Drug & Herb Conflicts - (re: Heath Ledger)

One of my Reader's Writes About Drug And Herb Conflicts, Heath Ledger & My Blurb on St. John's Wort

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After one of my earlier Teplitz Reports this year (March, 2008), reader Beth Terry wrote me about more drug and herb contraindications.

What she said was so good that I asked Beth if I could share some of it with readers.

She said yes.

“You opened a good discussion that didn't go far enough. You brought up the contraindications factors with St. John's Wort, but could have gone a little further.

Given the recent death of Heath Ledger, contraindicated drug combinations is an important topic. People think that because they bought an Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicine, it's safe to take with anything. "

Even though most mothers know about not giving kids aspirin in certain situations, a lot of people don't think about mixing medicines. 

Though I'm a fan of homeopathic and complementary medicine, I know enough to look at Mindell's Herb Bible or Consumer Labs to see if I should be mixing it with anything else. (I swear by ConsumerLabs.com -- they are a rich resource for any kind of supplements or OTC meds. They just found that high numbers of pills containing Turmeric have high levels of lead. Good to have as a resource).

Here are some examples for people to watch out for:

   *  An OTC containing dextromethorphan or antihistamine can cause or increase drowsiness when combined with alcohol.

   * It may not be safe to take an OTC sleep medication if you are taking a prescription sedative or tranquilizer.

    * It may be dangerous to take an OTC that contains aspirin if you are taking a prescription blood thinner, or if you have diabetes or gout.”

If you’d like to know more about the effects of St. John’s Wort, Beth shared a link to http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort .

Finally, Beth wrote “It is important to inform your health care providers about any herb or dietary supplement product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. This helps to ensure safe and coordinated care.”

Beth, I agree completely and thanks for taking the time to expand on this important topic. ~Jerry

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Young Vegetarians

More Young People Are Becoming Vegetarians

An article in USA Today online reported that more kids aged 8 to 18 are vegetarians. The figure has grown to 3% of the population (About 3% of adults are vegetarian, while another 10% consider themselves vegetarian even though they may occasionally eat fish or chicken).

One of the plusses in this trend is that it is easier for the parents of these kids to find kid-friendly veggie staples, such as, soy milk, veggie broths, lard-free refried beans and veggie burgers.

Since I’ve been vegetarian since 1971, I’ve gotten to see this revolution take place in restaurants around the country. It used to be that when I was on the road and speaking in a small town, I needed to find one of the steak house chains like Bonanza or Ponderosa to eat in because I knew I could get their salad bar and a baked potato. Because almost all restaurants now offer veggie meals (and good ones, too), it’s been years since I’ve had to eat in one of the chains.

The article also cited many reasons why young people become vegetarian, including:
- personal taste,
- concerns about animal treatment,
- environmental questions surrounding the raising the livestock, and
- the influence of peers and celebrities.

To ease parents’ concerns about the nutritional wisdom of a young person becoming vegetarian, a 2003 review of the scientific literature by the American Dietetic Association concluded that a well-planned Vegan and other types of vegetarian diets can be appropriate for all ages.

  • So… please pass the soy burgers!  (and remembering the habits of the young - Fast Food Giant Burger King added a Vegetarian Burger to their menu, that is actually terrific tasting, and the Veggie at Subway is a big favorite!)

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Night Vision - Bilberry!

MY VISION GETS BETTER AND BETTER

I've reported previously about my taking the herb bilberry to improve night vision.

Well, I've continued to take 60 mgs twice a day and my night vision has gotten better and better.

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Asthma - Herbal Assist - Licorice Root Tea

LICORICE TEA MAY STOP ASTHMA

Asthma is reaching epidemic levels. Now there's an interesting alternative to medicines.

It's been reported that drinking licorice root tea can stop the symptoms of asthma.

Try drinking it a couple of times a day. You may not need your inhaler.

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A Non-Chemical Way To Get Rid Of Fleas, Pests and Moles In Your Yard

There’s a great natural, non-chemical way to get rid of fleas and many other pests around your home in your backyard. It’s by using a tiny bug called a ...

... nematode.

This bug specializes in eating all kinds of grubs. In its earlier stage a flea is in the grub stage.

As soon as the nematodes finish eating all the grubs in your lawn, they will die. This will rid your property of all kinds of bugs as well as fleas!  (Moles love grubs, so when the grubs are gone, so are the moles!)

The nematodes come on a sponge and since they are microscopic, you’ll never see the millions of them there.

Just spread them on your lawn and let them do their work! To order the nematodes you can go to Yardiac, & search for "nematodes".

Yardiac.com - The Ultimate Garden Center

Try this before you try chemical pesticides, you'll be happier and so will your children and pets.  There are natural ways to take care of pests while protecting the environment!

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Stop Getting Catalogs And Save Some Trees

>Stop Getting Catalogs And Save Some Trees!!

It seems like the Post Office is mostly delivering bills and catalogs to our homes. Would you believe, 19 billion catalogs a year are shipped?

If you’re like me, you toss most of them and just browse a few. Yet each catalog represents trees that were cut down and energy expended in the paper-making, printing and shipping operations.

While a number of companies are now using recycled paper in their catalogs, there are too many catalogs going into landfills.

Now you can do something about it. There is a website, www.catalogchoice.org, where with just a few clicks you can stop unwanted catalogs from coming to your home or office.

Save your catalogs for about one month as you will need to enter the names of the ones you want to stop receiving. Just imagine the impact if we all eliminated just 25% of the catalogs coming to our mailboxes!

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It's Mosquito Time – Defend Yourself Now!

It's Mosquito Time – Defend Yourself Now!

It's mosquito time again. Yes you can buy bug sprays, but do you really want that poison in or on your body?  Well there's a natural alternative available that I wrote about a couple of years ago in the Teplitz Report. 

Since there are so many new subscribers to the newsletter, let me share the solution with you again. It's Vitamin B1. All you need to do is take 100 mg every six to eight hours when you are going to be outside.

The Army did the original research on this years ago. They sent two groups of soldiers out into the bush for two weeks. One group was given bug goop and the other group took Vitamin B1. When they came out of the bush, the group using the bug goop was covered with bug bites. The Vitamin B1 group had hardly any bites on them.

I went camping last summer with some friends who have hiked the Appalachian Trail. They were willing to use the Vitamin B1 and were surprised when they had no bites at all at the end of the weekend.

So give it a swallow and let me know how it works for you!  Email me and I will include your link on our Ezine Archive Page!

PS:  If you also have the need to spray, Avon's Expedition is BAR-NONE, YES!  It is the most natural of sprays, and does not even require washing after you've applied.  NATURAL and EFFECTIVE.

  • I've had subscribers tell me incredible stories - "It is like a barrier, even if there are thousands of mosquitoes around you, they WILL not penetrate the area around your body." 
  • I'm not sure why, from a technical standpoint, at this point, I only know that it works - where friends are sitting out and none are bit!  So add Vitamin B1 to your daily regimen (many additional benefits), and if you want Xtra protection, you can now order online and have Avon deliver Expedition directly to you, ...

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Women's Stress & Oxytocin

WOMEN EXPERIENCE STRESS DIFFERENTLY

Prevention magazine reported a study of women and their response to stress.

Seems there's a chemical released when women are under stress called oxytocin.

It actually encourages the woman to tend children and gather with other women. When she does tend and gather, even more oxytocin is released which continues to counter stress effects and also produces a calming effect.

My suggestion for women when stress hits  - show your boyfriend or husband this blurb and head to your support network of female friends.

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HAY FEVER SEASON & Vitamin C, Vegetarian Diet

I've had uncontrollable hay fever ever since I was six years old. I had weekly shots for 9 years and took two pills every day of the season. It was still not completely controlled.

Thirty years ago I became a vegetarian because a friend told me meat produces histamine in the body and when you have hay fever you take anti-histamine pills.

Well, was I amazed at the change. My suffering went way down. A couple of years later I discovered that Vitamin C in mega doses acted as an anti-histamine with no side effects. Well, I was further amazed at the change.

So here are some things you might want to do if you do have allergies:

1. Just before and during the hay fever season eat vegetarian style.

2. Start taking 2000 mg of Vitamin C (spread the dose over the day, or order time-released versions here: Swanson First Time Customer Coupon - $5.00 Off ).

When your hay fever hits, take about 500 to 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every 5 to 10 minutes. At some point your hay fever symptoms will stop. If they start again, keep taking the C as I described.

You don't have to be concerned about taking too much Vitamin C for several reasons. First, it gets used up immediately whenever the body is under stress and a hay fever attack is an attack. Second, Vitamin C is water-soluble so it doesn't collect in the body. Third if you do take too much Vitamin C, you can get diarrhea so just reduce the dosage.

In 30 years of doing this I've never had a problem with C.

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BACKACHES - TAKE WILLOW BARK

In a study in the American Journal of Medicine reported that for a group taking 240 mgs a day of willow bark, 40% of them became pain-free.

The study had 191 people with lower back pain. Half of them took a sugar pill and the other half took 1 or 2 doses of willow bark extract.

In addition for long-term treatment willow back is better than aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs because it prevents cartilage damage and a lower risk of side effects.

You can get willow bark at best prices from Nature's Way.

Take two to four capsules daily for pain.

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Take Pistachio Nuts To Reduce Stress, High Blood Pressure and Lighten the Load on your Heart!

Pistachio Nuts and Stress Reduction:

Here’s a great tasty way to reduce stress – eat a handful of pistachio nuts every day.  This may sound nutty, but it’s true.

Nutritionists at Penn State University had students eat pistachio nuts daily for a month. They found this kept the students’ blood pressure down in stressful situations.

When they upped the amount to two handfuls every day, the students’ arteries relaxed, which may lighten how hard the heart has to work.

So…start shelling those pistachios!

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How Valid Are Medical Treatments

How Valid Are Medical Treatments

I’ll sometimes receive feedback from readers about the lack of research on some of the things that I recommend. These same people will trust that what the medical profession is saying is a recommended treatment MUST be valid. Well, get ready to have that bubble popped.

Only 15% of current medical treatments have been proven by a controlled clinical trial. This fact has been validated by the US Government’s Office of Technology Assessment and Duke University Research Sciences.

Let’s examine the treatment for glaucoma, for example. Dr. David Eddy, a cardiologist, attempted to discover where the current treatment for glaucoma originated. He searched back to 1906 and could not find a single controlled study conducted that validated the recommended treatment. Rather, the entire treatment was just handed down from generation to generation. Dr. Eddy found the same problem, that there were no controlled studies, for treatment of blocked femoral and popliteal arteries. He even found that standard practices often do not match whatever research that does exist.

Dr. Cindy Romero reports that if one were to look at the Physician’s Desk Reference, which is the bible for drug information, one would find a significant number of drugs for which the mechanism of action is “unknown.” While there will be speculation as to how the drug is working, there will also be a list of known side effects from using the drug.

My approach is to give you as much research as I can and to make recommendations that will either do no harm or point out the known warnings. When you compare my healthy living recommendations to the numbers of drugs in the marketplace that have been withdrawn due to dangerous side effects, I think you’ll better understand the wisdom of my approach.

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Survive a Heart Attack - COUGH

SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN YOU'RE ALONE

Since heart attacks don't set a schedule, you could be alone if one strikes.

You can do the equivalent of CPR on yourself by doing very vigorous, repeated and prolonged coughing.

  • Take a deep breath before each cough.
  • You'll need to repeat the breath and cough every two seconds until help arrives or your heart returns to normal beating.

This is one tip I hope you never have to use, but if you do COUGH!

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Chia Seeds - Get More Omega 3 & 6 Into Your Diet

>Chia Seeds - The Easy Way To Get More Omega 3 and 6 Into Your Diet 

Until recently, the only good choice for getting a vegetable source of Omega 3 and 6 into your diet was using flax seeds.

Chia seeds are an even better choice for getting extra Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, which are the good fats that you need in your diet. These seeds have a higher amount of Omega’s than any other plant. They also have 38% more fiber and 247% more calcium (that number is not an error) than flax seeds.

While flax seeds can go rancid, you don’t have that problem with Chia seeds (I’m also talking about Chia seeds that you eat and not the Chia Pet grass that grows from seeds).

I’ve been sprinkling Chia seeds on my morning cereal for six months now and am pleased with the ease of using them. It doesn’t change the taste of the cereal at all. It just adds a little crunch.
A good source to order your Chia seeds is by going to Search for Chia Seeds at Drugstore.com.

Order Omega-3

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Got Fibroids? There’s Surgery-Free Help Available

>Got Fibroids? There’s Surgery-Free Help Available

For women who are done having children, there’s now a way to avoid a hysterectomy and get rid of uterine fibroids.

The new method is high-intensity ultrasound. A three-hour treatment uses a laser to heat and destroy fibroid tissue, easing pain and heavy bleeding. Recovery took 2 days.

In clinical trials, over 75% of women felt better after three months (1/3 of the women required a repeat treatment a year later).
(Reported in Prevention December 2007)

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The Right Grains Are Good For Your Heart

The Right Grains Are Good For Your Heart

You may have read recent reports stating that staying away from wheat products may be beneficial to your health. The part that’s usually missing in this advice is for you to stay away from enriched wheat products verse whole wheat products.

A study reported in the online journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases analyzed seven studies involving more than 285,000 participants. The study found that eating 2 1/2 slices of whole wheat bread each day reduced risk of a heart attack by 20%.

Be careful when reading the labels of products. Manufacturers can be sneaky by putting words like Spring Wheat or Spring Wheat White Bread in the list of ingredients. They will also contain Whole Wheat when they just put some whole wheat flour in the product, while most of the rest is enriched flour. The simple way is to look for 100% Whole Wheat on the label.

Also, don’t forget that when you are eating rice to make sure it is brown rice and not white or enriched white rice. (Reported Prevention October 2007)

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WHAT TO DO AFTER A STROKE

Adding aerobic training can really help a stroke patient regain their independence and have fewer health problems.

Researchers in Stroke Journal reported that stroke patients who went through an eight week rehab program that emphasized aerobic endurance resulted in a 60% increase in walking speed compared to 16% in a control group. Control of their lower body movement improved by 22% compared to the controls.

So if a stroke happens to a loved one, make sure rehab includes an aerobic exercise program.

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The Power Of Creating Marine Reserves

In an interview with Elizabeth Kolbert published in OnEarth, Kolbert talked about the power of setting aside marine reserves to restore habitats and fisheries. In marine reserves, all the fish and other sea life get bigger since no fishing is allowed.

What this means is that these larger individuals live longer and have more young. As an example, a 14-inch vermilion rockfish will generate about 150,000 young. Let it grow to 24 inches and it will generate 1.7 million babies! If this was a financial investment, that would be quite a return! Come to think of it, it is an investment – an investment in our collective future!

The Australians have even turned a third of the Great Barrier Reef into a reserve network. South Africa has decided to set aside a quarter of its coastline in reserves. In the US we have only set aside 1 percent of our coastal waters in reserves.

One way to save our fish species is to support the establishment of more coastline reserves.

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New Hope For Preventing ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)

ALS is a devastating disease that quickly and aggressively kills neurons controlling voluntary muscle movement.

Researchers at the University Medical Center, Utrecht and Wageningen University, Netherlands, compared the diets of 132 ALS patients and 220 control subjects.

The ALS patients showed significantly less Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and Vitamin E in their diets. The researchers think that this lack in the diet may possibly make them more susceptible to ALS.

The researchers’ findings indicate that Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and Vitamin E protect our neurons, making people who regularly consume them 50 to 60% less vulnerable to ALS than those who don’t. Reported in Natural Solutions.

Order Omega-3 and Save

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DRINK WATER & PREVENT HEART ATTACKS

DRINK WATER & PREVENT HEART ATTACKS

Some fascinating research on the power of water was published in the American Journal of Epidemiol and conducted by Loma Linda University.

They found that men who drank five or more glasses of water per day were 54 percent less likely to die from a heart attack and women were 41 percent less likely to die. People who drank five or more glasses of soda, juice or coffee had a higher risk of death.

So what's it going to be – diet coke or a glass of water.

I was just watching TV and Robin Williams was performing. He was constantly drinking water during his performance. It's obvious that this kept his energy high!

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DRINK WATER & PREVENT HEART ATTACKS - Ezine Archive

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Are People Living Longer Going To Strain The Economy?

>Are People Living Longer Going To Strain The Economy?

Appears that the answer is no.

According to a research study by the AARP, the cost of entitlement programs, such as social security, Medicare and Medicaid, have remained remarkably steady as a percentage of the gross domestic product.

It is even a smaller percentage today than when Ronald Reagan became president 26 years ago.

The researchers found that the real problem is out-of-control health care costs. These increasing costs are due in large measure to advances in medical technology. The AARP’s position is that we have to make the health care system more effective, efficient and affordable, and it has to be done now.
(Reported AARP November & December 2007)

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