Health panel calls out overuse of prescription drugs and ineffectiveness – need for alternative approaches as medicine

Did you know that deaths caused from side effects of opioid prescriptions have gone from 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011? Chronic pain affects 100+ million people a year, and it cost between $5-8 million to treat with drugs, costing $635 billion annually. It gets worse. A new panel revealed this week that there is little evidence that these treatment plans work, so it’s called for major changes in the medical community.

According to the report released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it's time that treatment of chronic pain moves from a 1-pill-fits-all mindset to an evidence-based, individualized, multidisciplinary model that recognizes the value of non-pharmacological approaches. Much of the report is focused on the use—and possible overuse—of opioids as the "go-to" approach in almost all cases of chronic pain. In addition to contributing to patterns of drug abuse, the reliance on opioids may simply not be helping in all circumstances, according to the panel report.

Chances are you or someone you love has suffered from what is defined as chronic pain – pain lasting more than three months, which is past the typical expectation for healing. Major causes of chronic pain are low back pain,  arthritis, headaches, multiple sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, shingles, and nerve damage. If you’re not feeling better from drugs or just don’t feel good a lot of the time, than you have nothing to lose than by attacking your pain differently with something in your control - your lifestyle.

But where should you start when there’s so much conflicting information out there? The answer lies in taking one first step forward today and arming yourself with proven knowledge from health experts. The mission of Basic Health Publications is to publish books by experts in a wide range of health-related fields. Our goal is to help consumers of varying ages, lifestyles, and health concerns make choices that will lead them to optimum health and enhance the quality of their lives.

The Declaration of Independence speaks of our “inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Basic Health Publications believe that our inalienable right extends as well to the pursuit of good health, and we are convinced that the books we represent will help our readers achieve that goal.

We feature the kinds of books that we think will achieve our goal of helping consumers get the answers they need about the health and wellness issues that concern them most. Basic Health Publications will cover a wide range of health issues including alternative medicine, disease state management, nutrition and diet, vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements, exercise and fitness, and environmental issues.

Here is just a sampling of the topics and bestselling books that we offer:
• Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was a Cure, which tells the amazing story of how one doctor, who uniquely is also a caretaker. She starting giving her husband coconut oil, which greatly reduced and reversed many of his symptoms.
• Doctor Yourself: Natural Healing That Works by Dr. Andrew Saul, who is one of the true pioneers of using food as medicine.  Saul raised his own children this way and never had to give them antibiotics growing up. Saul’s newest book, The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease: 65 Experts on Therapeutic & Preventive Nutrition, is a health bible of sorts offering more than 800 pages of treatment for whatever ails you.
• The Hot Guide to a Cool Sexy Menopause: Nurse Barb's Practical Advice and Real-Life Solutions for a Smooth Transition. Get straight-forward advice for America’s most trusted nurse practitioner. Nurse Barb’s newest books are affordable purse-side guides: Nurse Barb’s Personal Guide to Pregnancy and Nurse Barb’s Personal Guide to Breastfeeding. Anything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask your doctor lies in these guides.
• Healing is Possible: New Hope for Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Persistent Pain, and Other Chronic Illnesses.
• Waking the Warrior Goddess Third Edition: Dr. Christine Horner’s Program to Protect Against & Fight Breast Cancer. A pioneer who pushed through federal and state legislation ensuring that breast reconstruction after a mastectomy would be paid for by insurance companies, Horner lost her own mother to breast cancer. She decided then that her mother’s death would not be in vain.

Find out more about these breakthrough books and many more at www.basichealthpub.com. At Basic Health Publications, we believe that lifestyle trumps medicine. We want to partner with you to be the leader of your own health.

Practice coconut oil pulling for oral health

After a healthy and organic treatment for oral health? Try oil pulling with coconut oil. It's an age-old remedy that uses natural substances to clean and detoxify teeth and gums. It has the added effect of whitening teeth naturally and studies show that it is beneficial in improving gums and removing harmful bacteria.

If you've got 20 minutes in the morning to swish around the oil like mouthwash, avid users say it will lead to massive improvements in oral health. Just as with oil cleansing of the skin, the oil is able to cut through plaque and remove toxins without disturbing the teeth or gums.

The practice of oil pulling started in India thousands of years ago and was first introduced to the United States in the early 1990s by a medical doctor named Dr. F. Karach, who used it with success in his medical practice.

Hundreds of testimonials are found online from people who experienced benefits from oil pulling, including help with skin conditions, arthritis, asthma, headaches, hormone imbalances, infections, liver problems, and more.

So how do you do oil pulling and why for 20 minutes, which seems like a long time to swish around in your mouth compared to mouthwash. The process begins with swishing a couple teaspoons of a vegetable-based oil (coconut, sesame, or oil)  in the mouth for 20 minutes and then spit it out and rinse well.  Oil pulling is best done in the morning, before eating or drinking anything. It can be done before each meal if needed for more severe infections or dental problems.

How to do oil pulling:

• Put 1-2 teaspoons of oil into the mouth.  Most scoop it out as a solid and let it melt in your mouth before swishing.
• Swish for 20 minutes. Apparently the timing is key, as this is long enough to break through plaque and bacteria but not long enough that the body starts re-absorbing the toxins and bacteria. (Some Ayurveda experts say that three to five minutes is plenty, so do whatever feels comfortable up to 20 minutes.) The oil will get thicker and milky as it mixed with saliva during this time and it should be creamy-white when spit out.
• Spit oil into the trash can - don’t spit into the sink, especially if you have a septic tank. • Do not swallow the oil as it will be full of bacteria and toxins. Then rinse with warm water - a few times to get all the oil out.
• Brush well with your preferred toothpaste.

For more ideas on how to improve your health with food and other natural therapies, check out an abundance of proactive books at www.basichealthpub.com 

Learn how menopause, estrogen can play a role in Alzheimer's disease

Estrogen, a steroidal hormone, which is produced in a woman’s ovaries and adrenal glands, is mostly known for its critical role in promoting female sex characteristics and reproduction. It also acts as a signaling molecule in genes, cells and organs. That's why many health  professionals are studying it now in relation to Alzheimer's disease since it's a critical regulator of metabolism in the female brain.

“I call estrogen the Queen of Darwin,” said Roberta Diaz Brinton, a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Pharmacy who helped organize the Alliance of Women Alzheimer’s Researchers (AWARE), a professional interest group within the Alzheimer’s Association. She is pursuing clinical trials on a neurosteroid called allopregnanolone that holds promise for regenerating damaged brain tissue.

Brinton thinks the critical moment occurs after menopause, when a women’s estrogen levels drop, triggering a cascading series of effects. Among them is a radical decline in the brain’s ability to burn glucose for energy. Without glucose as a source of fuel, the brain shifts to a backup energy system that burns ketone bodies, which are compounds produced from carbohydrates and fat in the liver.

The backup energy system keeps brain circuits running, but at a cost. It is not as efficient and creates byproducts that ultimately damage brain cells. Brinton said this is the same fuel system seen in Type 2 diabetes, which also is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

“It’s kind of like burning rubber tires instead of propane,” said Suzanne Craft, a professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine and a founder of AWARE whose research concerns the way problems with metabolism can damage the brain. “You’ll get heat, but you’ll get a lot of toxic byproducts as well,” she said.

Estrogen has been of interest to Alzheimer’s researchers. Initially, many scientists suspected that because of its anti-inflammatory effects and other properties, estrogen might benefit brain health. Research also has found that the risks of dementia rise for women whose ovaries were removed.

But then the Women’s Health Initiative, a 15-year clinical trial involving tens of thousands of women, was stopped midway after researchers discovered that administering synthetic estrogen, along with progestin, increased the risk of breast cancer, heart disease and other circulatory disorders in postmenopausal women. The same clinical trial also found that older women — ages 65 to 79 — who received estrogen-only hormone therapy ran a higher risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Craft and others said those unexpected results temporarily derailed interest in the effect of hormones on the brain — an outcome that perhaps was exacerbated by human bias.

“I think the movement away from more understanding of hormones in the brain may arguably be partly due to the disproportionate number of men in higher echelons of Alzheimer’s research,” Craft said.

In recent years, however, the search for a possible link between estrogen and Alzheimer’s has received renewed attention.

In one recent study, written by Natalie L. Rasgon, director of the Stanford Center for Neuroscience in Women’s Health, researchers found that administering the hormone estradiol soon after menopause appeared to prevent deterioration in key areas of the brains of women at risk of dementia. Yet the same study found that combining estradiol with progestin canceled the estradiol benefit and accelerated deterioration. Premarin, an older form of estrogen therapy mixed with substances derived from mares and used by women in the Women’s Health Initiative, also appeared to accelerate deterioration.

Earlier this year, Rocca reported on several studies that suggest that the timing of hormone therapy is critically important to brain health. A 2012 study by Peter P. Zandi, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, also found that the timing of estrogen therapy appeared to play a significant role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Women who underwent estrogen replacement within five years of menopause seemed to reduce their chances of developing Alzheimer’s, while those who used estrogen more than five years later had no reduced risk. Women who used estrogen alone or with progestin late in life increased their risks of dementia, the study found.

Now more than ever, it's important to offset these possibly life-alternating effects. Learn how coconut oil has reversed and/or slowed down many of the disease's effects in Alzheimer's Disease: What if there was a Cure? at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com.

Why more women get Alzheimer's disease

We know that more women than men get Alzheimer's disease, and an emerging body of research is challenging the common wisdom as to why. Recent studies suggest that biological, genetic, and even cultural influences may play heavy roles. Suffering from depression later life is one of those.

Of the more than 5 million people in the United States who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia, two-thirds are women. Because advancing age is considered the biggest risk factor for the disease, researchers largely have attributed that disparity to women’s longer life spans. The average life expectancy for women is 81 years, compared with 76 for men.

With the number of Alzheimer’s cases in the United States expected to more than triple by 2050, some researchers are urging a greater focus on understanding the underlying reasons women are more prone to the disease and on developing gender-specific treatments.

Running counter to the longevity argument, the research suggests that women who are 70 to 79 years old are twice as likely as men the same age to develop Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. After 80, the risk is identical and remains similar throughout the rest of life.

Other variables and theories are at work, such as educational attainment and susceptibility to depression and other ailments that affect women more than men. People with limited education appear to be at higher risk for dementia than those with advanced degrees. Women in the susceptible age group, many born before the modern feminist movement, often were shut out of universities and generally relegated to menial jobs.

Women have a 70 percent risk of developing depression in their lifetime compared with men, and a study published last year in the British Journal of Psychiatry found a link between depression late in life and dementia.

Researchers have focused on sex-specific genetic causes, particularly a specific gene variant, known as APOe4, which is found in about 20 percent of the population. Men and women have about the same chances of carrying the gene, which produces a protein in the liver that transports cholesterol and fatty acids in the body. The risk is 10 times higher for those who have two copies of the gene.

But research suggests that the APOe4 gene confers its Alzheimer’s risk unevenly in women. A recent study led by Michael Greicius, medical director of Stanford Medical School’s Center for Memory Disorders, found that women with the APOe4 gene were twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as women who did not carry the gene. Yet the risk factor appeared to be little different between men who had the APOe4 gene and those who did not.

“We have now seen again and again that women that have [APOe4] have a much higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s than men of the same age who don’t have the gene,” said Walter A. Rocca, professor of neurology and epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He said it’s not fully understood why, but scientists suspect the APOe4 gene appears to interact with estrogen to create the conditions that lead to Alzheimer’s.

A doctor and caretaker herself of her husband Steve, Dr. Mary Newport found in her research that coconut oil helped reversed many of the symptoms linked to Alzheimer's. To read her story and find out how the coconut oil helped, check out her book, Alzheimer's Disease: What is there was a Cure? at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com.

Next we'll look at how estrogen plays an increased role in getting Alzheimer's. 

Why we need to eat to sleep

For years we've been told not to eat after a certain time of night to improve our waistline. But what if that advice has many of us battling insomnia each night? 

New research focuses on two metabolic hormones that scientists discovered only during the last decade. When we eat, leptin signals that the body is satisfied, while ghrelin stimulates hunger. Researchers speculate that if we have enough leptin to suppress the secretion of ghrelin, we'll sleep through the night without awakening to eat.

To achieve this hormonal balance, people with insomnia may find eating a snack before bedtime helpful. But some rules apply. First, eat only a light snack, not a heavy meal. The digestive slows down while you sleep, so eating too much can make you uncomfortable, cause GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease, when food or liquid travels backward from the stomach to the esophagus, causing heartburn), or even cause you to choke while asleep.

Also, what you eat is important. Carbohydrate-rich snacks may be best, experts say, because these foods likely increase the level of sleep-inducing tryptophan in the blood. Protein, on the other hand, is more difficult to digest (although you can get away with a small piece of cheese or a dab of peanut butter). Good choices include a small bowl of cereal and milk, a few cookies, toast, or a small muffin. Beware of foods containing caffeine, including less obvious choices such as certain sodas and chocolate. Even decaffeinated beverages contain a small amount of caffeine, as do some medications.

If you can’t get to or stay asleep, there may be a food connection. Try these tips:

• Don’t eat a heavy meal within four hours of going to bed.
• Don’t eat or drink anything that has caffeine after noon.
• Do eat a small snack if you wake up hungry, but don’t get into the habit of eating too much, as you may gain weight.
• Do avoid eating a lot of protein, but a small piece of cheese or a dab of peanut butter with your crackers is OK.

To discover more natural, sedative-free strategies that not only help you regain the ability to sleep well but can also improve your overall health, check out Overcoming Sleep Disorders Naturally at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com 

Must-see film unveils what's keepiing us from good health

Our interests throughout the world greatly vary, but there's one common goal we all want to have  - good health. 

Dr. Andrew Saul is working on a new film about a proven way of living that can revolutionize our health.

MegaVitamin Man is a new documentary film that will investigate the incredible healing effects of Orthomolecular Medicine. This practice uses nutritional and vitamin therapy to fight off diseases.  For over 60 years there has been clear, clinically proven, evidence that very high dose vitamins can prevent, reverse, and cure various diseases. This work has been ignored by modern medicine. 

The MegaVitamin Man film explores the David and Goliath battle, which exists to get this life-changing message out there. The big pharma companies spend millions of dollars each year to discredit vitamins and keep this information hidden from public view.

Entertaining and engaging, MVM follows Saul as he works tirelessly to preserve the legacy of great orthomolecular heroes like Abram Hoffer and double-Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling. It also features interviews with many other experts from around the world about what is contained in the "other doctors' black bag" of nutritional medicine.

Perhaps one of the most compelling stories told is that of Saul's own children, who he never gave antibiotics to growing up. Now grown, these healthy adults and Saul's grandchildren are thriving examples of what it truly means to be the leader of your own health. 

Check out the trailer here: 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/megavitamin-man-the-documentary

To find out more about Saul's newest book, the Orthomolecular Medicine for Chronic Disease and more by the bestselling author, go to www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com. This must-have health book contains straight-forward advice on what you should take specifically to fight off certain diseases.  Finally, the freedom and power of having all of your health answers at your fingertips. 

Heal yourself with Orthomolecular medicine

Interested in Orthomolecular medicine but have no idea where to start? Let Dr. Andrew Saul's mega health bible be your guide to not only feeling better than ever, but do so by simply eating whole foods and key vitamins.

The best-selling Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease contains contributions by 65 of the greatest pioneers in orthomolecular medicine. The book is presented in large format and is a massive 800 pages in length. The first section of the book deals primarily with the science behind nutritional therapy in the prevention and healing of disease. The second section provides brief biographies of the doctors and researchers who have pioneered the field of nutritional healing. The final section discusses many chronic health problems along with case histories, and specific nutritional treatments for the effective, safe, and inexpensive cure and prevention of these illnesses. In other words – Saul breaks it all down to what you need to specifically do to overcome whatever is ailing you.

One health concern that many of us face is being overweight. Anyone who wishes to become familiar with orthomolecular medicine, may do so by simply beginning with a whole foods, sugar­free diet, and a few vitamins. Even with this simple approach, people report success.

The growing problem of obesity is addressed as "caused by excessive consumption of sugar." The term "sugar metabolic syndrome" is used to describe the enormous increase in the consumption of refined or processed foods, especially sugar and white flour. Studies show the harm from refining of carbohydrates as removing fiber from our diet, which affects the gastrointestinal system, from the teeth to the colon. It also causes overconsumption of calories, obesity, and diabetes, and it removes protein, which is required to neutralize hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Orthomolecular Medicine for Chronic Disease is full of illuminating advice, such as: "On the orthomolecular diet, there is no need to be concerned about getting too much fat. This becomes possible only when processed foods are used. In addition, with a good diet one need not be concerned about the ratio of saturated fat to unsaturated fat, as a blend of animal and vegetable foods will ensure that neither too little nor too much of either fat is consumed.


Many Americans will be surprised to learn the real causes of atherosclerosis, too. Rather than a pharmaceutical drug deficiency, one of the main causes is the sugar metabolic syndrome diet. The relation among cholesterol, fat, and protein is complex, but clearly explained by Saul.

This must-have health book contains so much more advice on being the leader of your own health. Imagine the freedom of having all of your health answers at your fingertips, instead of having to guess at how to improve conditions on your own.

To find out more about the Orthomolecular Medicine for Chronic Disease, check out the book at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com