When should you go see a doctor?

This is a tough question for me, because I'm terrified of pharmaceuticals, but even I have to admit that there can come a time when a doctor is the only solution.

You see I have two friends who contracted pneumonia. Or I should say I had two friends. Maybe if they had taken better care of themselves, used the right supplements, made better food choices, drank more water, etc. they would not have gotten it - I don't know. I just know that both of them just thought they had the flu.

One friend was a young mother - one of those people who can only lay around for so many hours a day before they have to go get the kids, cook dinner, and all the rest. She wasn't anti-pharm, and in fact was taking some kind of over the counter drugs to keep herself moving. When she finally went to the hospital, it was too late. She entered the hospital on Tuesday and died on Thursday.

My other friend will get well, although it may take a while. After a couple of weeks of feeling miserable, he actually thought he was feeling better, so made a trip to the store, where he collapsed.

When his wife talked with the doctor she learned that if he had stayed home and gone to bed that night, he probably would not be with us today. His body had started to shut down - with many organs ceasing to function. His blood pressure was so low that he was on the very edge of cardiac arrest.

The one thing that stood out when she told me all the things the doctor said was the fact that he was dehydrated. The lack of fluids in his body caused a myriad of other problems, which soon began to snowball. Did you know that dehydration can bring on a heart attack? I didn't know that until today.

So, what's the point? To say "Pay attention to your body." Use your own common sense to decide if the situation warrants a visit to the doctor. And don't stop drinking water just because you feel rotten. Drink more.

And meanwhile, take care of yourself so that you don't get sick in the first place.

Be well.

Will toxins turn your daughter into a pregnant teen?

Or will they give you or her breast cancer?

Recent research is showing that all sorts of toxins mimic estrogen - and when young children are exposed to them they mature way before their time.

It can mean reaching puberty as young as 7 to 9 years old. The short term effects can mean early pregnancy - because children of this age have not yet developed the social skills to over-ride their raging hormones. But who knows what the long term effects may be? New studies are pointing to a higher incidence of breast cancer in women who are exposed to these toxins. And if you start exposing your children from birth - what then?

The Society of Toxicology will address this issue this week, but will anything change?

From what I'm reading, some of the worst offenders are found in non-stick cookware, and in plastics. So please, get some glass containers to store food in the refrigerator. And when you re-heat things, do it in glass. Replace that handy non-stick stuff with some stainless steel, or a good old iron frying pan. You know, if you season an iron frying pan properly, it's almost as non-stick as Teflon.

But... it's also in our food supply and in the household chemicals and cosmetics we use. You can go back to natural things for cleaning, but you can't control the hormones that are pumped into the meat you eat and the toxins sprayed on the fruits and vegetables. The only thing you can do is try to find organic food. Not always easy, but always more expensive.

Here's the report from one health newsletter I receive:

In a major study of 17,000 American girls, seven percent of
Caucasians girls and a shocking 27 percent of African-American
girls were either growing breasts or pubic hair by age seven.
Even more upsetting, precocious puberty was seen in three
percent of African-Americans and one percent of Caucasians by
age three!

What are the consequences of this bizarre phenomenon? Studies
have shown that girls who go through puberty too soon also:

a.. Have sex earlier
b.. Run greater risk of pregnancy
c.. Suffer from behavioral problems
d.. Have a lower IQ
e.. Are more likely to drink, smoke and
f.. Are more likely to commit suicide
They're also more likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer
later in life, and to become infertile.

But big pharm has the answer: Yet another dangerous drug.

Lupron, their drug to treat precocious puberty, blocks production of
your own natural sex hormones and has 265 known side effects,
including convulsions and cancer.

So first the FDA will allow you to be attacked by toxins in your food and household supplies, and then they'll allow big pharm to attack you yet again - in the guise of a "cure." Somehow, I think this agency is not protecting us, but the big companies that pay them off.

So... stay away from toxins all you can, and look for natural ways to good health.

One more thing you can do - fill your home with green living things - because they can filter toxins coming into the air from your carpeting, curtains, etc. For instance, Boston ferns can detoxify 1,000 micrograms of formaldehyde from the air in one hour.

Be safe...

Scientists to discuss toxins in our water, food, and medicines

Tomorrow 7,000 scientists and regulators from 45 countries will gather in Seattle, WA to address the issue of toxins in our water, our food, and in the pharmaceuticals that have been pushed to the American Public for so long.

This is the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology - and I hope that through their efforts some progress can be made.

I am fortunate to live where water comes from a spring, high in the mountains where no sewers or chemical plants spew their toxins into my drinking water. But, according to the Spokesman Review article today, at least 41 million Americans are drinking water that contains drugs that have been "pre-processed" through other people's bodies.

Makes you want to run right out and drink something in a city restaurant, doesn't it? I gag just thinking about it - and worry because my kids live in the city. I hope they're listening when I tell them to buy Spring water from somewhere safe.

This focus is apparently a reaction to an investigation documenting these drugs in the water supply - a report that discussed how little is know about whether there are long term effects from drinking recycled drugs every day.

The news article went on to say that scientists have know for years that this problem existed, and it was discussed at last year's annual meeting, but due to the new report, now they'll likely begin to study whether there's a solution.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about some of the other deadly threats they'll be discussing this year - and what you can do to stay safe from at least a couple of them.

More deadly pharmeceuticals

This week brought an advertisement from a law firm advertising help for people who have taken Zyprexa, Seroquel, and Avandia. The list of life-threatening side effects that people are experiencing is truly chilling.

The law firm offers to get financial compensation. But what good is that if your health is gone?

Yes, you can hand the money to your family in place of the support you could have offered if you could still work, but it's small comfort to either you or them.

If you're taking any of these drugs, please do the research. Decide if whatever good they'll do is worth giving up your overall health - or possibly suffering heart failure and death.

Then seek out a natural health practitioner and see if changes in diet and lifestyle, combined with herbs and other natural supplements might give you the cure you seek.

Big pharm wants your money - they don't care if it costs you your life.

Feeling better than ever before

Today I had company - company with a headache. He asked me if by chance I had a sinus pill in the house and I went to the cupboard to get one - and had a devil of a time finding it!

Not very long ago, I made sure there was a full box there, because I practically lived on the things. But when I thought about it today, I couldn't remember the last time I had looked for one. I also kept antihistamines, because I never knew when I'd eat, touch, or smell something that would give me a crushing headache.

I still have a few allergies, and still have my antihistamines, but I don't need them very often. I don't even need an aspirin very often.

What's the difference now? Why, after nearly 60 years do I suddenly not need these remedies?

Several things have probably brought me to this state.

• I walked away from a job that had become a heavy burden. While I had loved it at one time, things had changed. It wasn't fun any more because it had become cutthroat. I'm now doing work that I love - copywriting, meeting people all over the world through the power of the internet, and writing about products and services I believe in.
  
• I started practicing the kinds of things you read in "The Secret." I'm not as dedicated as most who practice it, but I focus on thinking about the things I want rather than the things I don't want, and expecting good in my life. I also practice thankfulness for all I have and for the good things that come into my life every day.
  
• I started drinking mangosteen juice. The more I read about it, the more fascinated I become. I know, medical science says it just can't be as good as they say, but that's only because it doesn't fit their mold. And besides that, it's a fruit - big pharm can't patent it, so of course they'd say it doesn't work. But the people who use it know it works.
  

Do you feel good? Or do you need to make some of the kinds of changes I made?

I want you to know that you don't have to change everything. You don't have to give up everything. I still smoke, I still drink beer and coffee, and I eat what I want. I'll admit that I don't "want" processed foods - the list of chemicals in them makes me cringe - but I haven't given up bread or eggs or meat or any of the unprocessed foods that some think are so harmful.

Think about it. And if you aren't feeling good, start working on ways to make some changes. And start looking into mangosteen and the other "super fruits" that can speed you to health.

Yours for good health,
Marte

An Exercise to Ease Back Pain

Does your back hurt so it's hard to sleep at night? Does that make you reach for a pain killer, even though you know the risks?

Today I read about an exercise that might do the trick better than the temporary and sometimes nauseating fix provided by a pill.

You need one of those big exercise balls - you know, that big blue or gray thing you bought thinking you were going to exercise a lot. Look behind the couch in the family room - it has to be somewhere.

Start by lying on your stomach on the ball. Keep your feet wide for balance. Slowly roll forward until the ball is placed in front of your hips. Allow your body to bend forward, rounding to the shape of the ball.

Relax your body completely and place your hands on the floor for support and balance. You should feel light to moderate stretching in your lower back, and possibly your hamstrings.

This stretch loosens the muscles that run up and down your spine, creating more space between each vertebra and easing the tension.

Best success!

Marte

Test drugs killed how many?

I only caught a part of that newscast - a major drug company doing a test on medications for diabetes and heart disease - and a huge percentage of the test subjects died.

Is that OK as long as the percentage was low?

I realize that drugs have to be tested, and I do hate the idea of testing on our 4 legged friends as if they were inanimate objects.

I know! Maybe the people who formulate these drugs, or the ones who stand to become wealthy selling them are the ones who should be the test subjects.

You can bet they'd be a bit more careful if that were the case.

One can hope that the FDA, that entity that's supposed to be protecting us, will crack down a little harder on big pharm after this episode. But I doubt it.

All of us who truly want to be healthy will just have to keep reading and learning about natural cures and preventatives - and fighting big pharm's efforts to ban the sale of vitamins and minerals without a prescription.