The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine: Issue #4

Written By: admin - Jan• 24•12

Purchase the Journal of Natural Medicine: Issue 4 (postage and handling included)
Price: $10.00

Issue 4 of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine is now available in New Zealand (in stores from February 2) and will be in Australia in the last week of February.

Our fourth issue focuses on detoxification. Renowned Canadian herbalist Klaus Ferlow has contributed a guide to avoiding personal care products that contain toxic ingredients thereby helping you reduce unnecessary toxic exposures.  To help reduce the harmful effects of toxic substances to which we are all exposed, this issue also includes an article by Dr Mark Sircus on the best natural chelation techniques to reduce body burdens of heavy metals (including radioactive uranium).  Also continuing in the detoxification theme, in our Reader’s Story for this issue a former NZ soldier shares his story of how his Agent Orange poisoning symptoms resolved after taking zeolite, while naturopath Michael Sichel provides a commentary on the science behind this man’s remarkable recovery.

For parents who are concerned about measles or whooping cough, this issue features an article by Auckland homoeopath Lee-Anne McCall on the treatment of these childhood diseases.  Paediatrician Robert Mendelssohn once famously said that the major risk posed by childhood illnesses was the “dangerous and ineffectual” attempts to prevent them through vaccination.  Accordingly, this issue features a special section on vaccines – including an editorial about why large numbers of New Zealand doctors, nurses and midwives refuse influenza vaccinations.

Diet and nutrition, the fundamentals of health aren’t forgotten in this issue.  Lady Carla Davis shares her practical knowledge of nutrition in the article “Defining Your Personal Dietary Profile” while editor Katherine Smith reviews Dr Thomas Levy’s exciting new book Primal Panacea about the uses of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of disease – and the politics surrounding the use of this crucial nutrient.

 •••••••••••••••••••••••

 

Editor’s note:  If you scroll down this page, you will find the articles that have been added to this site. (Articles added most recently are higher on this page, while older articles are further down.)  If you would prefer to browse articles by subject, please refer to the menu on the right hand side of the page.

Posted in News, Products | Comments Off

Natural Health Products Bill: Workshop to help you write submissions

Written By: katherine - Feb• 14•12

Unless significant changes are made to the Natural Health Products Bill, it could  seriously affect our ability to access quality natural health products. We must unite and stop this limitation of our freedoms.  Please come to this meeting if you can, or if not, let  your family, friends and colleagues  know about it.

The team from the NZ Health Freedom Trust can help you to write a submission on this bill.

Time and Date: Saturday, February 18 at 1:00pm

Venue: MACANDREW HALL. 337 TITIRANGI ROAD, AUCKLAND

If you would like help with writing your submission, please come to our potluck meeting.  Members of the NZ Health Freedom team will go through the bill and  help you write your own submission.

Bring your laptops, power cords, pen & paper, and a snack to share. Tea and coffee provided. Please arrive at  1PM for a 1:30 start.  Thank you.

For more information on this issue and/or if you cannot attend the meeting, please see this link for more information and help in writing a submission:

http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/health-freedom-reports/natural-health-products-bill/ 

 

Posted in Health Freedom Reports | Comments Off

Natural Health Products Bill

Written By: katherine - Feb• 11•12

Natural Health Products Bill

by Katherine Smith
The NZ  government has called for public submissions on the Natural Health Products  Bill. Submissions are due by February 24, 2012.

A thoughtful discussion of the bill by Sandra Clair (which would be helpful for anyone making planning to make a submission) may be read in the November-December 2011 issue of Organic NZ magazine which is now available to be read at this link http://www.organicnz.org/organic-nz-magazine/1278/the-natural-health-products-bill-is-here-have-your-say/

This bill has been the result of an agreement between the National Party and the  Green party.  The bill may be downloaded from the following link:  http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/b/c/8/00DBHOH_BILL11034_1-Natural-Health-Products-Bill.htm

The regulatory impact statement for the bill may be read at this link:

http://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/legislation-and-regulation/regulatory-impact-statements/development-natural-health-products-bill

This is an important bill for people and businesses that produce or import natural health products, for health professionals who use natural medicines – and for members of the public who use natural remedies to maintain their health or treat illness. As the bill is currently drafted, if it it is passed, in most cases it will be necessary to apply for a license to manufacture most health products (such as dietary supplements, herbal medicines etc) for the NZ market.  (The exception to this appears to be practitioners who are making up a remedy for a particular patient, and companies that are exporting products that are not sold on the NZ market.

If the bill becomes law it will (in most cases) become illegal to to manufacture a natural health product in New Zealand without having obtained a license.  It will also be illegal to sell a product (within NZ) that has not been registered with the NZ regulator that the bill establishes to regulate natural health products.  As the bill is currently written there are substantial penalties for failing to comply with some of its provisions (and the regulations which will be established after the bill has been passed into law.)  Penalties may include large fines for individuals and/or companies.  If an offence is one that is deemed “likely to endanger the health of the public or the health of any individual” or to potentially “directly or indirectly” pose “a  “a risk to human health” or “increase the likelihood of an existing risk to human health” the bill allows for imprisonment.

The regulatory impact statement produced by the NZ Ministry of Health makes it clear that the government view is that most of the costs of establishing the new natural health products regulator should be borne by the natural health industry.  This could have a substantially detrimental effect on the many small and medium sized businesses that manufacture and/or import natural health products.  The regulatory impact statement suggests that a product levy ranging from about $180 – $550 per product could be used to fund the regulator.  Levying fees on a per product basis in this way are obviously more of a burden on smaller companies that have a large product range from which they sell small volumes of each product than they are on bigger businesses that sell large volumes of a smaller range of products.  Levying costs on a per product basis could therefore mean that the public could lose access to some specialty products that are not big sellers – but nonetheless very important to the people who use them.

It is very important that as many people as possible make a submission on this bill to give the government the message loud and clear that this bill needs to be improved so that it helps facilitate New Zealanders access to a wide range of natural health products while also being fair to the natural health industry so that people do not lose their jobs or businesses due to the regulation of this industry.

The NZ Health Trust helped to develop a model Natural  and Traditional Health Products Bill with input from consumers and natural health industry groups.  You can download it from this link http://www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/proposed_bill.html.

The NZ Health Freedom Trust is asking that everyone who makes a submission on this issue ask the government to include the recommendations in this model bill in the primary legislation.

If you would like to make a submission but do not know where to start, please email me through the Contact page of this website with the subject headline “NZHPB”  and I will email you more information about this issue to help you – including a template letter that you can email to the government.     Thank you.

  I would also recommend that you visit the website of The NZ Health Freedom Trust at www.healthfreedom.co.nz and sign up for email updates.

The closing date for submissions is February 24, 2012, so please make time to do this soon.

Posted in Health Freedom Reports | Comments Off

Flower Essences for an Emotionally Distressed Child

Written By: katherine - Feb• 11•12

Flower  Essences for an Emotionally Distressed Child

Editor’s introduction

The following article  is essentially a case history as recorded by the mother of the patient and the  natural health practitioner.  Ann (a  pseudonym) sought help for her 11 year old daughter Ruth (a pseudonym) from  practitioner Jeanette Shearer.    Ann was concerned about Ruth  as Ruth had problems relating to others  and had been breaking down and crying at school, but would not communicate the  reasons for her distress.

Ann had long standing concerns  about Ruth’s health and development.  When Ruth was a baby, Ann  noticed that Ruth became distressed in environments which were brightly lit or noisy.  As she  grew older, it also became apparent that in addition to hypersensitivity to  light and sound, Ruth had other  sensory difficulties, with aversion  to some textures.  As a preschool child, Ruth showed signs of anxiety,  developing a pronounced fear of clowns (because of the sudden loud noises in a  typical clown performance) and Ann sought to control her  environment and activities to minimise the possibility that she might be  exposed to unpleasant stimuli such as noise.  Over time, Ruth became  better at coping with the vicissitudes of the outside world, and settled into  the routine of going to school; however, it was clearly difficult for her to  cope with the school environment.

Ruth also has chronic asthma, nasal  stuffiness and had used steroid inhalers to treat a nasal polyp. Allergy tests  had not revealed any major dietary ingredients of concern except for sugar and  additives.

Despite having to cope with these difficulties, Ruth has  always been a bright child who is particularly gifted in  mathematics.

Ann and her husband noticed the similarities of some of  Ruth’s symptoms with those of autism, and several years ago decided to see  whether biological treatment approach would help her. However a trial of a  gluten-free casein-free diet and fish oil supplements did not help Ruth, so  occupational therapy was tried as a way of reducing her sensory issues and  helping her to express how she was feeling. Unfortunately, this did not appear  to be of any benefit either.

A friend recommended  Jeanette Shearer as someone who might be able to help Ruth, so Ann  contacted Jeanette.  Ann did not have high expectations that the  approach would work, given the failure of other recommended therapies, but was  prepared to try the treatment in the hope that it would be helpful for  Ruth.

The correspondence below has been reproduced with  minimal editing to give a picture of how the excellent communication between  Ann and Jeanette allowed Jeanette to select appropriate First Light  Flower Essences of New Zealand Essences via  correspondence.

 

From Ann to Jeanette:   February 26,  2011

 

Hi!  I  wonder if you would be able to help my daughter?

She is 11, and we have  been working with an Occupational Therapist to try  and  help her with various issues that she has  had for most of her life.  She  suffers  with anxiety, has sensory issues (high sensitivity and is   sensory avoiding), is mildly obsessive and has social  difficulties.  She hates talking one-to-one, especially about the things  that make her anxious  (particularly rain) or her  feelings.  She is really hard to connect with verbally and I have had to  give up the sessions with the OT as she has meltdowns, and we don’t really  seem to be getting anywhere.  A friend referred me to you as she has been  helped by your approach. Do you think this  is something you can help with?

 

 

From Jeanette to Ann: February 26,  2011

 

Hi Ann,

I would be very happy to help your daughter.  I  work with BodyTalk and First Light Flower Essences of New Zealand. The  combination is very effective and if required I can do a session without very  much talking at all….   Without meeting your daughter I could talk to you about her and make up a bottle of the  essences specifically for her.  These drops are taken in water three times  a day for one month then reviewed and either the same essences or new ones  taken for a further month. Your daughter’s limited sense of smell would not  reduce the effectiveness of these essences in any way. I would prefer to meet  your daughter at least once for a BodyTalk session and essence diagnosis and  from there we could work with the essences more effectively.  First Light Essences  sound perfect for her,  especially for her fears and communication  problems.

The drops can be  taken in different ways.  They work very well when put in water – a  little or a lot doesn’t make a difference.  If Ruth takes a water  bottle to school put 6 drops in the bottle.  This would count as   taking them twice. Also you can take them directly on or under the  tongue. Take them 3 or 4 times every day until finished.  Please contact  when they are running low so I can renew them.

 

 

Prescription  1:


19 Lovers  Daisy  The Love Essence  (Client’s Keynote essence)  Prescribed to help alleviate stress in all things associated with the  relationship area of life.  It is useful for people who cope by  withdrawing and who show obsessive qualities.  It is good for people who  find disharmony painful as they are extremely reactive and sensitive to  others.  This essence helps to regain energetic balance.

20  Wineberry  The Co-operation  Essence -This essence  helps with the development of social skills, to confront  difficulties and see problems in the right light instead of hiding worries and  anxieties.

21 Hinau The  Sacred Space Essence – good essence for people who are emotionally isolated  and closed off. It helps one to trust one’s own knowing and intuition, to feel  safe and contained within ones own boundaries.  It is used to help  establish meaningful social relationships.

These three essences are  based on the zodiacal type Libra and all centre around issues of  relating. ie avoiding confrontaion and not expressing what one  feels, being uncomfortable in social situations.  These  essences develop the positives attributes of being  at ease in social situations and enjoying being part of  a team.

41 Prince of Wales Feathers  Fern  This is a Life Trauma essence used for clearing  issues around respect and humiliation. ie  Issues around speaking out or  being heard – feeling judged. This essence helps develop the ability to grow  self-respect, to feel heard and to find a way to express creatively.

48 Maire The Healing   Essence  relating to the Throat Chakra which is linked to the issue of  communication. This chakra is the energy centre that facilitates self  expression and creativity.  When it is out of balance there may  be problems with self-expression and anxiety about speaking out and expression  of feelings.

 

This essence will bring balance to this chakra  and allow one to know one has something unique to offer and the means to communicate it.

56 Inkberry  I chose this  essence because it relates to the fear of being different and difficulty  facing reality. It allows a new reality to be imagined.

58 Ramarama  This helps one  to overcome beliefs and fears around ones special place and purpose in  the world.

68 Puriri   For discernment and discrimination. For  balance, inner unity and wholeness.  Having a positive relationship with  oneself leading to better relationships with others. (Client’s Soul Lesson)

 

Editor’s Note:  Jeanette did not supply this written explanation  of the action of each essence to Ann.  I have added the explanation to assist readers in understanding the treatment process.

 

From Ann to  Jeanette:   March 21, 2011

 

It was lovely to  catch up again [in the interim Ann and Jeanette had talked on the phone]  and I will jot down what has happened with us over the last 3-4 weeks and let  you know anything else you may be able to help with. I appreciate you don’t do  miracles, but I thought I would note them down anyway in case there is  anything you can think of that might help. After about two days of taking the  drops you sent us, Ruth transformed from a child who barely spoke, to one  who will chatter away at length and at any time of the day or night!  She  called me into her bedroom one evening shortly after she had started the  drops, and just spilled out everything that had been going on at school, the  girls that were mean to her and what they were saying, and the ones who had  been nice.  We talked through what she could do, and this is probably one  of the first conversations I have had with her at this level where she is  inviting conversation and expressing her thoughts and feelings verbally.

Since then she has been happy to talk about her friendships at school,  what she has been doing at school and how she feels about it, and she will  frequently initiate the conversation.  After a while I told her that I  had noticed how much chattier she was, and she said that she had noticed it  too, but she was still shy at school and did her talking at home. it was only  after 2 or 3 weeks that I told her why she was taking the drops, and two key  people that spend regular time with Ruth had both commented that they were  amazed with the change in her.  It is at the point now where we have to  ask her to stop talking – something quite unheard of only a month  ago!  She has even made a new good friend, which is wonderful and I can  see she is delighted and her self-esteem is improving because of  this.

So I don’t know how we can start to help her talk more at  school?  I think it is a confidence thing, and she fears rejection or  people drawing   conclusions  about her by what she says.  Asking her new friend if she would like to  come home for tea seems to be at a similar level for her as a boy asking for a  first date!  She fears that she may look like she’s coming on too strong  and all sorts of things like that, and I have never really seen her as someone  who is concerned about what other people think, or fears people forming  opinions about her from what she says.  Also, she doesn’t seem to feel  that she has rights as an individual and that these are equal to the rights of  others; she thinks of herself as far less important.

You mentioned  about discernment and her knowing about appropriate times to speak and how  long for (she can lose her audience if she rambles too much!). She has never  been good at reading facial expressions or body language, and maybe this is  part of not wanting to open up to people verbally as she doesn’t know if they  are bored/laughing at her/interested.  She could really do with some help  on that one, but it seems to be at a really deep level.

Once when  watching a movie she saw a man and a lady looking at each other lovingly, and  whereas her younger sister was able to announce “they are in love!” Ruth  said “they like each other’s eyes”.  She can see that people are making  facial expressions but tends to look very much at the surface of what they  mean and not the deeper levels and interpreting them.

Finally,  something I would really love to change is her energy levels. She loves the  computer and reading, and can spend a lot of time on her bottom!

She  is slow to get up to do anything, and often it will already be done by the  time she gets there. She is the classic 2-speed child (slow/stop) and doesn’t  seem to have any sense of urgency!  I  mentioned before that she is  struggling with weight gain, and I am sure that this is directly caused by  this lack of activity.  She suffers from asthma, which doesn’t help, but  she enjoys some sport and is happy to get involved with soccer, netball and  hockey.  I drop her some distance from school in the morning and she  walks the rest of the way with her sister and friend, but I imagine it is  a pretty slow walk.

I hope this helps you to think on to the next step  for Ruth. Thank you for all you have done with your first jar, and I look  forward to seeing what changes may come with the second, though I think this  is now more subtle and deeper change that may not be so  apparent.

Very many  thanks,

Ann

 

 

From Jeanette to Ann:  March 22, 2011

 

Hi Ann,

I am so pleased for you all and  especially for Ruth.  What a difference  this will make to her  life.  The fact that she is communicating  so well and has swung to  almost over talking is great.  I know I can think back to my children  when they were pre-schoolers and how they talked non stop   This is a  necessary step and good to practice at home as this is how we learn to discern  what is appropriate. Because she didn’t learn these skills then she is  learning them now.  I would expect her to learn much quicker   than  a preschooler and you can help by, when you feel it is appropriate,   pointing out the cues that we take for granted.

Thanks a lot for such a detailed email.  It makes  it much easier to get a  good picture. I will think on this for a while  and get back to you soon

Kind regards,

Jeanette

 

 

 

Prescription  2:

 

For the second bottle I kept 19,  21, 41,  68  and  added 9,  57, and 110

The essences are still around the issue of relating.

9  Koru  The Understanding Essence   For  mental blocks, feeling mentally stuck, difficulty with learning.  Being a  diffident communicator, feeling mentally inferior so holds back or withdraws.  For people who do not feel understood… It assists in learning by doing and  watching and feeling understood.   Also helps people to feel secure  within ones own unique mode of communicating and learning.  To  recognise and interpret the cues from others.

57  Cabbage Tree  People who need this essence are those who  have a fear of losing control.  It helps to  gain integration of mind, body and spirit.

110  Pukatea  For helping to imagine/dream a new reality,  seeing new possibilities.

 

 

 

From Jeanette to Ann:  March 30, 2011

 

Hi Ann,

 

The essences I have put in Ruth’s bottle are still  centered around relating and some of the essences are the same as before.  These cover

* having a healthy attitude to self and relationships

*  working through suppressed or repressed emotional issues  -help with  interpersonal skills (such as recognising cues from

others).

The  new essences centre around

* learning by doing and watching and feeling  understood.

* for Ruth to feel secure within her own unique mode or  communicating

and learning.

* unblocking fear relating to verbal  communication and moving through

*learning blocks.

*having self respect  and feeling heard

*overcoming fear of losing control mentally

* being  able to imagine/dream a new reality.

 

These essences work on many levels  and I feel that many of the emotional  issues you raised are covered  here.

The physical /energy level issues and asthma aren’t covered this time  but  you may find as her confidence increases that her energy levels rise  too.

Are you still noticing changes?

Please keep in touch with any  changes (either up or down).

Kind Regards,

Jeanette

 

 

From Ann to Jeanette: April 20, 2011

 

Hi  Jeanette,

We’ve got a bit behind with these  drops as Ruth lost the bottle for a while towards the end of term, and we  managed to find it when we broke up and had time to look.  I’ll let you  know when we are a bit further into the bottle.

It is harder to notice  the changes this time as they are more subtle now. She is definitely a lot  more affectionate now, and will ask for cuddles and time together.  She  seems to value herself more, and feel more worthy of people’s time and  attention, which is lovely.  I always used to think she was detached  because she was self-sufficient and didn’t look for attention, but see more  and more now that she just didn’t feel entitled or important enough to warrant  it.  She is still a chatterbox, which is lovely, but seems to be  calming down a bit and getting better at two-way conversations.

Ruth’s dad commented recently that it was like she has stopped  behaving ‘autistically’, (we had been investigating possible mild Aspergers or  something on the spectrum) and is quite a different child, so I told him about  the drops (I didn’t mention them before).  He is amazed by the changes he  has seen too.

I’ll email you in a couple of weeks time so we can look  at how she is then.

Many thanks, as always, for all your help with this  and the amazing impact you have had on  Ruth.

Ann

 

From Jeanette to Ann:  April 20,  2011

 

Hi Ann

How is your little chatterbox Ruth  coming along?  It must be getting time for some more essences.  I  see this as ongoing for Ruth and I will change the essences as her needs  change. Looking forward to hearing of her progress.

Kind  regards,

Jeanette

 

 

From Ann to Jeanette:  April 25,  2011

Hi  Jeanette,

 

I discharged Ruth from the counseling services provider children yesterday.  We had completed our first  cluster of sessions and she has made such amazing progress with your drops  that we don’t really feel there is much more they can do to help.  Also,  the face-to-face talking about her feelings is like torture for Ruth and  hasn’t really helped, whereas the drops have been ideal and made such emormous  changes.

A couple of days ago we had her new ‘best friend’ over for the  day.  She and Ruth are great for each other, and Ruth is completely  smitten and in heaven that she finally has a friend!  They play  brilliantly together, have lots of laughs and enjoy the same things.   This is all new for Ruth and I believe she is experiencing real friendship  for the very first time.  Her friend is returning tomorrow for a  sleepover, and Ruth is really excited, rather than anxious which she usually  would be.

Although Ruth has put on more weight, over the last couple  of weeks her activity levels have increased enormously too.  She jumps up  to help where in the past she would’ve waited in the hope that she could get  away with it. Last night she asked if we could get Wii Fit as it looks a lot  of fun, and then did impressions of all the things you can do on it.   This is a great change from the girl who was stationary for so long, so I  think she will start to lose weight as this continues.  She is also  choosing to get out on her bike with her sisters, and her general activity  level is so much higher and faster.

We have about 1/3 of the current  bottle left, so perhaps we could start preparing for the next bottle in a week  or so?

Thank you so much for all your thought and help with this  Jeanette.  You have transformed a sad and troubled little girl into a  happy, bouncy and positive little person who can now see that she is a great  person to be with.

Many thanks,

Ann

 

 

From  Jeanette to Ann:

 

 

 

Hi Ann,

I will post off the next bottle of  essences for Ruth tomorrow. I think she will find this bottle tastes just  like the first one she had.

These essences are based around her need to  be able to emotionally sustain herself and develop a sense of self  respect.

 

They also foster:

*Allowing a repressed inner creativity  to surface.

*  Taking pride and pleasure in her creative achievements. Being  comfortable accepting deserved compliments and able to take due  credit.

* Feeling safe to relax and let down her mental guard and having  the ability to laugh at lifes difficulties and setbacks.

* Being able to be  open to change, new ideas and concepts.  Having belief in herself and her  abilities.  Discovers and uses her own unique gifts and individual  skills.

* Helpful to increase energy levels and help to hold her new  ’being’.

 

 Prescription 3

 

I have kept in 68 Puriri  for discernment and discrimination and 20 Wineberry and have added the following:

 

10 Starry Hibiscus for the clients need to be  able to emotionally sustain herself and to feel needed

15 Mingimingi develop a sense of self respect.Allowing a  repressed inner creativity  to surface.  Taking pride and pleasure  in her creative achievements. Being comfortable accepting deserved compliments  and able to take due credit.  Feeling safe to relax and let down her  mental guard and having the ability to laugh at life’s difficulties and  setbacks.

39  Shaking Brake Fern  (clients Trauma essence) This essence  relates to issues around feeling disempowered and will allow one to relax and  let down the mental guard.

45     Matai  Being able to be open to change, new ideas and  concepts.  Having belief in oneself and one’s abilities.

63     Karamu  Discovers and uses her own unique gifts and individual  skills.  Practically co-ordinates intentions and  feelings.  Believes in oneself and knows ones desires can be  achieved.  Has the inner resources to cope with any  situation.

100 Mahoe To increase one’s energy to  achieve ones intent or objective. Helpful to increase energy levels  and  help to hold her new ‘being’.

 

From Ann  to Jeanette:  24 June 2011

 

Hi Jeanette,

Ruth  is doing really well thanks.  She doesn’t take the drops so regularly  now, but it feels like there isn’t such a need right now and she is still  adjusting to the changes that have already happened.  She is a very happy  little girl with more and better friendships.  She has started to value  herself and see that she is valued by others. She is still a chatterbox, but  is much more aware of her audience.  Her teachers appear to be really  fond of her and enjoy her sweet, yet really creative,  nature.

 

 

 

 

About First Light Flower Essences of  New Zealand:

 


First Light Flower Essences of New  Zealand is a range of essences (potentised  remedies) made from New Zealand native flora.  They have  been co-created by Franchelle Ofsoske-Wyber and her husband Anthony  Wyber in accordance with Maori tradition and protocol.  Dr  Rangimarie Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere. C.B.E  C.M. highly esteemed  Maori tohuna and ancient wisdom keeper, is the Official Spiritual Patron and  Guardian in Perpetuity of the First Light Flower Essences of New  Zealand.

 This system of healing is based on the the theory that essences prepared from different parts of a plant assist the functioning of different aspects of the  individual.  For example, essences prepared from flowers relate to the personality, while those made from trees have a relationship with a particular  chakra, and essences prepared from seeds act on the level of the  DNA.  Essences prepared from ferns are used to treat the after-effects of  trauma.  Different types of trauma (such as grief, humiliation, betrayal)  are recognised in this system, with different ferns being appropriate for  different trauma.

First Light Flower Essences of New Zealand also offer  practitioner training courses. in which other aspects of  prescribing including more arcane techniques such as the use of the patient’s  birth date to assist in identifying the keynote  remedy.

More information about these flower essences may  be found at http://www.nzfloweressences.co.nz/  


Concluding Comment from the Editor:

In my  conversation with Ann, she told me how she had not had high expectations  that this type of treatment approach would work, having been  brought up in a family that used conventional medicine and not having any  knowledge of alternative health treatments.  However given the failure of  other recommended therapies, she was prepared to try the flower essence   treatment in the hope that it would be helpful for Ruth.   Ann did not give Ruth any sort of explanation about the  drops but simply told her to take them.  Under the circumstances, a placebo effect seems  unlikely.

While it is important to identify and, if possible, treat  medical issues (such as chronic infections, nutritional deficiencies, food  intolerance/allergy etc that may contribute to many conditions such as  autistic spectrum disorders, depression or anxiety – see my review of Michael Sichel’s book  Good News for the Alphabet Kids in Issue 2 of The New Zealand  Journal of Natural Medicine) Ruth’s case history shows how  gentle therapies such as the First Light Flower  Essences of New Zealand are worth considering to help children  resolve some of the psychological issues (such as fears) that they may develop  from repeated exposure to painful stimuli.  (For a child who is  hypersensitive to sound, for example, the sound of rain drumming on the roof  may be unpleasant or even cause pain.)   This type of  therapy is easy to institute  and as Ruth’s experience shows, it has the potential to assist children to  transcend longstanding psychological blocks.

 

Postscript:

From Ann to Katherine (editor) February 5, 2012

 

We had a bit of a setback over the holidays as she became very detached again and got upset as she didn’t feel the same way as she used to.  She said she didn’t feel love for me and her sisters like she used to, nor the happiness she had felt.  We had stopped using the drops when the last bottle ran out and she asked if we could order some more and see if they helped.  Good old Jeanette got straight onto it and everything is back to normal. Clearly this may well be the placebo effect now, but it works and we are not having to medicate her or subject her to any one-to-one counseling.  So it works for me to!

I don’t know if I mentioned too, that she had such a good year in Year 7 in her new school, and is in such a better space than she was about 15 months ago when she took the entry tests, that she has jumped up two classes and is now in the top class!  She also got a certificate for diligence, for which she had to achieve excellence in at least 5 subjects.  She has decided to really go for it this year, (she didn’t really put in that much effort last year), and try to get to the very top, so good on her! She is now having to cope with all the changes with friendship groups, but is taking it all in her stride.  I still don’t fully understand what the drops have done or do, but they have certainly had a enormous impact on Ruth and I hope that she will now realise her true potential.

Posted in Children's Health and Development | Comments Off

Maggot Therapy in the Treatment of Infections Caused by MRSA

Written By: katherine - Feb• 01•12

Maggot Therapy vs. MRSA –The Antimicrobial Bio-surgeons that Know Best

by Jade Rogers

December, 2011

The battle between infectious bacteria and the antibiotic drugs used to treat them is not a new one, and is far from over. The World Health Organisation reports that many infectious diseases of today are at high risk of becoming uncontrollable due to antibiotic resistance. Approximately 440,000 new cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis emerge each year and cause more than 150,000 deaths worldwide[1]. Patients with compromised immune systems are at most risk from such infections – the very old, severely ill, those on chemotherapy or immune-suppressant medication. Despite the revolutionary contribution that antibiotics have made to our healthcare this century, the overuse and misuse of these drugs has drastically reduced their efficacy. With microbes evolving faster than our corporate drug antibiotic resistance research, we are forced to seek other antimicrobial methods, including more natural ones from our past.

Maggot Therapy

Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) is a treatment used to aid the healing process of chronic wounds by introducing medicinal (sterile) larvae of specific necrotic tissue-eating blowflies (usually Lucilia sericata – common blowfly or green bottle) to the wound and securing with special dressings. Over a couple of days, the larvae then eat away the necrotic tissue, stimulate new tissue growth and disinfect the area[2].

History

It has long been observed throughout history that a maggot infested wound provides a successful healing outcome, especially before medicine as we know it today. This method is thought to have been used by Aboriginal tribes in Australia and there are many accounts from military surgeons who witnessed colonisation of soldier’s wounds with maggots on the battlefield. Dr. William Baer, an orthopedic surgeon serving in World War I, noted that wounded soldiers who had been left and acquired maggots in their wounds had much better outcomes than some of those who were treated conventionally, or received no treatment at all. In late 1920, Baer conducted a study to test the efficacy of maggot therapy, proving it a success and publishing his work.  Since then, maggot therapy became a more common treatment for deep and infected wounds until the mid-1940’s when surgical methods had advanced and penicillin became widely available, rendering this traditional method out of date.

Antibiotic Resistance

After just a few years of penicillin’s mass distribution, resistant strains of bacteria were beginning to emerge. Methicillin was one of the first of many antibiotic drugs to succumb to the constant evolution of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which developed genetic resistance and via continuous mutation and selection became today’s most notorious ‘superbug’, MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Bacteria are among the most rapidly evolving organisms due to the extremely short reproduction time of 20 minutes (under optimum growth) and their ability to transfer resistance genes horizontally among a single generation. Therefore it doesn’t take long for bacteria to become ‘wise’ to the medicines that were once able to control them, becoming a constantly moving target for drug developers. S. aureus has continued to evolve resistance to further types of antibiotics, such as vancomycin and erythromycin. Disturbingly, MRSA isn’t the only superbug, with resistance displayed in Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pyogenes members of the Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas families[3] as well as Escherichia coli[4] among many others.

The Last Resort

The chronic wounds in some patients fail to respond to antibiotics and surgical methods, leaving amputation of the affected area as the only option. However, patients that have turned to MDT after years of failed conventional therapies have in many cases reported success. Although MDT may not appeal to some, for others it has been the final solution to an ongoing battle. A natural, traditional, low cost, speedy and successful remedy versus the loss of a limb or in extreme cases, a life -‘creepy crawlies’ roaming around on your skin is a small price to pay. Only since the rise of multi-resistant strains of infectious bacteria has the science behind maggot therapy begun to be properly researched. Despite having used this treatment for centuries, only recently has the extent of this simple remedy’s complexity been understood.

How it Works

Tiny medicinal larvae are simply applied to the wound and secured with a specialised dressing, left to feed for 1-2 days and then removed. Depending on the wound’s severity, this treatment may be repeated several times over a period. During the time in which they are sealed in the wound, the larvae begin treatment via consumption of the necrotic tissue (debridement)[5], much like a surgeon would using sharp instruments. The larvae are only able to remove necrotic and not live tissue due to the specificity of the digestive enzymes they produce[6] . It is this removal of the dead tissue which kick-starts the healing process by actively promoting new tissue formation. The debridement process alters the interaction between fibroblasts and the extracellular matrix, which are both important components of the healing process[7].

The most surprising feature that makes MDT so successful and useful where conventional antibiotics fail is the potent antimicrobial properties of the maggot’s slime, more properly known as excretion/secretion (ES). It appears to inhibit biofilm formation (structured bacterial growth), and disrupt that already existing on wounds infected with Staphylococcus species, by up to 92% in some cases[8][9]. Further studies have shown that blowfly ES in vitro is potent enough to exhibit antimicrobial activity against MRSA[10].

My own research (under supervision of A. Bexfield and N. A. Ratcliffe, Swansea University, UK, 2008) indicated that the antimicrobial effect of ES against E. coli and S. aureus was significantly increased by pre-exposure of the larvae to each pathogen, suggesting that the immune system of the larva is able to alter the efficacy of the ES. This approach utilises a dynamic biological mechanism to come up with novel antibiotic chemicals, essentially recruiting the creative process of evolution onto our side in the battle to control infection. Further research on this approach may prove highly beneficial to our healthy futures, so long as you can deal with the wriggling beneath your bandages!

Important

Warning – please do not self medicate with maggots! This treatment must be conducted by medical professionals under controlled conditions using sterile larvae.

 

 

About the author:  Jade Rogers studied Biology at Swansea University, Wales, specialising in medical microbiology. She has since worked as a microbiologist, biology teacher and is currently an environment management officer while volunteering at the local medical emergency department. Jade takes an interest in natural healthcare, nutrition and lifestyle, and hopes to begin a medical degree to pursue her passion for the subject.

 

 

 

References

1.     World Health Organization (2011) Media Centre Fact sheets. [online] Available at: <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/index.html> [Accessed 7 December 2011].

 

2.     Sherman R.A (2002) ‘Maggot Therapy for Foot and Leg Wounds’. International Journal Lower Extremity Wounds 1(2): 135-142.

 

3.     Neu H.C (1992) ‘The Crisis in Antibiotic Resistance’. Science Magazine  257(5073): 1064-1073.

 

4.     Livermore D.M., James D., Reacher M., Graham C., Nichols T., Stephens P., Johnson A.P and George R.C (2002) ‘Trends in fluoroquinolone (ciprofloxacin) resistance in enterobacteriaceae from bacteremias, England and Wales, 1990- 1999’. Emerg. Infect Dis 8(5): 473- 478.

 

5.     Sherman R.A (2003) ‘Maggot Therapy for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers Unresponsive to Conventional Therapy’. Diabetes Care 26(2): 446- 451.

 

6.     Vistnes L.M., Lee R. and Ksander G.A (1981) ‘Proteolytic activity of blowfly larvae secretions in experimental burns’. Surgery 90(5): 835-841.

 

7.     Horobin A.J, Shakesheff K.M., Woodrow S., Robinson C. and Pritchard D.I (2003) ‘Maggots and wound healing: an investigation of the effects of secretions from Lucilia sericata larvae upon interactions between human dermal fibroblasts and extracellular matrix components’. British Journal of Dermatology 148(5): 923-933.

 

8.     Cazander C., van de Veerdonk M.C., Vandenbroucke-Grauls C.M.J.E., Schreurs M.W.J and Jukema G.N (2010) ‘Maggot Excretions Inhibit Biofilm Formation on Biomaterials’. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 468(10): 2789-2796.

 

9.     Harris L.G., Bexfield A., Nigam Y., Rohde H., Ratcliffe N.A and Mack D (2009) ‘Disruption of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms by medicial maggot Lucilia sericata excretions/secretions’. International Journal of Artificial Organs. 32(9): 555-564.

 

10.  Bexfield A., Nigam Y., Thomas S. and Ratcliffe N.A (2004) ‘Detection and partial characterisation of two antibacterial factors and their activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)’. Microbes and Infection. 6(14): 1297-1304.

 

11.  The-Crankshaft Publishing (2011) what-when-how/Medicine, Insects in (Insects) [image online] Available at: <http://lh5.ggpht.com/_X6JnoL0U4BY/S8HYIhclPfI/AAAAAAAAYRU/vN6ADlrkv1k/tmp641_thumb_thumb> [Accessed 10 December 2011].

Posted in Infections | Comments Off

Urinary Tract Infection Mistaken for Alzheimer’s

Written By: katherine - Jan• 29•12

Editor’s note:  This is the story of how symptoms caused by an undiagnosed urinary tract infection (UTI) were mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease, leading  to the prescription of the drug Haloperidol – which in turn caused life threatening side effects.  It is crucial reading for anyone with elderly friends or relatives.

 

“Hell”operidol and Back

 

April 2010 … was a life changing year for us as a family. My dear Grandmother, aged 84 at the time, had many health issues including depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, urinary incontinence, cancer growths and was on a cocktail of drugs prescribed by her doctor. Further, she understandably had many urinary tract infections and was frequently given antibiotics.

However, after Easter that year, everything seemed to change in an instant.  My sweet sane Grandma, a kind, loving and gentle soul who would do anything for her family, suddenly took on an unpredictable hostility, rambling and babbling abusively and in this demented state she could not sleep properly and was even unable to attend to her daily care. She became her complete opposite.

She was quickly diagnosed by a psychiatrist to have acute Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A nurse myself, I wondered, how on earth could Alzheimer’s come on so suddenly? The psychiatrist had mentioned however that one of the medications Gran was on for urinary incontinence, oxybutynin, could have contributed to the severity. She was prescribed yet more medication.

She was very poorly and the prognosis was not good. It was so distressing to see her like this that we had nothing to lose as a family by deciding to care for her at home. To give her some inner peace and happiness we felt we at least should try an alternative solution.

Our first decision was to take her off all drugs. As Gran was not able to manage her food, we had to feed her. Our second decision was to clean up her diet.  Amazingly, within two weeks her skin had greatly improved and her head had cleared. She was almost like the Grandma we knew and loved so much. She was eating again on her own and performing personal care independently. We could now have proper conversations with her. We thought it too good to be true!

The psychiatrist, in reassessing her, was equally amazed but said to keep anti-psychotic drugs on hand in case she relapsed. Again, being a nurse and having worked in dementia wards, I found it odd that relapses, in and out of Alzheimer’s could be considered normal. I had been taught that it was a progressive disease, not one from which could oscillate from completely insanity and an inability to manage daily personal care back to completely normality for a few weeks. Was this diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease completely mistaken?

After a few weeks, Grandma started to decline. Then she became really well. Then she declined again. The same pattern kept evolving.  It reached the stage at which my mother found it too difficult to manage and she succumbed to trying the anti-psychotic drug to see if it would help. Unfortunately the only thing this drug did, was help her to sleep a little but her other symptoms worsened. I knew this direction was definitely not the answer. If it had been, then Alzheimer’s would be cured.

 

 From Bad to Worse

 

August 2010 … Things went from bad to worse. Grandad explained me that when Gran used the bedpan, that her urine contained a thick and grainy substance. I thought that this did not sound good. Could it be a serious urinary tract infection? She was also very constipated.

 

At this stage Gran had a fall and broke her arm. On admission in hospital a urine sample showed a serious urinary infection (surprise, surprise). This was the first urine testing since her diagnosis in April. Alarm bells rang in my mind. Grandad had explained to me that in her past history she had been very prone to urinary tract infections and had often been on antibiotics.

This possibility had not been ruled out at the first appointment with the psychiatrist. I know that an uncontrolled infection can allow ammonia to accumulate in the body and that it can cause strange mental aberrations, such as a delirium that resembles dementia. To me, it explained why Gran tended to be very sane when on top of the infection but deteriorated when infection was rampant. No wonder the anti-psychotics were not very effective. Maybe the cause of her acute “Alzheimer’s” was a urinary tract infection?

Because Gran had the label “Alzheimer’s patient”, no-one listened to my concerns. To those in the orthodox medical system, the urinary tract infection was a secondary problem.

 

Now to Haloperidol

 

Gran had not been tested for resistant strains and many antibiotics had failed. Finally they looked at this but only after they had started administrating another anti-psychotic drug, Haloperidol, to supposedly treat her dementia. Then, when given the correct IV antibiotic, she was almost civil again and wanted to return home. However, because they had given her Haloperidol they assumed this was the reason she was better.

September 2010 … Gran was then put on regular oral Haloperidol and again deteriorated from good to bad. Again I convinced them to take another urine sample and sure enough, again, she had another urinary tract infection (UTI). This time at least they tested the resistant strains and the antibiotics did their job effectively. Grandma became well again! The same old pattern appeared.

At this stage I researched the drug Haloperidol. Some of the side effects that Grandma was experiencing can be caused by this drug: UTIs, sore eyes, light sensitivity, constipation, hallucinations, headaches, sore throat, hot and cold, constant restlessness and weight loss to name a few! It seemed that the drug to treat psychosis actually causes psychosis and also contributed to further UTIs which I believe was her initial misdiagnosed problem. It can also cause pneumonia, heart failure and even sudden death. Continuing my research I uncovered that according to the FDA this drug should not be given to the elderly with dementia related illnesses anyway. It really is intended to treat Torette’s Syndrome and Manic Depression only.

I had to make myself heard. This harmful drug had to be stopped but stopping it was easier said than done. Poor Grandma went CRAZY! The half life of the drug was just awful and we truly witnessed a time that no one should ever have to go through. Because she still needed assistance she was admitted to D6, the dementia wing of the nursing home. Thankfully we managed to get the Haloperidol stopped. The risk she posed to staff – not to mention herself – necessitated putting her on an alternative drug.

December 2010 … Because my dearly loved and loving Grandma was still on too many drugs and not on the best diet, I did not want to give up. I knew the truth behind this awful situation. The same pattern continued with the UTIs but at least they were now continuing proper testing and being given ‘correct’ treatment. However I knew this whole scenario was no long term answer: the very things causing ongoing UTIs were still left firmly in place!

 

As Gran was definitely not making any headway with these drugs, we managed to gain from her doctor an agreement to have her home, to see how she progressed with an alternative treatment – without drugs – for a short while. The hospital staff admitted she was the worse case they had seen and firmly believed that she would continue to decline and therefore “needed” the anti-psychotic drugs to keep her “stable”.

Gran was released from D6, the dementia wing of the hospital mid December 2010 without any medications. We fed her on good living food for a fortnight. Her mental and physical health improved immensely. We then took her back to the hospital early January 2011, just to see if she remained stable before we made the final decision to bring her home late January.

 

The Hospital Staff Were Amazed

 

The staff were amazed at the complete transformation from her crazy behaviour to complete normality, brought about without using any medical drugs! One staff member quoted “Your grandma should not be in this wing as she is completely normal and understands that she is in a mental home”. The only time Gran became agitated was when another UTI was brewing but because of perseverance and correct treatment, this then also alleviated her “delirium”. The trouble is, the ongoing use of antibiotics, depletes the body of many minerals, especially magnesium.

Bombarded with toxins from numerous drugs and with poor food options Gran was very susceptible to these horrid infections. It makes me wonder whether all the people in the dementia wing were UTI cases in the first place? Significantly lowered magnesium levels coupled with poor quality food can lead to ongoing UTIs and the resulting delirium can easily be mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease?

Sadly, to have the label “dementia” and be prescribed  incorrect medications such as Haloperidol for these symptoms, can leave such cases with “CRAZINESS”, hallucinations, etc. Fortunately, while Gran was in the nursing home, we managed to get the hospital to stick to the food that we provided for her.

24 January 2011 … This was the day Gran was supposed to come back home but sadly she broke her hip the day before and ended up in the Timaru Hospital awaiting surgery. I thought, oh no, all this hard work getting her free of these problems and now she will be subjected to more drugs, antibiotics and obviously the anaesthetic and surgery, all after all she has been through. This was definitely going to be a tough time for Gran and for all of us, all over again. My strength and peace came from my Faith that good will always come out of bad situations.

9 February 2011 … Gran survived the ordeal and was taken back to the nursing home again for the needed rehabilitation to regain her mobility. She was prescribed aspirin daily and also had a catheter in place. I tried to go with daily garlic instead of aspirin, as this food does the same job but when they discovered that at that stage, that we did not have the power of attorney, they pulled rank and ruled with iron rigidity. I had to let it go. Oddly, although we were unable to give Gran the natural garlic for a further ten days after stopping the aspirin.

It was only a short period of time after being back in the nursing home that Gran started going “crazy” again and doing such things as throwing her false teeth about. Her legs showed marks and were in poor colour.  I thought to myself, is she getting another UTI after all the stress she has suffered ?

11 February 2011 … Gran’s doctor removed the catheter and another UTI was confirmed and IM antibiotics were given. This made a noticeable difference yet again to her mood. Really bad blood clots had developed on her legs so her doctor decided to stop the aspirin…

17 February 2011 … Although Gran was now back to behaving “normally” she told me that she was finding it hard to swallow her medications and food. I knew that her doctor had prescribed paracetamol for her hip pain and colloidal silver as a natural antibiotic only as he was amazed at how well she was without drugs. This was also confirmed to me by the nursing staff.

 

Suspicions Arise

 

Gran told me at one point that one of her medications was “oily”. I thought this rather odd but inadvertently assumed that she was referring to the colloidal silver. My suspicions were aroused however when Grandad informed me that she was in a “dead” asleep while about to have her tea. I had noticed during this week that Gran was a to some degree “up and down” in her moods.

The head nurse from the nursing home advised me that she felt that deterioration after her hip operation justified re-medication with haloperidol, her assumption being that because this drug was on the PRN (‘as required’) drug chart, that it had been responsible for her improvement in the hospital. I called the nurse at the hospital to check it out and found it was not true.

I discovered that when Gran had been returned to the nursing home, that this head nurse, although acting with technical legality, had taken a completely immoral direction and had regularly given her Haloperidol from the PRN (“as required”) drug area. The doctor, who did not know the background to Gran’s situation, had charted this in the hospital. However, she had informed the nursing staff that I was not to find out about this. It appeared to me that pride was overriding common sense and putting Gran in very great danger so I rang the ward and spelt out their medical oath, to “First Do No Harm”.

18 February 2011 … I rang Gran’s doctor and he, unaware of all this immediately stopped the drug and all other medications, the intention being that Gran would be discharged and under my care from the 28 February to allow the withdrawal process to take place… yet again!

I returned from a weekend in Christchurch on Monday, 21 February … to find just so much had happened in my absence. To recount …

19 – 20 February … Mum had been in to see Gran after I had explained what had transpired and had found her in her room, lying on her bed, very pale, blue in colour around the lips, her legs swollen and mottled and her feet very cold. She was breathing very heavily. Mum was extremely concerned and questioned the nurse as to why a doctor had not as yet seen her. Gran had voiced to Mum, “I love you Di and pass on my love to Dad”.

Mum stated to the nurse, there and then, that the drugs … the Haloperidol …  had done this to Gran. She was shocked to see how quickly Gran had gone downhill in just one week, just when she was getting well and was hoping to shortly come home. (This same nurse after many years working at this facility quit her job).

When Grandad went in to see Gran that weekend he was met by her doctor who felt she needed to get to A&E as there was suspicion of pneumonia. Again IV antibiotics and oxygen therapy were administered with good result and Gran was discharged back to the nursing home the next day.

When I checked on what medications had been given, one of the nurses from the nursing home confessed guilt, in not telling me about the Haloperidol that was administered since Gran arrived back from hospital. No one told me or her doctor what they were doing! After Gran’s return from A&E there was a notable change in the attitude of the head charge nurse! The side effects from an overdose of Haloperidol include pneumonia, heart failure and sudden death.

What is amazing was that Gran survived Haloperidol a second time but sadly I also knew that it was not going to be easy to go through the withdrawal process… yet again.

28 February … Gran was finally able to get out of that nursing home and came home to me and complete a further withdrawal process. She was very happy to leave the “mental home”, as she described it. Staff were very meek and mild on our departure and there was no sign of the head nurse.

The closest we were to any apology was when one of the other staff members mentioned that Gran was far better off the drugs and stated that it must be the effect of the garlic …

The next few weeks were very tough going. I felt Gran was almost a junkie. The side effects of her withdrawal were very bad and extremely hard, both on her and those looking after her. We also had to monitor her urine for a further potential UTI every week.

It was not until Grandma was well enough to sign her name that we could access her hospital notes.

I was horrified to find, that on her admission to A&E with pneumonia, they had administered more of the very drug that caused all the trouble … IV Haloperidol x2. The first lot she had not responded well to so they had given her another lot – until her doctor intervened and said no more was to be given, he informing them of what had been happening.

Her notes also mentioned how she was in heart failure and issues with her ECG. This completely coincides with the information from my research, the warnings from the FDA that IV

Haloperidol can cause heart arrhythmias and sudden death. It truly is a miracle Gran is still with us.

Basically, Haloperidol appears to actually make some people psychotic. Then they give even more Haloperidol to cause sedation. This can lead to heart issues and sudden death … especially in the elderly. With regard to this highly toxic drug, there does not appear to be too much information available about detoxifying and surviving for the protection of my dear grandmother!

Gran’s withdrawal symptoms were very bad. They included really bad heart pains, hallucinations, poor sleep, that very on edge feeling, headaches, sore joints, the feeling of insects crawling all over her (cocaine addicts get this – they call it “coke bugs”) and frequent night urination. Amazingly, she was not getting any more UTIs.

6 April 2011 … It has been a whole year since this journey began and I really did wonder how much longer it would be before Gran “got through” all this. With her diet it was a real test to find out what is best for her, after her dreadful experience with Haloperidol. Gran seemed different and I could not figure out what to do. Previously magnesium rich foods were helpful but this time around they did not have the same effect. Lets face it, the IV administration of this awful drug could well lead up paths we did not even know existed. I was kept under pressure finding out more. I was learning a great deal through my dear grandmother.

12 April 2011 … This week Gran went downhill “big time”. She was as mad as a hatter. Poor Mum could not cope any more so Gran came back home to live with me. She did not sleep for two days and nights and was constantly calling out. She had diarrhoea, profuse sweating and she felt she was on fire. She no longer was able to attend to herself personally. We had to feed her again. It was a very hard time to watch Gran get through. It was almost torture and at one point I felt there was no hope.

I wondered whether her frequent UTIs were the trouble again but test results were negative. This puzzled me a great deal. Her physical symptoms were also puzzling. She became worse with a high temperature, high blood pressure (something foreign to Gran) and a high pulse rate. As the day extended, she asked for water and drank it just so quickly. Her mouth was very dry. She had rigid upper body movements and explained that she was finding it hard to get air. I informed her doctor of the situation.

 

18 April 2011 … Gran was still “up and down”, some nights she slept, others she did not. Sometimes she was very coherent and sometimes she shouted loudly. She often experienced hot and cold episodes and could not tolerate hot days or bright sunlight. Her body did not seem to be able to regulate her body temperature any more. I had to shut out the light. It seemed her hormones were well out of balance.

 

5 May 2011 … At this point we could could not cope any more with Gran’s episodes of hallucinations, her hyperthermia (these were very hot episodes where the sweat just poured off) and the complete insanity prompting her to strip naked.  She was also incontinent. She suffered insomnia, and went without sleep for many days and nights. I felt Gran’s symptoms were some how tied up with the ‘Serotonin Syndrome’.

It was at this point that I learned that high magnesium foods (serotonin rich foods) aggravated her symptoms greatly but a high protein/calcium diet (melatonin rich foods) were more calming. However, because of the danger that her symptoms presented, I felt the need to have her admitted acutely. I felt she needed medical treatment – an antidote drug to reduce her possibly raised serotonin levels.

Once in the hospital, she was given a reversal drug, Lorazepam. It worked instantly and she finally went into a deep sleep.

The next day however, because Gran had the “label” Alzheimer`s, the medical team decided that they could do no more for her and that she should be discharged. I voiced my concerns and informed this new doctor of what had happened and the possibility that Gran just may have raised serotonin levels. She agreed the Haloperidol could have led to Gran’s current problems and conceded the need to run more tests.

Her current medication, Clonazepam, definitely alleviated Gran’s presenting symptoms. She finally slept and was not so agitated. Her hyperthermic and muscle rigidity episodes have gone. When we visited her, she was now able to recognise us all and address us by name. The doctors also decided to do a blood serotonin test and the results took a few days to come back. After these few days had passed the doctors decided not to inform me about Gran’s serotonin blood level. They merely said to me that this test was unnecessary. I replied, “Because the Clonazepam was alleviating her symptoms, it proves that her serotonin was too high?” However, the medical team had informed all staff not to give myself or the family any information about her care. Without knowing we had the power of attorney, we could do nothing.

They called me “dangerous”. I guess in a way, yes, I am … I have the truth and am not scared to point this out! However, to me; “dangerous” is injecting IV Haloperidol into 85 year old ladies and apparently getting away with it!

24 May 2011 … Sadly after 3weeks on these reversal drugs, her serotonin level flipped back the other way and dropped sharply. When her serotonin level dropped another UTI emerged. While her levels were high there were no urine infections. Sadly, Gran’s serotonin level, in going from high to low, could not find a happy balance point. The staff thought she needed more Lorazepam to calm her down but now this will only aggravate her symptoms. She needs another antidote to pick her back up … crazy eh!

She was finally seen by a geriatrician from Auckland, the first medic to actually acknowledge the serotonin problem and try to find a balance point … Hallelujah!!! She reduced her Lorazepam as and re-introduced an antidepressant. These two drugs work in opposite directions to help restore the serotonin balance. The Lorazepam reduces the serotonin level but the antidepressant increases it. The object was to achieve harmony. The drugs now sorted out Gran and was stabilised. Within a week she was discharged. There was nowhere for her to go and she was… sent to a D6 unit in Dunedin!  The doctor said that basically, her “Alzhemier’s”’ would gradually continue to decline and any stress would alter her serotonin levels.

This was the hardest time of all for me, letting Gran go. It is the very thing that we wanted to avoid, especially when we knew the cause of all the trouble and that now, nobody was accountable. This is where my utmost Faith had to emerge and where my trust in my heavenly Father for peace, happiness, healing and protection over my dear Grandmother, who really deserved JUSTICE, had to prevail.

December 2011 … Gran has been in a far better environment. She has had love, good care and far fewer drugs. Her health has gone from strength to strength. The staff down there agreed, that the only reason for all that has happened is the incorrect medication. Alzhemier’s disease progresses with time, not regresses. What Gran suffered could not possibly have been Alzheimer’s disease.

Just recently a family meeting was held. It was agreed that there is no need for Gran to be in a D6 unit and in the New Year she will be transferred to a regular nursing home, closer to home. She has finally stabilised and has peace and happiness back in her life. She comes back home to us for regular visits and it is hard to believe just how good she is now. She talks coherently, she knows who all of us are, she feeds and toilets herself with no incontinence.

One of Gran’s intitial drugs that she started on for urinary incontinence, Oxybutynin, was definitely a huge contributor to the start of her downward spiral. Common side effects associated with Oxybutynin and other anti-cholinergics include dry mouth, difficulty in urination, constipation, blurred vision, drowsiness and dizziness. Anti-cholinergics have also been known to induce delirium. In those with diabetes, as was Gran’s case, Oxybutin can worsen overflow incontinence as the fundamental problem is a failure for the bladder to contract.

The amazing thing was that Gran, once on this drug, had all of these side effects and the psychiatrist did mention that this could have been a contributing factor with the acute “Alzheimer’s Disease”. One of the side effects of this drug is delirium!!! The other trouble when Gran was on this drug, was the recurrent UTIs and the many antibiotics that followed. The doctor who had prescribed the drug, although ringing my mother a week afterwards to see if she had suffered any adverse effects did not  call back any more and did not advise my mother of any dangers. Maybe her so called “Alzheimer’s disease” was created by the drugs in the first place and that we are just too trusting when it comes to doctors prescribing such drugs???

Good always comes out of bad situations and even though I would not ever want anyone else to go through what we have been through – it caused some great pain as a family along the way  – I would not want to “undo” what happened, as Gran has led me to one of the keys that unlocks  one of the mysteries of life.

I now know how food can alter one’s serotonin level (the happy hormone level) by either increasing or decreasing it to achieve an optimum balance just as the correct drugs can do it. However with food, unlike drugs, it is a far safer way to achieve this.

Hopefully this story may divert someone else`s loved one from the claws of death and into LIFE …

For more detailed information regarding the serotonin level, visit this link: http://www.betterbods.co.nz/serotonin.htm

Summary

  • Urinary tract infections seem to go hand in hand with dementia. This is the first connection to rule out if someone you know presents a diagnosis of dementia. Could it be delirium from the urinary tract infection?
  • If the urinary tract infection has been confirmed and you choose to accept antibiotics, ensure your doctor tests for resistant strains, otherwise the antibiotics may not be effective.
  • Too many antibiotics can lead to lowered magnesium levels, this can lead to further urinary tract infections which can establish a vicious cycle. It is really wise to increase magnesium rich foods, such as garlic and parsley, to help prevent further relapses. It pays to also eliminate and/or reduce high melatonin foods, such as tomatoes, dairy produce, rice etc.
  • Coconut oil (and go-free coconut products) are very good preventatvie for people who are suffering with dementia related symptoms, as they are rich in magnesium and CLA (which helps repair the gut, where 90% of our serotonin is manufactured – the other 10% of our serotonin is manufactured in the brain).
  • Anti-psychotic medications appear to actually make some people psychotic so to avoid the dangerous side effects of these drugs and many other drugs, the key is to avoid GOO, and in turn avoid disease (which is explained in my first book, “Jenna’s Journey” or visit my website, www.betterbods.co.nz  for further information)
  • Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions, continue to increase in incidence and may well be the largest burden of disease to confront us in the near future. We are supposed to gain advice from our elders but sadly many end up in a vegatative state, not even being able to recognise their younger loved ones. What future is there for many of our children when, at such a young age, they too are prescribed cocktails of dangerous drugs.
  • Age and disease is a reflection on how many drugs and toxic foods we are on. The more we have the older and sicker we become. Sadly there are known cases of children with dementia, so the aging process has sped up by following the wrong path.
  • Justice for my grandmother and many others who are facing other awful situations, is to stop the root cause … which is goo. It is simple, when the cause disppears so too do the harmful drugs. This would then give us, PEACE, HAPPINESS and HEALTH………

 

Blessings and love,

 

Rachel Tomkinson

 

“The TRUTH will set you free, but believe me it will ruffle many feathers along the way”.

 

 

Rachel Tomlinson is a nurse, personal trainer and massage therapist.  Her website is www.betterbods.co.nz

 

Posted in Infections, Reader's Stories | Comments Off

Health Freedom Report #3

Written By: katherine - Jan• 29•12

First published issue 3 of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine (November 2011 – February 2012)

The Natural Health Products Bill has just passed its first reading in parliament.

Retiring Green MP Sue Kedgeley had the following to say about the bill: “It will set up a low risk regulatory scheme which is appropriate for the low risk nature of natural products; not a heavy handed regime…Before bringing a product to market, a business will have to enter product information onto an online, electronic data base. But virtually all ingredients and products that are already on the market will be automatically approved by the regulator, because any products that are used in other countries with recognised regulatory schemes will be automatically recognised, under our scheme.” http://www.greens.org.nz/speeches/natural-health-products-bill

There are mixed views of the bill given the low risks posed by natural health products. Some people question the necessity for any sort of regulation while many people in the natural health care sector appear to be happy with the bill.

An introduction to the bill and the link to download its text is here: http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/BillsDigests/b/8/a/49PLLawBD19271-Natural-Health-Products-Bill-2011-Bills-Digest-No-1927.htm

NB:  I discuss this bill more fully in my Health Freedom Report in issue 4 of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine. I am also  studying this bill with a view to helping people make submissions on it.  If you would like me to email you further information on this issue, please email me through the Contact page of this site (which is at this link http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/contact/ with the  NZNHPB in the subject line.
Also on the NZ regulatory front is the Supplemented Food Guidelines which set out rules for “supplemented foods”.  These rules include a list of allowable vitamins and minerals and maximum daily dosages for each.  Vitamins and minerals other than those  specified in the short list are not allowed to be included in “supplemented foods”.  The regulations also list allowable artificial sweeteners – including aspartame.  The standard came into force on March 31, 2010 and manufacturers must comply with the guidelines by  March 31, 2012.  (The Supplemented Food Guidelines may be downloaded from the website of Food Safety NZ  – http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/)

Since I last reported on the Food Bill, there have been some developments on this issue.  The Minister for Food Safety, Kate Wilkinson, has written to Organic NZ  which was the first publication to report on the potential problems that the bill could cause for New Zealand’s organic food supply. According to her letter (published in the Sept/Oct issue of Organic NZ) the Minister has undertaken to ask for “advice [from her officials] on how the meaning of food could be amended to make it clear that seeds for cultivation and food seedlings are not within the definition.  Once we have the wording needed I intend to include it as an amendment in a Supplementary Order Paper.”

The National Maori Organics Authority Te Waka Kai Ora has also stated its opposition to the Food Bill on the basis that it would undermine tino rangatiratanga (self determination), and could make nutritious food more expensive and thus undermine people’s health.  http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1109/S00376/new-food-bill-presents-a-serious-threat-to-maori-food-sovere.htm

The Mana Party has stated that it will not vote for the Food Bill and fully supports Te Waka Kai Ora. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1109/S00528/mana-opposes-food-bill.htm  

Green MP Sue Kedgeley has stated that the Green Party “will likely vote against the Food Bill if it continues to progress through Parliament in its current form”. http://www.greens.org.nz/node/27110

There is an online petition against the Food Bill at this link http://www.petitiononline.co.nz/petition/oppose-the-new-zealand-government-food-bill-160-2/1301 For further updates on this issue please see www.nzfoodsecurity.org

In more food madness in the USA, a Wisconsin judge has ruled that it is illegal for farmers to drink raw milk from their own cows. http://www.anh-usa.org/denied-right-to-consume-milk-from-their-own-cows/

Also in the USA, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has recently announced that it plans to treat new dietary supplements as if they were toxic food additives.  The FDA’s New Dietary Ingredient guidelines issued on July 1, 2011 is being vigorously opposed by health freedom advocates in the USA. http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/0719_FDA-views-supplements-as-synthetic-food-preservatives.htm

Back home in NZ, homoeopathy has been under attack with Professor Shaun Holt (from Victoria University’s School of Biological Sciences) writing to the NZ Medical Journal calling upon doctors not to practise homoeopathy, or refer patients for homoeopathic treatment. http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/124-1332/4621/  In 2010 he said that homoeopaths who were providing free treatment to Christchurch residents who were suffering from shock and/or trauma following the earthquake of Sept 4, were “appalling and shameless”.  The NZ Medical Journal later published a letter from homoeopath Clive Stuart in response to Prof Holt’s attack.  http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/124-1334/4668/  (These links are only available to NZMA members or NZMJ subscribers.)

Homoeopathy has also been under attack by Australian Health Ethics Committee which is part of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). In May it drafted a Public Statement on Homeopathy stating that “…it is unethical for health practitioners to treat patients using homeopathy, for the reason that homeopathy has not been shown to be efficacious.”  Australians who have benefited from homoeopathy are being invited by the homoeopathic community to write in support of practitioners of homoeopathic medicine. See the following link for details:
http://www.homeopathyworldcommunity.com/forum/topics/homeopathy-under-attack-in

In Europe the fight back against the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Herbal Products Directive which has made many traditionally used herbs and herbal formulae illegal in Europe, especially those used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine. The Alliance for Natural Health International, together with the European Benfyt Foundation http://www.benefyt.eu/ have been working to oppose the directive.  They have raised 90,000 pounds for an intial legal challenge to the directive.  More information about the campaign for health freedom in Europe may be found here:  http://www.anh-europe.org/node/3113

In late October and early November Ian Crane  visited Australia and NZ from the UK to talk about  the threats to health freedom posed by Codex Alimentarius. Details of his talks may be found here: http://www.ianrcrane.co.uk/

Last but not least, there is an important victories for health freedom with Taumaranui and Taranaki succeeding in stopping water fluoridation in their areas. Congratulations to everyone who helped achieve this!  See www.fannz.org.nz for updates on this issue.

Posted in Health Freedom Reports | Comments Off

Health Freedom Report #2

Written By: katherine - Jan• 27•12

(First published in the first issue of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine (August – November 2011)

 

Since our first issue there have been some significant developments that impact on our health freedom – both in New Zealand and internationally.

In NZ, the government has now officially responded to the Report of the Health Select Committee following its Inquiry into how to improve [increase] immunisation [vaccination] completion rates.  Unfortunately, while the government response includes some positive statements such as “The Ministry of Health notes that while targets are important to reduce vaccine preventable diseases, immunisation is a choice in New Zealand.  Efforts to achieve on-target immunisation must respect the individual’s, parent’s, and guardian’s rights to make an informed choice and decision.”Nevertheless, it is still considering some of the coercive recommendations in the Report of the Health Select Committee, including one requiring parents to produce vaccination information (either a certificate showing that a child is fully vaccinated, or a “declination form” – stating that parents have decided against vaccination.

The government is also considering whether to accept a recommendation from Dr Nikki Turner of of Immunisation Advisory Centre to make eligibility for 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education dependent on parents supplying the same documentation.

The government is also considering a proposal for all parents (or guardians) receiving any “welfare payment”  be “required to ensure their children complete the 12 Well Child Tamariki Ora health checks, which include completion of the immunisation schedule, unless they make an informed choice not to.  The Ministry of Health is working with the Ministry of Social Development and other agencies to provide advice that will inform the Government’s response.”

If you think that parents have the right to make the decisions about which vaccines their children receive – if they decide to vaccinate their children – and that the government has no business trying to bully parents into making a “choice” between their child having all  recommended vaccinations or none at all, please support the campaign against this sort of medical tyranny. For more information on this issue please visit www.noforcedvaccines.org and sign up to be a member for updates.

Another threat to health freedom on the NZ horizon is a proposed Food Bill.  The July-August issue of Organic NZ the directors of the Koanga Institute Bob Corker and Kay Baxter have obtained “confirmation by lawyers that the Food Bill will criminalise people who exchange seeds, plant material or home-raised produce – even by giving them away – if they cannot afford or are otherwise not granted a license to do so.” According to the article:  “MAF says the Bill covers only food for sale for human consumption, and not seed, (unless it were for human consumption); and that the definition of ‘sale’ includes bartering but not giving away.”

The text of the bill may be read here:

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2010/0160/latest/DLM2995811.html

Medsafe has also announced that it plans to re-classify red yeast rice capsules as a pharmaceutical.  Many people use this product which is made by culturing the fungus Monascus purpureus on rice grains.  Red yeast rice is an ingredient classic dishes such as Peking Duck and has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine since the Tang Dynasty (800AD).  Red yeast rice is a popular supplement in NZ and is taken by people who want to lower elevated cholesterol levels.

Documents obtained under the Official information Act show that the decision to re-classify this nutritional supplement as a pharmaceutical has nothing to do with health or safety issues.  In fact, red yeast rice will continue to be available in NZ in powder form – it is only the products that are encapsulated that will undergo a “technical adjustment” and be reclassified as prescription drugs.  The documents state that the reason for the technical adjustment is because of a request from Australia’s TGA for NZ to “harmonise” its policy regarding red yeast rice with Australia’s.

In fact, “harmonisation” between NZ and Australia has come a lot closer since John Key announced that the New Zealand and Australian government officials have agreed “to immediately beginning work on implementing the Australia-New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency” to regulate pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/transtasman-medical-regulation-agency-way-key-ck-95632

According to the National Business Review it will take five years to set up the agency.  It also stated that “The New Zealand Government’s review of the proposed separate scheme for natural health products in five years’ time would consider whether or not to maintain a separate scheme for natural health products.  Mr Key said both countries had agreed the creation of the joint agency was not dependent on natural health products being part of the joint regulatory arrangements, but that they did not want to exclude the option for the future.”

Given the history of Australia’s TGA, if New Zealand’s natural products do end up being regulated by a joint trans-Tasman agency, it  is unlikely to be a good thing for NZ public or consumers.  Medsafe is clearly far from perfect;  however, at least as a business unit of the NZ Ministry of Health it is under NZ government control and therefore subject to political pressure and oversight.  Information about its operations can also be obtained through Official Information Act requests, when necessary. The NZ public would have no influence over an Australian-based corporate entity.

Moreover, if New Zealand’s natural products do end up being regulated by an Australian-based Australia-New Zealand Therapeutic Agency, this could be disastrous for New Zealand as the TGA has caused significant harm to the Australian natural products industry (such as through the unnecessary recall of thousands of natural health products manufactured by Pan Pharmaceuticals in 2003) and has restricted access to many herbal and nutritional products.

Meanwhile in the USA, the FDA is quietly introducing a new regulatory system that could make many natural health products illegal.  The Health Ranger, Mike Adams explains:

“In 1994, after years of armed raids, oppression and censorship by the FDA, Congress passed a law known as DSHEA. This is the law that essentially forced the FDA to stop regulating dietary supplements out of existence, and groups such as the Life Extension Foundation (www.LEF.org) were instrumental in helping get this law passed in 1994.

“But one of the little-known sections of the law required dietary supplement manufacturers to “notify” the FDA any time they used a new ingredient in their formulations. However, the details on how supplement companies were supposed to abide by these notification guidelines (called “NDI” or New Dietary Ingredient rules) were never published by the FDA, and since 1994, this entire section of DSHEA has remained essentially unenforced (or selectively enforced).

“Now, suddenly, the FDA has decided it wants to enforce NDI, and its enforcement of this technicality would essentially amount to the FDA denying permission to use nearly all dietary supplement ingredients introduced since 1994. So last Friday, the FDA proposed its new rules on NDI – on the Friday before a long weekend, no less, which is a common tactic government uses when it wants to do something that nobody notices – and these new rules run the risk of being adopted as active regulations, threatening virtually the entire dietary supplement industry with an eventual shutdown.”

You can read the Mike Adams’ report here: http://www.naturalnews.com/032912_FDA_dietary_supplements.html#ixzz1SL0SgEQF
and there is more information at this link: http://www.anh-usa.org/fda-new-sneak-attack-on-supplements/

If the FDA gets away with this new anti-health terrorism, it will have worldwide effects since the USA is a major manufacturer and exporter of quality natural health supplements, and any restriction on what can be produced in the USA will likely have negative effects on the availability (and price) of nutritional supplements and herbal remedies.  The timing of the US FDA move, a couple of months after the EU’s Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD) made most herbs in the UK (and indeed the EU) illegal, is particularly concerning,  Under the directive, herbs become illegal unless manufacturers are able to license each herb at an estimated cost of 80,000 – 12,000 pounds each.  The late last year the Independent announced that most herbs would become illegal in Britain (and indeed the EU) from May 1, 2011.  The the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), which represents herbal practitioners, told the independent that  not a single product used in traditional Chinese medicine or Ayurvedic medicine has been licensed.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/europe-to-ban-hundreds-of-herbal-remedies-2171781.html  

The website of the Alliance for Natural Health states that it is preparing to challenge the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive in court.

http://www.anh-usa.org/dark-times-for-herbal-medicine-in-europe/

We will keep you updated with developments.

Posted in Health Freedom Reports | Comments Off

Health Freedom Report #1

Written By: katherine - Jan• 27•12

Health Freedom Report #1

(First published in the first issue of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine (May-July 2011)

We are fortunate in New Zealand to have the choice of a side range of over-the-counter nutritional supplements, herbal medicines and other health-promoting products.  We also have to choice of being able to consult natural health practitioners who practise a wide range of modalities.

This situation is not some sort of happy accident.  Over the past couple of decades the New Zealand natural health community has survived many attempts to curtail and control it.  These efforts can be viewed as part of a world wide campaign orchestrated by Big Pharma which has been actively suppressing practitioners and products that compete with the drug-based model of conventional allopathic medical treatment.

In the USA attempts to suppress non-drug healing began in earnest in the 1930s, when the American Medical Association (AMA) under the leadership of the infamous Dr Morris Fishbein first tried to buy up Harry Hoxsey’s herbal-based cancer treatment formulae, then when he refused to sell them to him, harassed him with numerous prosecutions for “practising medicine without a license”.  The life-saving work of Dr Max Gerson, pioneer of nutritional therapies for cancer and scientist Dr Royal Raymond Rife (also working in the 1930s and 40s) was similarly disparaged, ignored and suppressed.

In New Zealand the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 had a detrimental effect on the practice of traditional Maori medicine which included the use of medicinal native plants (rongoa) and prayer (karakia) resulting in the loss of much valuable traditional knowledge.

Fast forward to modern New Zealand and in 2003 then Minister of Health Annette King signed a treaty with Australia pledging to establish a joint trans-Tasman agency (based on the corporate model established by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration  or TGA) to regulate both countries nutritional, herbal and associated products.  Within Australia, the TGA was already renowned for imposing unnecessary bureaucracy and fees on producers of natural health products, which drove up prices and badly affected many businesses.

In 2005 Annette King introduced legislation that proposed that New Zealand should join  together with Australia in a Joint Trans-Tasman agency based on the TGA model.  The bill to establish the Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency   (ANZTPA)  which would have essentially put New Zealand health products regulation in the hands of Australia-based  bureaucrats many of whom had ties with Big Pharma.  The bill – which would have reduced choice of products, driven up prices and probably forced many of the small  natural health businesses to the wall – became known as the “Anti-Vitamin Bill” and was  vehemently opposed by members of the public.  Subsequently, the National Party, NZ First, Green Party and Independent MP Philip Taito Field refused to support the bill and the Labour government was forced to shelve the legislation.

However, with the election of the current National-led government, bureaucrats in the back room were at it again, producing a discussion document that proposed a very restrictive framework for the regulation of New Zealand natural health products.  This produced a vigorous response from health freedom groups.

The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine will endeavour to keep readers updated on health freedom issues in New Zealand and around the world.  However, given that we are a quarterly it is possible that we will not always be able to inform you of important developments in a timely manner.

The following New Zealand organisations have played a leading role in the protection of New Zealander’s health freedoms.  If you have internet access, please visit their websites and sign on to their mailing lists so that you can be kept informed of important events in New Zealand.  If you are able to donate some of your time or money to these organisations, to promote the cause of health freedom, so much the better.

Health Freedom NZ

Health Freedom NZ is an incorporated charitable trust dedicated to preserving the rights of New Zealanders to enjoy access to natural and traditional health care options as well as freedom from forced medication.  It played an important role in the defeat of the “Anti Vitamin Bill” and also maintains links with international health freedom organisations.

http://www.healthfreedom.co.nz/

 

New Zealand Health Trust

The New Zealand Health Trust has been working in the health freedom area since 2002 and played an important role in the defeat of ANZTPA  and is “committed to ensuring high quality and complete information is available to New Zealanders on issues affecting their health and health choices.”

http://www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz

 

New Health New Zealand

This is the sister organisation of the New Zealand Health Trust. According to its website “New Health New Zealand designed to ensure the consumer comes first in all health regulation. It has been created based on a series of guiding principles which are entrenched to ensure New HEALTH stays focused on its key objectives.”

http://www.newhealth.co.nz

 

 

 

Posted in Health Freedom Reports | Comments Off

The Importance of Preconception Care

Written By: katherine - Dec• 20•11

By Loula George, ND, Dip Med Herb

Most couples quite happily spend months and thousands of dollars preparing for the wedding that marks the beginning of their married life. Yet few prepare for the conception that marks the beginning of their child’s life with the same loving detail  even though  conceiving a child is one of the most significant events in any of our lives.  For the child who is conceived, the events surrounding his or her conception can affect his or her health for a lifetime – for better, or for worse.

It is only after conception that most couples consider committing themselves to some sort of health programme to prepare for birth. Most never question the obvious omission of a programme for preconception care. If there are difficulties conceiving, there is a good chance that the problem is as simple to overcome as taking the time (at least four months) and effort to ensure that both prospective parents are in excellent health; free of hidden infections, toxic (heavy) metals, environmental hazards and excessive stress and that they are only eating healthy, preferably organic foods. Between that and learning the optimal timing for conception, the chances of producing a healthy baby can be dramatically increased.

It takes 100 days for an egg follicle to mature and up to 116 days for sperm to be produced. If during that time there are infections, nutritional deficiencies, toxins or other contaminants in the body, the chances of producing healthy eggs and sperm – and therefore a healthy foetus, is greatly reduced. Simply put, healthy bodies have a better chance of making healthy babies. Since it takes up to four months to produce the eggs and sperm that are going to make a baby, the couple’s health needs to be maximized at least four months before conception in order to maximize the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

The first step is to actually avoid pregnancy using natural forms of birth control for at least four months while both parents focus on bringing their own health into optimal condition. This can often be hard for couples who have been solely focused on conceiving, sometimes for years. However, allowing the couple to ‘have a break’ can also be a relief for them as they focus on their own health. It is also essential for women who have been on hormonal birth control to give their body a chance to remove any synthetic hormones from their systems and allow their cycles to regulate again.

Environmental hazards such as smoking, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and chemicals such as pesticides or solvents etc, are identified, both in the home and work environment and eliminated. This has to be corrected before conception.

Screening for heavy metals

An important part of a preconceptual care programme is screening  for essential trace elements and levels of toxic heavy metals (such as lead) in the system using hair or urine analyses, in which a sample of hair or urine is sent to a laboratory so it can be analysed using a mass spectrometer.  If low levels of trace minerals are detected, appropriate supplements may be prescribed to improve nutritional status.

Toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminium displace minerals that are essential for the formation of
healthy eggs and sperm and can have severe effects on the developing foetus. These toxic metals can be found all around us, although we are often unaware of them. Many people still have aluminium cookware – or if they do not have it in their own kitchen, it may be used in the kitchen of their local cafe or restaurant.  The use of aluminum cookware should be avoided, because of the aluminium compounds it leaches into the food can have detrimental effects on general health and fertility – but because of the association between aluminium toxicity and Alzheimer’s disease.

For those who have mercury-amalgam dental fillings these may a significant source of mercury exposure.  Eating mercury contaminated fish is another common source of mercury exposure.

Lead can easily be inhaled while removing paintwork in the renovation of old houses. (This is unfortunately a common pastime, it seems, of couples prior to or while pregnant – and one that can be highly detrimental to the developing baby). In New Zealand, homes built before 1980 may be painted with lead-based paint.  Removal of this paint needs to be done carefully to reduce the health risks involved and should not be done during the pre-conception period or during pregnancy.   The Ministry of Health, OSH and Department of Labour have produced a book that details how to do this. See: http://www.healthed.govt.nz/resources/guidelinesforthemanagementoflead-b.aspx

Toxic metals can be found in contaminated water, sometimes right out of our kitchen tap.  Water testing may be advisable.  Couples who live in areas where the public water supply is fluoridated should invest in a reverse osmosis water filter or distiller or by safe (low nitrate) spring water as fluoride can have adverse effects on health and fertility. See:   http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/repro/  

Appropriate Medical Tests

Some people who have had difficulty conceiving may benefit by being referred to medical doctors who can check hormone levels and order appropriate tests to detect any hidden genito-urinary infections. Over 50% of women with infertility or miscarriage problems have been found by the Foresight Clinic (1) to have hidden infections and approximately 20% of men have them, often with no symptoms e.g. mycoplasma and ureaplasma bacteria. It is also important to screen for any other immunological factors that may cause implantation failure or miscarriage e.g antinuclear antibodies and cardiolipin antibodies. Dr Alan Beer (2) claims that 85% of unexplained infertility is caused by immunological factors. Other possible screening tests are for blood clotting disorders that can interfere with good blood supply to either the implantation site or the developing embryo.

Having identified and eliminated excessive toxins, environmental hazards, hidden infections, allergies and any other immune imbalances, the next step is to ensure that both parents have all the necessary vitamins and minerals that make up the building blocks of a healthy embryo by eating a safer, healthier diet and by taking supplements as necessary.

It is recommended that any reproductive health and any general health issues for both prospective parents are dealt with e.g endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, asthma, autoimmune diseases, sperm problems. These can be treated using natural treatments e.g herbal medicine, diet changes, acupuncture. Since fertility and foetal health are directly related to general and reproductive health, these can be expected to improve significantly while progressing through the programme. Remember, a healthy body is a fertile body!

It is also important to address any stress that prospective parents are under. Stress not only affects sexual performance, but fertility, conception and all other aspects of reproduction. As well as physical hindrances to conception there can also be real psychological blocks. . Expert help can sometimes be needed to unravel and alleviate these, and some couples may benefit from therapies such as counseling, hypnotherapy and BodyTalk.

For patients whose fertility problems are not amenable to natural therapy (such as severely blocked tubes), the preconception care programme can support them prior to and during IVF/ICSI or any other assisted reproductive procedures.

They have the option of  choosing an IVF Support programme with a view to improving overall health, increasing the possibility of success and decreasing the health risks involved. A recent study(3) in the UK showed IVF success rates more than doubled when preceded by a period of preconception health care.

PRECONCEPTION CARE CHECKLIST

* lifestyle modification
* improved diet and nutrition
* diagnostic tests and protocols
* natural treatments and medicines
* non-invasive medical tests and treatments
* counselling and relaxation therapy
* charting and timing techniques.

Benefits for prospective parents:
* increased chance of a healthy conception, pregnancy, birth & baby
* an alternative to assisted reproductive technology for most fertility problems
* gentle, natural and safe – does not threaten health
* an empowering experience of understanding and managing one’s own fertility
* improved general health and energy
* equal involvement and support for each partner
* learn safe, natural contraception for after the birth
*  helpful for older parents or those with undiagnosed fertility problems.

Benefits for pregnancy & birth:
*decreased chance of miscarriage, premature birth or stillbirth
* decreased occurrence of common pregnancy complaints (such as morning sickness)
* decreased occurrence of more serious problems (such as gestational diabetes, hypertension)
* decreased risk of postnatal depression
* increased chance of a natural, unmedicated birth.

Benefits for your baby & child:
* increased chance of a healthy, happy baby
* reduced risk of congenital malformations (birth defects)
* increased chance of problem-free breastfeeding and close bonding
* less likely to suffer from various health and learning problems in childhood
* parents educated about diet and nutrition for growing family.

Benefits if Assisted Reproductive Technology is required:
* preconception care has been found to more than double the chances of success with IVF
* preconception care helps to avoid the increased miscarriage and health risks to mother and infant that may occur when Assisted Reproduction Technology is used.

About the author:  

Loula George is a registered naturopath and medical herbalist specialising in women’s health and fertility.  She works at the  Motherwell clinic in Auckland. (See: http://www.mother-well.co.nz/ ) She offers a preconception health programme for couples who experience infertility or recurrent miscarriages. Her preconception programme is also for couples who have no fertility problems but would like to prepare for a healthy pregnancy to ensure the best start to their baby’s life. Loula also teaches and runs public health seminars in the community.

Resources and Bibliography

(1)    Foresight – www.foresight-preconception.org.uk. Foresight study conducted in conjunction with Surrey University (published in the Journal of Nutritional& Environmental Medicine 1995),clearly shows the effectiveness of preconception care

(2)    Dr Alan Beer – Is Your Body Baby Friendly AJR Publishing 2006

(3)    Foresight Study (2003) – shows a more than doubled conception success for IVF of 47.1% following preconception care

Posted in Children's Health and Development, Women's Health | Comments Off
123>>