Chiropractic heals a blind man.

Olympic Kinesiotape

I'm watching the women's beach volleyball with US May-Treanor/ Walsh vs. Cuba's Fernandez / Larrea. The black tape you see on her shoulder is Kinesiotape. It allows you to move yet provide stability. I commonly call it Lance Armstrong tape, which he made the public aware of with the *pink* tape on his knees and with his team while bike riding. Back to the Olympic program...



If clinically indicated, or even if you just want to get to know kinesiotaping, I've done many kinesiotaping therapy, and we DO have Lance's hot pink kinesiotape...








By the way, did you know my classmate, Dr. Mary Beth Larsen, was 4th in the first-ever Olympic Pentathlon. She was also featured on the cover of Esquire magazine. I remember seeing special exhibit honoring women with her at the museum of Science and Industry a few years back.

Balance away the blues, and sleep better too!

There several benefits of L-tryptophan, such as how it has been shown to normalize
sleep, enhance mood and even reduce our craving for carbohydrates. I've had patients on this for fibromyalgia as part of my protocol with great success. L-Tryptophan has recently been reintroduced back into the market by the FDA, who unjustifiably banned it for many years because of the negligence of one overseas manufacturer cutting corners to produce profit. But some are confused about the purity and quality of various forms of L-tryptophan, because there are several forms of this amino acid available on the market today.

Ajinomoto TryptoPure™– L-Tryptophan of Unsurpassed Purity
The L-tryptophan in our Best L-Tryptophan, TryptoPure, is produced by Ajinomoto of Japan. Ajinomoto is the world's foremost producer of pharmaceutical-grade amino acids, including l-tryptophan. TryptoPure surpasses all testing criteria established by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), Japan Pharmacopeia (JP), and European Pharmacopeia (EP) standards. In fact, Ajinomoto's L-tryptophan has enjoyed uninterrupted importation into the United States for more than 25 years, and is currently used in hospitals and pharmacies all over the world.

The Highest Quality Formulation at Clinically-Proven Potency
Our Best L-Tryptophan is additive-free, solvent-free, 100% fermented, and GMP certified. Each vegetarian capsule contains 500mg of this pharmaceutical grade amino acid.

We Strive to Look for and Always Recommend the Best
Our Best L-Tryptophan featuring TryptoPure™ is a science-based formulation, made with a trademarked ingredient of unsurpassed quality and purity that is delivered at clinically-proven potency.

I have personally tried this the other day and WOW! it gave me a wonderful state of relaxation within 10 minutes. (I actually opened the capsule to check the taste of the powder-I know you know I'm a little silly this way!) It was totally unexpected, since I was on my way to the office. I personally did not feel any impairment in driving whatsoever, but please, use your own sound judgement and get used to the effects for several days before operating any machinery. This supplement should be taken best before bedtime.

Lastly, I've found a source that give great savings off of the manufacturer's price!

The Cost of Drugs You Pay

Story verified @ http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/generic.asp
Make sure you read to the end. You will be amazed.

Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs. The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington, DC offices.
Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin:10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex:250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor:20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasc:10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil:20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid:30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac:20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin:Û 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec:10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax:1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril:20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
PercÛ ent markup: 2,809%

Zithromax:600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor:40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone should know about this.
It pays to shop around! This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner. On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit , did a story on generic drug prices gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. So often we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are saving $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.


I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience I had to use the drug Compazine which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.

I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I cheÛ cked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a 'membership' type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in.

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address.
Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce
Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458
Office Fax: 202-482-5480
E-mail Address: sdavis@doc.gov

What Is Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture?

What wouldn’t any woman or any modern man for that matter, do to turn back the clock as far as their looks went? Anti-aging treatments account for a billion-dollar business today. For those unacquainted with the unconventional beauty treatments available today, sticking needles in the face may seem like we are taking it a tad too far. However these same people who run far away from needles would have never imagined that one day they would come back looking for a safe alternative to take years off the face and body. Facial rejuvenation acupuncture gives you that.

The idea of revitalizing the face by sticking needles into it now would not seem such a bad idea after all.Facial rejuvenation acupuncture is based on the incredible success of general acupuncture and concentrates on enhancing youthful looks. The professionals assert that it can take away years from the face by reducing the age lines and at the same time also revitalizing and beautifying the individual on the whole.As all treatments go, facial rejuvenation acupuncture aims to influence energy centers in the body also called ‘chi’ so as to remedy the blocked energy flows that reflect badly on the body and soul. This task is achieved by placing hair thin needles in the skin along energy channels to re-route the flow. This concept of channeling energy through matter connected to the human body has been universally accepted for a long time. Acupuncture has acquired greater acceptance along with solid proof to reinforce its claims. The way it works on the other hand is a little hard to explain. Keeping in mind that every individual is unique with different needs, facial rejuvenation acupuncture not only treats the face but also channels energy in the rest of the body which is also responsible for an aging face. The needles can therefore be inserted anywhere in the body to show results. The interlinking of systems when it comes to circulation of energy is not surprising as many of the energy flows start or end in the face. We will thoroughly examine the patient, studying the energy flow to find the blockage points and the areas that need to be worked on before zeroing in on a treatment plan.

Practitioners claim that the procedure can take almost 10 to 15 years off, moisturizing the skin at the same time by increasing the circulation. It will also be able to remove small wrinkles and lessen the large ones. All this can be done in just a few sessions. It can also enable the reduction of double chins and jowls, lift sagging eyelids as well as treat the dark circles under the eyes.

These claims are definitely very ambitious. But keeping in mind that the only thing to lose here is your wrinkles, it is not a very high price to pay. So here is a chance for every woman (and some men, too) to get what they’ve always wanted – everlasting youth!

When Taking Calcium Can Hurt You

Calcium prevents osteoporosis, so lets all take
more calcium . . . right? Not necessarily, and
here’s why. Recently we’ve been told that vitamin
D is needed for calcium absorption and
that’s true, but what has always troubled me is
how little is said about the need for proper digestion
and absorption of calcium. You can take
ingest calcium; but if you don’t have the synergic
factors for absorption and digestion, it will
cause more harm than good.
How can too much calcium cause harm? Let’s
backtrack for a minute and see what the media
says. They say to use calcium citrate or liquid
calcium for better absorption which is half the
truth. They fail to articulate the fact that if you
don’t have the proper pH in your stomach it
doesn’t matter what form you take it’s not going
to be fully utilized. Minerals must be cleaved
from their substrate, ionized and then attached to
amino acids for transport and absorption.
The addition of calcium carbonate to Tums has
always confused me. Calcium carbonate needs a
very acidic Ph in the stomach for proper digestion
and absorption. Tums, an antacid, reduces
the hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach.
With all the over the counter and prescription
antacids and stomach acid blocking agents available,
it’s no wonder we have problems with an
epidemic of many modern diseases. Hydrochloric
acid decreases as we age. Maybe that’s the
reason osteoporosis is more prevalent as we age.
What happens when we get too much calcium or
calcium in an unusable form? I’ve seen calcium
abnormalities show up as bone spurs, kidney
stones, and calcium deposits noticed on mammograms
and heart scans. The lack of proper absorption
of calcium can cause calcium deposits
which are related to osteoporosis, heart disease
and heart attack. Remember too much calcium
can push or displace magnesium and potassium
which are 2 essential minerals for heart health.
For years white specks on finger nails have been
thought to be “zinc deficiency” spots. I think
they are indicative of a general malabsorption of
minerals. An associate of mine and a nutritionist
for 20 years brought to my attention that she had
numerous specks on her nails for years despite
zinc supplementation. She also had calcium deposits
on her fingers and found that when the
calcium deposits on her fingers were eliminated
all her white specks disappeared. She has also
seen this pattern with her patients for many years
as she changes people’s diets and digestion.
She came to this conclusion by accident many
years ago when she had multiple calcium deposits
appear on several knuckles of her hands.
They not only hurt but were unsightly. She also
had a mammogram which revealed numerous
calcium deposits. She had always had digestive
problems including heartburn, hiatal hernia,
and lack of hydrochloric acid in her
stomach.
She started taking Hydro-Zyme which is a
HCL supplement which also contains glutamic
acid and ammonium chloride. These last 2 ingredients,
she found out later, break down the
undigested, stored calcium that’s in the tissues.
She also started taking higher doses of Betaine
Plus HP, a higher dose of hydrochloric acid, to
correct her problem of heart burn and other digestive
and absorption problems. Within approximately
6 months all the calcium deposits
on her fingers were gone. She’s never had
them since.
That's amazing! She continues to take a small
dose of Hydro-Zyme, 1 with each meal and
large doses of the Betaine Plus HP, 4-6 per
meal. Her digestive issues are corrected and
her nails are stronger and grow faster with no
“zinc spots.”
There's also a story of "Bob”, and his family history of kidney
stones. Each of the 6 members of his family
has gone through numerous, painful episodes.
After he experienced 3 bouts with kidney
stones within a year, he decided to try to do
something about the calcium utilization problem.
By taking 2 Hydro-Zyme each meal, the
kidney stone formation stopped; and he has
been pain free for over a year.
As I mentioned earlier, when calcium utilization
is a problem, we can expect bone
spurs, kidney stones, and calcium deposits
that show up on mammograms and heart
scans. Due to the kidney stones and white
spots on his nails, Bob was encouraged by
my associate to get a heart scan. His cardiologist
was amazed to see calcium deposits
on someone only 34 years of age.
So what are the causes of poor calcium utilization?
The major ones are: drinking carbonated
beverages, a lack of hydrochloric
acid in the stomach and antacid use. No
wonder we have a calcium problem with all
the antacid and stomach acid blockers prescribed
and taken by the majority of people.
The body is trying to tell us something when
we get indigestion, poor growth of hair and
nails, and certainly as things like bone spurs,
kidney stones or calcium deposits are detected.
We need to listen to what our bodies are
trying to tell us. Why wait for something
serious to develop. Pay attention to the signs
early.

Coffee

Although coffee is one of the most heavily researched commodities and studies have spanned decades, there is still much controversy surrounding its effects on health. Study after study is performed--often with conflicting results--and it seems there is always a new study out to discount the last one.

For example, one 2004 study found that drinking coffee disrupted short-term word recall. This was promptly followed up by research published the following year, showing that the equivalent of two cups of coffee could improve short-term memory, prioritizing information efficiently, planning new tasks, and dealing with stored information.

I wonder who paid for the latter research? Hmmm.

Should You Drink Coffee?

It appears that drinking coffee may interfere with your body's ability to keep homocysteine and cholesterol levels in check, most likely by inhibiting the action of the vitamins folate, B12 or B6. Coffee has been previously associated with increased risk of stroke and rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have also shown that caffeine in coffee can raise blood pressure and levels of stress hormones, and if consumed in large quantities it can lead to heart palpitations, jitters and nervousness.

With that said, coffee is clearly not the healthiest liquid to drink – your best choice is pure water -- but coffee is still far less dangerous than fruit juice or soda.
While I do believe that eliminating, or at the very least limiting, coffee should be one of your goals. You'll definitely want to eliminate soda and fruit juice from your beverage list first.

There are, however, some important facets of coffee that you should know before you have your next morning cup.

The Dangers of Caffeine During Pregnancy

Pregnant women should NEVER drink coffee.

Caffeine is a stimulant drug that easily passes through the placenta to your developing fetus and is also transferred through breast milk.
During pregnancy and in infants, the half-life of caffeine is increased, which means that it will stay in your body, and your infant's body, longer. Moreover, fetuses have no ability to detoxify caffeine.
Research suggests that drinking more than 300 mg of coffee daily, or the equivalent of two to three 8-ounce cups, may increase the risk of miscarriage, birth defects such as cleft palate, and low birth weight. But as I mentioned above, I don't believe that ANY amount coffee is safe when you're pregnant.
Even with moderate caffeine intake, when the woman experiences no effects, studies have found changes in both the mother's and the fetal heart rate and blood pressure. Preliminary studies also suggest that drinking four cups of coffee or more per day may put the infant at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Caffeine may also make it more difficult for women to maintain necessary levels of iron and calcium, which are especially important during pregnancy.

Would you like your coffee with cream and DDT?

There Probably Are Pesticides in Your Java. Coffee also has the issue of pesticide contamination, which is particularly harmful during pregnancy.

Coffee is usually not grown in the United States and we therefore have no control over which and how many pesticides are sprayed on coffee crops. And coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so drinking coffee is likely to expose you to a dose of pesticides with each cup.

Pesticides have been associated with a number of health problems such as:
Prostate cancer and other cancers
Parkinson's Disease
Miscarriages
Aside from any pesticide residues that make it into your brew, there's also the issue of whether buying coffees grown with the help of potentially harmful chemicals contributes to the destruction of the environment and threatens the health of poor coffee farm workers.
If you choose to drink coffee, drinking organic coffee will hopefully reduce or eliminate your exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, and would be a more environmentally conscientious choice. The only drawback is that many of the 45 countries where coffee is produced have less control and monitoring for compliance to organic practices.

Avoid Coffee if You Have Certain Health Issues

Since coffee is a stimulant it will only worsen symptoms of insomnia and anxiety, and should definitely be avoided if you're already suffering from either. People with panic or anxiety disorders may find that they are especially sensitive to caffeine and may find that even a small amount of the stimulant exacerbates their symptoms.
Similarly, the caffeine will linger in your body for hours after you drink it, so it might keep you up at night even if you drink it long before bedtime.

-Personal experience: I drank an iced coffee this month, because I was tired. I only drink coffee about once per month, if that. Well, at 1:30 pm I drank, I was fine. By 6pm I was dry heaving. I know it was from the coffee. My Lebanese friends used give me strong imported Lebanese coffee to drink because we were studying and I still had no effects from the caffeine. It was only until the past efew years that I actually developed the "normal" caffeine drug effects.

For those with high blood pressure, a general rule is that the more caffeine you drink in a day, the higher your blood pressure will be. So if you are already at the higher end of the scales, drinking coffee will only increase your blood pressure further.

Also Protein Nutritional Types do not do well with caffeine and should only consume coffee or tea in small quantities, and not in the late afternoon or evening, as it will likely keep them up. (However this can be a good thing if you are using coffee as a drug for jet lag).

How to Wean Yourself off Coffee

If you try to stop drinking coffee "cold turkey" you will likely experience symptoms of withdrawal. According to one study, the more caffeine you use, the worse your withdrawal symptoms will be. This is because even small amounts of caffeine, such as one standard cup of coffee a day, can create an addiction. For those who consume it regularly, cutting even the smallest amount of caffeine could result in a range of withdrawal symptoms such as:

Headache
Fatigue or drowsiness
Depression and irritability
Lack of concentration
Flu-like symptoms such as nausea and muscle pain

This can be avoided by cutting down the amount you drink gradually over a period of days, or even weeks. It's also important to drink plenty of water during the process in order to keep your body well hydrated.

If you find that you miss your morning coffee-drinking ritual, replace it with a new tradition that will also boost your health and energy. Vegetable juice makes a great coffee replacement. It will give you the energy boost that you're looking for in the morning without the negative effects of caffeine.

While you're in the process of weaning yourself off coffee, here are some tips to reduce the chance of harmful effects until you can completely eliminate it:

Use organic coffee. As mentioned above, coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so drinking organic coffee might reduce or eliminate your exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. It will also help the people working in the coffee fields, as they will be exposed to fewer pesticides as well.

Try "Swiss Water Process" decaf. If you are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, be sure that it uses a non-chemical based method of decaffeination. The "Swiss Water Process" is a patented method and is the best choice. Most of the major brands are chemically decaffeinated, even if it says "naturally decaffeinated" right on the container. If you are unsure of the methods, contact the manufacturer.
Avoid sugar and milk. These are actually much worse for you than the coffee itself. Don't compound the detrimental health effects by adding milk or sugar to your coffee.

Only use unbleached filters. If you use a "drip" coffee maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process.