Red Yeast Rice Cuts Cholesterol

New research by Cardiologists David Becker, M.D. and Ram Gordon, M.D., published in Annals of Internal Medicine, may provide alternative treatment option for statin-intolerant patients

An over-the-counter dietary supplement sold at pharmacies and health food stores may be an alternative for patients who cannot take traditional statin medications to lower cholesterol because of statin-related muscle pain. The findings of their study, “Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients,” appear in the June 16, 2009 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Read more

Energy Medicine

Energy medicine is becoming more and more popular as people begin to look towards complementary and alternative healing options to provide relief, prevention, and faster recovery time from their ailments. Energy health practitioners work with the subtle energy matrix that the human being is built upon. It represents the entire individual - his or her emotions, thoughts, beliefs, physicality, potential, etc.  Energy medicine approaches the individual as a complex and unique system, and by doing so, encourages and empowers patients to view their health as a lifelong journey which incorporates every aspect of their being. Read more

What Do The Reiki Symbols Mean?

I received an email the other day asking me to “explain, exactly, each line used in the Reiki kanji.”  I thought this was an interesting, and unique, question. Of course, the answer will greatly depend on the Reiki Master/Teacher being asked, and which Tradition they follow.  With that said, here are my own answers: Read more

The Ultimate Alternative Therapy for Insomnia

How’s this for an Alternative Therapy for Insomnia: Web Therapy… as in the Internet.

An estimated 50 million Americans received a prescription for sleeping pills like Ambien last year when they could have saved all that money, not to mention dealing with the side effects such as diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; “drugged” feeling; dry mouth; headache; nausea; nose or throat irritation; sluggishness; stomach upset. And these are the MILD side effects. A few of the more serious side effects of Ambien include abnormal thinking; behavior changes; chest pain; confusion; decreased coordination; difficulty swallowing or breathing; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; hallucinations; memory problems; and more. Read more

Herbal Medicine Study to Fight H1N1 Flu

MEXICO CITY, May 25 (Xinhua) — Mexican higher education body the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) will sign an agreement in July with the Beijing-based China Medical University to cooperate in medicinal plants research as part of the efforts to contain theA/H1N1 flu outbreak.

Read full article here.

Why My Health Insurance Sucks Canal Water!

My health insurance premiums just increased yet again. This time by 95.00/mo.   The reason for this latest increase, according to what I was told when I called (since they just raised my premium about 6 months ago), is “due to the rising cost of pharmaceuticals,” and rising cost of health care in general.  Whatever.  I told the person on the phone that they should just admit the real reason they’re raising my rates again – to help increase Big Pharma’s bottom line profits.  She laughed and said, Read more

Government-Forced Chemo

I’ve been following the news story about the 13-year-old Minnesota boy, Daniel Hauser, who’s refusing chemo treatments for his cancer.  Daniel vows to “kick or punch” anyone who even tries to force  chemo on him.  “It can be very difficult to treat a 13-year-old boy who doesn’t want to be treated,” said Arthur Caplan, chair of the medical ethics department at the University of Pennsylvania. “I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but it makes it very tough on the doctors.”   The doctors could sedate him, then force the chemo on him — for his own good, of course.  After all, doctors know what’s best for us…. right??   It’s not as if doctors would give us medication that could possibly kill us (like Vioxx and other prescription meds)…. right??  And medical doctors are so well versed in Alternative Therapies that they can speak with absolute certainty that nothing other than chemo and radiation will work…..  right??

Some news reports are claiming that the decision not to use chemo is based on the family’s religious beliefs.  Maybe so.  Maybe not.  Maybe the parents are going with the “religious beliefs” angle just as, in some states, you can use religious beliefs as a reason to refuse vaccines.  I’m fortunate enough to live in a Philosophical State, so when it came time for the  school to force the Hep B Vaccine on my 12 year old all I had to say was, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Maybe chemo is the “right way” to treat his cancer.  In my personal and non-medical opinion, it sets a bad precedent when a court decides what kind of medicine, or medical treatment, we must provide for our children.  Conventional medicine is not always what’s best.  The third leading cause of death in this country is conventional medical care — in the form of physician error, prescription error and adverse effects from drugs or surgery. Knowing this, I think it’s inherently  wrong for the courts to force chemo therapy (or any type of medicine) on anyone.

Clearly, the “to force or not to force” chemo argument is a controversial one. The parents believe that prayer, together  with herbal remedies and other alternative therapies is what’s best for their child.  Opposing viewpoints seem to imply that Daniel (and all children) is a ward of the state, so thereofre the state is best suited to decide what is best for him, regardless of what he and/or his parents want.

I’m not totally sure  how I feel about this situation, other  than that parental rights should not be terminated based on the very few facts that we know — and that includes the few facts that doctors know: doctors cannot predict for certainty how long someone will live.

See Also:
Is US Health Really the Best in the World?
Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2000;284:483-485.

Information concerning the deficiencies of US medical care has been accumulating. The fact that more than 40 million people have no health insurance is well known. The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit, but seems to be tolerated under the assumption that better health results from more expensive care, despite evidence from a few studies indicating that as many as 20% to 30% of patients receive contraindicated care.¹ In addition, with the release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “To Err Is Human,”² millions of Americans learned, for the first time, that an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of medical errors. The fact is that the US population does not have anywhere near the best health in the world. Of 13 countries in a recent comparison,

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