Archive for the ‘Activism’ Category

Can’t Sleep? 18 Plants & Herbs Can Help

vitalplan.com/blog/natural-sleep-aids?

Natural Sleep Aids
18 plants and herbs for better sleep

by Beth Janes | Posted March 30th, 2018

We’ve all been there: Exhausted, but sleep just isn’t happening. Maybe your brain won’t shut down, or you can’t get comfortable. Or perhaps you did manage to drift off, but woke up feeling like you ran 8 miles, not slept 8 hours.

What gives? It’s likely a disruption in the normal tides of brain chemicals that are tuned into your circadian rhythms, says Dr. Bill Rawls, medical director of Vital Plan. And these rhythms are what either keep us awake or put us to sleep.

“During the day, levels of the stress hormone cortisol are elevated, which helps us get through day-to-day activities,” Dr. Rawls explains. In the evening, cortisol and its cohorts are supposed to ebb, making way for the flow of a new set of relaxing chemicals that induce and sustain sleep. However, stress and other factors, such as stuffy sinuses or aches and pains, can throw off the chemical tides—and your Zzzs.

While you may be tempted to pop a sleeping pill, they can come with dependency and other unwanted side effects. Instead, consider turning first to nature’s pharmacy. Research shows it’s stocked with plants that can promote a healthy sleep environment and may help you unwind, drift off, and wake up feeling energized and refreshed.

Here are three tips and a garden of options to try:

1. Bring nature into your bedroom

Not only do studies suggest that simply being around plants can help you feel calmer, certain varieties are especially effective at scrubbing the air of pollutants that cause sleep-disrupting symptoms, according to a paper in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Others, meanwhile, give off rest-promoting aromas.

• Air purifying houseplants

Take your pick of Areca, lady and bamboo palms, English Ivy, Boston fern, peace lily and Ficus. All are on the top-10 list of best houseplants for their ability to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor air, as assessed by a NASA researcher. Many building and household materials like paint, carpeting, and cleaning supplies release VOCs, which are known to irritate eyes and airways and trigger headaches and fatigue—in other words, symptoms that mess with sleep.

• Calming houseplants

Scents are known to affect the nervous system, and science shows that lavender, jasmine, and gardenia are especially calming. For example, researchers at Wesleyan University found that when people sniffed lavender oil before bed, they spent more time in deep sleep and felt more energized and refreshed in the morning. In another study from Wheeling Jesuit University, people were exposed to jasmine scents while sleeping, causing them to move around less, indicating better-quality sleep.

2. Sip your way to better sleep

There’s something immediately calming about cupping your hands around a warm mug of herbal tea and breathing in the steam that wafts up. But the right mix of steeped herbs in your cup could make the ritual even more effective.

Here are three teas to look for:

• Passion flower

“Passion flower helps bring on calm, and it also promotes muscle relaxation,” says Dr. Rawls. Those two benefits make this Amazonian plant especially effective for promoting sleep. In fact, people who drank passion flower tea for a week reported better sleep quality than when they drank a placebo tea, according to a study from Monash University in Australia.

• Chamomile and valerian

Perhaps the two most common herbal ingredients found in bedtime teas, their sleep-supporting benefits are well supported by research. For example, postnatal women who drank chamomile tea for two weeks reported less sleep interference from physical symptoms, according to a study in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Just be sure to listen to your body if you try these teas. While chamomile works well for many, it may keep others awake, Dr. Rawls says. Likewise for valerian: “About 25 percent of people who take it can feel agitated,” he says.

3. Use herbal supplements for temporary support

Certain herbs are believed to help you rest by affecting the brain’s gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a key neurotransmitter that induces sleep, Dr. Rawls says. The caveat: They work best if taken only intermittently — a few nights in a row to deal with occasional sleep trouble.

“If you use anything that hits the GABA system every night, whether it’s herbs or drugs, it can suppress natural GABA over time,” says Dr. Rawls. “That can cause a rebound effect that makes insomnia worse.”

Here are a few Dr. Rawls recommends for occasional sleep support:

• Passion flower

Tea isn’t the only way to take advantage of the calming properties held in the leaves of this pretty plant. For instance, a study in the Journal of Anesthesia found that patients about to undergo spinal anesthesia who took passion flower extract felt calmer than those who received a placebo. Another study found that a combination of passion flower, valerian, and hops worked significantly well for improving occasional sleeplessness.

• Bacopa

An herb native to India, bacopa has been used for thousands of years and is best known to help support memory, focus, and mental function. But it’s also calming and has a mild sedative effect, Dr. Rawls says. One study, for example, showed the herb could help mitigate some of the effects of stress.

• Motherwort

Although it originated in central Eurasia, this member of the mint family has long been used in herbal medicine, and it now grows in gardens in temperate areas of the world. “It’s a nice, calming herb that affects dopamine and has sleep-promoting qualities,” Dr. Rawls says. Russian researchers found that in subjects with high blood pressure and sleep problems, 80% of those who took motherwort saw significant or moderate improvement in low mood and related sleep trouble.

• Ashwagandha, magnolia, and phellodendron

“The key to a good night’s sleep isn’t what you do at bedtime, but instead it’s what you’re doing during the day,” Dr. Rawls says. Herbs like ashwagandha, an adaptogen that hails from India and parts of Africa, as well as magnolia and phellodendron help moderate daytime stress and may set the stage for healthy sleep.

Utilizing houseplants, teas, and supplements may be all you need for a good night’s rest. But for the best and lasting results, Dr. Rawls recommends combining plants with lifestyle changes that are known to improve sleep long-term.

“Regular exercise and other stress-reducing activities, as well as practicing healthy sleep hygiene like limiting screen time at night, are also essential elements for enjoying optimal sleep.”

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**Comment**
Lack of sleep is a huge problem with Lyme/MSIDS patients.  We slump through the day, feeling exhausted and depleted, and then roam the halls like zombies all night long.
I tried many, many things over the years and frankly, the best thing that helped me was Lyme/MSIDS treatment.  Get rid of the bugs and you can sleep again.
However, some other things that had limited effect were melatonin & valerian root tincture for me, and 5-HTP, & Gabapentin for my husband.  I know many patients who have to resort to stronger medications to get relief.
Some other hacks I learned through the years:
  • Try and determine if you can’t get to sleep or stay asleep, or both, as that will help your doctor pin point your problem and help you find the right remedy.
  • Get away from all blue-screens (computers, phones, iPads, etc.) preferably hours before bedtime, as that type of light tricks the body into thinking it’s day.
  • Establish a night time routine.
  • Perhaps take a nightly bath in epsom salts for detoxing and relaxing.
  • Read a book that will relax you – or even comics.
  • If you have a racing mind, keep a notebook and pen by your bed to write wandering thoughts or “to-do” lists so you can free your mind up.
  • Sleep in a completely blackened out room as any light will affect melatonin production.  If you can’t obtain that, wear a sleep mask.
  • If noises bother you, wear ear-plugs.
  • Exercise is important, but don’t do it too close to bedtime as it will rev you up.  And, speaking of exercise, do what feels good.  We have enough pain without adding more.  I walked.  Walking, as it didn’t give me pain, helped me tease out what was Lyme/MSIDS related pain as I knew it wasn’t due to walking.  If you are just starting up; however, you will notice it in your calves, shins, hips, and perhaps feet until your body adjusts.  Start by walking to the mailbox.  Add distance as you are able.  Wear good walking shoes.
Make sure you work with your doctor and be honest about inability to sleep as it is such an important aspect of healing.

Category:

Activism, Adrenals, Herbs, Lyme, Supplements

Chronic LD Summit #3

 

Lyme Disease is the fastest growing, vector-borne infectious disease in the United States and has been found all over the world! It knows no borders and can affect anyone at anytime.

The Chronic Lyme Disease Summit #3 is ONLINE and FREE starting April 30th!

 

MEET YOUR HOST… 

Hello, I’m Dr. Jay Davidson,

I know first hand what its like to almost lose a loved one to Lyme disease. My wife Heather was diagnosed with Lyme at seven years old and battled it almost her entire life until recently. After she gave birth to our beautiful daughter Leela, we went through the most terrifying and isolating time of our lives, searching endlessly for a way to help her.

After finding a solution and bringing Heather to the point where she is the healthiest she’s ever been in her entire life, I have now dedicated my life to helping others who are struggling with Lyme to overcome this terrible disease and start healing. I believe you deserve to be happy, healthy and live a fulfilling life.

I am so excited to bring to you the Chronic Lyme Disease Summit #3 with over 35 truly INCREDIBLE Lyme disease expert interviews. I can’t wait for the summit to start and I hope you gain tremendous value from it– you won’t want to miss this!

See you inside, Dr. Jay

 

Register here:  http://chroniclymediseasesummit3.com/?

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Treatment

Mushroom Extract Shows Promise For LD

http://www.rheaheraldnews.com/online_features/health_and_wellness/article_f766b28f-313c-57f4-81e8-79c29707a6ae.html  North American Precis Syndicate Mar 26, 2018 

Unique Mushroom Extract AHCC® Shows Promise For Lyme Disease

(NAPSI)—Once almost unheard of, Lyme disease is now a household word. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 20,000 new cases a year, and 10 percent of Americans say they know someone with chronic Lyme disease.

Yet the illness is tricky to diagnose. In the early phases, Lyme disease causes symptoms that can easily be mistaken for a case of the flu. And while some people see a distinctive bull’s-eye−shaped rash, not everyone does, and the rash doesn’t always look the same. As a result, it can take weeks or even months to get a correct diagnosis.

Worse yet, as time elapses, the bacterium that causes the disease becomes much harder to eradicate—making it more difficult to treat it effectively. Fortunately, a new pilot study shows that AHCC, a proprietary medicinal mushroom extract developed in Japan, can help alleviate the symptoms of both early and chronic Lyme disease.

Lyme disease: A hidden time bomb

Spread by black-legged ticks, Lyme disease initially causes symptoms such as rash, headaches, fatigue, fever, muscle aches, and joint pain. Timely treatment with antibiotics can be effective, but if the disease is not caught and treated early, more serious symptoms such as short-term memory loss and heart palpitations can emerge, as the bacterium spreads to the brain and heart.

Although early-detected Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics lasting 14 to 21 days, untreated chronic Lyme disease can continue for weeks, months, or even years after the tick bite. Those who have reached the chronic stage of Lyme disease run the risk of symptoms worsening and becoming long-term—causing emotional and physical stress.

AHCC: a potent immune system modulator

AHCC is an extract of the mycelia (root systems) of medicinal mushrooms and the best-selling immune supplement in Japan. It has been shown to modulate the body’s immune system in more than 20 human clinical studies and is used in more than 1,000 health care facilities around the world.

Rather than being directly anti-bacterial, AHCC increases the numbers and/or activity of several kinds of immune cells such as natural killer cells, T cells, and dendritic cells, as well as cytokines, the chemical messengers of the immune system.

Thanks to this ability to dial up immune response, AHCC has been shown to help prevent or treat a variety of bacterial and viral diseases such as HPV and hepatitis C in humans, and MRSA, influenza, and West Nile in animals. That impressive track record inspired a group of scientists to study how taking AHCC would affect Lyme disease patients.

Lead researcher says study results are “a truly exciting finding”

The study, conducted at The Salerno Center for Complementary Medicine in New York by Dr. John Salerno, enrolled 12 patients with a definitive diagnosis of early or chronic Lyme disease.

The participants took three grams of AHCC per day for eight weeks. At the beginning of the study, after four weeks, and again after eight weeks, Salerno and his associates measured symptoms such as rash, flulike symptoms, lymph node swelling, neck stiffness, and issues with the eyes, joints, and muscles, as well as neurological and cardiovascular symptoms. In addition, they looked for evidence of the bacterium and examined markers of immune activity.

After eight weeks, AHCC had improved the following symptoms: flulike symptoms; eye, joint, and muscle problems; and neurological and cardiovascular issues. Of the three patients who tested positive for IgM antibodies (produced by the body at the beginning of a Lyme disease infection) at the beginning of the study, none still had the antibodies at the conclusion. Of particular note, AHCC also significantly decreased inflammation.

“Inflammation is what makes Lyme disease so debilitating,” Salerno commented. “The fact that AHCC could reduce inflammation and improve Lyme symptoms is a truly exciting finding.”

AHCC may offer protection against Lyme disease infection

It is possible that taking AHCC proactively could prevent Lyme disease infection in the first place. A weak immune system makes the body more vulnerable to any kind of infection, whether from a virus, parasite, or bacterium. The stronger your immune system, the more likely it is to either prevent infection in the first place or clear an established infection more quickly.

In the case of Lyme disease, giving the immune system an assist in the form of more immune cells—and more active immune cells—could mean the difference between the infection being eliminated by the body in the early stages or developing into chronic Lyme disease, with its more serious symptoms. And as the new study demonstrated, even for those with chronic Lyme, AHCC can help mitigate debilitating symptoms through reducing inflammation, offering new hope for those who often feel hopeless.

How AHCC works:  http://ahccresearch.com/how-ahcc-works.html

For more information about AHCC or this study, visit www.ahccresearch.org.

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)

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Comment:  Inflammation is a killer.  Anything you can do to lower that will help you.  Many things are available including DMSO & MSM:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/  These, cheap, effective, and safe substances are available over the counter and help with pain, inflammation, detoxing, chelating, and more.

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, diet and nutrition, Inflammation, Lyme, research, Supplements, Treatment

The Truth Never Stood in the Way of a Good Story – How to Be Wakefielded

A lot of stuff comes across my desk.  The following is one such item that does a great job explaining how large establishments with deep pockets and financial ties to powerful sources can and do ruin anyone they deem a threat.  The media disseminates and propagates it, and before long lies are accepted as fact.  The public is caught in the cross hairs and suffers due to this bullying which has effectively hijacked Science.

https://mailchi.mp/460f498dd15d/wakefield-vaccines-autism-and-science?e=13022b5758  Used By Permission From Wellness Journeys

The Truth Never Stood in the Way of a Good Story

Whenever I read that Wakefield’s research has been thoroughly debunked and that he is considered a fraud and a quack, it saddens me because that is just not what happened, and Wakefield has never been proven to be a quack.

That is just the story everyone wants us to believe.

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Perhaps one or two of you don’t know about Dr Andrew Wakefield, who was attacked and maligned for his study that discovered problems with the MMR vaccination. Whenever someone says vaccination and autism in the same sentence, a deluge of screams echoing from the far ends of the earth is heard, saying, “That has been so debunked!”

However

To debunk a scientific study, one needs to debunk the science of that study. The man responsible for this so-called debunking is Brian Deer, who is not a scientist but a professional skeptic (and journalist), who was hired to debunk Wakefield’s study and write up the story. Coincidentally, Deer belongs to a group of professional skeptics that Fiona Godlee addressed during one of their meetings.  Fiona Godlee is the Chief Editor of the British Medical Journal.

According to Tim Bolen, an investigative reporter, it was Godlee who hired Deer to debunk Wakefield, while other sources say it was the Sunday Times who hired Deer. Both sources are linked here:

http://bolenreport.com/who-in-the-hell-is-brian-deer/

http://www.ageofautism.com/…/brian-deer-hired-to-find-somet…

The thing is, if you start to investigate this entire imbroglio, you’ll find that certain details have been ignored by a media more interested in sensationalism.

A simple point of fact is that when the British Medical Journal published Deer’s story, the article looked nothing like anything the journal had published in its esteemed history. It was, just like the rest of the media, a bit sensational, and lacking any real science. To a scientist, it looked like a libelous, ad hominem attack (an attack on the person of Andrew Wakefield).

We’ve been told that since Wakefield’s research, there have been further studies that showed the exact opposite, but we have to ask, were those studies fraudulent? while Wakefield’s study was not? I mean, who is to say which side is science and which side is fraud?

There are no objective arbiters in a field whose bottom line is the almighty dollar (or pound or euro). And when these cases go to court, the judges are not familiar with the science so both sides can bullshit their way through any court hearing using terminology that goes way over the court’s collective mind.

Since it seems that everyone in the world has come out against Wakefield (in fact there’s a new verb in the lexicon, “to be wakefielded”) and most doctors are afraid to go against the tidal wave of criticism, one must ask why have the actual findings in Wakefield’s study been ignored by everyone and the media and why was something debunked that actually never happened.

For instance, the study never claimed that MMR vaccine caused autism. Did you know that? Well here is the actual statement from the paper itself:

We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described [autism]. Virological studies are underway that may help to resolve this issue.

Next, it is suggested in the paper that the three in one vaccinations be broken up and administered at different times because there has never been a problem when that was exactly how they were handled, whereas they did find a significant problem when the three were given at once. 

That is really the only suggestion of the paper, and after the hullabaloo died down, Britain’s General Medical Council took that option away from the people. Three-in-one was it, and that’s that.

And finally, in the end, because the sampling was so small, the researchers did exactly what every study does that is small like this, it said that more research must be done before we really know anything.

The idea that vaccinations should be broken up and administered over an extended period of time is not a new one. But there really have never been any studies on how often, how many, and the timing of all these vaccines being administered to infants. Never. Doctors rely on adverse reactions being reported, but in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System database there have been reports of children turning into The Incredible Hulk. There are no real studies and the data cannot be trusted.

It’s just assumed, as Dr Paul Offit states, that “each infant would have the theoretical capacity to respond to about 10,000 vaccines at any one time.”

Well, I’ve got a few things for you to peruse. First off, here is Wakefield’s original paper published in The Lancet (which has been since been retracted):

http://www.thelancet.com/…/ar…/PIIS0140673697110960/fulltext

Next, there is a recently released movie on Amazon (if you have Amazon Prime it’s free) that I think everyone must see, which give’s Wakefield’s side. You’ll see he’s not a monster:

I would love to hear your comments. I’m not an anti-vaxer. I’m just interested in the truth and in good science; not science that is backed by billions of dollars, but science that is backed by sound methodology.

Wait A Minute! There’s More . . . And You Have To Hear This!

Because of Brian Deer’s so-called “debunking” of what will henceforth be known as the “Wakefield Study,” The Lancet’s retraction of the published results, and all the uproar and hullabaloo, the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council regulatory board ruled against the Wakefield team, denouncing them as frauds and they all lost their licenses to practice medicine.

Having moved to Texas where he still finds it hard to practice because of the defamation that began in England, Wakefield filed a defamation lawsuit against the BMJ and Brian Deer. It cost him millions to do so, millions being donated by his supporters. The courts threw it out on the grounds of jurisdiction, meaning, Texas was not the place to file this lawsuit. Wakefield would have to go to England to do that. And it only took the Texas courts (if I’m not mistaken) over three years to decide this.

But this isn’t the news you just have to hear. 

This did not make headlines. You didn’t hear about it. I didn’t hear about it. How could we hear anything when the moment the MMR is questioned, reporters who wouldn’t know real science if they tripped and fell into it just started echoing the continued screed of the BMJ, “That’s been thoroughly debunked! That’s been thoroughly debunked! That’s been thoroughly debunked!”

It’s hard to hear the truth when the lie is so loud. 

But, in 2012, just 6 years ago to this month (March), one of the doctors on Wakefield’s team, won his High Court appeal, with the Judge in the case quashing the General Medical Council’s findings. Though retired, Professor John Walker-Smith got his license to practice medicine returned to him and a third doctor, Professor Simon Murch was also cleared. 

The justice in this case ruled that there was “inadequate reasoning” to pronounce these researchers quacks and frauds and anything else the British press wanted to call them. That they performed their study and published it in good faith with no intent to do harm or defraud the public. But the good justice just had to reiterate that, “There is now no respectable body of opinion which supports (Dr Wakefield’s) hypothesis, that MMR vaccine and autism/enterocolitis are causally linked.”

Once again, that was never Wakefield’s hypothesis, and no, nobody has published a study linking autism to the MMR. The judge is correct on this last point.

However, there is a whistle blower from the CDC who has quite a bit to say on the subject.

In August 2014, Dr. Thompson revealed that the data underlying CDC’s principle vaccine safety studies demonstrated a causal link between vaccines and autism or autism symptoms, despite CDC’s claims to the contrary. According to Thompson, based upon interpretation of the data, “There is biologic plausibility right now to say that thimerosal causes autism-like features.” Dr. Thompson invoked federal whistleblower protection in August 2014. [Ref]

No, you won’t find any studies about thimerosal because the drug companies have removed it from their infant vaccines. 

So, as you can see, we’re cleared up nothing here. The media still screams, “That’s been thoroughly debunked!” thimerosal is still linked to autism like symptoms, and the MMR is given all at once, though in the US you may request to have them given separately, a year apart.

And Andrew Wakefield is still a quack, at least according to conventional, profit based medicine.

You can call me an antivaxxer or a quack all you want, but as a person truly interested in the Science, I am more than aware that anyone saying all vaccines are great or all vaccines are dangerous is not being scientific at all. When science actually focuses on healing with no conflicts of interest to worry about, then we’ll start to find the truth about all of medicine; and then we will start to focus on healing our brothers and sisters.

Copyright © 2018 Minnesota Wellness Publications, All rights reserved.

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For More:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/11/28/biological-mechanisms-of-vaccine-injury/  (Many more links following the article in this link)

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/09/07/20268/  The Lyme vaccine has caused the same symptoms as the disease and yet they keep peddling it without a care.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/28/the-secret-x-files-the-untold-history-of-the-lymerix-vaccine/  This article has the harrowing details of cases affected negatively by the Lyme vaccine.  Seriously heartbreaking stuff.

Category:

Activism, vaccines

Dementia and Lyme Disease With Dr. Cameron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqJbOnQ6NVo  Approx. 57 Min.  CASE STUDY: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON’S DEMENTIA WAS UNDIAGNOSED LYME DISEASE.  For several years, legendary singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson was believed to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. However, the musician’s memory problems were later identified as undiagnosed, untreated Lyme disease.  According to a story in the June 6, 2016, issue of Rolling Stone, doctors had believed the 79-year-old singer’s “increasingly debilitating memory loss was due to either Alzheimer’s, or due to dementia brought on by blows to the head from the boxing, football and rugby of his teens and early twenties.” He reportedly could not remember what he was doing from one moment to the next, the magazine reports.  For 10 years, Kristofferson was treated unsuccessfully for Alzheimer’s disease. After he was diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, his life changed. Kristofferson’s wife, Lisa, explained that once her husband stopped taking medication for Alzheimer’s and depression; and underwent three weeks of treatment for Lyme disease; his memory and mood changes were shocking.
“All of a sudden he was back,” she says. “There are still bad days, but some days he’s perfectly normal and it’s easy to forget that he is even battling anything,” she told Rolling Stone.  From Kris Kristofferson: An Outlaw at 80. by Neil Strauss in Rolling Stone at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/kris-kristofferson-an-outlaw-at-80-20160606. Last accessed 6/12/16.                                                                                                  _______________                                                                                                                                   For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/01/18/a-bug-for-alzheimers/           https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/25/a-brief-history-of-neuroborreliosis-research-dementia-an-inside-look-at-two-researchers/ https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/10/bugs-causing-alzheimers/  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/26/important-example-of-iv-antibiotics-for-lymemsids/https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/10/the-coming-pandemic-of-lyme-dementia/

Category:

Activism, Alzheimer's, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Treatment