Paul’s Health Blog

By Dr. Paul Blake, N.D.

My first experience with a herbal medicine was cayenne pepper (capsicum annum) which began almost by accident.   It was about 1985 and I was suffering with lung problems.   I would get a cold or the flu two or three times each year, it would move into my lungs and I would experience a tight painful barking cough with no expectoration for weeks afterward (whooping cough).  One day I happened to be in a small health food store in Huntington Beach, Ca as I recall and the clerk asked if he could be of assistance.   Out of desperation, I described my lung problem to him and he suggested I try using the herb cayenne.

I bought some pure unadulterated cayenne capsules from him and followed the instructions on the bottle.  That afternoon the cough loosened up and two days later the cough was gone and my lungs cleared, it was a WOW moment in my life and a turning point!

But you must understand, that using an herb this way like modern medicines, treating the symptom did not solve my lung problems because the root of my lung problem was me and my lifestyle.   I still caught colds and flu every year and they went into my lungs just as before and each year I used the cayenne to solve the symptom.  You see lung problems run in my family genetically and without ever solving the root, my lifestyle problem, I could have eventually contracted a far worse disease such as lung cancer.   It was not until I learned how to combine the use of herbs and life style changes that I truly cured my lung problems completely and forever.

This experience with the herb cayenne impressed me deeply as I said and when I was struck by prostate cancer five years later I was open to the use of herbs as part of the completely natural treatment I chose.   I went on from that full herbal and lifestyle cure to study naturopathic medicine and gain a Naturopathic Doctors degree on the way.   I would like to mention two of my teachers the late Dr. John Ray Christopher (an infinite blessing to the sick and suffering of this world) who’s work I studied and Dr. Richard Shulze (one of the most knowledgeable naturopathic medical teachers today), both I believe are Thomsonian Naturopaths.   Without the knowledge that these two naturopathic doctors gave me I would be dead today or moldering in some drug pusher infested, pee smelling rest-home.

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It’s that time of year.  You either love the bloom of Spring or you hate the allergies it brings.  Let me help you understand some of the mystery that baffles and befuddles so many in regard to allergies.  Allergies, in a nutshell, is your immune system overreacting to something that it should consider normal.  It’s as though your immune system cannot readily identify the pollen, the food, the fur or other substance which results in the Immune system alarm sounding and your body reacting as best it can to eliminate or neutralize the perceived threat.  Unfortunately, this hyper-immune response can be severe enough to result in death.  So allergies can range from the mild annoyance to a life-threatening emergency.

With time, our immune system can become more reactive and more sensitive and allergic symptoms can multiply and escalate.  This is all accentuated with stress that can result from a poor diet, insufficient sleep, and toxicity. 

So what can be done to stop or minimize your allergies?

It is true what they say – an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.  Before your allergies kick-in for the season, we suggest you focus on boosting your immune system.  As mentioned earlier, allergies are simply the immune system over-reacting.  The healthier and more intact your immune system, the less likely you will suffer from allergies. 

What to do Before Allergy Symptoms

Few of us get all of the nutrients we need in our diet.  And far too many eat and drink things that are anything but nutritious and result in stressing and increasing the toxic load on your digestive and nervous systems.  Here are a few of the herbal formula that we have found helpful in building up the immune system and relieving allergy symptoms before the set in.

Nature’s C Complex Capsules – Nature gives us Vitamin C as a complete and balanced complex.  Few vitamin C supplements give you more than some form of ascorbic acid, which only makes up about 4% of the complete Vitamin C complex.  Nature’s C Complex gives you whole Vitamin C from whole herbal sources.  This product is a great way to boost and strengthen your immune system.

Immune Boost Formula, Syrup and Capsules – This formula works by supporting the immune system.  A very powerful and potent herbal combination to be used to ward off illness or allergies.  Children love the tasty syrup.

Echinacea/Goldenseal Capsules – This classic immune supporting combination builds, strengthens, and tones the immune system for greater balance and fewer allergy symptoms.

Liver/Gallbladder Formula and Capsules – These herbs are best known for their ability to stimulate, cleanse and protect the liver and gallbladder as well as rid the body of parasites.  By cleaning and clearing toxicity from the body, you can lighten the stress on your immune system allowing for greater function.

Super Adrenal  Support  – Most allergies can be traced to weakened or fatigued adrenal glands.  This formula can strengthen, tone and rebuild your adrenal glands while giving you more energy and relief from allergy symptoms. Correct the problem at the cause rather than endlessly chasing symptomatic relief. 

What to do After Allergy Symptoms

Reality dictates that in addition to correcting the underlying problems, you may also need some symptom relief.  Fortunately, there are some great herbal products that will do just that.

Allergy Formula Capsules and Syrup – For symptomatic relief of seasonal allergies, runny nose, itchy eyes, hives and sneezing.

Sinus Allergy Formula and Capsules – Used to relieve sinus congestion and draining associated with allergies.  Also an effective immune booster that will support the body in fighting bacterial and viral infections.  The effects of this powerful formula can be felt immediately.

Digestion Aid Formula and Capsules – Often allergies are a result of poor or incomplete digestion.  Eat whole natural foods, sprouted grains (to eliminate the enzyme inhibitors) and eating plenty of probiotics is important.  The bitter herbs in this formula will increase digestive function thereby reducing gas, bloating and intestinal cramping.  Better digestion means less allergies.

Lungs Plus Formula – Relieves lung congestion, wheezing, soothes coughs and eases breathing.  The herbs in this formula have been shown to dilate the bronchial passages and loosen mucus and phlegm so it can be expelled from the lungs.  Many of my patients with asthma have been able to go off or minimize their asthma inhalers by using this product.

Ginseng Plus Formula and Capsules – This adrenal and general tonic helps to build, strengthen, tone and increase your ability to handle stress while reducing fatigue.  This combination of Asian and American Ginsengs supports the fine interplay between the many systems of your body, restoring you to better health.

This overview of an herbal approach to allergy relief has helped many of customers, patients and friends.  The herbal approach is what I refer to as the first line of defense, because it works so well, is so cost effective and does not have the side-effects like so many of the drugs do.  Occasionally, we need to work a little deeper by performing allergy treatments that can desensitize the allergy sufferer.  This is done by balancing the acupuncture meridians while the person holds the allergen in their hand. But this is another article.

So if you or someone you love suffers from allergies give the herbal approach an honest try.  Read through the descriptions of the products above and determine which three and at the most four products to start on. Follow the recommended dosages and work on your and expect significant results.

Blessings for an Allergy-Free Spring and Beyond.

Dr. Kyle Christensen

Disclaimer:  This article was written for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases, or replaces the services of a competent health care provider.  This information has not been evaluate or approved by the FDA.  Please use common sense and good judgment.     

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Obviously, no one wants to unintentionally give anything harmful to their children, they are their most precious gift and must be guarded at all cost.   The best safe guard we can use to protect our children is our knowledge based on the truth of what is known to be safe and what is known to be dangerous.   But with all the media advertisement hype aimed at us just finding a healthy brand of cereal can be a challenge let alone finding a safe supply of herbs or supplements.

If you depend on the media to inform you about the safety of supplements you might think that Herbs and Vitamins were risky, possibly too dangerous to give to our children; that you would be wise to be careful or you or your children might be poisoned by an herb or overdosed on a vitamin supplement.   You might also think that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should enforce stricter controls (like CODEX) over herbs and supplements to reduce all the injuries and fatalities.   But what is the truth; are there really a lot of innocent victims being poisoned or overdosed every year on herbs and vitamins?

Well the truth is going to be a real surprise to you as it was to me just how low the number of fatalities really is.   Below are the facts from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) who keep records of these kinds of incidents.   Anyone has access to these numbers including the media and those in government who are trying so hard through spin to put tighter controls on herbs and vitamin supplements. 

In the last 25 years there have been a total of 11 fatalities from taking herbs and supplements and for many of those years there were zero fatalities.   For instance in 2008 not one person died from taking an herb or vitamin supplement (ref. Orthomolecular News).   Your chance of being struck by lightning in 2008 was much higher.   The National Weather Service reported 28 deaths from being struck by lightning in 2008.

What makes this news even more amazing is when you consider the vast amount of herb and vitamin supplements consumed by Americans.   A low estimation of herb and vitamin consumption by Americans is 56 billion doses a year says, “Orthomolecular News”.

Now contrast those very low numbers of herbal and vitamin deaths with those from a product line we have all grown to trust and give to ourselves and our children regularly from our local drug store.   Deaths from aspirin and ibuprofen type anti-inflammatory drugs kill an estimated 16,500 Americans every year and hospitalize approximately 107,000 patients (how many of these were children was not listed) (ref. Deaths).

Now that you know the truth about the real safety of herbs and supplements, I am going to give you some extra information that makes the task of finding safe supplements even safer.   There is a way to find the safest herb and vitamin supplements on the market and it is our government that has supplied us with this information.   I know, I know how can you trust the government to do anything right, well in this instance they have done something right for the wrong reason but it works in our favor.   The government is so interested in stamping out the herb and vitamin supplement health business that they inadvertently created some very safe products in that industry.   What they created with their interference is “Certified Organic Herbs” and ‘Whole Food Vitamins” and here is why.   In order to try to make it as difficult as they can to get into these industries they made the rules and enforcement very strict.   So strict that when the supplement label says Certified Organic or the supplement says “100% Whole Foods” you can be assured that the product is what it says.   Why, because the government watches that industry like a hawk for any infringements (ref USDA and FDA).

Certified Organic means that you can be safe in the knowledge that the herb you give to your child or yourself has not been sprayed with pesticides, fumigated or grown with petrochemicals or in a cesspit somewhere outside the USA.   And the “100% Whole Foods” vitamin supplements give you the assurance that the supplement you give to your child or yourself is from real foods not chemicals (ref. USDA and FDA).

Because guess what, not all vitamins are the same; the majority are made from things that if you knew what was in them you would never buy them, let alone put one of them in your mouth.   Here is a list of things that are put in so called “natural” vitamin supplements including children’s vitamin’s that you see advertised every day and you can find covering the shelves in just about any store.   Benzene, petroleum esters, acetylene, refined oils, coal tar derivatives, hydrochloric acid, ammonia, isobutyraldehyde with formaldehyde, phytin hydrolyzed with calcium hydroxide and sulfuric acid, cobalamins reacted with cyanide, irradiated animal fat/cattle brains and I could go on but enough is enough you get the idea (ref. Thiel).

And I am sure that you thought the same thing that I did, “that they have to make those vitamins from food because we like every life form on this planet depend on plants for our nutrition.”   Well, this seems to be one of those many places were our government, probably the FDA, forgot to use their brains or somebody influenced their decision.   Anyway you now have this knowledge and can apply it to protecting yourself and your family just like I did when I learned this valuable information (Ref USDA and FDA).

Reference:

No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs, Poison Control Statistics Prove Supplements’ Safety, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, January 19, 2010, by Doctor Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D, (Editor)

Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. 2008 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2009). 47, 911-1084. The full text article is available for free download at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2008annualreport.pdf . Vitamins statistics are found in Table 22B, journal pages 1052-3. Minerals, herbs, amino acids and other supplements are in the same table, pages 1047-8.

Aspirin kills 400% more people than H1N1 swine flu, Natural News, November 20, 2010, by Mike Adams (Editor),

Deaths ascribed to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS.” (Wolfe M. MD, Lichtenstein D. MD, and Singh Gurkirpal, MD, “Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs”, The New England Journal of Medicine, June 17, 1999, Vol. 340, No. 24, pp. 1888-1889.)

Naturopathy For The 21st Century, Robert J. Thiel, Ph.D., Whitman Publications, 2000

USDA, Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards.  Inacted in October 2002, and administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info

FDA, General Dietary Supplement Labeling, April 2005, Guidance for Industry, A Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide, www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements

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Babies have been studied for their reaction to pain since at least 1925 (Sherman & Sherman) possibly earlier. Between that time and the 1980’s many similar experiments were done that established that yes; babies do experience pain to their arms, legs, calves, toes and other parts of the body from scratches and pin pricks. Any mother could have told them this throughout the history of the human race. But of course we are talking about modern medical science here and anecdotal evidence from a mother is not acceptable. But because of the work of Sherman and Sherman in 1925 modern medicine is aware that yes, infants do experience pain.

Well science never got its own message that babies feel pain. Infants from premature up to 15 months old have had major surgery performed on them without the aid of anything to relieve their pain for over a century. The only thing given to babies during the operations they received was Curare. Curare is a powerful drug with life threatening side effects which paralyzes the infants so they cannot move or cry out. So, all that those thousands of babies could do was lay there without even the ability to cry during the horror of their operations. And it is now known that many died from the shock of what happened to them. And it is anyone’s guess as to how much psychological trauma they suffered later in life from this horrendous experience.

What is even more distressing is that during at least the last 50 years or more the pain could have been alleviated by the more modern and accurate use of anesthetics. But science moves slowly and some scientific minds move even slower unless prodded by the public and the justice system. So it was not till 1985 that this disgusting procedure was finally brought to light (see below) and as far as is known has been stopped.

This ghastly practice would probably still be in use today if it were not for an open heart operation performed on the Jeffrey Lawson baby in 1985. Their baby had holes cut into his neck, another hole in his chest, his ribs pried apart and various other operation techniques performed while totally aware but paralyzed. He went into shock that night after the operation and died 5 days later. His mother discovered what had happened to her baby and with a great deal of effort, research and the help of the media brought most of this horrendous practice to a halt.

Obviously this barbaric practice could and should have been stopped long before Jeffrey’s ordeal, (see ‘Standards of Practice and the Pain of Premature Infants, by Jill R. Lawson). But even years later after the Jeffery Lawson case there were still doctors who were under the misconception that babies do not feel or forget that they experienced pain.   This is from an article printed 12 years after the Jeffery’s case. “Circumcision Study Halted Due to Trauma, CNN Health, December 23, 1997, Up to 96 percent of the babies in the United States and Canada receive no anesthesia when they are circumcised, according to a report from the University of Alberta in Edmonton.” The results of the study were so compelling that the doctors took the unusual step of completely stopping the operations rather then subjecting any more babies to the pain of circumcision without anesthesia. 

The CNN report goes on to say, “One of the reasons anesthesia is not used, the study found, is the belief that infants feel little or no pain from the procedure. It has also been argued that injecting anesthesia can be as painful as circumcision itself, and that infants don’t remember the procedure, anyway. But there are those who find that reasoning difficult to believe, and Dr. Arthur Gumer is one of them. “To say that the baby doesn’t remember it is not an adequate excuse to me, he said. Babies experience other painful procedures and we worry about that, and we do give them anesthetics for those procedures (see Dr. Gumer’s video “Does Amputation Harm Babies”).”Three years later, McGill Reporter, Volume 32: 1999-2000, January 13, 2000, What do Babies Feel? by Tim Hornyak, “I think it’s close to 50 per cent of male infants that are circumcised for non-religious reasons,” says Professor Celeste Johnston. “I’ve been to a briss, and at least they hold the child and let it suck on a cloth dipped in alcohol and honey, which probably elicits the endorphin system. It’s a very different thing than in the hospital, when these kids are plunked down on a plastic board and strapped spread-eagled to it. Really, it’s barbaric.”

So a total of 15 years after the Lawson case there were still cases where infants were subjected to operations known and unknown where no anesthesia or pain medication was used. Wherever you live in this world protect your baby and your peace of mind by finding out the exact procedures that will be used during any operation on him or her. Your doctor will only respect you for your caring parental attention to the details of your baby’s safety.

An aphorism attributed to the German physicist Max Planck considered the founder of the quantum theory is a fitting end to this article, “that science doesn’t progress because scientists change their minds, but rather because scientists attached to erroneous views die, and are replaced.”

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Originating from northwest China and Tibet, Rhubarb has been used in medicine for more than 2,000 years and is considered one of the strongest herbs in Chinese Medicine.    The Chinese call the root Da huang, which means ‘big yellow’ which is the color of Rhubarb’s tinctures and decoctions.   Its use gradually spread through India, reaching Europe during the Renaissance overland via Asia Minor – hence the common name, Turkey rhubarb.    The plant was a favorite remedy with early Persian and Arabian physicians.    The Rhubarb grown for cooking and eating is usually r. rhabarbarum, an 18th-century cultivar.

Turkey rhubarb has an organ-affinity with the intestines and colon and so assists them in their function.   The parts of Rhubarb used are its roots and stalks and its effectiveness is controlled by the amount taken.  When taken in small doses, it has a tonic effect as a blood builder and blood cleanser.  It increases salivary and gastric flow, improves appetite and cleanses the liver by encouraging bile flow.    Rhubarb, by its cleansing action, encourages the healing process of duodenal ulcers and enhances gallbladder function.

The primary chemical constituents of Rhubarb include anthraquinones, chrysophanol, emodin, physcion, sennidine, rheidine, palmmidine, tannins, catechin, gallic acid, oxalic acid, rutin, phytosterol, and calcium oxalate. It is the anthraquinones that contribute to the laxative and purgative properties of Rhubarb, yet the tannin content helps balance those properties, and even stops diarrhea. Chinese research is investigating Rhubarb’s ability to possibly inhibit cancer cells.

The principal energetic health properties of turkey rhubarb are found in its roots. These roots are regularly utilized to detoxify and cleanse the body. The roots from second and third year plants should be used because they have reached their maximum effectiveness as purgative agents for cleansing and detoxing.

In large doses, Rhubarb can be used for emptying the bowels thoroughly.  Rhubarb supports the colon as a laxative in constipation and as an astringent in case of diarrhea.    The A-factors (anthraquinones) of this herb differ somewhat from those of Cascara Sagrada - only some of them reach the large intestines intact, while others are re-absorbed in the small intestine, and later released into the large intestine.    The timing of the absorption of Rhubarb is thus displaced to some degree from other popular laxative agents, thereby promoting longer and smoother activity of the complete system.    It should be noted that consumption of Rhubarb Root may color the urine yellow or red, but this is not concerning. In small amounts, Rhubarb Root is used for relief of diarrhea.   Rhubarb is also helpful to prevent and to eliminate hemorrhoids.

The Turkey Rhubarb Formula

Dr. John Ray Christopher (1909 to 1983), created the Turkey Rhubarb formula along with an estimated 50 other herbal formulas.   He was considered the premier authority in the use of herbs and natural healing techniques in the United States.    A Thomsonian herbalist, Dr. Christopher wrote numerous books on herbalism and he was the founder of The School of Natural Healing.

The Turkey Rhubarb Formula can liberate your body from the accumulated toxins and poisons that can bring on distress while leaving you feeling healthier than you have in years. This formula is a moderate, efficient, non addictive combination of time proven herbs. It Sanitizes and Sooths the colon and gastrointestinal tract while removing old fecal matter. This powerful yet gentle herbal formula has a tonic effect on the body and mind while the herbs build and cleanse the blood.

This formula encourages consistent, natural and thorough bowel movements:

Turkey Rhubarb root, Cascara Sagrada bark, Senna leaf, Psyllium seed, Barberry root bark, Cape Aloe leaf, Slippery Elm inner bark, Habanero Cayenne pepper.

Note:

It is generally considered a mild laxative that produces a soft stool six to ten hours after ingestion. Rhubarb is especially well suited for children since it is very mild in action.   We suggest the syrup form of this formula for children called Colon Cleanse Syrup.

Uses:

Amenorrhea, Anemia, Boils, Constipation, Diarrhea, Digestion Aid, Dysentery, Dysmenorrhea, Gallbladder, Headaches, Hemorrhages (internal), Hepatitis, Jaundice, Liver Problems, Menstruation (promotes), Skin Eruptions (boils/pustules), Stomach, Ulcers (duodenal), Worms (ring/pin/thread)

Turkey rhubarb is a component herb of the famous anti-cancer blend Essiac, along with sheep sorrel, slippery elm and burdock root.

Contraindications:

This product is not recommended during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding as it can loosen the infant’s bowels. Do not use when the colon is already empty or the astringent properties may cause colon discomfort. Using Rhubarb Root may temporarily cause the urine to appear yellow or red, but this is a common occurrence and no cause for alarm.   Do not take rhubarb or any other stimulant laxative if you take Lasix (furosemide); the combination can lead to potassium depletion.

Note: Use only the root and stalk in herbal preparations.   The Rhubarb leaves are considered poisonous as they contain a high quantity of oxalic acid in them, posing a danger for both man and animal.

Sources:

Little Herb Encyclopedia, by Jack Ritchason; N.D., Woodland Publishing Incorporated, 1995

The Ultimate Healing System, Course Manual, Copyright 1985, Don Lepore

A Thai Herbal, by C. Pierce Salguero, Published by Findhorn Press, 2003

The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Published by Dorling Kindersley

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This article is about a frustrating bout I had with Bursitis on both of my elbows.   The inflammation was easy for me to solve as you will see below but the swelling was a whole other matter.   It took a technique I invented a long time ago to solve the swelling problem which worked excellently.   Herbs will always work, you just need to find the right combination and technique for the problem you have and apply it consistently.

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By Dr. Kyle Christensen

In a world where good is bad and bad is good, it is important to be a little skeptical and ask the question – WHY?  The question of “WHY is my Cholesterol High?” is ignored with the assumption that it simply must be lowered.  “Here take this drug”.  Many can quote their cholesterol lab numbers and calculate ratios of HDL vs LDL, but what does it all mean?

Dr. Kyle Christensen

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A Thomsonian Naturopathic Doctor’s View of a Common Sense Way Out of the Autoimmune Disease Mess

I am a Thomsonian Naturopathic doctor and follower of Dr Samuel Thomson (the founder 1822).   He believed as I have learned from his teachings and my experience that all diseases are actually simple to explain, and that the more you complicate disease and medical techniques the more that people are removed from the healing process.   One of the results is what you see today in these auto-immune disease epidemic nightmares.

When I was looking at autoimmune diseases in 2004 there were at that time 65 and everyone was shocked at the high number.   Sadly these diseases have nearly tripled in that short period of time and today I believe the number is close to 150.   But this is not the true number as anyone of those autoimmune diseases can have any number of sub-diseases with their own symptoms.   Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) for example, has about 100 sub-diseases.   So really there are so many new autoimmune diseases that some have not even gotten a name yet, amazing isn’t it.

Autoimmune diseases like RA are a disease where your immune system does not recognize you and attacks you as though you were something foreign.   Here is a comparison that shows just how crazy this really is. Imagine, that in your city one day for no apparent reason the police department starts shooting at the employees of the water department. Until this problem is solved your city is turned on its head.

Modern medicine’s answer seems like a good idea, suppress or control the immune system. But wait a minute that is like answering your city’s problem by taking away the policeman’s guns or their right to arrest. This is unrealistic; because like your immune system the police have a vital service to perform.  Suppressing the immune system may be a temporary emergency answer, but long term it leads to other disease issues. Shouldn’t the realistic solution be to find out why your immune system is attacking you in the first place, why the confusion?

Let me see if I can make something clear for everyone so it is easier to understand. “When each cell is created by your body it gets an identifying signature a code that says it is part of you and do not attack me. You might say it is like the license plate on your car; that makes sense right?  Well, when your immune system senses this code it automatically knows that this is you and do not attack.”  Modern medical science calls this code a major histocompatibility complex (MHC).  

As long as you have been alive your immune system has checked each of the trillions of cells in your body two times a day.   The question is why, after checking the identification of your cells successfully all your life, does your immune system suddenly attack as in RA?   What has happened to these cells of your body such as those in your joints that it once accepted and now attacks?

Naturopaths like myself, believe that RA and all other autoimmune diseases are a symptom of a modern lifestyle and genetic weaknesses.   If you look for a pill or operation to suppress your immune system to make the pain disappear you may find one.   But that will never stop your immune system from attacking you.   And it will never answer the question, “Why do you have RA or any autoimmune disease in the first place”?

Making the pain or symptoms go away without addressing the underlying root of the immune confusion will also give your body cause and effect to bring you another autoimmune disease.    Which has proven to be the case; someone with an auto-immune disease tends to get another auto-immune disease and possibly more.   It is like the child’s game where you knock the peg down with a hammer and another one pops up.   That is why we have so many diseases and so many medications but zero cures, have you noticed that?

The person with an autoimmune disease will always be susceptible there is no real complete cure.   But we believe that they can correct the immune system to stop it from attacking.   What is needed to prevent the immune system from making these errors?   Eliminate from the body those things that are causing the immunity confusion.  These are things that never have and never will be naturally accepted or beneficial to the human body or mind.

Objective Autoimmune Disease Causes

There are combinations of toxins in everyone’s bodies today that have never been there in all of human history.   Our bodies were never designed to carry them nor do we have any use for them.   Some of them are objectively toxic in nature like the heavy metals aluminum, cadmium, lead, mercury and thallium.  Then you have the industrial chemicals that include hydrazine, herbicides, preservatives, dyes, plastics, bisphenol A and rubber products that are released in the environment and they number somewhere close to 85,000 thanks to the EPA and the FDA.

Notes (In 2005, researchers from the Environmental Working Group found something very frightening: a cocktail of 287 pollutants – PFOA’s, pesticides, dioxins, flame retardants — in the fetal-cord blood of newborn infants from around the country).

(Females retain methyl mercury 2:1 over males. It accumulates in the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and every major organ, as well as the body at large. They may well do the same for these other biotoxins.)

Medical Drugs That Can Cause Autoimmune Diseases

It has been known for some time that medical drugs can trigger an autoimmune disease.   Now it has been found that many medical drugs are the direct cause of various autoimmune diseases.   Below is a partial list of just some of the medicines involved in the autoimmune disease epidemic?   “If a medical drug you are on or have been on is not listed, do some research check the side effects, etc?”

The Prescription Drugs

Alferon N, Allopurinol, Atenolol, Atorvastatin, captopril, Carbamazepine, chlorpromazine, Chlorthalidone, cimetidine, Ethosuximide, gold salts, griseofulvin, Hydralazine, Hydrochlorothiazide, Infergen, Inerferon Alfa, Interferons, Interleukins, Intron A, Isoniazid, Levodopa, Lithium, Lovastatin, Mesantoin, Methimazole, Methyldopa, Methylsergide, Metoprolol, Minocycline,  Minoxidil, Nitrofurantoin, Ophthalmic timolol, Oral contraceptives, P-aminobenzoic, PegIntron, Penicillamine, Penicillin, Perphenazine, Phenylbutazone,   Phenytoin,  Pravostatin, Primidone, Procainamide, Propylthiouracil, Quinidine, Simvastatin, sulfasalazine, sulfonamides, streptomycin, Sulfonamide antimicrobials, Tetracyclines, Tiotropium Bromide inhaler, Trimethadione, Tumor Necrosis factor, Valproic acid.

Why would a medical drug that you take for your health cause you to become sick?   Basically medicine is not made to help you to become healthier.   Medical drugs are developed to suppress your symptoms.   You would never take a pharmaceutical drug to feel healthier as you would a vitamin or herbal supplement.

Mercury in Medicine

Of course everyone knows the dangers of mercury, but modern medicine insists on putting mercury in just about everything they give us and the FDA allows them to, why?   Because mercury is cheap and it works to suppress your symptoms even though over the long haul it poisons us all.   How dangerous is mercury?   It is the second most dangerous element on the planet next to plutonium.   Yet mercury is even found in over the counter medical drugs (OCMD) such as topical antiseptics, stimulant laxatives, diaper rash ointments (yes for babies), eye drops, nose sprays, Preparation H, Calomel body powders and talc, Mercurochrome, Merthiolate, Laxatives containing Calomel, Psoriasis ointments, Calamine lotions, Contact lens solutions and Vaginal gels – especially those that are contraceptives.   And of course mercury is highly suspect as a cause in all these new autoimmune diseases and the alteration of our children’s behavior such as ADD, ADHD and Autism.   Easy to see why we have health problems, isn’t it?

Why is the FDA afraid to do what is right and pull mercury out of all of these products?   Because the use of mercury is so cheap and pervasive across the board in the prescription drug and over the counter drug industries and the pressure is high in the industry to leave it that way.

“Lawsuit to Force FDA to Comply With Law and Ban Mercury” (News of the Day 11/13/2006)The lawsuit, originally filed in August 2006, asks the court to force the FDA to comply with existing law and regulations and provide proof of the safety and efficacy of mercury in drugs. The suit was filed because the FDA failed to answer issues raised.

Mercury is found in at least 45 different prescribed or over-the-counter drugs, including eye ointments, nasal sprays, and vaccines, most importantly, flu vaccines administered to children and pregnant women.

In a 1999 internal email, obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request, an FDA official wrote that the agency’s failure to evaluate the cumulative amount of mercury in medicine “…will raise questions about FDA being ‘asleep at the switch’ for decades by allowing a potentially hazardous compound to remain…and not forcing manufacturers to exclude it from new products….”

In a second email, the same official wrote: “…the greatest point of vulnerability on this issue is that the systematic review…by the FDA could have been done years ago and on an ongoing basis.”

In a letter by FDA Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy Jeffrey Shuren, denying the CoMeD petition, the “admission that the FDA had no substantive evidence confirming the safety of mercury in medicine was stunning,” stated CoMeD.

Citizen Filed Petition, Aug 4, 2004, by CoMeD representativesFDA Sued Over Mercury in Medicines, News of the Day, 11/13/2006

Subjective Autoimmune Disease Causes

Would you be surprised to learn that something subjective like losing a loved one or getting a divorce can trigger an autoimmune disease.   Yes, it is true that just getting over stressed at work or having a poor spiritual base can be just as dangerous as mercury to your body.   To eliminate these and others you need to address the whole person which takes work and willingness on the part of the patient.   When I was sick I found this area of my naturopathic treatment to be a tough one to work on.

Your Genetic Weaknesses and Autoimmune Diseases

The genetic connection to autoimmune diseases are well established but very few people are aware of the Naturopathic Medical view of genetics and disease.   A chain is the perfect object to use as an example of genetic weaknesses.   There is a very old saying that goes like this, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.   So let’s think about this for a minute, there is no chain that does not have a weak link and that link can be found by exerting enough stress on the chain to break the weakest link. You could also say that any chain can be broken, and it breaks at exactly one link, the weakest one.

Now take this example a step further and imagine each organ in your body alphabetically beginning with your adrenals down to your veins is a link in a chain. This chain of organs has a weak genetic link somewhere you just need to apply enough stress (through diet, toxicity and lifestyle) on the organ chain to find the weak link.   This is easy to picture right now that if you know you have a weak link how would you protect yourself from getting a disease in that organ?   The answer is as simple as the cure for all disease should be, do not stress the chain.   That is right; simply do not put stress on your genetic chain with your lifestyle.

What about those people whose genetic chain is already broken and their weakness has an autoimmune disease.   They need to reverse what they have been doing all their life.   By that I mean do exactly the opposite of what they have been doing.   This will take the stress off of the weak organ and give it a chance to recover.   By doing the opposite I mean cleansing, detoxing, no refined foods, lots of produce, live juices and lifestyle adjustments.

One of the great things about the human body is its ability to recover.   And a big part of this recovery process is the replacement of each and every organ and cell in your body over an 8 year period.   To take advantage of this process you give your body everything it needs to do this to the optimum level.   In other words; treating your body with the best cleansing, detoxing and the most nutritious foods, herbs, supplements and lifestyle adjustments to get the most from this building process.

What the United States National Institutes of Health Clinical Center says I think dovetails almost exactly some of what we have been saying here. “The causes of these diseases are unknown but they are thought to occur in genetically susceptible individuals after exposure to selected environmental agents.”

What Can You Do?

Below are the basic Naturopathic Medical avenues for all diseases and their remedies.   Disease and ill health attacks you from five different areas of your life.   One, what you bring into your body via food, water, air.   Two, what is not eliminated; the toxins that build up encouraging the disease to start.   Three, a lack of movement and exercise cause poor blood flow encouraging toxic buildup, low oxygen and poor nutrition to cells and an inability to unstress.   Four, the stressful people and situations in the work place and at home.   Five, a poor spiritual foundation, no belief in higher power. 

To defuse auto-immune diseases like RA and bring good health, the above five areas are addressed at the same time with rigorous cleansing, detoxing and lifestyle changes.   This is a Naturopathic Medical view of how ill-health and disease begin in this modern world and how to reverse it to become healthy.   Few people today realize how intensively healing Naturopathic medical treatments really are.   They think of using a few herbs for this and that disease, drinking an herb tea, do a few yoga stretches etc. which is as weak as it sounds.

This is very far from the truth.   Naturopathic Medical therapies are intense, invasive and rigorous.   Juice fasting, colon, liver and kidney cleansing and detoxing, cold sheet treatments, hydro therapy, blood cleansing using large doses of herbs, caster oil packs etc.   All of these treatments plus making permanent changes in your lifestyle and more are part of Naturopathic Medicine’s treatments to undo RA and all auto-immune diseases.   Anyone who gives these techniques their complete attention and focus will see their RA and any disease including cancer disappear into their past.   That is as long as they leave their former lifestyle in the past.

I know, I used the above techniques on myself against a life threatening disease twenty years ago and they wiped my health slate clean as when I was a boy.   I walked away disease free and I have been disease free ever since that time.   I am 65 now; healthy and strong as a horse with zero diseases and zero medications.   This was my payoff for a lot of hard work and permanent changes in my lifestyle.

References:

Evidence for the Role of Environmental Agents in the Initiation or Progression of Autoimmune Conditions, Jonathan J. Powell, Judy Van de Water, and M. Eric Gershwin, Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Supplement 5, October 1999

Kimber I, Bernstein IL, Karol MH, Robinson MK, Sarlo K, Selgrade MJK. Workshop overview: identification of respiratory allergens. Fundam Appl Toxicol 33:1-10 (1996).

Reidenberg MM: The chemical induction of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus-like illness. Arthritis Rheum 24: 1004-1008. 1981.

Druet P. Berndard A, et al: Immunologically mediated glomerulonephritis induced by heavy metals. Arch Toxicol 50: 187-194. 1982

David Lamont, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, eMedicine, Jan 17, 2006.

Lisa Kauffman, Lupus Erythematosus, Drug-Induced, eMedicine, Feb 5, 2006.

Robert Rubin, Drug-Induced Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Foundation of America, Feb 2005.

Drug Induced Lupus and Its Causes, Elaine Moore, Autoimmune Disease Suite 101, Nov 5, 2006

Statins and Autoimmune Diseases, Elaine Moore, Autoimmune Disease Suite 101, April 13, 2007

Hidden Sources of Mercury, by Kitchen Table Medicine, January 10, 2008

Lawsuit Against FDA: Mercury In Medicine, Healthful Tips, March 16th, 2010

Citizen Filed Petition, Aug 4, 2004, by CoMeD representativesFDA Sued Over Mercury in Medicines, News of the Day, 11/13/2006

Spread the Word!

Many people feel that getting sick or a disease is just bad luck or the luck of the draw.   I got prostate cancer because I was unlucky enough to be born into a family where all the men genetically got prostate cancer.   If I would have just been lucky enough to be born in another family I would not have prostate cancer, unlucky me.   Well despite what you have been led to believe, genetics does not give you cancer so luck has nothing to do with cancer or any disease at all, zero.

In other words you do not get cancer because you are unlucky genetically; there is a reason for your illness.   In our world of reality there are certain laws that apply to everything and one law that applies to all disease is the Law of Cause and Effect.   I drove my car over a nail (the cause) and I got a flat tire (the effect).   This law, applied to medicine, basically says that the cause is linked to the second event, the disease. 

But how can I say that genetics had nothing to do with my getting cancer?   Especially when I was born into a family where on my father’s side the men are susceptible to prostate cancer and that is just what I got.   Here is why; my genetically weak prostate is just that, a weakness and a prostate weakness does not mean that I am going to get prostate cancer.   I know what I just said does not seem to make sense but I will give you an example that will make it perfectly clear.

A chain is the perfect object to use as an example of genetic weaknesses.   There is a very old saying that goes like this, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.   So let’s think about this for a minute, there is no chain that does not have a weak link and that link can be found by exerting enough stress on the chain to break the weakest link.   You could also say that any chain can be broken, and it breaks at exactly one link, the weakest one.

Now take this example a step further and imagine each organ in your body alphabetically beginning with your adrenals down to your veins is a link in a chain.   This chain of organs has a weak genetic link somewhere, you just need to apply enough stress on the organ chain to find the weak link.  

Now let’s apply this to my case; when I started to get symptoms I was unaware that my grandfather on my father’s side died of prostate cancer.   I was only told about my grandfather’s cancer when my family found out that I was ill.   I know it still sounds like it was just my bad luck to be born in that family where the men have a genetically weak prostate.   And this goes for every human being.  Somewhere in everybody’s body are weak genetic links.  

Why isn’t being genetically weak and getting a disease in that particular part of your body considered bad luck?   The answer is if you never put any stress on the chain then it will never break.   The same goes for your body; if you never put any stress on your genetically weak organs then you will never get a disease in those organs.    That is why luck and genetics have nothing to do with getting cancer or any disease.

Here is how that worked out for me.   I got cancer of the prostate because I put stress on my whole body by living like a typical American.   And when my body could not take any more abuse the weakest organ gave way and I got cancer of the prostate.

If I knew what I know now, I would have recognized what was happening from the beginning.   What I was not paying any attention to were all the symptoms mounting up.   The symptoms were my body trying to communicate to me that the stress was adding up and something was going to give if I didn’t stop the abuse and reverse things.   If I were as knowledgeable then as I am now I would have immediately stopped applying stress and do just the opposite, relieve the stress by reversing what I was doing.   The same is true of the chain being pulled in different directions, all you have to do is stop pulling on the chain and relax the tension and the chain will not break, period.

Here is the stress that I was applying to my genetically weak chain of organs.   I was eating a typical American diet of too much meat, refined grains and sugars.   I ate too many cooked foods and not enough raw, too much pasteurized dairy, no raw dairy at all, too much coffee, too many foods with chemicals in them.   I was not eliminating enough waste products and I was allowing toxic chemicals to build up in my body.   I had too much stress at work doing a job I hated and associating with negative people who were not my friends.   I was not exercising enough to unstress a physically and mentally stressed body.   I had no spiritual center to help me get through life.   I was a stressed man from the top of my head to the tip of my toes ready to break and I did.   

But like everyone else does when a symptom shows up, I either ignored it or I tried to dull it with medication.   Here are the symptoms; a complete loss of energy, feeling bloated and it seemed as though my food was not being digested and I had a lot of gas.   I never felt hungry and lost interest in food.  I ate my meals because it was time to eat not because I had a desire to eat.   I was gaining weight and my belly was hanging over my belt.   There was a nagging pain in my lower back that would not go away and I was stiff all over especially my lower back, knees and feet.   I was constipated and passing blood in my stool often enough to make me concerned about what was happening to me.   These symptoms went on for 2 years and I thought I was just getting old.   If I was in too much pain I took something for it to make it go away.   Then the full symptoms of prostate cancer showed up and the nightmare started (see my biography).

So I had about 3 years of getting more and more symptoms and my only answer was to ignore them or dull them with medication.   Plus I was developing a growing fear of the symptoms and what they might mean.   When I realized I had cancer I finely took action and I made a decision that was very uncharacteristically American.   Instead of going to a cancer specialist I investigated Naturopathic Medicine and decided to go in that direction.  

Naturopathic Medicine’s answer as to why I got cancer was my lifestyle was stressing my body and my prostate being the weakest organ got cancer.   They told me that if I wanted to cure my cancer I needed to unburden my body of all the stress that my American lifestyle had put on it.  I needed to change my lifestyle and do exactly the opposite of what I had been doing for years.   I needed to watch and change everything I brought into my body and that meant lots of raw produce, and juicing, distilled water, herbs and what are called Super Foods.   I needed to change the way I eliminated waste and cleanse and detox all the elimination organs of my body the bowel, kidneys, liver, skin and lungs.   I needed exercise to move my blood, lymph and respiration.   I needed to eliminate as much stress from my life as possible that meant stressful people and situations such as work.   And I also needed to seek and get firmly established on my spiritual path whatever that was for me.  

I got a list with detailed instructions and I went to work and I mean I went to work!   It was like I had taken on a very intense work load of chores that had to be done every day.   So I put in a regular 40 hour work week and I did this Naturopathic routine of chores that kept me busy from the time I woke in the morning until I went to bed at night.   But as I did these techniques I noticed that I was making progress because I was feeling healthier and healthier almost every day.   I realized that I was pulling out all the stressful mental and physical garbage that had built up over my lifetime that was crushing me until I could take no more.  

I ate hundreds of pounds of raw produce, I cleansed, I detoxed, I juiced and drank herb teas till I thought they would run out of my ears.   The stuff that came out of me was horrendous and it went on for weeks.   I took up yoga, weight lifting and jumping rope.   I changed employers and avoided negative people who were not my friends.  I worked on forgiving the old wrongs that had been done to me and that I had done to others.   And the toughest of all for me was I learned to love myself and established a very strong personal relationship with God.

Then one day I had a very dramatic realization that shook me to my very foundations.   My symptoms every one of them were gone.   I stood there dumbfounded going over in my head the inventory of each symptom and realizing that they were no longer with me.   It was as if I had been struck by lightning because I did not deep down inside believe that this would work but it did.   I was about three months into this intense Naturopathic program and I had been so busy doing it that I did not realize that the symptoms had stopped.   I was so happy that I was giddy and euphoric for about a week.   But I did not let up because I was told that this was not the end and that I needed to keep going to finish but you can read that in my biography.

Now do you see my point about why genetics and luck have nothing to do with disease?   They can only play a part in your health if you allow them to like I did.   And you can also see that there is a simple answer to curing all disease.   That is right, curing disease is simple not complicated unless you try to avoid the obvious.   Curing disease really is about the person not the disease.  

The reality is that despite what science says, there are no incurable diseases, not one.   That is right, it does not matter what type of cancer, heart disease, germ or virus you have they are all curable.   But there are incurable people who won’t change, or who like being sick or it is their time and God is coming for them.   For everyone else your disease is curable you just need to do the work of unburdening your body and giving it the tools and care it needs to cure the disease, it is that simple.

Paul Blake, N.D.

Spread the Word!

I had an experience once that taught me that I was health rich beyond measure.   This was about 20 years ago and at that time I was selling exercise equipment for a nationwide outlet in a mall in Southern California.   I believed in the product and I enjoyed teaching people how to use the exercise machines and the benefits of a regular exercise program.   I did not make much money but I enjoy helping people improve their lives and I always have and always will.

One day a very nice young woman came into the store and asked for me by name.   She told me that I came highly recommended by a friend of hers who was very happy with the new exercise equipment I sold them.   I thanked her and asked her “how can I help you?”   She told me it was her husband who needed my help.   She said that he would come by the store later that day and that she wanted me to assist him.   I told her that I would be glad to help him.

She then told me that selling him on exercise and buying the equipment will not be easy that he is a tough customer.   She said that he owns his own business and he was used to getting his way.   She further said that he was recovering from a heart attack and multiple bypass surgeries, that she and the doctors were urging him to start exercising soon and he was resisting the idea.   The doctors had said that he needed to make some changes in his life like an exercise program or they feared that the next heart attack may be fatal.  

This very nice woman started becoming a little emotional.   She said “our life is wonderful together I do not want to lose him just when everything is coming together for us and our children.”   I assured her that if he had the slightest inclination to start an exercise routine that I would find it and move him to buy the equipment and get started.   We exchanged a few more words, she thanked me and left.

Later that day toward the end of my shift the lady’s husband came into the store and asked for me.   I met a very pleasant gentleman, middle aged, intelligent, successful but obviously ill and out of shape.   I took him through the different pieces of equipment we had, explaining the features and benefits.   At the same time I also explained how to begin an exercise program and its benefits.  

He listened patiently but I could see that he would have rather been anywhere but here in this store talking with me about exercise and its equipment.   Soon he was taking control of the conversation and steering it in the direction he wanted it to go.   I knew I was losing his attention and before long I would not be able to help him or his wife and children.

He started talking about all his business success, his property and showing me pictures of his RV and their place in the mountains.   He was really enjoying himself now as he talked about a motorcycle he had, his boat and many other things that he had acquired.   I kept silent as he went on and on but there was a realization I was coming to about him and his situation that I could not fully put into words yet.

He was now finishing up and getting ready to leave the store.    In another moment I was going get a handshake, a smile and his back as he walked out into the mall.   But during the handshake I caught him up and I said “Before you leave I need to tell you something personal that you need to hear.”   He looked a little startled and said “what’s that”?   

I stepped just outside the store with him and said “Let me tell you something I have been thinking about while you were talking”.    Here is what I said, “Everything you have, your business, money, property, house, cabin, RV, motorcycle, boat, your power, mean nothing if you do not have your health.   They are only things that are worth less then the dust on the bottoms of your shoes without you.   You could go out today, lose everything and get it all back, which could be easy for you.   But you cannot buy back your health and not your family; they are what is important.   And without your health even your family is in jeopardy.”   I stopped talking and then stood there looking at him waiting for a reply.

I noticed he seemed a little red faced and a bit angry from the look on his face.   I thought to myself that possibly I was going to have a complaint logged against me by this man.   Then he started to talk “You know what, you have brought up something that I have not thought of in quite the way you put it, you got to me.   I will be back tomorrow afternoon with my wife and we will pick out some equipment so I can get started, thanks.”   He shook my hand again, turned and walked down the mall corridor toward the parking structure.   He and his wife were back that next afternoon just like he said and we completed the sale with no further problems.  

I still think about that incident in my life because it was a turning point of sorts for me as well as him.   I had really not thought about what I told him until just that moment when I spoke to him and that realization came together just then.   I myself had just recovered from a year and a half struggle with a cancer.   It was the same prostate cancer that had killed both my father and grandfather.     

It was a profound experience and I was of course elated that I had cured my cancer but until that moment in the mall I had not put any value on just how much it meant to me.   The reality was that the experience of curing the cancer had made me rich beyond imagining.   That experience gave me the ability to cure any disease and that is priceless.

I would never have to fear that some symptom I was feeling was a fatal disease.   I would never suffer with a chronic disease.   I would never have some doctor tell me you are going to be on this medication for the rest of your life.   I would never have to face chemo, radiation or surgical procedures for cancer.   And I couldn’t care less if I had medical insurance coverage.

How could I say that?   Simply put, I learned to cure my own cancer by using traditional Naturopathic medical techniques.   These Natural cure techniques were demanding there was nothing easy about it.   It was as though I had taken on a second job.  I was busy from the time I got up in the morning till I went to bed at night for over a year and a half.   I was constantly either cleansing or detoxing or purging garbage out of my body nonstop.   But I found the strength to do it because of the successes I was seeing in my health.   And I learned that it is within the capabilities of anyone to do just what I did.   Out of that Naturopathic experience I gained the knowledge of what it takes to cure any disease, period.   And over the nearly twenty years since then I have applied those techniques over and over for myself and numerous other people.  

I know what you might be thinking, “you may think that what I said is not medically scientific and has not been proven to work”.   Well, I did not have time to wait for medical science.   And quite frankly their track record and knowledge of what it takes to cure any illness is weak.   They have not cured one disease in over half a century.  

Naturopathic Medicine on the other hand has an ancient and honorable track record of curing disease for over 8,000 years.   Obviously such a long usage of herbs, foods and cleansing techniques by common man justifies their use of the term “Traditional Naturopathic Medicine” as a scientific description and definition.

But regardless of how what I just said plays out in the confused world of medicine, money and politics I found my answer.   And that answer as I said at the beginning of this article has made me health rich beyond measure, how about you?   Are you health rich beyond measure, I think you and your family deserve to be don’t you?

Dr. Paul Blake N.D.

Spread the Word!