DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Feb 24, 2002,vol 2, no 8)

[Guest guest]

--- " Dr. Andrew Saul " <drsaul

wrote:

> " Always do right; this will gratify some people and

> astonish the rest. "

> (Mark Twain, 1901)

>

> The DOCTOR YOURSELF (SM) NEWSLETTER Vol 2, No 8

> February 24, 2002 " Free of

> charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A. "

> Written by Andrew Saul, PhD. of

> http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free

> online library of 300 natural healing articles with

> nearly 4,000 scientific

> references.

>

> WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC

> VITAMINS?

> Nobody really likes what I have to say on this

> subject. Vitamin salespeople

> think it's too medical, and medical people think

> it's too quacky.

>

> And, to be fair, the answer is an inherently awkward

> one.

>

> Most vitamin products, even those sold in health

> food stores, contain

> synthetic vitamin powders. There are only a few

> manufacturers of vitamin

> powders, and they are generally large pharmaceutical

> companies. Generally,

> a) Laboratory-made vitamins are far cheaper than

> whole food concentrates;

> b) Synthetic vitamins USUALLY work quite well,

> c) High potency can be achieved with a nice, small

> tablet size.

>

> One of the chief differences in " health food store "

> vs " drug store " brands

> is what is NOT in the tablet. For example, the more

> natural brands leave

> out artificial chemical colors, which is a good

> thing to do. Just about all

> brands contain tablet fillers and excipients, needed

> to physically hold the

> pill together.

>

> Since these will vary, the only way to find out

> exactly who uses what is to

> write to the company and find out.

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/labels.html

>

> Some tableting ingredients are pretty standard, such

> as magnesium stearate

> or stearic acid, sodium citrate, dicalcium

> phosphate, cellulose and silica.

>

> Vitamins can legally be called " Natural " even if

> made in a laboratory. You

> would not think so, but it is true. Vitamin C, for

> example, is factory-made

> from starch. Starch is certainly natural, so the

> product can be termed

> " Natural. " Is this starch-based vitamin C identical

> to orange-juice vitamin

> C? Most biochemists say yes, because 1) vitamin C

> in animal bodies is made

> from carbohydrates anyway, and

> 2) the product is clinically effective.

>

> But the actual molecular construction process is NOT

> identical. Factories

> do not use L-gulonolactone oxidase from animal liver

> to make vitamin C. Nor

> do they copy the orange tree's plant metabolism.

> Can one get an identical

> product from a different process? Probably; there

> is more than one way to

> skin an enzyme. But the real test must be, does the

> vitamin in front of you

> prevent and cure disease.

>

> Drs. Linus Pauling, Ewan Cameron, Robert Cathcart

> and others have

> established that very high doses of factory-made

> ascorbic acid vitamin C

> work just fine against viral and bacterial illness.

> It is possible that food

> concentrate vitamin C may be superior. Let's say it

> was twice as good. But

> to use 40,000 milligrams (mg) of orange juice C,

> instead of 80,000 mg of

> synthetic ascorbic acid, is impractical, bordering

> on the impossible. It

> would be too expensive, either to manufacture all

> this from oranges, or to

> eat from the oranges. It would take roughly 600

> oranges to obtain 40,000 mg

> of vitamin C. Even if natural C were TEN times as

> effective, which I

> sincerely doubt, it would still take well over 100

> oranges a day to do the

> job.

>

> My recommendation? When you are sick, eat as many

> oranges (and other

> vitamin-C rich fruits) as you can, WHILE YOU ALSO

> TAKE tens of thousands of

> milligrams of cheap, supplemental ascorbic acid

> vitamin C.

>

> In some cases, the natural form of a vitamin IS

> clearly superior to the

> synthetic form. The best example is vitamin E. The

> natural form of vitamin

> E is called " D-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL, " and is made from

> vegetable oil. The

> synthetic form is DL-alpha tocopherol. Not a big

> difference in name, is it.

> There is considerable evidence that the natural " D "

> (dextro-, or

> right-handed) molecular form of Vitamin E is more

> useful to the body than is

> the synthetic. The natural form is also more

> expensive, but not much more.

> In choosing a vitamin E supplement, you should

> carefully read the label...

> the ENTIRE label. It is remarkable how many

> natural-looking brown bottles

> with natural-sounding brand names contain the

> synthetic form.

>

> A large amount of very good information on the forms

> of vitamin E may be

> found at

>

http://www.vitamine-factor.com/Choosing%20a%20product.html

> . My only

> reservations concern this website's " Products "

> section. I offer neither

> endorsement nor recommendation about any brand of

> supplement.

>

> Different types (not brands) of supplements are

> considered at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/tabtable.html

>

> " Buffering " ascorbic acid is covered at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/tabtaking.html

>

> and the bioflavinoids (vitamin C cofactors) are

> discussed at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/bioflavinoids.html

>

> THE DISEASE-CARE CRISIS

> There is something especially compelling about

> medical heretics. It was

> nearly 30 years ago that my life was forever

> changed, when Professor John

> Mosher at the State University of New York asked me

> to read a particular

> book (now out of print) by an English physician

> named Aubrey T. Westlake,

> M.D. The book was The Pattern of Health, and for me

> it changed everything.

> Dr. Westlake wrote of his long and unsatisfying

> experience as a medical

> practitioner. He said that during his professional

> life, his work with

> patients had mostly been that of " bailing out

> leaking boats. " I followed

> Dr. Westlake's narrative with increasing fascination

> as he described his

> search for real healing. He ended up WAY outside of

> conventional medicine.

> Yet Dr. Westlake, a fully qualified doctor of

> medicine, saw his patients

> really get better when he used unorthodox,

> " holistic " treatments. I could

> not simply disregard him; Westlake's credentials

> were impeccable. Why would

> he want to " go natural " ?

>

> The really subversive thing about reading books is

> that each good one leads

> to many others. So it was with me. If there wasn't

> yet a medical blacklist

> or " Index " listing all health heresy in print, I

> think I came reasonably

> close to creating one during college and graduate

> school. I read Who is

> Your Doctor and Why, by Alonzo J. Shadman, M.D. I

> read Linus Pauling, Abram

> Hoffer, Wilfrid and Evan Shute, Paavo Airola, Ewan

> Cameron, Robert

> Mendelsohn, Roger J. Williams and the work of many

> other respected

> scientists. This eventually persuaded me that

> natural healing was not only

> valid but was generally superior to conventional

> drug-and-surgery medicine.

>

> And always there remained the question: Why would a

> successful physician,

> who has so extensively and expensively trained in

> allopathy (drug medicine),

> turn his back on it?

>

> It certainly was not for money, because medical

> doctors who recant

> pharmacology tend to make a lot less money than

> those who stay and play the

> drug-and-cut game. And it certainly was not for job

> security, for insurance

> companies and state medical boards have a deep

> dislike for nutritional

> " quacks. " Holistic doctors have a way of losing

> their licenses. I have met

> many who have.

>

> The only motivation I could come up with for such a

> move was " because it

> helped patients get better. " And this is consistent

> with what the

> dissenting doctors all say. Perhaps they are

> telling the truth: there is a

> better way to run the health-care railroad.

>

> Did I say health-care? Well, there's a national

> misnomer for you, and one

> that Dr. Walt Stoll's Saving Yourself from the

> Disease-Care Crisis

> immediately corrects in its very title.

>

> Saving Yourself is a powerful presentation of

> common-sense medicine, by a

> medical doctor who has seen both sides, and writes:

> " I practiced strictly

> conventional medicine for many years. I have taught

> conventional medicine

> (at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine.)

> I personally had to cut

> my income by four-fifths in order to practice

> holistic medicine. " (p 9, 10,

> 109.)

>

> And why did he do it? Because it was a better way to

> help people get better.

> Saving Yourself provides a dozen chapters that

> specifically address many

> common conditions that are seen as difficult to cure

> medically but that

> respond well to drugless treatment. These include

> colds and flu; allergies;

> adult and children's behavior disorders;

> atherosclerosis and cardiovascular

> disease; Crohn's disease, IBS and ulcerative

> colitis; endocrine conditions;

> fungal overgrowth; hiatus hernia; and arthritis. In

> a future edition, I

> would like to see this excellent section expanded to

> cover even more

> diseases.

>

> The authority with which Dr. Stoll writes is

> effortless, based on his

> decades of clinical observation of what

> consistently works with real

> patients. Saving Yourself is much like having the

> doctor's good sound

> advice, and his very pleasant bedside manner to

> boot, right on your

> bookshelf. I like this book. I like its

> no-nonsense attitude, the

> plentiful references to the scientific literature,

> and the practical how-to

> sections. These include instruction on how and why

> to avoid eating refined

> carbohydrates (p 147-8), how to choose a doctor (p

> 120-127), and what

> amounts to a lesson in " do it yourself triage " to

> determine when medical

> attention IS necessary (p 127-135). I also like how

> Dr. Stoll takes the time

> to personally recommend valuable natural health

> books by other authors all

> throughout the text, and in a fine Bibliography as

> well.

>

> As a radically non-medical kind of guy, I do dissent

> with some of the views

> offered in Saving Yourself. I think sutures can

> usually be avoided with

> butterfly bandages, and I think Loperamide is not

> the ideal remedy for

> diarrhea. And while hypodermic administration is

> critically discussed in

> Saving Yourself, there is no mention of vaccination,

> pro or con. And I think

> his recommendation of 2,000 mg of vitamin C daily is

> too low.

>

> However, Dr Stoll's emphasis on effective

> cost-efficient health care,

> self-education, exercise and stress reduction

> receive my unqualified praise.

> So do these right-on, uncompromising statements:

>

> " The food industry profits from the (false) idea

> that food processing is not

> injurious to the nation's health.The

> medical/pharmaceutical complex profits

> from illness. the sicker people are, the more money

> medical professionals

> make.The disease insurance companies profit from

> illness. " (p 114)

>

> Dr. Stoll refuses to call them " health insurance "

> companies. And with this,

> I totally agree.

>

> Dr. Stoll believes that our present disease-care

> system " will crumble of its

> own weight. It is too bad that the whole country has

> to wait for that to

> happen. " (p 116)

> Well, maybe not. Especially if more people start

> reading really good books

> like Saving Yourself from the Disease-Care Crisis.

>

> Saving Yourself from the Disease-Care Crisis by Walt

> Stoll, MD (Published by

> the author, P.O. Box 12091, Panama City, FL

> 32401-9091. Telephone

> 1-800-464-7034 ISBN 0-9653171-0-2. 154 pages plus

> references, bibliography

> and index, paperback.)

>

> SEARCH ASSISTANCE

> More than one reader has told me how hard that is to

> wade through, even with

> a search engine, the 4,000 or so references posted

> in various bibliographies

> at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com. Ah, relief is only a

> click away. I have

> compiled a short, " greatest hits " list of especially

> important therapeutic

> nutrition papers for you at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/vithall.html

>

> To obtain them, I recommend that you use my favorite

> secret weapon: your

> public librarian. Many a time, a simple phone call

> to the local library has

> helped me get a reference fast for just the cost of

> copying and postage. And

> sometimes you will find them posted on the internet,

> so don't forget the web

> search engines. I prefer AltaVista and , but

> all can be most helpful.

>

> ANOTHER REASON WHY " TOXIC OVERDOSE " IS NONSENSE

> Our neighbor's 3 year old little boy got into Mom's

> vitamin C and ate about

> 15 tablets. He had no diarrhea. He had no side

> effects at all, in fact.

> except that he'd had a cold and his runny nose

> stopped. There is a lesson

> here somewhere. To me, it is Linus Pauling's: " Keep

> medicine out of the

> reach of everybody. Use Vitamin C instead. "

>

> READERS ASK:

> " When I take a zinc supplement on an empty stomach,

> it feels uncomfortable

> for about an hour or so afterwards. Is there

> anything to this, or am I

> unusually sensitive? "

>

> I have noticed the same thing myself. Taking zinc

> with a meal usually solves

> the problem. Zinc sulfate is especially hard on the

> tummy. Zinc gluconate

> (very common) is somewhat better, but in my opinion,

> still requires mid-meal

> administration. Zinc monomethionine is particularly

> well tolerated, well

> absorbed, and well retained. It is also more

> expensive. If you want to

> totally avoid a need for zinc supplements, you need

> to 1) be female, for men

> need considerably more zinc than the ladies do and

> 2) develop a real love

> for (shelled or " hulled " ) pumpkin seeds. Chew well

> and eat by the handful.

>

> READERS SAY:

> MAGNESIUM, CACIUM AND THE WHITE OF THE COW

> " In your last newsletter (vol 2, no 7) you recommend

> 1,200 milligrams of

> calcium and 600 mg of magnesium. That level of

> calcium is a number tweaked

> by the dairy industry. It is not a matter of how

> much calcium one ingests,

> but how much they do not loose. Cow's milk and dairy

> is a terrible source of

> calcium for two reasons: 1) there is only 12% of the

> magnesium necessary to

> use any of it and 2) too much protein (an milk

> qualifies as " liquid meat " )

> sets up an acid condition in the body for which

> calcium is leached from the

> bones to negate. Chlorophyll, that which makes

> plants green, has roughly

> equal parts of calcium and magnesium. This is what

> those big-boned

> vegetarian animals consume, with plenty left over

> for lactating. "

> (Dave Rietz)

>

> Good points and no mistake. As a former dairyman, I

> am probably more kind

> to milk products than some. Milk is better than

> meat. Furthermore, I

> advocate cultured milk products (cheese, yogurt) NOT

> fluid milk, to get

> calcium. It is undeniably true that retaining your

> calcium is as important

> as eating it. Exercise, vitamin D, and a

> low-protein, near-vegetarian diet

> all help a lot. Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and

> especially " soft drinks, "

> which are a " hard " source of dietary phosphorous,

> are also important steps.

> In a perfect world, I'd say this: to be built like a

> gorilla, eat like one.

> But so many people have crummy diets, and such

> plentiful vices, that I will

> take refuge with one of the great vegetarian

> moderates of our time: Mahatma

> Gandhi. He ate, and recommended, some cheese. This

> was a necessary nod to

> reality.

>

> By the way, Dave's excellent website

> http://www.notmilk.com has over 600 pages of

> material on why we do not need

> moo juice. I recommend it.

>

> MORE ON DR. JACOBUS RINSE

> " Some years ago I visited with Jacobus Rinse, his

> wife, Margaret and, his

> dog at his home in Dorsett, Vermont. His dog was on

> the Rinse Formula and

> was running around like a puppy at the age of 20!

>

> " At that time, Dr. Rinse was 89, active and

> physically well. This guy was

> fascinating. He died unexpectedly in 1997 or 1998

> attempting to rescue a

> neighbor who had taken a dip in the backyard stream.

> His neighbor was

> drowning because of cramps due to very cold water

> temperatures. Dr. Rinse

> experienced the same cramps and he and his neighbor

> both drowned. I have no

> doubt that Dr. Rinse would have lived beyond 100

> years and would probably

> still be alive today. "

> (Ron Nadeau)

>

> Editor's Note: Not bad for a man who was told that

> he'd never see 60. What

> did Dr. Rinse do to reverse his cardiovascular

> disease? He read scientific

> papers and came up with the Dr. Rinse Formula, a

> lecithin and vitamin

> concoction that you can whip up yourself in two

> shakes.

> ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/dr_rinse.html )

>

> TSH TEST IS INADEQUATE

> " For 30 years I was a zombie with every low thyroid

> symptom, but a " normal "

> TSH, so I was told my thyroid was not the problem.

> Finally my body started

> shutting down (I started to feel dead), hair falling

> out and blood pressure

> skyhigh. I borrowed some Armour thyroid and started

> treating myself.

> Immediately I began to recover but the HMO refused

> to give me a

> prescription. They even wrote me a letter telling me

> to discontinue it! The

> mental and physical suffering were so great, also

> realizing I had lost so

> many years. Eventually I got a prescription for

> Armour, plus compounded

> estrogen and progesterone. I had to save my own

> life. "

> Gracia Berrocal

>

> Thank you, Gracia. Others have shared similar

> stories with me. The biggest

> mistake a doctor can make is to disbelieve a

> patient. This goes triple for

> thyroid symptoms. More on thyroid diagnosis and

> treatment is posted at

> http://www.doctoryourself.com/thyroid.html

>

> DO YOU FEEL INTIMIDATED BY THE EDUCATED?

> The great inventor Percy Spencer had just a 3rd

> grade education. He

> invented the microwave oven. On the other hand,

> Albert Einstein's 1926

> design for a refrigerator was never manufactured.

>

> Bill " Learjet " Lear had only an 8th grade education.

> He had over 150

> patents to his name. He also invented the 8-track

> tape player, but you can'

> t win them all.

> (Source: The Patent Files)

>

> And Irving Berlin, arguably the most successful

> songwriter in history, never

> learned to read music.

>

> What does this mean? You can learn far more about

> being your own doctor

> than you may have thought. It's not about

> schooling; it's about wisdom. BIG

> difference.

>

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> financial connection with the supplement industry.

> We do not sell vitamins

> or other health products, except for Dr. Saul's

> books, which help fund these

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>

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> AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way

> offered as

> prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any

> disease, illness, infirmity or

> physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or

> alternative health program

> necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance

> of some risk, and no one

> should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical

> care should obtain it from

> a physician. Consult your doctor before making any

> health decision.

>

> " DOCTOR YOURSELF " " DoctorYourself.com " and " Doctor

> Yourself Newsletter " are

> service marks of Andrew W. Saul. All rights

> reserved.

>

> Copyright c 2002 and prior years Andrew W. Saul

> drsaul

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