More on Immune System

[Guest guest]

Cause of Disease

http://starthealthylife.com/page265.htm

How and When to Be Your Own Doctor

by Dr. Isabelle A. Moser with Steve

Chapter Two The Nature and Cause of Disease From The Hygienic Dictionary

Toxemia.

=============

http://healthy.net/books/bk_shoppingCart.asp?ItemNumber=0963845896

by Donna Gates with Schatz is written for people who have symptoms of

a weak immune system and want to boost their immunity. The authors cover

chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, AIDS, food allergies, frequent digestive

problems, headaches, muscle or joint pains, depression, memory loss, skin

rashes,

sensitivity to tobacco, perfume, chemical odors and a litany of other conditions

which they relate to Candidiasis, an overgrowth of yeast in the body. A

self-assessment medical history questionnaire in the book is helpful. The

authors

believe that getting well is more dependent on healthy eating rather than

massive

doses of medicine or vitamin pills. A Body Ecology Diet plan and meal menus

are

===========

Holistic Approach To Eating Means Balance

By Dr. Jonas Kahn Ph.D. Nutritional Science

> Natural healing and holistic medicine are ways of treating the human body

> based on the philosophy that symptoms of sickness are the signs of a body

> either unbalanced, and nutrient deficient or overloaded with toxins...OR BOTH!

Therefore, treating a sick body is a matter of cleaning it up and

bringing it into

> balance. Accomplishing this by feeding the person a wholesome, high fibre,

> fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, rice, moderate protein and fat (including

> low fat dairy) diet; and supplementing with the particular minerals/vitamins

> that the person is deficient in based on their own deficiency symptoms. As an

> example, when someone comes to me suffering from symptoms of frequent colds,

> bleeding gums, cuts that heal slowly and bruise easily...it would suggest

> that they are lacking in vitamin C. Or a coated tongue is also a good

indicator

> of this deficiency. (Note: the color of the tongue from a healthy pink to an

> unhealthy grayish brown also indicative of overall health condition and

> toxicity). For people like those above, a recommendation would include an

> increase in their intake of high Vit. C fruits and vegetables, and possibly a

Vit. C

> supplement (buffered if their too acidic). Of course in context of getting

> them on a good balanced diet with regular eating patterns. Unexplained

> irritability, sudden weak spells, craving for sweets, frequent headaches and

low

> energy in the afternoon are often signs of low blood sugar levels caused by a

> poor eating pattern, and is particularly characteristic of those who skip

> breakfast. Since it is breakfast or brunch that carries us through the

afternoon!

> Lunch that takes us through the late afternoon and evening. And dinner that

> starts us off the next day!! So by following the directions above as to diet

> and regular eating patterns, you will be establishing a foundation for

> long-term health, by giving the body the elements it needs to

function...namely the

> minerals and vitamins. While at the same time, it offers a means by which the

> body can cleanup and balance itself. And in addition, the immune system will

> be supplied with the nutrients it needs to combat disease. Holistic health

> and natural healing don't require exotic combinations of magical Herbs,

> tinctures, and supplements...though they can be of assistance. What it does

require

> is cleaning up the body and rebuilding it out of mostly simple foods. Start

> there. Establish good habits most of the time...and give yourself time...and

> slowly but surely you should feel better, function better, and avoid the

> countless symptoms resulting from too much fat, sugar, grease, toxins and an

> unbalanced unhealthy body susceptible to sickness...

===========

'Most drugs don't help people' by Steve Connor

The Independent of London UK

For years, the drugs industry has grown fat on a myth - the false belief that

all drugs will work on just about everybody.

That has essentially been the rationale for a culture that has encouraged

doctors to prescribe first and ask questions later.

Yet it has been an open secret within the drugs industry that most drugs do

not work for most patients, a secret that has now been publicly aired for the

first time by Roses, the head of genetics at GlaxoKline, Britain's

biggest drugs company.

In the past, drug companies have developed drugs aimed at the widest possible

population. That was the most profitable strategy but one that ignored a

basic fact in biology - people are different.

To emphasize the point, Dr Roses likes to quote Sir Osler, a Canadian

physician who in 1892 remarked: " If it were not for the great variability

among individuals, medicine might as well be a science and not an art. "

Bringing a new drug to market is an expensive business costing tens of

millions of pounds. It takes place in a culture of maximum possible sales for

maximum possible profit - a culture that does not like to broadcast the fact

that

most drugs don't work for most people.

Drug testing in patients involves three phases of increasingly complex

clinical trials that must be successfully completed before the drug is approved

by

regulatory authorities such as the mighty US Food and Drug Administration.

But even when a drug has been approved in terms of safety and " efficacy " -

whether it does what the label says it should do - few people realize just how

poorly they perform in real life.

Dr Roses cited a study published three years ago by Spear, a senior

scientist at Abbott Laboratories, a medical diagnostics company in Chicago, on

the efficacy rates of a range of different drugs.

It found that drugs vary enormously in terms of how well they work, with

efficacy rates varying from as low as 25 per cent for cancer drugs to 80 per

cent

for painkillers.

For many drugs, however, the efficacy rates hover around 50 per cent or

lower, meaning that, for most people, these drugs just don't work. As Dr Roses

puts

it: " The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 or

50 per cent of the people. "

Published on Monday, December 8, 2003 by the lndependent/UK

===========

http://www.healthmedicineinstitute.com/body.cfm?id=23#alergies

We know that sustaining a healthy immune system is much easier than

rebuilding one that is compromised. At the HMI we encourage the adoption of a

healthy

lifestyle as a foundation for strong immunity. Factors such as sleep, exercise,

nutrition, stress reduction, and spiritual connection are natural ways to

enhance immunity, health, and vitality. Maintaining a strong and balanced

immunity is also an important part of getting well. Our immune system can

respond in

a way that will either protect or harm us. There is a very delicate balance

in this highly sensitive system, and when it goes awry we become vulnerable. It

is important to identify and address the immune hyperactivity seen in

autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, and

polymyalgia

rheumatica on the one hand, and the immune suppression seen in conditions such

as cancer and HIV/AIDS on the other. As we explore the cause of these immune

disorders, our goal at is also to balance and strengthen immunity. Therapies

for immune-related disorders include both mainstream and alternative

strategies. They range from stress reduction using psychology, biofeedback, and

guided

imagery to acupuncture, pharmaceutical drugs, nutritional supplements, and

homeopathy to treat the underlying condition and reduce symptom.

============

What is the Difference Between Conventional and Holistic Medicine?

Standard, conventional, or orthodox medicine, also called allopathy, defines

health as the absence of disease. This definition is based on a negative. In

contrast, holistic medicine concurs with the definition of health used by the

World Health Organization (WHO), which posits that it is a state of complete

physical, mental, and social well-being.

>

>

" Despite the insights of some eminent doctors, medicine still focuses on

disease, giving it a failure orientation. Its practitioners still act as though

disease catches people, rather than understanding that people catch disease by

becoming susceptible to the seeds of illness to which we are all constantly

exposed. Although the best physicians have always known better, medicine as a

whole has rarely studied the people who don't get sick. Most doctors seldom

consider how a patient's attitude towards life shapes that life's quantity and

quality. " Excerpted from " Love, Medicine and Miracles, " by Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.

The allopathic and holistic definitions of health differ greatly in regard to

the diagnosis and treatment of illness. People who use conventional medicine

usually do not seek treatment until they become ill; there is little emphasis

on preventive treatment.

The main causes of illness are considered to be pathogens-bacteria or

viruses-or biochemical imbalances. Scientific tests are often used in diagnosis.

Drugs, surgery, and radiation are among the key tools for dealing with the

problems.

Holistic medicine, in contrast, focuses on preventing illness and maintaining

health. It views health as a balance of body systems - mental, emotional, and

spiritual, as well as physical. All aspects of a person are seen as

interrelated - a principle called holism, meaning " state of wholeness. " Any

disharmony

is thought to stress the body and perhaps lead to sickness.

To fight disease, alternative medicine uses a wide range of therapies to

bolster the body's own defenses and restore balance. The best illustration of

this

approach is the fact that ancient Chinese doctors were paid only when their

patients were healthy, not if they became ill.Natural medicine, which follows a

holistic approach, views illness and disease as an imbalance of the mind and

body that is expressed on the physical, emotional, and mental levels of a

person.

Although allopathy does recognize that many physical symptoms have mental

components (for example, emotional stress might promote an ulcer or chronic

headaches), its approach is generally to suppress the symptoms, both physical

and

psychological. Natural medicine assesses the symptoms as a sign or reflection

of a deeper instability within the person, and it tries to restore the physical

and mental harmony that will then alleviate the symptoms.

Holistic medicine recognizes that the human body is superbly equipped to

resist disease and heal injuries. But when disease does take hold, or an injury

occurs, the first instinct in holistic healing is to see what might be done to

strengthen those natural resistance and healing agents so they can act against

the disease more effectively. Results are not expected to occur overnight. But

neither are they expected to occur at the expense of dangerous side effects.

Natural healing is more or less an attitude. For example, when you have a

headache, instead of immediately reaching for aspirin, which may injure the

lining of your stomach or cause even more serious side effects, you reach for a

pillow and try taking a nap. Backache? Instead of reaching right away for

valium,

which can cause fatigue, loss of coordination, and worse, try relaxing those

muscles with local applications of heat. Severe back pain? Instead of going

immediately to potentially addictive pain relievers, consider an osteopathic

manipulation, which will often remove the cause of the pain. Chronic severe

backache? Before going to surgery, consider first an exercise program, which in

many cases can make surgery unnecessary.

Some heart attack patients never reach the hospital alive, not just because

of the condition itself, but because panic may cause further constriction of

the blood vessels, imposing an intolerable additional burden. Brain research is

now turning up evidence that attitudes of defeat or panic not only constrict

the blood vessels, but create emotional stresses that have a debilitating

effect on the endocrine and immune systems.

Conversely, attitudes of confidence and determination activate benevolent and

therapeutic secretions in the brain.One patient I worked with briefly, whom

I'll call Sheila, provided a dramatic example of the importance of the mind in

the recovery process. When I first met her, she was a thirty-four-year-old

woman facing a mastectomy for life-threatening breast cancer. She was reluctant

to have the operation, feeling that male doctors are too casual in suggesting

that women have their breasts removed. Based on what I knew of her case, I

urged her to have the surgery, and spoke to her about the importance of having

high expectations going into the operating room-of seeing the surgery as a

chance

to free her body from an offender, rather than the beginning of a downward

spiral toward death. We talked for a while about the studies that have given a

scientific basis to the anecdotal stories of the mind's power in fighting

illness, and she thanked me and left.She decided to go ahead with the surgery,

but

a week or so later her physician called me to say the operation had been

canceled. The tumor, which the doctor had described to me earlier as " a hand

grenade, " had disappeared entirely. Sheila was taking no medication at the time;

the

only explanation is that her own cancer-fighting capability had risen to the

occasion, with the full array of immune cells that produce the body's own

chemotherapy and infuse it into the cancer cells.While not every story is as

remarkable as Sheila's, most of the patients I studied made a conscious

decision,

when their spiraling panic and illness reached a point of desperation, to

reject all notions of inevitability. They became determined not to rely

exclusively

on treatment provided by others, but to take an active-part in the quest for

recovery. They accepted the physician's diagnosis and the unfavorable odds

that came along with it, but refused to be deterred by the accompanying

prediction of doom.All of them were, in their own way, living out an ancient

idea that

is coming back into favor through current medical research-the idea that the

healing system is connected to a belief system, that attitudes play a vital

part in the recovery process. The medical community has acknowledged the human

brain's ability to exercise a measure of control over the autonomic nervous

system, and as a result is paying renewed attention to the patient's role in

overcoming disease and maintaining good health.

Excerpted from " The Power To Heal: Finding The Healer Within " by Norman

Cousins