Archive for September, 2020

Bone up on osteoporosis

HBN’s mission is to help listeners and readers be healthy by nature by learning how to supply the body with everything it needs for optimum function and to limit excesses that gum up the works. That principle can be applied to any part of the body and so, today I focus on bone health. According to Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMed Info, “the present-day definitions of Osteopenia and Osteoporosis were arbitrarily conceived by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the early 90’s and then projected upon millions of women’s bodies seemingly in order to convince them they had a drug-treatable, though symptomless, disease.” Again, aging became an insurance billing code. Read More

Bone Drugs. Typically, in stark contrast to the HBN mission above, mainstream medicine treats every symptom, condition or unfavorable test result as a drug deficiency. For a very long time, naturopaths and nutritionists have believed that the common osteoporosis drugs interfere with the body’s normal bone remodeling (strengthening) system and that the drugs end up making the bones more brittle and more likely to break. This newspaper article adds more weight to that argument.

“Osteoporosis Is Scurvy of the Bone, Not Calcium Deficiency” That is the title of an excellent article by Suzanne Humphries, MD posted on the GreenMed Info website. [Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency.] She says,It saddens me to see older women diagnosed with ‘osteopenia’ or ‘osteoporosis’ listening to their doctors and taking supplemental calcium and even problematic drugs called bisphosphonates. These are irrational, dogmatic, harmful approaches to the problem of degrading bone as we age.” She goes on to discuss how the excess calcium can end up in the arteries causing cardiovascular problems. Dr. Humphries recommends the nutrition that I would suggest for bone health beyond vitamin D: “Vitamin C, Vitamin K2, magnesium and minor minerals such as [manganese], boron and silica.” Vitamin C is vital to help form the collagen matrix that holds the minerals in place. Vitamin K2 helps get calcium out of the arteries where it causes trouble and into the bone where it is needed. Bone-building is a team sport!

Resveratrol for bones. There is more we can do for bone beyond supplying necessary basic nutrients and load-bearing exercise. A scientific human study is described as “24-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-period crossover intervention conducted to evaluate the effects of resveratrol (75 mg twice daily) on cognition, cerebrovascular function, bone health, cardiometabolic markers, and well-being in postmenopausal women.” Researchers found that “regular supplementation with 75 mg of resveratrol twice daily has the potential to slow bone loss in the lumbar spine and femoral neck, common fracture sites in postmenopausal women without overt osteoporosis.” They also noted that “the bone-protective benefit of resveratrol was greater in participants who supplemented with vitamin D plus calcium [as well as well as resveratrol].” As you probably know, my choice (and Sherry Rogers, MD’s) for resveratrol is Longevinex.

Gut ‘bugs’ should be helping. Our friendly bacteria are a key part of the control for virtually all systems in the body, so it should be no surprised that studies show they are involved in bone health. They also protect against leaky gut which is a risk for bone disease.  A scientific study showed that taking Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics increased bone mineral content by 32%.

Stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy is not suggested to treat diseases such as osteoporosis, but because these fantastic natural cells go where there is degeneration, inflammation, and other trouble, I’ve heard wonderful testimonials about improved bone health. Read more about Stem Cells. Check this linked page of our website for webinars and informative conference call. For a no cost, no obligation consultation call (972) 303-0683.

News that makes sense

Headlines today are not usually as amusing as the one above, but they are very often misleading because the articles below them are. I am concerned that the media’s so-called “fact checkers” and censors base their process on long-standing prejudice. They seem blindly opposed to certain viewpoints and science sources. (For centuries scientific dogma taught that the earth was flat.)  The result is a lack of balance in the reports, especially regarding health. The worst errors are crimes of omission—the stories that should be told but are not. For example, how much have you heard or read in mainstream media about building our human immunity with nutrition to protect against viral diseases?

Below are a variety of overlooked tidbits and tips that may be helpful.

  • Vitamin C to prevent and treat Covid-19. Read about a study on vitamin C that is an example that the “fact-checkers” are not so good at their jobs in this area. CLICK HERE.
  • The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently reported that Mexico has joined the growing list of countries that have BANNED cancer-linked glyphosate! Glyphosate (e.g. Roundup) is even found in kids’ breakfast cereal and our bodies. The non-profit organization said, “Scientists have been raising the alarm for years about glyphosate’s link to cancer. But glyphosate is still the most widely used herbicide in the United States, with more than 250 million tons dumped on American farmland each year!” Why on earth has the US not banned it? I assume that is because there is too much money at stake for the big pharmaceutical company that produces it and for the makers of the GMO food products that have been developed to work with the weed killer. (Remember, money buys access to regulators and legislators in Washington and access means influence.) What can YOU do? Learn more and vote with your dollars—buy organic foods or at least products marked ‘Non-GMO’. (When sales and profits drop, companies do pay attention and make changes!) The big companies have lobbyists, but so do you…if you support EWG in their efforts to fight for us.
  • Sunscreen. Speaking of toxins. We are supposed to wear sunscreen to prevent cancer, right? A new article in the HBN library discusses the multiple short- and long-term health risks from the chemicals, including hormone disruption and, ironically, skin cancer. A quote from the article: “[Six]chemicals mimic estrogen, causing hormonal imbalances, allergic reactions, skin irritations and reproductive harm. They also attack the cells in your body, causing premature aging. And studies show they can promote the onset of breast cancer. … [Additional] dangerous chemicals like octyl methoxycinnamate, parabens and formaldehyde are also common. Some sunscreens still also contain PABA (also called octyl-dimethyl and padimate O) — a substance known to attack DNA and cause genetic mutations when exposed to sunlight.” The article cites references and discusses how to sun safely.
  • Universities and Covid-19. An interesting article by Jeff Brown of The Bleeding Edge shows data revealing that as of September 10 “there have been 1,018 COVID-19 cases found through extensive PCR [polymerise chain reaction] testing at 17 universities, [however] there have been zero]” The tricky question is what to do with the students who test positive? Sending students home to spread the virus is not a great idea. Unfortunately, the typical ‘quarantine in place’ comes with its own risks.
  • New resource added to the Library. On the Library page Suppress Symptoms or Listen to them? I added a link to the online MERCK MANUAL. It is a great reference for both the patient and professional. It comes mostly from a conventional point of view, but to start with that is a useful base before looking into alternatives.

The threat of mandatory vaccines is coming. For a free documentary series on the issue, Click this: Vaccines Revealed.

Covid-19 Update and Summary—Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 which covers other covid-19 factors.

Flu. Also known as “Influenza”, it is also a seasonal upper respiratory viral condition which may come in the fall/winter in part because of less sunshine and vitamin D. Thousands die annually from the flu and it may be years before we can get an honest comparison of flu with covid-19 because of reporting overlap.

Meanwhile, most of the coronavirus prevention steps and natural remedies listed here help with flu and with colds. Note, colds are typically caused by mild varieties of coronavirus. For many more tips about prevention, treatment, and a remedy kit to have on hand, read this Library article.

Gloves. Gloves are necessary for healthcare works to keep from spreading contagions. It is important that they change them often—hopefully before going from one patient to the next. I’m unsure about their value for the general public. Too often, I have seen people touching their face while wearing them. That defeats the purpose. I just use a paper towel or sanitizing wipe to open doors or to touch handles at the beverage bar in a restaurant.

Lockdown. In the ideal situation, only sick people would be quarantined. However, with this disease, people who seemed well could spread it. We can hope that everyone now (including young folks who like to party) have gotten the message that it is important to stay away from indoor crowds and at a safe distance even outside away from people who are not in your household. That practice plus masks and hand washing may keep us from having another panic lockdown.

Masks. You can find respected experts, studies, and charts on both sides of the debate about the usefulness of masks. I discussed both pro and con in a recent blog, To Mask or Not to Mask, That is the Question. While Bill Sardi is more persuaded by the not useful and maybe harmful arguments, in an extremely rare occurrence, I disagree and come down on the wear masks side of the debate.

Good masks (This Duke University study ranks the effectiveness of various types) worn correctly (e.g. over the nose) do offer at least some benefit and I think the dangers have been exaggerated. A listener told me of a person who did not want to wear a mask for fear people might think that they were democrats. That seems a particularly stupid reason to avoid a mask. Speaking of dumb, wearing a mask plus a plastic face shield to protect the eyes is fine. Wearing a plastic face shield instead of a mask is pretty pointless.

Medications. So far, there is no surefire go-to drug to cure a serious case of covid-19, but studies are beginning to accumulate. The one most people have heard of is hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) because it has been so controversial. This website lists the negative and surprisingly large number of positive studies on the drug and its relationship to deaths. Based on worldwide experience, it seems clear that HQ is helpful if used early in the disease and especially in combination with zinc and the antibiotic azithromycin. HCQ has been poo-pooed by the media seemingly just because President Trump mentioned it. (Again, I think politics is a stupid basis on which to decide health matters.)

A review of 17 studies showed that steroids reduced mortality among severely ill covid-19 patients.

An early small study of Remdesivir showed a 68% clinical improvement in critically ill covid-19 patients. (The drug is extremely expensive and must be given intravenously.)

Plasma from donations from recovered patients is hoped to provide antibodies to fight the disease. However, it is still experimental because we don’t know how long the protection is active and there are potential side effects. Read what the Mayo Clinic advises.

Natural prevention & remedies. Let me start by pointing out that “not proven” is a vastly different thing than “disproven”. The FDA only considers a substance as “proven” if it is (a) a drug and (b) has gone through many years and hundreds of millions of dollars in testing. Since nutrients cannot be patented, what company would pay for those studies when competing companies would be able sell it? Furthermore, the FDA will not allow the supplement company to even make benefit claims to sell it.

Fortunately, there is a great deal of basic university science on how various nutrients help the immune system and fight viruses. I’m not saying that makes them “proven remedies for covid-19”. But, as Bill Sardi has coached us, there is much to gain and little to lose by becoming well nourished in vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc. Vitamin C is activates sluggish immune cells and is even curative when given IV. Vitamin D aids immune function and helps prevent the inflammatory storm that causes most of the deaths. Selenium keeps zinc more available and helps keep the virus from mutation. Quercetin helps zinc get into cells where it can keep viruses from replicating. Resveratrol protects delicate lung tissue. In a recent blog, Covid-19 Briefs, I talk more about natural remedies. Sherry Rogers, MD recently did a webinar on how to stop covid-19 at any stage of its progress. Click here for a link to that webinar. You may have heard about oleander but forget that because it is way too toxic. Learn about potentially useful nebulizing hydrogen peroxide in an article by Tom Levy, MD: Covid cures including nebulizing hydrogen peroxide. Also, here is a Mercola article on that topic.

Panic. Panic is typically not useful because it can cause us to rush into bad decisions. Cautious concern and getting educated is a better approach.

Sanitizer. Hand sanitizers are fine but keep them away from small children who can get alcohol poisoning. On that note, I want to mention something that drives me nuts when I hear it in the “news”, because it is not fair. I watched the TV pandemic briefing where it supposed happened and I swear that President Trump never said to drink or inject bleach or disinfectants. After hearing how quickly viruses can be inactivated by sanitizers on surfaces, he merely asked the doctors if there was something like that for internal use…just showing intellectual curiosity. He actually wasn’t far off. Most sanitizers are oxidants. So is ozone. Practitioners have been using ozone in many ways (including saunas and IV’s) to kill pathogens. Ultraviolet light works to sanitize surfaces—treating blood with it has been called “The Cure That Time Forgot”.

School. This sure is a tricky one. Children suffer greatly in many ways (educationally, nutritionally, abuse, emotional issues, etc.) from not being in the classroom and it is also a big problem if it keeps parents from going to work. On the other hand, kids are not immune to coronavirus. Although they typically have stronger immune systems and do not usually get as sick, kiddos can infect teachers and staff and bring the illness home. So, the more the protections are in place, the better—especially improved ventilation systems.

Testing. Testing may be the most confusing aspect of the pandemic. The swab-way-up-your-nose may be the most accurate, but it is uncomfortable and, depending on how backed up the labs are, can take days to a week or more for results. By then, contact tracing is nearly useless.  The quickie tests have yet to be really proven. Then there is just nonsense, like when people who filled out the form but didn’t get the test are called to say they are positive. Read what Harvard has to say about tests.

Vaccine. In this recent blog, I gave a lot of information about the soon to be available covid-19 vaccine. Vaccines in general are controversial, let alone one that was developed and tested in months rather than the usual years.

Just a thought, conventional wisdom warns us not to buy a car from the first batch when an automaker does a major revamp of a model. Likewise, most computer users resist being the first to try a new version of the Windows operating system. We like having some other guinea pigs help the companies get the bugs out.

Be aware that hospitals now have language in their routine consent forms allowing them to vaccinate you (e.g. for flu or pneumonia) without telling you. Remember that vaccines are more effective in people who have strong immune systems. Bill Sardi developed an educational and protective vaccine consent/rejection form. (All proceeds go to support health freedom.) Recent Sardi articles, The Vaccine from Helland “In Case the Vaccines Don’t Work, Here is Plan B.” 

Ventilators. Ventilators can save lives when a patient cannot breathe on their own. However, in many cases, covid-19 patients can breathe, they just aren’t absorbing oxygen well because of problems with the lung membrane. Since ventilators can damage lung tissue, hospitals are trying to limit their use. They are employing other methods of upping oxygen levels and have patients on their stomachs to help them breathe. (Unfortunately, this does not work as well with the obese.) Longevinex Advantage is great support for healthy lung tissue.

Covid-19 Update and Summary—Part 1

As of the date of this blog, the world has been dealing with the danged covid-19 pandemic for about 7 months.  And yet, it seems that we still have more questions than answers. I do not claim that the points below are definitive answers. They are simply the most up-to-date data-driven information, resources, and opinions that I could deliver. Not knowing what would be of the most interest to you, the items are in alphabetical order. (“Prevention” and “Natural Remedies” will be on next week’s Part 2.)

Case #’s. There is much confusion about these numbers and other statistics because of inconsistencies and lags in reporting as well as variations in definitions. The chart at this link shows cases by country and lists USA as having over 6 million  which is about 1.9% of our population. What those numbers do not reflect are the millions of people who were never tested because they had mild or no symptoms (up to 80% of infections) or who did not have access to testing. On the other hand, inflating case numbers happens when hospitals label as covid-19 any upper respiratory ailment (e.g. flu, pneumonia or Tuberculosis) because the hospital is paid more for covid cases. And, as we will discuss next week, the testing is not 100% reliable.

Censorship. The establishment (i.e. US government agencies and vested interests like hospital and pharmaceutical trade groups) are committed to the drug approach. They have no interest in low cost nutritional remedies. Sadly, they also seem to have no interest in prevention of covid-19…except for the use of vaccines and their mandates for social distancing, masks and hand washing. Because of the establishment’s enormous power (think FDA / FTC regulations) and deep pockets (think big pharma’s billions spent in marketing and lobbying), they have the ability to put a squeeze on information sources. For example, social media periodically shuts down posts that don’t suit their view of the world. Dr. Joseph Mercola’s popular website is one of many valuable resources to receive a FDA warning letter. Amazon has banned John T Bowles’ great book, 16 Fascinating Covid-19 & Spanish Flu Mysteries HOW TO EASILY PREVENT THE NEXT PANDEMIC. It is Amazon’s right to sell whatever they want, but in this case, they are in effect killing people by depriving customers of this life-saving information. The author, John Bowers has more integrity and is offering an e-book version at no charge at least until Amazon repents. Send a request to: [email protected]

Death statistics. Of course, one death is too many. However, because statistics guide public policy, they should be accurate, not artificially jacked up. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reportedly told the healthcare network that if there is any doubt, deaths should be called covid-19—even if the patient was not tested. Motorcycle injuries, heart attacks, hip fracture complications and gunshot wounds are examples of deaths illogically labeled as “covid-19”. Such problems are common elsewhere, but those specific examples were reported by the CBS affiliate in Palm Beach County, Florida. Video  (It is probably not a coincidence that, reports of deaths from heart disease, stroke and cancer have dropped precipitously.) Another factor is that we do not know how many will succumb to side effects of the disease years from now.

Deaths from covid-19 as the single cause are very low. Bill Sardi wrote about these statistics. Anyway, if we take the mainstream statistics at face value, out of 6,307,855 US cases, 190,362 Americans have died. The simple math makes that a 3% death rate. However, we know that a huge percentage of infected person are never tested. So, experts looking at more realistic figures (e.g. deducting deaths that would normally have been expected from other conditions), they come up with a mortality rate less than half of that. Even the CDC says the rate is lower, i.e. less than 1%. As my mom used to say, “Statistics don’t lie but statisticians do” (by selecting the figures and comparisons that support their theories). Other than making it sound worse than the flu and thereby justifying the lockdown, what is the advantage to the establishment of making the pandemic sound worse than it is? That is simple—power. “They” can make us hold still while they enact policies we don’t like and gain more control of our lives.

Distancing. Common sense says to stay away from sick people. However, since people who don’t have symptoms may not know that they are infected, it makes sense to avoid being close to people who are not in your household. Parties and crowded bars tend to be “superspreader events,” so avoid them.

Elderly. Although 80% of deaths from covid occur in the elderly, the problem is more their condition than their age. The obese and diabetics can die at younger ages from covid and healthy persons well over age 100 have recovered. It is just that as we age, the odds increase that there will be underlying conditions.

NEXT WEEK, Part 2 will cover Flu, Gloves, Lockdown, Masks, Medications, Natural Remedies, Panic, Prevention, Sanitizers, School, Testing, Vaccine, Ventilators.

Healthy By Nature Show
Saturdays 8-9am Central/Standard Time See all time zones
Toll free : 1.877.262.7843
LIVE show ONLY: 1.800.281.8255