Naturopathic Treatment of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency

Please read our post titled:  Principles that guide Naturopathic Medicine.

Philosophy of Treatment

It has become apparent in the fields of drug and alcohol treatment that mono-therapies have a low success ratio for the patients continued recovery from drug and alcohol recovery. Examples of such programs are medical intervention, e.g., using prescription anti-depressants with no other treatment; counseling only; or, spiritually based programs that address just the spiritual aspects of recovery. Generally, the success ratio of these programs, on a national average is approximately 20-25%. The few programs now in existence that have moved to more holistic treatment (incorporating mind-body-spirit principles into their treatment regimes), have shown long-term success ratios of 75% or better. Our focus at The River Source is to holistically treat addiction.

Nutrition

Our first step in treatment is to assess the nutritional status of the patient. Certainly, individuals who have been using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis have certain levels of nutritional deficiencies. These deficiencies have profound effects on physiological function including long-term effects on brain neurochemistry. These are known facts, which have guided the use of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications during stages of detoxification and withdrawal. Yet these drugs also cause abnormal changes in brain neurochemistry. In many cases utilization of these drugs cause additional adverse side effects, which can be profound and long-term.

While we’re never totally against the use of such chemical agents, especially if we feel that a person is of danger to self or others, we’ve found that the approach of naturally bringing the individual back to normal physiological function gives us the highest ratio of success. It is important to remember that the body needs basic nutrients to establish proper function whether it be at the body or mind level. Without a proper nutritional foundation all the prescription drugs in the world will not bring the individual back to health and balance.

The fact that nutrition has been often overlooked in the past, in the areas of pharmacology, standard medical practices, and treatment of addiction is not surprising. This ongoing philosophy has been embedded in the idea that we get our recommended daily allowance of nutrients if we eat within certain defined parameters. There is a clear understanding now that even recommended daily allowances (RDA) of these nutrients, established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1941, may keep subclinical disease states—subclinical. Because the RDA’s for vitamins are minimum amounts that will only prevent the signs and symptoms of deficiency diseases, the daily intake should be higher than the recommended, especially in recovery. Of course the opposite is also true—that many take doses far in excess of the amounts needed for optimal health. However well RDA’s work as a guideline, for any given person, they may be an underestimate or overestimate of the amounts actually needed for any specific health problem. The fact that many individuals including alcoholics and drug addicts have impaired utilization of the basic nutrients is un-questioned. The level of deficiency is unique to each individual. In fact, these subclinical states may exist before active alcoholism and drug addiction because of poor nutrition or other health problems. Furthermore, nutritional deficits must exist in a subclinical state before they become clinical or visually apparent.

A number of studies have been done that assess the value of dietary changes in the treatment of addiction. In the research that has been done to date, all studies that have utilized good healthy diets along with associated with quality counseling and spiritual guidance have had extremely high success ratios.

Counseling

It is common in recovery to struggle with the realization that we’ve disappointed our friends, parents and ourselves. Fear, guilt, and shame often move the person back into relapse. Anxiety and depression are common consequences of brain neurochemistry changes due to drug and alcohol abuse along with ramifications of our past actions. Natural supplementation of vitamins, herbs and amino-acid therapies, have a high effectiveness in rebalancing brain neurochemistry and are always implemented in our therapy. Intravenous therapy of vitamins, essential minerals, and proteins are often used early in treatment to expedite return to normal psychological function. Without this movement back to mental health, counseling is often minimally effective. However, as the client is moved back to health counseling is essential.

We do reality based counseling. Reality based counseling is counseling that facilitates the movement for the client to see their own truth. It is our experience that the client who refuses to see the truth in their situation will not continue recovery. If one cannot see their own truth, they cannot change. With compassionate support the client is then guided into changing their truth so that their full potential is realized.

We give reading assignments along with requirements to journal daily. Even something as simplistic as journaling, has been shown in studies to reverse long-term depression in as little as 30 days. We assist the client into looking and planning the future so that their full potential–purpose and meaning–may be realized. It is our ultimate goal in assisting the client in reaching a state of peace and stability in their walk through life. All patients will have their counseling guided by licensed counselors.

Spiritual Recovery

This may be the hardest subject to quantify. Yet it is known that those who have some way to access spirituality in their lives have the best chance at recovery. Whether it be through organized religion, or some other means, the connection to something greater than ourselves allows the belief that there is some purpose for our existence. The journey into spirituality is absolutely essential for recovery. There is no avoiding this truth. Many programs are in fact spiritually based. The best example is the 12-step programs.

Yet they lack the nutritional and counseling aspects of holistic programs. Standard medicine has often struggled with the dilemma of this spiritual necessity for recovery from a “disease state” such as drug or alcohol dependency. However, studies have shown that individuals who are balanced in the spiritual aspect of their existence have less disease, depression, and recover from debilitating diseases quicker than those who do not have such beliefs in their lives. It is not our position that our clients accept our personal spiritual beliefs. Our efforts are focused on assisting the client to assess their belief system and to assist them in reconnecting and re-strengthening the beliefs that will work for them. From that perspective we remain committed to a non-denominational approach with the respect for those beliefs that the client wishes to pursue. This is a lifetime process not an event. Moments of awareness and progress to mental and spiritual wellbeing are life’s journey. If we assume otherwise recovery becomes very much an adversarial journey.

Treatments Utilized

•    Nutritional supplementation
•    Diet counseling
•    Acupuncture
•    Botanical medicine
•    Hypnotherapy
•    Hydrotherapy
•    Individual counseling
•    I.V. therapy
•    Meditation/mind-body therapy
•    Naturopathic manipulative therapy
•    Massage therapy
•    Naturopathic Manipulation
•    Limited Prescription Medicines

Confidentiality and Qualifying Statements

1.    Information developed as part of evaluation/treatment is confidential but
may be released to those parties as required by law such as:
•    In medical emergencies involving danger to self or to others
•    Upon presentation, or reasonable suspicion of abandonment/neglect or physical/sexual abuse of a child or elder
•    A court order
•    Insurance billing claim requirements
•    Upon receipt of a properly executed consent form
•    Where otherwise legally required
2.    Professionals will staff your evaluation/treatment. At times, professionals in training, i.e., interns, residents, or doctoral students may participate in care/or staffing.
3.    Treatment is individualized to specific needs and may result in emotional and physical discomfort through the healing and recovery processes.
4.    Nothing should be construed here-in that there’s a perfect remedy or treatment for those disease states considered terminal or incurable.
5.    You have the right to withdraw from your contractual agreement at anytime.

Principles that guide Naturopathic Medicine

Philosophy

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct medical system of health care: an art, science, and practice of diagnosing and treating people and preventing disease. Naturopathic physicians seek to restore and maintain optimal health.  They can practice independently or with provider groups and may also become educators, authors, researchers and consultants. Naturopathic medicine honors patients as unique human beings, enabling them to take responsibility for their own health. Naturopathic physicians are health coaches, providing evaluations and recommendations for patients who are committed to becoming healthier.

The Six Principles That Guide the Therapeutic Methods and Modalities of Naturopathic Medicine

First, Do No Harm (primum non nocere)
Naturopathic medicine uses therapies that are safe and effective

The Healing Power of Nature (vis medicatrix naturae)
The human body possesses the inherent ability to restore health. The physician’s role is to facilitate this process with the aid of natural, non-toxic therapies.

Discover and Treat the Cause (tolle causam)
Physicians seek and treat the underlying cause of a disease, not just the effect. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body’s natural attempt to heal. The origin of disease is removed or treated so the patient can recover.

Treat the Whole Person (tolle totum)
The multiple factors in health and disease are considered while treating the whole person. Physicians provide flexible treatment programs to meet individual health care needs.

The Physician as Teacher (docere)
The physician’s major role is to educate, empower, and motivate patients to take responsibility for their own health. Creating a healthy cooperative relationship with the patient has strong therapeutic value.

Prevention is the Best Cure (praevenire)
Naturopathic physicians are preventive medicine specialists. Physicians assess patient risk factors, heredity and susceptibility and intervene appropriately to reduce risk and prevent illness.

Naturopathic Scope of Practice

The legal aspects of practicing naturopathic medicine vary from state to state in the U.S. and from province to province in Canada. In those states in which naturopathic physicians may be licensed as primary health care providers, N.D.’s (or N.M.D. in Arizona) may see patients for general health care and for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic conditions. Their scope of practice may include, but is not limited to, nutritional science; botanical medicine; naturopathic manipulation; physical medicine; acupuncture; homeopathy; mind-body medicine; natural childbirth; minor surgery; prescription rights for most legend drugs (requiring a prescription) listed in the Physican’s Desk Reference; and all methods of laboratory, x-ray and clinical diagnosis. The State of Arizona offers the widest scope of practice for naturopathic physicians in the U.S.

Educational Requirements and Licensure Requirements

To apply for admittance to a naturopathic medical school an individual must have a degree from an accredited undergraduate 4-year college. All states and provinces with licensure laws require a resident course of at least four academic years and 4100 hours of study from a naturopathic medical college recognized by the state or province examining board. To qualify for licensure, students must meet the credentialing requirements of the jurisdiction to which they have applied. This includes passing a nationally recognized licensure exam. For more information about Arizona licensure, contact the State of Arizona Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners, 1400 W. Washington, Suite 230, Phoenix, Arizona, 85007, 602-542-3095.

Fibromyalgia Pilot Study Results Show Symptoms can be Eliminated!

As of April 12, 2010, The Source Naturopathic Medical Clinic conducted a pilot study for fibromyalgia patients that turned out to be dramatically successful.

Arizona nutraceutical company, LiquidCMO Inc., has produced the very first fully emulsified proprietary natural blend of liquid cetyl-myristoleate. LiquidCMO was used in the clinical pilot study in 2010 on patients with clinically diagnosed fibromyalgia. The remarkable results from the study were published in the July 2012 issue of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review, an international medical journal www.ndnr.com

The major findings of the recent LiquidCMO vs. Fibromyalgia study, were overall dramatic improvements in physical, mental, and emotional function. Overall improvements in every area of health that was measured were profound and unexpected.

Personal accounts by LiquidCMO users state stiffness, pain and swollen joints have decreased or vanished. After subjective and statistical analysis of the study data were analyzed, all eighteen subjects showed marked improvements in all eight measures calculated by SF-36® General Health Questionnaire. View study graphs and chart at www.liquidcmo.com.

Fibromyalgia is a common condition characterized by long-term, body-wide pain and tender points in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, morning stiffness, sleep problems, headaches, numbness in hands and feet, depression, and anxiety. Fibromyalgia can develop on its own or along with other musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

Source: National Fibromyalgia Research Association – Fibromyalgia syndrome is a complex, chronic condition of widespread muscular pain, moderate to extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, sensitivity to touch, light, and sound, and cognitive difficulties and one of the most common chronic pain conditions. The disorder affects an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. and an estimated 3-6% of the world population. It affects women more than men in an approximate ratio of 9:1. Prominent fibromyalgia researchers and specialists estimate the medical costs (2007) associated with fibromyalgia treatment in the U.S., at between $12-14 billion each year and accounts for a loss of 1-2% of the nation’s overall productivity.

All clinical pilot study participants were medically supervised by David Arneson, NMD, medical director of The Source Naturopathic Medical Clinic and adjunct clinical instructor of Naturopathic Medicine at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences.

If you feel you may have fibromyalgia, please let us help you get well.

IV Nutritional Therapy for Flu and Colds

Intravenous Nutritional Therapy consists of several different vitamins and minerals which we use regularly with our patients. During the seasons of flu and colds, we practitioners of Naturopathic Medicine will use these treatment regimes on a frequent basis.

Generally, we don’t support the idea of just using Vitamin C only or any one vitamin or mineral when treating patients. The reason for this is that nature never gives mono-nutrient therapy–ever. Most plant and animal foods contain complexes of these vitamins and minerals.

No bio/neurochemical processes in the body works in a vacuum by itself. Complexes of vitamins and minerals push enzyme reactions forward to keep the biological systems working at the highest efficiency. When one is infected with a virus or bacteria, often the biological systems get overwhelmed using all the reserves possible to fight off the invaders.

Coupled with this is the patient who suffers from vomiting or diarrhea, often becoming weaker from dehydration and the increased loss of these critical nutrients from their systems.

This set of actions and interactions often prolong the length of the illness and in fact can create more problems than the infective agent can cause in and by itself. The key with intravenous therapy is first to make sure that dehydration is not the issue.  All biochemical reactions  happen in this fluid matrix. The second thing that needs to happen is to get the essential vitamins and minerals into the system—because without these essential components no biochemical process can go forward at the normal rate. This includes all cellular function.

All trillion or so cells in the human body/mind need these nutrients for proper function and that includes the white blood cells that are fighting these infections. If you suffer from vomiting/diarrhea, are dehydrated and losing these critical nutrients through the process, how can you actually fight off the infection to any degree of efficiency?  You can’t—its that simple.

The IV’s aren’t a complicated mixture.  We use a lot of Vitamin C.  We know that infections in humans cause the abrupt and sustained fall of Vitamin C from blood, tissue and urine levels and the subsequent localization of the vitamin at the infected site. We also know that low levels of Vitamin C can be associated with the risk of bronchitis.

It also appears that supplementation of Vitamin C may increase serum interferon (produced in the liver) levels in response to viral infections. Also it has been noted that zinc levels decrease during viral infections. Zinc has been shown to reduce viral illnesses time when used to treat the common cold.

Patients who have an increased susceptibility to infection are often found to be low on selenium. An increase in the ability of humans to cope with infections has been noted for magnesium. It has been noted that deficiency’s of Vitamin B-5 may cause frequent upper respiratory infections. Hopefully, these few observations lead us to the bigger picture—namely that these vitamins are necessary for cellular function.

Working in concert with nature is the primary idea behind nutritional treatment. If you can support and keep the cells healthy, one can keep the organs healthy and thereby keep the organism healthy…and that organism is you…with respect Dr. Dave Arneson, NMD and Dr. Carol Spooner, NMD.

2010 Flu Vaccine Facts: H1N1 dangerous. Call for natural remedy for flu

Flu vaccines are not subjected to randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trials, considered the gold-standard of scientific testing.

The claim used to defend this is loosely based on ethics.  It would be unethical to give someone a placebo shot and wait to see if they catch the flu virus and get sick, when it is assumed the vaccine will protect them.

Flu vaccines are designed to work with a healthy immune system to create antibodies to the specific strains of virus used in the vaccine, to allow your body to have a “head-start” on fighting off the virus if you come across it in life.

Problems with this theory include:

1.      Children under 6 and adults over 65 have diminished immune systems, as well as those with chronic disease, nutritional deficiencies, or any immune compromising diseases.  Their bodies have a difficult time making the necessary antibodies.

2.      The vaccine is only effective if you come in contact with the same strain of virus as was used in the manufacturing of the vaccine.

3.      The Influenza Virus is extremely mutatable, meaning the chances of coming into contact with a match to the vaccine is questionable. As it is there are years where the flu vaccine that is administered is no match for the virus that is prevalent for that year.

4.      If you have a healthy enough immune system for the vaccine to cause the anticipated reaction within your body, your immune system will be healthy enough to withstand the fight against the invading virus on its own.

Other than the Influenza Virus, there are roughly 200 other viruses that cause “Influenza-Like Illness.”  Your body aches, fever, cough, and sinus congestion could possibly be from any one of these.

This year’s vaccine contains the H1N1, “Swine Flu,” virus.  The “pandemic” that was touted on the news so fervently, was actually recanted and the actual number of people affected by Swine Flu was significantly less than anticipated.  What do the manufacturer’s do with all the left-over vaccines?

Ingredients in any of the vaccine may include:

1.  Preservatives:
a.      Formaldehyde
b.      Mercury, in the form of Thimerosol
c.      Polysorbate 80
d.      MSG

2.  Surfactants
a.      Including one commonly used as a spermicide
b.      The trade and generic names of which are confused across even CDC documents, who knows which ones were used in each vaccine.

3.   Antibiotics
Including those with FDA required Black Box Warnings on prescribing inserts, warning of potential tendon rupture.

4.   Steroids

5.  Many known carcinogens used in the manufacturing process

6.   Let’s not forget that these viruses are grown in eggs, allergies anyone?

The rate of febrile seizures in children this year has been 10 times the normal amount anticipated.  Risk verses Benefits is the general rule. But one must ask themselves whether any childhood seizure is more of a benefit than the risk of getting the flu. Sounds crazy if that is what is being acknowledged.

At The Source Naturopathic Medical Center, use Nutritional IV therapy for those who come in with flu symptoms. This is an all natural IV that includes Vitamin C, B complex and more to build your immune system. Please see article posted on Nutritional IV therapy on our website or call the office. It is best to come in right when you feel the symptoms.

To your health. With respect and service, Dr. David Arneson

Research:

http://bit.ly/9gydxp Australia April 2010:  Flu vaccination ban goes national after fever, convulsions in children

http://bit.ly/96bMV3 After Australia, Finland bans H1N1 vaccines | Bharat Chronicle

Shortly after Australia banned flu vaccines in children due to an alarming increase in vomiting, fevers and seizures caused by the vaccines, Finland has now suspended H1N1 vaccines due to increased H1N1 swine-flu reports of narcolepsy in children and teens. Narcolepsy is a nervous system disorder characterized by extreme fatigue and daytime sleepiness. It indicates a serious malfunction of the brain and nervous system.

PILOT STUDY FOR FIBROMYALGIA AND OSTEOARTHRITIS A SUCCESS.

The Source Naturopathic Center supervised a pilot study for osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patients. As of April 12, 2009 we opened the pilot study and took new patients.

The study has concluded and we will be publishing the results by end of 2010. For more information please contact our office and Dr. Arneson will be happy to answer any questions.

The new formulation, developed by Arizona nutraceutical company, Liquid CMO, LLC, has produced remarkable testimonial results with no harmful side effects and no known drug interactions and is looking to document elimination of symptoms.

Pilot study participants had the opportunity to benefit from the positive effects current users of the supplement have experienced in last two years of human trials, while taking the newest Liquid CMO formulation.

All participants were medically supervised by myself, David Arneson, NMD, Medical Director of The Source Naturopathic Medical Clinic.

Dr. Arneson received his Doctorate from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences and is an Adjunct Professor of the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. The college WAS NOT part of this study.

Cetyl myristoleate is a naturally ring waxy alcohol (Long Chain Fatty Acid) discovered in 1972 by Dr. Harry Diehl. Dr. Diehl applied for and received two U.S. Patents on Cetyl myristoleate, the first in 1977 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and then in 1996 for osteoarthritis.

CMO has been found through clinical studies and client testimonies to benefit many with autoimmune diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, Crohn’s disease, Sjögren’s syndrome and multiple sclerosis. According to personal accounts by current Liquid CMO users, stiffness, pain and swollen joints have decreased or vanished.

Osteoarthritis, sometimes called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis, is the most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when cartilage in your joints wears down over time. While osteoarthritis can affect any joint in your body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in hands, hips, knees, neck, lower back.

Fibromyalgia is a common condition characterized by long-term, body-wide pain and tender points in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, morning stiffness, sleep problems, headaches, numbness in hands and feet, depression, and anxiety. Fibromyalgia can develop on its own or along with other musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

Information on the product that was tested, Liquid CMO, can be found at  www.liquidcmo.com or more information by calling (877) 734 – 4261.

Nutrition and the current state of affairs…what does this mean to the consumer of nutritional products? Part two

It is a fact that we have some 375 different diagnoses we can give any one person on the mental spectrum—and we have yet to elucidate a biochemical cause for any one of them. And we have countless drugs we can treat these diagnosed illness with and we don’t have a clear mechanism of action of anyone of these medications. Think about this, we don’t know the cause of the disease and we are treating with a medication that there is no clear understanding how it works on you. The FDA directive of 2002 requires that supplements be demonstrated to be safe and effective. Considering the black box warning on all SSRI antidepressants I wonder who’s minding the store—oh, I forgot, BIG PHARMACY. These are the same people (FDA) that ignored the deaths and harm caused by the anti-inflammatory drugs Celebrex, Vioxx, and Bextra.

Vioxx was recalled in September 2004 due to cardiovascular deaths. The sad thing is the potential for harm was known before the drug went to market and the information not released to the FDA.  This was plain and simple murder. What did the FDA do?  They fined the drug company. No one stood trial for lying about research and killing people. And we want these people controlling our choices? This is about money; this is not about us as the consumer.

In April 2005, Pfizer issued a Bextra recall, but they kept Celebrex on the market with much stronger warnings. But these are the same people that want to take away our nutritional tools…the tools that have little if any side effects and work on the majority of you. If the same rules applied that they are now enforcing on nutritional supplements were applied to their medicines about 95% of their products would be banned.

One of the leading nutritional experts of all time was Paavo Airola, Ph.D., ND. He states the problem with what seems to be a high level of confusion covering nutritional information very clearly: “The difficulty in obtaining absolutely reliable, objective, and scientifically correct information on the most vital questions related to health, and particularly related to nutrition.” He goes on to say in his book, ARE YOU CONFUSED, that what we need is we need research done in an independent and forthright matter. That is to say independent of the research that is done today with many having an axe to grind and independent big business and the pharmaceutical companies. As it is there are hundreds of centuries of empirical evidence and actual application of many of these nutritional therapies without evidence of damage to the populations as a whole.

The problem when using modern research methods, using the standard of the double blind-placebo controlled study, is that they don’t work on nutrition.  A double blind-placebo controlled study blinds the doctor leading the study so that they don’t know which patient is on the studied ingredient or the fake pill. When used in nutritional studies, remember using only one vitamin at a time for example, 95% of those studies will inherently fail to show positive results. The reason is quite simple—when was the last time nature gave you a singular nutrient? Read the next statement by Majid Ali, M.D.:

…No molecule exists in biology alone, functionally or structurally. This is self evident. And yet we physicians insist in diagnosing “a nutrient deficiency” to understand “a disease” which we can then treat with “a nutrient therapy”…The central issue here is: Mononutrient therapy has no place in the clinical practice of molecular medicine.

A single nutrient does not work in a vacuum; it works in combination with all the other nutrients. To do research as it applies to the overall health of the biochemistry of any one human being with a single nutrient is bound to fail. Therefore they reach the conclusion that we need none of it. What balderdash.  The leading so-called experts leading this foray into banning these nutrients from your life misunderstand one important fact: we are not all the same—our requirements to meet the daily stresses of life differ—our genetics are different—our circumstances are different. Take the studies on Prozac or countless other drugs, the two variables are Prozac and the fake pill. Yet I ask any discernable human being that still has a sense of logic left…since we are all different are we not a variable also? So there is 600 people in the study-300 in the Prozac group and 300 in the placebo group…there are multiple variables. The assumption in the modern medical world is that Prozac works the same on everyone. If this statement were true then we wouldn’t have any depression.

On TV recently I saw an advertisement that stated: 2 out of 3 people on antidepressants note that their symptoms have not resolved and now they want to add another psychotropic drug to this regime. You must understand that it is rare in the pharmaceutical industry to study two drugs working together against a placebo. We don’t have a clear mechanism of action of Prozac in the human being and we want to add another mind drug without a clear mechanism of action. These are the same people that don’t understand the complexities of nutrient interactions. These are the same people that will tell you that amino acid protein and Vitamin therapy are harmful to you. They don’t have an answer for our differences and they have to make everything the same so that it becomes easier for them. Their research is flawed and their reasoning is flawed. And instead of coming up with clear concise reasoning they are more than willing to force you into doing it their way.

Recently, a major drug company found that one of the active forms of Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxamine) was protective against damage to kidneys during diabetes. This form of B-6 can be taken safely without concern for nerve damage. A lot of diabetic patients use this vitamin. They filed a research document with the FDA wanting to research this vitamin as a drug. Of course once a vitamin is considered a drug it has to be taken off the market so that it is not longer available to the general population.

The FDA has said it will now ban pyridoxamine and it will only be available as a drug. With this action the freedom of the diabetic patient to minimize suffering is effectively squashed.  And what might have cost you $12.00 dollars will now cost you, or your insurance company 100 times as much if you can even find a doctor willing to write a prescription for you. What is going to stop them from doing this to every vitamin out there? Nothing. And this by the way is exactly how they are going to bring the nutritional supplement business under their control. They’ll say it is for your safety and for the good of the common folk—and this is pure balderdash. I will defend to my death the right of my patient to educate themselves and to do what works for them. This is going to be a fight—one by the way we are currently losing.

The Counsel for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) sounds nice doesn’t it?  Makes us think that someone out there is looking out for our best interest. Of course behind the scenes are the heavy players—drug companies such as Bayer, Cargill, Monsanto, Wyeth, BASF and more. Other heavy pushers for these new laws are congressmen and senators who get enormous amounts of re-election money from these giants of reform whose only role in this is to make more money. Major nutrient makers have climb on board and shame on them because it is obvious that all they care about is money also. If they even cared remotely about you they would be finding a way to give you quality without jeopardizing your freedoms of choice.

Every Mom and Pop truck garden, everyone that makes up herbal remedies in your home, anyone that sells a nutritional food to anyone else is going to feel the teeth of big government in the nap of their neck. They say this isn’t true but it by God is true. And it time to step up…write to your congressman or senator—tell them by God you are not going to put up with it!

One final comment: When modern medicine got to big it just got too confused. Used to be we physicians stopped by to visit with you even if nothing was specifically wrong. We cared about our patients. That level of caring wasn’t imbedded in the fear of getting sued for malpractice. We understood that to effectively treat you we couldn’t just break you down into some mechanical system. That there was an emotional you and a spiritual you that we needed to perceive and work with. We listened to what you had to say—which by the way, is the major complaint with modern medicine—70% leave the doctors office and state that “the doctor never listens to anything I say.”

We understood that even the emotional stresses in our lives create changes at the physical level. We understood that just given the patient a forum to addresses their issues was many times the best way to bring you back to health—or at least the best starting point. And for some of us the rule has always been—START SIMPLE AND WORK OUR WAY INTO THE LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY THAT EACH PATIENT NEEDS INDIVIDUALLY IN THEIR CASE. Nutrition has been the mainstay of this medicine for tens of thousands of years. Let’s fight to keep our rights intact.

With Respect,

Dr Dave

Nutrition and the current state of affairs…what does this mean to the consumer of nutritional products? Part One

Nutrition and the current state of affairs…what does this mean to the consumer of nutritional products? Much has been happening behind the scenes’ that most of the citizens of the United States are unaware. New laws are in effect, or are soon to be so, that will regulate every aspect of nutritional supplements including your right to purchase or have in your possession items that you have purchased in the past. Things like herbal remedies, good quality multi-vitamins, Vitamin E, mineral complexes, and even Vitamin C (I’ll cover more about this in the following paragraphs). I urge all readers to research the words—Codex Alimentarius—and to start educating yourself on these coming issues. The Codex was a set of rules and laws developed in 1963 by the World Health Organization an arm of the United Nations. The stated purpose was “to protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair practices in the international food trade.”

Many of you might ask—what does this have to do with me? Any country that is a member of the United Nations signs on with one simple understanding—if you are a member state than you are bound by the rules and laws adopted by the United Nations. Welcome United States citizens to the Gestapo mentality that seems to have somehow invaded the freest nation in the world. The New World Order is here. The right you have to get these items is soon to be taken away from you. You might all do some research and find out how the European euro translates into dollar amounts because that is the next step.

Read the following text taken verbatim from Wikipedia:

“The Codex Alimentarius officially covers all foods, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, but far more attention has been given to foods that are marketed directly to consumers. In addition to standards for specific foods, the Codex Alimentarius contains general standards covering matters such as food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and pesticide residues, and procedures for assessing the safety of foods derived from modern biotechnology. It also contains guidelines for the management of official (i.e., governmental) import and export inspection and certification systems for foods.”

This doesn’t seem to be bad in the context that it is written. As many of you know, and I believe that most that do supplements and procure their own are well educated in finding decent and reliable products. And I have no qualms that the consumer should get what they pay for. There are some scalawags out there that will cheat there own mother to make a buck. I spent much of my time educating the patient in how to assess products, the manufacturers of those products, and to also educate them in the proper use and safety of the products that they consume. That is my job and I am well trained to do so. In fact, the word doctor comes from the Latin word ‘docere’ which literally means ‘to teach’. I have no qualms that we need to weed out the few that would take advantage of those that can get caught up with the hype and low grade sales pitches. Yet, we will always have these types of greedy people amongst us. Adopting laws to control less than 10 % (if it even that) that negatively affect the rest of us 90% is akin to burning the house down to get rid of a few rats. Most of us would agree that procuring a couple of cats would have worked without negatively affecting everything else.

The proponents of the Codex insist that these rules are voluntary. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Please note that the European Union has adopted these rules and laws. “In 1996”, as related in Wikipedia and other site locations, “a German delegation put forward a proposal that no herb, Vitamin, or mineral should be sold for preventive or therapeutic reasons, and that all supplements should be reclassified as drugs.” And the absolutely amazing part of this—the proposal was agreed to by the delegates that were there at the conference!  Implementation wasn’t carried out because of vigorous protests.  But in the following paragraphs you will see that the government of the United States, via the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of adopting these rules and laws. What this means is clear—remember that Vitamin C you bought a short while ago—the one with the 500 milligram caps—the one you paid probably less than $20.00 dollars for—it will be made unavailable to you because it is above the recommended daily allowance (RDA). This Vitamin C, will have to be made by a major pharmaceutical company—will have to be scripted to you by your doctor—and will probably cost you in the neighborhood of ten times as much—that’s right $200.00 dollars.  In fact it will be a crime to have it in your possession without a script. This has already happened in Europe.

The RDA was established in 1941 and the question that they wanted an answer to was this: WHAT WAS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT NEEDED, ON A DAILY BASIS, TO KEEP AN AVERAGE HEALTHY PERSON FROM SHOWING THE CLINICAL SIGNS OF DISEASE. Our RDA for Vitamin C is somewhere between 60-100 mg depending on who you ask. Dogs and Cats make about 1000 milligrams of Vitamin C in their livers everyday. Human beings, great apes, and guinea pigs can’t make it in the liver. We have to get it from our food. Make any sense to anyone out there that 60 mg is enough for us? Then when the dogs and cats were stressed out, via cold water baths, it was found that their livers produced about twice as much Vitamin C. Simply because Vitamin C is necessary to deal with stress though the production of adrenalin, the neurotransmitter that helps us adapt and to meet the challenges of the stressor.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have stated that the guidelines are to, “[keep you] from overdosing on vitamin and mineral supplements.” I have been a physician for almost 10 years focusing on nutritional treatments and I have never sent anyone to the hospital for an overdose of a vitamin or mineral. I have never seen an article in the paper that states anyone has…although it does happen on a rare occasion. And because of this rare occasion they insist on taking your freedom away from you. What they are really saying is that the majority of the population is so ignorant—so stupid—that they can’t possibly do this right. What pure unadulterated insanity! Now this makes me angry as hell and it should make you angry. In fact most of my patients, and in fact most of you, understand more about nutrition than most modern day physicians. Read the following statement carefully—mull it over:

More than two-thirds of the medical schools in the United States still do not have a specific nutrition course in their curriculum. This ongoing failure to teach nutrition and practice nutritional medicine is embedded in the idea that we get our recommended daily allowance (RDA) of nutrients if we eat within certain defined parameters. There is a clear understanding now that even RDA’s of these nutrients, established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1941, may keep subclinical disease states subclinical. Because the RDA’s for vitamins are minimum amounts that will only prevent the signs and symptoms of deficiency diseases, the daily intake should often be higher than recommended. Furthermore, however well RDA’s work as a guideline, for any given person, they may be an underestimate or overestimate of the amounts actually needed for any specific health problem.

Further research indicates that less than 5% of the medical doctors and osteopathic doctors in this country have any meaningful nutritional education in medical school. In fact, chiropractors know more about nutrition than standard medical doctors. Now ask yourself this question—who are the people writing these rules– politicians? What the heck does a politician know about nutrition? So what would be their incentive to do this?  What once was an idea to help consumers receive quality has now gravitated itself into big business. This is now about big money. It is also a well known fact amongst us professionals that the FDA is principally run by big Pharmacy. And how would we know that?

The FDA banned the herb Ephedra which they blamed for some 70-100 deaths in this country in one year. In fact, used appropriately, it is a wonderful herb for allergies and other related conditions. 95% of you know how to do this appropriately. Now when Viagra, the erectile dysfunction medication, came out there were some 1400 deaths in the first year related directly to the use of the drug—did they take this off the market? No they didn’t. Do you really think big pharmacy cares about the people? Viagra–NAMCS data on new drugs show an estimated 2.6 million mentions of Viagra at physician office visits in 1999. These requests have gone up considerably in the last ten years. Viagra is easily a billion dollars a year to the pharmaceutical company that makes it. So the old saying comes to mind—“Money talks and honesty walks.” Even your soft drinks are under attack. Soon to be banned is the addition of things like ginkgo biloba, ginseng, chromium picolinate, guarana and goto kola. You will find these in assorted teas and soft drinks. Now another question—do you see people dying like flies while drinking these drinks? We are talking bout herbs and nutrients countless societies through the ages have done with little if any side effects…had they been harmful to us we would have quit doing them long ago.

For almost ten years I have treated depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol dependency with specific amino acid formulas and vitamin therapy. I do have the rights in the State of Arizona to prescribe antidepressants although it is extremely rare for me to have to do so. Several facts and truths about psychotropics are never told to the patient. This information is readily available to the doctor. First, we have no clear understanding how these drugs actually work in the brain. As one example, if we review the drug Prozac in the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) we’ll see under the listing—mechanism of action—“UNKNOWN…but is thought to be…” This is true for of all psychotropics used today including the anti-anxiety meds.  Secondly, research on these medications, for approval from the FDA, rarely have  study groups larger than 400-600 patients and rarely exceed 4 months in length. In fact, if one looks at the PDR, the manufacturer of these drugs rarely approves their use beyond 4-6 months. Yet when the patient goes to the doctor they are commonly told that they may have to be on these medications the rest of their lives.  Thirdly, medical professionals have absolutely no idea of the long term affects of these medications and it is interesting that there is some research that indicates that the suicide rate in the US has risen consistently since the advent of Prozac in the early 1990’s.

More comments in Part Two

With Respect
Dr Dave

IV Nutritional Therapy great natural remedy for the flu

Intravenous nutritional therapy consists of several different vitamins and minerals which we use regularly with our patients. During the seasons of flu and colds we will use these treatment regimes on a regular basis.

Generally, I don’t support the idea of just using Vitamin C only or any one vitamin or mineral when treating patients. The reason for this is that nature never gives mono-nutrient therapy…ever. Most plants and animal foods contain complexes of these vitamins and minerals. No bio/neurochemical processes in the body works in a vacuum by itself…complexes of vitamins and minerals push enzyme reactions forward to keep the biological systems working at the highest efficiency.

When one is infected with a virus, or bacteria, often the biological systems get overwhelmed using all the reserves possible to fight off the invaders. Coupled with this is the patient who suffers from vomiting or diarrhea, often becoming weaker from dehydration and the increased loss of these critical nutrients from their systems. This set of actions and interactions often prolong the length of the illness and in fact can create more problems than the infective agent can cause in and by itself.

The key with intravenous therapy is first to make sure that dehydration is not the issue. All biochemical reactions happen in this fluid matrix. The second thing that needs to happen is to get the essential vitamins and minerals into the system—because without these essential components no biochemical process can go forward at the normal rate. This includes all cellular function. All trillion or so cells in the human body/mind need these nutrients for proper function and that includes the white blood cells that are fighting these infections.

If you suffer from vomiting/diarrhea, are dehydrated, and losing these critical nutrients through the process how can you actually fight off the infection to any degree of efficiency?  You can’t, it’s that simple.

The IV’s aren’t a complicated mixture. We use a lot of Vitamin C. We know that infections in mammals cause the abrupt and sustained fall of Vitamin C from blood, tissue and urine levels and the subsequent localization of the vitamin at the infected site. We also know that low levels of Vitamin C be associated with the risk of bronchitis. It also appears that supplementation of vitamin C may increase serum interferon (produced in the liver) levels in response to viral infections.

Also it has been noted that Zinc levels decrease during viral infections—zinc has been shown to reduce viral illness time when used to treat the common cold. Patients who have an increased susceptibility to infection are often found to be low on selenium.  An increase in the ability of mammals to cope with infections has been noted for magnesium. It has been noted that deficiencies of Vitamin B-5 may cause frequent upper respiratory infections. Hopefully, these few observations lead us to the bigger picture—namely that these vitamins are necessary for cellular function.

Working in concert with nature is the primary idea behind nutritional treatment. If you can support and keep the cell healthy—one can keep the organ healthy and thereby keep the organism healthy…and that organism is you. This is our goal at The Source Naturopathic Medical Clinic.

With respect,

Dr. Dave

Scope of Naturopathic Practice in AZ

Naturopathic Physicians are licensed primary care providers who are specialists in holistic diagnosis and natural therapeutics. These physicians are trained to seek out the least invasive intervention required to effect a cure. Often, this is possible with diet counseling and lifestyle modification. Sometimes this requires the use of medication, physical therapeutics, or minor surgery.

They are always looking for the underlying cause of the illness and do not just focus on the most apparent symptoms. Naturopathic physicians refer to specialists as needed, either within the profession or to allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO)colleagues.

Licensed Naturopathic Physicians receive extensive didactic and clinical training in the following modalities:

* Clinical Nutrition

* Dietary Supplementation

* Clinical Psychology

* Naturopathic Manipulative Medicine

* Acupuncture

* Botanical (Herbal) Medicines

* Homeopathic Medicines

* Pharmaceutical (Conventional) Medicines

* Minor Surgery