Chronic illnesses such as Symptoms of Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and most autoimmune diseases have, traditionally, been very difficult to treat by conventional doctors. With their arsenal being limited to drugs such as pain relievers, antidepressants and immune suppressants- millions of people seem to find only limited relief from these traditional therapies.

But recently, a successful drug treatment that is actually an old drug rediscovered is offering  hope for those with these difficult to treat problems.  Naltrexone was discovered many years ago and is used primarily for helping relieve the symptoms of drug dependency at a dose of approximately 50 milligrams per day. But in the past few decade it has begun to be widely used by alternative practitioners- even though it is a pharmaceutical!

 

Ironically, even though it IS a drug, alternative practitioners are using it when conventional doctors aren’t.

 

An accidental discovery led Harvard researcher Dr. Bernard Bihari to realize that it significantly helped the  AIDS patients that he was treating. Interestingly, he used only 1.5 to 5 milligrams per day, a  TENTH of the normal dosage. At  these low dosages, it been touted to benefit symptoms of a wide variety of chronic illnesses including multiple sclerosis, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome and most autoimmune diseases. Now Fibromyalgia sufferers are able to put themselves on this growing  list of those that may benefit  from Low Dose Naltrexone therapy.

The latest study from Stanford University showed “promising” results with the use of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy, also called ‘LDN’ by it’s proponents. While it was a small study, the researchers were encouraged that the majority of the participants benefited from the drug with decreased pain, fatigue and sleep problems.

 

Researchers aren’t quite sure what makes Low Dose Naltrexone therapy work, but it seems to generally improve the immune system in patients who are using it. This is the reason that it seems to miraculously work in such a wide variety of illnesses that seemingly have nothing to do with each other.

 

This actually supports what alternative practitioners have been saying all along- chronic illnesses are caused by hidden infections that are improved when the immune system is improved. And in the case of Autoimmune Diseases, this supports the thesis that autoimmune diseases are caused from an immune system that is Underactive and not OVERACTIVE as traditional medicine claims.

The findings with Naltrexone have actually led to renewed research on Autoimmune Disease that may lead to new drug research that will help people to Improve their immune systems rather than Suppress the immune system as current drugs use.

 

Ironically, the drug is already here in the form of Low Dose Naltrexone!!

 

Unfortunately, naltrexone is a generic drug whose patent is not now owned by any pharmaceutical company. Therefore, while some double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials are being done, they are few and far between due to the lack of funding for a drug that is unlikely to make anyone much money from its sale.

 

So, while conventional doctors are still not using Low Dose Naltrexone therapy, the hope is that more studies will be done that continue to show that the Fibromyalgia Causeand other immune system problems is a POOR immune system and not an UNDERACTIVE immune system as doctors claim. But right now, the drug IS available for those whose are able to find doctors able to prescribe it, and is offering hope and help for millions who have been unable to get relief from other, more conventional therapies.

 

If you are suffering from Early Symptoms of Fibromyalgia or any other hard to treat chronic illnesses and have not had relief of your symptoms, I have a program that has benefited hundreds of chronic illness sufferers. You can Contact Me Directly and get a free 15 minute consultation to find out how my program can benefit you.

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

With the Swine Flu now looming as a Pandemic, there is lots of information and misinformation about what to do about the flu. How to prevent it and how to limit its effects if you DO get the flu should be primary concern for everyone right now.

 

While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is preaching avoidance and handwashing, they Completely Ignore means of strengthening the immune system as a means of prevention. While avoidance and handwashing are powerful tools to keep from getting the flu- if the people that DO HAVE the flu knew who to avoid- don’t you think that they would have?

It’s not always obvious who has the flu, and people may be able to spread the flu BEFORE they have any symptoms, so if you have to go to work or school and shop for groceries, then who do you avoid- EVERYONE? We live in a society- especially right now in this difficult economy – where it is simply not practical to stay home from work.

And right now, a large part of the US economy is driven by health care. So, the millions who actually work directly in the health care industry AND those who actually work with patients are not going to just be able to stay home. They will also have increased susceptibility to contracting the flu and increased ability to TRANSMIT the flu as well.

 

So, the rational and practical thing to do is to make your immune system as strong as possible right now ANDstart to take specific natural immune boosting and antiviral supplements that will improve your chances of fighting off the flu if your ARE exposed to it.

So, this is the first in a series of blog posts that will tell you more about antiviral and immune boosting supplements, likeSelenium and Influenze, that may help you to ward off the flu and/or decrease the severity of your illness if you DO happen to get the flu.

 

There is a great article on Strengthening the Immune System on the Ora Media website. The owner, Tom only talks about dental health on his site, but amazingly, most of the techniques that Tom talks about to prevent and treat Periodontal Disease and cavities are EXACTLY the same things that you would do to help prevent the flu!

 

Garlic

The first supplement that I wil discuss with you today is Garlic. Garlic, also known by its botanical name of Allium sativum is a very old and very well known antiviral, antibacterial and immune system modulator.

Garlic contains a wide variety of ingredients that may contribute to its effects. Among them are: Selenium, sulphur, germanium and magnesium. Many of these particular compounds are sorely missing in the typical westerners diet and each of these compounds, individually, have been widely studied for their beneficial effects. But put together, they produce an amazing product whose properties are matched no where else.

 

How to Take Garlic and why it works

One account of health care workers in Japan during a 1970′s flu epidemic showed that many who did not get the flu were taking garlic. The ‘traditional’ way that they were taking it is illustrated below:

This garlic preparation [of minced garlic and honey] is chewed and retained in the oral cavity as long as possible for the liberated volatile compounds to penetrate and be absorbed by the tissues of the mouth, nasopharynx, and sinuses

This preparation is in agreement with a study done of 125 traditional healers in which 94% stated that the best way to use garlic medicinally is to mince it and eat it raw- mixing in butter or honey was acceptable. But only 20% used it cooked or steeped, while still agreeing that it negatively affected it’s medicinal value.

Garlic MAY help to coat the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose when taken this way, effecting a so called antiviral barrier that could potentially kill the flu virus when and if it were to come into contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose- the most likely way to contract the flu.

 

Taken this way, garlic may also have the potent effect of keeping  people far enough away from you to keep you from being able to inhale their exhaled viruses!!

 

While garlic is DIRECTLY an antiviral and antibacterial on contact, as shown in many studies, garlic is ALSO an immune system booster in its own right. Many studies show that it can significantly boost the effects of the immune system when taken orally. One study on AIDS patients who ALL had a decrease in the level of their ‘Natural Killer Cells’, a potent immune system cell, before treatment- showed EVERY PATIENT to have NORMAL levels after 12 weeks of taking garlic orally!

 

Aside from the antiviral and immunomodulating effects of garlic, another reason that it is potent protection from diseases is its detoxification abilities. Garlic has sulphur containing amino acids which act of the liver to help with detoxification. In fact, it is such a potent detoxifier that studies show it has good effects on getting rid of lead and cadmium! This effect of garlic could generally produce an effect of making the body work less and allowing it to heal rather than to detoxify.

 

All of these reasons put together make garlic a powerful protector against possible infections and possibly even the flu.

 

But if taking raw mashed garlic mixed in honey doesn’t appeal to you, you do have other options. Immuni-T2G From Longevity Plus has freeze-dried raw garlic in capsules that still retains the active component, Allicin. It is ALSO combined with immune boosting mushrooms and can be taken regularly with virtually no toxic effects having been noted from continued use.

 

 

Garlic, therefore, appears to be a safe and effective antiviral, immune system modulator and detoxifier that you could consider adding to your arsenal of herbal preparations during this Swine Flu outbreak.

 

Resources

High Quality Garlic Powder in Capsules
Money by the Mouthful- If you take care of your teeth, then you automatically boost your immune system. Learn what dentists simply DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW!
Vitamin D Supplements- If I could only choose ONE supplement to get me through flu season, it would be Vitamin D. Vitamin D is probably one of the BEST immune system stimulants that there is. Seriously, if you are not taking Vitamin D, then you are setting yourself up for getting the flu. You heard it here first, and don’t blame me if you get the flu and you are not on Vitamin D!

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

 

______________________________________________________________

 

Folks, this could very well be a very serious incident that is now being reported. This is NOT simply rumor, this appears to fact that is being reported at:

CNN
Natural News
Wall Street Journal

just to name a few. A “swine flu” is now infecting people. mostly in Mexico, but a few people in scattered parts of the US and Canada, have become infected as well, proving that this is a human to human transmission of a new, never before seen flu virus that COULD be the start of a worldwide pandemic.

 

Now, I don’t tell you this in order to scare you, but to prepare you.

 

During the last flu pandemic of 1914, it has been reported ‘ad nauseum’ that the flu infected “young, healthy people” and not just the old and infirm. Also, people have reporting frequently that it must have been their “strong immune system that made it worse”. While we will never know the exact statistics, on the surface this LOOKS true- but is it really?

 

Yes, tens of thousands of young military men died- however, they were far from being healthy as is reported. The flu had just started at the beginning of World War I and began infecting and killing men by the hundreds in military barracks where men were in basic training or waiting to be deployed to the front.

 

These boys and young men were in the most stressful position in their entire lives.They had been ripped from their homes-often for the first time in their lives and:

Put in with hundreds of other men in barracks
Given little rest
Eating poor food
Got little sunlight
Had the constant threat of going to war at any minute
Had constant intentional ‘emotional’ stress training by drill sergeants

This immense stress, crowded living situations and questionable sanitation made them simply the most stressed that individuals in the western world could get. This made them EXTREMELY vulnerable to any and all infections that were going to come their way.

 

Just because they were not actively sick did not mean that they were healthy!!

 

So, what is your life like? You may not be living in barracks going off to war, but westerners today live their lives in a state that is “perceived” as constant stress.

Difficulty paying the bills
Threat of losing your job
Large amounts of debt
Sitting in traffic
Having a stressful job or NOT having a job
Juggling two jobs, a spouse and taking care of the kids
Often living with chronic illness or taking several medications
Not getting enough exercise
Eating processed foods and lots of sugar

Your BODY certainly perceives all this as stress. And much like the boys during the last flu pandemic, we pretty much “look” healthy, but we are FAR from being healthy and we are setting ourselves up to be the victims of the next flu pandemic- or even just the next office bug that goes around.

The vast majority of westerners are in terrible physical shape. They don’t exercise, they eat poorly, they drink sodas instead of water, they think that broccoli is a dirty word and call people “hippies” if they insist on organic, raw unprocessed food.

 

If that sounds like you, then these reports about the swine flu should worry you. If we truly are having a flu pandemic, then it is going to weed out the people who take care of themselves versus the people who don’t -and VERY quickly!

 

If you think that having a poor immune system is going to somehow protect you, I think that you will be sadly mistaken.

 

 

And when a pandemic- or just the office bug- comes to you, it will be too late for you to do anything about it. You can wash your hands till the cows come home, but that will not help. Your immune system is not going to be able to fight off the next thing that comes around. And if you DID get the office bug this winter, then you have a forewarning of what is to come.

 

Your immune system is not going to be prepared!!

 

But it’s not too late to change your lifestyle and your family’s lifestyle NOW (I hope). You can start to get your immune system in shape before the next big thing hits and be sitting pretty when others are getting ill. Throughout history, there have always been those left untouched by infectious disasters. It could be genetics, but I’m not willing to bet on it. I’m betting that it’s those whose immune systems were “bulletproof” that survived and thrived and were the caregivers of those who were sick and dying.

Most people are going to be afraid.  But you needn’t be. If your immune system is bulletproof, you are going to be in great shape through any such natural disaster of whatever proportion.

 

And here are some things that you can start doing today, right now, this very minute to start working out your immune system so that it will weather any storm that comes through.

Start exercising
Get sunlight exposure on your skin daily
Get plenty of sleep between 10 pm and 6 am
Drink ONLY clean pure water or brewed tea
Cut out ALL dairy products unless they are organic and RAW
Cut out all processed foods of ANY type
Cut out ALL sugar and sugar based foods
Manage your stress however you must
Start eating organic foods
Eat fruits or vegetables as the PRIMARY basis of EVERY SINGLE MEAL

These are just the minimum starting suggestions. But for those who are truly interested in building their immune systems into powerful bulletproof machines,   you may want to begin to take a few specific supplements that will help to protect you from infections- and viruses in particular:

Take a High Quality Vitamin and Mineral Supplement
Get Your Vitamin D Level Checked and take enough Vitamin D Supplements or get enough sun exposure to keep your level between 50-80 ng/ml
Add Raw Organic Virgin Coconut Oil as a regular part of your diet. It is anti-inflammatory and has powerful anti-infective properties. It’s a great healthy cooking oil that tastes good too.

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen

Functional Medicine Practitioner

Easy Immune Health.com

 

I am a HUGE proponent of the FACT that Autism is not a ‘brain’ disorder, but a fixable disorder caused by MEDICAL PROBLEMS. For some reason, doctors think that the idea that autism is a Medical Problem is heretical and that it is simply an incurable brain problem.

 

I use protocols similar to those outlined by ‘DAN’ or Defeat Autism Now that are able to help autistic children recover. These protocols include the simple ideas that the ‘brain’ problems that affect autistic children are actually caused by:

Nutrient Deficiencies
Heavy Metal Toxicity
Environmental Toxin Overload
Food Allergies
Chronic Gastrointestinal Infections

The two resources below agree with this, as does Defeat Autism Now.

 

 

The first is a video from Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet.  If you have ANY health problem, I highly recommend that this book become one of your major references on your path to health. I don’t agree with ALL of her recommendations, but for the most part it should be an essential part of your recovery.

1) Donna Gates Autism Video

I DO take issue with a few of her claims. She claims that autism is not genetic. I believe that the autistic children’s genetics PREDISPOSE them to be especially sensitive to environmental toxins that contribute to their problems. If it weren’t for genetic contributions, then either ALL children exposed to the same environmental stimuli would become autistic or none of them would.

 

Genetics is an essential component of autism, but genetics is not the CAUSE of autism. Just like heart disease, even if EVERYONE in your family has heart disease and you have the same genetics- if you lived in a pure environment, ate only organic vegan foods and ran marathons- the likelihood of you getting heart disease is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than a family member who eats cheeseburgers and fries for lunch, smokes and is 50 pounds overweight. Genetics PREDISPOSES people to disease, but- except in certain specific instances such as hemophilia, Down’s Syndrome, etc- it does not CAUSE disease.

 

My belief, is that YOU cause your disease because of exposure to modifiable risk factors. This is not to BLAME anyone, but this is to give you RESPONSIBILITY and POWER over your disease.

Saying that genetics CAUSED your disease, gives you the opportunity to say, “Oh well, it’s in my genes- there’s nothing that I can do. Let’s go get another cheeseburger, shall we?”

But if you come from a place of genetics PREDISPOSING you to disease, then you can say, “Other people may be able to eat cheeseburgers every day without problems, but my genetics doesn’t allow that. Therefore, I’ll choose to have a plate of steamed vegetables with brown rice and tahini sauce instead.”

You can choose to “Believe” either one, but one view gives you POWER, the other makes you the VICTIM- you choose!

 

2) The second resource is an article from www.Natural News.com that shows an accidental finding of environmental toxins being linked to autism. While the researchers found that chemicals in a certain type of flooring was linked to higher autism rates, I believe that in the future we will understand that it is not “flooring” or “toxins in vaccines”, but the total amount of chemical exposure that overwhelms these children with certain genetic sensitivities that leads to a certain grouping of behaviors that we call “Autism”.

 

It’s really time that the medical community comes around to the idea that autism is a medical problem. It’s AMAZING to me that they choose to think of it as some random incurable brain problem! But until then, YOU don’t have to wait a decade or two- you can get help NOW- with or without the help of your doctor.

Functional Medicine Practitioners, like myself, have been helping children with autism recover for decades, and have known that problems with ADD, ADHD, autism and other so called ‘brain’ disorders have their roots in real life medical problems that can be fixed.

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

A recent study shows that Lung Tumors Destroy Vitamin D

The researchers stated that the chemoprotective effects of Vitamin D were being thwarted by the cancer and that they were investigating what the right level of Vitamin D would be to help fight lung cancer. They stated,

 

 

“…one day Vitamin D could be used as a
chemopreventive agent to improve patient outcomes.”

 

Well, what are they waiting for…. that day is NOW!

They are not talking about some far off drug that has not been through FDA testing or that is still in clinical trials. The “drug” that they have with “chemoprotective effects to one day help improve outcomes” is sitting right in the grocery store on the counter waiting to be taken.

 

This is not the first or only study showing Vitamin D’s anticancer and chemoprotective effects. In fact, there are dozens, if not HUNDREDS of studies showing the benefits of Vitamin D and cancer.

The researchers have been saying it for years, if not DECADES- “TAKE VITAMIN D”!

But instead of using our existing knowledge of the right amount of Vitamin D to take and the already decades old technology of doing a Vitamin D blood test along with researchers recommendations of appropriate blood levels of the Vitamin, it appears that we are waiting for drug manufacturers to patent a “Vitamin D analog” much as they have done in the treatment of eczema.

 

But WHY are we waiting?

 

Doctors just don’t seem to “get it”. Doctors still think that Vitamin D deficiency is ‘rare’ and that you can get all of your Vitamin D if you eat a ‘balanced’ diet- what balanced diet? 20 glasses of milk or 12 ounces of salmon per day is there uneducated “balanced diet” to get Vitamin D- unless you happen to sun dry your own mushrooms or you happen to import your own Reindeer Meat- there IS NO BALANCED DIET THAT WILL GET YOU ENOUGH VITAMIN D!

In SEVERE cases, like in advanced osteoporosis, doctors MIGHT recommend 800 IU’s per day, the upper limit of the grossly outdated RDI’s of the Vitamin.

But the ‘new’ RDI ‘should be’ AT LEAST 2000 IU’s per day of Vitamin D, with higher dosages tailored to an EASY TO DO Vitamin D Blood Test. There are even Vitamin D blood test Kits that can be done right in your own home and MAILED back to the company!

 

But doctors still don’t get it….

 

At  GrassrootsHealth, an interview with researcher Dr. Cedric Garland makes the claim that we can PREVENT 75% of breast and colon cancer deaths with Vitamin D Blood Levels between 40-50  ng/ml – yet doctors still don’t even check Vitamin D blood levels routinely despite reseacher recommendations that a Vitamin D blood test should be checked at every single yearly physical exam.

Colon cancer
Breast cancer
Lung cancer

Even SKIN CANCER believe it or not- along with:

Heart disease
Diabetes
Periodontal disease
Multiple sclerosis
chronic pain

and a whole host of other “diseases of civilization” can be cured, prevented or treated to some degree with varying levels of Vitamin D that are KNOWN.

Check out this “Disease Incidence Table” that shows that researchers ALREADY KNOW what Vitamin D levels prevent what diseases. This is a Well Researched subject- studied by eminent scientists for over 20 years.

But YOU don’t have to wait. The technology and the knowledge is RIGHT HERE,  RIGHT NOW.

Those in the know, KNOW the importance of Vitamin D and YOU can benefit from their knowledge.

Get your Vitamin D Blood Level Checked Today with In Home Blood Spot Testing Technology. It’s quick, it’s accurate and it’s virtually painless. Don’t wait until you get heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, osteoporosis or simply periodontal disease to start taking Vitamin D.

Get a Vitamin D Blood Level done and Know your Vitamin D level like you know your Cholesterol Level.  It’s really that important!

 

Your doctor may NEVER get it, but YOU can!

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

In a new UCSF press release, researchers are proud to announce a ‘breakthrough’ in finding ‘The Cause” of Alzheimer’s Disease. The researchers conclude,

“Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, results from misfolding events involving beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which result in neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle formation in medial temporal memory structures. In all neurodegenerative diseases, synapses between nerve cells falter, and damage spreads to new regions, accompanied by worsening clinical deficits.”

Beta Amyloid WHAT! Tau protein WHAT!

 

 

It all sounds very intelligent and scientific, but it doesn’t sound like an Answer to ANYTHING! It sounds as though they have new insight into the really really small microscopic details about what happens when people ALREADY HAVE ALZHEIMERS DISEASE, but this doesn’t sound like they have a CLUE as to what to do with this information.

As in lots and lots of research studies, the biochemistry and other intricate details that are found lead them to more intricate detailed studies which might lead, 10 or 15 years from now, to a Patentable Miracle Pharmaceutical that will be called something along the lines of a “Beta Amyloid Neuritic Protein Plaque Blocker” or some other crazy thing.

Then 10 years after it comes out, we will find out that it causes a deadly form of incurable brain infection and shortens lives by 5 years- the USUAL story.

 

But THERE ARE ANSWERS right here right now!

 

Alternative practitioners often have much success improving  so called ‘neurologic’ or ‘neurodegenerative’ problems like Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis and Autism using technology That Already Exists!!

But the medical community doesn’t seem interested in looking at neurodegenerative diseases as being caused by fixable problems in the body. They seem bound and determined that “it’s a brain thing!”

 

So, therefore it couldn’t possibly be a “body thing”.

 

But things that might look like brain disorders Absolutely Can Be caused by  something wrong in the body. As a nurse in ER and Intensive Care Units for almost 15 years, medical professionals KNOW that being sick can make you not right in the head.

 

In fact:

It’s mandatory that before a psychiatric patient is ‘committed’ on an involuntary basis for acute psychiatric problems , they  MUST get a ‘medical clearance’ to make sure that there is nothing medically wrong with them first
One of the most frequent calls that we get for the elderly is that they have become mentally altered in some way. We assume that they have some sort of infection, look for it and most often find it. We treat them with antibiotics and they generally resume their previous level of functioning in a couple of days
Even young and healthy people can become altered and even Combative when they get a life threatening infection.

 

But medical professionals hardly ever look for things BESIDES infections or electrolyte imbalances. But if you look at the medical literature, things like nutritional deficiencies and heavy metal toxicity Can and Do cause neurologic problems.

Just two examples of readily documented medical problems that can cause neurologic problems- that conventional medicine virtually never looks for , but that Functional Medicine finds and treats with good success.

Vitamin B-12 Deficiency: one clinical study even says, “…the best-known clinical manifestations of cobalamin  (Vitamin b-12) malabsorption are hematologic (pernicious anemia) and neurologic symptoms.

What’s interesting is that a high percentage of both the elderly and children with autism have BOTH anemia  AND neurologic symptoms.

Yet the medical community all but scoffs at “Alternative” practitioners who claim significant improvement in autistic children using high dose Vitamin B-12 Supplementation.

Mercury Toxicity:  is best known by Alice in Wonderland’s “The Mad Hatter”- a common theme because people who made hats (Hatters) used Mercury in those days and often went “mad” as a result.

There are easy laboratory tests, both blood and urine, that can test for Mercury Toxicity.

Our bodies don’t readily excrete Mercury very well, so it doesn’t seem such a stretch of the imagination that someone who has lived for 80 years eating fish and getting mercury containing vaccines all of their lives could possibly have Mercury Toxicity.

Yet again, the Alternative Community is derided for its  treatment of  a medically documented and easily tested for condition.

I could go on and on about other medically verifyable conditions that Functional Medicine is able find and thus able to improve “irreverable neurologic” conditions like autism.

So, I ask you- who is the “Alternative Practitioner”- a doctor who pronounces someone ‘incurable’ and gives you synthetic chemicals to get rid of symptoms, or the practitioner who seeks for and finds well documented real reasons for a problem and fixes the problem.

 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

No, indication creep is not some new skin disease, or some weird guy that is lurking out front of hospitals taking advantage of Elderly single women. Indication Creep is the phenomenon whereby a drug is tested and approved for one specific use and doctors prescribe it for another use.
 
 

This is a perfectly legal and legitimate practice. Once a drug is approved for use, a doctor is allowed to prescribe it for any usage that they choose to. Prescribing drugs for “Off Label” uses, as it is known, often saves lives and helps many people. It also will often drive studies to be done for usages that doctors have found the drug to be useful for. While prescribing for Off-Label uses also  has its downsides- especially when the drug is used in age groups that it was not tested on.

But This Study that examined off label usages shows that MORE THAN 50% of  all drugs prescribed to children in the hospital are used off label!
 
 

This is a seriously shocking number.
 
 

Children’s metabolism’s are NOT the same as adults. They process drugs entirely differently than adults do. And the long term Side Effects of these drugs on children’ s growth and development is entirely in unknown territory.

The AntiCholesterol drugs known as ‘Statins’  include names such as Lipitor, Baycol, Pravachol, Mevacor and Zocor. They are being prescribed in HUGE numbers to adults with questionable effects. Side effects are NOT rare and include such effects as Statin Muscle Pain and liver failure.Many researchers and doctors believe that their use, even in adults, is only  marginally necessary anyway, due to the fact that high cholesterol, in the VAST Majority of Cases,  is controllable with diet and lifestyle changes

 
 


 
 
But the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that doctors consider using Statin Drugs in children as young as 8 years old if they have high cholesterol!

 
 
I find their recommendation HORRIFYING for a variety of reasons.
 
 

1) Do we even know what a “normal” cholesterol level IS in children?

Their have not their been extensive studies of “normal” cholesterol in children so that we know what normal even is. Children are not “small adults” and their normal blood levels are not always the same as adults. How can anyone decide to “lower” a level of anything when they don’t know what “normal” really is!
 
 

2) Do we know what lowering cholesterol in children will do to them long term?

Cholesterol is not in our bodies unnecessarily. It’s there because we NEED it for the development of every single cell wall in our entire body, for the conversion of Sunlight to Vitamin D in our skin, and for the creation of every hormone. What will happen when we take away the building blocks of cell walls and hormones in a child is completely unknown.
 
 

3) The most well known, but least talked about  “Side Effect” of Statin Drugs-  are their Coenzyme Q-10 lowering effect.

Coenzyme Q-10 is a crazy sounding name for a substance that fuels the Mitochondria in every cell in the body. The Mitochondria are often called “The Powerhouses” of each and every individual cell of the body. This is not just a “theoretical” effect of statins.

Fatigue and muscle  weakness are among the most common causes of  people being unable to continue to take statins.  This muscle weakness is a direct result of Coenzyme Q-10 depletion and is EASILY remedied with the over the counter Coenzyme Q10.

While this is WIDELY reported in the literature on statins, the muscle weakness seems to baffle practicing physicians who could easily remedy the situation, but prefer to try the patient on different statin medications until they have exhausted all of their statin options (and exhausted their patients!).

So, the question becomes- what are we doing to children when we deplete their cellular energy?! We already have a nation of tired sick people. Are we making these children destined for a lifetime of ill health?
 
 

4) Their are LOTS better ways to lower High Cholesterol and, as usual, it absolves the Physician of the responsibility to find the REASON WHY the child has high cholesterol in the first place.

If these children do truly have High Cholesterol, maybe it’s time for a Family Intervention from a combined social services/nutritionist consult who can teach the family to get the CRAP foods out of their house and go for a walk after dinner instead of sitting on their asses watching television.
 
 

This would probably “Cure” a lot more cases of  “Familial High Cholesterol”, Diabetes and Obesity  then all of the drugs in the world.
 
 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen

Functional Medicine Practitioner

http://www.easy-immune-health.com

 
 

Could Vitamin D be more important in the Long Term than the Short Term?

When Researchers found out that Vitamin D Deficiency was the cause of Rickets, they thought that their problems were solved. Minute amounts of Vitamin D in milk basically solved the Rickets problem. End of story, pat on the back, job well done boys. We can now go solve some more important world health problems, right? Well, so much more research is being found out about Vitamin D, but doctors are still in the “If you Don’t have Rickets then you don’t have Vitamin D Deficiency” mode of the 1800′s and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to change anytime soon.
 
 

But what Researchers are now showing is that Certain Vitamins can cause obvious short term problems at ONE LEVEL of Deficiency, and other- no-so-obvious problems if a HIGHER level if not met.
 

 
Vitamin D, along with Calcium and Folic Acid, is one of those Vitamins.
 
 

The US may not have a rickets epidemic anymore, but we still have a RAMPANT EPIDEMIC of Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases. The amount of research is all but SCREAMING this fact, but doctors still can’t see beyond rickets to investigate the LONG TERM INSIDIOUS DISEASES caused by the long term effects of Vitamin D Deficiency!
 
 

These diseases, called Long Latency Diseases, come about only after many years of low level Vitamin D Deficiency.
 
 

Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly to those that follow my blog and website, these diseases look a LOT like the vast majority of chronic illnesses that doctors have had absolutely no success in treating!
 
 

These Diseases include:

Find Out Your Vitamin D Level Today! Check Your Vitamin D Level Right in Your Own Home!

Heart Disease
Diabetes
Periodontal Disease
Chronic Pain Conditions
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
“Dementia” and Mental Decline
Diabetes
Loss of functioning in old age
Breast Cancer
Osteoporosis
Hypertension
Depression
Other Cancers

 
 

None of these diseases are very responsive to drugs- and patients keep going back to the doctor. Sometimes patients go from doctor to doctor and get on an assortment of different drugs- One, and sometimes two drugs, for EACH of these “different” problems. But since doctors are trained in finding a diagnosis and prescribing a drug or recommending surgery for that problem, they rarely look for the underlying root cause of these problems.
 
 

I’m not suggesting that Vitamin D is going to fix all of these problems. It is not the magic bullet that people are looking for to fix all of their problems- another very Western Medicine approach to disease states.

But, in the case of ALL of these diseases, each one individually has been studied using Vitamin D and EACH ONE has had a measure of success being either prevented or improved using Vitamin D.
 
 

Yet doctors, when they have a patient with ALL of these problems together- Not an uncommon situation- refuse to look at Low Vitamin D Levels as a possible cause and as an element of the treatment regimen. The Medical Establishment does not change as quickly as research does- and is often takes Decades or even Centuries for medicine to change in response.
 
 

(For those who think that I am exaggerating, there were studies done as far back as the late 1800′s that showed that smoking contributes to health problems, yet the AMA took no formal stance on smoking until the 1970′s!)
 
 

 

So, unfortunately, it is generally up to the health care consumer (in other words YOU!) to do their own research so that YOU can promote your own health and be proactive. I urge you to get your Vitamin D Level Checked and Take Enought Vitamin D to get your Vitamin D Blood Levels between 50-80 as recommended by many researchers. It could take the Medical Establishment 100 years to come around to understanding the “Long Latency Effects” of Vitamin D on health.
 
 

I for one, don’t want to wait that long and the technology to do this is right here, right now!
 
 

Kerri Knox, RN
Functional Medicine Practitioner
http://www.easy-immune-health.com