Who finds the cures to cancer, AIDS ect

[onemind]

Hi, I am new to everything medicine and was hoping someone could tell me the field in which scientists actively research causes and cures of diseases ect

Do you have to go to med school or do you study medical science at uni if you were interested in being a researcher?

Where does the money go to when raised in say a fight cancer charity?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[kixxer]

Do you have to go to med school or do you study medical science at uni if you were interested in being a researcher?

 

Yes' date=' I guess you have to if you want to work as a scientist;). But it hasn´t to be Medicine you study, you can do biology as well for example. I even know chemists who work in HIV-vaccine development and do pure molecular biology.

 

Where does the money go to when raised in say a fight cancer charity?

 

Difficult to say..usually (at least in Europe) they tell you what they want to do with the money, etc. help children with leukemia. In these cases I guess they just try to make the patients life more worthwile, cancer treatment isn´t always that cheap. Some people have to continue to take hormone-pills for their whole life after successfull cancer operation, and those pills do cost a lot!

 

Still there is a constant flow of financial aids to research. Lots of research funding comes from the state or government or private institutions.

 

greets,

kix

_________________________

http://www.biologia.fi

[onemind]

Thanks Kix

[ecoli]

You know, researching HIV virus to find a cure for AIDS may be a waste of time. There is a growing number of scientists who agree that HIV is probably not the cause of AIDs.

 

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/aids/not/

http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Issue26/26nmullis.html

[Sayonara]

"A growing number" is meaningless.

 

They could have signed their fourth and fifth members last week.

[PiLoT]

i cant find the article anymore but the vaccines for HIV are not too far off (maybe 20-40yrs)...several of the potential drugs / antibody development have shown promising effects and are in early phases (I-II) of testing

[Dak]

You know, researching HIV virus to find a cure for AIDS may be a waste of time. There is a growing number of scientists who agree that HIV is probably not the cause of AIDs.

 

evidence linking HIV infection to AIDS

 

most of the evidence on the websites you provided are misinterpretations, for example

 

the reduction of CD4+ T cells in HIV positive homosexual men who used rectal steroid was reversed after the cessation of the treatment with corticosteroids (Sharpstone et al.' date=' 1996). If the HIV is the cause of AIDS in these patients then the cessation of the steroids will not reverse the disease.

 

2) The reversal of the reduction of CD4+ T cells in HIV-positive pregnant women following the feeding multivitamin and provided balanced diet disprove the idea that HIV is the cause of AIDS. The average CD4+ T cells increase in these patients from 426/µl to 576/µl (Fawzi, et al. 1998).

 

8) The haemophilia patients are chronically treated with immunosuppressive agents to prevent the development of antibodies to factor VIII and IX and reductions in T cells have been observed in HIV-positive and HIV negative haemophilia patients on corticosteroids

 

9) Blood transfusion patients and people with organ transplants develop AIDS after being treated with corticosteroids and the list of opportunistic diseases described in these groups are similar to those described in people with AIDS

 

11) HIV-negative people with severe malnutrition have AIDS and show severe atrophy of thymus[/quote']

 

certain steroids (especially corticosteroids), malnutrition, certain genetic disorders and cancers, and irradiation can all cause immunosupression, and so its not surprising that steroids and malnutrition can cause AIDS-like symptoms, nor that multivitimine dietry suppliments and cessation of steroids can alleviate some of the symptoms. however, in the vast majority of cases of immunosupression, these factors are abscent, and HIV is present.

[kixxer]

i cant find the article anymore but the vaccines for HIV are not too far off (maybe 20-40yrs)...several of the potential drugs / antibody development have shown promising effects and are in early phases (I-II) of testing

 

well, I´m very sceptic about these HIV-vaccines. I guess the money spent on the development of vaccines would have better use in other areas of disease control, etc. informational work in Africa. I´ve been somewhat involved in HIV vaccine development at the university I work at, and until now I at least am not convinced by the vaccine trials currently in testing.

[Skye]

Interestingly enough, regarding the original post, I was talking to a lecturer the other day who did medicine then later a PhD. He wanted to do research and was told it was the best option, but he felt it left you a few years behind everyone else and said doing a BSc was probably better.

 

He also said his longest shift as an intern was 43 hours. Good luck blike!

[buzsaw]

Hi' date=' I am new to everything medicine and was hoping someone could tell me the field in which scientists actively research causes and cures of diseases ect

Do you have to go to med school or do you study medical science at uni if you were interested in being a researcher?

Where does the money go to when raised in say a fight cancer charity?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks [/quote']

 

Hi Onemind. Imo, if you really want to get to the bottom of the cancer question, you need to look beyond what has failed for so long. You need to look to where the terminally diagnosed folks are going and often finding help. Cancer, for the most part is a lifestyle induced disease. The USA, richest nation of the world, last I heard, has the highest rate of cancer and heart disease of all nations. We are also the most obese. Why? Because our foods are grown on worn out chemicaled up soil, pretty much devoid of earthworms and highly processed with harmful additives such as preservatives to give it shelf life and artificial colorings and flavorings, et al.

 

As to the effective researchers, it is the holistic researchers and practitioners who are, imo, most effective. It is these also to whom the terminal people go to as a last resort, often finding help. There are a number of websites on the www for you to check out if you do a search on google.

 

I'll be 70 this year and haven't been to a med doctor for about 35 years, after nearly loosing my life from the mistakes the last one. My children were raised without a family physician, except to set a fracture. This is not to say that there's no place for med doctors, but be careful. The medical profession in the US of A is money driven via the powerful influence of the drug cartels who for the most part fund the medical foundations. Med drs are being pressured more in recent years to include some holistic practice in their treatments due to the information out there which is slowly getting to the public. The problem for them and the established med profession is that there's no money for them in prescribing a good diet, herbs and natural vitamins and minerals for the treatment and prevention of disease.

 

I advise you to look into the rapidly growing alternative healing aspect of health in your quest for quality information here. There is an ever increasing call and need for holistic researchers and practitioners, but don't expect to get rich on it as so many mds do with the money making conventional practices which keeps the patients returning to the office for another drug to correct the side effects of the last drug/drugs which were to fix the previous drug/drugs that were suppose to fix the original symptom, et al.

 

Holistic healing treats the body so as to heal itself for the long haul, rather than to squelch the symptom for a spell with a prescription drug.

[Dapthar]

Cancer, for the most part is a lifestyle induced disease.

That's a rather sweeping generalization, and while certain activities, smoking in particular, increase one's risk of cancer, there are many types of cancer whose primary cause is not due to "lifestyle choices". For example:

 

While not common in the US, stomach cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, as well as one of the leading causes of cancer deaths.

(Source: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Large_Study_Links_Tobacco_To_Stomach_Cancer.asp)

 

The currently, it is believed that one of the main causes of this cancer is atrophic gastritis, where:

 

This is a condition where the normal glands of the stomach are either decreased or absent. There is a variable degree of inflammation (the stomach cells are damaged by cells of the patient's immune system), and this is often due to H pylori infection. It is not known exactly why this condition progresses to cancer.

(Source: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Do_we_know_what_causes_stomach_cancer_40.asp?rnav=cri)

 

We are also the most obese. Why?

In my opinion, this is due to the fact that obesity doesn't tend to cause severe medical problems until much later in one's life, and thus, the only immediate negative effect of eating whatever one wants while they are relatively young is a negative social stigma.

 

I'll be 70 this year and haven't been to a med doctor for about 35 years, after nearly loosing my life from the mistakes the last one.

Care to elaborate?

 

My children were raised without a family physician, except to set a fracture.

How do you know that they don't have conditions that show few precursors to serious medical conditions, such as such a high cholesterol, or high blood pressure? What about vaccinations? What if they had a serious medical condition whose symptoms are life threatening, but easily treated with modern medicines, such as asthma?

 

I advise you to look into the rapidly growing alternative healing aspect of health in your quest for quality information here.

I hope that you aren't asserting that holistic treatment are a substitute for a good diet and regular exercise.

 

Holistic healing treats the body so as to heal itself for the long haul, rather than to squelch the symptom for a spell with a prescription drug.

Your solution becomes a bit muddied when the symptoms of a disease are fatal.

[buzsaw]

That's a rather sweeping generalization, and while certain activities, smoking in particular, increase one's risk of cancer, there are many types of cancer whose primary cause is not due to "lifestyle choices". For example:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by American Cancer Society

While not common in the US, stomach cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, as well as one of the leading causes of cancer deaths.

 

(Source: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/c...ch_Canc er.asp)

 

The currently, it is believed that one of the main causes of this cancer is atrophic gastritis, where:

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by American Cancer Society

This is a condition where the normal glands of the stomach are either decreased or absent. There is a variable degree of inflammation (the stomach cells are damaged by cells of the patient's immune system), and this is often due to H pylori infection. It is not known exactly why this condition progresses to cancer.

 

(Source: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/c... 0.asp?rnav=cri)

 

There are a number of probiotics and antioxidants which I would used to help this condition, Fresh extracted carrot/celery juice, other raw juices, aged garlic, leafy vegtables, green tea, Jason Winters tea, Essiac tea, aloe vera, selenium, beta carotene, vitamines A, C, E, grape seed extract, flax seed oil, et al.

 

I would ELIMINATE: White flour products, salt preserved and smoked foods, products with white sugar, hydogenated oils, margarines, peanut products, alcohol products, pickled foods, nitrited and nitrated products such as processed meats, colorings, all products with preservatives, etc.

The above are some things I would apply for myself or my family for any stomach problems.

 

The problem with the American Cancer Society is that they've been hauling in the megabucks from the people for 50 plus years and imo, they, like the medical profession and pharmacuticals find it more profitable to look for cures than to find them. They've made relatively little progress over the last 50 years, though in recent years some of them are responding to the pressure by the public to introduce some of the things above into their cirriculum.

 

In my opinion, this is due to the fact that obesity doesn't tend to cause severe medical problems until much later in one's life, and thus, the only immediate negative effect of eating whatever one wants while they are relatively young is a negative social stigma.

 

Obesity is a diet and lifestyle problem, for the most part, and a lot of folks, young and old are paying a price for careless eating, lack of exercise, et al. That price includes sickness, disability lack of energy, poverty, social problems and even death.

 

Care to elaborate?

It's a long story beginning with the drug librium for heart skip and ending with a 24 hour coma due to doctor error.

 

How do you know that they don't have conditions that show few precursors to serious medical conditions, such as such a high cholesterol, or high blood pressure? What about vaccinations? What if they had a serious medical condition whose symptoms are life threatening, but easily treated with modern medicines, such as asthma?

 

When they got sick we knew what to do for the remedy. The body heals when you give it what it needs to do it. You don't treat the symptom perse. You treat the body. I and my elder son tend to get hay fever which can lead to asthma, if not attended to. I deal with that with diet, eliminating wheat and other conjesting products, applying antioxidants, et al. I never take any drugs of any kind and seldom have hay fever problems now. My children are grown and use some of what we taught them, but not as much as we'd like. They often consult us when they or their children get sick. They do use the docs some.

 

I hope that you aren't asserting that holistic treatment are a substitute for a good diet and regular exercise.

 

Holistic treatment IS a good diet and regular exercise, for the most part, often suplimented with minerals, vitamines, herbs, et al. These also are, unlike perscription drugs, essentially food.

 

Your solution becomes a bit muddied when the symptoms of a disease are fatal.

 

We've never allowed sickness to advance to the stage of life threatening. That's what's cool about this knowledge for one's self and one's family. I'm not saying don't use the doc. They're good for doing tests, fixing injuries, and such. One, imo, is safer using med docs who apply some of the alternatives with their proceedures.

 

The medical profession and cancer society's solution becomes very muddled when you factor in the $$ factor. It's too much $$ driven, imo. Cheers, and the best of health to you and yours.

__________________

You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.

-Robin Williams (1951 - )

[Krul]

Hiv/AIDS is constantly mutating and there is not a real possibility of a vaccin or cure anytime soon.

 

It is easy to say for a group of "scientists" that there will be a cure in 20-40 years, after all that means that they can steal more funds for 20-40 years.......

 

 

Holistic healing treats the body so as to heal itself for the long haul, rather than to squelch the symptom for a spell with a prescription drug.

 

You either have a wrong view about Medicine and/or about Holistic healing. Holistic healing is for 50% a fraud ( people selling cures for cancer, vitamine tablets which are not needed etc ), the other 50% works mainly in ensuring a healthy diet, which prevents a lot of diseases.

 

By medicine there are certainly mistakes made ( especially in backwater regions ) and sometimes MD's even commit fraud, but generally MD's will help you prevent symptoms WHILE allowing your body to heal naturally.

 

 

One more thing about vitamins which are used A LOT at Holistic Healing...........they are one of the biggest frauds there are. If you eat a normal variety of food and don't spend your days locked up inside your house you WILL have the necessary vitamins. If you take vitamin pills it is completely useless in that case.

[Dak]

Hiv/AIDS is constantly mutating and there is not a real possibility of a vaccin or cure anytime soon.

some aspects of HIV are highly conserved, eg the binding molecule gp120, and also i would assume that reverse transcriptase is highly conserved, or if not at least the mechanism by which it works is going to be highly similar in all cases, giving us an angle of attack. in addition, tat and rev are always present in HIV infected cells, allowing for the possibility of a gene which initiates cell suicide upon HIV infection, eg fatal gene being regulated by tat

 

tat promter---diptheria gene = cell perfectly ok, but

 

HIV infection = production of tat --> production of diptheria --> cell death --> halt of HIV spread throughout body.

 

now, if only we could work out how to completely halt the production of diptheria in the absense of tat, whilst maintaining a high level of transcription in the presense of tat...

 

basically the high mutability of HIV is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

[buzsaw]

You either have a wrong view about Medicine and/or about Holistic healing. Holistic healing is for 50% a fraud ( people selling cures for cancer, vitamine tablets which are not needed etc ), the other 50% works mainly in ensuring a healthy diet, which prevents a lot of diseases.

 

As I stated, there's a whole lot more to holistic health/healing than vitamines, and speaking of vitamines, good holistic recommends natural vitamines in proper proportions and combinations. Theres diet, exercise, chiropractery, detoxification cleanses, minerals, including proper proportions of magnesium to calcium (very important), herbal teas, herbal tinctures, et al. I know these things work. I've used most of them for years and observed them working wonders in others, some of whom the mds gave up on.

 

By medicine there are certainly mistakes made ( especially in backwater regions ) and sometimes MD's even commit fraud, but generally MD's will help you prevent symptoms WHILE allowing your body to heal naturally.

 

It's not just the backwater regions. It's all over including the big city hospitals. It's in my own home town, where prescription drugs are, for the most part doing more harm than good. I have a friend right now, who's a mess from prescription drugs and is just beginning to get on holistic regime to cure the terrible effects of the multitudes of drugs she's taking as well as working on her terrible diet pattern she's been on.

 

One more thing about vitamins which are used A LOT at Holistic Healing...........they are one of the biggest frauds there are. If you eat a normal variety of food and don't spend your days locked up inside your house you WILL have the necessary vitamins. If you take vitamin pills it is completely useless in that case.

 

1. Vitamines derived from natural products and sold by reputable companies ARE very beneficial. They, being natural as opposed to synthetic are just food and for the most part have no possibility of adverse side effects.

 

2. The American diet does not have the necessary vitamins and minerals in the general food supply. Why? Because the foods are for the most part grown on worn out soil, deficient in natural organic minerals and nutrient need for adequate nutrition. The large farms use pesticides and chemical fertilizers which force out what litttle is left in the soil, but add nothing of lasting soil building substance to the soil for delicious healthy products. I know the difference. I garden organically and my trees are organic. There's a world of difference in taste and quality of organic vs commercial.

 

3. I've raised chickens just for healthy eggs. I've read where if commercial caged hens eggs were fertilized by a rooster they wouldn't even hatch. Store bought eggs are enimic, pale and quite blaw tasting after eating natural eggs where the chickens can range and forage. The first thing a chicken will do in the AM is eat grass and greens, et al. I gave my chickens to my neighbors who also raise them so we wouldn't have to do the work. We now buy our organic eggs from them.

 

4. It's true there's frauds out there, but imo, the most subtile frauds are the AMA and the Cancer Society as well as the pharmacuticals who's agendas seem to be too largely money driven. They, imo, find it more profitable to look for cures than to find them.

[Dapthar]

There are a number of probiotics and antioxidants which I would used to help this condition' date=' Fresh extracted carrot/celery juice, other raw juices, aged garlic, leafy vegtables, green tea, Jason Winters tea, Essiac tea, aloe vera, selenium, beta carotene, vitamines A, C, E, grape seed extract, flax seed oil, et al.

 

I would ELIMINATE: White flour products, salt preserved and smoked foods, products with white sugar, hydogenated oils, margarines, peanut products, alcohol products, pickled foods, nitrited and nitrated products such as processed meats, colorings, all products with preservatives, etc.

The above are some things I would apply for myself or my family for any stomach problems.[/quote']I hate to be pedantic, but I have a hard time believing that this regimen will bring back one's stomach glands, which, as mentioned above, is the root of the disease that is believed to be a cause of cancer. This regimen will, at best, ease the inflammation, but not kill the virus.

 

When they got sick we knew what to do for the remedy. The body heals when you give it what it needs to do it. You don't treat the symptom perse. You treat the body. I and my elder son tend to get hay fever which can lead to asthma, if not attended to. I deal with that with diet, eliminating wheat and other conjesting products, applying antioxidants, et al. I never take any drugs of any kind and seldom have hay fever problems now. My children are grown and use some of what we taught them, but not as much as we'd like. They often consult us when they or their children get sick. They do use the docs some.

When applicable, lifestyle changes are effective at treating the root of some chronic conditions. I also advocate taking drugs only when absolutely necessary, otherwise, the medicine may become less effective over time, or worse, in the case of unnecessarily taking antibiotics, one can unknowingly create a drug-resistant strain of a disease.

 

However, holistic treatment is not a viable replacement for modern medicine. Why? As I mentioned before, simple symptoms of a disease can be deadly.

 

For example, consider allergic reactions. Some children have severe allergic reaction to peanuts, and usually, they find out via allergy tests that they undergo when they are very young. However, if one avoids doctors except when an emergency arises, the first time a parent finds out about such an allergy could be when their child experiences an anaphylactic shock.

 

To those not knowledgeable about this condition, it may easily be confused with choking, and by the time one realizes what's happening, the child may already have brain damage due to lack of oxygen, or even worse, the child may die.

 

If a parent is aware of this condition, and their child experiences it, then they could inject them with an EpiPen shot (EpiPens are auto-injectors for epinephrine) and provide their child the necessary time to get to the emergency room.

 

(Source: http://www.epipen.com/epipen_main.aspx)

 

The point is, if you only go to the doctor when you have a problem, then you may not find out about serious medical conditions until it is too late.

 

Holistic treatment IS a good diet and regular exercise, for the most part, often suplimented with minerals, vitamines, herbs, et al. These also are, unlike perscription drugs, essentially food.

If I remember correctly, the only "safe" vitamin supplement is vitamin C, since any accidental overdose is passed out through one's urine. However, 'fat soluble' vitamins can be very dangerous to take, since they take longer to be removed from the body, increasing chances of a toxic overdose.

 

Vitamins are categorised as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. Excessive consumption of certain vitamins, notably lipid-soluble vitamins, can cause toxic manifestations.

 

Compared to water-soluble vitamins, they are stored in much larger amounts in the body. Little is lost through urination.

 

On the other hand, water-soluble vitamins seem to do much less harm to the body because of the low toxicity of this class of compounds. This is probably attributable to the fact that excess quantities of the compounds are rapidly excreted through urination.

(Source: http://www.prn2.usm.my/mainsite/bulletin/sun/1996/sun43.html)

 

Thus, vitamin supplements are far from being "essentially food".

 

Your solution becomes a bit muddied when the symptoms of a disease are fatal.

 

We've never allowed sickness to advance to the stage of life threatening.

While I commend your conscious alterations to diet and dedication to regular exercise' date=' I reiterate that, as in the aforementioned example, sometimes one's first symptoms of an illness are life-threatening medical problems. As such, I cannot advocate, in good conscience, visiting a doctor only when a problem arises. Sometimes one must visit them, and push for certain tests to be administered, to determine potential future health problems, such as allergic reactions, or a predisposition for diabetes.

 

In some cases, such as if one has cystic fibrosis, exclusive use of holistic methods is a gamble people simply cannot afford to take.

 

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. A defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. These thick secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food.

(Source: http://www.cff.org/about_cf/what_is_cf/)

 

Prior to the advent of drugs that thinned the mucous that accumulates in CF patient's lungs, most were doomed to die in early childhood. However, after the advent of such medicines, the average lifespan of a CF patient has been increased to 30 years.

 

(Source: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:PpwJDJhCgNoJ:www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C133239.html+cystic+fibrosis+average+lifespan&hl=en)

 

The medical profession and cancer society's solution becomes very muddled when you factor in the $$ factor. It's too much $$ driven, imo.

Yes, but money is what drives research. Granted there is a rather pronounced dark side, namely, the most heavily funded drugs are those that the drug companies predict most people will buy. As a result, there is very little 'profit' in researching drugs whose target audience is primarily people who cannot pay for them, i.e. HIV/AIDS, or making existing drugs cheaper to help stop the spread of diseases that are common in areas with poor living conditions, i.e. cholera.

 

However, the sad fact is, very few people will do anything that does not directly benefit them unless there is a financial incentive. Unlike software, there is a rather large cost associated with drug research, so there is almost no hope of 'open source medicine', if you'll pardon my colloquialism. Thus, no money equals no research, so it is a necessary evil. Primarily those with the ability to pay benefit, but at least through government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, those in need can still, in theory, get the help they require.

 

Cheers, and the best of health to you and yours.

Thanks. I hope your lifestyle continues to keep yourself, and your family healthy as well.

[buzsaw]

I hate to be pedantic' date=' but I have a hard time believing that this regimen will bring back one's stomach glands, which, as mentioned above, is the root of the disease that is believed to be a cause of cancer. This regimen will, at best, ease the inflammation, but not kill the virus.[/i']

 

If the glands aren't totally destroyed a proper holistic regime should be able to detox and heal the glands. I suggest you check out http://www.stopcancer.com for incite on alternative treatment to the cancer. On the upper left column click on "Alternative treatments" or something like that. Dr. Day who was once head sergeon at a leading Califorinia hospital has a very inspiring and informative testimony of how she healed her own terminal breast cancer. I would be interested in your comments on this cite. I have Dr. Day's video of her own healing via holistic healing and geting the body ph up wher it should be to a slightly alkaline ph. It's been a while since I viewed the video, but I believe she relied mostly on a raw organic food regimen.

 

When applicable, lifestyle changes are effective at treating the root of some chronic conditions. I also advocate taking drugs only when absolutely necessary, otherwise, the medicine may become less effective over time, or worse, in the case of unnecessarily taking antibiotics, one can unknowingly create a drug-resistant strain of a disease.

 

I take it from the above that you are an md. Is that correct? Do you ever prescribe natural vitamines, minerals, herbal products, et al? What do you prescribe for stomach cancer patients as to diet?

 

However, holistic treatment is not a viable replacement for modern medicine. Why? As I mentioned before, simple symptoms of a disease can be deadly.

 

But I know by my own experience and data on drug induced deaths that so can prescription drugs. Dr. Day's own experience and testimony shows that had she stayed with modern medicine's treatment, she'd not still be with us. In her video she, in her 60's looked like 50. Btw, in one of the links on the cite she actually exposes the terribly cancered breast, not to be obscene, but to prove that her condition was indeed very grave.

 

For example, consider allergic reactions. Some children have severe allergic reaction to peanuts, and usually, they find out via allergy tests that they undergo when they are very young. However, if one avoids doctors except when an emergency arises, the first time a parent finds out about such an allergy could be when their child experiences an anaphylactic shock.

 

If you read carefully, I said that mds are good for testing and that mds should be consulted, preferably ones who include alternative methodology in treatment of disease. I said that I hadn't visited an md for decades, but that's me. I will concede that I have been remiss in not having checkups. I've went with "if I'm not broken, don't fix me," but then maybe there's some underlying problem that might show up. I've had heart skip on rare occasions, but when it comes on, I simply tighten up my diet regimen and it goes away.

 

To those not knowledgeable about this condition, it may easily be confused with choking, and by the time one realizes what's happening, the child may already have brain damage due to lack of oxygen, or even worse, the child may die.

 

If a parent is aware of this condition, and their child experiences it, then they could inject them with an EpiPen shot (EpiPens are auto-injectors for epinephrine) and provide their child the necessary time to get to the emergency room.

 

Alergies can be very efficiently treated holistically. I know, as I have a tendency to grass polen alergy. Again, whereas it use to be a big problem, I can now avoid it altogether or keep it very minor via diet adjustment and some supplimentation. Dairy and wheat products agrivate this condition for me, but I use almost none of these anymore.

 

The point is, if you only go to the doctor when you have a problem, then you may not find out about serious medical conditions until it is too late.

 

.......And if you do go, imo, you best go to one who's apprised on the holistic as well as the conventional, so as to receive the benefit of both. Hopefully, if nothing else this dialog will inspire you to check out the benefits of alternative treatments.

 

If I remember correctly, the only "safe" vitamin supplement is vitamin C, since any accidental overdose is passed out through one's urine. However, 'fat soluble' vitamins can be very dangerous to take, since they take longer to be removed from the body, increasing chances of a toxic overdose.

 

Natural vitamines are soooo much safer than prescription drugs, overall, that there's just no comparison. If deaths have come about as a result of these, it would be extremely rare, but tens of thousands die yearly from drug induced deaths. Someone has said that conventional mds often "bury their mistakes."

 

Thus, vitamin supplements are far from being "essentially food".

 

They are edible concentrated foods generally taken with meals and they are not prescribed medicines. Most would require large amounts to become a danger to health. Too much of anything can be detrimental to good health.

 

While I commend your conscious alterations to diet and dedication to regular exercise, I reiterate that, as in the aforementioned example, sometimes one's first symptoms of an illness are life-threatening medical problems. As such, I cannot advocate, in good conscience, visiting a doctor only when a problem arises. Sometimes one must visit them, and push for certain tests to be administered, to determine potential future health problems, such as allergic reactions, or a predisposition for diabetes.

 

I'll concede to that, but with the warning, that a visit to the Dr. led me personally down to the grave's threshhold. Until the conventional medical profession, in cluding the AMA and the ACS gets unbeholden to the pharmaceuticals, John Q public had better become apprised as to the alternatives to AMA"s money making medical methods.

 

In some cases, such as if one has cystic fibrosis, exclusive use of holistic methods is a gamble people simply cannot afford to take.

 

As reported in Clinical Pediatrics, Drucy Borowitz, MD, dept of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Buffalo, NY said that patients given multivitamine supplements did better and advised doctors in care of children sity cystic fibrosis should check for vit A and E deficiency. Researchers have found that A and E3 can be used to help the problem of moving vitamine A from the liver to blood in cystic fibrosis patients. Source: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, p. 265, 1990

 

In her excellent large 1200+ page book, All Your Health Questions Answered Naturally,, Maureen Salaman says on page 337, Vitamins A and E are important for another reason. They are antioxidants. One of the most serious effects of cystic fibrosis is the mssive lung cell damage. This can be overcome by supplementing with a good antioxidant formula that includes vitamins A, E and C, the minerals selenium, chromium and zinc; herbals such as garlic, ginko biloba, echinacea, goldenseal, and grapeseed; and the amino acids cysteine, methionine and glutathione. All have been studied and found to help battle the effects of degenerative diseases. She writes much more on this subject and the book covers nearly all diseases.

 

Prior to the advent of drugs that thinned the mucous that accumulates in CF patient's lungs, most were doomed to die in early childhood. However, after the advent of such medicines, the average lifespan of a CF patient has been increased to 30 years.

 

And the possible side effects of those drugs are?? My paragraph predeeding includes some of the possible alternatives to those drugs, not to mention dietary food adjusments needed to lessen the accumulation of mucous.

 

Yes, but money is what drives research. Granted there is a rather pronounced dark side, namely, the most heavily funded drugs are those that the drug companies predict most people will buy. As a result, there is very little 'profit' in researching drugs whose target audience is primarily people who cannot pay for them, i.e. HIV/AIDS, or making existing drugs cheaper to help stop the spread of diseases that are common in areas with poor living conditions, i.e. cholera.

 

However, the sad fact is, very few people will do anything that does not directly benefit them unless there is a financial incentive. Unlike software, there is a rather large cost associated with drug research, so there is almost no hope of 'open source medicine', if you'll pardon my colloquialism. Thus, no money equals no research, so it is a necessary evil. Primarily those with the ability to pay benefit, but at least through government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, those in need can still, in theory, get the help they require.

 

And why don't they allot that money to alternative natural products devoid of the horrendous side effects many of their products bring?

 

1. Because there's little profit incentive to do so. The research would be a fraction of what they spend on drug research.

 

2. Because they can't patent raw vegies, vitamines and minerals, so as to corner the market on their remedies.

 

Thanks. I hope your lifestyle continues to keep yourself, and your family healthy as well.

 

"Iron sharpens iron," for the benefit of all.

[Dapthar]

If the glands aren't totally destroyed a proper holistic regime should be able to detox and heal the glands. I suggest you check out http://www.stopcancer.com for incite on alternative treatment to the cancer.

I'm still reading the website at the moment' date=' so I'll hold off on commenting about it until I finish.

 

I take it from the above that you are an md. Is that correct?

Nope, far from it. I'm currently a student who's almost finished with their Baccalaureate studies (in EE and Math), and I have no plans to pursue studies in medicine.

 

If you read carefully, I said that mds are good for testing and that mds should be consulted, preferably ones who include alternative methodology in treatment of disease.

After rereading your post, I see that I misread the portion you are referring to. My mistake.

 

Alergies can be very efficiently treated holistically.

I agree, but one should not try to determine potential allergens on their own, as potentially fatal reactions may result. I still content that a child should have an allergen test performed by a doctor before they begin any sort of treatment regiment, holistic or otherwise.

 

.......And if you do go, imo, you best go to one who's apprised on the holistic as well as the conventional, so as to receive the benefit of both.

I agree.

 

Hopefully, if nothing else this dialog will inspire you to check out the benefits of alternative treatments.

I have investigated and used some rudimentary holistic methods myself. I may have already mentioned that via diet and exercise, I no longer experience asthma attacks.

 

In addition, a few years ago, even though my weight was normal, my cholesterol was dangerously high, (280+), and I was told that I would need to begin a drug treatment regimen to avoid potential damage to my blood vessels. However, I resolved to not resign myself to a daily prescription regimen, and 6 months later, via alterations in my diet, and a modified exercise regimen, I had lowered my cholesterol to acceptable levels (< 200).

 

Natural vitamines are soooo much safer than prescription drugs, overall, that there's just no comparison. If deaths have come about as a result of these, it would be extremely rare, but tens of thousands die yearly from drug induced deaths.

The problem is that doctors usually inform their patients of the dangers of prescription drugs, while vitamins, for the most part, do not have the potential side effects listed on the bottle.

 

They are edible concentrated foods generally taken with meals and they are not prescribed medicines. Most would require large amounts to become a danger to health. Too much of anything can be detrimental to good health.

I agree, but as I mentioned above, only one who takes the time to research vitamin supplements know about the side effects. In addition, most people intrinsically assume that vitamins are safe, and that 'more is better', so they very well could take 2-3 multivitamins per day. Since multivitamins usually have 100% of the recommended daily amount of a fair amount of vitamins, there is a real potential for overdose in such a situation

 

I'll concede to that, but with the warning, that a visit to the Dr. led me personally down to the grave's threshhold.

While this incident is unfortunate, it was most likely due to the doctor not properly investigating your risk for side effects. As such, it is an example of the system not working properly. I contend that, in large part, the 'traditional' system of medicine tends to benefit the patient more often than not.

 

John Q

On a related note, if you haven't seen the movie John Q, I highly recommend it. It is a rather extreme example of the medical system gone awry, and a fairly good movie as well.

 

As reported in Clinical Pediatrics, Drucy Borowitz, MD, dept of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Buffalo, NY said that patients given multivitamine supplements did better and advised doctors in care of children sity cystic fibrosis should check for vit A and E deficiency. Researchers have found that A and E3 can be used to help the problem of moving vitamine A from the liver to blood in cystic fibrosis patients. Source: [i']Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, p. 265, 1990 [/i]

I will try to find this article, but I'll reserve my comments until after I read it.

 

And the possible side effects of those drugs are??

Common side effects of Cystic Fibrosis drugs

 

As the data at the link indicates, most of the common side effects are rather mild, compared to the potential symptoms of the disease itself.

 

And why don't they allot that money to alternative natural products devoid of the horrendous side effects many of their products bring?

Actually, I'm interested in specifically what type research that you suggest they pursue, since, as you mention, most of the necessary ingredients for a holistic regimen are readily available.

[buzsaw]

The problem is that doctors usually inform their patients of the dangers of prescription drugs' date=' while vitamins, for the most part, do not have the potential side effects listed on the bottle. ........................................................................................................................

 

I agree, but as I mentioned above, only one who takes the time to research vitamin supplements know about the side effects. In addition, most people intrinsically assume that vitamins are safe, and that 'more is better', so they very well could take 2-3 multivitamins per day. Since multivitamins usually have 100% of the recommended daily amount of a fair amount of vitamins, there is a real potential for overdose in such a situation

........................................................................................................

Actually, I'm interested in specifically what type research that you suggest they pursue, since, as you mention, most of the necessary ingredients for a holistic regimen are readily available.[/quote']

 

1. Most of my vitamines and minerals state any warnings applicable, such as pregnant women, et al.

 

2. Side effects of vitamines are so rare and mild that little is needed in warnings and research by the user. If there is a danger, the company is going to play it safe and so state to cover them legally.

 

3. The daily recommended dosages are almost always way lower than needed for safety. Most researchers have concluded that many of these recommendations are too low for modern average diets.

 

4. I suggest that the AMA and ACS research the value of alternatives and implement them in their recommendations a lot more than they do rather than pushing for the knife, needle and pill so much. They won't because it's so money driven.