Toenail Fungus Treatments That Work and Those Which Do Not

I'm sure you've already spent months trying to figure this out. That is alright. I've spent years. And you know what? I'm going to provide the information to you for free. Why? Because Lamisil is deadly and I'm tired of hearing/seeing/reading about all the bulls&#t home remedies out there that do not work.

Toenail Fungus Treatments That DON'T work

• Vick's vapor rub - this may be effective if on infant toenails and in only the mildest of cases. I'm not impressed with it though.
• Tea Tree Oil - alone it is garbage. If it is mixed with another ingredient, it will be more effective in the beginning stages. Look below.
• Topical creams, oils, lotions in pharmacies and drugstores - crap. They may claim to work but they do not. Save your money. Read the fine print. Even if it is called Toenail Fungus Blaster, the back of the package will read, 'not for toenail fungus.' Go to there and read yourself - I'm serious!
• Copper ionotophoresis - forget it. All you are doing is driving toxic copper into your bloodstream. Plus, it is costly.

Toenail Fungus Treatments That Work

Now do not get all excited. It takes commitment on your part to get an effective treatment. More often than not, a month of daily effort is needed to rid yourself of the toenail fungus. It is also a matter of severity. If your toenail fungus is so bad that your nails are 1/4" thick and curling, you will need to have them surgically removed.

I will provide the effective toenail fungus treatments in order of most severe to least severe:

Surgical removal of nail --> Lamisil --> Acidophilis Beer Soak --> DMSO/Tea Tree --> Vicks

Surgical Removal of Toenail Fungus: This is the worst case scenario obviously. If you toenails are so thickened and curling, it is nearly impossible to effectively treat these nails with anything. You can try the other treatments I suggest but the likelihood of success may not be what you want.

Lamisil: This stuff is not just extremely expensive. It is extremely hepatotoxic - liver damaging. Don't trust me on this? The FDA put out a Lamisil warning. Read it. I took it as I didn't know about the other treatments. I didn't need surgery as the toenail fungus wasn't so gnarly but Vick's didn't work and Tea Tree oil didn't work. So while in Russia, I bought up enough Lamisil to fix me up and swallowed it for 2 months daily. Ouch. Luckily I only paid about $125 for the Lamisil. Here in the USA you are talking about $1500 dollars plus for enough Lamisil to effectively treat the fungus. That hurts - especially when insurance doesn't cover it. What else hurts is one's liver. The metabolites of Lamisil are truely damaging to the liver so I recommend talking with a trained Naturopathic physician about how to repair your liver during and after the Lamisil treatment. Luckily, the liver is one tough organ. Did you know that you can lop off 1/3rd of your liver and it will grow back!?! Truely.

Acidophilis Beer Soak: Sounds hilarious and like a gimmick but believe me, the little fungal critters under your nail start running when they taste bacteria-riddled Guiness Stout. I would never believe in this remedy had it not come from a respected professor/doctor of mine. He has used it effectively all but once. That one time was due to him using capsule acidophilis, lite beer and apple cider vinegar. That won't work.

What to do:

1. Buy dark beer, white vinegar, sachets of acidophilis
   
2. Get a tub big enough for the treatment area (cat boxes are good - new ones please!)
3. Add 1 liter of room temperature dark beer, 1 liter of white vinegar, 50 billion acidophilis bacteria.
4. Soak feet in this solution for 20 minutes before turning in at night.
5. Repeat using the same solution but add just enough hot water (not boiling) to make the solution warm.
6. After every 3rd day, dump out the solution and make it new from scratch using the remaining 1/2 of the sachet, 1 liter of dark beer and 1 liter of white vinegar. Making the solution every 3rd day is key as the bacteria and beer must be maintained fresh in order to be successful.
   
7. Do this daily for 30 days or until you see normal healthy toenail growth appearing.
8. You may also repeat the soaking in solution two times a day.

This will work. If you follow the directions as I've written them, your toenail fungus, tinea unguinum, onchomyosis - whatever you want to call it - will be dead and you again will have pretty nails. I promise.

DMSO and Tea tree oil treatment for toenail fungus: This may work but only in situations when the fungus is not severe. If the nail just shows sign of being infected, then give this a shot.

What to do:

1. Go to your local store and buy some DMSO and tea tree oil.
2. Clean and scrape your nails really well with water and soap.
3. Apply in equal parts [with a cotton ball or swab] a light layer of DMSO (99%) and tea tree or thuja essential oil to the toenail fungus.
4. Put a bandaid over the nails.
5. Repeat three times a day. Yep. 3x a day. Want the fungus gone? Good. 3 times a day
6. Remember - this only is effective if the tonail fungus is not severe. If you want it to really work, do the beer soaks.

Vicks Vapor Rub treatment for toenail fungus: I haven't seen it work but pediatricians claim that it does. Little kids' toenails are not so thick and supposedly the menthol penetrates and kills the fungus. My 2 year old had toenail fungus and this didn't kill it. It helped slow it down that's all.

So that is it. Those are the effective treatments. You can send a hug in the mail when you see your fungus gone. And you can also tell people about this awesome blog entry - I truely want to help the public gain health without drugs and this entry should definitely help.

All the ingredients written about are easy to obtain except the urea paste. This has to be prescription from a physician. Key Pharmacy in Renton, Washington sells it and ships it all over the world. They also add tea tree and DMSO in it. Advise your physician about this awesome pharmacy.

If you have a fungal infection of any other type on your body such as: tinea versicolor, tinea crura, tinea pedis, jock itch, atheletes foot, cradle crap, then I recommend Saprox Natural Antifungal Treatment. Saprox is a natural antifungal mud from the Czech Republic. It works quickly and effectively. Simply apply it, let it dry and wash off once or twice a day until the fungus is gone. Saprox has not been proven to eliminate toenail fungus but if mixed with DMSO, it just may.

If you have any questions about what I have written about, do email me. I'll help you.

In health,
Ben

Cardiovascular Disease in Women - more deadly than Breast Cancer

I have heard this lecture after lecture and it is finally sinking in. Women - I know you are concerned about breast cancer - and rightly so. However, it is cardiovascular disease which is taking many more lives.

• 45% of women worry about Breast Cancer --> 3% die from it
• 3% of women worry about Cardiovascular disease --> 45% die from it

This translates into women being 10-13 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than breast cancer. That is more than significant. It's huge.

A clinical pearl: Something to watch for on your complete blood count (CBC) lab report is not only your LDL/HDL ratio or cholesterol - how about your routine white blood count (WBC)? One would think that the higher your routine WBC the more potent your immune fighting prowess is, yeah?

No.

Studies have shown that women with white blood counts 25% shy of the maximum normal range are twice as at risk as those women with white blood cells counts of 25% of the lower normal range.

That lose you? Let's say the normal range for WBC's is 5,000 - 11,000/MCL (they vary from lab to lab). If your routine WBC came in at 7,000, your risk is lower for cardiovascular disease than someone with a routine WBC of 10,000.

The key word here is routine WBC. Of course one's WBC's rise when one is ill or fending off an infection of some sort. That is needed. What is not needed is elevated WBC's all the time for year after year. What do elevated WBC's mean?

Inflammation.

Inflammation is a huge factor in the cause of cardiovascular disease and numerous others which I will not go into as the topic at hand is - yep - cardiovascular disease. Inflammation must be controlled.

One study states that the neutrophils are the ones to be wary of in high levels while lymphocytes are concerning at low levels.

A study which is free and may be of interest: The role of chronic inflammation in cardiovascular disease and its regulation by nutrients.

We all know how to fight cardiovascular disease but it seems like we don't do it. Why not? Because most do not think there exists a pill for it.

One magic pill does exist.

The magic pill is called Prevention and is found in every store aisle on the planet - for FREE. The problem is the cost is hard work on our own part to remain healthy. We cannot simply swallow a pill and watch our lives lengthen but that is what most of want. Drive through medicine. Heck - why not? We have drive-up banks, pharmacies, photo development, donut shops, coffee, fast food - even liquor stores in Australia are drive up!

We basically have drive thru medicine already given that insurance companies only allow doctors 15 minutes with a patient. Patients already know what they want given all the TV drug ads. So patient walks in. Doc walks in. Patients says I have X and want Z. Doc writes a prescription. Patient walks out, gets in car, drives up to pharmacy. Swallows pill. Better?

That's a bit of soap box. Back to the task at hand.

I understand the fear of breast cancer. The word cancer in of itself is scary. The term cardiovascular disease isn't very scary. If people were told it caused retinal hemorrhoids, sudden death, drooling the rest of your life after a stroke, losing control of your bowel functions or unable to communicate, they may consider it more seriously.

Would you like to wake up one morning blind or unable to talk at the age of 50?

Breast cancer is scary. It can be spotted and successfully treated. Cardiovascular disease can be prevented altogether with proper lifestyle habits. If one lives without smoking, exercising a bit, eating produce and not getting diabetes, then cholesterol and blood pressure levels remain healthy.

Prevent a major silent killer. Breast cancer is more feared as it is in the press more often as it is more dramatic. Cardiovascular disease is not nearly as dramatic - but it is way more deadly.

You can prevent that.

In health,
Ben

Splenda Side Effects: They exist and are dangerous

Splenda is everywhere. I visit Costco at times and I see people load their shopping cart with 3 huge Splenda cases with big smiles on their faces. Ouch. My stomach turns at the thought.

Just because the FDA approved it doesn't mean Splenda is safe. Nor does it mean NutraSweet is safe (aka Aspartame). But that is a whole other ball of wax.

Sugar is sugar. Splenda is not sugar. Splenda is actually a chemically created product that uses substances such as chlorine.

Nothing is natural about that. People pay money to filter chlorine from their drinking water, shower water and even bathing water. So why would you want to go ahead and add chlorine to your drink and into your body? Don't.

The government uses chlorine in our drinking water as it is a matter of risk:benefit. They cannot have you drinking mass bacteria and dying. It is also not practical to filter chlorine from water coming into your house. It doesn't matter that you wash your car with chlorine or your clothes.

It does matter that you drink chlorine. Avoid it. Filter it.

Chlorine damages proteins. What are the substances which make your body parts move and keep you alive? Proteins.

What are the side effects of Splenda, also known as sucralose? Depends on the individual - most common is abdominal discomfort. I personally experience it. I used to sell a energy drink product on my website that had outstanding nutritive ingredients. I drank it and got upset stomach every time. I looked at the ingredients closely and found sucralose. I yanked it from my store.

I have located the FDA Report on Sucralose. Check it out. The makers of Splenda say it isn't absorbed by the human body. The FDA report shows it is. Up to 30% absorbed. That may not seem to be much but some pharmaceutical drugs have an absorption rate of only 5%.

Still not convinced? Well, once again, Dr Mercola has received numerous testimonials against Splenda. I encourage you to read them. Yes I am sure some of the testimonials are a bit inflated or inaccurate; however, the majority are legitimate and one should pay attention to what is said.

If you want your food to taste sweet, add some honey. Put in some sucanat. Take charge and protect yourself. There are no long term studies showing the safety of Splenda.

Would you jump from a plane with a prototype parachute? You'd want it tested first over and over yes?

Honey is a great substitute as it is less glycemic than white processed sugar and contains numerous minerals and other nutrients. Allergic? Bummer. Use sucanat. This is a less processed form of cane sugar.

Question companies. Question the safety of products on the shelves. Diabetes is rising so fast now as well as ADD/ADHD. Why? Look at what grocery stores sell. That is why. Processed garbage. Sift it out. Go have fun shopping at a farmers market.

In fact, I just found this cool website where they show you all the u-pick berry farms all over the USA and Cananda. Related to Splenda? No. It's natural and healthy.

Have fun picking berries and throwing away your Splenda.

In health,
Ben

Elective Angioplasty: Narrowing greater than 60%?

Angioplasty, in my mind, should not be an elective procedure. It is risky - about 1 in 200 people die from it. If your arterial diameter is 60% open or more, then the likelihood of being symptomatic is low. If the arterial diameter is 80% restricted and you're dizzy, heart palpitations, tired and out of breath, then angioplasty may be for you as the benefits of angioplasty far outweigh the dangers.

I'd rather see people prevent getting the procedure in the first place. If we can keep your pipes clean and free of cholesterol and calcium build-up, then angioplasty won't even be an issue.

However, if it is an issue, then let me say a couple things.

I recommend looking at your angiograph shots - take a peek. Look at those vessels - are they more than 60% closed off? No? You're not symptomatic and feel fine? Then, in my opinion, hold off. Try to eliminate the plaque buildup naturally.

Most cardiologists will not send you in for angioplasty anyhow if you're under 60% narrowed. Even if you're 70% narrowed and you're not showing signs or symptoms, educate yourself on what angioplasty is before you jump in with both feet.

What is angioplasty?

It is when the docs put a wire into your femoral artery with a ballon on the end. They track it up to where the vessel narrowing is, push the wire into the narrowing and pump up the ballon. The ballon smashes the plaque up onto the sides of the blood vessel and out from the lumen of the artery. This allows the blood to freely flow by once again nourishing your tissues. Sounds great! It is when your vessels are very occluded - it is more then great. It is necessary.

But what happens then? Now your blood is flowing by once again but the plaque hasn't been removed. Remember where it is? It just moved from the middle of your blood vessel to the walls of it. What goes to say that it will stay there? Not much.

Docs are also putting stents in but those clog back up as well.

So what to do? If you truely need a stent or angioplasty - then by all means - go for it. This medical procedure has saved countless lives and will continue to do so.

The problem is many doctors don't tell you some vital information.

This vital information is lifestyle change and diet; the four words that many people hate to hear. But I belive the four words of "lifestyle change and diet" are far better than "your vessel closed again."

The cardiologists can save your life with angioplasty or inserting stents. However, keeping that procedure working is up to you. You control what goes into your mouth and into your arteries.

I will provide healthy information on this subject tomorrow.

Till then - be well.

In health,
Ben