DOCTOR YOURSELF Newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 9 for June, 2005)

[Guest guest]

" Andrew W. Saul " <drsaul

DOCTOR YOURSELF Newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 9 for June, 2005)

Mon, 16 May 2005 22:06:54 -0400

 

 

 

To for free: dynews-

 

" For every drug that benefits a patient, there is a natural substance

that

can achieve the same effect. " -- Carl C. Pfeiffer, M.D., Ph.D. [More on

Dr.

Pfeiffer: http://www.doctoryourself.com/ccpfeiffer.html ]

 

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol. 5, No. 9 for June, 2005)

 

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

 

Published and copyright 2005 by Andrew W. Saul of

http://www.doctoryourself.com , which welcomes over 1.5 million

visitors

annually. Commercial use of the website or the contents of this

Newsletter

is strictly prohibited.

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

 

WHERE ARE THE BODIES? THE SAFETY OF VITAMINS AND FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

 

CAFFEINE CAUSES INFERTILITY

 

HARVARD STUDY: NUTS PREVENT GALLSTONES

 

" FOOLED " GROUPS

 

ONLINE VITAMIN ARTICLES: Our Picks for the Month

 

FEARLESS FLUORIDE FACTS

 

ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE NEWS SERVICE

 

NEW INTERVIEW ONLINE WITH ANDREW W. SAUL

 

FREE BOOKS ONLINE

 

AGE SPOTS, BASAL CELL CARCINOMA, AND SOLAR KETOSIS

 

REVIEW OF HEALTH-RELATED WEB SITES

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE UV ADVANTAGE, by Dr. Michael Holick

 

DEPRESSION

 

Also: Spreading the Message; Volunteer Opportunity; and

 

Meniere's Syndrome

 

WHERE ARE THE BODIES?

 

THE SAFETY OF VITAMINS AND FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

 

(A presentation by Andrew W. Saul to the Government of Canada, House of

Commons Standing Committee on Health, specifically in reference to

C-420, on

May 12, 2005, Ottawa, Canada.)

 

Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Natural health products, such as amino acids, herbs, vitamins and other

nutritional supplements, have an extraordinarily safe usage history. In

the

USA, close to half of the population takes herbal or nutritional

supplements

every day. That is over 145,000,000 individual doses daily, for a total

of

over 53 billion doses annually.

 

The most elementary of forensic arguments is, where are the bodies?

 

To try to answer this question, we may turn to the 2003 Annual Report

of the

American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposures

Surveillance

System, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol.

22,

No. 5, September 2004.

 

(http://www.aapcc.org/Annual%20Reports/03report/Annual%20Report%202003.pdf)

 

This report states that there have been four deaths attributed to

vitamin/mineral supplements in the year 2003. Two of those deaths were

due

to iron poisoning. That means there have been two deaths allegedly

caused by

vitamins, out of over 53 billion doses. That is a product safety record

without equal.

 

Pharmaceutical drugs, on the other hand, caused over 2,000 poison

control-reported deaths, including

 

Antibiotics: 13 deaths

 

Antidepressants: 274 deaths

 

Antihistamines: 64 deaths

 

Cardiovascular drugs: 162 deaths

 

It would be incorrect to state that only prescription drugs kill

people. In

2003, there were 59 deaths from aspirin alone. That is a death rate

nearly

thirty times higher than that of iron supplements. Furthermore, there

were

still more deaths from aspirin in combination with other products.

 

Fatalities are by no means limited to drug products. In the USA in the

year

2003, there was a death from " Cream/lotion/makeup, " a death from

" Granular

laundry detergent, " one death from " Gun bluing, " one death from plain

soap,

one death from baking soda, and one death from table salt.

 

Other deaths reported by the American Association of Poison Control

Centers

included:

 

aerosol air fresheners: 2 deaths

 

nailpolish remover: 2 deaths

 

perfume/cologne/aftershave: 2 deaths

 

charcoal: 3 deaths

 

dishwashing detergent: 3 deaths

 

(and interestingly, weapons of mass destruction: 0 deaths)

 

In America in 2003, there were 28 deaths from heroin, and yet

acetaminophen

( " Tylenol " ) alone killed 147. Though acetaminophen killed over five

times as

many, few would say that we should make this

generally-regarded-as-safe,

over-the-counter pain reliever require prescription. Even caffeine

killed

two people in 2003, a number equal to the two fatalities attributed to

non-iron vitamin/mineral supplements. Tea, coffee and cola soft drinks

are

not sold with restriction, prescription, or in childproof bottles, and

rather few would maintain that they need to be.

 

A CLOSER LOOK AT ALLEGATIONS OF VITAMIN FATALITIES

 

Nutritional supplements are exceptionally safe. In 2003, there were no

deaths from multiple vitamins without iron. There were no deaths from

amino

acids. There were no deaths from B-complex vitamin supplements. There

were

no deaths from niacin. There were no deaths from vitamin A. There were

no

deaths from vitamin D. There were no deaths from vitamin E.

 

There was, supposedly, one alleged death from C and one alleged death

from

B-6.

 

The accuracy of such attribution is questionable, as water-soluble

vitamins

such as B-6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin C (ascorbate) have excellent

safety

records stretching back for many decades. " Vitamin problem " allegations

are

routinely overstated and unconfirmed. The latest (2003) Toxic Exposures

Surveillance System report indicates that reported deaths are " probably

or

undoubtedly related to the exposure, " a clear admission of uncertainty

in

the reporting. (p 340)

 

Even if true, such events are aberrations. For example, In 1998, the

American Association of Poison Control Centers' Toxic Exposure

Surveillance

System reported no fatalities from either vitamin C or from B-6. In

fact,

that year there were no vitamin fatalities whatsoever. For decades I

have

asked my readers, colleagues, and students to provide me with any and

all

scientific evidence of a confirmed death from either of these two

vitamins,

or from any other vitamin. I have seen none to date.

 

HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS

 

The 2003 Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers

Toxic

Exposures Surveillance System

 

(http://www.aapcc.org/Annual%20Reports/03report/Annual%20Report%202003.pdf)

 

indicates a total of 13 deaths attributed to herbal preparations. Three

of

these are from ephedra, two from yohimbe, and two from ma-huang. I have

worked extensively in the alternative health field for nearly 30 years,

and

I have known of virtually no one who has taken ephedra, yohimbe, or

ma-huang, and certainly not in the deliberately abusive high quantities

that

it takes to kill someone. Nevertheless, accepting all seven deaths

attributed to these products, we still find that there were 30 times as

many

deaths from aspirin and acetaminophen.

 

Only three deaths are attributable to other " single ingredient

botanicals, "

and oddly enough, their identity remains unnamed in the Toxic Exposures

report.

 

Millions of persons take herbal remedies, and have done so for

generations.

Indigenous and Westernized peoples alike have found them to be safe and

effective, and the 2003 Report of the American Association of Poison

Control

Centers Toxic Exposures Surveillance System confirms this (p 388-389).

There

have been no deaths at all from " cultural medicines, " including

ayurvedic,

Asian, Hispanic, and in fact, from all others.

 

Additionally, we find:

 

Blue cohosh: 0 deaths

 

Ginko biloba: 0 deaths

 

Echinacea: 0 deaths

 

Ginseng: 0 deaths

 

Kava kava: 0 deaths

 

St John's wort: 0 deaths

 

Valerian: 0 deaths

 

Furthermore, there have been no deaths from phytoestrogens, glandulars,

blue-green algae, or homeopathic remedies.

 

MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

 

Of the eight deaths in the category, five of them are from

non-supplement

sources rightly termed " electrolytes " : two from sodium and three from

potassium (p 389). Two deaths were allegedly due to iron overdose.

Since

1986, there has been an average of two deaths per year " associated

with "

iron supplements. The sole remaining death was from calcium, a mineral

that

is employed medically for its antidote properties. In fact, in 2003,

calcium

was used as a lifesaving antidote in 5,228 cases (p 344). There is no

evidence that the single listed calcium death was from a supplement,

and the

odds are overwhelming that it was not.

 

AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTS

 

In 2003, poison control centers reported no deaths whatsoever from

amino

acids. This is in itself a strong safety statement.

 

IN PERSPECTIVE

 

Supplementation's harshest critics have traditionally railed against

vitamins (especially in large doses) as being outright " dangerous " and

at

the very least " a waste of money. " Yet nutritional supplements are very

safe, and for much of the population, very necessary. . . To illustrate

how

extraordinarily important supplements are to persons with a

questionable

diet, consider this: Children who eat hot dogs once a week double their

risk

of a brain tumor. Kids eating more than twelve hot dogs a month (that's

barely three hot dogs a week) have nearly ten times the risk of

leukemia as

children who ate none. (Peters JM, Preston-Martin S, London SJ, Bowman

JD,

Buckley JD, Thomas DC. Processed meats and risk of childhood leukemia.

Cancer Causes Control. 1994 Mar; 5(2):195-202.)

 

 

However, hot-dog eating children taking supplemental vitamins were

shown to

have a reduced risk of cancer. (Sarasua S, Savitz DA. Cured and broiled

meat

consumption in relation to childhood cancer. Cancer Causes Control.

1994

Mar; 5(2):141-8.)

 

It is curious that, while theorizing many " potential " dangers of

vitamins,

the media often choose to ignore the very real cancer-prevention

benefits of

supplementation. . . Media supplement-scare-stories notwithstanding,

taking

supplements is not the problem; it is a solution. Malnutrition is the

problem.

 

The number one side effect of vitamins is failure to take enough of

them.

Vitamins are extraordinarily safe substances. Drugs are not. There are

over

106,000 deaths from pharmaceutical drugs each year in the USA, even

when

prescribed correctly and taken as prescribed. (Lucian Leape, Error in

medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1994, 272:23, p

1851.

Also: Leape LL. Institute of Medicine medical error figures are not

exaggerated. JAMA. 2000 Jul 5;284(1):95-7.)

 

Public supplementation should be encouraged, not discouraged.

Supplements

are a cost-effective means of preventing and ameliorating illness.

Supplement safety is outstandingly high. Natural health products should

be

classified as foods, not drugs.

 

(end)

 

You can read the full text of Andrew Saul's Parliamentary presentation

at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/testimony.htm

 

En francais: http://www.doctoryourself.com/testimonyfrancais.htm

 

FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION:

 

" THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF VITAMINS, " a special 100-page issue of the

JOURNAL OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE (Vol 18, No 3 & 4, 2003) is now

available

directly from me for $15.00 each postpaid to USA addresses. I have less

than

40 copies available, so I ask that if you intend to purchase, PLEASE

email

me first to reserve one at drsaul. Please put

" SPECIAL

ISSUE " as your email subject line. For international orders, email

first for

airmail shipping costs.

 

CAFFEINE CAUSES INFERTILITY

 

Wilcox A, Weinberg C, Baird D. Caffeinated beverages and decreased

fertility. Lancet. 1988 Dec 24-31;2(8626-8627):1453-6.

 

" Women who consumed more than the equivalent of one cup of coffee per

day

were half as likely to become pregnant,

 

per cycle, as women who drank less. A dose-response effect was

present. "

PMID: 2904572 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

HARVARD STUDY: NUTS PREVENT GALLSTONES

 

Tsai CJ, Leitzmann MF, Hu FB, Willett WC, Giovannucci EL. A prospective

cohort study of nut consumption and the risk of gallstone disease in

men. Am

J Epidemiol. 2004 Nov 15;160(10):961-8.

 

" Nuts are rich in several compounds that may be protective against

gallstones. During 457,305 person-years of follow-up, 1,833

participants

reported gallstone disease. Men consuming 5 or more units of nuts per

week

(frequent consumption) had a significantly lower risk of gallstone

disease. "

PMID: 15522852 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

DON'T BE FOOLED, BUT ENJOY THE SATIRE

 

Making fun of the USDA's " Food Groups " approach to nutrition:

 

http://mypyramid.org/

 

EXCELLENT VITAMIN ARTICLES

 

Vitamin E:

 

http://www.enerex.ca/articles/new_old_findings_on_unique_vitamin_e.htm

 

C and E:

 

http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news & ID=153

 

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/news-ng.asp?n=59359-vitamin-c-reduces

 

FEARLESS FLUORIDE FACTS

 

From " Fluoridation issues remain under study, " by Laurie Pearson (April

13,

2005), Elk Valley Times.

 

" The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets drinking water

standards,

but the FDA has classified fluoride as an 'unapproved new drug.' The

EPA

Headquarters Professionals' Union, named National Treasury Employees

Union -

Chapter 280 is a group of 1,500 scientists, lawyers, engineers and

other

professional employees at EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., who are

opposed to fluoridation. They may be contacted through Dr. J. William

Hirzy,

senior vice president, NTELU Chapter 280, at (202) 260-4683, or email

address hirzy.john. "

 

For more information:

 

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/

http://www.fluoridealert.org

 

ARE YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AND TV STATIONS RECEIVING THE " ORTHOMOLECULAR

MEDICINE NEWS SERVICE " (OMNS)?

 

Nearly 1,000 reporters and newscasters worldwide are now getting the

positive story about vitamin therapy thanks to the peer-reviewed

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service.

 

How about those in your town?

 

If you have email addresses for your local TV newscasters or newspaper

reporters, please send them to us and we will send OMNS newsfeeds to

them,

free. Phone numbers, station names or postal addresses will not help in

this

project, but email addresses will! Send EMAIL ADDRESSES ONLY, please,

to

drsaul with your subject line as " MEDIA. " We want

contact

emails for ALL newspapers and for all TV stations, large or small.

 

Send in yours today!

 

A recent OMNS release may be viewed at

 

http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news & ID=159

 

ARE YOU RECEIVING THE " ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE NEWS SERVICE " (OMNS)?

 

If you'd personally like a free subscription to OMNS, the megavitamin

news

wire service, please go DIRECTLY to

http://orthomolecular.org/.html

to instantly sign up (if you haven't already done so!)

 

FOR ALL YOU HEALTH HOMESTEADERS:

 

A new interview with Andrew W. Saul has just been posted at

http://www.innerexplorations.com/simpletext/andrew.htm

 

FREE HOMESTEADING BOOKS ONLINE:

 

" The Treasures of Simple Living " tells the story of a family moving

from

town to the middle of a forest in Oregon starting in the late 1970s.

http://www.innerexplorations.com/catsimple/2.htm

 

" Radical Simplicity and the Fourth Step " explores what this

homesteading

family's life in the forest taught them about the basic structures of

our

society: schools, jobs, housing, etc.

http://www.innerexplorations.com/catsimple/radical.htm

 

And, a homesteaders' " Resource Guide " has been posted to provide

valuable

information for people who want to go on their own journeys of simple

living. It is at http://www.innerexplorations.com/catsimple/tr4.htm

 

Age Spots, Basal Cell Carcinoma and Solar Keratosis

 

by Robert, Doctor Yourself Staff Volunteer in Tennessee

 

I have fair skin and was often sunburned during childhood. Now I'm 57

years

old and have had problems with age spots (discolored skin spots that

look

like freckles), basal cell carcinoma and solar keratoses on the skin of

my

temples, tops of ears and forehead. I go for a checkup at my

dermatologist

every six months. During my dermatologist checkup seven months ago my

dermatologist said I had what appeared to be small (largest the

diameter of

a pencil lead) spots of basal cell carcinoma, age spots and solar

keratoses.

He recommended that I undergo a treatment during which I would go to

his

office and he would apply a cream that would dissolve the sun-damaged

skin

and new healthy skin would grow back on the affected areas. The

treatment

(application of the cream) would involve two visits a week to the

dermatologist's office for an eight-week period (total of 16 office

visits).

 

 

I told the dermatologist I would consider it. I did some research on

the

Internet and decided to try another approach.

 

I found that research involving vitamin C and cancer showed that in

vitro,

some types of human cancer cells were killed by relatively dilute

concentrations of vitamin C, more types were killed with higher

concentrations of vitamin C and all types were killed with the highest

concentration of vitamin C. I decided I would try the following

treatment

and see what happened.

 

In the evening I take a hot shower to wash away oil on my skin and to

open

the skin pores. Immediately after drying, I apply a water solution of

ascorbic acid vitamin C (directions for making the solution are below).

The

water solution of vitamin C dries on my skin in two or three minutes.

When

the water dries, a clearly visible thin coat of vitamin C crystals

remains

on the applied areas. My skin itches and stings a little for 30

minutes. I

leave the vitamin C on my skin overnight and then wash it off in the

morning. Small spots of basal cell carcinoma die and fall off in a

couple of

weeks. Small solar keratoses are killed. Age spots are bleached and

become

hardly visible. I continue this nightly application of ascorbic acid

vitamin

C water until the desired results are achieved or until it becomes

obvious

after a couple of weeks that the vitamin C is doing no further good.

 

One month ago I went to my dermatologist for a routine check. He killed

some

large solar keratoses by freezing with liquid nitrogen and he said I

now

have no areas of skin of concern.

 

http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/IndexDisplay.cfm?ImageID=-451564798

is a

site showing many basal cell carcinomas. To see a close-up of any of

them,

just click on the image. Caution: the images are not pretty. I really

don't

worry about the very small spots of basal cell because I know I can

kill

them. They are very slow growing and it is extremely rare for them to

metastasize. The trick is to kill them as soon as possible.

 

I worry about the solar keratosis; about two per cent will turn into

squamous cell carcinoma.

 

I'm a chemical engineer, and by training and predisposition I try

various

ways to solve problems. I still have a number of solar keratoses on my

forehead. They are not growing on the surface of the skin; they are

growing

beneath the skin surface. I can see them but can't get to them by

applying

vitamin C to the surface of my skin. I keep applying vitamin C and when

small keratoses come to the surface of the skin, the vitamin C quickly

kills

them in just one or two applications. The problem is getting the

vitamin C

in contact with the keratoses.

 

It seems to me that vitamin C kills many types of abnormal cells.

 

I examine my skin daily. These skin problems are serious business. This

is

not a treatment that one can apply and then forget. I know that I'll be

concerned about my skin for the rest of my life. About one million

people

are diagnosed with skin cancer every year and about 1,500 die as a

result of

skin cancer (at least half of those are from melanoma which does

metastasize

relatively easily). I also go to the dermatologist regularly. I don't

always

do what he says, but I do listen to what he says.

 

This is from the 1971 Klenner Vitamin C article posted on the Doctor

Yourself website:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html

 

" Five percent ointment using a water soluble base will cure acute fever

blisters if applied 10 or more times a day and we have removed several

small

basal cell epithelioma has with a 30 percent ointment. "

 

How do I help prevent further sun damage to the skin? I wear a hat with

a

rim whose shadow covers my head, ear tips and upper face during the

summer

and I take extra vitamin C. The 1971 Klenner Vitamin C paper

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html says " one gram taken

every

one to two hours during exposure will prevent sunburn. " Exposed parts

of my

skin turn red in the summer but the skin does not burn.

 

Preparation of Water-Saturated Vitamin C:

 

I take a small three-ounce juice glass, add about six grams of ascorbic

acid

vitamin C crystals (crushed tablets are OK too) and add just enough

cool tap

water to the glass to cover the vitamin C crystals. Stir well. Be sure

after

two minutes or so of stirring that there are still undissolved crystals

in

the bottom of the glass (If not, add a couple more grams of vitamin C

crystals and stir again). The water in the glass is now saturated with

vitamin C and is ready for use. Touch the tip of a finger in a

saturated

water solution of vitamin C. Touch the wet finger to the skin area to

be

treated. The water will evaporate in two or three minutes and leave a

plainly visible coat of vitamin C crystals on the skin.

 

REVIEW OF VARIOUS HEALTH-RELATED WEB SITES

by Victoria Kennedy, Doctor Yourself Staff Volunteer

 

I read lots of health books and magazines and love to surf the internet

looking for information on health issues that concern family, friends

and

myself. The internet is full of many health sites, some of them are

very

good, like Doctor Yourself, and of course there are others that aren't

so

good. I'd like to try and explain to you the way I determine, at least

in

my own mind, whether a site is legitimate or has something of value to

offer

me.

 

The first step I take is to skim through the site to see what kind of

information it has and how it's presented. Then I slow down and read

whatever draws my attention the most. I look for logic; for instance,

if the

site I'm on is praising cheese and dairy but is hostile towards yogurt,

I

ask the question, why? If there's no reasonable answer or not even an

attempt to give one, it raises a red flag in my mind. However, if the

site

does contain some useful info and ideas I won't entirely dismiss it.

 

If there's a website I visit that contains information and also a

product

they're selling, I look around the Internet to see what other sites

might be

saying about this item or items. If I'm satisfied that everything

seems

legit, I check their privacy policy and go from there. Some claims get

my

eternally optimistic hopes up, but if I can't find something to

validate

what they're saying, I usually move on.

 

 

I hope you find these websites as interesting and helpful as I did.

Enjoy!

 

 

http://www.organicmd.org/index.html I found this first one while

researching

vegetarianism. I've been a vegetarian for many years, but always like

to

search for new ideas or perspectives on the subject. This site has a

doctor's ideas on a healthy lifestyle, and has strong opinions on what

you

must do to attain one. One of the things I didn't like is that it

appears

to be opposed to supplements. But even if you don't agree with

everything

that he says he makes some points worth pondering.

 

If you're interested in herbs as a way to help keep you healthy, go to:

http://home.teleport.com/~howieb/howie.html I stumbled across this site

while looking for a cough remedy for a relative. Under " Medicinal Herb

FAQ "

I found a section under coughs that listed the names of herbs that

would be

useful. It even had a recipe for cough syrup. This site has much to

offer:

links to wild crafting sites, herb info, plant databases and herbal

instruction courses.

 

 

I found http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/articles.htm by chance. I was

just

out surfing for health info in general. The article on Mad Cow Disease

is

worth reading. And there are articles on mental health, ADD and

nutrition

in children, (I had to tell another relative about that one.) colon

health,

cancer, vaccines, etc. I think it's worth checking out.

 

http://www.wholehealthmd.com recommends certain supplements to use for

Multiple Sclerosis. I've done a lot of 'net searches for information on

MS

as I have a relative who may have it. Dosages and safety warnings are

also

provided. Other illnesses can also be found here as well. Aside from

the MS

data, my favorite section of the website is the kitchen/recipe section.

It's great! There you can find foods that help with healing certain

ailments, recipe makeovers, and recipes for your particular dietary

needs,

such as low sodium, vegetarian etc.

 

http://www.holisticmed.com aided me in my search for a Holistic

Medicine

Physician. There are many links here for chiropractic, homeopathy,

vegetarianism, yoga and more. It has an extensive set of links to many

kinds of health information. Through this site I was able to find

links to

two holistic doctors within a forty-mile radius of where I live.

 

(Editor's note: Reviewers opinions are their own, and not necessarily

those

of Doctor Yourself.com. And a reminder: we do not provide referrals or

addresses to practitioners near you.)

 

BOOK REVIEW:

 

THE UV ADVANTAGE, by Dr. Michael Holick. (May 2004, I Books, Inc., New

York.

ISBN: 0743486471)

 

Reviewed by Deb Harrity, Doctor Yourself Staff Volunteer

 

Dr. Holick is a highly qualified researcher and medical doctor,

internationally recognized for his many contributions in the field of

vitamin D, calcium, skin and bone. He is a full professor of medicine,

biophysics and physiology (and formerly dermatology, but more about

that

later) at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is arguably the

world's

foremost authority on the subject of vitamin D, and he is the director

of

Boston University Medical Center's Vitamin D lab. So it would be tough

to

find someone more qualified to write about the relationship between

ultraviolet light and human health.

 

Yet his recent book, The UV Advantage, has caused quite a dust-up in

the

world of dermatology. Why?

 

First, let's look at the book itself. Holick wrote this book to spread

the

word that exposure to sunlight is highly beneficial to health. In fact,

he

makes the strong case, based on his own research and the research of

others

(his book contains 120 scientific citations), that those who do not get

out

in the sun put themselves at risk for many serious chronic diseases. He

gives evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a major health risk,

particularly for those living more than 30 degrees latitude from the

equator

and/or who have dark skin. Exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun

causes the skin to create vitamin D, and, says Holick, judicious sun

exposure can ward off the many diseases associated with vitamin D

deficiency, including an alarming string of today's most troubling

degenerative conditions: high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack,

multiple

sclerosis, arthritis, osteoporosis and rickets. Recent research even

shows

vitamin D to be preventive for various types of cancer, particularly

cancers

of the breast, prostate and colon.

 

How big a problem is vitamin D deficiency? Holick's own laboratory

demonstrated that a random study of Boston residents showed that fully

42%

were vitamin D deficient.

 

From a nutritional standpoint, Holick examines the problem of getting

adequate amounts of vitamin D from our food sources, and explains that

the

efficiency of production of vitamin D through sun exposed skin, and the

amount and quality of vitamin D produced, is on all counts superior to

any

possible food or supplement. And the benefits of sunlight include

enhanced

bone health, cellular health, organ health, autoimmune health and

mood-related health.

 

Holick takes great pains to explain that he is NOT an advocate of

tanning.

In lengthy discussion, he explains the importance of avoiding sunburn,

and

using broad-spectrum sun screen after a short period of skin exposure

to the

direct rays of the sun. ( " Short period " is carefully defined, and

depends on

time of day, time of year, latitude and skin type. Clear and specific

charts

are included so readers can easily calculate their own optimal sun

exposure.)

 

He also gives guidelines for indoor tanning, which he advocates when

the

real thing is in short supply, and he discusses the effects of sunlight

on

psychological health and sleep patterns.

 

Holick's book reads almost like a detective story, laying out the

arguments

for a relationship with sun and sunlight in terms easily understood by

the

layperson. He begins with the basic science of sunlight, then gives an

in-depth discussion of skin cancer/sunshine facts and myths, as this is

an

area where people are particularly fearful. He also talks in detail

about

the sun and wrinkles, a concern that keeps many out of the sun, and

contributes to the rise of vitamin D deficiency. In a chapter titled

" Rx:

Sun " he explains the science of sunshine as practical medicine.

 

Dr. Holick is well aware of the rise in the incidence of skin cancer;

he is

also a fearless advocate of appropriate sun exposure in the interest of

human health. On the connection between UV radiation and cancer he

says,

" Despite the attention the 10th Report on Carcinogens received when UV

radiation was put on its list of known human carcinogens, the inclusion

means nothing more than that overexposure to sunlight or a tanning bed

may

increase your risk of skin cancer. There are few people around who

would

deny this fact. " (p.181)

 

Reviewers of Holick's book have noted that he is to vitamin D what

Linus

Pauling was to vitamin C. And to those who have been involved in health

research or alternative medicine for any length of time, his work is

not

shocking; it is more of an affirmation - a description of the intricate

interconnection between man and his environment.

 

So, where's the problem? What is the controversy?

 

As Holick makes clear, The UV Advantage was written in response to the

" anti-sun lobby " that has made it its job to convince us that no amount

of

sun exposure is safe. In fact, " So desperate is the anti-sun lobby to

convince you of the dangers of the sun so that you will buy its

products

year-round, its representatives will tell you with a straight face that

if

it's February in Boston and you're planning to walk to the corner

store.you

should wear sunscreen. This is wrongheaded and alarmist.[it] is but one

example of the kinds of inaccurate information the anti-sun lobby puts

out

to alarm people. In doing so, it convinces people of the need for its

products and services. " (p. 12) " The scare tactics of the

cosme-ceutical

industry have been embraced by most of the dermatology profession. "

(p.13)

 

And, of course, the products developed to prevent sunburn (which in

fact may

have exacerbated the cancer-related problems of overexposure to the sun

by

making it possible for people to be in the sun much longer without

burning)

are making vast sums of money for the companies producing them.

 

In February of 2004, as this book was nearing publication, Holick was

asked

to resign as professor of dermatology at Boston University because he

advocated moderate exposure to sunlight. In spite of his years of

research

in the field, and his eminent qualifications to write on the subject,

the

Dermatology Department seems to have found his statements at odds with

the

medical profession's consensus on the damaging effects of sunlight. In

the

words of Ralph Moss, noted cancer researcher (www.cancerdecions.com),

" Despite scientific uncertainty [as to the connection between sunlight

and

melanoma], the attack on Dr. Holick has taken on a quasi-moralistic

tone.

Some dermatologists, possibly frustrated at the failure of most of

their

treatments to reverse advanced melanoma, now regard sun exposure

without

sunblock as analogous to promiscuous sex without condoms. "

 

In an article in the Boston Globe in April of 2004, Dr. Barbara

Gilchrest,

the department chairwoman said to be responsible for dismissing Holick

because of his book, was quoted as saying, " I read better things in

ladies'

magazines, " and Holick's book " is an embarrassment for this institution

and

an embarrassment for him. "

 

What is really at stake here is something important for all who would

take

responsibility for their own health, and that is access to scientific

research in an atmosphere of tolerance and open debate. If advocating a

few

minutes of sunshine two or three times a week can get you blackballed

by

your profession, in spite of innumerable prior accomplishments, then we

should all be concerned about the impartiality of the mainstream

position on

health topics of all sorts.

 

The good news here is that, because of the controversy, Holick has

experienced a crush of interview requests from media outlets since his

book

was published, and he has had much more opportunity to get his message

out

than would have been possible with the book alone. In fact, he said,

the

critics " are doing me a great favor because they are now raising this

to a

level I hadn't expected. "

 

(end)

 

MORE ABOUT VITAMIN D: http://www.doctoryourself.com/dvitamin.htm

 

DEPRESSION HELPED BY ARTHRITIS TREATMENT

 

F. R. writes:

 

" I have had some problems with arthritis in my hands and feet. I

searched

the Internet for natural solutions and that's how I came to find Doctor

Yourself. I tried the suggestion I read for taking 1,000 mg of vitamin

C and

1,000 mg of niacinamide three times a day and my arthritis literally

went

away. I also generally felt much better than I ever had. Apparently,

I had

a mild case of depression and didn't even know it. I looked at some of

the

other benefits of niacinamide and found these sites valuable for both

arthritis and depression.

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/arthritis_II.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/arthritis.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/kaufman3.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/JOM1.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/kaufman5.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/news/v2n7.txt

 

" I also take a balanced high-potency B-complex three times a day and

the

other things suggested at http://www.doctoryourself.com/news/v2n7.txt .

I

found this quote by Andrew Saul to be very true in my particular case:

" The reason one nutrient can cure so many different illnesses is

because a

deficiency of one nutrient can cause many different illnesses. "

 

SPREADING THE MESSAGE

 

Doctor Yourself Staff Volunteer Christine Gundersen in Denver, PA

suggests:

 

" Sometimes spreading the Doctor Yourself message is as easy as asking.

My

chiropractor recently launched a website. I noticed that he had links

to

health websites in one section so I emailed him and suggested

www.doctoryourself.com. He liked the content and added the link to his

site.

You can do the same. "

 

HELP WANTED

 

**Are you, like us, a natural health enthusiast? (aka, " health nut " )

 

**Did you enjoy reading the volunteer-written articles in this issue of

the

Newsletter?

 

**Do you try to share your knowledge and/or experiences with friends

only to

be looked at as if you have two heads?

 

**Would you like a forum for those experiences and satisfaction for

your

thirst to learn more?

 

**Are you an expert in one or more natural health modalities wishing to

share your knowledge in a non-commercial way that could make a

difference in

people's lives?

 

If any of the above applies to you, we would love to give you the

opportunity to make a difference by volunteering to research and write

articles for the DOCTOR YOURSELF newsletter. After all, as Dr. Saul

always

says, " If you aren't a health nut, than what kind of a nut are you? "

 

To find out more about joining our volunteer newsletter team, please

send an

email with " VOLUNTEER WRITER " in the subject line to the this address:

dyteam

 

MENIERE'S SYNDROME:

 

Dottie writes:

 

" While researching Meniere's syndrome for a friend, I luckily happened

upon

the Doctor Yourself website ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/ears.html

). My

friend was totally disabled due to her dizziness. She had had a

previous

bout of this and found that the medications prescribed by her physician

were

to no advantage. This time around she was going into a major

depression,

thinking that this was going to be her life for the rest of her life.

The

mention in your article about the possibility of a cervical

vertebrae/spinal

connection raised a red flag for me, as I knew she has had ongoing

problems

of this nature. Upon passing your article along to her via e-mail, she

went

to her chiropractor, who concurred with your " possibility " , which

turned out

to be " right on. " Today, she has thanked me for " saving her life. " She

states that since her chiropractic adjustment she is 98% returned to

her

usual wellness and productivity. This vibrant, active lady is back in

the

swing of things!

 

" So, there! You are providing an invaluable service, for which I thank

you

profusely. Gladly, there is often another angle to our health

problems. "

 

 

(Editor's note: In addition to being cured of Meniere's as described in

the

above-mentioned article, my own father's artwork is posted at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/contentsWES.html )

 

COMING SOON: Part Four of UNSTRESS YOUR LIFE, by John Mosher, PhD.

 

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH, and anytime you like at DOCTORYOURSELF.COM!

 

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