The Center for Disease Prevention & Reversal Blog

In my Evanston office demo kitchen, I occasionally hold food prep and cooking classes for the community of my patients, friends and family.

I know many find it unusual that a doctor in private practice holds food prep classes, however, I believe food to be an important ingredient in the ability to stay healthy and energetic.

My last class focused on preparing items which are normally high in carbohydrates and low in nutrients but in an inverse pattern: high in nutrients and low in carbohydrates. We prepared raw vegan buttermilk pancakes, raw vegan seed and nut pesto crackers, raw vegan chocolate fudge brownies and a cooked grain free vegan quick bread full of flavor and aromas.

While many of my students are patients, not all are. All are people wanting to eat in a way to keep them fit, healthy and full of energy while not giving up on flavor or sensual pleasure.

Too often physicians are either "cut-off" or just ignorant as to how food affects mood, disease states, chronic pain or even weight. While most assume calories are the most important issue, they are not. Hormonal response to calories are the most important issue in relation to weight, chronic pain, mood and energy levels.

We are living in a society that is chronically ill and overweight. Interestingly enough, most students that show up for class are neither and the ones that are, often don't make it to class. Perhaps we are living in a society where many believe drugs to be the answer and not active, intentional participation in ones own health.

Some patients feel overwhelmed with nutritional recommendations, food prep classes can help them see just how easy it is to make some simple changes in the way they eat without giving up the pleasure of eating tasty food.

I'll end this entry with a grain-free quick bread recipe:
combine 1/2 cup chickpea flour with 1/2 cup lentil or mungbean flour
add 1 cup plus 2TBS water and stir to remove lumps
add 1/2 to 1 tsp salt, 2 or 3 handfulls of crushed curry leaf, 2 tsp of curry powder and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of crushed pecans
pour into a pre-heated iron skillet with 2 TBS of melted coconut oil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.
serve as is.

Chronic illness in children has now reached epidemic proportions. The percentage of school age children who have had a chronic illness has grown to 52% with 25% having a chronic illness at any one point in time.

While increased rates in obesity account for some of this, rates of asthma, add, adhd, bipolar disorder, recurrent ear and strep infections and autoimmune diseases have climbed exponentially.
Antibiotic resistance in the US pediatric population is among the highest in the world. And, despite the widespread use of vaccines for flu and pneumonia among the pediatric and adult populations, the mortality rates for these diseases have been steadily rising. The morbidity and mortality trends in the US were on a steady decline the first 8 decades of the 20th century and since the late mid 1980's, have been on a steady upward incline.

A note of interest is 1986 coincides with the beginning of the upward trend in mortality rates as well as the inception of the vaccine injury court followed by the introduction of several more pediatric vaccine mandates. Rises in asthma, eczema, food allergies and autism have all continued to rise along with the number of mandated vaccines.

The practice of prescribing antibiotics for repeated ear infections, coughs and colds have also lead to increasing antibiotic resistance which contributes to failed antibiotics once faced with a serious bacterial infection resulting in an increase in deaths.

While antibiotics might shorten the course of the 20% of ear infections that are bacterial in nature, they are not necessary in most of those cases. In fact, a suppurative outcome or punctured ear drum with a discharge, occurs in 1/500 cases whether antibiotics are used or not. And, once an eardrum is punctured, the infection resolves and the eardrum heals as well or better than one with a drainage tube removed.

Often children have fluid in the ear and are treated with antibiotics. This is not necessary as chronic fluid is usually the result of an allergy. Mastoiditis can occur with or without antibiotics. Approximately 5000 cases of otitis media need to be treated in order to prevent 1 case of mastoiditis but all the unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics lead to allergies, resistance and other problems. Mastoiditis is easily treatable and rare.

ADD and ADHD is frequently treated with stimulants and other neurotropic medications that have not been properly studied on children. Prescriptions for amphetamines for children increased 120-fold between 1994 and 2009. Autism rates have gone from 1/2000 in 1988 to 1/88 in 2008. At the moment, the rates of autism for boys in the state of New Jersey is 1/29. New Jersey has the greatest amount of mandated vaccines including yearly flu vaccines starting in pre-school. New Jersey is the home of Merck Pharmaceuticals and heavy lobbying there has resulted in the mandates.

In the typical medical office, patients wait 30-60 minutes to see the doctor and then are allowed about 10-15 minutes with the doctor. In my office, patients wait 5-10 minutes and then are allowed a full 2 hours for initial appointments and 30 to 90 minutes for follow ups. Spending time with patients and using a more discerning approach allows for individualized game plans and the avoidance of chronic medication use.

I don't write very often about homeopathy, mostly due to the misinformation regarding it and the difficulty in understanding the mechanism of action. I will attempt to make the mechanism of action understandable While highlighting a very interesting case.

This fall, a lovely grown woman presented in my office for an appointment after finding me on line and reading my blog. I noticed her head and hand trembled as she shook my hand.

Her chief complaints were painful urethral spasms. She had a long history of seizure disorders and had trembled for years. Her OB-GYN was pressing her for a sling procedure for her bladder and was recommending a hysterectomy.

Her history was significant for suppressed anger, psychological trauma and social phobia. Her seizure disorders had begun several decades prior after being placed in an institution for her "rage". Her parents placed her in an institution when they couldn't deal with her during a time it was still possible to "put away" just about any teen that was seen as a "behavior problem".

Over the years, she developed a life for herself, playing music, marrying and having children but her seizures never abated. She had been on seizure medications for "atypical" seizures as well as Pettit Mal. Her shaking had developed over the last several years as well as her painful urethral spasms.

She was socially phobic and aside from her family, did not socialize or like to go out.

She had a very sweet and pleasant nature and was very likable.

All of the above; the spastic nature of the complaints, the sweet disposition, the social avoidance all led me to the homeopathic remedy Cicuta Virosa.

I treated her with Cicuta and used my RITM SCENAR device on her in the office. The SCENAR device helped calm down the autonomic nervous system right away and by the time the treatment was over, her shaking had stopped.

At her two week follow up, no seizures, no urethral spasms. She had some pelvic discomfort and came in for another treatment.

At the next two week follow up, she had no pain, no spasms, no seizures, no shaking and felt great. We devised a plan to take her off her seizure medications and I sent her to Pilates for pelvic floor strengthening.

Her surgeries are no longer necessary and neither are her medications.

While it's difficult to fathom the mechanism of action in homeopathic remedies, imagine this: charcoal and diamonds are chemically identical, they are both made up of the element carbon. Man-made diamonds are produced by introducing hydrogen molecules to a carbon source (typically methane) and placed under extremely high pressure. The result is diamond, all carbon but impossible to produce without the addition of hydrogen.
While there is not any measurable hydrogen in the diamond, it is impossible to produce the diamond without the hydrogen in the mix. Thus, the hydrogen is imparting some structural information to the carbon molecule. This process is called epitaxy.

While homeopathic remedies in their higher potencies do not contain the chemical constituent for which they are named, they do contain vital information imparted from the active ingredients from the "mother tincture".

A few years ago, I received a new patient into my Chicago area office who had been referred by a friend of his from his country club. He explicitly stated he would have never gone to a doctor like me unless he hadn't heard my accolades and he wasn't desperate (not sure if that was a compliment or insult).

He had been given a diagnosis of heart failure and had just returned from Mayo clinic where he went through various tests and treatments in order to diurese (induce increased urine output) the extra 20 lbs. of fluid that had built up over the last few months.

Mayo was unsuccessful in removing the extra fluid and told him he's need a heart transplant.

I took a careful and lengthy history (as usual) and discovered that his cardiac output failure began about 7 months into his "treatment" with statins for high cholesterol levels. And, although statins are an acetyl co-a inhibitor, he had not been started on Co Q 10.

His doctor and the medication was killing him slowly.

I started him on extremely high doses of Co Q 10 for a few days then tapering down. Low and behold, he diuresed 14 lb.s in 24 hours and all 20 lbs. within the first two days of Co Q 10 replacement therapy.

His heart was now back to normal and he no longer needed to add his name to that list of patients needing heart transplants (btw, the new heart wouldn't have worked well either without CO Q 10).

Are you on medications that are causing more harm than good?

While I am not into fad diets or dieting, I do support creating the right diet for individual metabolic needs.

Over the years I have used virgin coconut oil in patients with everything from seizure disorder to metabolic syndrome and cancer. The benefits of virgin coconut oil are many: production of ketones due to the medium chain triglyceride (MCT) content, improved brain fuel, reduced insulin needs, improved immune function, catharsis (a laxative effect), reduced hunger, improved brain function, increased sex drive and more.

There has been a big misconception regarding coconut oil and its effects on the lipid
profile. The negative information was borne out of studies performed decades ago where coconut oil had been hydrogenated for export. Virgin coconut oil (VCO)is not detrimental to the lipid profile. In fact, using the oil regularly can lead to lowered insulin levels and hence larger, healthier LDL particles.

Another misconception is that eating lots of fish oil is great. While omega 3 oils are beneficial on the lipid profile, they leave the body's fatty acids vulnerable to lipid peroxidation or oxidative damage and free radicals. Coconut oil provides some protection against this process.

The word ketones often scare folks as ketones in diabetics can lead to something called acidosis and this is not a good thing. However, in those that are not diabetic, this does not happen and a bit of ketone production can be great for brain fuel, weight loss, and reduced insulin needs.

I have many patients who have successfully lost and kept weight off, improved libido, improved brain function and reduced or eliminated their seizures by eating a diet with VCO or MCT oil along with a low carbohydrate diet. One should not eliminate the essential fatty acids of omega 3 and omega 6, nor should one eliminate the other beneficial oils, 9 and 12. A diet with well rounded fatty acids while being low but adequate in carbohydrates (enough for individual needs, can vary depending upon how active one is) and in protein (approx 1gm per kilo of body weight) is best for most.

A favorite spread containing VCO is taking coconut butter (found online or at natural foods markets) and mixing some of this with either walnut, hemp or chia oil in a double boiler just allowing the oils to slightly warm for mixing purposes. once cooled, the butter is now spreadable. Coconut butter without mixing is quite hard at room temperature and doesn't contain essential fatty acids. The combinations allows for an easily spreadable yummy nut butter that contains MCT and omega 3 oils.

Many of my patients complain of having "no interest". While a small percentage of the population identify as "asexual", the majority of us do not and losing one's sex drive altogether can be disquieting. Sex drive often wanes as we age but it should not disappear completely.

There are physical and psychological reasons for a diminished sex drive and or response.
Among the physical contributors are chronic inflammation, not enough exercise, excessive exercise, prescriptions medications, poor dietary patterns, and fatigue. These contributing factors can all be easily reversed.

Low cholesterol can lead to a decrease in DHEA and sex hormones, especially testosterone as cholesterol is necessary for the production of stress and sex hormones. Chronic stress can also lead to low DHEA and sex hormones as stress utilizes all the precursor hormone (pregnanolone) made from cholesterol to produce the stress hormones. DHEA or pregnanolone supplementation can be helpful but so is turning off the stress response. Reflex biofeedback can do this almost immediately.

Psychological factors that contribute to diminished libido include anxiety, chronic stress, depression, guilt, grief and shock. While therapy is helpful and often necessary, it may not restore libido if the autonomic nervous system is stuck with high sympathetic (fight and flight) tone. Sometimes people find themselves not being able to "turn of" and reflex biofeedback is a very quick way of bringing up the parasympathetic (rest and relaxation) arm of the autonomic nervous system. Other treatments that work are acupuncture, homeopathy, breath work, yoga, meditation, massage and so on. I have found that the RITM SCENAR, a reflex biofeedback device, works the quickest and has the longest lasting results.

A combination of exercise, eating a non-inflammatory diet, adequate sleep and meditation can achieve the balance desired for a healthy libido and sexual response. Sexual response is two-fold and involves both arms of the autonomic system; the parasympathetic system controls the arousal phase and the sympathetic controls the orgasmic phase.

I recommend staying "active" as it helps with balancing the autonomic nervous system. Whether my patients are in a relationship or not, I might recommend equipment. Just like having special equipment in order to enhance one's experience cooking in the kitchen, or in a sport, equipment in the bedroom can enhance the experience whether one is alone or partnered in the endeavor. For incredibly engineered and designed equipment, I recommend shopping at Lelo.com. Lelo is a swedish company (how surprising) that takes its' products seriously and has some the best designed products on the market.

In the last few months, I have seen numerous adult patients for consultation in my Chicago area office with complaints of either exacerbation of their autoimmune disease or a sudden eruption of an autoimmune disorder such as asthma where there had been no prior issue.

The one thing these adult patients all had in common was they were all recent recipients of either a flu vaccine or of a tetanus booster. I have seen autoimmune disease develop after yellow fever vaccination and I've seen my share of "gulf war" syndrome (presumed adverse reaction to the anthrax vaccine) in military personnel. I have also seen pediatric patients who developed bronchitis after each round of vaccines only to develop asthma by pre-school. Many of these patients become free of asthma for years only to have a resurgence after another set of vaccinations.

Most vaccines contain something called adjuvants which are known to hyper simulate the immune system and in those with specific genetics, trigger autoimmune responses. The influenza vaccine in the US and the tetanus booster have not contained these adjuvants. However, they contain other ingredients that can lead to T cell dysfunction and this can trigger an autoimmune reaction.

Most influenza vaccines contain mercury which, like aluminum nano salts, can lead to a breach of the tight junctions in the gut, brain, testes and thyroid. I have written about this phenomenon in relation to gluten and prescription pain meds. In addition, the tetanus toxoid is a powerful immune stimulant which is why it is sometimes included in other vaccines as an adjuvant of sorts. Influenza vaccines also contain formaldehyde. While formaldehyde is naturally occurring at low levels in wood, it is quite toxic and a known carcinogen as well as asthma inducer.

A problem in understanding the safety issues or adverse events related to vaccines, is that the studies looking at adverse events compare the control group (the new vaccine in study) to a placebo group. In all other cases of drug studies, the placebo group would receive something completely inert such as a sugar pill or a saline injection. In vaccine placebos, the placebo group actually receives other vaccines or ingredients of the vaccine such as the adjuvant or preservative without the attenuated viral material.

This poses a real problem because now you have the placebo group receiving a heavy metal, or polysorbate or tetanus toxoid all of which can cause adverse events such as autoimmune responses. The results show the autoimmune responses to occur at the same rate in both the experimental and placebo groups with conclusions drawn that disease rates are the same whether subjects received the real vaccine or not and hence the vaccine is as safe as a placebo.

Another problem is that the vaccine reporting system or VAERS, relies on the vaccine manufacturer itself, to decide if a reported adverse event post vaccination is related to their product. They almost always deny causation. manufacturers have stated that the vaccine ingredients are cleared within 72 hours. This makes little sense as ingredients are not metabolized like they would be if taken orally and there are no studies backing this statement up. In addition, most doctors do not make the link between vaccine and adverse event and hence events are under reported.

The point of all this is that if you or your family have an autoimmune disorder, you should think twice before receiving any vaccinations. If you or your family developed asthma, a rheumatological or thryroid disorder after vaccination, stop vaccinating. There is a long list of what is autoimmune. Autoimmune disease in all forms is skyrocketing in the US and other places where vaccination rates are high. While there are probably many contributing factors for this phenomenon, injecting known stimulants that trigger a strong cytokine reaction is probably not wise.

There are studies supporting this concept However, much more research is needed in this area by independent parties not beholden to the industry and that is the single greatest obstacle in true safety studies.

Oxidative damage is something everyone has heard of but might not really understand.
The patients I see in my Chicago area office often show me the anti-oxidants they are taking with great delight. They know the supplements are somehow combatting the negative effects of bad things they might be exposed to.

Oxidative damage can come from many sources: radiation of all sorts which includes background radioisotopes that are always around, excessive solar radiation especially when the ozone layer is damaged or in high altitudes and specific foods and chemicals that have reactive oxygen. Heavy metals can be a big contributor.

Oxydation is necessary and our body creates compounds that lead to oxidation in specific situations such as in infections when our immune system uses oxidative compounds to its benefit in order to kill dangerous bacteria.

Our bodies also produce oxidative compounds with excessive exercise, but the overall benefit is positive as this also stimulates high amounts of anti-oxidants in the body as well given good nutritional status.

The caveat is chronic and repetitive oxidative damage causes illness. And oxidative damage in infants can lead to neurological and behavioral problems.

Studies have shown that casein( an ingredient in dairy), and gluten ( a compound in un-sprouted wheat, rye and barley) prevent the absorption of an amino acid called cysteine. Cysteine is a vital constituent in the formation of glutathione a very powerful anti-oxidant.

Gluten also leads to a leaky gut and a leaky brain. This and the reduced glutathione could be a major contributing factor in children with autistic spectrum disorders and could be the reason that these children do better off of gluten and dairy.

It's important to note that the receptors in the brain for casein and gluten are similar to the receptors in the brain for opiods such as morphine and heroin and therefore the desire for these compounds can be very strong despite that they might be doing harm. The intake of morphine and other opiod compounds such as those in prescription pain relievers also reduce cysteine and therefore anti-oxidant capabilities.

Reducing the inflammatory state that most pain patients are in via dietary changes and supplements and using an FDA approved prescription device called SCENAR which balances the autonomic nervous system input as well as altering the firing of pain fibers, is the most effective and immediate way to reduce the need for pain medication.

I introduced readers to Zonulin a few entries back. To recap, Zonulin is a protein made by our bodies that creates loosening of tight junctions such as those in the gut, brain and testicles. The tight junctions control transportation of molecules across junctions.

An example is the prevention of food particles in the lumen of the gut from crossing over into the blood vessels. The food is broken down and nutrients extrapolated so as not to present foreign proteins to your own system. This is why we don't make antigens to everything we eat.

However, some people do seem to produce antibodies to many foods and eventually, some of those with this issue produce antibodies to parts of themselves. This is what autoimmunity is. Some examples of autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, MS, psoriasis and even some forms of dementia. There are too many autoimmune disorders to list.

We now know one of the proteins involved with loosening the tight junctions is identified as Zonulin. Zonulin is increased by gluten intake irregardless of genetic makeup. We also know that toght junctions are loosened by metals, heavy metals and nano particulates like the aluminums added to almost all vaccines as adjuvants.

Studies have shown nano aluminum particles to cause neurodegenerative disorders and dimentia

It seems obvious that anyone with an autoimmune disease should avoid gluten and vaccines for that matter. What about the rest of us? I think minimizing exposure to known stimulants of zonulin and to known neurotoxins might just be a good choice for all.

We are bombarded by commercials about statins to lower cholesterol levels. We're made to believe that cholesterol is a bad thing and needs to be reduced as much as possible.

Numerous studies show the benefit of a healthy cholesterol profile. In fact, a recent study looking at muscle mass gain from exercise, showed that those with higher circulating cholesterol gained more muscle mass than those with lower cholesterol or on cholesterol lowering medications.

Low cholesterol levels are increasingly associated with increased risks for depression, anxiety, cancer, infection suicidal ideation and low libido.

There are numerous studies showing this link but the authors are all hesitant to say stop taking your statins as most patients are diagnosed as having statin deficiencies by their physicians.

If we look at studies and healthy physiology carefully, we can find that healthy people (people who are still insulin sensitive) have large bouyant LDL particles. As people become more insulin resistant and therefore closer to being a diabetic, they develop smaller LDL particles that are dense. Small, dense LDL particles are atherogenic, meaning they can lead to plaque in the vessels.

The biggest risk factor for a sudden cardiac event or MI, is small dense LDL and elevated levels of C reactive Protein, not high levels of LDL. Yet, the majority of physicians do not even test for these things. The reason being high levels can be lowered with statins. The treatment for an elevated C reactive protein( or CRP) and dense LDL are not treated with a single pharmaceutical. And, since the pharmaceutical industry has spent billions "educating" physicians how to handle cholesterol issues, they focused on the single issue they had a drug for.

LDL levels can be affected by particle size which is actually more important than the number. Low cholesterol is often associated with small dense LDL. Particle size is dependent upon a few things, one of them being insulin resistance or IR.
IR is related to how much insulin is needed to handle a specific amount of carbohydrate or sugar. The more needed, for a certain amount due to resistance or attenuation, the greater the risk of triglyceride and VLDL formation and hence small dense LDL.

In my Chicago area office, I always use a Lipid subfraction test on my patients. A standard lipid profile is missing vital information.

I treat small dense LDL and elevated CRP levels with a combination of dietary and lifestyle changes. If the LDL is very small and dense, I might recommend a liver cleanse
as the IR occurs at the liver..

If you have not had a lipid subfraction test, you don't know your real cardiac profile or risks.

I have written about stomach acid reduction and how that increases stomach cancer risk. And, in my video, I have spoken about carcinogenic compounds formed by cooking or dietary ingredients. Below is an excerpt taken from a blog I wrote about breast cancer prevention.

There are no good studies linking nitrosamines to breast cancer, however, nitrosamines cause many types of cancer, most notably along the gastrointestinal tract.

Theoretically, nitrosamines could be contributing to the non-estrogen dependent breast cancers as this chemical causes DNA mutations in general, according to mammalian laboratory studies.

There are obvious sources of nitrosamines; nitrite preserved food like luncheon meats, bacon or smoked fish. But there are non obvious sources as well; some beers contain nitrosamines from the brewing process, tobacco products and any food item that is in a non breathing container. Sodium nitrate is used as a preservative specifically against botulinum toxin.

Another non obvious source is our own stomachs. Under a reduced acidic environment, our stomachs turn nitrates to nitrites. This is important to remember as many foods have nitrates and many people are unfortunately on acid blockers. (there's a good reason our stomach PH is supposed to be highly acidic, and messing with the PH leads to all sorts of dangerous consequences).

Ascorbic acid or vitamin C, reduces the amount of nitrites produced from nitrates. Take plenty of vitamin C, just not with sodium benzoate as this combination leads to benzene, another known carcinogen.

Beer as it turns out is a big source of nitrosamines which forms in the malting process. The beers with the highest levels tend to be the cheaper domestic types. Stick with higher quality and imported beers and consider drinking it with limes or lemons for the ascorbic acid.

Green tea with a high catechin concentration has been also shown to inhibit nitrosamine formation. Green tea with low catechin concentration may actually promote nitrite formation.
It is important to use ample green tea leaves and drink only the first two infusions if you want the benefit of reducing nitrosamine formation. I prefer high quality Japanese green teas like Sencha or Gyokuro. For instant green tea, I use Matcha powder which is a powdered form of sencha or gyokuro, both have high catechin levels

Over the last decade, we have seen acid blockers go from requiring a prescription to over the counter. The commercials for them depict them as benign in side effect and beneficial
as taking a vitamin C drink for the common cold.

While the packaging inserts for this classification of drug is enough to scare your socks off, no one is paying attention, especially the doctors who recommend them like they do drinking more water.

The normal PH of our stomach is highly acidic. This is to allow enzymes form our pancreas to work efficiently in breaking down proteins and for absorption of minerals that would otherwise not be absorbed. Another function of our stomach acid is to kill the normal bacteria that live in our mouths or that we might ingest.
i
Stomach acid is also necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12, an extremely important vitamin. Deficiency of which leads to anemia and a whole host of diseases.

The small intestine, relative to the colon, is supposed to be almost bacteria free. The colon is home to billions of beneficial bacteria. The small intestine remains low on bacteria in large part due to the acidity of the stomach.

When an acid blocker is taken with any regularity, proteins are not digested, minerals are not absorbed and bacteria enter and flourish in the small intestines. One of the possible side effects of proteins being poorly absorbed is an increase in food allergies. One of the definite side effects of protein malabsorption is a decrease in muscle mass and therefore bone mass. Studies have shown that women who take acid blockers during pregnancy have babies with a 5 times greater risk for asthma.

When minerals are not absorbed, again we see a decrease in bone mass and strength.

When excessive bacteria in introduced into the small bowel, we see bacterial overgrowth with foul breath, gas and bloating as obvious and not so pretty side effects.

When the stomach has a decrease in acid on a regular basis, the bacteria H. Pylori is allowed to flourish. H. Pylori has been implicated as a trigger for stomach cancer.

While the pharmaceutical companies would have you believe that it is a normal daily function to take acid blockers, it is anything but. In addition, the acid blockers do not stop the reflux, in fact, they increase reflux do to the slower gastric digestion when acid is removed form the picture.

The blockers just remover the acid and hence the sensation of burning form the picture.

There are numerous reasons why people have acid reflux and there are many ways to determine the cause(s) and very simple treatments. I have successfully treated many patients with reflux in my Chicago area office and continue to do so.

What is most surprising is this went form being a common scenario in my adult patients, but in the last few years, I have seen this with increasing frequency in pediatric patients.

What I hope to see less of in the future is patients with osteoporosis, allergies, fatigue,
muscle waisting, gluten intolerance and H. Pylori associated stomach cancer because of this foolish and misguided daily practice.

The following is a reprint of an article taken from minutes from a meeting in 1985 regarding DPT vaccination issues, Wyeth, concerned parents and physicians and representatives from the Bureau of Biologics from the FDA.

Are doctors told enough?
Fresno Bee, DPT report 1984

"Doctors are as much victims as we are. They do what the American Academy of Pediatrics says," said Ed Hodges, president of California Dissatisfied Parents Together.

"Physicians are innocent victims," said Los Angeles attorney Andrew Dodd." It's a very sad situation and it's a scandal, in my opinion, of enormous proportions. And I'm ashamed of it. I am ashamed that I know more than a pediatrician [about pertussis vaccine]. That is not right."

Dr. Kevin Geraghty: "A pediatrician is more likely to believe that the dangers of his stethoscope choking him are higher than DPI causing the degree of damage that I would say it does."

When Geraghty began studying DPT vaccine 18 months ago, he said his goal was to debunk the critics of the vaccine. "I am a pediatric immunologist; I was trained in immunology. It didn't take very long for me to know something was very, very wrong."

But another doctor might not know that. Said Dodd: "When he is administering a mass-immunization product -- polio, rubella, DPT -- he assumes that the vaccine is almost as sate as water. 'Mass immunization product' -- that means something to him.

"...He's not going to take the time to read the medical literature because he knows the reactions. . . are very, very rare. The trouble is It's wrong. it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

"If physicians only understood that... they are giving a neurological poison... it isn't a secret, except it's not generally known."

For the most part, physicians learn about DPT vaccine at medical school, in medical journals and in the leaflet manufacturers include with the vaccine. The national Centers for Disease Control provides updated information for parents through public health clinics.

"I tell students very little," said Dr. Philip A. Brunell, professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas in San Antonio and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Red Book committee. "That's a major problem at medical schools. We are derelict in that. ..

There also are differences in practice in various parts of the world. For example, doctors in Japan, Europe and Soviet-bloc countries generally do not give DPT shots to children with histories of neurologic problems.

U.S. manufacturers have included that caution for years in the leaflets that are shipped with the vaccine. But until two major medical groups made the same suggestion earlier this year, the practice did not become standard in this country.

Manufacturers revise the product leaflet periodically, with necessary approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Over the years, there have been disagreements about what the leaflets should say.

In June 1979, Wyeth Laboratories wanted to include warnings about crib death, based on reports from the CDC.

Wyeth wanted to say the vaccine should not be given when there are signs of fever, acute respiratory or other infection, failure to thrive, neurologic disorders or periodic breathing problems -- including those associated with crib death.

"We deem it imperative that these changes be incorporated in our package circular as soon as possible," wrote Dr. Alan Bernstein, Wyeth's managing director.

Dr. Harry M. Meyer Jr., then director of FDA's Bureau of Biologics, replied July 11, 1979. He agreed to insert the crib death information into the section on side effects and adverse reactions, but refused to include it in a section telling doctors when not to use the vaccine.

Meyer wrote, "There is no evidence that such a change would prevent crib death, yet it would certainly deprive many infants of protection against pertussis during the months when exposure to whooping cough is most likely to result in life-threatening or disabling disease."

Four months earlier, the Bureau of Biologics had heard Dr. Daniel C. Shannon of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston describe adverse reactions to DPT in 200 infants who already had a brush with crib death and were on breathing monitors.

Twenty percent of those infants had another near-death reaction within 24 hours of DPT shots.

"We do have this data," Shannon said at the meeting. "It is all recorded

However, those details were not included, in two articles published in medical journals. Shannon explained that they were excluded because "I can't say there definitely appears to be an association. I haven't done the kind of study that needs to be done."

Physicians in general turn to medical journals and other periodicals for up-to-date information. Pediatricians also rely on the American Academy of Pediatrics' Red Book, as the Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases has come to be known.

Brunell, the current Red Book chairman, said the list of reasons to defer DPT shots did not change from the 1977 edition until August 1984, when an interim statement suggested that physicians defer immunization of children who have had seizures. (The next regular edition is due in 1985.)

Dr. James Cherry, who was part of a UCLA pertussis research team in 1978-79, was on the Red Book committee from 1977-83. He was asked why physicians did not receive an update sooner.

"There was no reason ...," he said. "The 1984 update said it is wise to wait if there is a history of neurological problems in the family, but that is because doctors now are scared of being sued."

Brunell was asked the reason for the delay. "We need more money," he said. "We're spending $45 million a year on AIDS and less than $1 million a year on DPT. We need 25 times that."

Geraghty said: "The medical literature has failed to adequately reflect what's happening. Doctors don't report cases of adverse reactions because, first, they're scared it's going to wind up in a liability case and second, they do not make a connection at all.

"They are not suspicious because there have been no warnings in the medical literature."

Dr. Kenneth Bart of the CDC said, "Physicians have an obligation to be informed about everything they do."

He was asked about the two deaths that UCLA researchers reported to the FDA but left out of articles in medical journals.

"What're they going to say to a physician that he's going to use?" Bart asked. "That two deaths occurred? Well, what does that mean?"

Said Geraghty; "All I want is for them to tell my fellow doctors what they tell each other."

[Vaccination] [Fresno Bee report]

Erectile dysfunction from non-pyschological issues is one of the first signs of a decrease in endogenous nitrous oxide production. Insufficient nitrous oxide (NO) production sets the stage for the progression of heart and vascular disease in general.

The implications of decreased NO spread father than vascular disease. Decreased vascular flow in the brain leads to dementia and Alzheimer's as well as hypertension and thrombotic events (stroke).

NO declines with age, but this is believed to be largely due to increased insulin resistance.
The increase in circulating glucose, insulin and cytokines that occurs in diabetes type 2 or pre-diabetes have all been independently shown to impair NO activity in experimental models.

Insulin resistance is controlled with dietary and lifestyle changes that can be quite rewarding in their own right let alone the beneficial domino effect in the bedroom.

Under normal healthy conditions, when sexually stimulated, NO is produced in the penis and signals blood vessels to dilate and accommodate more blood flow and volume. Without this pathway functioning, erectile activity is reduced and or non-sustained.

Note, this is the same mechanism for erectile activity in women of the analogous organs and without clitoral enlargement orgasm is difficult or impossible to achieve. And for achievement oriented people, this can be frustrating or in the case of many of my patients, depressing.

Proper NO production is essential for maintaining normal blood pressure, preventing clots, and healthy sexual function. The inability to generate adequate NO is one of the first signs of a number of chronic disease we associate with normal aging but needn't be.

NO levels can be tested easily employing a simple salivary test performed in my Chicago area office. Treatment consists of lifestyle changes and very specific supplements that enhance nitrous oxide production. Levels are then re-tested a few weeks into treatment or can be implicated in patient reporting.

Here is a link to one of my recent lectures on cooking, food preparation and avoiding toxic compounds formed from high heat cooking.

This lecture delves in toxic compounds that are created by cooking at high heat and explains where AGE s come from and how they affect blood vessels and organs.

The lecture also talks about diet induced inflammation but does not mention zonulin which is the topic of my previous blog entry. Please read it to get another look at how food, stress and environmental toxins such as heavy metals and possibly Splenda can trigger zonulin production and therefore inflammation and auto-immunity.

Lots of good information but takes some time to watch.

Enjoy!