Colon Hydrotherapy Basics By Wendy McPhail, CT, CCN

Our colons were designed to act as a smoothly flowing sewer system to rid our body of waste products shortly after the waste has been separated from useable nutrients. But instead, most colons have become stagnant cesspools, collecting layers and pockets of toxic and putrid feces and mucus that poisons the blood stream and every cell and organ in the body.

It has been estimated that the average American colon carries five pounds of putrid, partially-digested meat, and another five to ten pounds of toxic fecal matter that has been packed with mucus for years to form a hard lining in deformed folds of the colon.

Constipation is the number one problem underlying nearly every ailment:  it can be imputed to be the initial, primary cause of nearly every disturbance of the human system.

Over a period of time, constipation interferes with the functioning of every cell, organ and gland in the body. The blood stream and lymphatic system becomes overloaded with toxins, sending poisons throughout the entire body, and clogging much of the system with disease-causing mucus. This pathogenic mucus is ideal for propagation of germs and parasites. It is at this stage that our immune system comes under attack. If our colon and the rest of our body is free from excessive pathogenic mucus and other putrefactive waste matter, harmful germs, bacteria and parasites will not flourish and cause problems, because there will be insufficient food for these scavengers to survive on.

There are about 300 different types of parasites thriving in America today, and more than 80% of people in the world are infested. Parasites are vermin that steal your food, drink your blood and leave their excrement in your body to be reabsorbed back into the blood-stream as nourishment.

Today, with modern technological improvements in colon hydrotherapy instrumentation (particularly with regard to safety and hygiene), along with trained therapists, colon hydrotherapy has become a valuable modality in treating disease and promoting wellness. Colon hydrotherapy is an extended and more complete form of cell and tissue cleansing.  The safe, gentle infusion of temperature and pressure regulated water is designed to cleanse the entire large intestine (bowel) from rectum to cecum. This cleansing procedure removes feces, retained gas and mucus, as well as existing parasites and infectious material. Also, the filtered water bathes the cells of the colon and dilutes bacterial toxin concentrations.  This results in improved tone and peristalsis, promoting optimal absorption of nutrients from the cecum and ascending colon.  The result is optimal colon health.  Colon hydrotherapy is not proposed as a cure-all, but an important adjunctive approach in overall health care.

 

Best of Health!

Wendy McPhail, CT, CCN

THE BENEFITS OF STEAM SAUNA AND OZONE

The use of a sauna should be an important part of any detoxification program. The sauna increases the eliminative, detoxifying and cleansing capacity of the skin by stimulation of the sweat glands and also promotes healthy skin tone and texture due to increased blood circulation. Using the steam sauna with ozone allows the steam to surround the body and ozone can be introduced through the skin. Humid heat opens the pores, which allows the ozone through the skin to the bloodstream, where it can travel to the fat and lymph tissue. It is very important to cleanse the lymph tissue of toxins and the ozone/steam sauna is the easiest and best way to accomplish this.

Artificially induced hyperthermia (rising body temperature results in the destruction of bacteria and viruses) combined with heavy sweating and a cleansing effect initiated by ozone will result in elimination of toxins accumulated mainly in the lymphatic system relieving the liver from the difficult task of dealing with them. Through the centuries, men and women have used steam to purify the skin, soothe sore muscles, boost circulation and to simply relax. The combined action of moist heat and ozone cleanse the lymphatic system, which carries 90% of the body’s fluids. Ozone brings oxygen to the tissues for enhanced health and vitality. The combination of steam and ozone is a natural, effective way to promote a refreshing sense of well-being. We believe that an Ozone/Steam Sauna cabinet represents a pleasant and easy to follow form of body cleansing.

Benefits of ozone sauna:

Relaxes and loosens muscles by reducing the buildup of lactic acid and increasing muscle flexibility.

Oxidizes toxins so they can be eliminated through the skin, lungs, kidneys and colon. Boosts blood circulation, helping injured muscles to repair quicker.

Stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral blood vessels relieving pain and speeding the healing process.

Eliminates bacterial and viral infections of all kinds.

Speeds up the metabolic processes of the inner organs and endocrine glands resulting in a loss of 200-450 calories in a 20 minute session.

Newest research shows steam hyperthermia an effective treatment for:

* Detoxification programs
* Immune system deficiencies
* Pain management
* Cancer
* Arthritis
* Stress and muscle tension
* Increasing body metabolism
* Elimination of toxins
* Blood circulation

STEAM & SAUNA BATHING OFFERS MULTIPLE REJUVENATING & HEALING BENEFITS
Written by The International Steam Therapy Association

Part 1

Most people laugh when they hear that the Finnish Olympic team lugs a portable sauna with them wherever they go. However, the fair-haired Nordic athletes might be doing more than simply acting out a home-sick longing for the slender birch trees and island dotted lakes of the homeland. They could be on to a secret, non-drug-induced means of giving themselves an edge in the fierce competition of modern-day Olympics. Although most people simply consider it a pleasant means of relaxation, sweat therapy might in fact have powerful heath-enhancing effects.

In the test of time is any measure, steam bathing has certainly withstood it. For thousands of years people of all cultures have indulged in the soothing warmth of sweat baths. The Romans are well-known for their elaborate baths. The wealthy of 200 B.C. India did not consider their mansion complete unless it included a bathhouse with a steam room. The Muslim Hamman, or bathhouse, with its domed, central steam chamber is stall an integral part of life in Muslim countries. A derivation of the Hamman, the Turkish bath, has been popular in Europe for centuries.

Today, steam and sauna facilities are an integral part of the hydrotherapeutic offerings at European and American spas, and steam rooms and saunas are a common feature of health clubs and public pools. Yet, there is surprisingly little awareness of the wide ranging benefits of steam and sauna bathing. There is evidence that these sweat-inducing treatments stimulate the immune system, improve circulation, and help the body to purge itself of impurities.

Hippocrates, the founder of Western medicine more than two-thousand years ago said, “Give me the power to create a fever, and I shall cure any disease.” Although often misunderstood as a symptom of disease, fever actually is a part of the body’s natural healing response. Steam baths, sauna, and other heat-inducing treatments elicit similar healing responses in the body, and consequently are often called “artificial fevers”. During a fever, the functioning of the immune system is stimulated, while the growth of bacteria and virus is forced to slow down. The production of white blood cells, the primary agents of the immune system, is increased, as is the rate of their release into the blood stream. The generation of antibodies speeds up, as does the production of interferon, an anti viral protein that also has powerful cancer-fighting properties.
Apart from stimulating the immune system, fever slows down the proliferation of invading organisms by creating an inhospitable environment. At 104 degrees F., for example, the growth rate of the polio virus is reduced up to 250 times; at 106 degrees pneumococcus, a bacterium responsible for pneumonia, dies.

Part 2

Before the advent of antibiotics, syphilitics were often infected with malaria to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, there is evidence that the frequent fevers of malaria might function as a cancer-protecting factor. Dr. Paavo Airola in his book, Worldwide Secrets of Staying Young relates the story of the Pontine swamps near Rome in Italy, which, until a few decades ago, were a breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The swamps were dried out, and the malaria disappeared. However, during the next decades, that area, which had before been almost free of cancer, saw an increase in cancerous diseases. After a generation, the cancer incidence level of that area had reached the level of the rest of Italy.

Malignant cells are selectively destroyed at temperatures of 106 to 110 degrees F., so the frequent fever attacks of people in the malaria-infected area might have mobilized the body’s own defenses too frequently for a cancer to take hold.

Although the artificial fever induced by sweat therapy does not have the comprehensive effect of real fever, it still produces a striking effect on a number of bodily processes.

There is evidence that artificial fever works as an immune system stimulant by increasing the number of white blood cells in the body. In a 1959-review of studies on the effects of heat treatments, Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Wakim and colleagues cite findings indicating that the number of white blood cells in the blood increased by an average of 58% during artificially induced fever. Researchers also have found increases in the activity of the white blood cells during induced fever.

In addition, as in the case of bodily induced fever, the raised temperature during the artificial fever reduces the growth rate of most bacteria and viruses, giving the immune system time to mobilize its own forces. Indeed, many regular steam or sauna bathers have experienced that a good, long sweat bath at the early onset of a cold or flu can help ward off the disease before in manifests as actual symptoms.

Apart from the immune system-stimulating effects of sweat therapy, many thought it as one of the most effective and painless detoxifying treatments available.

Dr. Veronica Butler, medical co-director at the Raj, a health center based on principles of Ayurveda, recommends herbalized steam baths, called swedenas, to clients as part of the ancient Ayurvedic purification treatment, known as panchakarma.

According to the classical Ayurvedic texts, for maximum results, a swedena or steam bath should be given while keeping the head cool and the client supine.

“A swedena clears the shrotas, the channels through which the biological intelligence flows,” says Dr. Butler. “If impurities clog these channels, the flow of intelligence in the body becomes more susceptible to disease.”

Part 3

Heat speeds up the chemical processes in the body, making steam and sauna bathing one of the simplest and most comfortable ways to rid the body of accumulated toxins. As the pores open up and the million of sweat glands start to excrete, the body rids itself of metabolic and other waste products. Sweat contains almost the same elements as urine, and for this reason, the skin is sometimes called the third kidney. It is estimated that as much as 30% of bodily wastes are eliminated by way of perspiration.

However, more than common metabolic waste products are secreted through the skin. Natural health practitioners often notice that when heavy smokers get a steam bath for a body wrap (where the body ’simmers’ for up to 45 min. Under hot covers), they will leave a yellow residue on the towels. Reino Tarkianinen, President of Finlandia Sauna, reports that when the company replaces sauna benches from public baths, a thick, black layer of accumulated tar can be found underneath the benches.

In Finland, research is being done on the use of sweat therapy in the treatment of people who are chemically affected. The purifying effects of perspiration could also be behind claims that steam and sauna treatments can help cur or control such ailments as acne and arthritis.
Last but not least, steam and sauna bathing produces powerful therapeutic effects simply by increasing circulation. As the carrier of the rebuilding forces of the nutrients to all parts of the body, the bloodstream plays a crucial role in the maintenance of health.

Steam and sauna treatments have a stimulating effect on the cardiovascular system. The pulse rate increases from 75 beats per minute to between 100-150 beats per minute during a 15-20 minute treatment. This increases blood circulation, but not blood pressure, since the heat also causes the tiny blood vessel in the skin to expand, accommodating the increased blood flow. The dilation of the capillary vessels enables the bloodstream to carry great amounts of nutrients to the skin, enhancing the nutritive status of the skin. The flushed, youthful look that steam and sauna bathers maintain for up to several hours after treatment is due to this effect.

WHICH IS THE BEST WAY OF TAKING A STEAM OR SAUNA TREATMENT?

First of all, it is good to be aware of the distinction between the two. Most people think of the heat of a sauna as dry heat and the heat of a steam room as wet, humid heat. This distinction is only partially correct. Sauna bathers in Finland splash water on the heated stones in the sauna, raising the humidity level to as much as 40%. Without that, the hot, dry sauna air can irritate the mucus membranes.

Part 4

In the hydrotherapeutic tradition used at European and America spas, sweat therapy is used in preparation for massage as a means of increasing the suppleness of the muscles and creating a deep sense of relaxation in body and mind. In the Ayurvedic tradition of India, which has gained popularity in the U.S. in recent years, steam treatments are part of the traditional purification treatment panchakarma, where they are used after massage to help the body get rid of toxins dislodged during the treatment.

Sweat treatments can also be enjoyed on their own, as a workout for the cardiovascular system, a deep-cleansing treat for the body, an immune system booster, and a soothing and invigorating refreshment for the mind.

There are a few precautions to keep in mind. Because of the increase in cardiovascular activity caused by the high heat, sweat therapy is not recommended for people with heart disease or other cardiovascular problems. Individuals with high blood pressure should first consult their doctor.

In addition, the treatment is not advised for pregnant women, small children, or the elderly. Do not take a sweat treatment if you have a fever or an open wound. If you have been working out, be sure that your body has had time to cool down before exposing it to the heat of a sweat bath.
Limit treatment time to 10 to 15 minutes. Drink plenty of water of herbal tea before and after the sweat bath to replace fluids lost during the treatment. The sweat glands can secrete up to 30 grams of sweat per minute, or almost one pint per 15 minutes, so dehydration is a very real possibility, if you are not careful. Fatigue and other indications of dehydration can occur with as little as 1 to 2% loss in body weight.

The main thing to keep in mind is to enjoy the process. Do not push your body beyond its comfort level; the point is not to sweat it out the longest, but to allow your mind and body to luxuriate in this health-enhancing and invigorating miniature spa treatment.

Working up a sweat is one of our oldest folk remedies. “Give me an opportunity to create fever and I will cure any illness,” said the Greek physician Paramenides two thousand years ago. Today, besides creating a relaxing sense of well-being, relaxes and loosens muscles tissue, reducing daily buildup of tension and increasing muscle flexibility:

-boosts blood circulation, which helps aching and injured muscles to recover faster, because the stronger the flow of blood, the faster metabolic waste products are carried off.
-stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral blood vessels, which relives pain and speeds healing of sprains and strains;
-speeds up the metabolic processes of vital organs and endocrine glands resulting in a calorie loss of between 200 and 450 in a 20 minute session.

Part 5

According to Michael Marino, research associate at Lennox Hill Hospital’s Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in New York City:

“….. heat exposure stimulates the hypothalamus, the gland that normally maintains and stabilizes body temperature to dissipate the excess heat. Heart rate increases as more blood flow is diverted from the inner organs towards the extremities of the skin. This automatic “cooling” reaction is actually a form of beneficial stress, a passive kind of cardiovascular exercise that helps to keep the body’s system alert and functioning well.”

The beneficial stress of heat on the heart is confirmed by physical fitness expert Bernard Gutin, Professor of Applied Physiology and Education at Teacher’s College, Columbia University:

“Heat acts as a form of mostly beneficial stress on the body that produces physiological changes in heightened blood pressure, stepped-up heart rate and an increase in stress hormones.”
According to Dr. Paavo Aviola, an author in health matters:

“The sauna increases the eliminative, detoxifying and cleansing capacity of the skin by stimulation of sweat glands. A steam bath provides a mild cleansing process for the skin as certain body fluids are released through the skin. It also promotes healthy skin tone and texture due to increased blood circulation.”

Minerals and Their Importance

MINERALS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

Did you know that …

Minerals are as important as, if not more important than, vitamins. Minerals are co-enzymes which help vitamins function. In the absence of minerals, vitamins cannot do their job. Many minerals are referred to as trace minerals, which might make it seem as though they are of little importance, but nothing could be further from the truth. Minerals and their deficiencies have been implicated in a wide range of off-balance health conditions.

Here are some examples:

* An early selenium deficiency shows up as age spots

* Supplementing a diet with sufficient chromium and vanadium can help prevent diabetes and

has been seen to reverse diabetes in those already diabetic, as vanadium is reportedly able to

replace insulin

* Copper deficiency is implicated with aneurysms (brain, aortic, etc.) Low copper is also

implicated in gray hair, skin wrinkles, varicose veins and sagging body parts

* Magnesium is quite possibly the most important mineral for the reduction of coronary heart

disease

* Tin deficiency is implicated in male pattern baldness

* Boron helps keep calcium in the bones, helps women preserve and make estrogen, and helps

men keep testosterone. Boron affects alertness. Boron can help eliminate arthritis

Calcium deficiency is implicated in over 140 different diseases such as, Bell’s palsy,

osteoporosis, receding gums, arthritis, hypertension, kidney stones, insomnia, bone spurs, heel

spurs, calcium deposits, cramps and twitches, PMS, low back pain, diabetes…

* and calcium, though implicated in many diseases, is also the most misunderstood and over

prescribed supplement. People often don’t need more calcium, they need potassium and

magnesium

* Potassium and magnesium (along with organic sodium) are some of the most important

minerals for rebalancing the electrical properties of the cell, for eliminating excess acidity, and

for helping to balance calcium

* Magnesium helps conduct electrical messages between all the neurons of the body. People get

irrational when potassium levels are low

* Zinc is involved in over 200 brain enzyme interactions

* Drinking zinc mixed with distilled water can stop anorexia nervosa within a day

* Zinc deficiency symptoms include loss of taste and smell

* Zinc deficiency in children results in moodiness, depression, irritability. Photo phobia (light

sensitivity), antagonism, temper tantrums and learning problems

* Children who do poorly on achievement tests tend to have low iron levels. These children also

display disruptive, impulsive and irritable behavior in the classroom. Children who have high

lead levels do more poorly overall. Most of these children’s mineral imbalances go

undiagnosed. Instead the children are medicated with drugs.

* Likewise, ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder – can often be eliminated by balancing nutritional

trace minerals. There is no need to drug our children

* Cigarette smoke is rich in cadmium (the blue color in the smoke). Cadmium is the most

neurotoxic substance known to human beings. A low zinc/high cadmium ratio is implicated in

learning disabilities

* Coffee is a major source of cadmium in the diet. Its in the bean, so decaffeinated doesn’t help

* Zinc is needed to balance cadmium. The half life of cadmium is 20 to 30 years

* Too much copper is an irritant to the brain

* High manganese levels show statistically high correlation with violent behavior

* Lithium balances and helps control manganese

* The cities of the world with the highest lithium concentration in their water show the lowest

homicide rates

* The trace element rubidium cures manic depression

* The right ratio of copper to zinc in the cell acts an an antioxidant

A story is told by Dr. Alex Schauss, a noted author, researcher, and nutritional mineral expert. It is about his experience with a 9 year old boy brought into his clinic some years ago. The boy had been charged with attempted murder. His criminal record began at age 6. He burned animals, shot at people’s houses and beat up mothers pushing baby strollers. The police all said he would be a lifetime criminal, a Charles Manson type of psychotic. He was on six psychiatric drugs, and was kicked out of school after he tried to kill a 10 year old girl. Dr. Schauss did a hair mineral analysis and discovered his copper levels were off the charts. He hadded supplemental zinc to the boy’s diet to chelate out the excess copper, and within two weeks the boys urinalysis showed all the excess copper had been eliminated. He went off all medication, returned to school and became a model student. Years later the boy returned to see Dr. Schauss. He was a junior in college, an A student, on the varsity basketball team, and had a heart of gold.

This information shows just a teeny fraction of how minerals and mineral imbalances can affect your health. Much of this information is buried in professional journals, there for the taking. It appears that due to politics and the influence and strength that the medical/drug industrial complex has over the suppression of information, these things stay buried.

If this type of information, along with the other things we know, could be assimilated into our society, whether through the efforts of individuals or that of government, and if people like doctors, psychiatrists, and dieticians were to act on it, we could lessen violence in our society, close jails, raise academic achievement, and greatly reduce outlays of public money for Medicare and Medicaid. We could see our health insurance premiums drop to about $50 a month for a family of four because we could eliminate our need for expensive hospital visits and treatments excepting emergency care for accidents.

Without a doubt, the single most important thing you can do for your health is to get your mineral house in order. There are 19 major and minor minerals in the blood stream and when those balances start to sway – too much of one, not enough of another and visa versa, things start to happen. Remember, it is minerals that give you electricity – too much can give you problems, too little can give you problems.

MS – A Chronic Mycotoxicosis?

Multiple Sclerosis: A Chronic Mycotoxicosis?by David Holland, MD

(Dr. Dave Holland is the co-author, with Doug Kaufmann, of the new book, “The Fungus Link, Volume 2.” Inside this follow-up to their book “The Fungus Link,” you’ll not only learn about the dangers of antibiotics. You’ll also learn about the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases, hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss, and eye problems.

To order either of these books, call 972-772-0990, M-F 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central, or go to causesandcures.com.)

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, one of several non-profit organizations dealing with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research funding and patient assistance, raised almost $74 million dollars in the fiscal year 2001. It spent $64 million, of which $54.8 million went toward program expenses, and $6.6 million was directed at fundraising efforts. Two million goes toward administrative costs. The CEO alone makes over $300,000.

Still, in the 57 years of the society’s existence, no cause for MS has been assigned. I use the word “assigned” and not “found,” because I believe a cause has already been found. In our book, “The Fungus Link, Volume 2,” Doug Kaufmann and I discuss the role of fungal toxins, called mycotoxins, in the etiology of MS. The evidence brought forth by various scientists over the years and compiled in a small section of this book is quite compelling. It is so compelling that, at this point, I believe scientists will be forced into a position of proving that mycotoxins are NOT the cause of MS, a task at which, I believe, they shall not succeed.

MS is characterized by destruction of the protective sheath- called the myelin sheath- around nerves in the brain and the spinal cord. As a result, the transmission of nerve impulses to other nerves, muscles, and vital organs is interrupted. This impaired nerve function translates into symptoms such as difficulty in walking, abnormal, “pins and needles” sensations throughout the body; pain and loss of vision due to inflammation of the optic nerve, tremors, incoordination, paralysis, and impaired thinking and memory. In addition, muscle wasting, bladder dysfunction, fatigue, osteoporosis, and a host of other problems may develop either directly or indirectly due to this nerve damage.

Although there is a genetic predisposition toward MS, as proven in studies of twins, only a third of those that are genetically susceptible will get MS, indicating there is still an outside factor involved. MS is more common in those born and raised above the 37th parallel (a line extending from Newport News, VA to Santa Cruz, CA); however, if a person moves to an area of low risk (i.e. below the 40th parallel) prior to adolescence, they assume the lower risk of their new location. These last points support the idea of an environmental exposure link to the disease.
If outside causes are to blame, then Oppenheim, an early 1900’s researcher, was the closest in his assertion that MS is caused by an environmental toxin. Other researchers of his day thought that there was a defect in the blood vessels or in the glial tissues. Pierre Marie, in the late 1800’s, felt that MS was caused by an infectious agent. However, despite all of the “infection” theories that have been tested over the past 150 plus years, not one- whether bacteria, virus, Chlamydia or scrapie-like agent- has proven to be the culprit.

So, lets apply what we already know about MS and see if we truly know the cause of MS or not. Mycotoxins are chemicals made by fungi. They are found in grains that have been contaminated with fungi and mold. Some mycotoxins are used for medicinal purposes. Antibiotics, such as penicillin and the cephalosporin drugs, are fungal metabolites- they are mycotoxins. Alcohol is a mycotoxin. Aflatoxin, the most carcinogenic substance on earth, is a mycotoxin. The most commonly contaminated crops are peanuts, corn, and wheat.

Often, other foods such as barley, apples, sorghum and rye can be contaminated as well. Some mycotoxins are produced in our body by the yeast in our intestines or vaginal tract. In one study, 3 women severely symptomatic for vaginal candidiasis were found to have vaginal fluid samples with significant levels of a mycotoxin called gliotoxin. From our environment, we can be exposed to mycotoxins through countless routes: ingestion, inhalation, skin contact, etc. The question is, once inside the body, can these mycotoxins damage nerves? Let’s answer that question now.

We already know that, in MS, there is a loss of molecules called sphingolipids from the white matter in the central nervous system. What is not well known is the fact that mycotoxins can actually disrupt sphingolipid biosynthesis. Specifically, gliotoxin, as we mentioned above, on a slightly larger scale can induce nerve cell death (apoptosis).

Gliotoxin is a heat stable chemical made by Aspergillus, Candida, and other species of fungi. Not coincidentally, scientists have recovered a heat stable toxin from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients. In this particular study, they took the CSF from MS patients, heat-treated it to destroy any infectious germs, and then exposed it to nerve cells in a laboratory culture. What happened? The nerve cells died! They called this heat-stable toxin “gliotoxin.”
The source of gliotoxin appears to be, again, primarily from the yeast and fungi within the human body. As such, gliotoxin is less important as an agricultural scourge than are other mycotoxins such as fumonisins, made by Fusarium and Aspergillus fungi, and the penetrim D toxin made by Penicillium crustosum. Fumonisins are a group of mycotoxins that happen to be neurotoxic as well as carcinogenic. They are “universally present in corn and corn-based products.”. Penitrem mycotoxins are found in things such as moldy apple products. Penetrem D can cause tremors, convulsions, limb weakness, and ataxis (unsteady gait), “not unlike the symptoms observed in MS.”

As there are different classes of MS (chronic progressive, relapsing-remitting, etc.) it may very well be that the different classes are being caused by different classes of mycotoxins. In addition, the regional differences in the prevalence of MS might be explained by the particular agricultural products that dominate the most affected areas. For example, the part of America that lies above the 37th parallel also happens to encompass the cornbelt. Remember that corn is universally contaminated with mycotoxins. This area is also represented by much of the wheat belt. Is this just a coincidence, or good evidence of an environmental exposure risk factor?
Let’s talk about some of the latest treatments for MS. Dr. Mercola has already stated in a previous article that most MS drugs are a waste of money. The new buzz on the town, however, is that statin drugs (cholesterol-lowering drugs) have proven effective in slowing the progression of MS. Their effectiveness should not surprise us, in light of the fungal/mycotoxin theory, when we also learn that statin drugs are antifungal.

Dr. Mercola has also mentioned in previous articles that Vitamin D as well as plain old sunlight can reduce mortality from and positively influence the immune system in MS. Other researchers have explained that the reason why these work is, once again, Vitamin D, whether taken in the form of a cod liver oil supplement or made naturally by our body from sunlight exposure, is anti-mycotoxin.

Finally, let’s talk about diet again. Last year a German researcher claimed that eating smoked sausage in childhood was responsible for causing multiple sclerosis later in life. Dr. A.V. Costantini, retired head of the World Health Organization’s collaborating center for mycotoxins in food, helps us out here by explaining that smoked and aged meats are often contaminated with mycotoxins. Thus the cause of MS, according to these and other researchers, is right in our food.

In another of Dr. Mercola’s articles, he talked about how starving mice with an MS-like condition resulted in fewer symptoms and decreased progression of the illness. Why does starvation work? In our humbled opinion, it could be as simple as: the fewer foods taken in, the fewer mycotoxins that enter the body. You see, if we are following the standard, food pyramid, grain based American diet, we are consuming on average from 0.15 to 0.5mg of aflatoxin per day. Aflatoxin is the only regulated mycotoxin in America, so what level of exposure we have to the other, known mycotoxins in our diet that we’ve discussed is a guess, at best. So starvation diets not only deprive us of calories. They also “deprive” us of disease-causing, carcinogenic mycotoxins.
If indeed mycotoxins cause MS, then there are a number of steps one must take to minimize exposure to fungi and their mycotoxins. We just finished talking about diet. Since mycotoxins are commonly found in grain foods, then it would be wise to minimize grains in our diet. Doug Kaufmann outlines his Initial Phase diet in our book, The Fungus Link, Volume 2. As well, Dr. Mercola has published his book, The No-Grain Diet, which offers equally valuable information.

Secondly, we should minimize our exposure to antibiotics.
Antibiotics are, for the most part, derived from fungi and are therefore classified as mycotoxins. If we’ve taken lots of antibiotics in the past, we should attempt to correct the damage done by these by taking a good probiotic supplement. Lastly, if we have any obvious signs of fungal infection in our body, and to us, simply having MS might qualify as an obvious sign, it might behoove us to take natural or prescriptive antifungals for a period of time. Remember that gliotoxin can be made by fungi and yeast that are already in the body, not necessarily by fungi that reside in contaminated foods.

Doug and I hope that we’ve given you some insight to this “mysterious” disease of MS. It seems, according to the research we’ve pointed to, that the cause for this disease is right before our eyes. Now, we just need to apply this knowledge. Future research should be directed at treating the disease as if it were caused by fungi and their devastating mycotoxins.

more at: http://www.mercola.com/2003/jul/19/multiple_sclerosis.htm

Fungus Link – Leukemia & Fungus

THE FUNGUS LINK

(Leukemia and its Fungal Root)

By David Holland, MD

I recently spoke with a nurse who was diagnosed, as an adult, with leukemia. She endured the chemotherapy regimen her doctors prescribed, only to suffer from a secondary fungal infection during that time. The intensity and duration of the antifungal treatment rivaled that of the chemotherapy. At any rate, she recovered from both afflictions and went back to work.
Later, as a result of another workup — which included a liver biopsy — for some returning symptoms she had, bad news was again brought up. “Your leukemia has returned,” her oncologist told her, and he proceeded to lay out the next line of chemotherapy drugs she would have to take.

Given that her chances of dying were much higher now that her cancer had returned, she opted to get a second opinion on her biopsy before proceeding with her next round of chemotherapy. She took her tissue sample to another hospital, and what she was told there was absolutely stunning: “You don’t have leukemia,” remarked the pathologist, “what you have is a fungal infection!”

The scenario that her doctors figured was that her previous fungal infection had returned — a total possibility. But for this nurse, more questions were raised. She thought, for example, “If they diagnosed my fungal infection as leukemia this time, is it possible that they were wrong the FIRST time? Was my leukemia really a fungal infection to begin with, and was my so-called ’secondary’ fungal infection I had earlier really a full-blown manifestation of what originally might have looked like leukemia?”

Of course, she would never get answers to these questions, for to fully investigate thoughts like these might imply that a diagnostic error was made on the part of either her initial oncologist or pathologist.

Nevertheless, an intense six months later — some of it spent in the hospital — of high-dose, powerful antifungals finally achieved a cure for her fungal infection. Today, she is again back at work, exuding more than ever with compassion for her patients. It really struck me when she told me where she works, because in her case, her occupation may very well relate to what she had suffered over the past two years. It turns out that she works at a bone-marrow transplant center, and is in daily contact with children with leukemia.

Now, the thought of her “acquiring” something as grave as leukemia would almost be preposterous to some. But the temptation to scratch our heads and wonder about this is unbearable. What if she really did have a fungal infection — and NOT leukemia — her first time around? And if so, did she “catch” this from her precious little patients?

Fungal infections not only can be extremely contagious, but they also go hand in hand with leukemia — every oncologist knows this. And these infections are devastating: once a child who has become a bone marrow transplant recipient gets a “secondary” fungal infection, his chances of living, despite all the antifungals in the world, are only 20%, at best.

And then the unthinkable thought arises: what if all of these children didn’t even have leukemia, but rather a fungal infection, just as this nurse did? If doctors, in the 21st century, could mistake a fungal infection for leukemia in this nurse, could the same fate have fallen upon these children?
Doctors in general are not very good at diagnosing fungal infections because their medical school training is based so heavily on the role of bacteria and viruses in the area of infectious diseases. Fungi have been a forgotten foe ever since the advent of antibiotics. Once we had a drug that could kill bacteria, the interest in and the study of fungi fell to the wayside.
Laboratories display the same difficulty in diagnosing fungal infections: current tests for detecting the presence of fungi are both terribly scant and sorely antiquated.
Despite these training and technical inadequacies, there have been at least a few good reports that implicate the role of fungi in causing leukemia.

For example, in 1999 Meinolf Karthaus, MD, watched three different children with leukemia suddenly go into remission upon receiving a triple antifungal drug cocktail for their “secondary” fungal infections.

Pre-dating that, Mark Bielski stated back in 1997 that leukemia, whether acute or chronic, is intimately associated with the yeast, Candida albicans.

Finally, almost 50 years ago, Dr. J. Walter Wilson, in his textbook of clinical mycology, said that “it has been established that histoplasmosis and such reticuloendothelioses as leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphosarcoma, and sarcoidosis are found to be coexistent much more frequently than is statistically justifiable on the basis of coincidence.”

Histoplasmosis is what we call an “endemic” fungal infection. It is most commonly acquired in regions surrounding the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys in the United States. One becomes ill by merely inhaling the tiny fungal spores of this fungus. (For more information on histoplasmosis and other endemic fungi, you can visit: http://www.doctorfungus.org/). Three similar reports like this over the span of 40 years should convince us to at least study the role of fungi in cancers like leukemia a little more thoroughly. The late Milton White, MD., did exactly this. He fully believed that cancer is a “chronic, intracellular, infectious, biologically induced spore (fungus) transformation disease.” Using the proper isolation techniques (involving saline instead of formaldehyde as a tissue transportation medium between the operating room and the pathology lab), he was able to find fungal spores in every sample of cancer tissue he studied. His lifetime work has been routinely dismissed as nothing more than an unproven postulate.
Regardless, wouldn’t you expect all of this information to make front-page headlines in every newspaper across the country, if not the world? Instead, every one of these findings was merely a brief mention — only curious thoughts that one might entertain but never take seriously.
The fact is, if leukemia and fungal infections “co-exist” so frequently, and if an antifungal drug cocktail effectively cured at least these three children of their leukemia, then I say we put the brakes on right there. Is there a need to go any farther, except to more deeply investigate the need for antifungals in treating leukemia and not just the secondary infections that arise in the course of chemotherapy?

In his book, The Germ that Causes Cancer (http://iknowthecause.com), author and television host Doug Kaufmann asserts that not only fungi, but also foods play a role in the etiology of cancer. He has seen children become free of their documented leukemia once the child’s parents simply changed the child’s diet. Kaufmann’s diet is base on the widely-published problem of mycotoxin contamination of our grain foods.

Grains such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, and other foods such as peanuts, are commonly contaminated with cancer-causing fungal poisons, or “mycotoxins.” One of them, called aflatoxin, just happens to be the most carcinogenic substance on earth. If this is indeed a problem, Kaufmann asserts, then cereal for breakfast and soda pop for dinner may not be conducive to a cancer-free lifestyle.

A case in point: in a grain-based diet, we consume, on average, from 0.15mg to 0.5mg of aflatoxin per day. Further, he states, it is not the sugar alone that is the problem in our western diet, but the fungal toxins that are found in the sugary grains. More than once has Kaufmann interviewed a caller (on his health talk show) who absolutely craved peanut butter and popcorn just prior to their diagnosis of cancer.

Fungi are such a nuisance in carbohydrate foods in particular because fungi need carbohydrates to thrive. Therefore, it is rarer to see fungal contamination problems in foods like vegetables and high-protein foods.

Kaufmann goes on further to explain how even antibiotics may play a role in the disease process. Antibiotics destroy the normal, protective gut bacteria, allowing intestinal yeast and fungi to grow unchecked. These internal, gut yeast make toxins, too. This can lead to immune suppression, symptoms of any autoimmune disease, or even cancer. “If the onset of any symptom or disease- cancer included- was preceded by a course of antibiotics,” he maintains, “then look for a fungus to be at the root of your problem.”

Doug and I will be talking more about the role of fungi in cancer and other diseases, such as diabetes, in our upcoming seminars. Check out our website (http://iknowthecause.com) to find the location nearest you.

David Holland, MDCo-author, The Fungus Link, Infectious Diabetes.20 May 2003MediaTrition, Inc.

IBD – Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Fungus

The Fungal Etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

(from Dr. Mercola’s website: www.mercola.com)

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:

Dr. Dave Holland is the co-author, with Doug Kaufmann, of the best-selling book “The Fungus Link,” and the new book, “The Fungus Link Vol. 2.” The following is an excerpt from chapter three of “The Fungus Link.” The book has recently been revised and updated with new information, and it continues to help educate both the general public and medical professionals alike on the roles of fungi and fungal toxins in causing a wide variety of human diseases.
In “The Fungus Link Vol. 2,” you’ll also learn about the dangers of antibiotics and the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases, hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss and eye problems.
If you have a friend or loved one who is suffering from Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative colitis, please take the time to forward this excerpt to them.

By David A. Holland, M.D.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, although distinguished by well-known characteristics, are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD is characterized by a host of symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, rectal bleeding, weight loss, fever, and a host of extra-intestinal symptoms, including disorders of the eyes, liver, gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin. The treatments usually focus on relief of symptoms with anti-inflammatory drugs or surgery (i.e. removal of the affected part of the intestines).

The cause of IBD remains “unknown.”
Some have implicated a viral etiology to IBD. In the medical journal The Lancet, Dr. Wakefield and colleagues found that three of four offspring in mothers that had measles during pregnancy developed severe Crohn’s later in life. Of note is that recurrent antibiotic-resistant pneumonia preceded the Crohn’s in every case.

This is important because antibiotics are known to increase the risk of fungal infection. Another study highlights this fact: an eight-year-old girl who was treated with antibiotics for recurrent upper respiratory tract infections developed intestinal candidiasis, an overgrowth of the yeast Candida albicans, in the gut.

Other scientists have found carbohydrates to be a possible culprit. Two of three worldwide studies found the average intake of carbohydrates (including bread, potatoes, and refined sugars) to be much greater in those who developed IBD than in those who did not. Why would carbohydrates be implicated as a cause? Could it be that they are commonly contaminated with fungal toxins, according to a 2002 JAMA article and numerous agricultural publications, including the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology?

In her book, “Breaking the Vicious Cycle,” Elaine Gottschall describes the cycle of intestinal mucosal injury, impaired digestion, malabsorption, bacterial overgrowth, and increase in bacterial by-products and mucous production, which lead back to intestinal mucosal injury. We all know that antibiotics can alter the normal intestinal flora or bacteria. These bacteria usually keep in check the relatively small amount of existing yeast in the intestines.
However, when antibiotics are taken for various purposes–and you can bet those kids in Dr. Wakefield’s study were given plenty of antibiotics–the normal, protective bacteria are eliminated, and yeast growth goes unchecked. The resulting effects range from “mild diarrhea to severe colitis, or systemic fungal or bacterial dissemination.” In Chapter 2 of our book, “The Fungus Link,” you read about the link between arthritis and fungus.

When fungi become systemic from gut inflammation and the overuse of antibiotics, you can see how the whole body–again, the eyes, liver, gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin–becomes involved in inflammatory bowel disease.

Still other scientists have directly implicated yeast and fungal toxins, called mycotoxins, in the cause of Crohn’s disease. Former World Health Organization expert Dr. A.V. Costantini has found that people with Crohn’s often have aflatoxin, a mycotoxin made by Aspergillus molds, in their blood. Barclay found that disease activity in patients with Crohn’s was lower while they followed a yeast-free diet, specifically avoiding baker’s and brewer’s yeasts.

Some feel that the yeast, Candida albicans, may be the cause of Celiac disease, also known as Sprue, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease, doctors presume, is caused by a reaction to a protein particle called gluten that exists in certain grains.

This allergic-type reaction leads to inflammation and often severe symptoms in not only the intestines but also the entire body. Conventional treatment therefore involves suppressing the inflammation and symptoms with anti-inflammatory medications. It also requires the avoidance of these particular grains. Ironically, corn is a grain that does not contain gluten. It therefore falls in the “okay to eat” list offered by conventional practitioners and dieticians. Little do most practitioners know that corn is universally contaminated with mycotoxins.

So, over-consuming corn, as so many Celiac patients do since they have few other choices of grains in their diet, is likely to propagate the illness. Many people have successfully treated (dare we say cured?) their Celiac disease by not only avoiding grains altogether–especially corn–but also including antifungal medications in their treatment regimen. Such antifungals may include the natural, coconut-derived fatty acid known as Caprylic acid (available over the counter), or stronger, prescriptive antifungals. These stronger medicines might consist of a combination of nystatin (a broad spectrum gut antifungal) and either itraconazole (Sporanox®) or fluconazole (Diflucan®).

Chapter 13 of “Principles and Practice of Clinical Mycology” deals entirely with fungal infections in the gut. They describe how Blastomyces dermatitidis, a fungus, can produce “granulomatous” lesions in the intestines.

Not surprisingly, this same type of lesion has also been seen in patients with Crohn’s disease. Another fungus called Histoplasma produces intestinal disease with symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, fever, and abdominal pain–sound familiar? The common lesions seen in the gut with this infection were “masses or ulcers mimicking inflammatory bowel disease or carcinoma.” The authors concluded that histoplasmosis should be a “serious consideration” in an immunocompromised patient with signs and symptoms of IBD.

Back to the big word “immuno-compromised,” which means the immune system has been compromised, or weakened. We strongly disagree that you must have cancer or AIDS or be on chemotherapy to have a weakened immune system. Just smell the air on your way to work or look at our standard American diet (SAD), or even look at the number of antibiotics we consume from childhood on. Could these be impeding our immune systems? Most antibiotics are mycotoxins–fungal derivatives.

Mycotoxins are commonly found in our grain food supply. Mycotoxins can suppress our normal immune function. Therefore, anyone who has taken an antibiotic or consumes grains or sugar qualifies as a potentially immunocompromised person.

We’ve seen thus far that, in just about every case of inflammatory bowel disease, conventional treatment involves the use of anti-inflammatories. Well, researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis took a bold step and did a study where they offered patients with Crohn’s disease an immune stimulant instead. They used a medicine called Leukine–a naturally-occuring molecule called Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF).
And though they faced harsh criticism from scientists at other universities for doing this, they obtained amazing results: of the initial 15 patients in the study, 12 did “significantly” better overall, while eight went into complete remission! Every one of the half a million patients with Crohn’s disease in America should know about this study.

But they shouldn’t feel they need to rush in to their doctor’s office to get this expensive shot (it costs around $300 per milliliter–that’s $1,500 per teaspoon).

Rather, they should learn from this study: by giving an immune booster, these doctors were able to put 53 percent of the cases into total remission. That almost implies that an infection is at the root of the disease, and that by assisting the body’s immune system the medication helped the body overcome the “infection,” or the disease.

Typically, an anti-inflammatory medicine merely controls the symptoms of the disease–it doesn’t cure it. That’s because it rarely addresses the true cause of the disease. In other words, if the wrong diet is constantly consumed, or if damage (i.e. yeast overgrowth) is never reversed from previous antibiotic use, a cure can almost never be achieved. In this case, we feel that the “infection” in the intestines of Crohn’s patients is caused by fungi and their mycotoxins.

Incidentally, you can boost your immune system much less expensively and without a prescription by taking beta-glucans (see seagateproducts.com or nsc24.com). Using probiotics–Lactobacillus acidophilus, etc. (see natren.com)–is also extremely vital in reversing antibiotic damage, since these good bacteria can keep yeast and fungi from re-establishing themselves in the intestines.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease knows the misery these diseases can cause. Given the alternatives for treatment–more immune-suppressing drugs and surgery–we think it would be worth a trial on a program that includes a low-carb diet and antifungal medications or supplements. A 1944 Johns Hopkins Clinical Mycology book stressed the importance of following a low-carb diet while treating yeasts. If a fungus or mycotoxin is truly involved, all of these approaches will do more than just suppress the symptoms of or “manage” the disease–they can actually cure it.

more at: www.mercola.com

Food Combining Rules & Information

FOOD COMBINING”Putting Logic Back into Eating”

PRINT THE “FOOD COMBINING CHART” AND KEEP IT HANDY IN THE KITCHEN (for quick reference when preparing meals)

If I were asked, “What is the first major cause of most illness?”, I would have to say incomplete digestion. If your food does not break down through the enzymes provided by fresh and raw food in your body, then putrefaction (rotting and decay) will take place. The result? Your body absorbs its own toxic waste before it can be eliminated.

Have you ever tried doing two things at once? I know I have, and still do, and if you are anything like me these tasks are usually rushed and incomplete. The same applies to your digestive process. If you combine the wrong foods together in a single meal, your body is required to process incompatible food substances at the same time. This results in “incomplete digestion”, discomfort, and putrefaction. Eating your meals as if they were a smorgasbord can only lead to disaster.

Food breaks down in the body with the aid of enzymes or bacteria. Enzyme breakdown is the natural course, while bacterial breakdown is quite destructive. Bacterial breakdown creates toxic gases which manifest in the body as bloating, burping, flatulence, candida, fatigue, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, low back pain, and so on. Your digestive tract will either be your highway to health, or to pain and suffering. You choose the road you want to take.

We have been educated via media advertising to compromise our health for the heavenly tastes in the mouth with no concern for the following thirty feet of discomfort and/or pain that follows in our intestinal tract. Let’s take a look at the concept of logical eating known as Food Combining.

THE REASON FOR PROPER FOOD COMBINING?to make digestion easier and more efficient!

If you are going to eat more than one food at a meal,
you can greatly improve digestion (and avoid indigestion)
by eating foods that require
the same gastric juices for digestion and are compatible.

Proper combining leads to good digestion and to better health

“THE SIMPLER THE MEAL THE BETTER YOU FEEL.”

PROTEINS
Protein foods are those that contain a high percentage of protein in their makeup. Protein foods require an ACID DIGESTIVE ENVIRONMENT. Chief among these are the following:

Nuts, Seeds
All flesh foods* (except fat)
Dry Beans
Dry Peas (combined as starches)
Eggs*
Cheese* and other dairy products*
Soy Beans
Peanuts
Margarine*
Chicken/Fish/Red Meat – AVOID PORK
Olives
Avocados

* These substances are not recommended, but included for clarity.

CARBOHYDRATES
The carbohydrates are the starches and sugars. These we break up into three distinct classifications: Starches, Sugars, and Sweet Fruits . . . all require an ALKALINE DIGESTIVE ENVIRONMENT.

STARCHES:

All Cereals
Dry Beans (except soy beans)
Dry Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Yams
Chestnuts
Squash
Corn
Coconut**

SWEET FRUITS:
Prunes
Persimmons
Dried Fruits
Bananas
Dates
Figs
Raisins

SUGARS:

Pure Honey*
Pure Maple Syrup*

MILDLY STARCHY:

Carrots
Artichokes
Rutabaga
Parsnips
Beets

* These foods are not recommended.** Coconuts are a starch/protein combination and also a saturated fat.

GENERAL FOOD COMBINING GUIDELINES

Avoid eating carbohydrates with acid fruits – This combination may neutralize your enzymes causing your food to putrefy.

Avoid eating concentrated proteins with concentrated carbohydrates – Remember the pizza? How it made you feel? Especially when you were tired?

Do not consume two concentrated proteins at the same meal – Two concentrated proteins of different character and composition (such as nuts and cheese) should not be combined. Gastric acidity, type, strength, and timing of secretions for various proteins is not uniform. Since concentrated protein is more difficult to digest than other food elements, incompatible combinations of two different concentrated proteins should be avoided.

Do not consume fats with proteins – Our need for concentrated fat is small and most protein foods already contain a good deal of fat. Fat has an inhibiting effect on digestive secretions and lessens the amount and activity of pepsin and hydrochloric acid necessary for the digestion of protein. Fat may lower the entire digestive tone more than 50%.

Use fats sparingly – Fats inhibit the secretion of gastric juice. Except with avocado, fats used with starch delay the passage of the starch from the stomach into the intestine. When fats such as avocados or nuts are eaten with raw green vegetables, their inhibiting effect on gastric secretion is counteracted and digestion proceeds normally.

AVOCADOS: Though not a high protein food, avocados contain more protein than milk. They are high in fat and the small percentage of protein they contain is of high biological value. They are best used with a salad meal. Eating avocados with salad enhances their digestability. The next best combination for avocado is to take it with subacid or acid fruit. It is even better when lettuce leaves and celery are eaten with the fruit and the avocado. Since the avocado is low in protein, it may also be used with potatoes or other starch foods, provided a green salad is included in the meal. Avocados should never be used with nuts, which are also high in fat. Fats other than nuts and avocados are not recommended for regular use.

Do not eat acid fruits with proteins – Citrus, tomatoes, pineapple, strawberries, and other acid fruits should not be eaten with nuts, cheese, eggs or meat. If you are ill, avoid acid fruits especially in juice form – but lemons and limes are always a great addition due to their enzyme content.

Do not combine sweet fruits with proteins, starches, or acid fruits – The sugars in sweet fruit should be free to leave the stomach within twenty minutes, and are apt to ferment if digestion is delayed by mixing with other foods. Sugar-starch combinations cause additional problems. When sugar is taken the mouth quickly fills with saliva, but no ptyalin is present. Ptyalin is essential for starch digestion. If starch is disguised by sugar, honey, molasses, or sweet fruit, digestion is impaired. Fermentation is inevitable if sugars of any kind are delayed in the stomach by the digestion of starch, protein, or acid fruit. Sugar also has a marked inhibiting effect on the flow of gastric juices.

Eat only one concentrated starch at a meal – This rule is more important as a means of avoiding overeating starches than avoiding a bad combination. Slightly starchy vegetables may be combined with more starchy vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, but not with combination foods such as grains and legumes.

Acid fruits may be used with subacid fruits – This combination is best made with less sweet subacid fruits. Never use acid fruits with sweet fruits. Tomatoes should not be combined with subacid fruit nor with any other kind of fruit. They are best combined with a salad meal at which no starches are served.

Subacid fruits may be used with sweet fruits – It is best to use the sweeter varieties of subacid fruits when making this combination. For people with poor digestion, bananas are best eaten alone. For others, bananas combine fairly well with dates, raisins, grapes, and other sweet fruit, and with green leafy vegetables such as lettuce and celery. Dried sweet fruits should be used sparingly, because the sugar concentration is naturally greater. It is best to have these fruits at a fruit meal combined with a salad of lettuce and celery.

Combine fruit only with lettuce and celery – These uncooked vegetables with a fruit meal may even enhance digestion of the fruit.

Salads combine very well with proteins or starches – Non starchy vegetables may be combined with proteins or starch. The green leafy vegetables combine very well with most other foods, and should form the major part of one’s daily diet. Through the week, use as wide a variety of vegetables as possible. Lettuce and other green and non-starchy vegetables leave the stomach with little change. They pass through the stomach rapidly unless delayed by oily dressing or foods that require a more thorough gastric digestion.

Do not consume melons with any other foods – Many people who have complained that melons did not agree with them have no trouble when eating only melons at a meal. Melons are more than 90% liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods.Avoid over ripe fruit, this may cause digestive disturbances.

Sprouts – The best way to eat grains are as sprouts. When grains are sprouted, they come alive with enzymes and oxygen. They become a pre-digested food. Other seeds and legumes may be sprouted as well.

Water – You should drink alkaline water throughout the day. Do not allow your thirst to build up. Do not allow dehydration to occur. Do not drink a large amount at one time. It is better to have a smaller but continual flow of water for proper assimilation and detoxification. Don’t dilute the natural enzymes in your body by drinking with meals. Water is a food, make it the best quality you can. Avoid distilled and chlorinated for health sake.

References:For more information we recommend the following books: “Food Combining Made Easy” and “Superior Nutrition” by Herbert Shelton D.P., N.D., D.N.T, D.N.Sc.

Excerpts from the above have been taken from a document published by The Canadian Natural Health Association Founded on Natural Hygiene, Toronto Chapter

More can be found at The Wolfe Clinic Website at: http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/newsletter/newsletter0002.html

Ozone Therapy, what is it?

I have found ozone therapy to be of great benefit for my health, and would like to share more about it here:

OZONE: ITS THERAPEUTIC ACTION

A widely used remedy is just starting to be used here in the United States. This remedy is so pwerful, so efficient in what it does, that it may reform the practice of medicine. The substance is ozone! It is antibacterial, antiviral and kills protozoa. It works by releasing oxygen into the blood stream when applied externally, intravenoulsly, rectally or vaginally.

In 1740 Schonbein discovered ozone, although he did not know or understand its structure. The discovery was enlarged upon in 1891 with the determination of the ozone molecular formula. Observation soon revealed that ozone reacted with and destroyed bacteria and other organisms. During the first World War, the application of ozone to war wounds served primarily as a disinfectant. In 1934 the dentist E.A. Fische and the surgeon Erwin Payr found that ozone saturated water was a great bacteriacide and began using it. This usage slowed temporarily because the ozone would quickly destroy the rubber tubing it flowed through. The arrival of Teflon and poly-vinyl tubing overcame this inconvenience.

Today the largest commercial use of ozone is in the purification of water. Both the FDA and EPA certify ozone as destroying 99.9992% of all pathogenic germs, while oxidizing (destroying) 99.9992% of all pollutants in the water at the same time.

Ozone (O3) is an allotropic form of oxygen: it is oxygen in its most active state; it therefore means a more generous supply of oxygen, the life giver.

Through the action of the flashes of lightning, and the photochemical reaction of the UV light of the sun on atmspheric oxygen, nature produces ozone for the purpose of purifying the air, and to destroy all organic decay upon which disease germs and bacteria thrive. Like oxygen, ozone is a healthful gas. It has, however, much greater oxidizing, antiseptic and germicidal power and for this reason is being used with great success for the relief of various diseases. Recently, the FDA and EPA have been telling the public that ozone is poisonous, and detrimental to the body. This is not so! For years physicians around the world have used ozone for bringing palliative and curative results to many, many individuals. Ozone is one of the most energetic and useful agents known to sciencel Its therapeutic action is due to oxygenation of the blood by the loose molecule (free radical) of oxygen in the O3 compound. It is carried to the various organs and tissues of the body and absorbed, thus oxidizing the waste products, and facilitating their elimination. In other words, ozone increases the metabolism without the expenditure of vital energy and special stress should belaid on the fact that ozone is a NATURAL remedy.

In the process of respiration waste products are exposed to the action of the oxygen of the air, and they are burned up very much as if they were put into a stove, thereby producing body heat. In the living body, heat, whether tangible or not, is continually being generated through the chemical action of carbon and oxygen.

When the blood receives sufficient oxygen to unite with the carbon, carbon dioxide (CO2) is formed, which is in a suitable state to be eliminated. The process of oxidation is complete, the body temperature maintained at normal (98.6 F), the organs perform their functions properly and the system is in a condition to resist the toxic influences of microbes, environment and mankind’s excesses.

When, however, an insufficient amount of oxygen is received by the blood, carbon monoxide (CO) is formed, which is NOT readily eliminated, and through its poisonous influences, trouble begins. Carbon monoxide is a DE-oxidizer. It acts as an irritant to the organs, the body temperature is reduced below normal and the system is rendered incapable of resisting the toxic influences of various bacteria, viruses and environmental toxins, and disease is the result. So prevalent is subnormal temperature among people who are called ‘run down.’ that nine out of ten of them will show a subnormal temperature by actual thermometer test.

There have been several reasons given for subnormal temperatures in recent years: they range from ‘thyroid insufficiency’ to ‘hypothalamus disorders.’ These explanations are correct, but only to a degree. The CAUSE of the problem is low and inadequate oxidation. Therefore the thyroid, hypothalamus, or endocrine organs (given as the cause) are hindered in their normal metabolic function and the sub-normal temperature is the result. The correct way to counteract this situation is to give a substance that will restore the oxidative process.

The clinical thermometer is the best means of determining the existence of underoxidation and should be used routinely. The temperature of one who is underoxidized will be found to run from a fraction to several degrees below normal.

The underoxidized and subnormal temperature person will present one of more of the following symptoms: headache, dizziness, insomnia, constipation, faint-feeling, loss of appetite, palpitation of the heart, liver and kidney problems, menstrual problems, cold hands and feet, anemia, gastrointestinal problems, chlorosis, etc., all of which are due to an improverished blood supply.
The symptoms or conditions ther rise from a subnormal temperature are not necessarily in proportion to the degree of subnormal temperature. A person showing a fractional part of one degree of subnormal temperature may present as severe problems or conditions of disease as one who is several degrees below normal.

A sufficiency of oxygen for the blood means better blood, better circulation, better assimilation, better equilibrium of body temperature, better vasomotor activity, better digestion, better elimination of waste products, less chance of autointoxication or toxemia, and less chance of infection and disease.

After careful analyticla investigation of disease, it has been demonstrated:

1. That one of the most common important conditions that the person is called upon to correct is weakness produced by an impoverished or diminished blood supply.

2. That under-oxidation produces bad health primarily because of an insufficient supply of oxygen that makes certain the formation of carbon monoxide, which is at once a de-oxidizer, a hemoglobin destroyer and an irritant poison devitalizing the blood and paving the way for a multiplicity of acute troubles, many of which run into chronicity.

It has been suggested that a subnormal temperature may be a normal condition with some people. This deduction can be disproven by placing anyone with a subnormal temperature under active influence of ozone and the temperature can be made to rise back to normal.
Almost all forms of nervous, functional, respiratory and blood disorders can be successfully corrected by oxidation restoration. The effects are perfectly natural, the nerves being left calm and toned with a feeling of buoyancy and exhileration. It stimulates the vasomotor system through the nerve centers, which fact is clearly shown in the increased redness of the skin, a feeling of warmth in the whole body, and waste products being more freely eliminated. The ozone treatment show that poor oxidation is the cause of many disorders, by reason of the fact that when the temperature is brought up to normal, the problems disappear.

Another aspect of ozone therapy that is understood by almost nobody in the medical community is the ability of ozone to oxidize almost instantly anything of a plant physiology. This is paramount importance when you consider the work of the great German biochemist Dr. Otto Warburg. He discovered the cause of cancer in 1923 and received his first Nobel Prize in 1931 for doing so. Dr. Warburg demonstrated that when the level of oxygen available to the cell drops below 40% of normal, the cell, in order to survive, begins to ferment the sugar anaerobically. The regulatory mechanisms on cell replication are shut off, and the cell begins tomake copies of itself wildly. The growth of cancer cells is supported by fermentation which can be initiated only in the relative absence of oxygen.

Ever since Warburg’s discovery, researchers have been attempting to stop the fermentation process through drugs, radiation and surgery, which in some cases, has been temporarily successful. Although the National Cancer Institute verified Warburg’s theories in the 1950’s, very little work has been done to determine the causes of the lack of oxygen in our cellls. We must determine ways of getting more oxygen to all of our cells to prevent the initiation of the fermentation process.

It is unfortunate that up till now the U.S. authorities have been painfully slow in their investigation of the beneficial uses of ozone. The Sixth World Ozone Conference held in Washington D.C. during May, 1982, produced many astounding papers on the medical uses of ozone. They ran the full gamut of topics from cancer to herpes to rheumatoid arthritis, written by the world’s recognized specialists in their fields. These papers concluded that:

1. Ozone removes unwanted bacteria and viruses from the blood, the same way it does with water.

2. The possibility of becoming infected with hepatitis, HIV virus, syphilis or other infectious diseases through blood transfusion could be eliminated by the use of ozone.

3. Ozone is highly effective in peripheral vascular disease.

4. Ozone is effective in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, arteriosclerosis and hypercholesterolemia, and promptly restores circulation, relieves angina pain and improves brain function.

5. With ozone cancerous tumors, lymphomas and leukemia may be eliminated without the use of surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.

6. Ozone is highly effective for all forms of rheumatoid and arthritis collagen diseases.

7. Ozone is very effective for allergies of all types.

8. Ozone improves multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases, senility, as well as in Parkinson’s disease.

9. External use of ozone is very effective in treating burns, acne, leg ulcers, open cuts and wounds, aczema, fungus and other skin disorders.

10. Rectal insufflation with ozone is effective for proctitis, colitis, prostatitis and fissure; vaginal insufflation is effective for candidiasis and other yeast infections, trichomoniasis and other forms of vaginitis; bladder insufflation is effective for cystitis and bladder fistulas, as well as cancer.

11. AIDS, herpes, hepatitis, mononucleosis, and cirrhosis of the liver have been successfully treated with ozone.

12. The application of ozone is virtually painless, , has no adverse side effects and is extremely cost-effective for both physicians and patients.

13. As of 1994, sixteen countries allow the use of ozone therapy. In a study Germany, of all the millions of treatments, there have only been four deaths reported, with only 40 persons having side effects.

Most people are puzzled as to why something with this potential has not be used in the United States before now. In order to understand this, one has to examine how medicine has evolved over the past 100 years on two continents; Europe and America. In the late 1800’s, the way medicine was practiced in both areas was very similar, though quite diverse. Doctors on both continents were taught many different techniques of healing including herbal medicine, potions, manipulations, diets, purges, colonics, as well as drugs, and surgery. These physicians practiced holistic medicine in its original form. The divergence began in the United States with the discovery of insulin and penicillin in the 1930’s. In close conjunction with the rise in power of the drug companies is the ever increasing policing of all medical therapies by the FDA along with the development of the healthe insurance system. Today’s American doctors get practically no training in therapies other than drugs or surgery and are discouraged from practicing any alternative therapies. On the other hand the European system nurtured diversity in which pharmaceutical development, as well as alternative treatments, were encouraged. This is how ozone, as a medical treatment, was allowed to deelop in Europe, but did not find fertile ground in the United states, after 1933. Ozone is not patentable. Thus, there is no money to be made in its research and development as a treatment since it cannot be protected. Money is what makes things happen in the United States, thus ozone hasn’t happened. However, with the development of the AIDS crisis over the last decade, many physicians in this country have been prompted to study the work done by clinicians in Germany and attempt to duplicate theri resutls. The FDA has actively persecuted doctors who have used ozone therapy. In spite of this, there is a growing network of physicians who have been using this efficacious therapy.

Dry Skin Brushing & Its Benefits

The skin is an organ of elimination just like the kidneys and the colon. More than one pound of waste products are discharged through the skin every day. If the skin becomes inactive with its pores chocked with millions of dead cells, then impurities will remain in the body. The other eliminative organs, mainly the kidneys and liver, will have to increase their labour and will eventually become overworked. If toxins and wastes begin to build up in the tissues because the kidneys and the liver cannot cope with their job, then sooner or later disease will follow. Such is the responsibility to keep a healthy and well functioning skin.

We do need to wash, perhaps even more than we realize. But does that ritual with the soap and water actually do the job? Of course it’s still fun to jump into the tub, but once you start to skin brush, you won’t need to use all that harmful soap. That, in itself, will make a lot of difference to the quality of your skin.

The skin-brushing itself – dry of course, not in the bath – will change the health of your whole body. Circulation, skin softness and quality, skin infections and irritations, whole body freshness, your level of stimulation, the prevention of colds, and your personal rejuvenation are all areas of improvement you can look for, when you make it a regular habit.

Benefits:

TIGHTENS Skin.
HELPS Digestion.
REMOVES Cellulite.
STIMULATES Circulation.
INCREASES Cell Renewal.
CLEANS Lymphatic System.
REMOVES Dead Skin Layers.
STRENGTHENS Immune System.
IMPROVES Exchange between Cells.
STIMULATES the Glands, thus helping
ALL of the Body Systems to perform at PEAK EFFICIENCY!

How To Do:

Buy a natural, not Synthetic, Bristle Brush, since it does not scratch the surface of the skin. Buy a Brush with a long (detachable) handle, so that you’re able to get to the areas of your body that are not easy to reach, when doing your own skin brushing.

Skin Brush, before Showering or Bathing, at least once per day, and twice if possible. Do not
wet skin, since it will not have the same effect, because this stretches the Skin. Always skin brush towards the heart. Do circular counter-clockwise strokes on the abdomen. Do lighter strokes over and around breasts, but do not brush the nipples. Brush each part of the body several times vigorously, completely brushing the whole body.

Brush the soles of the feet first, because the nerve endings there affect the whole body, next brush the ankles, calves, and thighs, then brush across your stomach and buttocks and lastly brush your hands to the upper arms.

Take a warm bath or shower, which should always be followed by a cool rinse at the end to invigorate blood circulation and stimulate surface warmth.

Colon Hydrotherapy & Its Clinical Applications

Colon Hydrotherapy and its Clinical Applications

 

“Colon irrigation may help greatly in enhancing the ability to absorbmany vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids” – by Donald J. Mantell, M.D. (Professional Member AANC)

At our colon therapy clinic we find colon irrigations are one of the most important treatment modalities available for a multitude of health problems. Many health authorities feel that disease begins in the colon. To be in optimum health the colon must be functioning normally. I believe that the colon is one of the most neglected areas by the medical establishment. One of the major indications for colon hydrotherapy is constipation. Before discussing the effects of constipation, I will first give a description of how a colon irrigation is carried out (some technical aspects about the colon irrigation machine) and what some of the benefits would be from such a treatment.

The usual colon hydrotherapy lasts approximately 45 minutes. A speculum is inserted into the patient’s rectum. This speculum is then attached to a plastic hose which connects to the colon irrigation machine. The colon hydrotherapist then adjusts the volume and temperature of the water coming out of the machine which runs through a plastic hose into the patient’s rectum and through the entire colon. The patient is temporarily filled with a certain volume of water to individual tolerance. This will induce peristaltic contractions in the colon, and the patient will begin to expel fecal matter through a special hose which leads back to the colon irrigation machine and through a clear plastic viewing tube. It is quite interesting to see what is expelled during a normal colon hydrotherapy treatment. One may see mucus, parasites and very old feculent material (noted by its dark black color) pass through this tube. This old feculent material may have been lying in the patient’s colon for years. It looks like vulcanized rubber and has that kind of consistency. In addition, the patient may experience sensations of warmth due to the presence of toxins in the feculent matter. While the patient is receiving the colon treatment, the colon hydrotherapist lightly massages various parts of the abdomen to help loosen and dislodge areas of fecal impaction. It is very important that the therapist use proper amounts of water. If the therapist uses too much water, the treatment may be uncomfortable or painful and may lead to negative results. If this therapy is conducted properly, it should not be painful or uncomfortable. In addition, when less, rather than more water is used, the patient’s colon is forced to do more work, which is an important first step in restoring normal peristaltic activity to the diseased colon.

It should be noted that most patients need a series of colon irrigations . . . not just one. The patient may expel considerable gas during the first few treatments. It usually takes a few treatments before one starts dislodging old encrusted feculent matter. One should remember that it usually takes years for the colon to become clogged up with its own waste products. Therefore, one should not be impatient when pursuing a therapeutic course of colon irrigations.

 

• Indications for Colon Hydrotherapy •

Who can benefit from colon hydrotherapy?

Constipation is one of the major reasons people pursue this form of treatment. I will discuss this very important problem later in this article. Colon problems such as colitis, ileitis and diverticulitis effect conservatively two million people in this country. These problems can be directly addressed by colon hydrotherapy. Anyone who suffers from bloating, abdominal distention, gas pains, stomach aches, or someone who gets filled very quickly after eating and can only eat small amounts of food may be a candidate for colon irrigations. In our clinic we find that people with all kinds of skin problems (i.e., acne, psoriasis, eczema, etc.) usually can benefit from a therapeutic course of colon irrigations. The skin is the largest excretory organ in the body. When the colon is sluggish or clogged up or there are a lot of toxins in the body, the skin may act as a major excretory organ. Unhealthy skin is usually a sign of an unhealthy colon and no amount of antibiotics, skin creams or medications will alleviate the problems until the cause of the problem is addressed. Vitamin A plays an important role in skin health. When the colon is adequately cleansed, Vitamin A will more effectively be absorbed through the intestinal tract. I have found that arthritis patients may be helped tremendously with a series of colon treatments – this may be due in part to the fact that arthritis patients suffer from some form of “internal toxemia” whereby toxins are continually being absorbed into their systems (from the colon) causing further inflammation and aggravation of their joints. A third group of patients who may benefit greatly from colon irrigations are cancer patients. We know that cancer patients have a tremendous problem breaking down and assimilating proteins, but they may also be extremely deficient in many vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. They may also suffer from constipation and other varied digestive disorders. Colon irrigations may help greatly in enhancing their ability to absorb these various macro and micro-nutrients. In addition, it is very important that a cancer patient eliminate efficiently and effectively all internal toxins. This is especially true in the case of a cancer patient who is on an integrated metabolic program. When on such a program, the cancerous tumor may start breaking down resulting in the release of cancer cells and various toxins throughout the body. Colon Hydrotherapy may perform a very important function, by helpingto expel these toxins from the body.

Dr. Max Gerson described a comparable situation when he first started treating cancer patients with an intensive dietary approach. He stated that he lost a number of cancer patients because of toxemia. They literally died from their own internal pollution! As their cancerous tumors were being broken down they were unable to eliminate these toxic products effectively or efficiently with dire results as a consequence. However, it is important that a cancer patient be under competent medical supervision. One would not want to administer colon treatments to a patient who was too weak – whereby the colon irrigations might weaken them further. In addition, colon irrigations would be contraindicated in a patient with a tumor in the rectum or large intestine. Also, colon irrigations would be temporarily contraindicated in any patient whose intestinal tract is too acidic. When the mucous membranes in the colon become too irritated or friable, colon irrigations may be too harsh a treatment. The patient should be put on a metabolic program to reduce the patient’s acid state before beginning a series of colon hydrotherapy treatments. At our clinic, we do special testing to test the body pH (i.e., urine and saliva) before making specific recommendations about colon irrigations.

• Constipation •

The expression constipation is derived from the Latin word “constipatus” which translated means to press or crowd together, to pack, to cram. Consequently, to be constipated means that the packed accumulation of feces in the bowel makes its evacuation difficult. However, a state of constipation can also exist when movements of the bowel may seem to be normal – in spite of an accumulation of feces somewhere along the passageways of the colon. Many health authorities believe that constipation is the number one affliction underlying nearly every ailment. This means that constipation would be the most prevalent ailment affecting the civilized world. It is vital to stress that constipation affects the health of the colon, upon which the health of the body in its entirety depends. Constipation contributes toward the lowering of body resistance predisposing it to many acute illnesses and the creation of a great many degenerative and chronic processes. Almost every human ailment has been attributed to a malfunctioning colon (i.e., one that cannot perform its normal, regular and efficient functioning). Intestinal constipation causes cellular constipation – it also increases the workload of the other excretory organs – kidneys, skin, liver, lungs and lymph. The functioning of these organs become depleted and overworked. The cellular metabolism becomes sluggish, repair and growth are delayed, and the ability to eliminate waste materials is lowered. The cells — instead of being alive and active — become dead and inactive. This process results in a decline in tissue and organ functional ability. There are two crimes against nature which civilization indulges in as a daily routine, which may be direct causes of constipation. One is the consumption of devitalized and refined foods which fail to nourish the organs responsible for the evacuation of waste matter. The other which is most prevalent, particularly among young people, but no less so among the older and more mature, is neglecting to stop everything we are doing when the urge to evacuate the bowels should drive us headlong into the bathroom. Bowel movements every two or three days are considered normal and acceptable. It is my professional opinion — as also the opinion of many holistic health care professionals — we should have a bowel movement for every meal that we eat, each and everyday. For example, if we eat three meals per day, we should have three bowel movements per day. If we are having less than two bowel movements per day, food residues are lying in the colon for more than twelve hours. Consequently, the fecal material in the colon becomes putrefied and fermented. Any nutritional elements present in the fecal matter would pass into the bloodstream as polluted products. What would otherwise be nutritional becomes in fact, the beginning of toxemia. Toxemia is a condition in which the blood contains poisonous products which are produced by the growth of pathogenic or disease-producing bacteria. Pimples for example are usually the first indication that toxemia has found its way into the body. A number of years ago fifty-seven of the leading physicians of Britain met in London and discussed before the Royal Society of Medicine this problem of autointoxication caused by a toxic colon. Autointoxication is defined as “the poisoning of the body, or some part of the body, by toxic matter generated therein.” The following twenty-two (22) poisons were identified as originating in a toxic colon.

• Phenol
• Cadaverin
• Agamatine
• Indol
• Sulphurretted Hydrogen
• Cresol
• Butyric Acid
• Botulin
• Putrescin
• Urrobilin
• Histidine
• Ammonia
• Muscarine
• Methylmercaptan
• Methylgardinine
• Indican
• Indoethylamine
• Sulpherroglobine
• Ptomarropine
• Pentamethylendiamine
• Neurin
• Sepsin

These are some of the many types of poisons which can be found in a toxic colon. Some of these poisons are highly active and may produce the most detrimental effects — even in very small quantities. In many cases, these toxins can seep out of the colon to poison the rest of the body.

Here are just a few examples of how these toxic poisons can affect your health:

 

* Weaken and stress your heart

* Cause blemishes and paleness in the skin

* Psoriasis, liver spots, wrinkles, and other facial conditions

* Irritate your lungs and cause foul breath

* Disturb mental function and cause senility in the brain

* Cause pain and stiffness in the joints

* Cause weakness and severe fatigue from settling in the muscles

* Rob you of your youth, ruin your health and cause you to become old before your time

 

 

• How Constipation Effects the Colon’s Function •

If solving the problem of constipation were merely a case of washing out loose material lying free inside any part of the colon, it would not be too great a difficulty to clear up the situation. A high enema would most likely be sufficient to take care of its removal. However, it is not so simple to dispose of this problem. Constipation involves not only the unnecessary retention of feces in the bowel, but also the retention present throughout the first half of the colon, from the cecum to the middle of the transverse colon. The cecum is found next to the ileocecal valve at the beginning of the colon. The wall of this section of the colon is equipped with sensitive nerves and muscles whose function it is to create wave-like motions – known as peristaltic waves – to propel the contents of the colon from the cecum to the rectum for eventual evacuation. This is a distance of approximately five feet. Besides the formation of these peristaltic waves, the first half of the colon has two other very important functions. First, it must extract from all the residue coming from the small intestine any available nutritional material which the small intestine was unable to collect. For this purpose, it mulches the material which passes into it from the small intestine and transfers the liquid and other elements through its walls into the bloodstream. The nutrition which has thus been extracted from the colon is collected by the blood vessels lining the walls of the colon and is carried to the liver for processing. The other important function of the first half of the colon is to gather from the glands in its walls the intestinal flora needed to lubricate the colon.

Far too many people, professional and laymen, think that enemas and colon irrigations wash out the intestinal flora and thus deprive the colon of a valuable means of lubrication . . . This school of thought is utterly false and totally devoid of truth and fact. Obviously, when the packed accumulation of feces in the bowel leads to fecal encrustation, it is not possible for the lining of the colon to function normally, and the glands in this lining cannot produce the necessary intestinal flora or lubrication. Such lack of lubrication only serves to intensify a state of constipation and to generate toxemia.

It is estimated that 200 million people are infected by intestinal parasites.
This fecal encrustation interferes with — if it does not actually prevent — the infusion of the necessary intestinal flora for colon lubrication, the formation of peristaltic waves for evacuation purposes, and the absorption and use of the additional nutritional elements present in the waste residue coming into the colon from the small intestine. It does not require much imagination to perceive that the adhesive quality of the feces in the colon is readily susceptible to creating a coating on the inside of the lining or wall of the colon, resembling a layer of plaster in its consistency. It is equally obvious that such a coating . . . in preventing the normal functioning of the colon . . . has the insidious effect of becoming a generator of toxicity, to the detriment of health, happiness and longevity. When the bowel is toxic it can harbor an amazing variety of very harmful bacteria and parasites. It’s interesting to note that worms outrank cancer as man’s deadliest enemy on a world-wide basis. It is estimated that 200 million people are infected by these intestinal parasites. These worms range in size from microscopic single-celled animals to twenty-foot-long tapeworms! These parasites kill more people annually than does cancer. One in four people in the world today are infected by roundworms. The United States is not immune to these parasites. The number of parasite cases has increased in the past few years.

 

• Other Benefits of Colon Hydrotherapy •

Colon hydrotherapy also functions as an important diagnostic tool for the physician in extracting useful information concerning digestive and clinical disorders:

* Is an excellent screening device for colo-rectal cancer.

* Useful in diagnostic procedures for evaluation of the colon.

* May prove valuable in preparation for bowel surgery, providing a more optimal surgical field potentially decreasing the risk of post-operative complications due to the presence of bacteria at the suture line.

* Offers the location and relief of fecal impactions, amount and color of mucous and the presence of increased amounts of gas.

* Provides detection for ova and parasites.

* Useful for detoxification of drug addicts and alcoholics.

The entire colon could be cleaned and examined for occult blood every six months or as directed by the physician or health care professional for early detection of colo-rectal cancer. Benefits from colon hydrotherapy extend to all diagnostic procedures for evaluating the colon including barium enema, sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, facilitating a more accurate study. Patient discomfort resulting from residual barium following the enema could be avoided utilizing colon hydrotherapy. In addition, this technique would eliminate the problem of residual opaque material on subsequent upper GI series or plain film series, which would result in additional radiation exposure to the patient. Patients undergoing general anesthesia would benefit from colon hydrotherapy as it would dramatically reduce the problems associated with bowel functions following surgery. Colon hydrotherapy may prove valuable in the preparation for bowel surgery, providing a more optimal surgical field potentially decreasing the risk of post-operative complications due to the presence of bacteria at the suture line. This procedure may be applied to all patients undergoing general or spinal anesthesia, as it would minimize the incidence of defection in the surgical suite, while saving valuable surgical time. Colon hydrotherapy would also be extremely useful to alcohol and drug detoxification centers as an aid in the internal cleansing process, enhancing the elimination of toxins from the colon and circulatory system.

 

• Colon Hydrotherapy Contraindications •

The contraindications of colon hydrotherapy include diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease (in the acute inflammatory stages), severe hemorrhoids, or a tumor in the rectum or large intestine.

 

• Conclusion •

In conclusion – colon hydrotherapy is the safe, gentle infusion of purified warm water into the colon under conditions that offer safety, using no chemicals or drugs. It is the natural solution to conditions which interfere with the normal functions of the colon. Why is colon hydrotherapy such a valuable treatment modality? A healthy colon is essential to a healthy body. Conventional diets of today comprised of refined, processed foods, high in saturated fats and low in natural fiber, contribute to the magnitude of the constipation problem. The elimination of undigested food and other waste products are as important as the proper digestion and assimilation of food stuffs. Waste material allowed to remain too long in the digestive system results in fermentation and putrefaction of these substances and subsequent proliferation of bacteria and their toxins.
Laxatives offer only temporary relief and do not address the real cause of the problem.
Colon hydrotherapy effectively removes stagnant fecal material from the colon walls, preventing the build up of these bacterial toxins in the portal and lymphatic system, resulting in a reduced load on the liver. In addition, the treatment removes mucus, gas, parasites and cellular debris, facilitating peristaltic action and better absorption of nutrients. This natural cleansing process effectively resolves the symptoms directly and indirectly related to dysfunction of the large intestine. Bacteria are involved in the production of several vitamins, including vitamin ‘K’ and some of the ‘B’ vitamins, which are absorbed by the large intestine and stored in the liver. In addition to vitamins, the colon absorbs large amounts of water. Unfortunately, toxins of bacterial metabolism also enter the circulatory system. These toxins (Indol, Skatol, Phenol, etc.) are treated by the liver and excreted by the kidneys. Colon bacteria will ferment starches releasing hydrogen and methane gasses which are absorbed and excreted through the lungs. Thus, halitosis may be a symptom of a stagnant fermenting colon. Intestinal toxemia may further result in headaches, allergies, irritability, malnutrition and potentially lead to an overall lowering of an individual’s immunological defense mechanism. Intestinal stasis can enhance the systemic absorption of bacteria and their toxins. The prolonged retention of food residues, bile, etc., results in increased numbers of parasitic bacteria present in the colon. Some of the colon’s normal flora may become pathogenic under these stagnant or putrefactive conditions. For example, streptococcus and staphylococcus . . . which are part of the normal flora of the large intestine . . . under the above conditions, could enter the systemic circulation and be a potential source of disease. It is my own personal and professional opinion that colon hydrotherapy is one of the most valuable treatment modalities offered at our clinic – it may be a valuable solution by itself or in conjunction with an integrated metabolic program for a myriad of health problems.

The Nutrition & Dietary Consultant – May 1986

from: http://www.colonic-association.com/Colon%20Hydrotherapy%20and%20its%20Clinical%20Applications.htm