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Are You Afraid?

There is a great homeopathic remedy for worriers generally, but these days particularly for those who are feeling overly anxious as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks and related events. It is Arsenicum 30X. Among the many symptoms Arsenicum addresses is fear generated by worry. Also, interestingly, I note that one of the symptoms of anthrax infection is a general lack of concern about the situation one finds oneself in. And in fact Arsenicum has been used as a homeopathic remedy for anthrax in animals, prior to the use of the actual homeopathic remedy called Anthrax.

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The Wisdom of Eccentricity

From the March 2002 issue of Glamour magazine: “Expressing your nonconformist streak may even be good for your health … Eccentrics live longer, see their doctors less frequently, have higher IQs, and suffer fewer psychiatric illnesses than their conformist counterparts … Curiosity, creativity, and not caring what the neighbors think are the main ingredients in the eccentric’s personality. And when you don’t care what other people think, you cut a whole source of anxiety out of your life. That helps maintain a healthy immune system and blood pressure level, not to mention it keeps depression at bay.”

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Orthopathy & Fascial Distortion Model

When a friend suffered a fractured ankle (for Brother Theophyle’s take on that, please see here), an allopathic physician recommended putting it into a cast. Instead, my friend went to the Osteopathic Extremity Clinic in Brewer, Maine, where Stephen Typaldos, D.O. treated him using a discipline he developed called Fascial Distortion Model. For more about what that is and how it works, please visit Typaldos’ own website. What I can tell you is that in my friend’s case the treatment, while very painful, was extremely effective: He entered Typaldos’ office on crutches, and he left without them. Really. There were several follow-up visits, and in a relatively short time, the ankle was completely restored to normal.

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MS & HBO Therapy

The June 2003 issue of Dr. Robert Jay Rowen’s newsletter Second Opinion features an interesting, even exciting, article about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), even advanced MS, and other conditions, including aging. For a copy of the issue or more information, go to Second Opinion’s website, or write Dr. Rowen at PO Box 467939, Atlanta, GA 31146, or telephone 1-800-728-2288 or 1-770-399-5617. (Over the years, I have found Second Opinion to be an excellent source of breaking news, good advice, and considered reasoning.)

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Pain Therapy

The July 2003 issue of Dr. Robert Jay Rowen’s newsletter Second Opinion features an article about a fascinating therapy used to treat pain of all kinds. It is called Bowen therapy, and consists solely of gentle manipulation of muscles and tendons. Rowen reports successful application of this therapy to various different kinds of problems, including carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow problems, temporal mandibular joint dysfunction, foot problems, shoulder problems, general back pain, and others. For additional information, please visit http://www.bowtech.com (where you will find a PDF reprint of Rowen’s article) or write US Bowen Registry, 337 North Rush Street, Prescott AZ 86301 or call 1-866-862-6936. In the May 2004 issue, Rowen writes further about pain treatment, citing the website http://www.neuraltherapy.com

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Pasture-Based Farming

A website called “Eat Wild” at http://www.eatwild.com/ may be of interest to those who eat meat, eggs, milk, and butter, but are concerned about the way animals (and animal products) that eventually end up on supermarket shelves are cared for and fed.

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Bugs Be Gone

Among the crowds of visitors that come to Maine every summer is a host of buzzing and biting insects, the very worst of which is the Maine Black Fly (see here). Over the years, it seems we have tried almost as many varieties of bug repellents as there are species of bugs, and, in our experience at least, none of them works very well. Except “Leweys”, which we discovered a year or so ago. It really works. (When we first encountered this product, it was called “Buzz Off”. The name was later changed to “Leweys”, apparently because of a trade mark conflict. And now, it seems to have changed its name again, this time to EcoBlends.) According to the original label (we have not seen the latest label), the product is based on a Native American recipe, and is effective against a long list of bugs; there is even an equine formula to protect horses. So, if you find yourself being bitten or otherwise molested this summer by tiny buzzing flying crawling gnawing (not to mention annoying) creatures, you may want to give this stuff a try. Again, here is the link.

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Sunburn

While visiting in Hawaii, TZF’s own Brother Theophyle got a nasty sunburn (he mistakenly used an SPF product that was not “swim proof” and which apparently washed off when he swam in the ocean). He treated the burn with Cantharis 30x (two tablets immediately, and then two again the following day), and by applying Calendula cream several times over two days, and by applying “After-Sun Treatment” by Neutrogena very liberally several times every day for a week. By the end of the second day, the pain was gone; there was never any blistering or any peeling at all; in a week, the burn was indistinguishable from an ordinary tan.

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Premature Babies

At TZF’s Open Space, we have posted an interesting article by a woman in Suffolk, England, who happens to be a Reiki Master, about emotional discomfort that she and her sister, both of whom were born prematurely, have experienced, and which she is convinced is the result of her premature birthing experience. While we have no credentials in this area, it makes sense that separating an infant from the womb and parking it in an incubator, however necessary the procedure may be, would generate some forms of anxiety that might manifest later in life. To read the article, please click here, and then choose “Undiscovered Feelings of Premature Babies”.

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Color Therapy

As mentioned here before, we subscribe to an excellent health-related newsletter called Second Opinion, published by Robert Jay Rowen, MD. This year’s renewal included a 25-page booklet called “Color Me Healthy” that offers a clear and convincing consideration of the application of color therapy to healing. Our most direct experience with color therapy is the practice mentioned on TZF’s letters page (when the page opens, click on “Sounds Practice” in the menu), which we have used with success for many years. Rowen makes the point that color is frequency and so is everything else, and so applying the appropriate color (frequency) to a condition or organ may have curative effect. The booklet includes lots more, of course, including some case studies and essential how-to guidance. I don’t know whether or not he sells the booklet separately, but those interested may wish to inquire through the website.

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Childhood Obesity

Another health related newsletter we receive is Bottom Line’s Daily Health News. Delivered as an email message, it is free of charge. Each issue includes a brief article on a health-related subject accompanied by one or more advertisements for books or other materials. For those who are already actively taking charge of their own health-care matters - consistently eating and living right, keeping themselves informed of developments in the medical world, choosing their physicians and other providers carefully - some of the articles in this newsletter will not be news. Still, in our experience, enough are interesting. In a piece entitled “How We’re Killing Our Kids”, the issue received today opens with the chilling observation that “Today’s kids may be the first generation of children to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents - and the reason is obesity”. Quoting Stephen Sondike, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University School of Medicine, the article reminds us of the obvious but too often ignored: “The best way to avoid the ravages of metabolic syndrome [also called prediabetes, metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that increase the likelihood of heart disease and diabetes in children as well as adults] is to concentrate on eating natural, whole foods. Fresh fruit is better than juice … grilled chicken is better than breaded and fried chicken tenders … water is better than soda … nuts are better than chips. The less processed a food is, the more work the body does to digest the carbohydrate, leading to a less severe rise in insulin”. And lest we let ourselves blame the kids, the article concludes, “it is the parents and other significant adults who set the tone for a child’s healthy development”.

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Leg Cramps

A friend reported suffering from leg cramps, particularly at night and particularly at the right calf and foot. A chiropractic doctor, who is also a practitioner of acupuncture and other Oriental medicines, suggested that he eat a banana daily and drink six to eight glasses of water every day (over the course of the day, not all at once). Several months later, our friend reports that the cramps are virtually gone, by which he says he means that, while he used to experience cramps three or four times a week, now he might experience a cramp once or twice a month. That seems a significant improvement.

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Hand Therapy in Downeast Maine

Our friend and neighbor, Greg Molatch, has recently opened Raven Hill Integrated Therapies in Ellsworth, Maine. He has a nice website at http://www.mainehandtherapy.com, which we particularly recommend because besides providing information about the practice, the site is educational; a visit there is a learning experience. Greg Molatch is one of the few certified hand therapists in Maine, making Raven Hill Integrated Therapies unique in this area. Along with two colleagues, the practice will offer, besides hand therapy, the full range of occupational therapy, workplace ergonomics, certified lymphedema therapy, and more. Greg Molatch is a highly professional, enthusiastic practitioner, and we are delighted to wish him and Raven Hill Integrated Therapies abundant success!

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Chocolate!

 

Recently, we began receiving in the mail an interesting newsletter called “America’s Country Doctor”. At their website, there is an article that will please chocolate-lovers no end. From time to time, we have come across news items extolling chocolate’s virtues – which, because we like chocolate, is always nice to read – but this site is positively exuberant on the subject. The website offers a free e-mailed newsletter called House Calls.

Another newsletter we read, called Alternatives (http://www.drdavidwilliams.com), has this about chocolate: “And, just recently, researchers have found that certain forms of chocolate (the darker and closer to pure cocoa the better) can provide the same blood-thinning and heart attack protection as aspirin. … The flavonols in cocoa can help improve blood flow, and the amount needed isn’t that much. … Ideally you want a chocolate product that contains at least 60 percent cocoa solids (it’ll say so on the label) and that has been minimally processed (alkali or “Dutch” processing removes much of the flavonol content from the cocoa powder).”

Finally, JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports that dark chocolate reduces blood pressure and has a positive effect on hypertension.

All of the articles that we have read on this subject stress that they are about dark chocolate, and the darker the better. Milk chocolate and white chocolate do not seem to have the same positive effect.

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Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are the quintessential pain in the butt! Defined as “swollen and inflamed veins in the anus and rectum”, they are the result of various causes, including pregnancy and straining during bowel movements. After age 50, hemorrhoids become quite common across the population. Unfortunately, they can be painful. Happily, there are a variety of effective medications and treatments for hemorrhoids. Some years ago, a good friend of The Zoo Fence had several small hemorrhoids banded by a physician. As we understand it, the way banding works is a physician simply places a tight rubberband-like device over the hemorrhoid, which eventually causes it to drop off. Our friend was enthusiastic about the success he experienced from this treatment. More recently, he told us that he treated a newly appeared hemorrhoid with the homoeopathic remedy “aesculus hippocastanum” in cream form. He applied a small dab of the cream directly to the hemorrhoid, one time a day over three days. He reports significant improvement.

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Burning Out Cancer

Several times, we have mentioned one of our favorite newsletters, Second Opinion published by Robert Jay Rowen, MD. The current issue has an interesting, maybe even exciting, report about a safer way than traditional radiation to burn cancer out of the body. Here’s some of what he writes: “The idea of burning cancer out is a good idea. We just need to be able to do it without damaging the healthy tissues. Now there’s a way to do it. Researchers in two separate studies have found a way to burn your cancer cells with capsaicin rather than radiation. Capsaicin is the very hot extract of red peppers. … Capsaicin also had a profound effect on the cancer cells’ ability to multiply. In addition to killing 80% of the cancer cells, it dramatically slowed the development of tumors from the remaining 20%. That’s enough to allow other treatments to step in and successfully kill those cells.” For more on this subject, please visit Dr. Rowen’s website at http://www.secondopinionnewsletter.com

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Cancer Treatment

Here is Dr. Robert Jay Rowen’s Second Opinion newsletter again about cancer, this time in the March 2008 issue. The lead story is about what he calls “the quickest, easiest, cheapest, and most effective cancer treatment ever”. It is a therapy discovered by Tullio Simoncini, an Italian physician, which involves the use of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda!).

Here is a brief quotation from the newsletter: “Dr. Simoncini discovered research showing that all solid cancers have something in common. They are all held together by a fungus. This fungus produces an acid-based glue that holds it and the cancer cells together. This fungus is none other than Candida, the common fungus in many yeast infections. Dr. Simoncini found out that Candida plays a vital role in cancer’s ability to survive”.

Apparently baking soda kills Candida, which in turn allows the cancer cells to self-destruct.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. But the way the newsletter describes this therapy and its results is exciting. Simoncini has written a book about his discovery which is available here.

Please understand that we know nothing about this treatment other than what we have read in Rowen’s newsletter and at the two websites just mentioned. That said, the subject certainly does seem worthy of further investigation.

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Chinese Medicine Forum

For those interested in traditional Chinese medicine in its multifarious manifestations, there is a very professional forum on the internet sponsored by an online journal called Chinese Medicine Times. Here is a link to the forum: http://www.chinesemedicinetimes.com/forum

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Stretchware

Like everyone else who sometimes spends long periods at the computer, we often forget to leave the keyboard, get up, walk around, and stretch. The result, of course, is a basket of muscle aches and pains at the end of the day.

Recently, one of our favorite chiropractors (who else!) told us she has heard of computer programs which are being used in offices to encourage employees to perform simple exercises while at or near their desks. A Google search of the subject led us to Stretchware, which, in its website’s words, is “the ergonomic software that reminds you to stretch, developed by stretching expert Bob Anderson, author of the classic best-selling fitness book, Stretching”.

We have purchased the program ($24.95), and we love it.

It is easy to install and extremely user friendly to configure. For now, we have set it to remind us every fifteen minutes, but you can set the reminder intervals anywhere between 1 minute and 4 hours. The reminder itself is a gentle bell and/or a small pop-up window (your choice). At each reminder, the program suggests a half dozen simple, quick (the longest we’ve seen takes 15 seconds) stretch exercises. After that, it’s back to work until the program reminds you again to stretch. It’s so simple, it’s brilliant.

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