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Over 200 years ago, the founding fathers of our country recognized freedom of speech as a guiding principle and a right of all U.S. citizens. Since the Bill of Rights was passed in 1791, people have protested wars, laws, and restrictions to freedom. It took over 100 years, but women and African-Americans were finally recognized as equal to white men based on these principles. Whether in print, on TV or radio, on the internet, or yelling on a street corner, the right to express an opinion should never be silenced.

But apparently, the American Medical Association feels differently. They would like to restrict medical doctors from participating in “quackery.” The MD’s have rallied against other healthcare providers for a hundred years. Targets have included DO’s, chiropractors, and homeopathic physicians. Competition for medical doctors arose because of toxic therapies, surgeries, and procedures. The founding father of osteopathic medicine wrote extensively on the body’s inherent ability to heal itself when you removed the offending agent. Traditional doctors are against alternative medicine and they will fight tooth and nail to protect their turf. We are talking about trillions of dollars after all.

The recent big fish…

Continue to the Article Here

http://healthimpactnews.com/

Could loneliness be the cause of addiction?#Android#Family#iPad

March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 jlvranes Leave a comment

Everyone is familiar with addiction to some degree, whether it’s that daily dose of chocolate you can’t give up or watching a loved one succumb to drug abuse. Many factors play a role in addiction, but some research suggests loneliness plays a pivotal role in encouraging addiction, and that taking measures to remedy loneliness can be powerful therapy.

Addiction can apply to any substance or activity (alcohol, drugs, shopping, sex, food, gambling, Facebook, etc.) that delivers pleasure but becomes compulsive and interferes with daily life and health. The addict is often not aware his or her behavior is out of control. Addiction is recognized as being a reaction to emotional stress; loneliness is so stressful it carries the same mortality risk as smoking and is twice as dangerous as obesity. Our physiological aversion to loneliness stems from our days as hunters and gatherers, when connection with others improved the odds of survival.

Research shows loneliness impairs the brain’s ability to exercise control over our desires, emotions, and behaviors –- the sort of qualities necessary to maintain healthy habits and avoid bad ones. This is called having executive control and without it, we are more susceptible to addictive behaviors. Loneliness also triggers our fight-or-flight stress hormones, further creating that need for relief that erodes willpower and propels addictive behavior.

Studies show social connection inhibits addiction

In older studies on addiction, rats placed in cages with a bottle of pure water and a bottle of water laced with heroin or cocaine inevitably chose the drugged water until it killed them. The rats were alone.

However, rats kept in a comfortable cage with plenty of friends, fun activities and toys sampled the drug-laced water but mostly shunned it, consuming less than a quarter of the drugs the isolated rats consumed. Also, unlike the isolated rats who became heavy drug users, none of the socialized rats died.

After two months of addictive drug use, researchers then took the isolated rats and put them in the fun, socially active cages. The rats exhibited withdrawal symptoms initially and then voluntarily gave up their addiction, despite the availability of the drug-laced water.

Researchers saw similar outcomes in humans during the Vietnam War, during which about 20 percent of soldiers became addicted to heroin. Of those who returned home, about 95 percent simply stopped using heroin, presumably because they shifted from a “terrifying” cage to a safer, more comfortable one.

And although painkiller addiction has become a serious national problem, the majority of people temporarily prescribed pain pills for an injury or surgery don’t become addicted, even after months of use. These examples show evidence that drug addiction is not just a chemical dependency.

The remedy for addiction is connection

With one of the worst drug problems in Europe, Portugal put these principles to test. It jettisoned the war on drugs and instead poured resources into reconnecting addicts with their own feelings, other people, and a feeling of purpose through job programs. A follow-up study showed the program reduced the use of injected drugs by 50 percent.

Humans are wired to connect and bond with one another. If we can’t bond with other people we bond with the source of our addiction. Nutritional therapy, supplemental support (amino acids in particular can positively influence brain chemistry), and other functional medicine strategies can encourage healthy brain behavior that reduces addictive tendencies. However, it’s vitally important to also address the psychological and spiritual underpinnings of addiction, which often include loneliness and isolation.

http://drflannery.com/

Drugging Our Kids#Family#Android#iPad

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 jlvranes Leave a comment

For the past four months, the Bay Area News Group has been documenting the alarming use of psychiatric medications in California’s foster care system — and the impact on thousands of vulnerable kids who suffer the consequences.

Here, in Part 5 of our investigative series “Drugging Our Kids,” we present a documentary video that gives voice to many of these young people, who say they were silenced during their youth by the powerful drugs.

From Los Angeles to the Bay Area to Humboldt County, reporter Karen de Sá and photographer Dai Sugano interviewed more than 175 people, including dozens of current and former foster youth who were frequently moved and heavily medicated by a system that struggled to manage their complicated childhoods.

Now, there’s a growing call for change among former foster youth, psychiatrists, public health nurses and youth advocates. The stories of lost childhoods and remarkable resilience provide compelling lessons on how California can better address their trauma and stop “Drugging Our Kids.”

http://webspecial.mercurynews.com/druggedkids/

Cholesterol often wrong target in heart disease risk#health#cholesterol#heartattack

April 12, 2014June 27, 2014 jlvranes Leave a comment

Here is another great post from one of our, Featured Doctors , containing a surprise on one of the big culprits behind heart disease. Please take a moment to read over the post, and add to your natural immunity resources.

Cholesterol often wrong target in heart disease risk

By Dr Flannery

Everyone has heard that high cholesterol is bad for heart health. But as it turns out, the association between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease has been somewhat misrepresented. Doctors are starting to accept that cholesterol levels do not necessarily predict risk for heart disease as much as we thought. Consider the following:

75 percent of people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol.
Older patients with lower cholesterol have a higher risk of death than those with higher cholesterol.
Countries with higher average cholesterol than Americans such as the Swiss or Spanish have less heart disease.
Recent evidence shows that it is likely statins’ ability to lower inflammation that accounts for the benefits of statins, not their ability to lower cholesterol.
We need cholesterol!

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in every cell in the human body. The liver makes 75 percent of cholesterol. Cholesterol helps produce cell membranes, vitamin D, and vital hormones, and is needed for neurological function. Put bluntly, we would die without it.
The cholesterol players

When we measure cholesterol levels, we are actually measuring the lipoproteins LDL and HDL. We refer to them as cholesterol, but they are actually small packages of fat and protein that help move cholesterol throughout the body.

High-density lipoprotein — HDL

This is considered “good” cholesterol. It helps keep cholesterol away from your arteries and removes excess arterial plaque.

Low-density lipoprotein — LDL

This is considered “bad” cholesterol. It can build up in the arteries, forming plaque that narrows the arteries and makes them less flexible (atherosclerosis).

Also important are:

Triglycerides

Elevated levels of this dangerous fat have been linked to heart disease and diabetes. Levels rise from eating too many sugars and grains, smoking, being physically inactive, excessive drinking and being overweight.

Lipoprotein (a) or Lp(a)

Lp(a) is made up of an LDL part plus a protein (apoprotein a). Elevated Lp(a) levels are a very strong risk for heart disease.

When testing cholesterol, total cholesterol is not as important as:
Levels of HDL “good” cholesterol versus LDL “bad” cholesterol
Triglyceride levels
The ratio of triglycerides to HDL
The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL

In order for cholesterol to cause disease, it has to damage the arterial walls. There are small and large particles of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Large particles are practically harmless, while small, dense particles are the dangerous ones, lodging in the arterial walls, causing damage and inflammation. The resulting “scar” is called plaque. Repeated trauma causes a buildup of plaque and chronic inflammation while your risk of high blood pressure and heart attack increases.
The biggest culprits in high cholesterol? Sugar and bad fats!

Although we’ve been taught that a high-fat diet causes problems with cholesterol, the type of fat you eat is more important than the quantity. Trans fats, or hydrogenated and saturated fats, promote abnormal cholesterol, while omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats actually improve the type of cholesterol in our bodies. Eat your good fats, your body needs them!

The surprise: the biggest source of abnormal cholesterol isn’t dietary fat, but sugar. Sugar (and refined carbs, including processed white foods), drives good cholesterol down and triglycerides up. It causes those small particles, encouraging dangerous plaque buildup, and can lead to heart disease and metabolic syndrome or “pre-diabetes.” Doctors are starting to admit that sugar, not dietary fat, is the bigger cause of most heart attacks.

So, the real concern isn’t really the amount of total cholesterol you have, but the type of fats, sugar, and refined carbohydrates in your diet that lead to abnormal cholesterol production.
Inflammation promotes heart disease

Systemic inflammation plays a key role in heart disease and, in fact, most all chronic illnesses. Systemic inflammation can arise from poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, allergies, and more. Research at Harvard has shown that people with high levels of systemic inflammation (measured by a test called C-reactive protein, or CRP) had higher risk for heart disease than those with high cholesterol, while normal cholesterol was not protective to those with high CRP.

Clearly, multiple factors come together to determine your risk for heart disease, including diet, lifestyle, and environment. If you are concerned about your heart health, contact my office for a comprehensive evaluation to help reveal the factors that may increase your risk for heart disease.

HealthWise Clinical Nutrition