60 Day Turnaround

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37341523/ns/health-pain_center/

A few hours later, doctors diagnosed the problem — rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal precursor to kidney failure. Though dehydration and overexertion contributed to Ehret’s condition, doctors told her that the 12 ibuprofen pills she’d taken during the 24-hour race had pushed her kidneys into the danger zone.

When used properly, over-the-counter pain medications can be a godsend. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can tame many pains. And non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen can reduce pain and swelling in the first few days following an acute injury like an ankle sprain. The trouble comes, doctors say, when people, like Ehret, misuse these drugs. “A couple of ibuprofens really helped, so I figured more was better,” Ehret says. Indeed, many runners treat anti-inflammatory drugs like “vitamin I,” says pharmacologist Joe Graedon, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy book series. “They think, I’m putting my body through a lot, so I’ll just dose up on ibuprofen, without appreciating how potentially dangerous this drug can be.”

Runners beware
Runners may think that as long as they don’t go overboard like Ehret, they’ll be safe. But experts say the benefits of popping even one pill before a 10K don’t outweigh the risks. NSAIDs inhibit prostaglandins, hormones that help normalize blood flow to the kidneys. Mix an NSAID with physical exertion and dehydration, and you can overwhelm your kidneys.

What’s more, NSAIDs can bump up your blood pressure, and when you add this to the natural rise that occurs when you exercise, “suddenly you have two things increasing your blood pressure,” Graedon says. If you already have high blood pressure, “you could have a mini stroke or a heart attack,” he says. NSAIDs also block an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX) that normally protects the heart, and this might explain why many NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, may raise the risk of heart attack.

Some forms of COX also protect the stomach lining from digestive acids, so when an NSAID blocks this enzyme, you may experience nausea, diarrhea, intestinal bleeding, and cramps. When used during a marathon or ultra, NSAIDs also seem to boost the risk of hyponatremia, an electrolyte imbalance that can cause the brain to swell. “It’s something you can die of during a race,” says Martin Hoffman, M. D., director of research at the Western States Endurance Run.

Many runners believe that NSAIDs increase their pain tolerance, but studies contradict this notion. In 2005, David Nieman, Dr. P.H., director of the human performance lab at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, examined ibuprofen use at Western States. About 70 percent of the racers said they took it to help them manage the discomfort of racing. But when he measured pain and muscle soreness in these pill poppers, he found no reduction compared with nonusers. Worse, ibuprofen takers had more inflammation. “There’s no good reason to use ibuprofen during a race,” Nieman says. “There are too many potential negatives.” Any pain and inflammation that turns up while running is not something you should medicate but a signal that it’s time to reevaluate your training regimen, he says.

But watch the dosage. While it’s safe at recommended doses, acetaminophen can be toxic to the liver, especially when mixed with alcohol. “You can hit the tipping point pretty fast with acetaminophen,” says Graedon. Acetaminophen overdose is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States, in part because the drug is found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, so it’s easy to overdose if you take one of these drugs with Tylenol.

And limit the number of days you take meds. “Studies show that NSAIDs can impair the healing process for soft-tissue injuries, so you should never use them long-term for injuries,” says Hoffman.

LEPTIN!!!

I am reporting “hearsay”, but I believe we will find that it is very substantial in the near future, so I am reporting it now!  Teachers at Hasty Elementary and Avery Elementary were visited by the Health Department last Thursday, as they provided shots for the teachers.  Currently the reports are that EVERY one of the teachers who received the pneumonia shot, were seriously ill afterwards.

I know of one teacher who blacked out in the shower, and woke up in a pool of vomit.  The side effects of a bad batch of vaccine are worse than the side effects of a “clean” batch.  But regardless, these vaccines carry potentially deadly side effects, BUT most of the side effects are quiet breakdowns in your immune system over time.  Leading to asthma, allergies and other auto-immune conditions.  These immediate reactions are rare, but when they happen they can be deadly.

This teacher could have easily blacked out and hit her head in a way that could have created serious life threatening injury.  The report that just about every teacher had fever and illness might not be founded, but we will be watching, and we will post an update to this sprout on the site.  This teacher is currently taking CIPRO for the infection that came as a result of the vaccine.

Pneumonia… what is it?  Does it need a shot?  Basically it is any respiratory infection that has gotten into the lungs.  It is beyond bronchitis (bronchitis is any inflammation of the bronchi, so after I workout, and my lungs burn and I cough, I actually have bronchitis… but then I clear it out within thirty minutes… do you get that I don’t think much of a bronchitis diagnosis?); so pneumonia is an actual infection.  BUT like any other actual infection, if you have an immune system that can function, you can kill it.  Most people do without any treatment.

In third world countries, it is common for people to die every 15 seconds from pneumonia, but then it is common for those people to live in very dirty conditions, which increase stress on the mucous membranes in the lungs, making it easy for infections to pass into the blood stream (the most common reason for death from pneumonia). 

I think the biggest issue that I have with a pneumonia shot, is that the condition can be caused by any respiratory directed virus, bacteria or fungus.  There are those that are most common, but virtually any virus, bacteria or fungus can actually create pneumonia if it gets to the lungs, and your lungs happen to be weak enough!  So if you get a SHOT for pneumonia, you are getting a shot for pneumococcal which is a strep bacteria, and a common cause of  pneumonia, but only ONE of the causes.

You can try to immunize against all of these, and you will never succeed… not without severely damaging your body in the process.  So remember your health starts with five principles:

1. Maximized Mind – Peace and stress free living
2. Maximized Nerve Supply – keep the brain talking to your body VIA your SPINE
3. Maximized Nutrition – what goes in matters
4. Maximized Oxygen and Lean Muscle – we are CrossFit proponents
5. Minimized Toxins – the garbage not designed to go in… needs to stay out

Stay healthy, avoid the shots.

A new research paper entitled:

Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes – is an extremely valuable piece of medical research, from very recent times.  Published in the Journal Pharmaceutical Research, it has all the clout of any other modern piece of research, and it completely echoes what we have been yelling for years!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515569/

The gist of this article (and I highly advise that you read the whole thing), is that cancer is more tied to your lifestyle than anything else, with only 5-10% of all cancers having a predicated genetic component!  That is huge, even for me.  I have believed that the epigenetic controls are the ones that are in charge (stress, diet, exercise, nervous system); but my reconciliation was always that a LARGE percentage of these modulated the genetic factors.  Perhaps up to 50% in some cancers… where 10% at the high side is a new thought for me.

What that really means, is that 90% of all cancers are preventable.  It is hard to come up with a definite number for how many people die from cancer every year in our country.  The CDC has a number, the American Cancer Society has a number, the NIH has a number… in the end we know it is a lot, and bordering on 600,000.  If that were correct, then 540,000 of those deaths should be prevented.

Perhaps it is easier to swallow, when we consider that heart disease is considered the easiest preventable disease by some, and with 875,000 annual deaths attributed to that, we should really be at ZERO.  Especially considering that heart disease and heart attack were relatively unknown to our world prior to 1920.  The PRE-MI (myocardial infarction = heart attack) era as cardiologists in the 1930’s referred to it.  So in reality, we should be seeing so little in the way of deaths due to these diseases.

Back on track.  This article is such an awesome resource, as they have reviewed the cancer literature on just about every possible carcinogen out there.  From charcoal cooking to BPA food containers to the resilience created from resveratrol, quercetin and other healthy substances found in healthy foods. 

As I said before, I recommend you read this entire document.  But at the very least get the point of it… health comes from your lifestyle, and so does early death.  Choose wisely.

The following article is available at NY Times’ web site, the link is below the image.  We recommend you visit that site to see the additional links that are available there, and to read the full article.  We have been preaching this for years, and the chiropractors before us… for years before us! 

Trusting science to have uncovered the full depth of any chemical, is risky, because history has proven it will fail us.  Margarine becomes the best source of fat, then years later we find that the TRANS fats that margarine was built upon are deadly.  Drug, after drug, after drug falls once time has allowed us to fully appreciate the effect on ourselves.  Chiropractic, nutrition, exercise, low stress… all great ansers to health.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/health/policy/17drug.html?_r=2&hpw

In the past month, the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that in some cases two types of drugs that were supposed to be preventing serious medical problems were, in fact, causing them.

One is bisphosphonates, which is widely used to prevent the fractures, especially of the hip and spine, that are common in people with osteoporosis. Those drugs, like Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva, will now have to carry labels saying they can lead to rare fractures of the thigh bone, a surprising new discovery that came after another surprise — that they can cause a rare degeneration of the jawbone.

The other is Avandia, which is widely prescribed for diabetics, whose disease puts them at risk for heart attacks and heart failure. Two-thirds of diabetics die of heart problems, and a main reason for taking drugs like Avandia is to protect them from that.

But now the F.D.A. and drug regulators in Europe are restricting Avandia’s use because it appears to increase heart risks.

In the case of bisphosphonates, the benefits for people with osteoporosis still outweigh the risk, bone experts say. And no one has restricted their use.

But the fact remains that with decades of using drugs to treat chronic diseases, the unexpected can occur.

Something new is happening, said Daniel Carpenter, a government professor at Harvard who is an expert on the drug agency. The population is aging, many have chronic diseases. And companies are going after giant markets, huge parts of the population, heavily advertising drugs that are to be taken for a lifetime.

And the way drugs are evaluated, with the emphasis on shorter-term studies before marketing, is not helping, Dr. Carpenter said.

“Here is a wide-scale institutional failure,” he said. “We have placed far more resources and requirements upon premarket assessment of drugs than on postmarket.”

Dr. Jason Karlawish, a University of Pennsylvania ethicist who studies the ways new treatments are developed and disseminated, expressed a similar concern.

“The point is not that the drugs are bad, but that drugs for these chronic diseases present a novel set of challenges about how to assess their safety,” he said.

But such discussions make Dr. Ethel Siris, an osteoporosis expert at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, nervous. Bisphosphonates have been extensively studied, she said, and the thigh fractures from bisphosphonates — while surprising — are very rare. Dr. Siris’s fear is that people who really need the drugs will turn away from them.

It is not clear how the nation should respond to the new era of widespread drug use for chronic diseases.

“The basic underlying theme is that we don’t have good long-term safety indices for common chronic diseases that we are treating with major drugs,” said Dr. Clifford J. Rosen, director of the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research. Dr. Rosen, in addition to studying osteoporosis, was on an advisory committee of the drug agency that examined the evidence that Avandia was linked to heart risks.

The difficulty is in figuring out how to assess the safety of drugs that will be taken for decades, when the clinical trials last at most a few years.

Today’s system, which largely consists of asking doctors to report adverse reactions and of researchers’ attempts to look at patient experiences in a variety of diverse databases, like records of large health plans, is ineffective, medical experts agree.

“There has to be a better system,” Dr. Rosen said.

continue with article on NYTimes.com

Love.

It is the thing that this life is built upon.  Christ spoke so often about love, and said of the commandments to the pharisees, loving God is the greatest and loving your neighbor as yourself is next (paraphrase).  I believe that He was saying a little more than, “God wants you to love Him”.  I believe He was also saying, “the key to a happy life, is love”!

PASSION, is part of an enlightened life.  Passion is what takes you from sleepy and tired as you wake up in the AM, to wildy excited for your day, whistling to yourself as you shave in the mirror, and looking forward to your day.  Passion is what allows you to absorb awful news one minute, and then to bounce back with a plan in the next.  It is LOVE which fules PASSION.

I am easily deemed handicapped according to the laws of our world, because of the injury that took my left eyesight.  I was not handicapped in the moment that it happened, nor for more than a minute ever since.  And the reason, is because I have a passion that burns beyond my left eye.  It doesn’t make me special, but it might make me unique among the average person in this world.  I love my wife!   For 23 years she has been my girlfriend and 14 of those she has been my wife!  I love my practice, I couldn’t imagine not being involved with leading people to health, it is what I was created for.  And I love my GOD!  He rocks!!

So what about you?  If you don’t have a spouse to love, then go get one!  Just kidding, if you don’t have a spouse, then you should love something else with a similar excitement.  An activity, your church, a hobby, pursuit of something… maybe even your job?!?!  I know, I know, how could you love your job enough to get excited about it?  Well, in my opinion, if you don’t, you are really missing out.

For you who are married with kids, PLEASE take at least two dates a month.  My wife and I commit to that as a minimum, and usually we get four.  We work hard to insure it, it is difficult, but it is so worth it.  I would prioritize that expense before cable tv, before a cell phone, before a nicer car, before a larger home, before just about anything materialistic.  It is just TOO valuable.

For those who are single, no kids, and no serious relationship.  I would ask you to please, please, please just STOP!  Pause your life for a day, and take every effort to figure out what just excites you like crazy!  What makes you want to dance naked in the rain, and scream at the top of your lungs.  Figure it out, and pursue it, somehow, some way, and with passionate intensity!

Love.  It is such an awesome emotion.  Please be sure you are experiencing it!

Visit http://drericrichards.com for regular blog posts on the healing diet

You gotta love the flu shot… so much hype.  Everywhere I turn I see flu shots available, and every time I see it, all I can think is that it is the best way to weaken someones trust.  Yes, trust.  Your faith in your ability to be healthy on your own, to survive.

There has never once been a study on the overall deleterious effect of repeated flu shots on your overall health.  Dr. Fudenburg once said that his research showed that those who received five consecutive flu shots were ten tiems more likely to develop alzheimers later in life.  Fudenburg was considered a leading immunologist around the world, he has 850 papers in peer review journals.

The interesting thing is that he is considered without credentials to most of the medical community right now.  THe reason being… a paper he published along with Dr. Wakefield in The Lancet in 1998, which linked autism to the MMR vaccine.  Shortly after this paper was published, there was such immense pressure from the pharmaceutical companies to get the authors to de-associate themselves with this paper, that all but these two denied authorship.  At which time, Drs. Wakefield and Fudenberg were considered outsiders.

So here we are, back wondering if his science is valid.

But what if we consider the truth of empirical evidence?  Case studies and the stories of those whom you know.  How many times have you had a friend tell you that the only year they got the flu was the year they had a flu shot?  I have heard that story repeatedly over the last ten years.  If it is true that you can live a healthy life, and have an immune system completely capable of killing the flu without any outside help, then is it not worth it to AVOID the flu shot, on the possibility that Fudenberg’s evidence is true?

Have you ever known someone in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s?  Trust me, it is worth avoiding.  So as you are pressed in every possible place (work, doc office, school, pharmacy…) to stick a needle in your arm and become toxified; consider there is another possibility… a better one.  Get Healthy!

By Carmen Meadows (editing by Eric Richards, DC)

High Cholesterol and the Effects of Statin Use on Hormone Function

Do you have high cholesterol?  If so, you are not alone.  Here are some interesting facts about cholesterol levels in the United States. 

• 107 million, or 1 in 5 adults age 20 and above, have cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL.
• Almost 38 million more have levels above 240 mg/dL.
• More women over age 45 have high cholesterol than men.
• Almost 30 million prescriptions are written each year for cholesterol lowering drugs, accounting for $20 billion in annual sales for the pharmaceutical industry.
• Americans spend $10 billion per year on the statin drug, Lipitor alone
• Most drugs prescribed today to lower cholesterol are statin drugs.
• Asians on average have an LDL cholesterol level of less than 95 because of their diet.  Anything under 100 for LDL cholesterol is considered good. (This statistic changes if the individual consumes a typical American diet.)
• Diet and lifestyle changes, without the use of drugs, have been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol in one year’s time by 40 percent on average (from 144 down to 87 mg/dL) (1).

 An interesting fact, is that when cholesterol numbers are reported, you will commonly see the good numbers related to a low fat diet, and high (or bad) numbers related to a high fat diet.  When in reality, the fat content across the Asian-American spectrum, is about the same.  However, there is significant difference in the source of the fat, as well as the amount of sugar or carbohydrate in the diet. 

Everyone above the age of 20 is advised to have their cholesterol checked at least once every 5 years, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP).  If you have a family history of high cholesterol or other risk factors, blood cholesterol should be checked even more often according to this program.  However, cholesterol levels have been a ploy of the pharmaceutical companies for years.  The Cholesterol Conspiracy, written by Ladd McNamara MD, is an incredible book that explains the lie that has been perpitrated on the American People, about the real significance, or INsiginificance of high cholesterol. 

HOWEVER, if you have an awful lifestyle, then your cholesterol is going to be high, but also oxidized, causing it to be a serious health consideration.  IF you lead an incredible life, eating healthy non-damaged fats, low sugar, high vegetables, organic whenever possible; then it would mean little if your cholesterol was over 300, other than your body likes to have cholesterol over 300!

You must keep the Power turned on with chiropractic adjustments allowing your body to operate at its maximum capabilities. It is possible to control cholesterol levels with diet and exercise, by maintaining a healthy weight, and by consuming the right mix of vitamins and minerals.  It is postulated that ingesting antioxidants and minimizing free radical exposure may reduce LDL’s contribution to atherosclerosis (2).  The best source of antioxidants is a well balanced diet consisting of fresh minimally processed foods. 

We are most familiar with two types of cholesterol, HDL’s (good) cholesterol and LDL’s (bad) cholesterol.  Statins are used to target LDL’s in the blood.  Even though LDL’s have been called the “bad” cholesterol, LDL’s are essential for optimum hormone function in the body.  LDL’s are actually the building blocks for testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.  Statin drugs have been shown to cause imbalance in the steroid hormones (3); and statin use is significantly associated with greater prevalence of musculoskeletal pain overall, lower extremity pain, and lower back pain (4).

Come join us for the Total Food Makeover to get yourself on tract to lower your overall body weight, learn what fats are the right fats (this coming Monday), and understand how sugar is the worst culprit in cholesterol!  This is a great step in getting those cholesterol levels under control naturally and boosting the function of your hormones.

Don’t fall for the cholesterol trap, get off your statins now!  We can lead you like we have hundreds before you!

1. http://www.60daystolowercholesterol.com/all-about-cholesterol/cholesterol-facts.html

 

2. Esterbauer H, et al.  “Effect of antioxidants on oxidative modification of LDL”. Annals of Medicine. 1991;23(5):573–81.

3. Reffelmann T, Kloner RA. Sexual function in hypertensive patients receiving treatment. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2006;2(4):447-55.

4. Buettner C, et al. Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and statin use. J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Aug;23(8):1182-6. Epub 2008 May 1.

 

The Journal Of the American Society of Nephrology:

The recent increase in fructose consumption in industrialized nations mirrors the rise in the prevalence of hypertension… We investigated whether increased fructose intake from added sugars associates with an increased risk for higher BP levels in US adults without a history of hypertension… These results suggest that high fructose intake, in the form of added sugar, independently associates with higher BP levels among US adults without a history of hypertension.

Do you eat a lot of fruit?  Do you realize you are primarily eating fructose?  How about grains… yep, it turns to fructose.  A a matter of fact, this article on my Blog … drericrichards.com, will shed some light on the bane of some of the foods that are consumed as “Health” foods everyday.  Even the sweet red peppers that I so enjoy need to be consumed in moderation when on the healing diet.

The association of High Blood Pressure with high intake of grains and sugar, dates back to 1998 when the journal Diabetes reported that nearly 2/3 of insulin resistant test subjects also had high BP.  Insulin resistance comes from a typical American diet, rich in grains and sugars.  As we have seen over hundreds of patients over the years.  If you control your diet, you will drop your blood pressure.  Un-responsive blood pressure after dietary changes will typically respond to chiropractic care, and was shown to be VERY responsive in this chiropractic study by The University of Chicago MEDICAL School.

If you really want to make sure your blood pressure is as good as it can be, you need to invest in the Total Food Makeover, and figure out how to eat in order to insure that your blood pressure is healthy.  I do not believe in medcinally treating disease if there are other options.  However, I do not believe in letting high blood pressure go unchecked, especially if it is climbing into the 150/100 range, that is associated with a significant increased risk of heart attack and/or stroke.

The amazing thing to me, is that the diet that has been shown to be the best at reducing blood pressure, is the exact opposite of the diet that doctors had pushed as being the healthy diet.  For years they thought that low fat high carb diets were the best  for weight loss, and cardioascular function.  Even today that mentality still rules many doctor’s offices, and package marketing on food products, it has been completely destroyed in the research.  The research has slowly been pointing towards high fat diets ever since the 1970’s when scientists discovered that the Greenland Eskimos had practically NO instance of heart disease, yet were eating diets of lard and fat from whales, seals and fish.

Understanding the “why” behind blood pressure and diet, is the first step to getting it right.  When the sugar goes up, there is an immediate need for increased blood pressure to push that “syrup” through the arteries.  Of course, you fix that pretty quick with insulin.  The insulin drives the sugar out, and the blood pressure normalizes.  This is why in the study referenced above, the patients had no history of hypertension.  Of course, as they continue down this sugar cycle (grains, sugars, fruits…), they begin to over-stimulate the insulin receptors and start to burn them out.  As these receptors are burnt out, the body no longer responds to insulin, and the sugar rises… permanently.

So if you want your blood pressure to stay lower, let’s fix your insulin receptors.  Come tonight at 7pm, and you will be able to do just that over the next five weeks!