The U.S. embargo of Cuba between 1991 and 1993 caused more than just economic consequences for the tiny island nation; it also caused interesting medical consequences that wealthier nations could learn from. The medical consequences of the embargo included an ‘outbreak’ of a painful nerve problem called ‘neuropathy’ that ended up affecting over 50,000 people. While it was determined that this ‘epidemic’ was caused by a virus, this virus was not treated with antiviral medications, antibiotics or any other pharmaceuticals. This epidemic was completely stopped in its tracks and the more than 50,000 people affected were CURED simply by taking a multivitamin supplement.

Peripheral Neuropathy is a nerve condition that causes pain and decreased sensation in many parts of the body but typically affects the lower extremities where it is called Peripheral Neuropathy. However, it may also affect the hands, the hearing, the face and even the nerves of the eyes causing not only pain and decreased sensation, but also deafness and blindness as well. The Cuban Neuropathy Epidemic, as this outbreak was later called, affected a combination of the extremities, the hearing and the eyes – sometimes in the same person. Young and old alike were affected and medical care was scarce due to many factors related to the embargo:

The poor economic conditions
The limited medical supplies entering the country
and
The vast numbers of people that were seeking medical attention for the epidemic

But in this environment of minimal funds in a so-called ‘third world’ country, the majority of the 50,000 people affected were completely cured of their neuropathy with nothing more than plain over-the-counter vitamin supplements. Even those who were so severely affected that they required hospitalization simply received intravenous vitamin infusions in the hospital while the government instituted a free multivitamin distribution program for the rest of the population. Those with neuropathy were ‘cured’ and the neuropathy ‘epidemic’, except for a few isolated cases, ended completely.

Today in the US, there are tens of thousands of people – primarily diabetics and the elderly – who are suffering with neuropathy and are told that there is no cure. They have blood tests, CT scans, perfusion scans, electrical muscle tests and nerve conduction tests. In the end, they are given pain pills and told that they will have to live with excruciating nerve pain and decreased sensation for the rest of their lives. For diabetics, this decreased ability to feel their feet can mean wounds that don’t heal and amputated limbs; for the elderly, the ever-present risk of falling and breaking a bone is compounded.

Certainly not ALL cases of neuropathy can be cured with multivitamins, but as the Cuban Neuropathy Epidemic teaches us, there certainly are some cases that CAN be improved or cured with vitamins. Yet there are almost no doctors in ‘first world’ countries that will discuss vitamins for neuropathy despite the lessons from Cuba and from some liberated prisoner-of-war camps where the same phenomenon has been observed. Doctors in western countries require formal double-blind placebo-controlled trials to perceive a therapy as being worthwhile.

So the lack of studies using vitamins to treat Peripheral Neuropathy ensure that people in western countries with this debilitating life-altering illness will not be given the same option of simply trying a safe and inexpensive multivitamin supplement as they would be if they lived in a third world country.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

The Mayo Clinic discovered that Parkinson’s Disease is Related to Constipation, but they miss the boat entirely when they say WHY they think that this is so. Again, western medicine is all about making it NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL that you are sick. So, they claim that the reason constipation is related to Parkinson’s is because of a faulty autonomic nervous system functioning!?

This hypothesis is almost ridiculous since there is SO much published information about Parkinson’s being related to toxin intake. And HOW do you think toxins get removed from the body? In part, many toxins are removed by the BOWELS. And actual ‘Health Oriented’ physicians have said for decades (maybe even centuries) that “Death Begins in the Bowels”. Certainly this study suggests that, at least, poor health begins with constipation.

There is so much evidence that high fiber intakes, high intake of pure clean water and plenty of exercise contribute to better health and giveRelief for Constipation. But the Mayo Clinic chooses to believe that getting Parkinson’s has NOTHING to do with LIFESTYLE choices. Instead, it MUST be the autonomic nervous system.

How many people have EVER gone to the doctor complaining of chronic constipation where they ‘go’ every 3 or 4 days, and their doctor says, “Oh, that’s fine” and treats it as a non-issue. Well, going every other day or every 3rd or 4th day is NOT OK, it’s Chronic Constipation. It is a chronic problem to NOT have a bowel movement (or two) EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Again, the ONLY healthy bowel state is one or more formed stools EVERY SINGLE DAY. Even every other day is NOT HEALTHY and leaves toxins in your bowels that are reabsorbed into your bloodstream and contribute to disease! If you do NOT have a bowel movement at LEAST every day, you need to take action to do so. The best way is to incorporate more fiber into your diet using fresh fruits and vegetables and NO processed foods whatsoever.

If that does not work for you, then you may need to include a Fiber Supplement into your diet on a DAILY basis. Another reason for chronic constipation is Magnesium Deficiency. Adding the right Magnesium Dosage can help as well, as magnesium is detoxifying and one of the (helpful in this case) Side Effects of Magnesium is loose stools.

So, if you want to choose to believe that your future health is out of your hands and is mostly related to ‘Autonomic Nervous System Functioning’ or genetics or whatever, then you can continue to have ill health. But if you want to believe that YOU are in control of your health- then making sure that you have at least ONE bowel movement every day is a good start.

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

When is Alzheimer’s Disease NOT Alzheimer’s Disease? When it’s actually undiagnosed Vitamin B12 deficiency. Yet vitamin B12 deficiency- despite having identical symptoms in many cases- is almost never even considered as an alternate diagnosis- leaving tens of thousands suffering unnecessarily.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a growing personal and family problem as well as a HUGE financial burden for society. With a rising percentage of the population becoming senior citizens, and with those seniors living longer, Alzheimer’s Disease is becoming an ever growing crisis. There are over 4 million people in the US alone who have been diagnosed with this ‘incurable’ disease. Horribly, it leaves these seniors unable to remember even the simplest memories and completely dependent upon round-the-clock caregivers. While millions is being spent on research for drugs, stem cell treatment, genetic manipulation and pharmaceuticals to combat this growing problem, doctors in clinical practice are completely overlooking the scientific studies showing that at least some of these Alzheimer’s patients are suffering unnecessarily with simple vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 deficiency becomes more and more common as people get older. With some researchers estimating that over 800,000 elderly in the US have undiagnosed deficiency, this is NOT a small problem. Even worse is that few clinicians know about vitamin B12 deficiency or are trained to look for its symptoms. Many elderly who should be screened for this simple vitamin deficiency are, instead, diagnosed with ‘incurable’ diseases that rob them of any possible quality of life. That Mental Changes from B12 Deficiency can look EXACTLY like dementia was noted in 1902! Since then, this topic has been studied many times, and it has even been shown that CAT Scans and MRI’s that show lesions and degeneration of the brain and spinal cord are often REVERSIBLE when these lesions are caused by vitamin B12 deficiency! Yet, using these modern techniques, the presence of brain and spinal cord abnormalities is almost always used as evidence for patients and families of the Irreversible nature of their disease- when that is not necessarily the truth at all!

Then in 1956 researchers began to recognize these neurologic problems as EXTREMELY EARLY symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and that patients with dementia sometimes had dramatic reversals when treated with vitamin B12 early after their diagnosis. They also found that MANY of these cases that responded well to vitamin B12 therapy showed no abnormalities on blood tests at all. In other words, the researchers could find nothing CLINICALLY wrong with these patients, including Vitamin B12 deficiency, except for dementia! Yet 50 years later, doctors still rely EXCLUSIVELY on blood testing to determine the need for Vitamin B12 therapy. The number of patients who could potentially benefit from this therapy is NOT small. A two year study done at Abyad Medical Center and Middle-East Longevity Institute in Lebanon showed that Vitamin B12 Therapy improved the cognitive function in MORE THAN HALF of the patients with dementia who completed the study!

But doctors just are NOT reading these studies, and a trial regimen of high dose Methylcobalamin B12 Supplements that costs less than $100 is virtually NEVER instituted by doctors who use ‘evidence based medicine’ that requires them to have diagnostic studies to support their decisions. But this doesn’t take into account the evidence supporting a trial regimen of vitamin B12. With virtually no reported side effects or toxicities, this easy and inexpensive would DEFINITELY save at least SOME Alzheimer’s patients from complete destruction of their mind. But because we can’t PROVE who is going to benefit ahead of time, and we have a medical culture that prefers pharmaceuticals to nutrients, Alzheimer’s patients who could have benefited if B12 therapy was instituted soon after diagnosis are left with no memory and no hope.

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

Thanks to public health campaigns, it seems like everyone is aware that sufficient Folic Acid Prevents Neural Tube Defects.  As such, most governments have made folic acid supplementation of many foods mandatory to prevent these permanent birth defects. A lesser known fact, however, is that sufficient Vitamin B 12 is just as important as folic acid in the fetal development of the brain and spinal cord- yet a handful of researchers seem to be the only ones concerned about this equally important public health issue.

Supplementation of the food supply with nutrients not found naturally in those foods is so commonplace that most of us would point to milk as a good source of Vitamin D, yet in nature there is no vitamin D in milk whatsoever. Most recently, governments in several western countries have chosen to fortify bakery products with folic acid in order to prevent the spinal cord malformations that occur in infants during development when this vitamin is lacking. Fortunately, supplementation and education HAS worked to reduce the incidence of the spinal cord defects known as Neural Tube Defects- or NTD’s.

Yet the same research that led to the conclusion that lack of Folic Acid caused neural tube defects ALSO led to the conclusion that insufficient Vitamin B12, a condition known medically as Cobalamin Deficiency, is a SEPARATE and Independent risk factor for neural tube defects. But astoundingly, this information was ignored when the decision was made to begin widespread folic acid fortification.

Don't Forget Vitamin B12 For NTD's

Obviously, those responsible for this fortification did not read the science about the relationship between folic acid and vitamin B12 because it is well-known that supplementation with folic acid alone can actually prevent the only clinical sign of vitamin B12 deficiency that doctors look for. This condition, called macrocytic anemia, is easily detected on routine blood tests, but folate Effectively Prevents this sign without preventing the ACTUAL B12 deficiency.

“Folic acid fortification of the diet in North America
and elsewhere is giving rise to the potential risk of
undetected cobalamin deficiency, through “masking” by folate.”
Ralph Green, MD, PhD- University of California Davis

There are two other aspects of this problem that are important to note. First of all, the ‘official’ stance of most medical groups is that Vitamin B12 deficiency is ‘rare’, but studies have shown that it is actually quite common. Since vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products, those in the lowest socioeconomic classes who are unable to afford higher priced animal products are at an increased risk. And women who have chosen, for religious or health reasons, to eat fewer meat and meat products often unknowingly put themselves at risk as well. With huge numbers of women that fit into these categories, research points to the fact that Vitamin B12 Deficiency in women of childbearing age is hardly the rare phenomenon that medical groups have made it out to be.

The second aspect of this problem that is less understood is that the levels of Vitamin B12 found in the mothers of children with NTD’s were low, but would NOT have been low enough to be considered a true deficiency. Therefore, even if their doctors had been on alert for this problem and had actually done Testing for Vitamin B12 Deficiency, it still would not have been likely to be found anyway. These unique circumstances have led research groups, including teams from The University Medical Center of Nijmegen in The Netherlands and The Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology at the University of Chile in Santiago to urge consideration of vitamin B12 fortification of foods. In addition, American researchers Victor Herbert and Jean Bigaouette unsuccessfully petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for the vitamin B12 fortification of foods already fortified with folic acid.

That governments chose to fortify foods with folic acid without the consideration that it may very well mask the Vitamin B12 deficiency that ALSO contributes to neural tube defects is obviously not based on science. In true governmental fashion, the decision was likely based more on outcries from bakery groups that Vitamin B12 would discolor their pure white products than it was based on the welfare of unborn children. Vitamin B12, however, plays just as important a role in the brain and spinal cord health of the next generation as folic acid does. But without public health campaigns teaching us of its importance, it is up to concerned individuals to get this information out to as many women as possible in order to decrease the incidence of these devastating yet entirely preventable birth defects.

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

Magnesium is a powerhouse. It is inexpensive and is used to treat a vast array of medical problems, often better than any drugs or medical procedures available. The latest feather in magnesium’s cap is its newly discovered ability to protect the brain and improve the neurologic outcomes of infants and adults who have had oxygen deprivation to their brains. Pretty impressive for a cheap mineral present in practically every Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement on the market.

Magnesium is a simple element, abbreviated Mg, and is number 12 on the Table of the Elements. It is only present in small amounts in the body, yet it is imperative for many bodily processes and is essential for several lifesaving emergency treatments in the hospital in cases when there are simply no other procedures or drugs that exist to help.

One of the common lifesaving uses in the hospital is literally the ONLY treatment. In the movies, when someone’s heart stops beating and the doctors or paramedics rush on scene with CPR and a defibrillator to “shock” the patient’s heart back into a normal rhythm, they often portray the heart rhythm as a ‘flatline’ with no electrical activity. But in reality, if it is very soon after a person’s heart stops, they often have a heart rhythm called ‘Ventricular Fibrillation’- which is treated by ‘shocking’ it back to a normal rhythm, something that you cannot do with a ‘flatline’.

But occasionally, if this rhythm remains despite the best efforts to get the heart started it may be that the rhythm is a specific subtype of Ventricular Fibrillation called torsade de pointes. This rhythm is hard to distinguish from ‘simple’ ventricular fibrillation, but the importance of recognizing it quickly can’t be understated because it’s ONLY treatment is the immediate infusion of intravenous magnesium. Without emergency magnesium, the patient will die.

Additionally, intravenous magnesium is the only effective treatment for the prevention of seizures in women with late stage pregnancy whose blood pressure is extremely high- a very dangerous condition called eclampsia that requires immediate delivery of the baby in order to resolve.

Magnesium also shines as helpful additional treatment for many other problems such as heart rhythm disturbances, migraine headaches, depression, diabetes and constipation – among only a few of its many achievements.

But some of the latest and most exciting new research is showing its protective effects on the brain. Strokes, often called ‘Brain Attacks’, are one of the most devastating neurologic events. With few treatment options after the first few hours after the onset of symptoms, most of the time the family is relegated to just ‘watch and wait’ to see if the patient gets better. Often they don’t get better and are faced with a lifetime of disability.

Organic Raw Chocolate
There’s No Tastier Way
To Get Your Daily Magnesium

Some studies have shown that a higher daily magnesium intake can help to prevent strokes. But even more remarkably, a recent study found that intravenous magnesium, when used with other treatments, has “synergistic neuroprotective effects and reduces brain injury” in strokes caused from lack of blood flow to the brain.

While that study is impressive in its own right, another new study shows that magnesium also protects the brains of infants during childbirth when complications cause the baby to have a lack of oxygen to the brain. This devastating event called perinatal asphyxia often leads to permanent brain damage and disability. When magnesium was given to infants after these highly stressful births, researchers concluded that it “improves neurologic outcomes”. An impressive feat since giving oxygen and having hope is the current standard treatment for these infants.

So, while doctors still don’t even recommend that the general population take magnesium or a Mineral Supplement regularly despite its impressive list of accomplishments, it’s low risk of Magnesium Side Effects and its incredible record of safety, magnesium continues to rack up successes in treating and preventing some of the most difficult to treat medical problems that exist today.

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

A new study on Parkinson’s Disease from UCLA shows a definite link between the disease and toxic pesticide exposure. Thousands of alternative practitioners have been saying this for years, yet it’s unlikely that this is going to change anything in the medical community.

This news comes at a time when Michael J. Fox is making headlines with his diagnosis and has a new television show devoted to Parkinson’s Disease awareness.

Michael J. Fox, on a commercial for his show states, “We’re just waiting for a cure.” But by “cure”, I’m sure that he means a drug, surgery or procedure. The fact that there are already treatments that can significantly improve Parkinson’s Disease seems to be beyond Michael J. Fox as well as most of the medical community.

The problem is that alternative treatments don’t have a ‘magic bullet’ that will make everything go away with one fell swoop. And that’s what the medical community as well as most sufferers are looking for. Like most disease sufferers, they want a pill, surgery or procedure to get them better quickly.

But that will not address the CAUSE of their symptoms. If your symptoms are CAUSED FROM TOXINS, then the solution is to get rid of the toxins- right? How is a pill, surgery or stem cell transplant going to fix the problem if you don’t get rid of the problem that caused Parkinson’s Disease in the first place?

Alternative practitioners, health groups, the organic food movement, the raw food people and many others have been saying this for years and this study confirms it. But the solution is not simple, and those with the disease will have to take some serious responsibility for their health if they want to get better without “waiting for a cure”.

If they choose to do so, then they could seriously alleviate some of their symptoms, delay progression of the disease and possibly even reverse symptoms. It won’t happen overnight and it won’t necessarily be easy, but it absolutely can be done for those who are motivated and willing to take some action.

Some ‘action steps’ that you can do to start the process are:

Eat  only organic foods
Switch  ALL home products to non-toxic alternatives
Eliminate the most common food allergies
Exercise vigorously every day within your limitations
Use sauna therapy to help eliminate toxins
Actively detoxify  using herbs and supplements
Use bowel cleansing routines to maximize elimination

While conventional medicine is unlikely to embrace or even condone these techniques, they have been practiced for centuries in many cultures around the world in order to gain better health.

So, if you want to take your Sinemet and antidepressants and wait for a ‘cure’, you can do that. You will probably have to wait a long time.

OR, you can take the initiative and try some VERY old and VERY safe techniques to get rid of the toxins that have been proven to be causing your problems.

Now that you know that you have a choice, which are you going to choose?

Resources:

Parkinson’s Study Places the Blame on Toxins

Article: Detoxification in Chronic Neurotoxic Syndromes

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