Why I tell the truth and why some people don't like it.

It's time to write about the hypocrisy I see in alternative medicine. There are many individuals clamouring for the limelight, posing as experts and having little or no credibility in my eyes. Many of them, I feel sure, have turned to alternative medicine specialties because they see a slick dollar and the entry standards are so appallingly light. Often a weekend course will get you started as a health counseller or coach.

These individuals try to assume the moral high ground and are fast to criticize all aspects of current medicine and its vested interests. Yet they seem just as eager to take money from people they cannot, in all conscience, help. I have seen people literally die of ignorance and neglect, through bad advice from ill-trained and unrealistic alternative practitioners.

The most blatant recent example comes as a result of my last newsletter. I shared the warning that Tea Tree Oil appears to be estrogenic and was capable of causing gynecomastia (breasts) in five young boys (see http://www.alternative-doctor.com/newsletter/newsletter25.html#Tree). The whole suggestion has been attacked vehemently with blustering and pseudo-science which really amounts to nothing more than defending profits and status - at the expense of public safety. One correspondent suggested I listen to a "wise old woman" (who said Tea Tree is quite safe), instead of paying attention to scientific method.

The "wise old woman" was demanding another 95 boys were harmed as "proof" before she would begin to shift her prejudices. I know of no doctor who would take this irresponsible attitude towards safety. Always anecdotal evidence of harm is acceptable to the scientific community and urges caution. If only enough people had listened to the first warning cases of the bad effects of Vioxx, many lives would have been saved. But Merck and the FDA deliberately covered that up, you say. Yes, so why is it morally right for sellers of Tea Tree Oil to do the same?

It's not as if I called for a ban on Tea Tree Oil; just not to use it on small children (male or female), pregnant women or anyone with an estrogen-dependent cancer. You would think that was fairly reasonable.

But no - the self-styled experts do not like to give up their precious status quo on mere concern for the safety of others.

I may not be popular with all factions but I have one quality which I hope is valuable and outstanding - I'm not trying to sell you any snake oil, good or bad, and I'm not trying to recruit patients like Joe Mercola, Andrew Weil or Jonathan Whitaker. That makes me fairly unbiased (I hope!) I have no sales to protect and like to think I tell the truth as I see it.

That's for selfish reasons - because my integrity is more important to me than mere status!

Take a nap!

A recent study of 23,000 cases from Greece showed that taking a nap in the afternoon considerably reduced the risk of heart attacks (37% fewer). Unfortunately, this did not seem to apply to women but they had fewer heart attacks anyway, in this particular study.

Taking a nap after lunch, or siesta, is a widespread indulgence in hotter climes. Business is resumed when the sun has lost some of its power and continues through the coolness of the evening.
Napping every day produced better results than doing it occasionally (only a 12% reduction).

This is an important study because the notably lower incidence of coronary artery disease has always been attributed to diet – the so-called “Mediterranean Diet”. It may be that researchers have been looking in the wrong direction.

The study covered 5 years from 1994 to 1999 and was conducted in 10 European countries. The participants were categorized as never taking naps, those taking midday naps occasionally and those napping regularly or daily. Naps were categorized as more than 30 minutes or less than 30 minutes. Taking daily naps of 30 minutes or more definitely helped health and survival.

Researchers compensated for other factors which might cloud the issue, such as physical activity, body mass index, smoking status, and diet.

What this seems to be telling us is that short naps are great for reducing stress on a daily basis and we all know the dangers of stress. There is considerable evidence that it causes short and long term damage to health, including provoking heart disease and cancer. Stress also destroys relationships and reduces productivity.

Benjamin Franklin had a sleep-pattern characterized by periodic napping and he was very productive!

Reference: Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:296-301.

Beware the Wholefoods scam!

Things down on the organic farm are not always what they might seem. Or at least not always what you are being told!

According to Michael Pollan's book "Omnivore's Dilemma" (we are omnivores or "eat anything"), there are some undoubted exaggerations in the story of Rosie, the farm chicken, who lives a lovely healthy organic free-range life and then is happy to die for you. According to the labelling blurb, she was "sustainably farmed" by Petaluma Poultry, a company whose farming methods were claimed to be striving to "create harmonious relationships in nature, sustaining the health of all creatures and the natural world."

I assume this creates a picture in your mind of a happy Johnny Appleseed sort of place. That's what you are supposed to think when you pay top dollar for this product. In fact Pollan checked and found the "farm" was in fact an animal factory and the chicken lived in a shed with 20,000 other Rosies who, aside from their organic feed, lived their lives pretty much in the hell faced by most other commercial chickens. The "free-range" appellation was a straight scam (Pollan can't say that, he'd be sued, but I can). Pollan found there was a small door to the shed, which was kept firmly closed until just 2 weeks before slaughter. By opening it in this timely manner, the producers (I almost wrote manufacturers), were able to claim the birds were free-range.

Not what you and I understand by the term, is it?

The real question is this: is eating expensive organic chicken at a premium price from Wholefoods better for our health? The answer is yes, marginally. But I'd still get indigestion from the lies told!

I blame Wholefoods, not Petulama farms. They are straightforward greedy exploiters. But Wholefoods is allowing this distorted perspective for their own gain and in doing so tricking their customers, who have blind faith in their integrity and values.

Thank about that next time you pay over $100 for your organic groceries.

Bad air

Here's an intersting tit-bit which I picked up from listening to a funny UK quiz show (QI, for those of you that watch over there). Apparently, since banning smoking, airlines have been able to save fuel by re-circulating cabin air. Formerly it had to be much refreshed, to get rid of the stink of tobaco.

I checked this out for the science and what I learned was quite interesting. The quiz show is quite correct. Newer airplanes recirculate part of the cabin air (up to 50%) to save fuel, in contrast with older planes, which use all fresh air ventilation. There have been reports of passengers and crew complaining about headaches caused by "stale air".

There have been two recent studies of aircraft cabin air quality that measured carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers has set a "comfort threshold" of 1,000 ppm, above which a building is considered to suffer from stale air (the normal CO2 level in outdoor air is 300 parts per million or 0.03%).

Consumer Reports tested 158 flights on 20 airlines covering 44 different kinds of planes (July 1994). They found that 25% of flights had stale air at some point in the flight, with 13% maintaining inadequate fresh air levels throughout the flight. Boeing 757 planes were among the worst -- as high as 5 times higher than normal outdoor air -- while newer Boeing 747-400 planes had the freshest air.

Consolidated Safety Services of Virginia conducted a spot check of cabin air quality on 35 flights without notifying the airlines or crew (May 1994). This study found an average CO2 level of 1162 ppm. or 15% above the maximum threshold.

So if you find yourself suffering headache, fatigue, irritability and others symptom on a long flight, it may be because the flight company is selling you dud air! Remember, however, that many symptoms, such as sore throats, dry eyes, headaches, allergies and itchy nose are due to low humidity. This is technically unavoidable because the air at high altitude is devoid of moisture (except in clouds!).

Maybe flight rage and other strange behaviour has its root in this stale air problem and excess CO2?

Oh yes, and if you are wondering like me, the pilots aren't affected by the stale air problem, because the cockpit has a separate ventillation system, per FAA regulations.

Here's another Romance Book

I sometimes think the love and sex pages of my website don't get enough attention. Well, here's a great eBook about finding romance by entrepreneur Fred Gleeck. He had a pretty rotten track record in the romance department. The sad numbers are he's been married 4 times.

The good news? He figured out what was wrong and how to correct it. He also figured out how you (or anyone you know who is single) can find a mate.

The book is free (no catches). It's Fred's gift to you or anyone you know who is in in the "market" to find a suitable mate. I've read it and although I'm happily married, it makes sense to me.

He asks only ask ONE thing in return . . . tell everyone you know about this book.

To get your download, click here

IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT DIET BOOK EVER?

It is not a plan. In fact it explains why diet plans often don't work and why they make some people feel sick. The theme is that everyone is different - no two people tolerate foods in exactly the same way.

There is no such thing as a universal diet plan, nor can there ever be, as this book explains. What you can do is work out your own unique eating plan, which is just about perfect for you. Then you'll lose weight, look good, feel great, and live a long long time...

It's a sort of super-Rolls-Royce version of the modern detox diet, by one of the pioneers who actual first developed the concept of "detox" decades ago. As well as plentiful explanations of the science and mechanisms, there are lots of moving and heart-warming stories about how people overcame seemingly hopeless odds to recover their health and wellbeing, using these vital life and biology principles.

320 pages, paperback, 9" x 6"

Order now. Just click this link and go straight to Dr Keith's shopping cart, where you order securely on-line.

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You can also order by phone: just dial 760 325 0105 and give us your credit card details. It takes just a few moments to do it this way.

Video Link

A good story from Holland. Lots of horses saved from drowning. Over 100 beasts were trapped for 3 days on a tiny piece of land, after a sudden and violent North Sea storm. First, firemen, then the Dutch army tried to rescue them, both unsuccessfully. The drama had the nation mesmerized, watching 18 of them die, in fear for the lives of the rest. Then, in a brief respite from the sea levels, four determined women on horseback rode out to the rescue. Here's a video of it.....

Website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWMKVLH2mcA

THE GUESS WHO? QUOTE: