetables in salads, as snacks, lightly steamed with meals. Eat moderate portions, especially meat servings. Eat meat sparingly.

To improve eating habits, keep a food journal for a week, looking at how much butter, cream, sauces, etc., you add, and are you getting enough fruits and vegetables. Make changes gradually if you need to reduce sweets, potato chips, ice cream. Choose more healthy foods to give variety and balance to your daily diet that are so vital to good health.

May Health Tip

2007-05-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Juicing Has Special Benefits For Health

By Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN,
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN

We juice our vegetables and fruits for added health benefits.

We find the key benefit of juicing is that it preserves the natural enzymes of the vegetables or fruits that would otherwise be destroyed during cooking. The enzymes aid the body’s chemical processes (like digestion and absorption) which are lost when cooked.

As we refer to him, the Father of Juicing, Norman W. Walker, writes in his book “The enzymes are the life in your food. Enzymes enables the body to digest food and to absorb it into our blood. Enzymes are sensitive to temperatures above 118 degrees F. At 130 degrees F, the life of enzymes is extinct.” (Raw Vegetable Juices, N.W. Walker, D. Sc., Norwalk Press, Publishers, 1979, pages 5-6)

Another good book on juicing states “You wouldn’t think of eating a table full of raw vegetables but your system may be starving for the minerals, vitamins and enzymes contained in a table full of raw vegetables. By reducing that table full of life-giving vegetables to juice, we have the answer to our problem.” (Live Food Juices, by H. E. Kirschner, MD, H.E. Kirschner Publications, 1977, page 4)

Our favorite drink with the dinner meal is my own recipe: 4 carrots (with peel, scrubbed), 2 ribs of celery, ½ zucchini (unpeeled, scrubbed), ¼ cucumber (unpeeled), 1 apple with seeds and peel, ¼ lemon with rind, ¼ red pepper, and a large slice from a head of red cabbage. Not only is the juice pretty in the glass but is very nutritious. We sip on this “salad” throughout our dinner. This concoction has also served as a good quick meal yet one that will sustain us when there is no time to sit down and eat. We have gone through an evening without other food, only time for an 8-ounce glass of the above juice, and feel satisfied as well as energized.

Other vegetables can be added for different variations. For instance, put parsley between two ribs of celery (so the parsley won’t ball up the juicer and uses the parsley leaves and stems) for added greens, or don’t use celery at all but add Romaine lettuce spines or kale, etc.

It is best not to use fruits and vegetables together as they are not compatible, however, apple and lemon can be used with all vegetables. The pectin in the apple not only has healing properties to it but it also helps to smooth out the juice, while the lemon gives spark to the taste. They both go with most vegetables.

The best fruit to juice is watermelon. We don’t know who coined the phrase “Melons: Eat them alone or leave them alone” but it also applies to juicing. We juice the rind, seeds, and flesh of the watermelon and it is a delicious drink that can be used all year round. We also found that the best “lemonade” is lemons with apples, and nothing else, not even any sugar.

Other fruits can be combined for a delicious drink, such as pears and cherry, strawberry or raspberries, etc. Grapes and apples with a little lemon is also a good combination.

The fun part of juicing is experimenting to see what tickles your tongue and the energy that you feel from it. There are many great combinations to try.

Juicing is also a good way to sneak healthy nutrients into your family’s diet, especially the children. They are more inclined to drink healthy than eat healthy. My children are all grown but I used to make carrot juice and pineapple popsicles for my children and they just thought it was lemon kool-aid because it looked like it but tasted better.

Choose the freshest produce available and serve the juice immediately for the full effect of the enzymes. Not only will you feel more energy but the juicing will boost your immune system, help your body to fight off illness and disease, and you just plain feel better! Try it. You’ll like it!

Genetically Modified Food: Be Careful in Food Selection

2007-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

As practitioners, we need to be aware of the processing of foods and whether they are safe, wholesome and nutritious for the health of our bodies. A growing concern in the world is an increasing number of production of Genetically Modified (GM) and bioengineered foods that are making their way into the marketplace and onto the dinner table. According to researchers the genetic modulation of food plants has led to confusion and lack of understanding in the general population regarding its technology. (J Pediatr Gastronenterol Nutr 2002;35:475-86)

Genetically modified foods can be dangerous because of the altering of the plant with chemicals. The government may reassure us that they are safe foods to eat, but are they? (The Maker’s Diet, Jordan S. Rubin, page 93, 2004)

What exactly is GM Food?

Genetically Modified or GM refers to a food that’s been altered by selecting host genes from other plants (or nonplant sources) and transferred to another plant to boost it’s resistance to insects, increase its growth rate, improve visual appeal, flavor and are supposedly more nutritious. (Mutat Res 2003;544:217-221)

Mother Rats Fed Genetically Engineered Soy

In a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring, Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), fed rats a diet that added GM soy flour at 5-7 grams two weeks before the rats conceived and continued throughout pregnancy and nursing. At birth, GM-fed mothers delivered smaller babies and after two weeks, their weight was still low. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 young from the GM-fed group had died, compared to the nonfed GM soy mothers who lost only 3 our of 33 of their young. The GM soy she used was Monsanto’s Roundup Ready variety, its DNA has bacterial genes added to allow the soy plant to survive the applications of Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’ brand herbicide. About 85 percent of the soy grown in the US is Roundup ready. A disturbing note, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup ready soy everyday in soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, found in many processed foods sold in the US. (Seeds of Deception, Jeffery M. Smith, referenced in Biotics Newsletter 124, December 2005/January/February 2006, information provided by Dr. Dino Kotsonis).

Questions About Unknown Facts of GM Foods

Will the GM food alter the way food is metabolized by the body? Is a once safe food being turned into an allergy-causing food? Will the process deplete the food’s nutritional composition plus deplete the soil of it’s nutrients? Only time will tell.

What Can Be Done?

As a consumer, the best suggestion is to stay away from GM foods and purchase only those foods that are grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or any process used to alter the natural code of the plant. Read labels and ask your grocer the source of where the fresh fruits and vegetables are grown.

April Health Tip

2007-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Spice Up Your Health

By Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CNT
and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CNT

April is a time of spring cleaning. Dust off the spice rack, toss out those spices that are too old due to exposure to heat or sunlight and replace them with a fresh batch and use them.

Food, herbs and spices are the most powerful medicines versus over-the-counter prescriptions which have potentially serious side effects. There are specific well-researched health benefits of spices.

Experiment with new flavors, such as Oregano, Rosemary, Cayenne, Ginger, and Garlic, to give your taste buds and health a boost.

Oregano is a known herbal medicine for its strong antioxidant properties and has been used as a food preservative and in the treatment of common ailments. A Principle component of Oregano (Rosmarinic acid) may slow the starch-to-glucose rate which can contribute to management of “oxidation-linked diseases, such as diabetes.” (Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2004;13:401-8.) The oils in oregano are believed to help in slowing the process of food spoilage which in turn minimizes the risk of ingesting harmful bacteria, parasites and fungi. The antioxidants in Oregano help fight free radicals in the body that cause cellular damage and accelerate aging. Some of the benefits of Oregano include cough relief, helps relieve osteoarthritis and prevents degenerative arthritis, eases asthma attacks, heals wounds, insect bites & stings, relieves upset stomach, and aids in the treatment of urinary tract problems. (Internet: Oregano: Herbal-medicine)

Rosemary is an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant which contains the phytonutrient carnosol. It has been used in Europe since ancient times as a tonic, stimulant, and to treat headaches and nervous tension (Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics, 2nd ed., New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996). The ancient Greeks used it to strengthen memory function and concentration. (Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. DK Publishing, Inc., page 343)

Cayenne derived from chili peppers, is highly nutritious, containing Vitamin C and B-complex vitamins as well as iron, calcium, phosphorous, and is one of the purest stimulants known without any side effects. Chili peppers have been used in condiments to promote digestion and are believed to cleanse the blood. Cayenne has been used as food and medicine for at least 9,000 years regarded as a pain reliever. Cayenne is also used for poor circulation, painful muscle spasms, arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgia, lumbago, and as a deterrent for thumb sucking or nail biting in children. (Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics, 2nd ed. New York: JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.) While Cayenne stimulates the heart, it does not increase blood pressure. In fact, it is useful for heart attacks, high blood pressure, asthma, shock, colds, sinus and respiratory problems, has also been used as a gargle to treat throat conditions and as an anti-inflammatory, to relieve sore muscles, plus acts as a carrier for other herbs and spices. (Your Family Herb Guide, Austin Bayberry, page 5, 1982)

Ginger is well-known for soothing nausea especially for car/motion/sea sickness and pregnancy because it’s a natural alternative to drugs. It has been used as a medicine since ancient times, recorded in early Chinese texts and Arabic medical literature. (Brit J. Phytother 4(3):110-120). Dried Ginger has been used to treat stomachaches, diarrhea and nausea for thousands of years in Asian medical practices. The Chinese Pharmacopeia lists Ginger for pain with cold, vomiting, and diarrhea accompanied by cold extremities, faint pulse and cough. (Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China, 215-216, 1992). Ginger has also been used to treat indigestion, cramps, and migraine headaches, to lower blood cholesterol and as a cleanser.

Garlic is a natural antibacterial agent, antiviral, antifungal and lowers blood pressure and blood fats. Garlic’s secret ingredient is allicin that inhibits the growth of cancer cells which also gives it the color and taste. Garlic is one of the most popular substances used to reduce risks associated with cardiovascular disease. In addition to the cholesterol-lowering action, clinical studies have examined the effects of Garlic on plaque-reduction and blood pressure lowering actions and helpful in lessening pain, and free-radical scavenging. (Br J Clin Pract Suppl 44(suppl. 69):3-6.)

Try other spices, too, as there are more delicious flavors as well as health benefits to spice up your life!

HEALTHCARE from the Biblical Perspective

2007-04-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

By GRACE & TRUTH HEALTHCARE Clinical Nutrition for Body & Soul

By Don Webber, MDiv

Healthcare from the Biblical perspective is altogether wholistic as reflected in the classical, Judeo-Christian tradition, which by the Grace of God offers sinful and sick, diseased and dysfunctional, spiritually dead and alienated people metaphysical wholeness, i.e., eternal life, according to the Truth of God and His timeless biblical principles of temporal and eternal wholeness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ—Good News!

He who came “full of grace and truth”(1) to “give his life a ransom for many” (2) that they might be “saved from wrath through him”(3) is the eternal and archetypal Healthcare Professional, of whom it was said, “Jesus Christ makes you whole.”(4) In His own words, He came “to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”(5)—to redeem and reconcile the wicked to Himself by grace and faith alone.

Juvenal in his Satires may have suggested prayer for the attainment of Mens Sana in Corpore Sano—A Sound Mind in a Sound Body, but in fact it was Jesus in His Scriptures who proclaimed and proved Himself to be the personified answer to that prayer in every respect—“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”(6) God’s promise that the “faithful ambassador is health”(7) was realized in recorded history in the perfect person and redemptive work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate.

It stands written to those recreated in the Imago Dei—the very Image of God, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.”(8) Therefore, since “a sound heart is the life of the flesh,”(9) Grace & Truth Healthcare looks first and foremost to the soul, as well as the body, for bona fide wholistic healthcare for the whole human being, both inside and out.

There is no wholeness in healthcare apart from this “whole counsel of God”(10) and His living Word, who was “made flesh and dwelt among us,”(11) to die a substitutionary death in our behalf for our sins, was buried, and rose alive according to the Scriptures(12)—“life unto those that find them and health to all their flesh.”(13) Jesus Christ alone makes one whole—body and soul. Trust Him for your healthcare and every care by “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”(14)

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(1) John 1:14, (2) Mark 10:45, (3) Romans 5:9, (4) Acts 9:34, (5) Luke 4:18, (6) John 14:6, (7)Peter 13:17, (8) 3 John 2, (9) Peter 14:30, (10) Acts 20:27, (11) John 1:14, (12) 1 Colossians 15:3-4, (13) Peter 4:22, (14) 1 Peter 5:7 .
_________________________________________________________
Donald Webber, MDiv, 725 4th Ave NW. PO Box 1126, Issaquah, Washington, 425-736-5480, gthealthcare@comcast.net

March Health Tip

2007-03-22T05:10:00.000-07:00

By Charles C. Gilmore, PhD, CL, CN, CNT and Thaya E. Gilmore, PhD, CN, CNT

How often have you forgotten where you left your keys, can’t recall names or phone numbers, or can’t put a name to a face? Is it a sign of getting old for these memory lapses? But have you ever considered that it may be as simple as to what we eat? Choosing nutritious food and avoiding junk food can help the brain. Long before we notice any physical symptoms of poor nutrition, our thinking, memory and intelligence can be affected.

When we eat antinutrient foods, such as junk food, it can put the brain off balance, creating depression, fatigue or mood swings. In his book Food Swings, Barnet Meltzer, MD, says that refined sugar and flour, processed and saturated fats, caffeine, and alcohol are included in the antinutrient category.

Instead, for healthy brain food, eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are rich in complex carbohydrates combined with proteins found in meat and eggs, along with antioxidants, can supply the brain with a steady dose of glucose for both a calming and energetic effect. Antioxidants not only support the immune system but they also help to power up the brain for clear thinking. Antioxidant foods like broccoli, legumes, oranges, potatoes, and strawberries are also full of Vitamin C. Oils in nuts, almonds, and whole grain flour have Vitamin E. The B Vitamins are found in avocados, bananas, beets, chicken, dairy products, brown rice, fish and turkey. Other important antioxidants are found in apricots, carrots, cantaloupe, pumpkin, spinach, and sweet potatoes, which also have Betacarotene in them. Folic Acid is found in green leafy vegetables, lentils, beans, and fruits; Zinc, prominent in oats, peanuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and whole wheat grains; Selenium, found in cabbage, cucumbers, mushrooms, garlic, onions, and celery; and Magnesium in almonds, brown rice, carrots, sesame seeds, citrus fruits, and avocados are also important to brain healthy tissue. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are molecules that can damage brain cells. That’s why Vitamin C and Vitamin E are excellent antioxidants that keep the brain healthy.

Other brain-boosting tips from Food and Mood: The Complete Guide to Eating Well and Feeling Your Best, by Elizabeth Somer suggests rather than skipping breakfast, eat a good breakfast every day. Breakfast is essential for providing the fuel the brain needs after having no food throughout the night. The best way to supply energy to the brain is by eating carbohydrates and proteins with good fat to give a good balance and to stay full longer.

Eat a light lunch with a dark green leafy salad every day. A high carbohydrate intake may make you sleepy in the afternoon and less able to focus, especially if you ingest foods high in sugar. Eat a piece of fruit if you need to eat something sweet instead of doughnuts or candy.

Include fish in your diet, as it is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acid, which is important for the membranes of the nerve cells and transports nutrients to the cells.

Choose plenty of iron-rich foods such as lean meats and beans to help transport oxygen to the brain cells.

In summary, be sure to get plenty of rest, eat a balanced, nutrient-dense diet, choose many small meals instead of a few large ones, refrain from eating processed foods and eat fresh foods, be stress-free, and be physically active, all are important components to boost your brain power.

March Doctor CRA Tribute

2007-03-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

By Jeffrey P. Daso, D.C.

Natural health care philosophy has always been second nature to me. My father, the late James M. Daso, D.C., was a chiropractor and I grew up not knowing vaccines, pain pills, and antibiotics. I learned to respect with awe the power of innate intelligence from a very young age when I developed severe allergies while in grade school. My eyes would swell shut every spring in response to the seasonal pollens and I was kept from doing outside school activities while my friends went out for recess and field trips. My father took me to an allergist and they began giving me weekly steroid shots to control the symptoms. Then a friend of the family, who was also a chiropractor, told my dad to bring me to his office because he wanted to teach him a cranial technique that utilized muscle testing as an analysis tool and was supposed to be of great help with allergies. He tested me, adjusted me, and taught my father how to continue the technique on me. Long story short—after the first adjustment, I never had another steroid shot, never had the allergy show up again, was able to go outside and play in the spring, and only had the technique performed on me two more times for good measure. So you can see, even as a young boy I understood the significance of what happened to me—that the intelligence within the body was capable of healing as no drugs could ever do.

In 1986, after I graduated from Life University, I worked for my father in Lambertville, Michigan, and honed my skills as a chiropractor. It was a bit frustrating for me that the adjustment alone was not always the answer for many of the patients that came to me. In straight chiropractic philosophy I was accustomed to believing that the adjustment was all that was needed for health and wellness. I didn’t know then that oftentimes the body needed help from what God has given us on this earth. That all changed when I first met Dr. Dick Versendaal.

In 1987 my wife was severely afflicted for over a year with abdominal symptoms and chronic fatigue, which I was not able to help her with. By severe—I mean she became completely disabled and had to quit her job as an esthetician—and she was only getting worse. I had received a flyer in the mail for one of Dr. Versendaal’s seminars, but did not attend. Instead, I drove my wife a few hours away to his office in Holland, Michigan, to see if he had a way to help her. I watched as he used CRA (what looked like muscle testing to me) to determine the source of her problem, bringing back memories of my muscle testing analysis as a child. He found her to have gall bladder dysfunction along with a chronic virus and recommended that she take a few nutritional products. He then tested me and found a weakness in my liver and suggested a nutritional product to strengthen its function. My wife got better quickly and went back to work within 4 weeks—I felt a lot more energy and stamina. Wow! I was in awe—I had to learn this amazing analysis. I attended the next seminar he was teaching and started purchasing videos of other seminars to learn and evolve with the technique. Since then, I try to attend at least one seminar a year to keep up with all the new protocol.

CRA has made a great difference in the way I have been able to help people that had no hope left to have a new lease on life. Soon after taking my first seminar I had an elderly woman come to my office with a chronic urinary bladder infection. For the past 12 years she had been on numerous antibiotics and had her bladder surgically stretched only to have the infection repeat itself. She came to me for neck pain, but was surprised when I asked her if she had bladder symptoms because she had not written it down on her history form and had not told me about it. Through CRA I had found a weak staph reflex and traced it to her urinary bladder. She began the nutritional protocol I recommended and within two weeks she was free of the infection. For the first time in 12 years she was free of the burning and pressure she had lived with. Thanks to Dr. Versendaal and CRA, I have had the same kind of wonderful success helping people with a myriad health of conditions as I had with my first memorable CRA patient.

CRA testing is a refined art and is duplicable if performed by astute practitioners. Like hitting a golf ball, it can easily be flawed by the wrong human intent (thinking too hard). To master it we need to let the body talk to us, rather than force our educated mind to manifest the answers we think we should see. As well, CRA testing is a new science in regard to its application and potential. I believe that as we advance in science and theoretical physics we will understand more of the aspects of vibrational healing in all its forms. Even now, the most prevalent theory of unification, string theory, is based on vibration and frequency as the core substance of our universe. We work with a very powerful force indeed.

Dr. Versendaal has taken this art and science to new levels, advancing what he had learned from vibrational healers before him. With his work the rest of us can continue to see further and move forward—as Sir Isaac Newton put it—“…by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

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Jeffrey P. Daso, D.C.,2105 Capurro Way, Suite 190, Sparks, Nevada 89431, (775) 358-0333.

Book offer

2007-02-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to forward a link to an amazing new book Discover Wellness, How Staying Healthy Can Make You Rich co-authored by my friends, Dr. Bob Hoffman and Dr. Jason Deitch.

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When you log onto the link below and purchase one (or multiple) copies of this incredible book, you will receive free gifts valued over hundreds of dollars. In addition to an important tool for your understanding and health, you will receive three complete e-books, a special audio book by Debbie Ford recorded just for today, e-classes, a full-length video download from Dr. Bruce Lipton, fully-paid subscriptions to newsletters you will want, and much, much more.

Leading voices in the wellness revolution such as the Chopra Center, Dr. Joe Mercola, Mark Victor Hansen, Debbie Ford, Bruce Lipton, and dozens more have united together to show their support in this worthwhile endeavor.

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Most sincerely,

Paul A. Jaskoviak, DC
President, CRA Foundation

February Doctor CRA Tribute

2007-02-26T16:03:00.001-08:00

By Jayne Fallis-Jenkins, RN

Dr. Dick Versendaal’s CRA is an amazing system. It becomes an easy tool to help yourself and others maintain good health or regain it, have more energy, lessen pain, and, therefore, enjoy your life. I come by this knowledge from personal experience. I searched for over 20 years for something to help me regain my health. My story starts when I became very ill at 23 years of age.

After surgery I experienced serious complications and was in the hospital for months. My body was so overwhelmed and sick that I went in and out of comas because it couldn’t be awake and alive at the same time, so it shut down. Even though I was very young, the medical profession couldn’t help me regain my health. Everyday was painful and a struggle.

Acupuncture had made some dramatic changes but the practitioners did not realize how fragile my health was so when they treated me, they caused unfamiliar symptoms making life very difficult. I decided to study and became an Acupuncturist. It kept my body going but it only had my limited energy to work. I had given up on medication because I was so much better off without it, so I tried herbs, then eventually became an herbalist. The search continued. I attended every seminar I came upon. I tried tinctures, extracts, nutrition, kinesology, reflexology, homeopathic medicines, massages, colonics, lymphatic drainage, chelation, exercises, meditation, lots of prayer, foot soaks with orbs, saw a Sharman Priest from Arizona—the list was endless. Then I attended a CRA Seminar.

Within a couple of hours of Dr. Versendaal’s lecture, he had dispersed a few myths, overwhelmed me with information, and gave examples of healing I never knew were possible. There were many people there anxious to see him, looking for help or those that were there for follow-up telling their stories of success giving Dr. Versendaal an update then receiving their next step. Then there were those who were so grateful they just came to visit their dear friend who had helped and given them so much.

I was and am still amazed. Dr. Versendaal had put together this amazing system called CRA that gave the body a voice. Using his organized system of reflexes that were so familiar because they are the front Mu points that connect to the internal organs that Chinese have been using for over 5,200 years, the body is able to let you know the origin of any problem causing symptoms or illnesses. If a reflex is strong, the body is doing well in that area. If the reflex is weak, there is something the body needs. It even prioritizes what needs to be addressed first. Dr. Versendaal then explained that weak reflexes have certain needs and if those needs were meant, the body could and would correct the weakness restoring health. Some reflexes needed nutrition, some releasing, some flushing, whatever help the body needed, Dr. Versendaal had figured out a way to provide it.

Western Medicine has always seemed to focus on dis-ease. Dr. Versendaal’s CRA system supports the body’s health and provides the body with what it needs to repair, rebuild, realign, clean up, dissolve, flush out, and rejuvenate itself. Before I left the seminar that day, Dr. Versendaal reached through the crowd and took my shoulder guiding me to a table where he sat me down. He gave me a sour drink and put some green lights on my body that changed the course of my life. I felt like I wasn’t just hanging on for dear life anymore. I felt like I had some life waking up inside of me. On the way home, I had to pull the car over as I cried with joy telling my husband that I had finally found help after all these years of searching.

My life changed that day along with my health and everyone else’s around me. I am only one of the many thousands of people from all over the world that have been graciously touched by Dr. Versendaal’s knowledge, kindness, generosity, dedication, love, and healing energy. He had devoted his life to giving the world and those interested, information that can help the body heal. He has answers to some very tough situations helping me and others regain their health and lives once again.

Here are just a few examples of my clients using Dr. Versendaal’s CRA at work.

February Patient CRA Tributes

2007-02-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

By Jayne Fallis-Jenkins, RN

Here are just a few examples of my clients using Dr. Versendaal’s CRA at work.

1. An elderly woman loaded with cancer was given 3 months to live. Dr. Versendaal came up to my office to treat her and everyone around here, and I the looked over her health care when he left, with his guidance. For the first time in years, her family measured how well she was doing by the number of times she ran up and down the stairs. Her energy increased and she felt better than she had in years. She cooked up a storm which was her passion and entertained her family and loving every minute of it. She had the best 11 months of her life. When she did pass, she did so peacefully. She lives on in our hearts.

2. A 45-year-old man on dialysis and on the transplant list has been off dialysis for 10 months. He got kicked off the list. He has been doing well.

3. A 30-year-old mom of three was diagnosed with Lupus, was given no hope, and did nothing but sleep. She is now a working mom and running herself ragged which is how she wore herself out in the first place, even though she knows better.

4. A young 20-year-old spent every winter in and out of the hospital and most of her life sick in bed, is so busy now, I never hear from her.

5. A young emaciated fragile woman, 32 years old, with very little hair, no muscles, just wasting away even though she ate, had a digestion system that wasn’t working efficiently so her body wasn’t getting enough nutrition, now is feeling so much better, has energy, even enough to sleep well and wake rested, has color, hope, and a future.

6. A 55-year-old woman suffering from severe pain with a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, tears in both knees, severe right hip pain and severe right shoulder pain, and insomnia. She was infused twice with minerals, and came in pain-free and delighted to announce that she now sleeps.

7. A 45-year-old male athlete, who was undergoing chemo for his 2nd round of intestinal cancer, went to see Dr. Versendaal and I had the privilege of following up on his care, and is now cancer-free for the last 5+ years. He just remarried and has never been happier.

8. A 56-year-old male who had suffered from acid indigestion since he was a teen, was constantly taking antacids and was miserable, now seldom has any sign of a stomach problem unless, he says “I have been really bad eating lots of junk.”

9. An elderly woman who suffered from a persistent cough exhausting her and keeping her awake for over a year, within 4 days of taking her nutrition, the cough is almost gone.

10. A 40-year-old woman who had growths throughout her abdomen undergoing surgeries, and taking the nutrition has had no growth activity for over a year.

11. A 60-year-old man who was on large doses of steroids for elevated blood tests is now off all medication and is healthier than he has been for a long time.

12. A 59-year-old who has suffered from many health issues for over 15 years now has no more back pain, no knee pain, no allergies, no more headaches, has more energy, better digestion, and can breathe.

13. A 31-year-old female nurse who complained about heart palpitations, a rapid heart rate, and a sensation that her heart was going to jump out of her chest that took her breath away now has no symptoms.

14. A 60-year-old who suffered from limiting back pain since he was injured when he was a teenager, has no back pain after treating his ankle and strengthening his back.

15. A 49-year-old woman who had a total work up at a hospital couldn’t find out why she hadn’t felt well for over 2 years, why her heart was hurting her so much, why she was so short of breath, why she had no energy, and why she experienced a constant headache that was in numerous areas of her head. After the first treatment, I followed Dr. Versendaal’s nutritional protocol for her, hydrated her, cleared her gallbladder and all her symptoms went away.

16. A new baby boy with colic who painfully cried until sheer exhaustion quieted him, was infused with the one nutrition supplement needed and he has been the happiest and cutest little guy ever since.

I could continue giving endless examples of Dr. Versendaal’s CRA at work with my clients. It is exciting work, a blessing, unbelievably enjoyable and amazing. I am constantly learning. All day long my clients and I thank Dr. Versendaal. If I am ever stumped, Dr. Versendaal is only a phone call away and has always been more than willing to help anyone whether it is me, a family member or a fellow human being. Every time I talk to him, it is like having a seminar. I am truly grateful.

Thank you Dr. Versendaal for everything. You make the world a healthier, happier, and more loving place. Be well!
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Jayne Fallis-Jenkins, RN, Lic. Acupuncturist, Herbalist, CRA Practitioner, 192 Lafayette Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, 978-745-5321, Harmony1@comast.net