Health News and Tips
Arthritis
The scourge of Arthritis still remains in this modern world. No effective cure has been found as yet. Latest therapies like ‘immunosuppressants’ and ‘biologic response modifiers’ are bringing some relief, but no cure.
Many theories have been put forward for the causes of Arthritis. One theory focuses on Mycoplasma, as the infectious agent responsible for Arthritis. This theory was proposed by Dr. Thomas McPherson Brown (1906-1989), but his theories were not accepted by the Medical profession, even though a substantial number of Arthritis cases were either cured or substantially reduced. Dr. Brown fought an uphill battle to get his antibiotic treatments recognized by the medical profession. The Road Back Foundation was founded to continue the work of Dr. Brown. To quote from this site
“Working with Albert Sabin (later of polio vaccine fame) at the Rockefeller Institute just before World War II, Brown isolated a bacteria-like agent from the joint fluid of an arthritic woman and speculated that it might be the infectious trigger for her disease. The bug in question, then generically classified as an L-form, was too small to identify precisely, but with the advent of electron microscopy it was shown to be a class of cell-wall-deficient organisms which scientists named mycoplasma, for watery fungus.
Mycoplasma is ubiquitous and not at all easy to get rid of, but Brown found that it usually could be controlled by long-term, low-level doses of tetracycline. As that class of antibiotic evolved, he got even better results with the second and third generation, doxycycline and minocycline. Up to then, the only treatments for the various forms of inflammatory arthritis were for the symptoms, and this was the first credible therapy aimed at a probable cause.”
Asthma
There were reports that children suffering from Asthma in the big city of New York, got major relief after they had been on a visit to a dairy farm. The problem of rising incidence of Asthma in the developed world seems to be that we now live in super clean environment. This has led to the theory of 'Hygiene Hypothesis'. According to the FDA (The US Food and Drug Association of the US Department of Health and Human Services) "One of the many explanations for asthma being the most common chronic disease in the developed world is the “hygiene hypothesis.” This hypothesis suggests that the critical post-natal period of immune response is derailed by the extremely clean household environments often found in the developed world. In other words, the young child’s environment can be “too clean” to pose an effective challenge to a maturing immune system......More"
A research also says drinking farm milk can protect children against asthma and hay fever. The study of nearly 15,000 children is published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, Volume 37, Issue 5, pages 661–670, May 2007. Clinical & Experimental Allergy is the Official Journal of the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
Arthritis Cure with Ayurveda
Ayurveda is the ancient Indian medical science of healing using herbs, natural products like honey and different types of medicated oil massages.
One of the most spectacular Ayurvedic success story, which made international headlines, happened about 15 years ago, when the Sri Lankan (Ceylon) Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the first ever female Prime Minister of the world, arrived in India, to the State of Kerala in India, for treatment on a wheel chair, unable to walk due to Arthritis. After about 2 weeks of Treatment in a famous Ayurvedic Institution in Kerala, she was able to go back, walking unassisted on her own two feet, to rule Sri Lanka (Ceylon)……More from www.IndiaEnjoy.com
Blood Pressure
Those of you who are on Blood pressure medication should check whether you are on a class of medication called Beta Blockers. Beta Blockers have names which usually ends with ‘---olol’, like Atenolol Betaxolol, Bisoprolol, Carteolol, cebutolol, Metoprolol, etc.
If you are, then you should check immediately with your doctor, and enquire about the recent findings, that this class of medicines can cause diabetes. Ask your doctor if it is possible to have newer types of medicines to treat BP which are more effective and without side effects.
For more info read this article “Beta-blockers increase diabetes risk by 50 per cent” dated 06 September 2006 on the Daily Mail paper of UK.
Vitamin D
There are several claims that Vitamin D can cure or is very helpful in many diseases. For example the article in UK’s Daily Mail entitled ‘Could vitamin D really cure your arthritis?’ is worth a read. To quote a few lines
“Just in case there were any doubts about the importance of vitamin D - the 'sunshine' vitamin - two major studies published last week confirmed just how essential it is for good health.
One study found that people with higher levels in their blood were more likely to survive cancer, the other that having very low levels increased your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Previous research has linked high levels with fighting off infection and helping with all sorts of chronic problems. ……… Dr James Dowd, who works at the Arthritis Institute of Michigan, has been prescribing vitamin D to people suffering from chronic disorders such as arthritis, back pain and headaches and the result, he claims, is a huge improvement in their symptoms.”