Monthly Archives: October 2010

Oct.27.10-Back Surgery May Backfire…

Back surgery may backfire on patients in pain
Patients who had spinal fusion were less likely to return to work and needed more opiates, study says

Brad Armstrong  /  for msnbc.com
Nancy Scatena, 52, of Scottsdale, Ariz., lives with chronic pain following two back surgeries.
By Linda Carroll
msnbc.com contributor msnbc.com contributor
updated 10/14/2010 2010-10-14T12:55:44
Just a month after back surgery, Nancy Scatena was once again in excruciating pain. The medications her doctor prescribed barely took the edge off the unrelenting back aches and searing jolts down her left leg. “The pain just kept intensifying,” says the 52-year-old Scottsdale, Ariz., woman who suffers from spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the chanel through which spinal nerves pass. “I was suicidal.”
Finally, Scatena made an appointment with another surgeon, one whom friends had called a “miracle worker.” The new doctor assured her that this second operation would fix everything, and in the pain-free weeks following an operation to fuse two of her vertebrae it seemed that he was right. But then the pain came roaring back.
Experts estimate that nearly 600,000 Americans opt for back operations each year. But for many like Scatena, surgery is just an empty promise, say pain management experts and some surgeons.
A new study in the journal Spine shows that in many cases surgery can even backfire, leaving patients in more pain.
Researchers reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses.
After two years, just 26 percent of those who had surgery returned to work. That’s compared to 67 percent of patients who didn’t have surgery. In what might be the most troubling study finding, researchers determined that there was a 41 percent increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates, in those who had surgery.
The study provides clear evidence that for many patients, fusion surgeries designed to alleviate pain from degenerating discs don’t work, says the study’s lead author Dr. Trang Nguyen, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Unfortunately, for most patients with bad backs, there is no easy solution, no magic bullet. Pain management experts — and some surgeons — say that patients need to scale back their expectations. With the right treatments, pain can be eased, but a complete cure is unlikely.
In the wake of her operations, Scatena has turned to less invasive therapies. She’s learned to baby her back and to find ways to avoid irritating the nerves in her spine. She’s working to strengthen muscles in her lower back and abdomen so her spine will get better support. “I’ve been getting some relief from physical therapy,” she says. “And I hope that’s going to be permanent.”
27 million adults with back problems A recent report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a federal organization, found that in 2007, 27 million adults reported back problems with $30.3 billion spent on treatments to ease the pain. While some of that money is spent on physical therapy, pain management, chiropractor visits, and other non invasive therapies, a big chunk pays for spine surgeries.
Complicated spine surgeries that involve fusing two or more vertebrae are on the rise. In just 15 years, there was an eight-fold jump in this type of operation, according to a study published in Spine in July. That has some surgeons and public health experts concerned.
For some patients, there is a legitimate need for spine surgery and fusion, says Dr. Charles Burton, medical director for The Center for Restorative Spine Surgery in St. Paul, Minn. “But the concern is that it’s gotten way beyond what is reasonable or necessary. There are some areas of the country where the rate of spine surgery is three or four times the national average.”
Burton and others recommend that patients get a second opinion when back surgery is recommended for the treatment of back pain without neurological symptoms, such as sciatica, especially if other treatments haven’t been suggested first.
“We are very successful at improving leg symptoms,” says Dr. William Welch, vice chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and chief of neurosurgery at Pennsylvania Hospital. “We are less successful at treating back pain.”
Source of pain is often hard to pinpoint
The reason, Welch says, is that it’s often hard to pinpoint the exact cause of someone’s back pain. Even MRIs can be misleading because abnormalities, such as degenerating discs, can be seen on scans for virtually everyone over the age of 30 regardless of whether they have pain. Even when the surgery is a success, it rarely dispels 100 percent of back pain, Welch says.
And while many surgeons are careful about which patients they recommend for spine operations, some are not so discriminating, says Dr. Doris K. Cope, professor and vice chair for pain medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “It’s a case of, if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” she explains.
In general, the best results come about through a combination of approaches, Cope says. Each strategy may reduce pain by just 10 or 20 percent, but those percentages can add up so ultimately the patient’s pain is cut back by as much as 70 or 80 percent. Strategies can include exercise and weight loss, Cope says.
That advice resonates with Marilyn Seiger, a friend of Nancy Scatena in Scottsdale. Seiger opted to skip surgery, not wanting to follow her friend’s painful path, even though her doctor recommended an operation to fuse two of her vertebrae.
She has gotten some relief from physical therapy, a back brace that reminds her to keep her back straight, and the occasional pain pill.
“I don’t know anyone who’s had surgery for back pain who had success,” says Seiger, 61. “I just figure this is part of growing older. We’re living longer than our bodies were meant to last and we’re just constantly shoring things up.”
© 2010 msnbc.com.  Reprints

To Download: Back_Surgery_may_backfire_on_patients_in_pain

Oct.21.10-McDonald’s Doesn’t Decompose

McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months

By Brett Michael Dykes brett Michael Dykes – Tue Oct 12, 1:54 pm ET

Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald’s Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature’s cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently.
That’s the disturbing point brought home by the latest project of New York City-based artist and photographer Sally Davies, who bought a McDonald’s Happy Meal back in April and left it out in her kitchen to see how well it would hold up over time.
The results? “The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock,” Davies told the U.K. Daily Mail.
She proceeded to photograph the Happy Meal each week and posted the pictures to Flickr to record the results of her experiment. Now, just over six months later, the Happy Meal has yet to even grow mold. She told the Daily Mail that “the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it.”
[Related: 'Double Down' among the worst fast food of 2010]
Davies — whose art has been featured in numerous films and television shows and is collected by several celebrities — told The Upshot that she initiated the project to prove a friend wrong. He believed that any burger would mold or rot within two or three days of being left on a counter. Thus began what’s become known as “The Happy Meal Art Project.”
[DIY: Make happier meals for your kids at home -- just don't forget one key tip]
“I told my friend about a schoolteacher who’s kept a McDonald’s burger for 12 years that hasn’t changed at all, and he didn’t believe me when I told him about it,” Davies told us. “He thought I was crazy and said I shouldn’t believe everything that I read, so I decided to try it myself.”
[Did you know? Before the Happy Meal, there was the Fun Meal]
Some observers of the photo series have noted that the burger’s bun appears at different angles, and therefore aired suspicions that the Happy Meal may not in fact be as “untouched” as the project’s groundrules stipulate. Davies says there’s a simple explanation for the mobile-bun effect. “The meal is on a plate in my apartment on a shelf,” she says, “and when I take it down to shoot it, the food slides around. It’s hard as rock on a glass plate, so sure, the food is moving.”
Click image to see more photos of the unchanging Happy Meal

Photo courtesy of Sally Davies
Davies’ friend was the person who should have done the additional research. Wellness and nutrition educator Karen Hanrahan has indeed kept a McDonald’s hamburger since 1996 to show clients and students how resistant fast food can be to decomposition.
As for Davies, she said that she might just keep her burger and fries hanging around for a while as well.
“It’s sitting on a bookshelf right now, so it’s not really taking up any space, so why not?” she said. It ceased giving off any sort of odor after 24 hours, she said, adding: “You have to see this thing.”

In response to Davies’ project, McDonald’s spokeswoman Theresa Riley emailed The Upshot a statement defending the quality of the chain’s food. Riley’s email also blasted Davies’ “completely unsubstantiated” work as something out of “the realm of urban legends.”
“McDonald’s hamburger patties in the United States are made with 100% USDA-inspected ground beef,” Riley wrote. “Our hamburgers are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else — no preservatives, no fillers. Our hamburger buns are baked locally, are made from North American-grown wheat flour and include common government-approved ingredients designed to assure food quality and safety. … According to Dr. Michael Doyle, Director, Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, ‘From a scientific perspective, I can safely say that the way McDonald’s hamburgers are freshly processed, no hamburger would look like this after one year unless it was tampered with or held frozen.’”

To Download this Article: McDonalds_Doesnt_Decompose

Oct.20.10-Special Flu Vaccine Report

Special Flu Vaccine Report

“Years ago, people developed resistance the old fashioned way: By getting the flu. And then when that type of flu came around again years or decades later, they either didn’t get sick or had only a mild case. The vaccine marketeers want to take that away from our population. What will that make us? Vaccine dependent, of course.” – Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center
Three important reasons to avoid the flu shot:
1. The flu shot contains mercury, formaldehyde, gelatin and traces of chicken cells.
2. The flu shot contains viral contaminants that have been linked to cancer.
3. You can get the flu shot – and all the risks that go with it – and still get the flu.

Flu shot does not save lives in the elderly
The flu vaccine isn’t preventing death in the elderly population, the “high risk group” that is told to get a flu shot to reduce mortality, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. (1)

Although immunization rates in those over 65 have increased 50% in the past 20 years, there has been no decline in flu-related deaths. Mortality rates for those over 85 between 1968 and 2001 showed no change as well. The authors add: “Studies substantially overestimate vaccination benefit”; a diplomatic way of saying it’s useless.

If you get the flu, avoid aspirin and acetaminophen (TylenolT & others)

Flu sufferers who lower their fevers with aspirin or Tylenol stay sick an average of 3½ days longer than those who do not take the drugs. (2) The purpose of a fever is to fight infection and cleanse the body of toxins. Why interfere?

Getting the flu gives you protection against cancer
Scientists discovered that those with a history of colds and flu also had less breast, colon, rectal, stomach and ovarian cancer.
A history of common colds or gastro-enteric influenza prior to the interview was found to be associated with a decreased cancer risk. (3)

In another study, subjects who reported a history of colds, flu and other infectious diseases had a 30% reduction in risk of brain tumor. (4)

Long-term consequences of flu shots – immune system damage?
Researchers have discovered that repeated vaccination at a young age substantially increases the risk of influenza at older ages. However, getting the infection naturally appears to strengthen the immune system and decreases the risk of being re-infected. Natural is better. (5) Note: The authors did not even look for an Alzheimer’s-flu shot connection.

Ineffective flu shots?
Does the flu shot prevent death and illness? The elderly over age 70, who account for 90% of all flu related deaths, may not be protected at all. Flu vaccine use by the elderly increased from 15% to 65% in the US since 1980 but there is no decrease in influenza-related mortality. The few clinical trials that have included elderly people have indicated there is a decrease in antibody responses (and therefore reduced clinical benefit) from flu vaccination as people age beyond 70. (6)

In conclusion
Rather than see flu, colds, fevers and nasal discharge solely as uncomfortable, we should know that they operate in our best interest: to heal, cleanse and detoxify us. Suppressing symptoms may create more serious disease in the future. That doesn’t mean we should ignore a sick person. Illness is a time of rest and recuperation. Ill people need comfort, proper nutrition and support.

Many people who wish to avoid medical suppressive therapies such as aspirin, acetaminophen, antihistamines, decongestants and other drugs designed to prevent symptoms instead turn to nutrition, chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture and many other natural “expressive” healthcare systems so their bodies will get the full benefit from their symptoms – cleansing, healing and improved health.

1. Simonsen L et al. Impact of influenza vaccination on seasonal mortality in the US elderly population. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2005;165:265-272.
2. Plaisance KI, Kunaravalli S, Wasserman SS et al. Effect of antipyretic therapy on the duration of illness in experimental influenza A, Shigella sonnei, and Rickettsia rickettsii infections. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20(12):1417-1422. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/409651
3. Abel U, Becker N, Angerer R et al. Common infections in the history of cancer patients and controls. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology. 1991;117(4):339-44. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v635l637674w8k02/?p=fc1b22d86a8b4a0ebdeebe28d42f475a&pi=8
4. Schlehoper B, Blettner M, Preston-Martin S et al. Role of medical history in brain tumor development results from the international adult brain tumor study. International Journal of Cancer. 1999;82:155-160.
5. Carrat F et al. Repeated influenza vaccination of healthy children and adults: borrow now, pay later? Epidemiol Infect. 2006;134(1):63-70. http://www.vaclib.org/basic/repeatedfluvax.htm
6. Simonsen L et al. Mortality benefits of influenza vaccination in elderly people: an ongoing controversy. Lancet Infect Dis. 2007;7:658-666.

To Download this Article: Special_Flu_Vaccine_Report1020

Oct.19.10-Flu Shot

October 19th, 2010
Dear AFC Patients,
A new 30-year study released in February suggests that administering the Flu shot to the elderly may be a waste of time and resources.

According to the authors of the study, the Flu shot has done nothing to save the lives of our senior population. Instead, researchers suggest that the Flu vaccination would best serve all age groups if given to children—the biggest spreaders of the virus. By reducing the Flu’s ability to spread, less of the adult population would be affected.

Since the 1960s, yearly flu shots have been recommended for people 65 and older. In the year 2000, government health officials moved the age up to 50. But while vaccination rates did rise among the elderly from 20 percent before 1980 to 65 percent in 2001, researchers could find no corresponding decrease in death rates.
It should be noted that this study examined data from the whole elderly population over time—but did not directly compare elderly people who have been vaccinated with those who have not. Previous studies that made that comparison found a decreased rate of winter deaths from all causes among those who had been vaccinated. Regardless of what age you are, your best defense against the flu is to enhance your body’s ability to stay healthy and well. Regularly scheduled chiropractic adjustments are one of the best ways to improve your health and ward of sickness, without the use of medication or potentially risky vaccines.
Yours in health,
Robert Berry, DC
[Source: The Associated Press 02/14/05]
To Download this Article: Flu_Shot

Oct.18.10-Doctors Not Health Experts

NaturalNews: America is a nation of widespread health and nutritional illiteracy. And I’m not just talking
about the knowledge gaps of health consumers, either. It’s the doctors and health “experts” who have
astonishing gaps in knowledge that should be considered basic health information in any first-world
nation.
Parents, too, lack any real literacy in nutrition and health. That’s largely because medical journals, health
authorities and the mass media actively misinform them about health and nutrition issues, hoping to
prevent people from learning how to take care of their own health using simple, natural remedies and
cures.
Here are some shocking examples of the huge gaps in knowledge among doctors, parents and others…
What your doctor doesn’t know might actually harm you:
Most doctors have little or no understanding of the nutritional difference between LIVE foods and DEAD
foods. Most doctors think they’re nutritional identical!
Most conventional doctors don’t know that the NIH actively funded and operated criminal medical
experiments on human prisoners.
Most parents have no idea that processed meats (bacon, sausage, sandwich ham, etc.) are laced with
the sodium nitrite coloring chemical that promotes aggressive brain, pancreas and colon cancers.
Most doctors have no idea that seasonal flu vaccines are little more than quackery and simply don’t
offer any real protection against the flu.
Very few parents know the difference between the words “natural” and “organic” on food labels. Most
parents just think “natural” means “organic” and so they buy more products that claim to be natural
(even when the word means nothing).
Few doctors realize that statin drugs were engineered from a molecule called lovastatin, found naturally
in red yeast rice. The drug companies pirated the molecule from nature (biopiracy), then patented it.
Then they pressured the FDA to declare that red yeast rice was an “adulterated” supplemented because
– get this — it naturally contains the drug they stole from it!
Most parents are completely befuddled by the nutritional claims of infant formula. They are astonishingly
unaware that some of the most popular infant formula products such as Similac are made with over 50%
sugars.
Virtually no one outside the natural health community knows that soy protein is extracted using a toxic,
explosive chemical called hexane.
Very few people know that the carmine food coloring used in fruit punch drinks and strawberry yogurt is
actually made from smashed red beetles.
Most doctors remain completely unaware of the anti-cancer nutrients found in celery, grapefruit, cabbage and chocolate. They tend to believe that medicine comes from laboratories, not food Very few parents are aware that processed milk and dairy products promote obesity, heart disease and acne in their teenage children. Astonishingly, most adults have been fooled into thinking that yogurt is good for them because it contains probiotics (never mind the homogenized milk fats).
Most people of all ages, come to think of it, believe that frozen yogurt is somehow good for them, even though it’s really just processed ice cream sprinkled with probiotic powder. Most doctors are completely unaware of the health dangers of aspartame and MSG and make no attempt to educate their patients about avoiding these excitotoxins. Most people don’t know that if you sign up as an organ donor, literally millions of dollars may be made off your body parts while your organs go to murderers! Also, if you’re an organ donor recipient, you may receive a cancer-ridden, diseased organ as your “new” transplant.
Think cooking on non-stick cookware is safe? Most people have no idea that non-stick cookware surfaces are made of highly toxic chemicals, and if you heat a non-stick pan on the stove, it will actually off-gas enough toxic chemicals to kill your pet parakeet (this is not a myth).

Very few doctors know that the human body has a second brain. It’s located in your gut, and it’s a highly complex mass of interconnected neurons that give real “intelligence” to your digestion and your interactions with food. There’s even a book called The Second Brain that explains how it works.

A typical conventional doctor cannot tell you the health benefits of blueberries — even though
blueberries can make statin drugs obsolete for many people! Most naturopaths, however, are well aware
of the benefits of blueberries and may even prescribe them to you.

Most doctors DO know the truth about how toxic chemotherapy is for patients, but they won’t tell
patients the details of what they know. It turns out that 91% of oncologists would not choose
chemotherapy for themselves. This list could continue, of course. There are seemingly countless
examples of extreme gaps in the knowledge of doctors who should frankly know better.
Med school graduates get an “F” in health.

So, why do conventional medical doctors remain so ignorant of the basics of human health and
nutrition? Because medical schools don’t teach health. They teach disease, surgery and pharmacology.
They offer virtually no material on nutrition, disease prevention or mind-body medicine, so the doctors
that graduate from medical school are nutritionally illiterate and lacking basic health knowledge.

To Download this Article: Doctors_Not_Health_Experts

Oct.14.10-Cancer Groups Ignore Chemicals

Cancer groups ignore chemicals, food additives as culprits in disease

(NaturalNews) October is breast cancer awareness month, which means pink ribbons and literature about getting mammograms litter the landscape even more than they normally do during the rest of the year. But many women who have survived the disease are questioning the role environmental chemicals play in contributing to breast cancer, and wondering why groups like Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society (ACS) — groups that claim to be doing everything possible to find a cure — have nothing to say about it.

According to a recent USA Today article, ACS estimates that roughly six percent of all cancer deaths — or 34,000 of those who die every year — are caused by environmental pollutants. Yet these same groups never inform women about what these pollutants are and how they can avoid them, and most doctors do not share this information with their patients, either.

For instance, a 2006 study in the journal Chemistry & Biology found a link between the plastic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) and #  — and many studies since then have linked BPA to cancer and other diseases — but federal regulators continue to drag their feet on the issue, insisting that the chemical is safe (http://www.naturalnews.com/020181.html).

Fluoridated water, food additives, chemical pesticides and even mammograms themselves — just to name a few — are all linked to causing cancer, and yet none of this information is provided to women.

The President’s Cancer Panel (PCP) issued a report back in May that highlighted a whole slew of cancer-causing and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in many consumer products, urging officials to protect the public from the “grievous harm” caused by them. You can read the entire report here:

http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory…

According to Julia Brody of the Silent Spring Institute, an advocacy group that studies breast cancer and the environment, there are at least 200 known chemicals that studies have shown are linked to breast cancer, and women can be proactive in avoiding them right now. You can view the list of chemicals at: http://sciencereview.silentspring.o…

Articles Related to This Article:
The mineral selenium proves itself as powerful anti-cancer medicine

Cancer is not a Disease – It’s a Survival Mechanism (Book Excerpt)

Healing Illness – A Natural Anti-Cancer Protocol

New research shows vitamin D slashes risk of cancers by 77 percent; cancer industry refuses to support cancer prevention

Mammograms cause breast cancer (and other cancer facts you probably never knew)

 

To Download this Article: Cancer_Groups_Ignore_Chemicals

Oct.13.10. Newsletter Flu Season

Advanced Family Chiropractic
219 West Main Street
Montour Falls, NY 14865
Phone: 607-535-7080

Welcome to our office’s Chiropractic newsletter. We’d like to entertain you, inform you (and even inspire you a little).

All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. – Sean O’Casey

TABLE OF CONTENTS
·    Special flu shot report

Special Flu Shot Report

“Here come the fear mongers…just in time for the flu vaccine marketing season…. Fear is used to persuade Americans to roll up their sleeves and hand over their children to be vaccinated. Years ago, people developed resistance the old fashioned way: By getting the flu. And then when that type of flu came around again years or decades later, they either didn’t get sick or had only a mild case. The vaccine marketeers want to take that away from our population. What will that make us? Vaccine dependent, of course.” – Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center

Three important reasons to avoid the flu shot:
1.    The flu shot contains formaldehyde, gelatin and traces of chicken cells.
2.    The flu shot contains viral contaminants that have been linked to cancer.
3.    You can get the flu shot – and all the risks that go with it – and still get the flu!
From the OsteoMed newsletter. To subscribe, go to osteomed2@aol.com.

Another good reason to avoid the shot:  to avoid Alzheimer’s Disease
According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, the world’s leading immunogeneticist and 13th most quoted biologist of our time (over 850 papers in peer reviewed journals), if an individual has five consecutive flu shots their chance of getting Alzheimer’s is ten times higher! (1)

How does the flu shot cause Alzheimer’s? Dr. Fudenberg states the mercury and aluminum in flu shots (and many childhood shots as well as some RhoGam shots) cross the blood-brain barrier causing brain damage. Alzheimer’s is expected to quadruple. Are flu shots the reason? (2)

Flu hysteria is on the way (again)

Reports claim that “Influenza kills 30,000 to 40,000 Americans every year.” (3) That is simply not the case. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of people who die of the flu are a fraction of that. Here is what the CDC says:
In 2002: 753 died of the flu (4)
In 2001: 267 died of the flu (5)
In 2000: 2,175 died of the flu (6)
In 1999: 1,685 died of the flu (7)

Those who die of the flu are mostly frail, sickly, weak, malnourished and unhealthy to begin with. For people in reasonably good health, dying from the flu is, in fact, very rare – research even shows the flu shot does not affect mortality of elderly people. In conclusion – the flu shot is dangerous and useless.

Flu shot does not save lives
The ads say “The flu shot saves lives,” but research reveals it’s not so.   The flu vaccine isn’t preventing death in the elderly, the “high risk group” that is told to get a flu shot to reduce mortality, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. (8)

Although immunization rates in those over 65 have increased 50% in the past 20 years, there has been no decline in flu-related deaths. In addition to ineffectiveness, the flu shot’s typical ingredients include aluminum (associated with Alzheimer’s and seizures), mercury (linked to brain damage, ADHD and autism) and phenol (a carcinogen).

In fact, mortality rates for those over 85 between 1968 and 2001 showed no change as well. The authors add: “Studies substantially overestimate vaccination benefit”; a diplomatic way of saying it’s useless.

If you get the flu avoid aspirin and Tylenol™
Researchers found that flu sufferers who took aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol) stayed sick an average of 3.5 days longer than people who did not take the drugs.

The researchers discuss the purpose of a fever and note how confused the medical profession is when it comes to fever. “In spite of centuries of clinical experience and recent intense investigation, it is still not clear whether fever is noxious per se, or if the benefits of antipyretic therapy outweigh its costs.” (9)

Natural healthcare providers have always understood the value of fever in fighting infection and cleansing the body of toxins. This was recently underlined in a paper showing the following:

The flu protects against cancer
In a research study appearing in The Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, scientists discovered that those with a history of colds and flu also had less breast, colon, rectal, stomach and ovarian cancer.

The association between…infectious diseases and cancer risk was investigated. [Those with] carcinomas of the stomach, colon, rectum, breast, and ovary…were interviewed. A history of common colds or gastro-enteric influenza prior to the interview was found to be associated with a decreased cancer risk. (10)

In another study, subjects who reported a history of colds, flu and other infectious diseases had a 30% reduction in risk of brain tumor. (11)

Natural healthcare providers have traditionally warned against suppressing the symptoms of colds and flu stressing that’s how your body heals, detoxifies and cleanses – which are protective against cancer.

Do you have a caterpillar egg deficiency?
The FluBlok flu shot has caterpillar ovaries as one of its ingredients. Don’t believe it? Go to Concord Monitor Online Article – Biotech firms developing egg-less flu vaccine – Your News Source – 03301 (12)

Long-term consequences of flu shots – immune system damage?
Researchers have discovered that repeated vaccination at a young age substantially increases the risk of influenza at older ages. This is possibly due to overall weakening of the immune system. However, getting the infection naturally appears to strengthen the immune system and decreases the risk of being re-infected. Natural appears to be better. (13) Note: The authors did not even look for Alzheimer’s increases due to flu shots, a subject increasingly under discussion.

Good news – majority not getting flu shot. Common sense is still alive!
In a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases survey conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 3, over half of those interviewed said they would not get the flu shot. Among reasons cited: 43% said the flu is not serious enough to warrant vaccination and 23% said they still got the flu even after being immunized. (14)

In conclusion
Rather than see the flu, colds, fevers and nasal discharge solely as uncomfortable, we should know that they operate in our best interest: to heal us, to cleanse us and to detoxify us. Preventing symptoms from expressing themselves may set us up for more serious disease in the future. That doesn’t mean we should ignore a sick person. Illness is a time of rest and recuperation. Ill people need comfort, proper nutrition and support.

Many people who wish to avoid medical suppressive therapies such as aspirin, Tylenol, antihistamines, decongestants and other drugs designed to prevent symptoms instead turn to nutrition, chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture and many other natural “expressive” healthcare systems so their bodies will get the full benefit from their symptoms – cleansing, healing and improved health.

Advanced Family Chiropractic
219 West Main Street
Montour Falls, NY 14865
Phone: 607-535-7080

Welcome to our office’s Chiropractic newsletter. We’d like to entertain you, inform you (and even inspire you a little).

All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.  – Sean O’Casey

TABLE OF CONTENTS

·    Autumn
·    We see magic every day
·    Words of wisdom
·    Sweetened coffee can make you fat
·    Did you know?
·    Humor
·    References

Autumn
Autumn descends upon us once again. The intense heat of summer gives way to more comfortable days and cooler nights. The sun rises later, dusk comes earlier and life prepares for the change of seasons again. Memories of going back to school and returning to work mix with anticipation of upcoming holidays as we hope to make them more meaningful and uplifting.

The seasons change as part of life’s magical, mysterious dance of growth and renewal.

We see magic everyday

As chiropractors we see the magic and mystery of life every day. In the eyes of the child whose life was changed by an adjustment, in the face of an elderly person who, perhaps for the first time in their lives, had their energies unblocked as their subluxations were corrected.

The true mystery of life is that within us billions of cells are being born, are living and dying every second; we are a stage to life’s magic with every breath we take. We are connected to a wisdom that is far more vast and knowing than any we can conceive of and it is flowing within us every second we are alive. We are connected to this mystery and spend our lives living it. Chiropractic helps us connect to it so we can live life more fully.

Words of Wisdom
If at first you don’t succeed, do it the way your wife told you to. – Yvonne Knepper

Lead us not into temptation. Just tell us where it is. –  Sam Levenson

A closed mouth gathers no foot. –  Bob Cooke

Sweetened coffee can make you fat
A 20-ounce Starbucks Caffè Mocha with whipped cream has 490 calories, equivalent to a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese. A 24-ounce Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino with whipped cream is equivalent in calories to a standard cup of coffee plus 11 of their creamers and 29 packets of sugar. (15)

Did you know?

Your nerves send messages at speeds up to 224 miles per hour! Nerves are the longest cells in your body, up to 4 feet long! They carry messages to keep your muscular, circulatory, excretory, hormonal, digestive, respiratory (breathing) and other body systems functioning at their best so you can function at your best with lots of energy, enthusiasm, joy, strength, inspiration and high resistance to disease. This marvelous communications system can be damaged by subluxations, a deep stress within you that can irritate your nerves, discs, muscles, joints and can weaken your body.

Chiropractors are specially trained to locate and remove subluxations, permitting you to function with more energy and improving your body’s ability to function more perfectly.

Want to make sure your messages are getting to where they should go so you are functioning at your best? Come in for a checkup and adjustment.
Humor
59 and pregnant?
A woman went to the doctor’s office, where she was seen by a young, new doctor. After about 4 minutes in the examination room, the doctor told her she was pregnant. She burst out screaming as she ran down the hall.

An older doctor stopped her and asked what the problem was, and she told him her story. After listening, he had her sit down and relax in another room.

The doctor marched down the hallway to where the first doctor was and demanded, “What’s the matter with you? Mrs. Terry is 59 years old, she has four grown children and seven grandchildren, and you told her she was pregnant?”

The new doctor continued to write on his clipboard and without looking up said, “Does she still have the hiccups?”

See you next month. Want hard copies of this newsletter to give to your friends, co-workers and relatives? Perhaps you’d like us to include other e-mail addresses. Call us or stop by the office. Please remember that everyone needs to be free from subluxations so bring your friends and loved ones for a spinal checkup.

References

1. Dr. Fudenberg at the NVIC International Vaccine Conference, Arlington, VA. September, 1997. Quoted with permission. Note: Dr. Fudenberg’s web site is: http://members.aol.com/nitrf. Visit and read fascinating stuff there.
2. John’s Hopkins Newsletter, November 1998.
3. http://www.acponline.org/journals/news/jul-aug04/vaccinations.htm
4. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_13.pdf (p.16)
5. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr51/nvsr51_05.pdf (p.16)
6. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_12.pdf (p.15)
7. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_08.pdf
8. Simonsen L et al. Impact of influenza vaccination on seasonal mortality in the US Elderly population. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2005;165;265-272.
9. Plaisance KI, Kunaravalli, S, Wasserman SS et al. Effect of antipyretic therapy on the duration of illness in experimental influenza A, Shigella sonnei, and Rickettsia rickettsii infections. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20(12):1417-1422. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/409651
10. Abel U, Becker N, Angerer R et al. Common infections in the history of cancer patients and controls. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology. 1991;117(4); 339-44. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v635l637674w8k02/?p=fc1b22d86a8b4a0ebdeebe28d42f475a&pi=8
11. Schlehoper B, Blettner M, Preston-Martin S et al. Role of medical history in brain tumor development results from the international adult brain tumor study. International Journal of Cancer. 1999;82:155-160.
12. Biotech firms developing egg-less flu vaccine, caterpillar cells offer sought-after alternative. The Washington Post. November 29, 2004. http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041129/REPOSITORY/411290319/1013/NEWS03
13. Carrat F et al. Repeated influenza vaccination of healthy children and adults: borrow now, pay later? Epidemiol Infect. 2006;134(1):63-70. http://www.vaclib.org/basic/repeatedfluvax.htm
14. Reuters. October 4, 2006.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2006-10-05T014723Z_01_N04395681_RTRUKOC_0_US-FLU.xml&src=rss

15. Center for Science in the Public Interest’s September Issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/coffee.pdf

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