Digestive Powers Suck? Try this.

If you are wondering if you are able to digest anything or let alone absorb any nutrients - try this trick that Dr Pizzorno, ND told us in Healing Systems lecture a couple weeks back:

• Take 1 tsp of Brewer's Yeast with water on an empty stomach.
• Your next few trips to the toilet, look for yellow pee.
• If you have yellow pee, you can digest and absorb.
• If you do not have yellow pee, take 10 mg of B2.
• Your next few trips to the toilet, look for yellow pee.
• If the stream is yellow, then you can absorb nutrients but you cannot digest.
• If your stream is still not yellow, then you cannot digest nor can you absorb.

Question then is: What to do?

That's a big question.

Yes there are digestive enzymes. Yes there is betaine HCl. But why do that when you haven't tried the basics. And the basics may actually solve the problem.

All I can say for now is - when you eat, only eat. Do not multitask. If you do, you are not allowing your parasympathetic nervous system to function.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the body's relaxed state. This relaxed state allows blood to bathe the digestive organs, secrete stomach acid and open digestive organ sphincters thereby dumping bile and digestive enzymes onto your food.

The sympathetic nervous system is the body's way to run like hell if a lion was chasing you. All the blood is taken away from your digestive organs, digestive organ sphincters are shut down, stomach acid is no longer secreted and all blood goes to your muscles to fuel them to get you outta there.

You think you would live if your blood stayed digesting your food when you need to scram outta there?

The same situation is happening when eating while your boss is yelling at you, you're on the phone gabbing, driving in traffic, standing up, watching the news, reading the paper, etc.

Just eat with both feet on the floor, chair square to the table and chew.

Chew your food. You have teeth. Use them. Every chew you take increase the surface area of the food big time. Digestive enzymes and stomach acid work on the food's surface. So allow the enzymes and acid to get there will ya? Chew it. What's the hurry?

If you don't then you'll be miserable being full of gas, bloating, belching and constipated - or you may be having diarrhea as well. Please your cubicle neighbor - don't fart, belch or bloat anymore.

Chew and relax while eating. It is seriously that simple.

Bronchitis and Chronic Cough

Patient came in yesterday with an unrelenting dry cough. It has been keeping her up at night for the last few weeks. During my interview with her, she was coughing non-stop. I asked her what helps her cough - nothing she reported.

She had been referred for an X-ray by our supervising physician. The radiologist diagnosed her with atypical pneumonia. However, I think he was wrong.

Listening to her lungs revealed no fluid, cracks or other sounds.

The supervisor prescribed her 1000 mg of Vitamin C derived from rose hips along with Bactrim antibiotic.

As a student clinician, I don't argue much with my supervising physicians.

However, I am glad I was not there the week before when he prescribed her antibiotics and vitamin C. I would have argued. I know he was CYA [cover your ass] by prescribing antibiotics but with no lab test to determine if it was viral or bacterial, I find that not good medicine. She did not have a fever either - which tells me it is more likely viral and not bacterial. Bacterial infections tend to run higher temperatures.

I must state that I was not there when he saw the patient the first time. She may have been looking horrid and needed to prescribe antiobiotics based on signs and symptoms.

So this visit, I was seeing her still coughing profusely and not much better. She had taken 3 days worth of the Bactrim along with the vitamin C.

After taking her case and reporting no improvement, I asked the physician if I could prescribe 500 mg N-Acetyl Cysteine twice per day and contrast hydrotherapy.

He supported my ideas and allowed me to issue this information to the patient.

Bacteria and viruses have a safe harbor in mucous. The immune fighting cells cannot get in there easily and attack. That is why it is essential to get it broken up and out - especially when in the lungs.

I chose N-Acetyl Cysteine as it is a natural mucolytic - meaning it helps bust up mucous. The patient had a very dry persistent cough which told me the mucous was tough and sticky. She would not get better until the mucous broke up and either got coughed up or absorbed.

I chose contrast hydrotherapy as it brings blood to and away from the lungs in high amounts. This brings a pumping action allowing the immune system to rush in along with the blood to bathe the infected area.

I foresee the patient's cough to either improve or disappear within 1 week following this protocol.

Since she is taking antibiotics, she will have to take probiotics such as acidophilus and bifido bacteria to restore her body with beneficial bacteria. If she does not take probiotics, her gut will be a haven for yeast, candida and pathological bacteria. So I must make a point to remember to suggest to the supervising physician to prescribe high dose probiotics - like 150 billion bacteria for 7 days.

Contrast local lung hydrotherapy works like this:

• Take a hot wet wrung out towel - as hot as the patient can stand - and place it directly onto the lung area.
  
• Cover it and the patient with a dry towel and blankets.
  
• After 3 minutes of a hot towel, place a wet wrung out well ice cold towel onto the now warm towel.
  
• Flip the towels over, remove the one towel and press down on the ice cold towel. This brings the ice cold towel in contact with the patient's chest causing them to gasssssp from the cold.
• Leave the ice cold towel in contact for 1 minute.
• Place a new hot wet wrung out towel onto the cold towel and flip over. Remove the now warmed cold towel.
• Repeat this three times a couple times a day every day until the lungs are clear of illness.

CAUTION: One cannot do this safely on a patient with asthma.

This works very well. I have done it over and over on patients, myself and friends with chronic cough or bronchitis.

It works especially well if the hot towels are used in conjuction with local peat foments. The peat works as a heat insulator allowing higher temperatures to penetrate deeper into the tissues thereby allowing improved healing. The peat is also high in humic and fulvic acids which help as anti-spasmodics, pain relief and drawing out toxins. Given that peat is made in an area with mineral springs and full of local flora, it contains numerous minerals and active plant compounds.

You can purchase the foments here. They are best used with hydrocollator packs to keep them evenly heated.

One can do Contrast Showers daily to help prevent illness and improve overall circulation.

Contrast showers are simple and once they are started, they become addictive.


Here is the Contrast Shower procedure:

• Take a hot shower
• Get the hot water as hot as you can tolerate. Let it run all over your skin and head.
• After 3 minutes of hot, turn the dial all the way over to cold
• The cold blast is intense and will make you holler. I tend to visualize the tropics or a hot beach while the cold is hitting me.
• Do cold for 30 seconds and have it run all over you.
• You may find it easier to run your head under the cold first and then diving your body under the shower when your ready.
• Repeat this 3 times - hot for 3 minutes, all the way cold for 30 seconds.
• End on COLD - very important.
• You can modify it by simply taking a hot shower and ending it with 30 seconds COLD.

You will feel super hot afterwards and the blood runs directly under your cold skin. You will then begin sweating. You will also feel tingly in all the areas where you had previously poor circulation. So it is excellent for cold hands and feet - and sore muscles.

Caution: Do not do this if asthmatic or have a condition where increased circulation may be dangerous. Ask your doctor about this before you do it. It is a strong treatment. I am not prescribing it - I am only offering information on how to do it.

Do this daily and you will likely not get sick anymore - and you may also see that you can cut back on your morning coffee! :)

I always end my showers with 30 seconds cold. I don't drink caffeinated drinks nor do I get sick much at all - and I'm barely sleeping, stressed out and eat like crap 1/2 the time due to medical school, work and being a dad of 2 little squirts.

Try the contrast shower and let me know how it works for you! And if you're wondering if it is safe for you, it may not be. Ask your doc.

Long Term Steroid Use for Eczema on the Face

I received an email today from someone who has been battling eczema on their face for over 1 year. They have been using a topical steroid - Elocon.

Steroids suppress. Suppression of skin problems pushes toxins deeper into the body. Why? Because the skin is a huge organ allowing toxins to leave the body. If this is prevented, then where do they go?

Typically - lung and joints.

The full question and answer is found on the Natural Health Forum.

Check it out - you may find it very useful for you.

Here is her question and my full response:
Alternative Means Which May Improve Eczema

Humor Error? May be due to health issues.

We all make mistakes.

Yet when tasks are so straightforward and mistakes are done consistently over and over again, one must try to find out why. Simple data entry should be easy to do - a 10 year old could do it.

My guess is that the individual is or has one of these:

• lack of personal responsibility
• vision problems
• brain fog
• excess of external stimulus preventing focus
• the so-called ADHD issue
• limited education

Lack of personal responsibility from a physician's perspective becomes a counseling issue.

Vision problems becomes an optometrists issue - at least to screen for major conditions. However, basic supplementation with the necessary eye nutrients could help a ton.

Brain fog is a major one. I know of an individual who has Celiac's disease - meaning she cannot eat gluten containing foods such as wheat and some other grains. If a person with Celiacs eats gluten, their blood becomes loaded with metabolites and toxins and limited in antioxidants. This creates the so-called brain fog.

Other issues for brain fog can be hypoglycemia. Without proper balance of blood sugar, no one can focus - not even the Dalai Lama. Glucose is the brain's main fuel. Without it, it can live for some time using ketones.

ADHD is a joke in my book. There is a clinic shift dedicated to treating those with 'ADHD'. However, if one looks at the causes of ADHD, they are typically diet, lack of exercise and too much external stimulus. Improve all three factors and one's labeled condition is gone.

Limited education is a tough one. However, a high school education for data entry should be plenty - or at least one would hope.

So instead of getting all firey and pissy, I have tried to find out why this person keeps making absolutely dumb mistakes over and over again.

I haven't found the cause yet but I believe I listed one of them above. She is not my patient nor will be which is unfortunate as I believe we could resolve her issue thereby improving her life immensely. Hopefully I have at least made her aware that she has some issue that needs resolving and that alone begins the healing process.

She seems to open and not defending herself so we know we are in the stages of change. If she was still in the denial stage, then we would be climbing up a wall.

This evening, I will address my concerns with her and have to let her go. I will do all I can to help her determine the cause of her carelessness or mistake-riddled tasks.

The point is this: Do not get pissed at someone who is making mistakes over and over again - especially if they are ridiculously avoidable mistakes. There is some health issue occurring and it must be addressed. You may ask them if they are finding that they are making mistakes elsewhere in life or having other difficulties. Do this as non-judgemental as you can.

Headed in a New Direction with this Blog

Now that I am basically spending more time with patients then I am with books and lecture halls, I am going to re-focus this blog to discuss naturopathic therapeutics and perspectives.

Going to be quite interesting for many to see what the life of a naturopathic medical student sees in clinic rotation.

________________________________________________

So - my first post will begin this evening - or rather right now.

I am sitting here partially in my pajamas and partially in my clinic attire. My shift ended at 9:15pm this evening and began at 4pm.

This evening the energy was everywhere.

First patient was a woman with a headache for 2 solid weeks. After we did a full neuro exam and ruled out a tumor - at least for the evening - not entirely - we discovered she had 4 cervical vertebrae that we severely limited in rotation and extension.

The lead student clinician - [Im just a peon until summer quarter] - is big on energy work -which is not taught at my medical school. She began performing craniosacral on the patient and discovered family issues.

Very odd to me but Ill keep an open mind. The scientist in me has a hard time with energy work. I wanted to get in there and adjust the patient's C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae - and C2 was out as well. I also wanted to simply prescribe magnesium 200 mg TID prophylactically to help prevent further headache attacks.

The patient was remarkably better after the energy work so something must be said for it. The patient is big on it herself so perhaps that is what is needed - pure belief in the treatment.

In a couple days, we will follow up with the patient and see if she is no longer needing the 4 tablets of aspirin 4 times a day - that will burn a hole in your gut pretty fast at that dose.

Magnesium works wonders also - especially if one is drinking caffeine, stressed and eating sugar. So that leaves about...100% of Americans. In fact my web designer had severe headaches for years until I thought he may want to try taking magnesium. No more headaches.

Second patient today was unconsciously tough for me.

A early 50's man with a glioblastoma - a form of brain cancer.

He recently had surgery to try and remove all of it but the surgeon did not want to take all for fear of damage his speaking ability - the tumor is growing on Broca's area. So 25% of the tumor is left. Working with his oncologist is a leading ND who specializes in oncology along with a surgeon, primary care MD and us.

Us turned out to be the lead student clinician. He had heard of her energy healing abilities and sought her out. Our supervising physician referred the patient to work with another physician who knows and understands energy work better than he - which is a smart move. The patient fully understood. I am hoping that all goes well for him.

He was receiving chemo in the form of Tamoxifen - which is basically attacking the tumor via hormone pathways. I had no idea that brain tumors could be fueled by hormones. Quite interesting. Ill have to research that one.

The most eye-opening occurrence this evening is when the lead clinician asked: "So how are you doing?"

Patient asked: "With what?"

Anything you want to talk about - what is going on? How are you doing?

Such an open ended question like that is gold in medicine. It allows the patient to take the floor and speak what is really ailing them thereby allowing healing to take place. The problem there though this evening is that she started with such a beautiful question and she kept interrupting him with more. Not good in my book. I would have let him go and go with it without interruption allowing him to delve deeper into his thoughts and speak his mind.

He was almost in tears before she interrupted him - that could have been incredibly healing for him. I hope that time comes again during a visit with us. Sometimes clinicians and physicians get uncomfortable with silence - but they must learn to accept silence as it may lead to the most powerful outcome - and I believe that would have occurred this evening.

The patient stated that he was overall comfortable with the amazing situation he was in - yet if he looked at in within the moment - the present context - he was full of fear. That is where he got interrupted. How major that could have been to let him roll with it.

Yes - we all learn from observing. That moment told me to remember to maintain the silence and allow the patient to ponder and collect thoughts - and then the treatment will progress beautifully - sometimes.

His oncologists give him 6 months to live. +/- 3 months. I find that hard to believe as he looked so good. No one would ever know he had brain cancer unless he took of his hat - a huge indentation in his forehead from the surgery and balding from the chemo.

I did not realize how the evening affected me until I began walking to my car and driving home. I turned Morcheeba up louder and louder and louder with such a desire to accelerate down I5 North as fast as my car would go.

Was I racing from the patient's brain cancer? Was I racing from the evening's crazy energy? It is a tough field medicine. One sees numerous patients that may make it, heal completely or die right in front of you.

I feel that I do not take the patient's baggage onto me. Yet I must. This evening reflected that as I was driving home.

It is no wonder that oncologists are the first medical specialists to retire, become alcoholics or commit suicide. Oncology is a tough profession without many effective tools.

The most effective tool against cancer: PREVENT IT.

That is where I am headed - environmental medicine. Our planet is toxic. A toxic planet leads to toxic living beings. Toxicity breeds instability. Instability breeds cancer.

Watch what you eat - please. Limit the crap you ingest in terms of smoking, drugs, alcohol, fast food - I see the outcomes of these bad habits every day. They are not nice results.

I think we only live once on this planet. Keep it long and healthy.

On a good note is what we learned in family medicine. According to a research study:

Optimists live 18% longer than pessimists. That is huge when one is talking that the average life here on Earth is 72 years or so. 18% of 72 is another 13 years.

Be optimistic.

My patient was this evening. And he had a huge mass of cancer in his head.

Thank you for sharing your courage and optimism with me this evening. A true inspiration.

What Drives Humanity?

Two things drive us on this planet.

We went over this in Practice Management today and it pretty much floored me.

Think back to caveman times - what drove them to survive?



We still are doing these two actions today in all of our actions:

• Seek Pleasure
• Avoid Pain

Think I'm off base?

Try to think of one thing that you do that is not related to one or the other - name just one that isn't.

Can you?