Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Diet soda, diabetes and stroke

Not only does diet soda NOT make you lose weight, but the sugar substitute chemicals in it put you at risk for developing some serious health conditions. For example, one study revealed that if you drink diet soda every day, you’re 67% more likely to develop diabetes. (9) Further, the Framingham Heart Study found that people who drink more than one diet soda a day have a 56% increased chance for developing metabolic syndrome (including coronary artery disease and stroke). (10)

References:
9. Nettleton JA, Lutsey PL, Wang Y et al. Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), Diabetes Care. 2009;32(4):688-694.
10. Dhingra R, Sullivan L et al. Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community. Circulation. 2007;116:480-488.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

16 new deaths from Gardasil™

Please just say no when asked if your child should have this useless, dangerous vaccine. More and more deaths and injuries continue to be reported. For example, between May 2009 and September 2010 there were 3,589 adverse reactions reported from Merck’s Gardasil (HPV) vaccine including 213 people who became permanently disabled, 16 deaths (including four suicides) and 25 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome including:

A 19-year-old girl received Gardasil. A few weeks later she developed “headache, nausea, dizziness, chilling, tiredness, shortness of breath, chest pain, severe cramps,” experienced an acute cardiac arrhythmia and died.

A 13-year-old was vaccinated. Ten days later, she developed a fever. “The patient did not recover and was admitted to the hospital, developed dyspnoea, went into a coma…and expired. The cause of death was claimed to be ‘death due to viral fever.’” Her death occurred 23 days after receiving her first dose of Gardasil.

Thirteen days after vaccination, a ten-year-old girl developed “progressive loss of strength in lower and upper extremities…” and was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome that is considered to be immediately life-threatening.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, “These reports are troubling and show that the FDA and other public health authorities may be asleep at the switch… No one should require this vaccine for young children.” (8)

References:
8. http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2010/sep/judicial-watch-uncovers-fda-records-detailing-16-new-deaths-tied-gardasil

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Chiropractic and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) but is caused by irritation of the nerves that form the brachial plexus (in the upper back) as they exit the neck. TOS symptoms include pain, weakness and numbness or tingling in the arm.

The Chiropractic Approach

Since everyone who does repetitive tasks does not get CTS (or TOS) there appears to be an underlying weakness contributing to this condition. That is why anyone suffering from CTS should see a chiropractor to ensure that his/her body structure is properly aligned and free from pressure affecting his/her nerves.

For over a hundred years clinicians, researchers and patients have reported relief of classic carpal tunnel symptoms and improvement in overall body function after chiropractic adjustments. (3-5) Subluxations (nerve irritation) have also been observed in many patients who have carpal tunnel or related hand and wrist problems. (6-7)

For these reasons, anyone suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome should see a chiropractor to ensure that their body is free of nerve stress.

References:
3. Bonebrake AR et al. A treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome: evaluation of objective and subjective measures. JMPT. 1990;13:507-520.
4. Stoddard A. Manual of Osteopathic Practice (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Hutchinson & Co.,1983:228.
5. Davis PT, Hulbert JR, Kassak KM et al. Comparative efficacy of conservative medical and chiropractic treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. JMPT. 1998;21(5):317-326.
6. Upton ARM, McComas AJ. The double crush in nerve entrapment syndromes. Lancet. 1973;2:329.
7. Russell BS. Carpal tunnel syndrome and the "double crush" hypothesis: a review and implications for chiropractic. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16(2):1186.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Chiropractic and bedwetting: a case study

Bedwetting:

A nine-year-old boy with nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) was presented for chiropractic care after unsuccessful medical approaches. Subluxations were located and corrected in the cervical and lumbo-sacral spine regions. By the seventh visit he had been dry for two weeks and continued to stay dry at a four-month follow-up. (14)

References:
14. Alcantara J, Weisberg JE. Resolution of nocturnal enuresis and vertebral subluxation in a pediatric patient undergoing chiropractic care: a case study & review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2010;4:143-149.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Chiropractic and autism: a case study

Autism:

A 6-year-old boy was diagnosed with autism by a neurologist after brain pathology was ruled out. He had been fully vaccinated. Vertebral subluxations were found in the child. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was used to determine the state of his condition. A schedule of chiropractic adjustments was implemented to reduce the subluxations that were found. Over a 16-week period of chiropractic adjustments, a reduction in vertebral subluxation patterns and an improved ATEC score were noted. The child’s learning abilities, social interactions, language skills and behavioral patterns also improved. (13)

References:
13. Marini N, Marini S. Improvement in autism in a child coupled with reduction in vertebral subluxations: a case study & selective review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2010;3:107-115.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Vitamin D and the flu

Vitamin D was extremely effective at halting influenza infections in children – reducing relative infection risk by nearly two-thirds. The results are from a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study involving 334 children, half of whom were given 1200 IUs per day of vitamin D3.

Vitamin D appears to be 800% more effective than vaccines at preventing influenza infections in children.

Vitamin D also significantly reduced asthma in children.

Rather than slathering toxic sunscreen on our kids and ourselves, and hiding under hats and other devices to prevent all of the sun’s rays from striking our bodies, doctors should tell their patients to get lots of sun – just don’t burn.

Too many people have vitamin D deficiency that has been linked to cancer, diabetes, kidney and liver disorders, bone disorders and, of course, influenza. (17)

References:
17. Urashima M, Segawa T, Okazaki M, Kurihara M, Wada Y, Ida H. Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.29094 March 10, 2010 online edition.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

What about the flu shot?

The CDC has for years claimed that the flu kills 36,000 Americans a year; the major media unquestioningly repeated this number even though researchers said it was false. Now the CDC says flu kills as few as 3,500 Americans in some years, with an average of 23,000 per year overall. Those numbers are still too high because the CDC loves to call all winter deaths “flu.” But they don’t do lab tests to confirm the diagnoses.

This kind of dishonesty was revealed last year when the H1N1 flu was found to be bogus – so the CDC told health departments to just call all flu H1N1 so the numbers would look good. After all you can’t have a “deadly pandemic” if no one is dying from it. It makes the people who purchased a few $billion of vaccines look good if they can show they “saved” us. (15)

According to a study in the British Medical Journal the flu is directly responsible for only a few hundred American deaths in most years with an average of 1,348 deaths in a really bad year. Is this a serious problem in a nation of over 300,000,000 people? (16)

Fortunately the American public can’t always be fooled since about 70% of us did not get a flu shot last year.

References:
15. Thompson WW, Moore MR, Weintraub E et al. Estimating influenza-associated deaths in the United States. Am J Pub Health. 2009;99:S225--30.
16. Doshi P. Are US flu death figures more PR than science? 2005;331:1412. doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7529.1412 (Published 8 December 2005)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Chiropractic and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

You won’t find the carpal tunnel on any map – it’s in your wrist. Your carpal (wrist) bones form a tunnel-like structure – the carpal tunnel – through which pass nine tendons and one nerve – the median nerve.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Carpal tunnel syndrome is called the occupational disease of the 21st century. Years ago telegraph operators, seamstresses, carpenters and meat cutters were the chief sufferers from this condition. Today it’s office workers, computer users, musicians and assembly line workers. It is also often found in pregnant women, women who use birth control pills or individuals with an underactive thyroid.

If you have one or more of the following you may have it: tingling and numbness in the hand, fingers and wrist; swelling of the fingers; dry palms; blanching (whitening upon pressure) of the hand; or pain so intense that it awakens you at night. In some people CTS causes similar symptoms in the upper arm, elbow, shoulder or neck. (1)

Millions of people now suffer from CTS (2) and increasing numbers of them are seeking chiropractic care. The drug-free chiropractic approach of releasing nerve and structural stress has been a blessing to untold numbers of people afflicted with this condition.

References:
1. Verghese J, Galanopoulou AS, Herskovitz S. Autonomic dysfunction in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. Muscle Nerve. 2000;23(8):1209-1213.
2. Atroshi I, Gummesson C, Johnsson R et al. Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. JAMA. 1999;282(2):153-158.