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Dying Healthfully

Death as Part of the Healing Process

Tony Pics for SA BookWe all come to this final moment in our lives.  Death, like taxes, is inevitable.  It’s a part of life. . .for now anyway.  Legends and Biblical texts tell of a time when death was not in the picture of  life on earth.   My life’s mission has been dedicated to the return to such a reality for all humanity, even if it’s just to hold it in my heart as a possibility, even as inevitable as death is now.

A friend of ours, and of many the world around, John Cruickshank, made his transition from this earthly plane yesterday evening.  It was a peaceful passing, what one could describe as  a “healthy death.”  Sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it?  Death, after all, is the complete absence of life, so how can it be healthy?  Or is death the complete absence of life?

I prefer the word “transition” we seem to be using more often these days, because, in reality, death is a movement from one level of being to another.  Birth, in that sense, is also a transition, one that we celebrate with much joy, as we are doing this afternoon at our grandson’s birthday party here in Ashland, Oregon.  Jonahven came to us through his mother Holly Adams and his father, our son John, and what a gift they are to each other.  Jonahven came from heaven into the earth, transcended the invisible realm of spirit to incarnate in the visible realm of form.  John Cruickshank transcended the visible world of form to return to his origin in the invisible world of a higher level of form.  There is form at every level appropriate to each level. Should not both transitions be celebrated with equal wonder and joy?!

Life has its irony.  We celebrate the joy of a child’s birth today and yesterday we celebrated the death of a friend with joy and thanksgiving for his full life of service.  John was truly a server to all he encountered in his earthly journey;  a selfless friend.   Notwithstanding an aggressive brain tumor, John’s death was a healthy one.  He was at peace in his heart, his earthly journey fulfilled and complete.  He died as he lived, sharing his life with others.   We who are left behind surely feel a loss.  He will be missed.  And to process that loss we have the grieving process.  If we were aware of the other levels of being, what Jesus referred to as the “many mansions” in the Father’s House, perhaps we would not have cause to grieve the passing of form and could see it as a birthing process into another level of life experience.  Life, after all, is eternal . . . is it not?

Speaking of dying as we live, one of John’s friends recently shared a quote that describes how John lived and died:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘What a ride!'”

John slid into Home plate after running all the bases.  He was only fifty-eight, so he must have hit a home run early in life, because I don’t think he sat on any of the bases.  He was always on the move helping his fellow-man, and changing the world as he went from one ingenious invention to another innovative project.  His last project was as part of team who created a machine called Straw-Jet that turns agricultural residue, such as rice and wheat straw, into building materials,  specifically, but not exclusively, targeting third-world countries.  His most notable invention, however, is the “Sunny-John” which embodies a technology for recycling human waste into manure.  His love was permaculture and he left several such gardens behind him during his journey. He was exceedingly well-gifted with a “green thumb” and knew innately how plants belonged together symbiotically (in close beneficial relationships).  That was his forte and legacy for which he will long be remembered by many.

The ultimate “cure” of disease

Getting back to our blog theme . . . historically, death has been relegated to the morbid and macabre, an event to be feared and staved off for as long as possible.  Certainly as something unhealthy.  We’ve even invented and dedicated an entire industry to keeping death away from our door as long as possible . . . and, for the rich and well-insured, at whatever the cost . . . and cost it does, plenty these days . . . sometimes the equivalent of an arm and a leg, like a donor’s heart or kidney.   That said, I am thankful, as I’m sure our friend was, for the pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory drugs Medicine  provides that helps make the dying process physically, mentally and emotionally bearable and comfortable.  Comfort is a good thing.  We all need that in times of distress, and especially in terminal illness and the dying process.  It’s what we seem to do best as humans.

But what is death, actually (if you will allow me to muse and ponder a bit)?   A colleague once described death as “part of the healing process” and a final resolution and “cure” of disease.  And so it may well be when you stop to think about it.  Tumors stop growing when there is no more life from which to steal sustainable energy.  Bacteria, of course, remain.  But, then, bacteria are natural and essential to all life processes, both integrative and disintegrative.  Mother Earth can put them to good use without Herself becoming infected.  Mothers are natural healers.

Tumors, on the other hand, are thieves . . . unnatural growths outside the creative design of life for flesh.   I’ve seen them described as embryonic masses growing outside of a womb, an unwelcome guest in our house of being.  Death of the host terminates their occupancy.   Of course there are certainly other “cures” and resolutions to the diseased state where the host survives the crisis . . . for a season anyway, until another crisis comes along that threatens to resolve itself through death.   Either way, the healing process prevails.  Life goes on at yet other levels and dimensions.

To make whole

Healing means to make whole that which was previously fragmented, broken, disconnected or dismembered, and therefore dysfunctional.   Healing is a re-membering process whereby what belongs together is allowed to be together – much like the plants and trees in Cruickshank’s permaculture gardens –  as a whole entity that’s an integral and essential part of a larger Whole.   Some call it “God” or the “Great Spirit.”  By whatever name called, the larger Whole is what we each are a part of naturally and whatever would keep us from playing our destined roles in that Whole is inevitably and naturally re-solved . . . returned to a solvent state, such as earth and water, where it can once again participate in creation.   From “dust to dust,” as Christians are reminded with ashes on their foreheads every year.   But the spirit returns to a liberated and functional role as part of the greater Whole; returns to God who created it and maintains its existence.

In this light, death can be seen and embraced by us as part of the healing process . . . and the word itself, like the dying process, could stand to be cleared of its karma and given a noble place in our culture and vocabulary, as well as in our lives.  Death, then, looses its sting as it is healthfully and joyously embraced.  Hospice is a promising step in that direction.

While sitting with our friend at his deathbed, I was moved to talk about his final step into the unknown and how he was about to have all his questions about death and what’s beyond answered.  As awkward as it was at first to even breech the delicate subject, especially with one who was not able to communicate verbally his desire to go there, I felt a certain ease and welcome energy coming from him.   Afterwards, I thought how appropriate it could be to engage the dying, while they are yet able to do so, in a conversation around the theme of preparation for death as a rite of passage.  A conversation that would, first of all, acknowledge and connect with the angel incarnate who is experiencing, even orchestrating, the process of transition, and one that would evoke the conscious participation of the angel who is about to shed the dis-eased earthly form and take on a lighter one, one that will give the angel freedom to move about with ease.  Perhaps using music or the sacred sound of quartz crystal or Tibetan bowls accompanied by toning or chant that would help create ritual space for the generation of buoyant substance for a robust send off.  Or even group song and dance to celebrate the momentous event of final passage and transition.   While such ritual is being used in indigenous as well as some contemporary settings, I would welcome seeing more of this become part of our way of doing things here in the West and throughout the modern world.

And who knows but what this may well open the way for an unveiling of the mystery of death itself and ultimately eliminate its necessity?!  We would simply ascend, taking our bodies with us to a higher vibratory level, leaving nothing behind to be recycled.   I envision a ritual space created specifically for this purpose, just as I envision the creation of such a crucible for facilitating incarnation, a vibrational vesica pices (womb) for the birth of new form.  It’s all in the Divine Design for the process of transmutation and transition from one level to another.  We can agree to let it be so and it will come about.  It’s where we are headed in the new cosmic cycle underway, a theme I expand on in Sacred Anatomy – Where Spirit and Flesh Dance in the Fire of Creation. We are in for a new ride on this earth plane and it’s best to let go of the old and let go to the new.

Here’s to your ride!

Anthony Palombo, DC

Write me at  tpal70@gmail.com

Visit my second blog at attunementwithsacredsound.wordpress.com .

Review my book, Sacred Anatomy, and order your autographed copy on my website at healingandattunement.com

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How about a “media fast” to start the New Year?!

“FAST MEDIA / MEDIA FAST”

(Lengthy but timely and rewarding)

Tony's picture 2 from PeggyWe had an interesting event happen in our family over the Holidays, which I think may be an eye-opener to others besides ourselves.  One of our close relatives commented that for the first time their children didn’t know what they wanted for Christmas, and the reason they gave was the eye-opener: for the first time they didn’t have live television in their home, so the kids didn’t know what toys were out there.  In other words, they had not been exposed to mass media advertising.  Wow! What a testimony to the influence of television in our lives!

A couple of months before the Holidays, a close friend for many years, Dr. Tom Cooper, asked me to read a book he was about to release entitled “FAST MEDIA / MEDIA FAST.” Well, I read the first two chapters and then had to set it aside until after our move to Southern Oregon from the Denver area.  I had offered to do a book review on my blog, so to keep my word I recently returned to his book online, more out of my integrity in making good on my offer than out of keenly piqued interest.

Quite frankly,  I had already grown somewhat weary of reading all the data the author had presented up front enumerating the many horrible things we are allowing the Media to do to our lives.  To be totally honest, in a peculiar way I felt irritated that someone would take icons that are such an integral part of our daily lives – television, movies, the Internet – and suggest we even consider the possibility we are addicted to them. But then, why not, if indeed we are?

Not that he does it without a lot of compassion and understanding – and certainly not at all to bash the media.  The data is presented very objectively without the slightest tone of condemnation or criticism. And he does re-count the many blessings in changed lives great programs of mediated material (movies, books, music, TV programs, etc.) have bestowed upon us and continue to bring to our lives as we’ve used them consciously and creatively.

Nevertheless, for me it was akin to the discomfort I felt listening to all the data warning against smoking in years gone by when I once enjoyed  the companionship of a cigarette and especially my pipe. Fortunately, I developed an allergy to tobacco in answer to a prayer that the Almighty find a way to take the addiction away from me.  It was the addiction that I found limiting and distasteful and not the tobacco.

As it turns out,  this is the real message Dr. Cooper conveys is his well-written, thought provoking, and reader-friendly (for an intellectual professor, that is) book: it’s our addiction to and abuse of mediated entertainment and information that the author brings to our attention – as seems typically the case with what we do with the good things life brings to us.  We tend to lose our balance and allow ourselves to become addicted, like the proverbial couch potato, to the consumption of our own creations and media of entertainment.

With the added incentive spurred by the story about our relatives whose kids didn’t know what they wanted for Christmas in the absence of live TV in their home, I returned to Tom’s book with renewed interest and a stronger commitment to hear him out all the way and tell my blog readers about this painfully essential and wonderfully important book.  So, here it is. . . . a truly important book with a timely message for all inhabitants of the planet.

“FAST MEDIA/MEDIA FAST”

I will start by saying the author, Thomas W. Cooper, PhD, a very personable and sweet-hearted gentle-man, besides being a fellow and fine musician, is a scholar and a Harvard-groomed university professor from Swampscott, Mass.  This, in and of itself, speaks volumes about his scholastic dependence on media in his chosen field of service.  His publisher, Dr. Michael Gaeta, also a good friend and colleague in the healing arts, introduces his author/friend in the Forward of the book:

In this cacophony of fast media, which make for superficial lives, comes Dr. Cooper’s learned voice, speaking words of wisdom and balance. Brilliant academics are at times disconnected from most people’s daily life experience, preferring complex theoretical frameworks to wisdom sourced in authentic experience. Dr. Cooper is remarkable in that his impeccable academic credentials are balanced by a heart-filled, spiritual, and eminently practical perspective, based in deep life experience.

Now, here’s what got my attention, and I think will grab your’s as well when you read his book. In preparation for his research project on the media’s influence in human affairs, Tom decided to go on a month-long fast from all media.  That’s right, he unplugged the TV and avoided the Internet for an entire month. After that, he decided to punctuate his media fast with an additional week-long fast from talking . . . except, of course, when he was spoken to and where it was necessary to his teaching duties.  Then he turns around and writes a book sharing his experiences during his fasts, which are really quite interesting, even inviting as they open opportunities in the privacy of personal introspection for honest self-examination.

He then proceeds to lay out not only thoroughly researched and well documented  data on the ramifications of the involvement of the media in our lives, both “good and bad,” but, even more helpful, how to go about taking a fast once in a while from our daily media diet, a diet to which we have grown accustomed, perhaps even addicted.  He even outlines how to do group fasts for families, classes or any group, and cites whole communities who permanently fast from all electronic media, even telephones and computers, such as the Plain People — the Amish and Old Order Mennonite, the Hutterite, and other subcultures.

Dr. Cooper gives guidelines in the form of symptoms of addiction, to which his readers may readily relate:

Long-term effects of addiction may often be … subtle ….  Staying up later each night, or changing one’s job to see the soaps, hiding an earphone line up one’s sleeve in class to hear the conclusion of baseball games, uninterrupted listening to music on the job to avoid boredom, missing appointments to see the next episode, wearing headsets while jogging to blot out the environment, reading a book through meals and events because “I couldn’t put it down,” and showing up late for meals whenever online, are all examples of media hooking us and rescheduling our lives….

He further helps us understand the nature of and distinction between habits and addictions:

 

One definition of the word habit is “act that is acquired and has become automatic.” Addiction carries the additional connotation “devoted to” or “given up to” or “controlled by” a specific habit. Usually, a habit forms prior to an addiction to that habit. For example, I might consciously eat ice cream periodically late at night. It is only when I eat it consistently and eventually automatically late at night that it becomes a habit. If I become conscious of the habit from time to time and decide to go without ice cream, I “break the habit” at will. When I discover that the habit can no longer be broken easily or will bring discernible consequences (depression, headaches, eating ice-cream substitutes late at night, etc.), the habit has become an addiction.

Similar to books on dieting and fasting from food, FAST MEDIA/MEDIA FAST includes a detailed guide on how to go about a media fast . . . and I must admit the author does so with keen sensitivity and generous support based on his own well earned understanding of the enormous undertaking such a fast could and likely would be for most of us.

To balance it all out, Dr. Cooper cites the many, many ways that the various kinds of media are useful in our lives and how we may return to our consumption of mediated material in a balanced way so as not to be consumed and controlled by it.  That aspect of the book I really appreciated and thoroughly celebrate.  Here’s a sampling of Tom’s balanced perspective, as well as a taste of the appeal and quality of his writing style, as he writes of and from his own experience:

During my media fasts, I consciously chose to be a creator, not a consumer. I let my mind relax, find different routings and mix new ingredients. By returning to composing and playing instruments I had abandoned, I found a strong river of inner creativity that had been dammed. Although I am not condemning reading, I found that a temporary switch from reading books to writing one restored a full measure of initiative to my work.

This “single switch” in consciousness and in action might be described as living from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. It is characterized by rediscovery of the creative process, which many of us abandon—some forever—usually during childhood. Motivation sharply increases, so much so that virtually any procrastination from the creative process seems a total waste of time. As a child I can recall times when the games, tree houses, sports or skits we were creating became so all-consuming and enjoyable that we could not wait for the next day to begin.

“MEDIA AS FRIENDS, NOT VILLAINS”

When the “single switch” is made from information gluttony to creative communication, one may return to media with new ears, eyes and thoughts. Instead of viewing media as mind pollution, each medium may be employed as a tool of creativity. When the mind and emotions begin to originate creative images and sounds, why not extend that creativity through books, radio, cyberspace, cassettes, or whatever is suitable? Media never have been enemies, in and of themselves. Rather, they simply amplify, disseminate and perpetuate the nature of human consciousness….   To the extent one’s work genuinely originates in the creative process, rather than duplicates conventional programming, it will assist in the liberation rather than enslavement of audience members. The single switch is contagious.

Rarely does one find an author who is as intimately familiar with his/her subject as Dr. Cooper reveals when writing about our “other freedoms” of which we are robed by our subjugation to mediated material, such as movies that bring us to tears against our will every time we see them.  I’m a real softy when it comes to joyful scenes in movies like “It’s a Wonder Life,” which Tom sites in his book.  As a physician, I was intrigued by his inquiry about the impact of manipulated emotions on our health:

Are these emotions genuine? Do they serve a purpose? To what extent are they voluntary? How do they affect our nervous system? Which ones will be replayed when triggered in the future? Do they upset the endocrine glands? Does this affect our emotional expression in the “real world”? Our emotional stability? No one seems to be asking or answering these questions with authority.

Then there’s the impact of over consumption of television on our children, scary to say the least:

Healy’s 1990 research suggests that television may be related to children’s attention and learning difficulties. In one sense, TV is a multi-level form of sensory deprivation that may stunt the growth of children’s brains. The combined research of Poplowski (1998), Gross (1999), Mander (1978), and Scheidler (1994) remind us that children are not just watching programs or surfing the Net, but are staring into flickering, radiant computer monitors and into fuzzy cathode-ray electron guns.

Johnson (1999) synthesizes this research to show what common sense might dictate: since repetitive screening allows functions of the corpus callosum, cortex, neocortex and limbic system to atrophy, children become more mentally lazy, uncoordinated and underdeveloped. She concludes that what children truly need to develop their minds are purposeful activities using their hands, feet and whole bodies; much exposure to nature and imaginative books; and much less media….

…More than anyone, parents and teachers may explain the difference between the “consumer” and the “creator” to children. The music classes, sports programs, summer camps, family outings, and educational or therapeutic hobbies in which we enroll our offspring pay lifelong dividends.

But, hey folks, our children will inevitably do what we do and not what we say.  This is one of my most favorite passages from Dr. Cooper’s book:

However, those who are addicted cannot bring others out of addiction. Since children are watching us for leadership and example, our own habits will loom large to them. In that regard, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s persuasive quotation applies as much to what adolescents see in us as to what they see in the hidden optical patterns in TV, video and computer screens. Emerson stated: “Do not say things. What you are stands over you the while and thunders, so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.”

The author sums up his perspective on the benefits of a media fast, such as regaining our five lost freedoms:

….   If there can be media addiction, then there can also be media liberation. But media liberation does not necessarily mean liberation from mass communication. Rather, it means liberation from the rigid attitudes, manipulated emotions, frozen thoughts, assumed identities and truncated perspectives that both contribute to and result in media addiction….  Fasting from any substitute for living can be liberating and empowering. The transition from consumer to creator can increase effectiveness and influence simultaneously.

Then there’s the impact of FAST MEDIA on our sense of meaning and time to keep up . . . with life itself:

“When I was faster, I was always behind” is a catchy refrain from Neil Young’s “Slow Poke.” (Reprise Records, 1999) Young’s apercu suggests that there are unintended and ironic consequences due to speed changes. As a child, I would play the long-playing 33 1/3 rpm records at the faster speeds of 45 rpms and 78 rpms with my friends. We found there were comic, absurd, and even fascinating effects at the faster speeds. But we could no long understand the song’s meaning. Is it the same for society?  …If so, the death of meaning, or of the time to find it, could be one of the most tragic unintended effects of the three “uppers”—keep-up, speed-up and blow-up….

Then there’s the role of choice:

The ultimate freedom rests in seeing that one has a choice—to identify with the creator or the consumer. Becoming the creator does not mean mindlessly bashing the media any more than mindlessly digesting it. In fact, one of the easiest, cheapest and most creative ways to publicize your liberation is to create a Web site or printed article about your creations.

Or, as I discovered for myself, start up a blog!  It doesn’t matter if anybody follows it either.  The real benefit to me is the writing of it, the delightful flow of creative thought and feeling; the creative release of my spirit through the carrier waves of words and ideas.  That’s the real benefit of creative use of any and all forms of media.

ALL SOUND ARISES OUT OF SILENCE . . .  AND RETURNS TO SILENCE

As a sound healer, I know that the purest and finest moment to connect with the healing current within is the golden moment of silence after the sounds fade out.  All sound arises out of silence and returns to silence.   True communication arises out of silence.  If I have something important to say, let me be quiet first in order to listen and hear what it is. Sound can be a tool for healing when used as a carrier wave for spirit and consciousness.  Not just any sound.  Sound that arises out of the silence that lies within.  The Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan called that “Music.”   Dr. Cooper sees silence as a door to deeper awareness of presence:

Such personal silence emphasizes not so much what is absent, but rather hidden dimensions of self which suddenly become present. I am not suggesting that “enlightenment” or “wisdom” are automatically more available to the silent than to the loquacious. After all, a zombie seems silent; a corpse is still. But if the stillness is purposeful, consistent, focused, intelligent, and deliberately connected to a creative process, a larger awareness can appear, step-by-step.

Finally, as any good author would do, Cooper saved the best until last and brings his reader all the way Home to the inner soundscape of being itself.  I personally think that his final chapter is the most inspiring of all.  In writing about his speech fast, he crafts timeless words of insight and wisdom:

Naturally, there are other purposes for a speech fast—to enlarge one’s awareness of sound and listening, to learn of and from one’s interior soundscape, and to discover who is present beneath the mask…. …When clichés are liberated from our overuse, we discover in stillness the deeper meaning of “still waters run deep…..”   …being is the central ingredient of such depth, and the core of such stillness. Of course, when one stops over-reading and listens…. and indeed invigorates one’s own expression, yet another level of being is known.

What is discovered in these depths, or paradoxically at these heights, might be called being fully present. Fasting from all distraction, including one’s own post-dubbed narrative over the sounds and images of life, allows a sense of anchoring in this ground of being…present. The answer to the question “What is present when my programming is absent?” is “I am.”

IN THE END . . . TRUTH

Fasting from food with only juice and water to purify the body’s cells and fluids is a wonderful experience when done during a speech and media fast, as Dr. Cooper testifies toward the end of his book . . . and he ends his book with a wise suggestion as to the end purpose of any fast:

Our deepest danger is that we would ignore truth and not care, that we would persist in belief and hope, and thus avoid evidence. The longing for truth unites the spirit of education, religion, philosophy, science and journalism. If fast media were to ring true, not attract through the cosmetic, there would be less need for a media fast. It is to that quest for the ongoing discovery of truth, as best we may determine it, that this book, fast and life are dedicated. One and the truth are a majority….  So one of the deepest purposes of a media fast lies in the pursuit, and even the revelation, of truth. What is the truth of myself beneath my programming?

I highly recommend my friend’s book to my blog readers.  Order it online today and start the New Year with an enjoyable read on a timely subject.

So, here’s to your good health in 2011 . . . . and how about a media fast to start off the New Year?!

Dr.Tony Palombo

P.S. Tom’s book is available as an E-book (no e-reader necessary) at Gaetapress.com and  can also be pre-ordered there whether as a hard copy or paperback.  It will be available from the usual sources (Amazon; Barnes & Noble, etc.) this spring.

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Not All “Free Radicals” Are Harmful

 

Tony Pics for SA BookSome free radicals are actually essential to life. Free radicals have acquired a rather notorious reputation.  Like with the news media and worldly events, we mostly hear about all the bad stuff they do to the body’s cells and their DNA. The good stuff often goes un-noticed and untold. One such essential “free radical” is the recently discovered and celebrated Redox Signaling Molecule. Before I tell you about it, however, let me create a little context that will help you understand its importance in your body.

Your cells are micro-models of your entire body. Your body has organs and its cells have organelles: they eat, they digest, they create energy, they excrete waste, they are regenerated, and they die.  Their health depends largely on the conditions of the terrain wherein they live and carry out their various roles in the body.  This post is about the health of this terrain of your physiology. Your body is only as healthy as its cells.  It lives and dies at the cellular level.

Cells are individuals complete unto themselves.  They are also gregarious.  They form communities of organs and systems and communicate with one another and with cells in other communities, such as the immune system – or what I prefer to call “immune alliance.”  (It’s an alliance by virtue of the involvement of and dependency on every cell, organ and system of the body.)  The immunity of the body is only as strong and balanced as the health and stability of the cell and its ability to communicate with and activate protective mechanisms such as antioxidants and “T” cells, or T lymphocytes.

T cells are the body’s exterminators. They destroy harmful bacteria, pathogens, toxins, viruses and even viral-infected cells.  They are made in the Thymus gland and bone marrow.  They often depend on the secondary lymphoid organs, such as the lymph nodes and spleen as sites where activation occurs, but they are also found in other tissues of the body, most conspicuously the liver, lungs, blood, reproductive tracts, and profusely throughout the intestinal tract.

Cells can be injured and damaged by “free radicals.”  When they are damaged they cannot function normally nor communicate with the rest of the cells in the body. But not all “free radicals” are equal, nor harmful.  So, let’s take a look at what they are.

Free radicals are oxygen-carrying atoms, molecules or ions with unpaired electrons looking for other molecules with unpaired electrons to bond with. They may have a positive, negative or zero charge.  The unpaired electrons cause radicals to be highly chemically reactive.  They pair up with other molecules, such as those of the cells, to which they bond and, in most cases, do damage through what is called “oxidative stress.”  Antioxidants, such as found in fresh fruits and vegetables, including Vitamins E and C, can protect the cell from free radical damage by a chemical reaction that simply neutralizes free radicals.  This is the purpose of antioxidants.

Hydrogen, for example, is an atom with a zero charge and an unpaired electron to which free radicals are easily attracted and bond.  Once they bond, they are no longer “free” and are thus rendered harmless.  This is why it is important to keep the pH (potential of Hydrogen) of the body’s fluid internal terrain balanced with plenty of raw fruits, vegetables and alkaline-ash foods (not to mention plenty of water, which is comprised of 2 Hydrogen and 1 Oxygen molecules). Too many acid-ash foods, such as meats and grains, deplete the alkaline reserve the body draws on throughout the day in order to keep the pH balanced.  Otherwise your body’s terrain becomes acidic making the cells very unhappy as the acidic fluids in which they live and function erodes their outer wall.

Free radicals also play an important role in combustion, plasma chemistry, biochemistry, and many other chemical processes, including human physiology.  For example, superoxide and nitric oxide regulate many biological processes, such as controlling vascular tone.  Such radicals can even be messengers in a phenomenon dubbed “redox signaling.”    [Chemial reactions in which one atom or compound is reduced (gains an electron and therefore energy) and another is oxidized (loses an electron and therefore energy) are called redox reactions.]

Redox signaling molecules are produced in the mitochondria of each cell, where your energy (ATP) comes from as well.  Two kinds are produced: antioxidant activators and immune system communicators.   Here’s a graphic:   [Also, this link will take you to a power-point presentation by Dr. Rob Ward of ASEA’s Scientific Advisory Council.  Dr. Ward focuses on the powerful holistic nature of redox signaling and how these amazing molecules empower our bodies! http://www.vimeo.com/17464658 ]

Redox signaling is the complex process within the cells wherein free radicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other electronically activated radicals act as messengers in the biological system. It is basically the process that shows how cells in our body respond to oxidants and free radicals. Redox signaling is a continuous and crucial process, through which human cells communicate with each other and carry out vital body functions.    [Ref:  http://www.bewellbuzz.com/antiaging/redox-signaling/]

As demonstrated here, the immune system (T cells) is one such system activated by these redox signaling molecules.  These reactive molecules attach to receptor sites on the cells and convey signals and messages to them, thereby empowering them to perform specific functions.

Redox signaling molecules also activate antioxidants that protect the cells of the body from free-radical damage.  In fact, antioxidants are functional only when activated.  As you can see, these molecules are very important to life.

For a scientific explanation of ROS, click on this website: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_oxygen_species#Oxidative_damage

If you haven’t heard of redox signaling molecules yet and the role they play in the body’s ability to maintain a high degree ofhealth and well-being, you are not alone. Despite the fact that these molecules are relatively unknown to the general public, researchinto the critical role they play in cellularhealthhas been going on for at least 30 years, if not longer.

For a layman-friendly explanation of the Redox Signaling Molecule, visit this website: http://www.hubpages.com/hub/Redox-Signaling-Molecules-The-Next-Health-and-Wellness-Breakthrough .  You will be thrilled and thank me for bringing this information to you at this time.

This complex process, which occurs naturally within the cells of the body, slows down as we age, contributing to the ageing process.  Damaged cells fail to produce sufficient quantities of these signaling molecules, and those that are produced are often unstable and ineffective.

This slowing down and consequent ageing can now be addressed through a recent scientific breakthrough which has found a way to stabilize the Redox Signaling Molecule and synthesize it for human consumption with significant results in health benefits.

For a visual demonstration of how these radical molecules work in the body, click on this link:  http://www.dranthonypalombo.teamasea.com/science.aspx.  Scroll down and click on “View the full video.”This is my website as an associate distributor for ASEA(TM) products. After viewing the video, you may contact me for further information about this innovative approach to health enhancement. I’m taking ASEA(TM) myself and have noted an increase in energy, stamina and mental acuity and clarity. That’s encouraging to a septuagenarian. Clients report that they are able to reduce the amount of supplements they are taking.   I feel good about this product and recommend it highly to my blog readers.

I wish you each one a very joyful Christmas and a New Year of abundant and healthy living.

Here’s to your good health,

Dr. Anthony Palombo

1722 Bilbo St., Lake Charles, LA 70601. Phone (337) 802-5510 – Email dranthonypalombo@live.com

 

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MD Admits to “Great Cholesterol Lie”

This is what I and other alternative healthcare doctors have been saying for years!  My own cardiologist couldn’t afford to change his approach . . . and here’s why!

 (This is long, but read it if you want to fully understand coronary heart disease.)

 Seven years ago I had by-pass surgery due to clogged coronary arteries.  My cardiologist and surgeon said the culprit was cholesterol and that it was hereditary.  The real culprit turned out to be chronic inflammation due to several factors, primary of which was an allergy to high fructose corn syrup and corn products in general – all of which I found out visiting a colleague in Houston, Texas, Dr. Stuart White.  The hereditary factor is only 5%.  My dad died of coronary heart disease at age 61. I was 62 when I had my bypass.

Against my cardiologist’s strong recommendations, I opted not to take the Statin and other drugs and instead addressed my condition naturally with dietary and lifestyle changes, which included therapeutic dosages of critical nutritional supplements.   I am, non-the-less, eternally grateful to my cardiologist and heart surgeon for my second lease on life – which, ironically, allowed me to pursue my search for the real cause of coronary heart disease and to be alive today to tell my story and report on my findings.

When I showed my cardiologist the evidence against cholesterol as a marker for coronary heart disease, his reply was that all the medical literature pointed in the direction of statin drugs to reduce the production of cholesterol by the liver.  Now I know that he couldn’t, and probably still cannot, go against the literature without risking a malpractice suit.  He has to follow the protocol dictated by the AMA and the pharmaceutical industry.  Here’s an MD who fessed up to the big mistake medicine has made and is still making.  Thank you Dr. Dwight Lundell!

“Without inflammation, cholesterol won’t accumulate in blood vessel walls and cause heart disease”Heart Surgeon Admits Huge Mistake! 

 
By Dwight Lundell, MD
We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is.  I freely admit to being wrong..  As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries,today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.
I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labelled “opinion makers.” Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.
The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake.  The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease.  Deviations from these
recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice
It Is Not Working!

These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.
The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.

 

Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.

  Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes.  Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended.  It is inflammation
that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Inflammation is not complicated — it is quite simply your body’s natural defense to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus.

The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders.  However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body?

Well,smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully

The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels.

This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease,
stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that. The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.

What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years.. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury.

This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.

Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall.

Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation

While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed with omega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.

How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?

Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.

 When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.
 
What does all this have to do with inflammation? Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.
While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator — inflammation in their arteries.
 
Let’s get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6’s are essential –they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell —they must be in the correct balance with omega-3’s. If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.
 
Today’s mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That’s a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today’s food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal
and healthy.
To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes
and finally, Alzheimer’s disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated. 
 There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.
There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that isreturning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.
One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butterfrom grass-fed beef.
 
 Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the “science” that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.
 
The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.
 
What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.
 
[Ed.. Note: Dr. Dwight Lundell is the past Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at Banner Heart Hospital, Mesa, AZ. His private practice, Cardiac
Care Center was in Mesa, AZ.

Recently Dr. Lundell left surgery to focus on the nutritional treatment of heart disease. He is the founder of Healthy Humans Foundation that promotes human health with a focus on helping large corporations promote wellness.

He is the author of The Cure for Heart
Disease and The Great Cholesterol Lie .

For a nutritional protocol to support your cardiovascular integrity, write to me at: tpal70@gmail.com  To your health,

Dr. Tony Palombo, DC, ACN (Applied Clinical Nutrition)

 
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What to know when buying food supplements

NATURAL VS. SYNTHETIC VITAMINS

 It could be said that never in history has so much money been spent on the advertising and purchasing of any merchandise, with so little knowledge of the product itself, on the part of either the seller or the buyer, as has been spent on vitamin and mineral supplements.

Billions are being spent annually, and most of the purchasers, wholesalers, retailers or direct-to-consumer salespeople do not know the difference between a synthetic, a crystalline, and a truly natural vitamin, or the difference between a chelated organic and an inorganic mineral.

What’s the difference between natural and synthetic? In short, it’s the difference between something that’s living and something that’s dead. That’s a big difference.

NATURAL WHOLE FOOD VITAMINSOn vitamin labels the word “natural” has no specific definition other than that the substance exists somewhere on the planet or in outer space. The key words to look for are “Whole Food Vitamins” — this means vitamins as they are found in food, not tampered with in any way that would change their molecular structure, their biological or biochemical combination, or their actions. 
  
 SYNTHETIC means that a chemist attempted to reconstruct the exact structure of the crystalline molecule by chemically combining molecules from other sources. These sources are not living foods, but dead chemicals. For example, Vitamin B1 is made from a coal tar derivative, and d-alpha tocopherol (so-called Vitamin E) is a byproduct of materials used by the Eastman Kodak company to make film. However, it is not legally necessary to give the source from which the synthetic “vitamin” is derived. Synthetic “vitamins” should more accurately be called drugs.  

HOW TO READ A VITAMIN LABEL
  
To identify synthetics on the label, look to see if a source is given. If it isn’t, assume the product is synthetic. These terms also identify a vitamin as synthetic: acetate, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, hydro-chloride, nitrate, succinate. Carbonate always indicates the mineral is in-organic and therefore of no use to your body. All minerals have to be organically chelated and arranged in their proper ratios by vegetables in order for humans to be able to use them. All of them.
  
Whole-food natural supplements never come in high dosages. It is only possible to create high-dosage “vitamins” if you isolate one fraction as a crystalline, or synthesize one fraction as in synthetics. For example, take Vitamin C and E. In naturally-occurring Vitamin C Complex, the ascorbic acid portion comprises only about 5% of the whole complex. Similarly, alpha tocopherol only comprises a small percentage of Vitamin E Complex. Both serve as anti-oxidants for the vitamin complexes.
Legally, according to the FDA, the only portion of the Vitamin C Complex that is allowed to be called “Vitamin C” is the ascorbic acid portion, and the only part of the Vitamin E Complex that can be called “Vitamin E” is the alpha tocopherol piece—(the “d” in front of alpha means it’s synthetic, as in d-alpha tocopherol).

We, as consumers, have been thoroughly fooled and misled about vitamins and minerals. We have been hoodwinked into believing that large quantities of dead chemicals are more nutritionally potent than smaller amounts of high-quality living compounds. These chemicals are stimulants (drugs), not nutrients, and should therefore be under FDA control – better still, condemned for the toxins they are.

Relatively small amounts of whole-food natural vitamins, with all of their naturally-occurring synergists, are far more potent than high doses of synthetic imitation “vitamins.” They alone are nourishing to the cells. It is sheer arrogance for us to think that we can synthesize or in any way alter a natural design that is so crucial to our health and wellness and that we do not understand. There was one man who did understand human nutrition and that was Dr. Royal Lee, founder of Standard Process Laboratories. I thank God every day for him and for those who carry forward his work, providing the highest quality of nutritional and herbal products possible.

 To your good health

 Dr. Palombo

 tpal70@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Vitamins in their natural state always exist as living complexes with specific synergistic co-factors, enzymes, phytonutrients and organic mineral-activators, and never as isolated single factors. A vitamin needs all of its synergists to function. Further, there are literally hundreds of such synergists, most of which have not yet been studied but are nevertheless very important.

 

CRYSTALLINE means that a natural food has been treated with various chemicals, solvents, heat and distillations to reduce it down to one specific “pure” crystalline vitamin. In this process all the synergists, which are termed “impurities,” are destroyed. There is no longer anything natural in the action of crystalline “vitamins”— they should more accurately be termed drugs.
 

 

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Turn stress into peace and calm!

     

THE CALM, CONNECT AND COORDINATE SYSTEM       

  You’ve heard of the “fight, flight or freeze syndrome,” haven’t you? That system is turned on by stress, or by reaction to stressors which makes you distressed. Well, the calm, connect and coordinate system is what turns it off, restoring you to a state of calm wherein you can sink back into your skin and reconnect with your body as well as your environment instead of fleeing from them. It also gets the cells of your body functioning as a well-coordinated whole once again rather than galvanized, or frozen, in an isolated state of self-defense. This syndrome is turned on by a rarely talked about and scarcely understood hormone: Oxytocin.      

 Produced in the hypothalamus–a part of the brain that coordinates pituitary hormone production with the central nervous system and with what’s occurring around you–and stored in the posterior pituitary where it is released as a hormone to circulate through the body, oxytocin functions by altering or modulating the activities in other major body systems. It can have very long-lasting effects as these major systems work in a feedback loop and stimulate more oxytocin production. New discoveries are showing oxytocin is produced in many different places, including the heart and blood vessel walls, ovaries, and testes.       

 The hormone, Vasopressin–which stimulates the stress syndrome–is also produced in the hypothalamus and is stored and released by the posterior pituitary gland. Also known as an anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), it functions to maintain the body’s fluid volume and balance. In addition, vasopressin acts to increase aggression, hyper-vigilance, and other fight or flight type reactions.    Our understanding of oxytocin and the calm and connection system is in its infancy. Almost all study has been directed to the fight or flight or distress handling system. Most textbooks still state that oxytocin’s only functions are to simulate uterine contraction and facilitate lactation in females (along with prolactin).     

 In oxytocin producing cells the electric impulses do not occur one by one, but in a cluster. When the cells are powerfully stimulated, as in breast-feeding, (or other oxytocin stimulating behavior) the electrical activity becomes coordinated and the cells act in concert. This is part of the reason large amounts of oxytocin can be released in nursing women.  Estrogen can activate the oxytocin system and prolong its effects. Therefore, at certain times oxytocin affects females more potently than males. Testosterone can activate vasopressin and sustain its effects. Therefore, at certain times, vasopressin affects males more potently than females. Neurons that contain serotonin stimulate the release of oxytocin. This may be part of the mechanism of action of SSRI drugs that affect mood and anxiety levels. (Dopamine and noradrenalin also stimulate oxytocin release.) As you can see by the following list, there are many ways we can foster the calm, connect and coordinate system.     

So, next time you find yourself stressed out over something, start producing oxytocin!      

What stimulates Oxytocin release?  

 Giving thanks, being thankful and grateful, coming into the present moment with unconditional acceptance of things the way they are as being perfect; feelings of security, sensation and pleasure; touch, stroking, rhythmic touch; friendship, closeness, bonding experiences; sexual behavior, sex and intimacy, childbirth (uterine contractions), nursing and sucking (thumb-sucking); thoughts, memories, feelings of all the above; and probably such things as . . .   

 Some types of massage, chiropractic spinal adjustments, acupuncture, and other body-mind-spirit based techniques; energy work, attunement healing (Reiki); laughter and random happiness, deep sleep (delta), deep rhythmic breathing, Yoga, tai chi, and other related practices; rocking, singing, meditation, certain types of music, dance, art, literature, poetry; giving and receiving unconditional love; interaction with animals; a job or activity well done, especially if it benefits many; play and other positive and meaningful experiences. 
 
Isn’t it wonderful how our bodies look after us and respond to our every wish and intention!  The body never makes a mistake.  Everything it does is perfect.  We have every reason to trust it.  
 
 To your health,  
 
 Dr. Tony Palombo  
 References:   Dr. Janet Lang’s Nutritional Seminars, HealthLight Newsletter, Fall 2004   
 

 

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Inner Ear Infection

 

Tony Pics for SA BookWhat a trip this has been!

Two weeks ago I woke up with a mounting pain in my left ear.  Within 12 hours I had a full-blown inner ear infection.  Two days later my right ear, no doubt feeling left out, got into the act as well and I practically lost my hearing altogether.  Wow!  I haven’t had an ear infection since childhood!  This one lasted about 10 days!  I ran a moderate fever and felt rotten the whole duration.   Not fun!

Staph & Virus

Thanks to my dear friend and partner, who is a wonderful and capable healer herself, we were able to determine very early what was going on.  With CRA (Contact Reflex Analysis), a form of muscle testing, the culprits were revealed: a staph bacterial infection accompanied by a virus.   So I went to work right away with a regimen of nutritional and herbal protocols, which, I’m here to report, worked quite well.   Supporting my immune alliance was really all that was needed.   So, I thought to share this experience with my blog readers may be helpful for others.

The Protocol: *

I took the following nutrients methodically for the duration of the infection and fever –  the daily dosage, spread out through the day, is the number inside the parentheses:

For the Staph:  Thymex (9), Thymus (6), Golden Seal (3 tabs), Spanish Black Radish (6), Echinacea Premium (3 tabs). 
For the Virus:  Immuplex (6), Congaplex (12), Cataplex E (6), St John’s Wort (3 tabs).
For fluid drainage:  Fen-Gre (10-16 per day), Antronex (6).
 
These nutrients and herbs are all Standard Process and Medi Herb products and are available through licensed health professionals.  The protocols for staph and virus listed here are good for all kinds of such infections (boils, carbuncles, styes). *
 
Note: Drink plenty of fluids and remember the old addage: “Feed a fever and starve a cold.”  There’s nothing like a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup when you’re in sickbay.  Healthy Choice puts out great soups.
 
Energy Healing
  
It’s very important to balance your energy fields when your body has a crisis such as this.  Again, my wife was able to share attunement with me to balance my endocrine system, and I sought out the services of a friend and colleague who does BEST (Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique) here in the Denver area to clear any negative sub-conscious or conscious thoughts and feeling that may have been interfering with the flow of my eneregy.   What a huge difference these energy healing arts made in restoring my energetic clarity, balance and strength.
 
Insight
  
This cycle took 10 days, and there is good reason for it taking so long.  You see, it takes 7 days for the immune system to identify and tag a new foreign invader and then produce the antibodies to deal with it.  I say “new” because it only takes a day or so for the immune system to recognize an old pathogen, one that it has encountered before and learned how to deal with.  This is the wisdom and value of not administering antibiotics to children, or yourself, indiscriminately.  The young immune system becomes educated when allowed to deal with pathogens early on.   Apparently, what I encountered was a strain of bacteria and/or virus my body was not familiar with.  After 7 days, however, it began to go after the invaders and within 3 days the fever left and I began to feel the relief throughout my body.  Now, I’m working with the fluid in my inner ears, which is draining a little every day, thanks to the help of  Fen-Gre and Antronex, natural decongestant and antihistamine respectively.  
 
Health Alert!  
There’s a deadly fungus on the move.  Check this website out for more info … and watch the video at the bottom of the site.  Very shocking information about the drug industry.
http://www.naturalnews.com/029593_fungus_Canada.html
 
So, next time you have an ear infection, have hope!  Call or email me for coaching and to obtain these nutrients.  I can have them drop-shipped to you within 2-3 days, and even overnight with a little more postage.  Better yet, order them now and put them in your medicine cabinet so you’ll have them when you need them. 
 
To your good health,
 
Dr. Tony Palombo
tpal70@gmail.com 
(337) 802-5510 
 
*These products have not been approved by the FDA are not intended to diagnose or treat any diseases.

 

 

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Understanding Psoriasis

 Tony Pics for SA BookTaking care of your liver

[ Psoriasis is a chronic condition, which means it’s been festering, or at least coming on, for quite some time due to underlying conditions.  Chronic conditions such as psoriasis have complex underlying causes, along with adaptations the body makes just to survive.  Therefore, this blog is lengthy but well worth reading in its entirety if we are to understand the complexities of this disease.  I appreciate your forbearance and promise you will not be overly taxed nor disappointed, but will be greatly rewarded with in-depth understanding of a little-understood disease.]

Your skin serves at least three functions:  protection, perception and perspirations.  It’s a membrane, made of the same embryonic tissue matrix (ectoderm) as the brain and nervous system, communicating with central control about environmental conditions ’round the clock 24/7.  It also clothes the body in a protective layer, giving you a somewhat more appealing appearance than if you didn’t have it.   It’s also an organ of elimination, so it reflects the conditions of the bowels, liver, kidneys, lungs and lymphatic system.  What these primary organs of elimination cannot handle, falls to the skin and sweat glands to carry out . . . literally.

An immune disorder

I found this explanation of what psoriasis is thought to be by Dr. Howard Sofen, Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at UCLA School of Medicine: “We’ve really changed our whole idea of what psoriasis is, in that it’s really the immune system that’s driving this disorder.

“Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition. . . .  The immune system is somehow triggered, which causes a series of events, including inflammation and acceleration of skin cell growth. Instead of falling off (shedding), the cells pile up on the surface of the skin, forming psoriatic plaques. . . .  Psoriasis often appears in adolescence or young adulthood, but can occur at any age. . . .  People with psoriasis typically experience patches of thick, red skin covered with silvery scales called plaques. . . .  While there is no known cure for psoriasis, there have been many advancements in psoriatic disease research and psoriasis treatment. The evolving understanding of psoriasis as a disease of the immune system has expanded significantly the variety of available treatments, including biologic therapies such as STELARA™. . . .”  

There is this explanation of how this drug works:  “An overactive immune system can lead to high levels of IL-12 and IL-23, two proteins that have been found in psoriatic skin plaques. STELARA™, a biologic medicine, binds to IL-12 and IL-23. By preventing these two proteins from attaching to cells in your body, STELARA™ may slow down the production of skin cells and may reduce inflammation.”

Then there’s this warning:  “STELARA™ can increase your chance of having serious side effects including:  serious infections. STELARA™ may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. While taking STELARA™, some people have serious infections, which may require hospitalization, including tuberculosis (TB), and infections caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses.”

Now, I love it when medicine announces “there is no known cure” for a disease and then proceeds to treat it with drugs that have harmful side effects.  At least they are offering reportedly effective treatment for the symptoms and with it blessed relief from pain and misery.  My reasoning however is this: if it is indeed the immune system that’s driving psoriasis, then it would stand to reason that the overactive immune system would be modulated (balanced) by the treatment, not weakened.   So, let’s talk about this so-called ” immune system” and what’s “driving” it to excess in producing inflammation and proliferation of skin cells.  Let’s also talk about inflammation.

Immune Alliance

Actually, there is no  “immune system” as such in the body.  There is rather an “immune alliance” made up of many organs and systems whose shared primary role is the elimination of toxic waste from the body.  Inflammation is literally a fiery response to infection in an effort to burn up what can’t or won’t be easily eliminated. Infection is an immune response brought on by pathogens, such as bacteria , fungi and viruses, that multiply faster than the elimination systems can deal with. Pathogens thrive in an acid environment, so the pH of the skin is a significant factor.  The thymus gland, which is thought of as the “immune system,” plays a central role in tagging and eliminating toxins from the body.

[Note: I have a very beautiful, inspiring and in-depth meditation on the Thymus Gland as the brain of the immune alliance of the body under the direction of the “Spirit of Purification”  in my book Sacred Anatomy.   You will come away from reading it utterly in a state of awe at the impeccable design and intricate function of this vital aspect of your body temple — as you will reading any one section of this beautiful book.  You can order it online at my website www.healingandattunement.com, or simply drop me an email at tpal70@gmail.com. The following is an excerpt from my book that will give you a better understanding of your “immune system.”]

“The Thymus is the control center for the electromagnetic energy of the body.  It is with this energy that the body maintains its integrity and protective hedge. Although we speak of an “immune system,” the reality is that the body does not have an immune system in as much as it is an immune system in its functional totality, considering the vast distribution of lymphocytes throughout the body temple.  Systems such as the skeletal, respiratory, reproductive, endocrine, central nervous system, and others are complete functioning systems with a clear set of organs and responses.  Our “immune system” may best be described as an immune alliance between various systems and organs which, when coordinated by the brain, give an immune response to the presence of any and all non-self elements and associated dis-ease factors that are not a natural part of the internal sacred landscape of the body.

 “This immune alliance is composed of the thymus gland, which develops the immature lymphocytes ; the spleen which produces antibodies and which includes the lymphatic and blood circulatory systems; the long bones of the skeletal system which contain bone-marrow that gives birth to leukocytes (white blood cells). Then there are the organs of the digestive system: the stomach and pancreas, which make Hydrochloric acid and enzymes that destroy ingested parasites and carcinogens, the intestinal flora which destroy pathogenic microbes and manufacture B12, and the liver which detoxifies the blood and produces enzymes that break down dead tissue cells and repair those that are damaged.  So when I speak of the “immune system,” it is to this alliance that I am referring and not to some specific system in the body.” 

With this perspective, you may better understand what I’m about to say about psoriasis and its cousin scleroderma, a hardening and shrinking of the skin, as well as the rationale behind my recommended treatment of the cause of this disorder.  Both of these disorders are driven by an over-zealous immune response that has been thrown into survival and defensive mode.   This thickening of the skin with psoriasis has several causal factors.  Functionally, it reflects a toxic and congested liver that can no longer function normally in ridding the blood of toxic waste.  Holistically, it reflects a long-standing guarded condition in the heart, or emotional realm, which serves the individual as a wall of protection.

Louise Hay describes the nature of this wall as a “Fear of being hurt. Deadening the senses and the self.  Refusing to accept responsibility for our own feelings.” (from You Can Heal Your Life).  This emotional “dis-ease”  underlies this physical disease of the skin, and must be addressed along with the physical condition itself.

The proliferation of the skin cells relates to the building of this “wall” of protection.  The over-zealous (hyperactive) immune response is to the overwhelming onslaught of dying cells and other debris left by infection.  DNA gets damaged by free-radicals. Viral scavengers are needed, along with new cells to replace the dead ones. The signal that the “protomorphagen” scouts (the skin cells send out to give feed back about conditions around the cell) send back to the cell says: “Hey, cells are dying faster than usual! There’s lots of debris out here that needs to be cleaned up. Get busy and create viruses to scavenge the debris, and make more skin cells.”  So, this is what happens.  The body doesn’t make mistakes.  Everything it does is in response to what is occurring in and around the cells.   Viruses are opportunistic scavengers that appear on the scene when needed.  They are normal cells that morph into viruses right on the spot where debris needs cleaning up.   What wisdom the body continually demonstrates!

Rationale for treating the cause

The rationale behind treating the cause of psoriasis with nutritional and herbal protocols is fundamentally this:  By removing toxic waste from the body, it will no longer feel threatened.  The “immune system” is thus relieved of its hyperactivity and allowed to turn to other functions, such as healing and repairing damaged tissues.  This is also the rationale for addressing the emotional aspects of psoriasis.  By removing the toxic feelings and thoughts, the sympathetic-dominance of the fight or flight response of the body is dis-engaged, returning the person to a more relaxed, parasympathetic state wherein real health and growth can take place.  In other words, the “wall” is no longer needed, therefore the symptoms are no longer necessary and will subside and gradually disappear altogether.

The physical manifestation can be addressed nutritionally by supporting the liver and other organs of elimination, along with the immune alliance.  The emotional factors underlying the physical symptoms can be addressed very easily and effectively with B.E.S.T. (Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique) developed and taught by Dr. Milton T. Morter, a biochemist and chiropractor from Rogers, Arkansas.  I am certified in this work and have found it to be a marvelous technique for addressing the emotional and mental factors behind disease.  [To find a B.E.S.T. practitioner near you, go online to www.morterhealthsystem.com.]

Support of the liver starts with first removing those things in one’s lifestyle that abuse and hurt the liver.  In probably the greater number of cases, alcohol and other drugs are involved.   Alcohol literally cooks the liver, hardening it to the point where it can no longer function chemically to process and disarm toxins.  Drugs do as well, burdening the liver to the point of exhaustion.

Here, again,one can see the emotional factors at work driving the individual to drinking and using drugs in order to avoid facing his or her state of emotional turmoil inside.   The thickening of the skin reflects the protective shell erected in the heart realm with a large and well defended sign posted that says “Private! Keep Out!”

Nutritional and herbal protocols

Nutritional support would include detoxification of the liver pathways with herbal and therapeutic nutrients.  Standard Process Labs puts out some very effective formulae for this purpose.  Products like Livaplex,  AF Betafood, Hepatrophin, St. John’s Wort, Organic Garlic,  Spanish Black Radish, Cruciferrous Complete, along with LivTon and LivCo, botanicals by Medi Herb, the herbal division of Standard Process Labs, comprise a 21-day protocol for liver detoxification.*

Calcium metabolism and mobilization play a facilitating role in the infection process.  One can appreciate the impact which emotions have on endocrine function, such as that of the thyroid gland which oversees the utilization of calcium.  Suppressed emotions depress hormonal function.   Sugar consumption may increase as a lift for blood sugar where hypoglycemia and/or diabetes has set in with the increase of blood alcohol that turns to sugar.   Hormonal balance is thrown into disarray as glands fail to function harmoniously and the liver cannot release stored hormones and glycogen.  Zypan (Betaine Hydrochloride) helps support the utilization of calcium, as well as destroy ingested parasites and carcinogens,  and Cataplex G  helps with circulation by relaxing nerves in the blood vessels . Vitamin G (a B Vitamin) acts as a vaso-dialator to increase the flow of blood throughout the body, which helps bring down high blood pressure but is contraindicated in cases of low blood pressure.  Vitamin G also contains the lipotrophic factors, Choline and Inositol, that metabolize fat needed to repair nerves and skin, so it helps with liver function and skin health.

LivCo, which has a plentiful amount of Milk Thistle,  is especially effective as an herbal support for the liver and serves to  aid in the elimination of toxins and cleanse the liver, support healthy liver function and tissue integrity, protect liver tissue by supporting normal cellular defenses, provide antioxidant protection, support and maintain cellular health, stimulate the biosynthesis of protein and liver glycogen, support digestive health, and ease the effects of everyday tension and stress *

Direct and indirect nutritional support to the skin itself is provided by a long-term protocol, which includes products such as Dermatrophin to support tissue repair and renewal; Lactic Acid Yeast for support to the intestinal flora which destroys pathogenic microbes, such as fungi, and manufacture Vitamin B12; DermCo and LivTon to support skin renewal and integrity, digestion, blood uric acid levels, and elimination of toxins in the liver and intestinal tract, and Black Current Seed Oil,  “an excellent source of omega-6 fatty acids. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) converts to a hormone-like substance called prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). PGE1 helps maintain blood flow, fat metabolism, and fluid balance.”* Fat is what the brain and nervous system, including the skin, are largely composed of.  Aloe (also by Medi Herb) can be used topically to balance the pH of the skin, soften and nurture the skin and to keep it hydrated and alkalized, addressing the inflammation.  The herb Rehmannia can help with toxin elimination, adrenal and liver health, as well as immune system support.*

Finally, modulation of the immune response is the most important help one could render to the body in overcoming immune-driven diseases.  Modulation means balancing (as opposed to “stimulating”), and it is best achieved with the help of the herb Echinacea.  I recommend Echinacea Premium by Medi Herb, who brings us the purest and most potent herbals and botanicals from Australia, now made available here in the USA by Standard Process Labs  www.standardprocess.com .

As you can see, much can be done naturally to address both the physical and emotional aspects of psoriasis. For professional coaching  and personal consultation, along with product ordering and drop-shipping, please feel free to contact me by email: tpal70@gmail.com.  Thank you for staying in there for the entire article.  I think you will agree that it was well worth the read.

Light upon your path to health and wellness,

Dr. Tony Palombo

Chiropractor and Applied Clinical Nutritionist

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. None of the products listed in this article are intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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Eat the Whole Egg

The yoke is where the nutrition is.

Here’s to the faithful breakfast egg!  I found a great article on the nutritional qualities of the egg on Facebook and thought I would share it with my blog readers. 

You’ll find it at this link: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/whole-eggs-or-egg-whites.html

Here’s an excerpt:  “This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

“By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients… it’s not even worth trying to list them all.

“In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

“Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

“Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).”

My tip: The harder the egg white, the more work it takes in the stomach to break it down.  The amino acids bond more tightly together with heat, as is the case with all cooked proteins.  Better to eat the egg white raw in a health drink.  The next best way to eat it is poached, soft-boiled, or soft-scrambled in a little olive oil and butter.  Yummy!  Add some chives or green onions, and a clove or two of garlic, and you have a tasty and healthy brunch.  And don’t forget the salsa!  Ummmm good!

“And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg…

“But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof”

Click on the link and find out the truth about the egg and cholesterol.

To your health,

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Miracle in the Gulf of Mexico!

“Where has all the Gulf oil gone?”

I love it when Mother Nature shows us that she knows how to deal with eruptions from her bowels, as this news headline celebrates. 

“Where is all the oil? Nearly two weeks after BP finally capped the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, the oil slicks that once spread across thousands of miles of the Gulf of Mexico have largely disappeared. Nor has much oil washed up on the sandy beaches and marshes along the Louisiana coast. And the small cleanup army in the Gulf has only managed to skim up a tiny fraction of the millions of gallons of oil spilled in the 100 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig went up in flames.”

“Perhaps the most important cause of the oil’s disappearance, some researchers suspect, is that the oil has been devoured by microbes. The lesson from past spills is that the lion’s share of the cleanup work is done by nature in the form of oil-eating bacteria and fungi. The microbes break down the hydrocarbons in oil to use as fuel to grow and reproduce. A bit of oil in the water is like a feeding frenzy, causing microbial populations to grow exponentially.”

Read more details at:        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_excl/ynews_excl_sc3270

Comments:

These microbes have shown up in every oil spill since man has been able to detect them.  This wonderful planet has multiple ways to deal with everything that happens to it, just like our bodies.  I guest these things are the white blood cells of the planet.
 
Thanks for the link,
David
Our God is a mighty God and He made the earth to care for itself.  If only His people would heed His council.  We were just talking Tues night about this very thing. 
Thanks for sharing.
“T”
Dr. P.
Having worked for Exxon I’d heard of the microbes in relation to the Valdez spill. This is the first I’ve heard in relation to the GoM spill. Thanks for sending this reminder that God created our planet with the same self-healing properties He instilled in us. It’s encouraging. I will continue to pray for the people, animals, and their habitats, but now I will do so greatly encouraged.
Louise