How do your emotions make you sick or help you heal?

Emotions are like air. They are something we are surrounded by all the time. We live out of them, off of them and rarely recognize their presence. Each emotion, recognized or not, creates a cascade of chemicals that spill like an overflow from a reservoir into the blood stream and very shortly to every cell in the body. These chemicals of emotion are called neurotransmitters. Each emotion has it's own compliment of precise, accurate chemicals that carry a duplicate set of reactions that pattern our tissue function exactly after the nature of the original thought. If I am anxious, I squirt out a plethora of anxious neurotransmitters that then infuse each cell with anxious behaviors. This is okay, unless those tissues are your heart, bladder, or bowels; and thus heighten your anxiety.

As these "Chemicals of Emotion" set into action, they implant on the surface of every cell in the body and alter its' normal function to a state to match the character of the emotion. As each tissue then engages in that level of function to match our emotional state, even if it is totally unrecognized, the tissue becomes transformed in it character, quality and function.

So when the Chinese stated three thousand years ago, "emotion is the number one cause of disease", they were referring to the end result of this thought that becomes chemical, that alters function, that alters the nature and character of the tissue. As the tissue is changed, the body now enters the arena of a diagnosable disease.

Suddenly our Isle of Langerhans cells stop producing insulin, and we are diagnosed as diabetic. Did thought have something to do with that alteration of normal tissue function?

The number one indicators of pending death from a heart attack are: "I hate my job", and "I am unhappy in my marriage". The end result of those emotional states, hate and unhappiness, are the congestion and ultimate failure of our central organ of life and love, our heart.

Not convinced yet? A recent study showed that an optimistic attitude will lengthen your life from 4-7 years, while exercise will only increase longevity from one to three years. High blood pressure and cholesterol shorten your life span by 2-4 years. The single greatest impact on longevity is an emotional state. Optimism. Yes, you can argue that optimism isn't an emotion. True, but is a collection of positive emotions. And the impact is on quality as well as quantity of life.

Is it always necessary to clear our emotional data bank up to heal? No. Can emotions be an insurmountable factor? Yes. How can you know? If you don't want to go there, it is a factor, pure and simple. "If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you have always gotten." If you like your level of health, keep your emotional flow chart as it is. If your body is not supporting you on your chosen path, change. If you don't want to change, get comfortable with what you have and the quality of life you are engaging in. Does that make you bad if you don't choose to change? No, not at all. Life is just a series of choices and consequences. If you don't mind the consequences, the choices are not a problem.

Now, the last and perhaps most important point. Does work that a psychologist engages in deal with with emotion at the deeper levels that it touches your health? In my experience, most commonly, no. I think most psychologists would agree. As Dr. Phil says, "How is that working for you?"

Next month, we will discuss specific emotions, interactions of emotions, how you seek balance in the paradigm of full and dynamic health.

It is the time of the year to decide how you are going to make yourself a better person in the next year. The other day I had a conversation with a friend who taught a powerful principle. His son had been away from home for two years doing missionary service. As he was to return soon, I asked him if he was excited for his sons return. He said not really. Surprised I asked whey not? He responded with a profound thought. He said that while his son had have grown, matured and changed so much, he was sure that he had not grown or changed in the last two years. He felt he was the same person. It was an embarrassment to him to not have grown in the time that his son had improved and changed so much. It gave me pause to think of if I was the same or had I learned new truths, grown in new and profound ways, changed for the better, fulfilled dreams, lived out secret desires and moved closer to my divine potential.

Have you? Will you this next year? Are you willing to endure the discomfort of growth and change?

How do you want to be better next year? I set three goals each year. One spiritual/emotional, one physical, and one for my business life. The accomplishment of each goal will make me a better person, friend and especially husband and father.

I am very excited to set my new goals. Yesterday I reached the last of my physical goals. As the year progressed I was concerned that I had set my sights a little high. But yesterday in a great effort and with luck, I successfully did what I had set in my mind, written down and committed myself in words to do just under a year ago. What an immensely good feeling.

So now I ponder on what I want to commit myself to this next year. How do I want to be better? How do I want to influence the world to be a better place because I have improved?

So what are you going to do to be better? How are you going to better yourself? How can we help you? Every goal you set should see you healthier in each of the areas of SENSE, spiritual, emotional, nutritional, structural and energetic. They don't have to be big, or dramatic, just motivating, improving and inspiring to you. Set a goal to greet every day with a smile, a positive attitude, a willingness to receive, a love of self...or whatever you know will make you a better you.

So set your goals soon. Start reading them out loud daily by the first of December. By the time the new year peaks over the horizon, you will already be reaching toward a new and better you.

Congratulations in advance.

Exciting new research conducted at Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska has revealed that supplementing with vitamin D and calcium can reduce your risk of cancer by an astonishing 77 percent. This includes breast cancer, colon cancer, and other forms of cancer. This research provides strong new evidence that vitamin D is the single most effective medicine against cancer, far outpacing the benefits of any cancer drug known to modern science.

The study involved 1,179 healthy women from rural Nebraska. One group of women was given calcium (around 1500 mg daily) and vitamin D (1100 IU daily) while another group was given placebo. Over four years, the group receiving the calcium and vitamin D supplements showed a 60 percent decrease in cancers. Considering just the last three years of the study reveals an impressive 77 percent reduction in cancer due to supplementation. (The full press release of this study is included below. It provides more details about the findings.)

Note that these astonishing effects were achieved on what many nutritionists consider to be a low dose of vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight, which creates even more vitamin D in the body, was not tested or considered, and the quality of the calcium supplements was likely not as high as it could have been (it was probably calcium carbonate and not high-grade calcium malate, aspartate or similar forms). What does all this mean? It means that if you take high-quality calcium supplements and get lots of natural sunlight exposure or take premium vitamin D supplements (such as those made from fish oil), you could easily have a greater reduction than the 77 percent reduction recorded in the study.

American Cancer Society opposes vitamin D

This research on vitamin D is such good news that the American Cancer Society, of course, had to say something against it. An ACS spokesperson, Marjii McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology for the American Cancer Society, flatly stated that nobody should take supplements to prevent cancer.

If it seems surprising to you that the American Cancer Society--which claims to be against cancer--would dissuade people from taking supplements that slash their cancer risk by 77 percent, then you don't know much about the ACS. In my opinion, the ACS is an organization that actually prevents prevention and openly supports the continuation of cancer as a way to boost its power and profits. The ACS is the wealthiest non-profit in America and has very close ties to pharmaceutical companies, mammography equipment companies, and other corporations that profit from cancer. Notice the name, too: It isn't the American Anti-Cancer Society, it's the American Cancer Society! What they really stand for is right in the name!

The cancer industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and I've written extensively about the criminal organizations that protect and promote the industry. Just about everything the public is told about cancer by these cancer institutions is a lie. Those "race for the cure" cancer walks are a complete scam (they aren't really searching for any way to prevent cancer or cure cancer, they're only searching for new patented drugs to profit from cancer).

This research on vitamin D is a huge threat to cancer industry profit mongers because it reveals a way to prevent cancer for free--by seeking natural sunlight exposure and letting your skin manufacture your own powerful anti-cancer medicine (vitamin D). The idea that the cancer industry could lose 80 percent of its patients due to widespread education about vitamin D and sunlight scares the living daylights out of the cancer industry. Billions of dollars in cancer profits are at stake here, so the pro-cancer groups have to do everything the can to discredit vitamin D by creating doubt and confusion. The degree of dishonesty at work here is almost unbelievable to those who don't really know what's happening in the cancer industry.

Ten questions to ask yourself about the cancer industry
Consider these questions:

#1: Why does the cancer industry refuse to educate people about cancer prevention?

#2: If people keep donating money for the "search" for a cancer cure, why don't drug companies pledge to "open source" their patients on cancer drugs to benefit the people whose donations funded them in the first place? In other words, why do people donate money for cancer research but then get charged for cancer drugs?

#3: Why does the entire cancer industry so strongly dissuade people from using sunlight exposure to dramatically reduce their cancer risk? (Hint: Follow the money to the sunscreen industry...)

#4: Why have all the really good cancer supplements, clinics, and naturopaths been banned, arrested, or run out of the country? (Look up the FDA's oppression of Lane Labs over MGN-3 for a fascinating review of this...)

#5: The U.S. has poured billions of dollars into the cancer industry over the last three decades. Cancer cures were promised in the 1970's. Why are cancer rates still essentially the same today as they were in the 1970's?

#6: Why does the cancer industry continue to use chemotherapy, radiation, and other toxic procedures to "kill tumors" when the latest science clearly shows that cancer tumors are only the symptoms, not the cause, of cancer? Chemotherapy destroys immune function and causes permanent damage to the heart, brain, and liver...

#7: The World Health Organization says that 70% of all cancers are easily preventable through dietary and lifestyle changes. This latest research shows that sunlight and low-cost calcium supplements can slash cancer risk by 77% in women. Why won't conventional medicine embrace this low-cost, safe, and highly effective method for preventing cancer?

#8: The cancer industry routinely attacks anti-cancer herbs, superfoods, and supplements. Why is the cancer industry opposed to anti-cancer nutrition? Why does it believe that only man, not nature, can manufacture anti-cancer medicines?

#9: Dark skin pigmentation blocks ultraviolet radiation, meaning that people with black skin need far more time under the sun to generate the same amount of vitamin D as someone with white skin. Not surprisingly, black women suffer extremely high rates of breast cancer while black men show similarly high levels of prostate cancer. The white-dominated medical industry pretends to be "mystified" by all this. Why won't conventional medicine simply tell black people the truth about vitamin D, skin pigmentation, and cancer? Why do oncologists try to keep black people ignorant about their vitamin D deficiencies?

#10: Why is it illegal for nutritional supplement manufacturers to tell the truth about the anti-cancer effects of their products? Broccoli, garlic, onions, and sprouts all have powerful anti-cancer effects, as do dozens of rainforest herbs (Cat's Claw, for example), Chinese herbs, and Western herbs. But the FDA threatens and censors any company that dares to mention cancer prevention on its supplement products. Why is the FDA enforcing a policy of nutritional ignorance with U.S. consumers?

You probably already know the answer to all these questions, because the answer is the same for each one: Corporate profits. Cancer is hugely profitable to treat. Substantially preventing cancer would result in a loss of billions of dollars in profits for the oncologists, drug companies, hospitals, and clinics that currently prey upon the finances of cancer victims.

The cancer industry is operated like a criminal racket, using false information, intimidation, political pressure, and propaganda to protect its power base and keep its corporations profitable. And that, my friends, is exactly why the industry is against the use of sunlight to prevent cancer. Free medicine from the sky? The very thought of it makes the cancer industry cringe. Sunlight doesn't even need a prescription, you see, and it can't be patented, either.

Preventing cancer the healthy way

Let me tell you how I prevent cancer. I take long walks in the desert with no shirt on, and I don't wear sunscreen. I soak up the sun's rays for many hours each week, and I never get a sun burn because I eat lots of antioxidant-rich superfoods, berries, and fresh produce.

I drink a raw superfood smoothie each morning, made of fresh produce and superfoods. My two favorite recipes are chocolate (with raw cacao, coconut oil or macadamia nut oil, raw avocado, spirulina, quinoa, banana, and almond milk) and super berry (fresh berries, freeze-dried berries, egg white protein, stevia, aloe vera gel, fresh cucumber or watermelon, and celery).

I put no personal care products on my skin whatsoever: No deodorants, no fragrance, no skin creams, no cosmetics, and no sunscreen. This alone saves me from exposure to hundreds of cancer- causing toxic chemicals added to personal care products. I refuse to use chemical laundry detergent and, instead, use natural laundry soap that grows on trees: It's a natural soap berry product that we sell as a replacement for chemical laundry detergents. You can find it at www.betterlifegoods.com.

Corporate-controlled U.S. government doesn't want to prevent cancer

The U.S. government doesn't want the population to be free of cancer. That's a strong statement, so let me offer you an undeniable piece of strong evidence to back that up: The artificially low RDA numbers for vitamin D.

One of the best ways to keep the population suffering from cancer is to enforce long-term nutritional deficiencies that lead to cancer. The U.S. government accomplishes this by keeping the recommendations for vitamin D artificially low, practically guaranteeing that anyone who follows the recommendations will eventually be diagnosed with cancer. Vitamin D deficiency is the leading cause of breast cancer.

Most educated nutritionists agree that the daily dose of vitamin D for an adult should be at least 1000 IUs, perhaps as high as 1400 IUs. But the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IoM), which controls the recommendations on these things, currently states that adults under 50 only need 200 IUs of vitamin D a day. This policy, in my opinion, is an organized conspiracy to keep the American people diseased by making sure they stay deficient in anti-cancer nutrients. It serves the interests of all the powerful corporations and non- profits that run Washington. And yes, it is a conspiracy. I've documented it in far more detail in my book, Natural Health Solutions and the Conspiracy to Keep You From Knowing About Them, which reveals shocking details, documents, and photographs showing how modern medicine is a system that's literally designed to keep the people in a state of chronic disease.

The FDA doesn't want people to prevent cancer either. That's why they've aggressively attacked companies offering anti-cancer nutrients, and completely censored the very mention of the word "cancer" by supplement companies. In fact, the only reason I can print the information you are reading right now is because I sell no food or supplements and my free speech writing is not regulated by the FDA. If I were selling supplements and writing these same words you're reading right now, I would be arrested, charged with federal crimes, and put out of business by state or federal authorities. That's the reality of the oppressive medical environment under which we live today: Health is outlawed, and only disease is allowed to be promoted.

The cancer industry, you see, is not merely incompetent; it is criminal. Intentionally keeping a population sick so that you can profit from disease is a crime against humanity. And yet this is business as usual in America's modern cancer industry.

Discrediting simple, free, and safe cancer prevention strategies is also criminal, and yet this is what the American Cancer Society seems to do at every opportunity.

Plotting to profit from the suffering of other human beings is evil. And yet the entire revenue base of the cancer industry is based precisely on that: Keeping people alive long enough to "treat" them with overpriced toxic chemicals that can be billed to Medicare at 50,000% markups over their manufacturing cost.

Cancer is big, big business. And curing cancer is a threat to all the criminals participating in that industry: The non-profit employees, oncologists, doctors, federal regulators, drug company executives, med school propaganda teachers, pharmaceutical reps, and many others. These people cannot allow cancer to be prevented or cured. Their jobs and careers are at stake.

A world free from cancer and full of abundance

Personally, I believe we could create a world virtually free of cancer. We could accomplish it in two generations by taking tough action to outlaw cancer- causing chemicals and investing in genuine cancer prevention education. Drug companies would lose trillions of dollars in profits, hospitals would lose huge amounts of patients, and pro-cancer non-profit groups would lose money, power, and prestige. But guess what? We'd all be better off without cancer.

Here's a startling statistic: Did you know that reducing the cancer death rate by just 1% would be worth almost $500 billion to the U.S. economy over the next hundred years or so? (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Drop the cancer rate by 10% and it's worth $5 trillion dollars to the economy. (These gains are due to the increased productivity and life spans of working, contributing people.)

We know right now that vitamin D and calcium can slash cancer rates by 77 percent. Do the math on that, and you realize that sunlight and calcium could result in a $38.5 trillion boost to the U.S. economy over the next century.

That's enough economic productivity to pay off our entire national debt, build new schools in every town and city in the country, provide free college education to all young people who wish to go to college, invest billions in new energy technologies, and even fund massive health education campaigns to keep our population healthy. $38 trillion is a lot of money. With that kind of increased abundance, we could build a whole new society of health, wealth, and education.

But guess what? The cancer industry won't let it happen. There's too much short term profit to be made in keeping everybody sick. The cancer industry is so evil that it will sell out of future in order to maintain power, profits, and control over people today. The cancer industry doesn't want cancer rates to go down, regardless of the benefits to society or individual lives. The cancer industry wants there to be MORE cancer, which is exactly why it opposes commonsense prevention strategies that would reduce cancers. (It's true, this industry actually opposes removing cancer-causing chemicals from the workplace...)

Read more at Dr. Sam Epstein's website: www.preventcancer.com

The bottom line in all this? New research shows is that using low-cost calcium and vitamin D supplements (or just natural sunlight), we could slash cancer rates by an astonishing 77 percent. The cancer industry opposes this and is firmly positioned as an opponent of cancer prevention. The industry depends on cancer to grow its own power and profits, and it will invest in the de-education of the public in order to maximize its own revenues.

Cures for cancer exist all around us: Sunlight, rainforest herbs, anti-cancer foods and superfoods, etc. The causes of cancer are well known: Toxic chemicals in foods, cosmetics, personal care products, home cleaning products, and so on. So why don't we, as a nation, take steps to outlaw the things that cause cancer while promoting the things that prevent cancer?

The reason, once again, is because there's too much money at stake here. The corporations are in charge, and as long as they're running the show, cancer cures or prevention strategies that really work will simply not be tolerated.

Creighton press release

Here's the original press release about the new findings on vitamin D and cancer prevention:

Omaha, Neb., June 8--Most Americans and others are not taking enough vitamin D, a fact that may put them at significant risk for developing cancer, according to a landmark study conducted by Creighton University School of Medicine.

The four-year, randomized study followed 1,179 healthy, postmenopausal women from rural eastern Nebraska.* Participants taking calcium, as well as a quantity of vitamin D3 nearly three times the U.S. government's Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) for middle-age adults, showed a dramatic 60 percent or greater reduction in cancer risk than women who did not get the vitamin.

The results of the study, conducted between 2000 and 2005, were reported in the June 8 online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"The findings are exciting. They confirm what a number of vitamin D proponents have suspected for some time but that, until now, have not been substantiated through clinical trial," said principal investigator Joan Lappe, Ph.D., R.N., Creighton professor of medicine and holder of the Criss/Beirne Endowed Chair in the School of Nursing. "Vitamin D is a critical tool in fighting cancer as well as many other diseases."

Other Creighton researchers involved in the study included Robert Recker, M.D.; Robert Heaney, M.D.; Diane Travers-Gustafson, M.S.; and K. Michael Davies, Ph.D.

Research participants were all 55 years and older and free of known cancers for at least 10 years prior to entering the Creighton study. Subjects were randomly assigned to take daily dosages of 1,400 -1,500 mg supplemental calcium, 1,400-1,500 mg supplemental calcium plus 1,100 IU of vitamin D3, or placebos. National Institutes of Health funded the study.

Over the course of four years, women in the calcium/ vitamin D3 group experienced a 60 percent decrease in their cancer risk than the group taking placebos.

On the premise that some women entered the study with undiagnosed cancers, researchers then eliminated the first-year results and looked at the last three years of the study. When they did that, the results became even more dramatic with the calcium/ vitamin D3 group, showing a startling 77 percent cancer-risk reduction.

In the three-year analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in cancer incidence between participants taking placebos and those taking just calcium supplements.

Through the course of the study, 50 participants developed nonskin cancers, including breast, colon, lung, and other cancers.

Lappe said further studies are needed to determine whether the Creighton research results apply to other populations, including men, women of all ages, and different ethnic groups. While the study was open to all ethnic groups, all participants were Caucasian, she noted.

There is a growing body of evidence that a higher intake of vitamin D may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of cancer, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

Humans make their own vitamin D3 when they are exposed to sunlight. In fact, only 10-15 minutes a day in a bright summer sun creates large amounts of the vitamin, Lappe said. However, people need to exercise caution sine the sun's ultraviolet B rays also can cause cancer; sunscreen blocks most vitamin D production.

In addition, the latitude at which you live and your ancestry also influence your body's ability to convert sunlight into vitamin D. People with dark skin have more difficulty making the vitamin. Persons living at latitudes north of the 37th parallel--Omaha is near the 41st parallel--cannot get their vitamin D naturally during the winter months because of the sun's angle. Experts generally agree that the RDA** for vitamin D needs to be increased substantially, however there is debate about the amount. Supplements are available in two forms--vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Creighton researchers recommend vitamin D3, because it is more active and thus more effective in humans.

*Study participants came from the Nebraska counties of Douglas, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Saunders, Washington, Sarpy, Burt, and Butler.
**RDA recommendations for vitamin D are 200 IU/d, birth-age 50; 400 IU/d 50-70 years; and 600 IU/d, 70 years and older.

About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a strong interest in personal health, the environment, and the power of nature to help us all heal. He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports, and consumer guides, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of super bright LED light bulbs that are 1000% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted technology pioneer and founded a software company in 1993 that developed the HTML email newsletter software currently powering the NewsTarget subscriptions. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira, and Pilates.

Together, let's kick cancer's butt!
You are invited to join us for a FREE one-hour seminar hosted by Dr. Olson on natural ways to help reduce your risk of developing cancer. This is VITAL information, so bring family members, friends, coworkers, or anyone you know that will benefit from this class!

When: Saturday, November 10th @ 10AM

Where: Olson Chiropractic
1360 Big Bend Square
Manchester, MO 63021

Seating is limited for this class, so call Diane or Nicole at 636-225-2121 to sign yourself and your friends up today!

Have you heard about the Superbug Ear Infection going around that is resistant to drugs? NOW is the time to learn how to naturally treat your child's ear infections. Dr. Johnson will teach a FREE one-hour seminar on natural remedies that are not only safer, but they are also more successful than antibiotics or tubes in the ear.

When: Wednesday, November 14th @ 7PM

Where: Olson Chiropractic
1360 Big Bend Square
Manchester, MO 63021

Please call 636-225-2121 to reserve your spot TODAY!

The "Ask the Doctor Anything" Class

Dr. Olson will be taking 60-90 minutes this month to discuss.....anything you want to discuss! If there are any topics that you had questions on, NOW is the time to come armed with your questions. This forum is FREE to you and any of your friends, so please share this with anyone who would benefit from this session.
Don't have any questions?? Well, feel free to come listen to everyone else's. It is still a perfect learning opportunity!

When: Wednesday, November 28th @ 6:30PM

Where: Olson Chiropractic
1360 Big Bend Square
Manchester, MO 63021

Please call 636-225-2121 to sign yourself and your friends up TODAY! We do ask that you please refrain from questions regarding personal case histories.

-"A vaccine that has dramatically curbed pneumonia and other serious illnesses in children is also having an unfortunate side effect: promoting new superbugs that cause ear infections."

-Prevnar is a pneumococcal vaccine that prevents 7 strains of strep responsible for most cases of pneumonia, meningitis, and deadly bloodstream infections. However, there are many strains not included that have flourished and become impervious to antibiotics since the vaccine combats the more common strains.

-"Prevnar is losing its punch because strains not covered by the vaccine are filling the biological niche that the vaccine strains used to occupy, and they are causing disease."

-The strain that is causing the most grief is called 19A. It has shown to cause ear infections in children aged 6-18 months, and it is resistant to all pediatric medications.

-"All 19A strep subtypes tend to be resistant to some drugs and have been growing in prevalence"

-Dr. Cynthia Whitney, chief of respiratory diseases at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that "Avoiding antibiotics when they are not needed is the best way to ensure they will work when they are."

-"British scientists may have found a connection between deodorants and breast cancer. They measured the aluminum levels in breast tissue from 17 breast cancer patients and found that it was highest in all of them in the upper outer quadrant region of the breast, where there would also be the highest concentration of deodorant.

-Deodorants and anti-perspirants consist mainly of aluminum salts, which have long been linked to cancer. Researchers said that aluminum is capable of binding to estrogen receptors and is also a carcinogen which damages DNA.

Source: Hubbard, Sylvia. NewsMax Sept. 21, 2007

-Need a safe alternative to aluminum in deodorant? Try the Wholefood Farmacy Hi Roller. Just click the Hi Roller link on the left side and scroll down until you find it!

-"Reports of dangerous side effects and deaths from widely used medicines almost tripled between 1998 and 2005"

-Oxycontin (generic: oxycodone) was one of the 15 most commonly linked with death, and insulin, Vioxx, Remicade, and Paxil were most common with serious nonfatal complications

-In the 1998-2005 time frame, "a total number of 467,809 serious complications were found. Reported deaths nearly tripled, rising from 5,519 to 15,107.

-The FDA is aware of the growing problem, but stated that the reason for the increase "is not completely known." (Dr. O's comment: WHAT?!?! You and I both know what it is...excessive drug use. Let's do our part to alleviate this tragic problem: Use drugs only when absolutely needed to save your life; not to manage your problems.)

Source: Associated Press, Sept. 12, 2007

-"Researchers at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have clarified the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of head and neck cancers, showing that people who stop drinking can significantly reduce their cancer risk.

-After 10 years of alcohol cessation, risk of head and neck cancers have reduced significantly. After 20 or more years, the risks were similar to those who never drank alcohol.

-Dr. Rehm, the CAMH Principal Investigator, said, "Alcohol cessation has very similar effects on risk for head and neck cancers as smoking cessation has on lung cancer. It takes about two decades before the risk is back to the risk of those who were never drinkers or never smokers."

-Even though vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements can complement a healthy diet and lifestyle, consumers cannot count on them to boost immune response, according to "The Truth About Your Immune System: What You Need to Know," a Harvard Medical School report.

-Lifestyle factors are the most important part in human immunity, and the factors that keep immunity in good shape are the same ones that promote overall health: Avoiding tobacco; Eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in saturated fat; Exercising regularly; Maintaining a healthy weight; Controlling your blood pressure; Drinking in moderation (if at all); Getting adequate sleep; and Taking steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and preparing foods safely.