Sleep and Memory

By On · Add Comment · In deep sleep, fragmented sleep, memory, naps, relational memory, sleep, sleep intensity, slow wave sleep

I’ve been forgetting a lot lately, making stupid mistakes at work, and bumbling like an idiot–basically running on half my cylinders. I attribute it to getting very little sleep since my daughter, Violet, was born on September 27th. I estimate that I’ve gotten only two or three good night’s sleep in that time. Interestingly, I fall asleep no problem, but wake up every hour or two whenever Violet and my wife wake up for baby’s feeding. Ugh…

So when I caught the results of this latest study on sleep and memory, I guess I wasn’t surprised, as I’ve been experiencing exactly what they have found to a tee. Neuroscientists have found, in several distinct yet related experiments, that uninterrupted sleep is necessary for our processing of memories. Fragmented sleep, which appears to be a more common sleep disorder than insomnia, can actually suppress the birth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, where memory-making begins–enough to hinder learning weeks after sleep returns to normal.

What seems to be important here is not so much sleep duration, but quality of sleep, which is known as sleep intensity. Sleep intensity is important in how memories stick, and the stage of sleep that is most important for this process is “slow wave sleep” or deep sleep. This is the stage right before REM sleep, the stage where we dream. If we fail to enter deep sleep, our memories suffer.

But there’s great news: Nappers were not only found to have better memories, but they also had a greater ability to put together separately learned facts–a process called relational memory. English-speaking subjects were given lists of Chinese words spelled with two characters–such as sister, mother, maid–and memorized them. Then half took a nap, being monitored to be sure they didn’t move from slow-wave sleep into the REM stage.

What the researchers found was that the nappers did much better at automatically learning connections in the words they’d memorized. They also were better able to learn about new words they hadn’t yet encountered by piecing together information from the first sets of words. The conclusions of the studies–uninterrupted sleep is necessary for memory and creativity in problem solving; and naps, even if the short cat-nap variety, are very efficient at providing the the deep sleep necessary to develop long-term memories. Fascinating!

So, I’m hoping that I’ll soon be getting more sleep. Until that time comes, though, I’ll probably keep sending empty boxes to vendors, calling my assistant by a different name, and paying my phone bill with a check to my credit card company. But I won’t even try to memorize Chinese words without a nap.

Medical Shortage

By On · Add Comment · In insurance companies, medical costs, medical doctors, medicine, primary care physicians, universal health care

Looks like medical doctors don’t care for this federal health care stuff. According to a recent survey, many primary care physicians plan to quit or drastically cut down their hours seeing patients because they are feeling “overworked.” 7,200 physicians surveyed said they would NOT recommend medicine as a career. Wow! Neither would I.

The doctors surveyed stated that they’re simply bogged down by paperwork; and this paper-pushing leads them to give less time to patients. For any doctor who is in the game to help people, I can attest, this is a frustrating situation. And it isn’t going to get any better with a universal health system, that’s for sure.

The paperwork attached to the federal health programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal and state insurance plans is oppressive. Yes, yes, yes, there is some fraud going on, and the government doesn’t like being cheated. But the strain caused by the paper-pushing rigmarole is just too much. Geez. The feds think it curbs costs, but in fact, it reduces quality of care. And worse yet, our skilled and hard-working primary care physicians are ready to walk away. The only worthwhile career in medicine today is in specialization–surgeons, oncologists, anesthesiologists, and the like. Who wants to see 100 people in a day, and then stay in the office all night doing paperwork? Sure makes research sound good.

I have to sympathize with the doctors here. I understand why all this paperwork craziness is happening. Medical costs are spiraling out of control, and part of the problem is fraudulent billing–from doctors and hospitals. Understandably, insurance companies don’t want to pay for anything that hasn’t actually taken place–you know, double paying for surgeries, paying for patients who weren’t really in the hospital, and so on. But to overburden doctors with safeguards, in the form of government forms, and so much that patients end up losing quality of medical care just doesn’t make sense. Insurance companies just have too much damn power, and it’s time they stop being placed on the top of the priority list. Let them police their own damn suspicions, and if they catch a fraudulent doctor or hospital–then great, throw the book at them. But to have the support of the federal government in this documentation madness is just that–mad!

Not the Answer

By On · Add Comment · In calorie counts, childhood obesity, commercials, fast-food, obesity, television, TV advertising

Some medical experts are so perplexed by the obesity epidemic that they are now grasping at straws. Take the latest study looking at the effects of fast-food advertising on childhood obesity to get a glimpse of the newest far-fetched fantasy–blaming businesses for people’s poor decision making, and then trying to regulate them. That’s what happened in New York City this year with mandated calorie count menus, and we may now see Federal regulation of television advertising for fast-food restaurants.

The study on childhood obesity–afflicting nearly one third of all American children–will be published this month in the Journal of Law & Economics. It looked at TV advertising, finding that as much as 23 percent of the food-related ads kids see on TV are for fast-food restaurants. Some estimates have children seeing tens of thousands of fast-food commercials every year. The study then used a statistical test which assumed fast-food ads lead to obesity, but made calculations to address other influences such as income and the number of nearby fast-food restaurants. They also took into account that some children might be obese despite their television watching habits. The conclusions of the study were that banning fast-food TV ads would reduce childhood obesity by 18% in young children and 14% in older children–basically five to six out of every hundred kids.

Oh heavens. OK, these kinds of studies make my stomach turn. What a bunch of nonsense motivating and perpetuating this type of research. Do television ads drive people toward consumerism? No doubt. Do television ads geared toward children influence their buying habits? Absolutely. Does eating fast-food repeatedly make people fat? Without question. Does banning fast-food TV ads really make sense in our pro-commerce society? Not to me it doesn’t. Another recent study showed that watching television in general increases the risk of childhood obesity. Should we ban television? As a matter of fact, plenty of studies point to television as a source of idiocy in its worshipers. Should we ban television to reduce idiocy? Should we ban alcohol because of the numerous deaths it leads to, or the violence, or the promiscuity, or the running naked through sporting events? Yeah, they tried that once–it was called Prohibition. It didn’t work.

Instead of perpetuating this victim mentality that seems so pervasive in our culture, why not be honest with ourselves and say it like it really is: children are obese because their parents are either ignorant or child abusers. No way a child learns to eat McDonald’s every day on his or her own. They learn from, and are enabled by, their parents. You know it’s true. I know it’s true. So why the hell is the federal government funding a study to find blame with the fast-food industry? Where’s the personal responsibility? I don’t like pop music; and I think much of today’s rap music teaches kids poor life lessons; but I don’t want to ban it. And any attempt to do so is usually met with massive resistance.

So why this attack on fast-food restaurants? Simple. Because when people (adults) have no self-control of their own–they overeat, eat crap, don’t exercise–they can’t fathom forcing self-control upon their children. So instead they blame. Blame everybody but themselves. OK, post calories on menus; then people will have nobody to blame but themselves, because posting calories won’t give people self-discipline. Printing warning signs on cigarette packs hasn’t stopped people from smoking, nor has printing warning signs in bars kept people from drinking. So banning TV commercials won’t lower the childhood obesity numbers. Only banning fast-food altogether will do that. Throw in a ban on Coca Cola and television, as well as mandating five days of exercise for every child, punishable by jail time for failure to sweat sufficiently, and maybe…just maybe…childhood obesity will decline. But is that really the world we want to live in?

Guerrilla Gardening

By On · Add Comment · In community, eco-consciousness, green, guerrilla gardening, health, illegal, planet, plants

I just saw the coolest thing on PBS yesterday–guerrilla gardening. Guerrilla gardening is a late-night clandestine activity, where total strangers get together to beautify their city…by planting gardens! That’s right, from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Sydney to London, people that know each other only by pseudonym, getting together to illegally plant cacti, agave and vegetables in vacant lots and spaces throughout the city. Wow! I’m blown away.

This is a health blog. So what the heck does guerrilla gardening have to do with health? Everything. Guerrilla gardening is health. And community. And eco-consciousness. And planetary health. It’s exactly what’s right with people, when often there seems to be so little to encourage us about human behavior. I LOVE THIS PRACTICE!!!

The reason guerrilla gardening is against the law is because the lots are city property or privately owned. Check out this article on guerrilla gardening from the L.A. Times. They discuss how one PO’d land owner rototilled an entire farm of garlic, potatoes, radishes, carrots, lettuce, onions and more, that had been growing for over one year on his vacant lot. Some property owners don’t take kindly to others gardening on their land, and they have the law on their side; so guerrilla gardeners do most of their work at night.

Ever notice the plant life on a freeway on-ramp or off-ramp? Where do you think it comes from? I always thought it was a gift from the city. Haw, haw, haw–fat chance. Fortunately, in cities where guerrilla gardening is taking place, the cops have better things to do then bust up a crew just taking pride in where they live.

Once again let me say that guerrilla gardening is health. It’s the type of consciousness that really makes a difference on this planet. We hear so much about eco-minded groups and people, but I must say, rarely, do I get inspired by any of the groups we hear about regularly on the news. Guerrilla gardeners are today’s true green movement. If you love to garden and you’ve got some time and energy to give, I can’t think of anything more worthwhile then Guerrilla Gardening (check out their website here, and here to get involved). And some guerrilla gardening videos here.

Obama’s Dog Woes

By On · Add Comment · In allergies, dander, dog, HEPA filters, hypoallergenic, Obama, president

Sorry Obama family–there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Responding to the president-elect’s first press conference after winning the election last week, where he said his eldest daughter, Malia, “is allergic,” allergists have disclosed that there just is no such thing.

Are you a dog lover? Do you think that some breeds are better than others when it comes to minimizing allergies? Well, no such luck. As it turns out, all dogs produce proteins that can cause allergies in humans. These proteins can be found in a dogs’ dander–which is dead skin cells, not fur–saliva and urine. Regular grooming can help, probably why misconceptions abound about hypoallergenic breeds as some breed are groomed more regularly than others. But as far as hair length goes, short hair is no different than long when it comes to allergies.

If you have a dog, and you are allergic–specifically allergic to dogs, not generally allergic to everything–then take solace that many people “outgrow” their allergies, although it may take years. But here are some things you can do to lessen the discomfort:

  • Clean the house often, with vacuums equipped with special filters (HEPA filters are best) and double bags.
  • Keep the dog out of the allergic person’s bedroom.
  • Remove carpeting, where dander can also build up.
  • Bathe the animal weekly.

Or better yet, if you haven’t got a dog, and you or your child is allergic–don’t get one. How about a presidential goldfish?

Barack Obama Supports Chiropractic

By On · Add Comment · In Barack Obama, chiropractic, chiropractors, doctors, health care, insurance, Medicare, preventive care, quacks, Uniformed Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, wellness
Earlier in the year I wrote a post titled, Are Chiropractors Real Doctors? It has been, by far, my most popular post. The responses were overwhelmingly negative. Aside from the “quack” comments, much was written that I couldn’t keep up–it was nasty, vulgar, insulting, and worst of all, posted entirely by Mr. and Ms. “Anonymous”. That led me to write this post. I, frankly, would have been happy to leave up the nasty comments, and would have loved to respond to them had any author claimed them with a name; but I wasn’t going to get into a debate with a hidden identity–not interested in that.

So what was all the hullabaloo about? The main gist was that chiropractors are NOT real doctors! “Quacks, that’s all,” according to one poster. Well, I think I made my points rather concisely in the blog post, and especially in the concurrent podcast [The Dr. Nick Show (Episode 5)]. But to put a little more weight behind my argument, why not listen to what President-elect Barack Obama has to say on the subject.

In his position statement to the chiropractic profession, he stated:

  • As you know, chiropractic care is low-cost, drug-free, noninvasive, and has been shown to have a positive impact on patients’ health.
  • I believe steps should be taken to acknowledge the important care chiropractors provide, and knock down unreasonable barriers of access and discriminatory insurance coverage that stand between so many patients and the care they need.
  • I have a plan to support doctors of chiropractic. I support expanding the range of chiropractic services covered by Medicare.
  • I support commissioning doctors of chiropractic as officers in the Uniformed Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service…to deliver the nation’s public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science.
  • My health care plan also prioritizes preventive care, and chiropractors play a significant role in this effort. As we shift our health care delivery system towards a culture of wellness and disease prevention, I believe that chiropractors must play an integral role in expanding access to preventive care and strengthening our public health system.

Booyah! There you have it…from the President-elect. To honor this great health-promoting statement by what’s promising to be a great leader, I will leave all comments up on this one, so fire away, Anonymous.

Wisdom

By On · Add Comment · In heart attack, medicine, nutritional supplements, paradigm, statins, stroke, vitamins

There has been a long history of competition between conventional medicine and proponents of nutritional supplements. Conventional medicine spends a lot of time “debunking” the utility of nutritional supplements. You know what I’m talking about; you’ve heard it; you’ve heard the medical “experts” on T.V. say that taking vitamin supplements is useless. I’ll bet it confused you.

It confused you because common sense tells you that vitamin supplements are helpful. It also confused you because you’ve heard from so many people–your chiropractor, your acupuncturist, your trainer, your nutritionist, other medical doctors, the same T.V. news program reporting on a different story–that taking vitamins is good for you. So which one is it: good for you, or not necessary?

Well you won’t get a straight answer any time soon, as the mainstream medical machine is stepping-up the propaganda. According to new reports, vitamins C and E are useless for cutting the risk of heart attack or stroke. So are vitamins B12 and folic acid, according to another report. However, a third report shows that the statin drug Crestor cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke as well as reduces deaths from both, even in people with normal cholesterol. Wow! Frickin’ drugs, man…they’re miraculous!

Okay, here’s my problem with these studies. Taking nature and trying to squeeze it into a faulty paradigm is erroneous at best, and dangerous at worst. Vitamins are substance not produced by the human body, but necessary for life. We get most of our vitamins from the foods we eat. But the important point is: we need them. We do not need drugs. Drugs are useful, but we don’t need them. We’ve gotten through ~200,000 years of evolution (or 99.9% of our existence) without drugs…but not without vitamins. True, we have been supplementing for a far shorter time than we have been taking drugs…but we need vitamins. So the real questions should be: Do vitamins supplements work, and what do they work for?

The problem with the types of studies mentioned above is that modern researchers are trying to fit a natural and essential substance into a medicinal paradigm. Today’s medical paradigm is a disease treatment paradigm, not a health paradigm. Nothing wrong with fighting disease, but it’s entirely different than enhancing health. To look at vitamins for their disease fighting properties alone is nonsensical. They are life giving substances, health-enhancing material–taking vitamin supplements promote life, they don’t necessarily fight disease. That’s where medicine goes wrong; with medicine everything is about fighting disease.

Frankly, this paradigm and disease-fighting model is severely limited, and becoming progressively more expensive. When we spend billions of dollars studying and focusing on a small percentage of the population’s health woes then, ultimately, to sustain the costs, the model must be carried over to the general population. Thus the powers that be start rationalizing why we need drugs “even in normal people.” I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy–these well meaning “experts” believe it. Why? Because they create studies, and collect data, that fit into their model. And the results, by design, are forced to reflect the operative paradigm, so we get limited knowledge. As it has been said: Knowledge comes from knowing the facts, but wisdom comes from asking the right questions. So validating substances, or the practices surrounding them, based on their disease-fighting capabilities alone is simply foolish.

Racy T.V. Raises Teen Pregnancy

By On · Add Comment · In pregnant, T.V., teen pregnancies, teens, television

Your teenage daughter into Gossip Girl? Sex in the City? If so, there’s a greater chance she may become pregnant. So says the latest study on the subject published in the medical journal, Pediatrics.

According to the study conducted by the RAND Corporation, teen pregnancies are twice as likely among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior than among those who have tamer viewing tastes. The study looked at 2,003 12 to 17 year old girls and boys across the country. The teens were asked about their T.V. viewing habits in a telephone interview conducted in 2001. They were then periodically re-interviewed–the last time in 2004–and asked about pregnancy. Teens who watched the raciest shows the most (Sex in the City was one of more than twenty shows asked about and recorded in the study) were twice as likely to become pregnant (or get a girl pregnant in the case of boys) than teens who “hardly ever saw them.” Friends and That ’70s Show were a couple other shows considered racy.

Having two daughters myself, I find this study interesting. First off, I’m no moral majorist–I have no beef with these types of shows being on television. However, I’m pretty adamant in my belief that lots of television watching turns people into idiots; so my wife and I pretty much discourage that as our childrens’ primary activity. A little T.V. here and there is fine. But sitting for hours like a zombie in front of the idiot box is simply self-destructive. Numerous studies come out every year showing the detriment of television watching for kids even beyond teen pregnancy, so why get them hooked early on?

According to the study, teen pregnancies were increased even when other factors were considered, including grades, family structure and parents’ education level, so don’t think it can’t happen to your kid. Have you watched television lately? Why would anybody want to watch the mundane lives of reality “stars” anyway? Rachel Zoe, indeed. My advice is get your child into art and reading right away. That’s what we do. And we have pets, so the girls have lots to keep them occupied–chasing, poking, talking, petting, screaming–much more fun than the garbage that’s on the stupid-box.

West Hollywood Chiropractor Reaches out to Prop. 8 Protestors

By On · Add Comment · In American Medical Association (AMA), ban, California, chiropractic, civil rights, gay community, Mormon Temple, No on 8, Proposition 8, same-sex marriage, West Hollywood, Wilk vs. the AMA
More than 1,000 people turned up for a rally against California’s ban on same-sex marriages in West Hollywood over the last several nights. Although the protests were relatively peaceful on Wednesday night–the night after the election–about 500 people broke off of the main group and tried to break a police line, with one protester jumping on a police car. According to police sources, several people were arrested.Thursday night, however, was a different story. The protest at the Mormon Temple on Santa Monica Boulevard in Westwood turned ugly when protesters clashed with church members. Fists flew and one man’s nose was bloodied by an angry commuter. More than 2,000 marchers descended on the Mormon temple Thursday, calling for “No on 8!”

I can sympathize with the gay community as the chiropractic profession has seen its fair share of discrimination, too. In the 1960s the American Medical Association (AMA) created their Committee on Quackery whose sole purpose was to eliminate the profession of chiropractic. The AMA spent millions of dollars trying to discredit and destroy the chiropractic profession. Although the Committee was eventually uncovered, and the AMA ordered to cease their discriminatory tactics (Wilk vs. the AMA), the negative image of chiropractic perpetuated by organized medicine still lingers today. This is what the gay community is going through now, and will likely continue to struggle against for several more years…maybe decades.

This is a shame, as discrimination is hurtful to everyone, the discriminated against and society. Would society be improved by civil rights justice? Hell yeah! Just as society has been bettered by health care’s opening up to chiropractic–and ultimately all alternative health modalities (acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, vitamin therapy, yoga therapy, and so forth).

So I say to all people protesting in West Hollywood (NO ON PROP. 8), this chiropractor is with you–my profession has been there, I understand. Get adjusted and keep fighting the good fight.

*More Prop. 8 protest information: There will be another rally at the Sunset Junction on Saturday night, and on Sunday at The St. John’s Episcopal Church at Figueroa and Adams (514 W Adams Blvd (EAST of Figueroa), 10:30am, on Sunday, November 9th, 2008).

Lisa Rinna Lips Confession

By On · Add Comment · In cosmetic surgery, Dancing with the Stars, hyaluronic acid, injectable fillers, Juvéderm, lips, Lisa Rinna, orofacial granulomas, wrinkle filler

You’ve seen those luscious babies and wondered, “are they real?” But Lisa Rinna‘s lips are now a hot topic of conversation. The former Days of Our Lives siren and Dancing With the Stars grinder has come forth with a startling confession…she has had her lips enhanced. You don’t say. Yes, and she admits that she may have even gone too far. Whaddaya know? Cosmetic surgery secret revealed–now that’s progressive.

Well, Rinna is now cautioning her fans to think twice before getting the procedure themselves. Lip enhancement, or plumping, is done by injecting a “wrinkle filler” by the name of Juvéderm into the lips. Juvéderm is comprised of hyaluronic acid, a substance normally found in the skin, muscles, and tendons of mammals. Because hyaluronic acid is normally absorbed by the body within six to nine months, repeat injections are common. One could say…they’re addicting. Just ask Lisa Rinna. And like any addiction, the person hooked needs more and more as tolerance builds. And also like every other addiction, you just can’t hide it from the world.

There are dangers inherent in injectable fillers, too. For instance, they can lead to orofacial granulomas. Granulomas are a conglomeration of immune cells attacking a foreign substance but not quite able to dissolve it. They bunch-up in an area causing lumps and bumps. In the case of lip plumping, the consequence can be lip lumping.

I’ve never really understood the fascination with cosmetic facial surgery myself. I’ve always preferred natural beauty. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve seen some facial work which had definitely improved a person’s looks…but it’s rare. Most people who get it done look perfectly fine in their natural state; but their mind tells them they look unattractive. There’s probably nothing that can be said to these people; they’re minds are usually made up. But the results are often disastrous. Listen to Lisa Rinna: Think twice before getting addicted to Juvéderm.

Perception of Health

By On · Add Comment · In Ageless Body Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra, energetic, health enhancing behaviors, longevity, optimal health, perceptions

In his book, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Dr. Deepak Chopra discusses a study done on longevity where the factors leading to longer life were outlined. One of those factors was one’s self-perception of health. That is, both men and women who believed that their health was better at the time of the study than it was fifteen years earlier tended to live longer than those who thought their health was worse.

This concept, in my opinion, is crucial to achieving optimal health, wellness and longevity. I also understand that some people might find it ambiguous. One might say, “People who are healthier will naturally see themselves as healthier–this proves nothing.” That’s a very real possibility from a skeptical point of view; however, I am certain that our perceptions color our reality. What I mean by this is, if you see yourself as financially well off, you are. It’s all relative, isn’t it? There will always be somebody who considers you richer than they are, and others who consider you less so. What difference does their viewpoint make? Who would be right anyway? All that matters is what you see.

This is true with your health, too. If you see yourself as healthy, your body will first respond energetically; and if you are wise enough to carry out the right activities–health enhancing behaviors–then you physical body will respond in kind. I know that this sounds rather obvious, but there is a subtle, yet powerful, component that makes it all reality–your state of mind!

Think about this for a moment: If you don’t believe in your ability to experience great health, do you think you’ll realize it in actuality? What the hell can you achieve without believing in it first? Space travel? High-speed internet? Wireless communication? Seven Tour de France wins? Billions of dollars? An African American U.S. President? What?

It’s the same with health. And it’s the message I most want you to walk away with from this blog, and all my writings for that matter. Your body, the human body, is capable of incredible things, particularly healing. We can accomplish miracles, but first we have to believe. You want to be a skeptic? Go ahead, be my guest. But you’ll achieve nothing that way; you can count on that. If you have the desire to achieve optimal health, and all the many benefits that come along with it, then you’ve first gotta see yourself as healthy. You’ll also have to do healthy things, but I’ll never stop telling you what those are, so keep reading this blog.

Note: If you want more health info, check out my experts page at Bizmoms.com!

Vaccines: Protection or Poison?

By On · Add Comment · In Amanda Peet, autism, CDC, children, herd immunity, illnesses, Jenny McCarthy, The Dr. Nick Show, thimerosal, toxic, vaccinations
What do you think about vaccinations? Public health miracle or a conspiracy ploy by the pharmaceutical industry? Listen to this month’s episode of The Dr. Nick Show (episode 8) to get the scoop on vaccinations. For a taste:

Haven’t millions of lives been saved by vaccinations? Aren’t illnesses like whooping cough, diphtheria and the flu horrible enough to warrant mass protection? Most people sure think so.

But there is another camp–a group of people who feel strongly about not vaccinating their children. They think that vaccines are toxic and can cause more harm than good? There is concern that the rising number of vaccines (24 before the age of 2) are increasing the risk of autism in American children. According to one report, autism has gone up by 500% (check here, too) in the last 15 years. Check out the video below to hear one celebrity vaccine activist speak out against the toxic substances still present in a number of vaccines.

Where do you stand on the subject? Do you wonder about some of the preservatives put into vaccines, like thimerosal or aluminum? Can these preservatives lead to autism? Do you need to vaccinate against chicken pox…or the flu? Or do you think people who don’t vaccinate their children are crazy child abusers? You know, Guillan-Barré syndrome is a very real illness tied to vaccinations (check out some side effects as reported by the CDC). Perhaps you think like actress Amanda Peet does, that parents who don’t immunize their kids are “parasites”, since they leech off the responsible families who get vaccinated.

Oh wait, you didn’t know that? Yeah, it’s called herd immunity: If 80-85 % (give or take 5% depending on the infectious agent) of the population is immunized, then there is a very low chance of illness spreading since such a large number of people are already protected. If you listen to this month’s podcast, you’ll get information like this and more! It’s a must hear for anybody struggling with the decision on whether they should vaccinate or not.

No matter how you stand on the issue, please check out this month’s podcast, Vaccines: Protection or Poison?, to get all the information necessary to make an intelligent and informed decision. Don’t make assumptions or take anything for granted. This is a big issue and you need to know the facts. So take a few minutes to listen up, you’ll be happy you did.

Flu Shot Video

By On · Add Comment · In flu shot, influenza virus, mutation, video

Think I’m making this stuff up? Watch this video showing exactly what I’ve been saying about the flu shot, the influenza virus and it’s rapid mutation rate. Yes, this piece comes with the mainstream twist that the flu shot is good for you. Please see if you pick out the BS. As I always say: truth is a matter of perspective.

How effective is the flu shot? @ Yahoo! Video

Flu Vaccine Wool Over the Eyes

By On · Add Comment · In elderly, flu shot, flu vaccine, immune response, immunity, influenza virus, pharmaceutical
What do you do when you’re a pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer, and scientific data shows your product to be useless? You search hard for a rationalization and apply it to your MO in a stepped-up marketing campaign. That’s exactly what flu vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur is doing right now.

You may remember a story I reported in an earlier post in which elderly people who were given the flu shot did not have a lowered risk of dying from the flu. Well, that study didn’t sit well with Sanofi Pasteur, so what was their recommendation? Give elderly people a massive dose of flu vaccine. Yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket. Give grandma four times the usual dose to boost her immunity (four times the standard is what Sanofi now recommends). Think about it: with that much attenuated virus in your system, you’ll no doubt have a measurably high immune response. No doubt. And as an added bonus you’ll quadrupel your profits. That’s called a win situation. Not win-win–just win…for Sanofi.

The reasons the flu vaccine works poorly remains the same: The influenza virus is a rapidly mutating organism. It’s virtually impossible to create a vaccine that will be right-on in any given year. They may get lucky sometimes–every gambler hits paydirt now and again–but there just isn’t now, nor will there ever be, an effective flu vaccine.

What makes this story especially frightening is that it’s simply another example of a greedy pharmaceutical corporation manipulating the truth for their own end. And this public health BS is being perpetuated by our medical and public health industries. The data is there; the flu vaccine doesn’t do much. Instead of making it the poster child of public health marketing, how about more studies? Not only studies done by the manufacturers of the drug itself (preliminary to FDA approval), but third party studies paid for by the manufacturer and regulated by a government agency too. You won’t hear me suggest government getting involved very often, but in this case, I think it’s crucial.

Roid Rage

By On · Add Comment · In bodybuilders, professional athletes, roid rage, steroids, violence

Here’s a big surprise: Steroid user are twice as likely as non-users to engage in violence. Let that sink in.

I know what you’re thinking: No kidding! But believe it or not, some previous studies have shown the link to be inconclusive. However, researchers at Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice looked at data on almost 7,000 young steroid users who were tracked since 1994, when they were in middle school and high school, and followed them through 2002.

The researchers found that steroid users were about twice as likely to have committed at least one violent act in the past year than men who never used them–even when statistically accounting for other drug use or prior violent tendencies. The violence included fights, shootings, stabbings or injuring another person badly enough to need medical attention. No women steroid users were studied.

A very important point to distinguish is that the study does not predict that all men who take steroids will get violent; instead it shows that men who take steroids have a higher probability that they will become violent at some time.

Steroids are used by bodybuilders and athletes to gain muscle mass and strength. In the U.S. they are only attainable by prescription through a doctor. However, they aren’t too hard to get illegally. Many body building gyms have “pst, pst” privileges in their back rooms, and professional athletes get theirs from trainers or directly from labs.

Aside from roid rage, the term used for aggressive and hostile behavior exhibited by steroid users, using the juice also has been linked to heart problems, liver problems, acne and disturbinces of secondary sexual characteristics like gynecomastia (man tits) and testicular atrophy (small balls) in men, and deep voice, hairy chest and clitoral enlargement in women. To read a great article on how anabolic steroids affect the body, click here.

Well, I guess it’s really not that big of a surprise to most of us. We’ve all seen the “don’t f#@ with me” buffed guy walking down the street. Some of us have witness roid rage first hand. And yet, there are still deniers: They say roid rage doesn’t exist (see video below). What do you think?

Roid Rage Denyers

Health Care Crisis Solution

By On · Add Comment · In Hawaii, health care, health insurance, Medicaid, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, universal child health care, universal health care

Well, you know what they say, “As Hawaii goes, so does the nation.” OK, nobody really says that. And good thing, too; because judging by what’s just happened in Hawaii with their universal child care program, following suit could be disastrous for American health care.

According to recent reports, Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care system in the country just seven months after it launched. You don’t say…I wonder why. Apparently the program was set up for families who couldn’t afford their own private health insurance; however, many families began dropping their private health insurance to get the freebie. No kidding. Wow, why would they do that? Essentially, the program became unaffordable. Duh.

In another unrelated report, government officials have declared spending on the Medicaid health program for the poor as “unsustainable.” Medicaid benefits will increase by 7.9% per year over the next decade, costing $674 billion by 2017. Woowee! That’s a lot of dough. The program is inflating at a higher rate than the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a statement, “This report should serve as an urgent reminder that the current path of Medicaid spending is unsustainable for both federal and state governments.”

Yeah. Well, I can’t see a proposed national universal health care plan being any different. For a country as large and addicted to medical care as the good ol’ U.S. of A, the price tag for such a program will be astronomical. Good campaign slogan, poor idea overall. Listen, I’ve got nothing against helping people who can’t afford this and that, but the problem in health care isn’t that people have no access to it–people have access, it’s called Medicaid (50 million cardholders and counting)–it’s that people in this country have become overly reliant on medical care.

This concept is a major premise of my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health. People have simply neglected their health for years. We are one of the most unhealthy industrialuzed countries on the planet. Why? Because people don’t have access to medical care? BS! Walk into any big city ER on a Saturday night. I did it three weeks ago when my daughter was being born, it was packed–packed!–with low income citizens. Go ahead, walk into Cedar Sinai in Beverly Hills on a Saturday night; you’ll see the truth. People have access to care. The bottom line is that the average American takes very little care of their health. THAT’S WHY WE ARE HAVING A HEALTH CARE CRISIS! Not because we don’t have universal health care. It doesn’t matter if we do get this type of system; until people make a conscious effort to change their lifestyles into one of movement, wholesome eating, regular bodywork, proper sleep, mental balnce and conditioning, and toxin avoidance, HEALTH CARE COST WILL CONTINUE TO SOAR!

The only thing we are going to get with a universal health care system is more cost for the taxpayer, to pay for the health care of the people down the street who continue to neglect their health. Mark my words.

Family Abuse in New Jersey

By On · Add Comment · In civil rights, conscientious objection, flu shot, flu vaccination, mandate, New Jersey
I reported last year on the totalitarianism being practiced in the State of New Jersey with regard to mandatory flu vaccinations. Well, this story ain’t over…

Last December New Jersey’s Public Health Council passed a policy that all children aged 6 months to 5 years were mandated to receive the flu shot (along with the pneumococcal vaccine) in order to enter preschool or day-care centers. The policy takes effect this fall: parents have until December 31st to inoculate their children.

Well, if you read my post on the subject last year, you know that I find this mandate a blatant violation of civil rights. It’s downright disgusting. Vaccinating children with the useless flu vaccine (or with any vaccine, for that matter) should be a parent’s choice, not the state’s. And hundreds of parents and activists in New Jersey agree with me. A crowd of them congregated outside the Jersey Statehouse yesterday denouncing the mandate and supporting a bill that would allow a conscientious objection option to opt out of giving the vaccine to their children.

I have to ask one question: Is this country going frickin’ crazy? I hope this insanity is confined to the Garden State only and doesn’t catch on elsewhere. I fully support the citizens over there, subjects of the Fourth Reich. When our medical institutions get so powerful that they become the authority on all things, including our personal lives, then you know it’s damn well time to create change.

We are hearing so much about change right now as a result of the Presidential elections, but my guess is that change will not come quickly from that office. Change has to come from us, the people, the citizens of this country. And we need to put our feet down and stop this mandating health policy stuff, especially when it comes to vaccinations. Don’t give me that “public health at risk” nonsense: If the damn flu vaccine works so well, then the people who choose to receive it and to give it to their children have nothing to worry about. They’re protected, right? Isn’t that the point? It’s all political and financial BS–better believe that.

Listen to concerned mom, Barbara Majeski of Princeton, N.J., who says, “Mother Nature designed our bodies to be able to fight off infections through natural means — you need to be exposed and develop immunity. We’ve just gotten a little too overprotective with our children.”

Amen, sister. Fight on, New Jersey–lots of us support you.

Health and Evolution

By On · Add Comment · In drug resistant HIV, evolution, Methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), multi-drug resistant TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis (TB)

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know how I feel about getting sick–it’s absolutely essential. Protecting yourself against all illness is not only impossible, it’s dangerous. We need to get sick from time to time because encountering microorganisms upgrades our immune system in the same way updating your computer’s virus scan does: it protects you from future illnesses that might be strong enough to kill you. We evolve along with microorganism–and they with us. There’s no such thing as solitary evolution.

Case in point: Scientist have recently discovered the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (TB) in 9,000 year old human bones submerged in waters off of Israel’s coast. It was previously thought that Mycobacterium tuberculosis was younger by about 3,000 years, but these findings show the incredible co-evolution of TB and man.

What I find interesting is that in our attempt to eradicate certain microorganisms, and thus certain diseases, we may actually be making said microorganisms stronger, tipping the balance in their favor for awhile. The widespread use of antibiotics and other drugs has led to the emergence of drug-resistant strains that are sturdier and tougher to treat. Take multi-drug resistant TB, or methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), or now drug resistant HIV. We’ve created these superbug monsters, and are we more advantaged as a result?

I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t take antibiotics, or HIV infected people shouldn’t take their drugs, but taking antibiotics for every sniffle or sore throat is absurd. Please let me inform you that sniffles and sore throats ARE good health! They are our bodies ways of fighting infection.

I bring this up because we are entering “flu season” and millions of people will be running for their flu shots, and millions more to their doctor for antibiotics because, “I’ve been congested for three days.” Just understand that on the one hand you are living an illusion to think that if you get a shot, you’ll avoid getting sick. You’ll get sick again, one day. And that you are actually getting protection from the flu (read last post)…you’re not. On the other hand, by running to the doctor for antibiotics to fight your viral infection, you are just adding to the probability of even stronger superbugs in the future.

Bugs evolve. Man evolves. We typically evolve together. Sometime man has the advantage, and sometimes microorganisms have the advantage. If I’m going to be the master of my health, I’ll take my chances and meet these little buggers head-on. Better believe that if I encounter something super-virulent, I’ll take the drugs. But not for the sniffles, I won’t. For that I’ll tough it out.

Flu Vaccine for Kids

By On · Add Comment · In flu shot, flu vaccine, immunized, pediatric, vaccination, viruses

Our daughter Violet had her first pediatric check up today. The pediatrician suggested that we all get a flu shot. I don’t think she reads my blog.

If she did she’d know exactly why we wouldn’t be interested. The flu shot is bunk, plain and simple. I have no reason to expose myself or my family to a flu we may never get. Nor do we fool ourselves into thinking that we’ll have some sort of protection–we might just catch the flu one way or another. But the PED insists that we’ll be doing ourselves a service, adding protection in case one of us brings home the bug and gives it to little Violet, who is only two and a half weeks old. Yawn…the story never gets any more interesting.

Here’s the latest: A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed that kids who were immunized against the flu did not have lower rates of contracting the flu than non-vaccinated kids. And even more eye-opening (I hope) for pediatricians is that kids who received the vaccination were just as likely to be hospitalized or visit the doctor than those who had not been vaccinated.

All I can ask is how long will this ruse continue? Probably indefinitely. It’s hard to let go of a deep-rooted paradigm. Flu shot proponents in the medical community have thought it necessary to explain the result by saying that the development of the flu vaccine is not an exact science. They say it’s like “forecasting the weather.” Um hm…just what I want out of my vaccinations, comparisons to meteorology. According to Dr. Geoffrey Weinberg, professor of pediatrics at University of Rochester. “Sometimes we are right on, and sometimes we are off.”

No kidding. I’ve been saying exactly that for a long time (and here, and here). The flu is one of the most rapidly mutating viruses there is. Preparing a inoculation to perfectly match a strain is like trying to pick a Superbowl winner in September. Sometime you will be right on, and sometime you will be off. And now they are even saying that perhaps children need to use a nasal spray to administer the vaccine. Yawn…on to the next round.

No we won’t be getting the flu shot this year…or next year, or the next. We graciously thanked our pediatrician for the concern but told her we’d be okay. I’ve never had a flu shot and neither has Erika. We did not give it to our eldest Delilah, and we don’t plan on giving it to Violet either. Although I’m certain this farce called the flu shot will not come to an end any time soon, I’m pretty sure the unflattering studies will continue to pour in on this bunk vaccination.

Don’t Give Up Exercising

By On · Add Comment · In calories, exercising, fat, insulin resistance, lose weight, metabolism, physical fitness, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, type 2 diabetes

A message that I try to get out in my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, is that exercising for purely aesthetic reasons is a sure to lead to frustration and disappointment for many. It’s the best way to guarantee an abandoned physical fitness program when things don’t turn out the way you’ve fantasized. I think a much better approach is to exercise for the myriad of physiological or health benefits you will surely enjoy if only you can keep up the effort.

I think what happens is that people want to lose weight and “get ripped.” Nothing wrong with either of these desires. But what happens when it doesn’t occur over night, or in a few months? Well, many people end up frustrated, and say, “This isn’t working.” They then come up with all kinds of implausible excuses why it’s not working for them: genetics, slow metabolism, or the old, “I work out all the time, but I never seem to lose weight.”

Well here’s good news this week out of the University of Michigan: Fat metabolism speeds up in just one exercise session. That’s right! Just one workout and fat burning increases. This lowers your chance of developing insulin resistance–the hallmark of type 2 diabetes–and increases your ability to burn fat in the future. How? Exercising increases the ability to store fat in the muscle tissue as triglycerides, which makes it available for quick energy; much quicker than the fat filled adipose tissue we store around our bellies, butts and hips.

So even if you find that you “never seem to lose weight” no matter how much you exercise, just know that despite what seems to be slow going, you’re doing yourself a great physiological and health service by working out regularly. If what you say about working out all the time is true, then you might need to be honest with yourself and cut the calories you’re ingesting everyday in the form of food, booze or soda. But you can be sure that your metabolism is working faster and burning fat more efficiently if you are exercising. And even if that’s the most you get out of it, you are still doing your body a world of good.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.