Alternative Medicine Referral Network

2008-01-06T15:13:00.001-08:00

Healing Bones, Joints and Tissue With Your Own Stem Cells

Did you know that you have literally millions of stem cells contained in your body just waiting to be released so they can go to work healing your aches and pains? Research is proving that stem cells are by far the most promising and exciting hope for a cure in even the most dreadful diseases. For diseases or conditions like osteoarthritis, non-healing wounds, heart attack, stroke, multiple sclerosis, etc. or to enhance your healing of plastic surgery, simply extracting your own bone marrow stem cells and giving them back to you intravenously could perhaps provide the miracle you are looking for.

At my office, Personalized Regenerative Medicine is the new "Buzz" phrase which means in part, that we use your own tissues to heal you. That's right, your tissues, not drugs! For example, using your own bone marrow to assist your body to heal is the most advanced method we now offer. We can now take stem cells from a leg bone and give them right back to you via an intravenous drip. The procedure by all accounts is quick and virtually painless. It is also much more affordable compared to traveling to another country for umbilical cord stem cells. While you might be asking, "If they are my own stem cells, why doesn't my body release them for repair without any intervention?" The answer is, your body does...but not in the amounts needed to have a dramatic, rapid and complete healing. In addition, as we age (you knew this was coming) less stem cells are being released and sent to the site of the injury which is the main reason we don't heal as quickly when we get older.

Stem cells have the unique property of being able to reproduce indefinitely. While stem cells can create more of themselves, they also give rise to specialized cells, tissues, and even organs when these need repair or replacement. Early stage embryos consist mainly of stem cells, while in adults, stem cells are not as abundant but are found in nearly every tissue and organ of the body. The bone marrow, however, appears to serve as THE major reservoir for stem cells.
Every day, your blood vessels are injured and need repair. This blood vessel damage results from the wear and tear on these delicate inner linings from high cholesterol, fats, sugar, hypertension, etc. and leads to their degeneration into atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. These blood vessel injuries have been shown to be healed by stem cells that come out of the bone marrow and circulate in the blood. Indeed, one of the reasons that we grow old and die is due to aging of our stem cells which lessens our body's ability to repair these daily inner blood vessel injuries. This creates ever-escalating blood vessel disease after the age of 60 with increased calcium deposition and the formation of atherosclerosis. A person's own bone marrow stem cells have been shown to be helpful in treating heart attacks and congestive heart failure. Bone marrow stem cells injected into damaged tissues such as those found in aheart attack or brain attack (stroke)have a number of healing properties. Scientists have discovered now that bone marrow stem cells have actually become identical to the surrounding tissue, depending upon which cell type they are injected into. Another way stem cells help injured tissues to heal is by the release of growth factors into the damaged tissues. In this article of Regenerative NewsSM, we are focusing on osteoarthritis, which is otherwise known as degenerative joint disease or DJD. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of pain and disability in middle-aged and older people. The mechanisms responsible for osteoarthritis remain poorly understood, but researchers have learned that the degeneration of joint cartilage is not simply the result of aging and mechanical wear, but also due to a lack of repair of the weight-bearing joint cartilage and the underlying bone due to depletion and/or functional alteration of stem cells. This would suggest that in joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, providing the deficient stem cells would contribute to normal healing. Up until now surgeons could onlyclean up and remove either thewhole joint or joint surfaces with the hope of decreasing symptoms and restoring or maintaining a functional joint. But now that your own bone marrow stem cells are available, this has all changed recent work has shown the potetial for the restoration of a joint surface! We believe that the use of your own bone marrow stem cells, especially in combination with other healing and anti-inflammatory therapies could be of tremendous benefit for you now as an arthritic- not in some unknown future time after all the debates about embryonic stem cells die down.

For example, when 10 million bone marrow stem cells were injected into the knee joints of animals with induced osteoarthritis there was evidence of marked regeneration of the medial meniscus, and implanted cells were detected in the newly formed tissue. The degeneration was reduced in the celltreated joints compared to joints treated with a placebo. Additional studies are showing that bone marrow stem cells' repair of cartilage defects may be enhanced in elderly patients who have a loss of stem cells and cartilage- forming cells that occurs with age. Clinically, most people have more than one joint that hurts. In these cases, simply giving your stem cells back to you by an IV gives relief from pain often within one or two days. In some cases the relief comes within a few weeks.

Before you have a bone marrow transplant, or at least concurrently, avoidance of sugars as well as cleansing of the body of infections and poisons should be done to minimize any toxic or infectious burdens from hindering the newly growing cartilage. Extracting bone marrow stem cells and giving them back to the person, either by an IV drip, or injected in or around an arthritic joint is perfectly legal according to our FDA attorney. So there are simply no excuses for not taking advantage of bone marrow stem cells' exciting promise right here, right now.
My wife Noyemy was my first patient and her arthritis pain virtually disappeared within 24 hours! Noyemy also had early macular degeneration and a couple of days ago she had a complete eye exam and the doctor and the two of us were very excited to see that now a month after her bone marrow transplant there was virtually no evidence of macular degeneration! [See her testimony on page 4].

If you or a loved one need help and have found that standard medical care has been unsatisfactory, you might consider having a bone marrow stem cell transplant. While perfectly legal by FDA and AMA standards, it would be called experimental by most physicians simply because (even though studies have been going on for many years) it is considered a "new" therapy. But don't wait for their multi-million dollar, double-blind, placebocontrolled trials, and the resultant exorbitant cost of stem cells to pay for those trials. Your own stem cells are affordable, safe and available today. Call (800) 300-1063 for an appointment or to talk to Noyemy about her experiences with having a bone marrow transplant.

In our office waiting room, we have a binder of hundreds of studies (and more binders to come) that are overwhelmingly positive on the use of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells for all manner of disease. Come into the office and ask to see the binder.

For more information, contact Dr. Steenblock's Clinic at 1-800-300-1063

Posted by Derrick Walker, Alternative Medicine-Live!

2008-01-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

Healing Breast Cancer with Haelan

After refusing surgery for breast cancer, a woman turns to a fermented soy supplement- with remarkable results
By Donna Sage, MS. S.A.

Haelan is a uniquely processed soy supplement. In addition to demonstrating anti-cancer effects, Haelan is anti-vira4 anti-allergy, and anti-inflammatory, and it is also a vasodilator. It has been shown in studies to improve brain, lung, heart, andliver functioning while strengthening the body on a cellular level. Tberefore, its effectiveness as a nutritional supplement covers a myriad of con- ditions, including but not limited to: HIV, multiple sclerosis, kidneyfail ure, liverproblems, lungproblems, Parkinson's disease, malaria, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, macular degeneration, ulcers, parasites, viral and bacterial infections, and acne. For more scientific discussion and research about Haelan, please refer to the JanuarylFebruary 1999 issue of the Well Being Journal, which is available as a back issue (see page 40) or on the website http://www.wellbeingiournal.com/.

PATTY SOCCOMAN, age 64, was surprised when she noticed a lump in her right breast. A mother of six, grandmother of twelve, and great-grandmother of three, Patty had led an active life. An ultrasound in August 1997 revealed a suspicious mass. When imaged with mammography in October 1997, it was a 15xl5x2O-mm suspected cancer growth. Patty was diagnosed with ductile carcinoma that month. Her doctor hypothesized that the cancer had begun grow ing about 8 years prior to its appearance. This had been a time of stress for Patty. She believes stress was the prime factor in the cancer's development. Her doctor was very con cerned that the cancer had metastasized, and he recommended a comprehensive exam including a biopsy. The cancer had not spread at this point, but the biopsy revealed a malignant tumor. Patty's doctor proposed two courses of action, either a total mas tectomy or a lumpectomy with removal of the lymph nodes under her arm followed by aggressive radia tion. Patty wanted to keep her lymph nodes and wanted to start with the least invasive treatment options first. She chose a lumpectomy. The doctor was shocked that she didn't want her lymph nodes removed. When she arrived for surgery, he refused to do the lumpectomy, because she would not au thorize removal of the lymph nodes. This surgeon referred Patty to an oncologis t who tried to scare her into doing not only the lumpectomy, but also total removal of the lymph nodes under her arm. Patty encourages all cancer patients, especially women, not to be "bullied" into aggressive, and often mutilating, treatment protocols. She says, "My doc tor tried to scare me into surgery. I was anxious after my visit, because my doctor was so aggressive.... He said that if he was my husband, he would duct tape my mouth shut and force me to have the radical sur gery. I think he is liable for emotional malprac'tice.... That was the last time I went to that doctor!" After that, Patty chose to forego the lumpectomy altogether and continued to look for alternative therapies.

She and her husband (who is a holistic physician) went to a medical symposium, where she met an old friend who recommended supplementing with Haelan. fermented soy beverage. They also met Joe Todesco, whose company manufactures and imports Haelan. After several hours, they agreed that Haelan was worth a try.

Patty began drinking a bottle per day of Haelan on November 4, 1997. She had a follow-up mammogram six weeks later that revealed a significant decrease in tumor size. "I was amazed," reports her radiologist, Dr. Robert L. Turk, in a recent interview about Patty~s recovery from cancer. A third mammogram revealed a 50% reduction in the vessel supplying nutrients to the minute tumor. She had four more mammograms, and each time the tumor was measured, it had decreased in size.

Her most recent mammogram, in August 1999, revealed only a shadow where the dead tumor once was. Dr. Turk says, "The remaining [tissue -of the tumor] is an extremely small focus; the mass of the tumor has been continually cascading downward." He confirmed that there are no other nodes or other signs of cancer in the breast tissue. All of her organs have been scanned by Ultrasound, and there is no evidence of metastases.

When asked if he has seen comparable results with other treatments for breast cancer in his 32 years of experience, he said, "This doesrA occur; I have not seen these kinds of improvements.

Frankly, most people don't wait on surgery... The fact that Patty did was different. It has provided an unbelievable opportunity to follow her progress [with her natural choices]
Dr. Turk is skeptical about chemotherapy. He says, "Doctors sell treatments for cancer, not cures. They are always in opposition to opportunities like Haelan.... There is a great effort by the FDA to stop quacks' ... but you cannot assume that if the FDA apprUVC:b UH14-Cr treatments, they are safe." Haelan is an FDA-approved food supplement, but not an approved cancer treatment. When asked if he recommends Haelan, he responded with a chuckle, "My wife is on it, if that is any indication!" Mrs. Turk is surviving colon and liver cancer.

In addition to drinking Haelan, Patty supplemented with flax oil, COQ10, and fresh vegetable and fruit juices; she also took 40 chelation treatments and supplemented with Vitamin C. She began eating at least 80% raw, organic foods in her diet. She eliminated sugar and alcohol, got an air purifier, and shifted more of her attention to prayer and faith. She also rented funny movies and cassettes to stimulate her killer T-cell production. Patty says, "I am so happy. If i had gone with chemotherapy or radiation, I would not have had the quality of life through all of this. I might not even be alive!"

Patty attributes her recovery primarily to Haelan and a strong faith in God. She took a full bottle a day for seven months and currently continues on a maintenance dose of two ounces morning and night. She also gives credit to the significant lifestyle and nutritional improvements for maintaining her cancer-free body. Patty says that her cancer was a wake- up call, an opportunity for her to assess all aspects of her life, and that she is thankful for her second chance at life. She hasn't missed a beat.

DONNA SAGE, M.S. S.A. is a holistic healtb consultant and writer in Florissant, CO. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, she continually researcbes nutrition for the cancer patient. To learn more, call 1-877-655-4433.

Posted by Derrick Walker,
Alternative Medicine-Live!

2008-01-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points. It is a condition that affects 3-6 million Americans. People with this syndrome may also experience sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and other symptoms. The symptoms generally first develop between the ages of 20 and 30 and may come and go in cycles. Sharp stabbing pains associated with this condition often appear in the neck, in the head and in the shoulder blades and arms. The pain may also be felt in the chest muscles and lower back, and sometimes in the jaw.

Fibromyalgia may also result in dull aches in the thighs, hips and shoulder muscles. Medications, physical therapy, massage and other traditional treatments have all proved ineffective in providing any long term relief. The condition is commonly aggravated by a number of factors, including emotional stress, fatigue, unaccustomed exertion and even damp and cold weather. Although the exact cause of fibromyalgia is uncertain, many sufferers report having one or more head traumas. All digital real time EEG Neurofeedback has helped many reduce their symptoms on a permanent basis. It works by improving central nervous system functioning.

Clear Mind Center has created the unique NeuroIntegration System, a ground-breaking approach in multi-dimensional brainwave therapy. The combination of EEG neurofeedback, photic stimulation, motion therapy, and auditory/visual programs can create powerful, long lasting results. This sophisticated training technology can provide rapid improvement in brain and body function, unleashing your potential, and creating your optimal future.
"When the brain works,the body responds."

*** This product or service is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

For more information contact: Clear Mind Center at 714-609-7140

2006-12-05T13:11:00.001-08:00

Guided Imagery and Eating Disorder Treatment Written by: Joanna Poppink, M.F.T., psychotherapist specializing in eating disorder recovery

Guided imagery and other methods that reach under the conscious thinking mind can be useful in helping people recover from eating disorders. People with eating disorders often have secrets from hemselves. These are secrets about which they have little or no awareness. Guilt, shame and severe self-criticism accompany most eating disorders.

People believe they are doing something weak and wrong by abusing themselves with too much or not enough food, or by taking laxatives or vomiting, or by compulsively exercising to work off calories. They can be merciless in their self-punishing thoughts. But eating disorders are not about food or being bad or deficient. Eating disorders are usually about trying to protect oneself from unbearable fear. This fear is so thorough and long standing that often people do not know they are afraid. Even knowledge of their fear can be a secret from themselves. The source of their fear and what their fear means is the secret (or is among several secrets) that trigger the eating disorder behavior.

Guided imagery, done gently and respectfully, can be very helpful during various phases eating disorder treatment. I have used guided imagery for many years with clients who suffer from nameless and bewildering fear and emotional pain. Many are women struggling with various forms of bulimia. Going to a relaxed state and letting images from the unconscious come forth is a way a person can say what they cannot say, or even think, in the language of day to day conversation.

Being able to name our fears is the first and most important step in being able to resolve them. Rather than feel helpless in the grip of fear, we need to change our perspective so we can grasp what it is that frightens us. To do that we must find a way to articulate those fears. Guided imagery allows complex feelings to emerge in an understandable and non-threatening way. At first, the specifics of the person's secrets remain protected. At the same time, the person can use a metaphoric language to name what has been nameless in their emotional lives. For example, a woman may find herself in a lovely green meadow on a sunny day. She happily walks on a path that becomes rockier as she proceeds. She becomes increasingly anxious as the day gets darker. She approaches a forbidding, neglected old house. With no interpretation at all the psychotherapist can stay with the person's experience. What the person feels and thinks in this imagery are feelings and thoughts she has in her daily life. But in her daily life they are not as precise and compact. And, most importantly, she does not examine her experience with a trusted and trustworthy knowledgeable companion. At an early stage the woman can explore the meadow and the path where she feels happy and comfortable.

Perhaps she can also look at where her path in life feels rocky and dark, if she's ready. More likely it will take some time before she can move with her fear to explore what the dark house holds for her. As she explores her imagery with her psychotherapist, she gains strength and confidence in her ability to stay present with her feelings.

She can move through some unconscious prohibitions and bring awareness to the neglected structures within her. Eating disorders serve the purpose of taking people away from their intolerable feelings. Through imagery work with a reliable and dependable psychotherapist, a client can develop more strength to tolerate her feelings. As she learns to trust and rely on more of her own inner resources she is able to come closer to a greater understanding of her underlying fears and her secrets. The more she can know and remain present with her feelings, the less she needs her eating disorder as an escape.

She learns to bear her own human experience. She also learns to have respect and compassion for her ability to rally her own strength to meet her fears. Eventually meaning in her imagery will come forth. She will understand her surface happiness, her dark, hidden fears and the lonely, hard road she walks. Over time she will also reap the benefits of experiencing the imagery itself. She learns relaxation methods while in an anxious state. She discovers that she can communicate and share with another human being while experiencing intense feelings. As she gains compassion and respect for her courage in exploring her inner world, she decreases and finally stops her self-punishing thoughts. As she learns to remain present to herself and other people while she is in an intense emotional state, she increases her self-esteem. And as she faces and resolves her inner terrors she no longer needs to use her old eating disorder escape routes.

The road to recovery from eating disorders is complex. It requires patience, time, compassion and support as well as a deep appreciation of unconscious processes. Using guided imagery as part of the treatment can help create links between the client and her unarticulated inner experience that contributes to her eating disorders. Joanna Poppink, MFT, licensed psychotherapist, specializes in working with people with eating disorders and their loved ones. 10573 West Pico Bl. #20, Los Angeles, CA (310) 474-4165 Website Joanna Poppink, L.M.F.T. 15563 Eating Disorder Recovery Specialist

2006-12-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

New Hope for Migraine SufferersWritten by: Gary Ames -
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Migraine headaches are recurring episodes of throbbing, localized head pain that last from hours to days. They run in families but afflict women 3 to 1 over men. There are 18 million Americans with migraine headache and the incidence is rising. Yet only half of those with these episodes call their headaches migraines.

Researchers and clinicians gathering at the Winter Brain Conference in Palm Springs in February 2004 had very good news. They all reported similar findings. Neurofeedback works for over 90% of those with migraine headaches.

The largest group of subjects simply stop having migraines headaches for good. For the minority their total pain is reduced by at least half. These wonderful results endure in follow-up investigations. The diversity of successful methods and variety of neurofeedback technologies suggest that with multi-modal biofeedback approaches, well over 90% of migraine sufferers could be completely pain free for life.

Three non-invasive biofeedback approaches we discussed at the conference. Traditional biofeedback is well know and accepted. It takes persistent diligence to achieve the relaxation required for this technique. The signature method is hand warming biofeedback using a thermometer. If you don’t count the drop outs, the method works rather well.

The two newer forms of biofeedback allow you to strengthen your brain and discard mental clutter. This is proven, safe, and non-invasive.

1) Brain strength training enables self-regulation of the migraine process.
2) The Mind Mirror enhances efficiency a dozen times a minute by showing you when you waste energy. To drop needless surging is calming and liberating.

What is it?

This learning technology is safe, simple, natural, and completely non-invasive. The training occurs while you are relaxing in a chair, listening to music and watching an image. While you are sitting, wearing sensors on your scalp, I will monitor the readings with a sophisticated computer.

The sensors detect wasted mental energy and the computer produces feedback. It is like a mirror that shows you what you are doing, as you are doing it, so that you can improve by yourself. The conscious part of your mind is not relevant to this work; quieting of your entire mind is guided by biofeedback.

What causes migraines?

Migraines are produced by hyper-controlling the brain’s bioelectric patterns. Excess surging in the unconscious low frequency brain waves are vulnerable to disruption. Normal rhythms are distorted and become absurd. You hurt yourself by trying too hard to micro-manage the flowing chaos of normal life.
But what grips can you safely release? In biofeedback you discover which weights you can simply drop. Which energy surgings are wasted effort? Biofeedback answers that question a dozen times per minute. You learn when floating works just fine. Gradually discarding hundreds of micro-agitations per hour feels like floating without thrashing. Utterly calming.

You also discover higher uses for all that extra energy. The same comprehensive adaptive process allows you to explore subtle, yet under utilized bioelectric realms. This is life-enriching. You find better strategies for adapting to stress. The training sessions are cumulative and the results are enduring.

As you quiet more patterns of needless agitation, more resources can be devoted to whatever you are currently doing. Soon your growing resilience will allow greater flexibility as you optimize the functioning of your central nervous system. There will be more energy for the sublime aspects of life as you release the weights that hold you down.

How does it work?

When an aspect of your central nervous system surges, the music and image will stop for a moment and start up again when you calm that aspect. Brief moments of silence indicate when you are wasting energy. This is both orienting and assuring.

It is like playing the children’s game “warmer” and “colder.” Instead of finding a hidden object, we quell micro-surgings. This information will allow you to become utterly calm. Together we clean some blind spots and lubricate new pathways.

This kind of information will lead you away from suffering. All you need to do is be awake. Relaxation just occurs. Better sleep and mental clarity are common side benefits.

There is a large body of research and experience with neurofeedback, yet it is under-recognized. You have not heard of this 1970 technology before because accepting neurofeedback requires a bioelectric conception of well being.

If you pursue neurofeedback for migraines now, you may never have another such headache again.
Gary Ames
Alert Focus.com Clearly In The Zone 139 Union Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Phone 610 - 668 - 3223 Fax 610-668-0213 Toll free 866 - 562 - 4868

2006-12-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

A New Kind of Health Care: Taking alternative medicine mainstream.Written by: Sheryll Alexander

More Americans are putting their health in their own hands. As a teenager with a chronic, degenerative skin disease, I was sort of forced into taking an alternative path to regain my health. In the late 1970s, my form of severe scalp psoriasis had no known cause and very few curative therapies. My dermatologist recounted some good results for his patients who underwent weekly ultraviolet light treatments, but he didn't recommend it for me because of my fair complexion and a family history of skin cancer. Desperate for relief from the pain, itching and embarrasment, I remember finding only one book in the Yorba Linda library that linked nutrition and disease.
The book I found, "Are You Confused?" by Swedish doctor Paavo Airola, outlined the doctor's studies of diet and the most long-lived cultures on the planet. He concluded that a diet rich in unprocessed, whole foods including grains, fruits, vegetables, soft cheeses, homeade yogurt, lactic acid foods (such as pickles and sauerkraut) and little meat helped these people live longer, healthier lives.

I took Dr. Airola's words to heart and began to slowly change my diet from fast food, white bread and candy to a more vegetarian and whole grains existence. My psoriasis did get somewhat better, but ebbed and flowed over the years in a succession of good and bad times. My 20-year search for better health has led me to try many alternative therapies (herbal medicine, chiropractic, energy work, blue-green algae, meditation, positive thinking, yoga) in an attempt to cure myself, all with varying degrees of success.

America has gone alternative. In my Eastside Costa Mesa, California neighborhood, yoga, chiropractic and massage centers are more prevalent than doctors' offices. The mega-health-food store down the street is a Mecca for people who eat organic foods and shop for self-help books, herbal medicines and vitamins. Clearly my neighbors have found health benefits through the use of complimentary and alternative (CAM) therapies.
In fact, CAM therapies have become the norm for most Americans. A recent survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that nearly 2/3s of American adults use some for of CAM. The survey asked 31,000 adults about 27 types of therapies ranging from acupuncture and chiropractic to the use of herbs and prayer. About 36% of those surveyed admitted to using one or more of the CAM therapies, and the number rose to 62% if prayer was added to the mix.

"These new finding confirm the extent to which Americans have turned to (CAM) approaches with the hope that they would help treat and prevent disease and enhance quality of life," says Dr. Stephen Straus, director of the government-funded National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Edward Sondik, the director for the National Center for Health Statistics, says that the government is now seeing that "a sizeable percentage of the public puts their personal health into ther own hands."

Public pushes CAM research. It is this majority of Americans - not the American Medical Association - that is pushing CAM research and its integration into conventional medicine, says Dr. John Longhurst, director UCI's (University of California, Irvine) Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine. "We wouldn't have any (CAM research) if the politicians hadn't told the medical community that they must do it," he says. "It started about 10 years ago throught the political process when the government began funding research through the newly-formed National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine."

Longhurst says that there's a huge bap between what the public wants and what the medical community believes in and promotes. "We know so little about CAM and yet it has the potential for significantly impacting our wellness," he explains, "but I wouldn't say that the average physician embraces it."

One reason why most physicians are CAM disbelievers is because, as medial students, doctors are not taught anything about these alternative therapies, says Longhurst, who went to China to study acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). "When I went to medical school, areas that are now embraced by our center were taught in a course called 'quackery in medicine,'" he says. "We are trying to rectify this (at UCI) by providing instruction in selected CAM therapies as part of our regular, medical-student curriculum."
The Integrated future of medicine. Increased education and belief by conventional doctors in the viability of CAM therapies is driving the medical industry into the future: integrative medicine. In this new world, you can visit your doctor and be prescribed anything from the latest drug to a series of acupunture treatments to a recommended dose of daily meditation.

Integrative medical doctors emphasize the healing of the "whole" person and not just the physical body. "Integrative medicine takes into account the whole body and multiple organ systems," says Longhurst. An experienced cardiologist, Longhurst studied the nervous system and began to understand how acupuncture stimulates underlying neuro-pathways and subsequently reduces blood pressure. "As the public is becoming more and more involved with their own care, I think that they are seeking other forms of therapy, such as acupunture and traditional Chinese medicine," says Longhurst. "It's incumbent upon physicians to know more so we can advise when they should and when they shouldn't be using these therapies."

Longhurst says another reason why patients like CAM therapies is that conventional doctors have less and less time to spend with patients. "A managed-care doctor spends about 15 minutes with a patient once a year," says Longhurst, "but a typical CAM practitioner spends 30-60 minutes with you." More personal interaction with a therapist, Longhurst says, gives practitioners time to look at you as a whole person and develop a better plan for healing.

Although most herbal and botanical medicines are not under FDA control, integrative doctors do understand that CAM therapies have much lower side effect rates than conventional drugs. "The fact that these therapies have a low incedence of side effects means that in some ways they are superior to Western medicine," says Longhurst. "Even a relatively safe drug, like aspirin, can cause bleeding ulcers, so it's nice to know that we can use most CAM therapies with confidence that patients won't have a disastrous problem."

Yes, I am a believer in most CAM treatments. Once a hardcore believer in alternative medicine and vegetarianism, I have accepted that conventional medicine is at times necessary and life-saving.
And what's the harm in someone getting better simply by believing that the therapy will help them in some way? (Even conventional medicine believes in the viability of the placebo effect.) For myself, I wonder how I can have a complete psoriatic remission while eating junk food and using no regular CAM or conventional medical therapy.

Perhaps the answer is simply that I have finally integrated my life. I love the community and home in which I live. I'm involved in a loving, equal relationship and satisfying family life. Although sometimes stressful, I enjoy my freelance writing career with no set schedule and no boss. Life is good and hopefully my body will continue to respond in kind.

-Orange County Metro Sheryll Alexander is a lifestyles writer based in Costa Mesa. She is a regular contributor to Orange County Metro magazine.

2005-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings friends and supporters of the Alternative Medicine Referral Network;
September was indeed a great time for growth for the Alternative Medicine Referral Network.

In addition to signing on some great companies as sponsors, we attended some wonderful events and promoted our network.

At the end of the month, we held our first mixer and I want to thank everyone who was present. There were approximately 65 people in attendance and the mixer was hosted by international Business Intuitive, Mr. George Shaver. George was a pleasure to talk with and was the perfect host. During the week, we will be setting up a live line where anyone with questions can talk to George directly by clicking an icon on our website.

The Alternative Medicine Referral Network was also represented at the CAMEXPO, held in Los Angeles. This was a wonderful show! I left the show thinking that this is truly a wonderful time to be present in this world. I believe that we can treat and reverse; - if not cure most of the ailments people have through the use of better nutrition along with alternative and complementary therapies. I encourage anyone who has been diagnosed with a chronic illness to call us and contact one of our alternative physicians.

There is a new sponsor we have, Nationwide Beverage Bottling, Inc. I encourage you to take a look at their products and if you are so drawn, consider investing. Not even having been in business for a year, I am impressed by the number of large clients they have in their portfolio.

Nationwide Beverage Bottling initiated public trading on the Pink Sheets as of May 12, 2005 (NBVB.PK). As a new member, we are anticipating rapid growth and are in the process of petitioning for trading options on the NASDAQ as soon as time permits. Unlike other new companies, we are not in the start-up phase in need of seed capital. We have a manufacturing company with significant capacity to produce a thousand bottles of water per minute and we have a marketing and distribution liaison in existences. We look for rapid and continued growth as our company gains its foothold in the market place.

Nationwide Beverage Bottling has been doing a local “road show” in southern California at various malls. In addition to providing water for U.S. Troops and Katrina victims. KoKomo Water is a flagship product of NBB. KoKomo brand offers a complete line of naturally flavored mountain spring and "aqua-ceutical" water products.

To talk with someone regarding investor relations or get information for Nationwide Beverage Bottling, please contact Jim Shipley at jeshipley@aol.com
We are also working to make the Alternative Medicine Referral Network more "user friendly" and get our referral clients more quickly in touch with practitioners and clinics. There is a feature we will be adding to cross-connect those with questions directly with a therapist. This feature has been implemented and is being fine-tuned during October.

I feel as though we are at the flash-point of what I call a "Revolution in Wellness". This has taken root in the national consciousness and I see it through people who call our referral line, visits to holistic clinics and simply day-to-day contact. More people than ever are seeking to be truly "Well", and are willing to make lifestyle changes. I ask that more of us continue to share our experiences with others so more people may benefit.

The use of alternative therapies is increasing.
Nearly two-thirds of American adults use some form of complementary or alternative medicine ranging from prayer to herbs, a U.S. government survey showed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the survey of 31,000 U.S. adults, asking about 27 types of therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic, the use of herbs or botanical products, special diets, and megavitamin therapy. About 36 percent of those surveyed said they had used one or more of those approaches. When prayer was considered, the number rose to 62 percent. Women, people with higher education, those who had been hospitalized within the past year and former smokers were all more likely to use complementary or alternative approaches, the survey found.

We are a resource for those seeking health answers.

With more people than ever seeking information on alternative medicine and receiving treatments from alternative practitioners, we formed the Alternative Medicine Referral Network to be a resource for the general public to connect with licensed, certified and pre-screened holistic practitioners.

Be Healthy,

Derrick Walker, Founder
Alternative Medicine Referral Network
1.800.498.5640