Tag: holistic

  • 9 reasons we have a “sick”, not “health care” system

    The conventional medical system and hospitalized care is now in the Top 3 leading causes of mortality, as announced by Johns Hopkins University in 2016.

    Does this sound like a system you would choose to participate in?

    Here are 9 reasons we have a “sick” and not a “health care” system:

    1. Any system which forces the population to seek and/or use only one methodology or approach to treatment for addressing health issues or face denial of coverage, is not “health care”. 

    When there is only one accepted method of treating health care issues (via drugs or surgery, for example), when consumers lack education, choices and freedom about their health, this is not health care

    Any time there is a risk to a treatment or medical procedures, there needs to be a choice. When we are forced to accept treatments that don’t heal our bodies or solve health care problems, and we continue to participate in treatment that doesn’t solve the problem, we are trapped in a system that effectively keeps patients and consumers in a state of being unwell.

    2. Any system which penalizes those who chose to go outside the system for “alternatives” or holistic treatment, is not “health care”. 

    Punishing citizens by forcing them to pay into a system which they do not want to participate is not a free society and not only falls under the category of discrimination, but is a direct violation of human rights. Reasoning that our health care system is too costly for certain members of its population to afford it is not justification to mandate citizens to fund or participate in a system. There’s a word for this: it’s called fascism.  

    If leaders of the health care industry possessed a sincere desire to make wellness achievable and accessible to all, they would advocate for holistic health alternatives, education and treatment. If these leaders were willing to provide information to patients and consumers that would allow them to experience wellness, we would see dramatic changes in our death and disease rates.

    Instead, what we have is a system that continues to create dependencies on drugs, surgery and other treatments that are costly and don’t heal or contribute to recovery. Making these changes would significantly impact the overall cost of health because less of our population would be sick and thus would be using medical services. This is the definition of a “sick care” system, and it is extremely profitable for the corporations involved. 

    (As an aside, it’s fair to call it an industry since it generates profit, and quite a lot of it. According to Statistic Brain, the health care industry generates $1.668 trillion annually. Let that sink in.)

    3. Any system that uses treatments that manage rather than heal, and fails to improve health or well-being of its subscribers or members is not  “health care”.  

    Drugs, surgery, and other procedures do not prevent future health issues nor resolve the root of the problem. Instead, those who receive such treatments and are administered pharmaceutical products become looped into a system that requires continual appointments and treatment, vaccines, and renewal of drug prescriptions. This is not wellness, but “managed illness”. All drugs have side-effects which can cause a downward spiral of health issues, and still no resolution of the cause of the original health problem.

    4. Any system that refuses to cover care that goes outside the scope of the conventional medical model, or attempts to discredit other modes of medical or health treatments is not “health care”. 

    The majority of insurance providers do not provide coverage for complimentary or holistic treatments. Instead, most covered services include only conventional treatments.

    When patients seek medical advice and are told that if they do not follow the recommendations provided they will be dismissed as a patient or are endangering themselves or their child of further disease or death, this is not health care.

    What motivation would there be for a system to continually attempt to tarnish or invalidate other types of health care other than to protect its own interests? There’s really only one answer to this: profits and power. 

    5. Any system that relies upon drugs, surgery, vaccines and other similar treatments to treat health care issues does not support wellness. This reactionary, rather than preventative approach, is not “health care”. 

    Although sometimes we do need drugs or surgery, these should be exceptions to the rule of health treatments; not what we use for every health care scenario. We are not drug, vaccine, or surgery deficient.

    The conventional medical model does not educate its patients on preventative habits or lifestyle choices that could lead to wellness. Instead, it recommends taking prescriptions to manage symptoms, consumption of a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet with more plants and grains, increased exercise, and diagnostics including mammography and colonoscopy for “prevention” of disease. 

    Low-fat diets have actually been shown to lead to health issues, and no amount of exercise will create health in someone who is unwell and not addressing existing nutritional deficiencies in their body from consuming a low-fat diet. Contrary to what we’ve been told for decades, cholesterol is actually essential for for every aspect of health including cell structure, hormones, digestion, weight management, stress, brain function, metabolism and more. It’s the source of that cholesterol which makes the difference: cholesterol from animal foods that come from confinement operations versus organically-grown, pasture-raised environments are completely opposite on the spectrum. We can definitely expect to experience disease and chronic health issues from consuming the former, while choices from the second can be extremely beneficial and health-supporting.

    Diagnostics such as colonoscopies and mammograms involve risk due to exposing tissue to radiation and compression (which can lead to cancer), drug reactions, and perforation of human tissue. 

    Each of these recommendations can and have lead to further incidence of disease, yet are advocated and endorsed by conventional medical practitioners and guidelines. Preventative diagnostics have been known to fail to detect or prevent the disease that is being screened. Read more about mammograms from Dr. Mercola.  

    6. Any system that engages in bullying, coercion, threats, intimidation, discouragement of research and education, or disregards empowerment toward the patient or consumer is not “health care”. 

    Patients and consumers regularly report receiving condescending, disrespectful, bullying and unfair treatment by practitioners when they decline or request more information on specific types of treatment. Any practitioner that engages in this type of behavior or approach is not practicing “health care”.

    7. Any system which repeatedly discredits, undermines or disesteems medical doctors, nurses, scientists and others including holistic practitioners who have taken their education and research outside of conventional approaches and treatments and gained an understanding of the importance of holistic approaches to address health care issues is not a “health care system”. 

    When a doctor or practitioner goes outside of accepted answers or language about a treatment or procedure, the typical response is that said individual is not credible or has a soiled reputation, is a “quack”, or is discredited in some other way. In some cases, the individual may be targeted to lose his or her license, or may even die in a mysterious manner. Are these deaths simply coincidences? Erin from Health Nut News did an expose on the more than 70 health practitioners who died between 2015 and 2016 from unexplained causes.

    8. Any system which denies the existence of studies and research showing risks and flaws within the conventional health care approach is not “health care”. 

    There are thousands upon thousands of studies and papers revealing the risks of conventional care approaches, yet many who are confronted with this information or evidence will dismiss and attempt to discredit those who bring this information to light. Why do those within the conventional system fight so vehemently against this information? Why do the defenders of the conventional medical system use the same arguments again and again, and without unbiased, scientific documentation? These responses beg the question: if you want to know who is oppressing you, find out who you are not allowed to question or raise skepticism toward. What do these staunch defenders have to worry about if the risks and flaws of the medical system, challenged by those who aren’t satisfied with the status quo, are wrong?

    9. Any system whose practitioners and representatives oppose parents who provide testimonials of children who have experienced vaccine-injury or death is not “health care”. 

    There are literally tens of thousands of parents who have shared their stories about how vaccines have damaged or killed their children, many of them with similar symptoms and reactions. The majority of representatives in the conventional health care system insist that these parents are incorrect, uneducated, hysterical, irrational, abusive, “conspiracy-theory driven” or even criminals. Most parents who question vaccines were pro-vaccine at one time. The reason they began to question is because they experienced the tragedy of a vaccine-injured or dead child. This is not a place that most parents would ever want to find themselves in; and yet, more and more are having to endure that very scenario. Those parents wish more than anything that they could go back in time and make a different decision. Sadly, once a vaccine is administered, it cannot be “un-given”.

    Although we are assured otherwise, the science is not settled. If science is not allowed to be tested, questioned, or challenged, then we are clearly stifled and arrested as a civilization which cannot move forward in its acquisition and understanding of knowledge and information. The conventional medical system is by no means a “gold standard”. There have been and continue to be examples of those who use it and experience suffering and death as a result of their choice … and yet we are expected to regard this system as infallible and as possessing a guarantee about how to treat and “cure” illness when it appears more than obvious that it is anything but that level of reliable or sound.

    Recommended ways to maintain wellness are as follows:

    • Eat a diet of real, organic, nourishing foods including grassfed meats, pasture-raised poultry and eggs and raw dairy foods, organic or pesticide, herbicide and genetically-modified-free fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other foods . 
    • Eliminate sugars, grains, processed and packaged food products. 
    • Prepare foods at home, from scratch using ingredients rather than jars, packages, or prepared meals.
    • Consider traditional preparation of foods such as fermentation (sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, kefir, sour cream), slow-cooking on low heat meats, fish and poultry using homemade meat broth and stocks from bones, vegetables, sea salt and filtered water. These methods render foods more nutritious and easier-to-digest as well as heal the digestive tract to enable higher absorption rate of nutrients.
    • Eliminate toxins from your environment including commercial cleaners, detergents, air fresheners, candles, shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, soaps, body, beauty, and personal care products. Opt for natural products or make your own at home. Many cleaning and personal care products are easy to make at home with a few ingredients including kitchen and bathroom cleaners made with apple cider vinegar and baking soda, or plain vinegar and lemon juice, deodorant made with coconut oil and essential oils (such as lavender, lemongrass or peppermint), body butter made with equal parts of coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil and cocoa butter.

    When we eat better, we feel better and tend to get sick less often. Less illness leads to a healthier body and less chance of long-term, chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes, depression, brain fog, memory issues, obesity, inflammation, and other auto-immune disorders.

    Health share programs

    Here is a list of health share programs that offer health care “coverage” for less than the average insurance plan (especially if you factor in the penalty for not participating), and provide you and your family with a means to lower expenses that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to manage on your own.

    These are not insurance companies, they are share programs that provide coverage to members when needed. Members of these groups are by definition “exempt” from penalties imposed if you opt out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA aka “Obamacare”).

    Altrua

    Aliera

    Liberty

    My Christian Care

    Samaritan Ministries

  • FOOD HEALS:Children With Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Reach Remission

    FOOD HEALS:Children With Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Reach Remission

    HFI: We are not as surprised as the doctor’s in Seattle in the fact the food can be healing. Here is an example of another child whose symptoms were treated but her body needed diet changes to allow her to heal.


    Can diet alone be used to treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC)? It’s a question Dr. David Suskind, a gastroenterologist at Seattle Children’s, has been researching for years.

    Today, he finally has the answer: yes.

    In a first-of-its-kind-study led by Suskind, published today in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, diet alone was shown to bring pediatric patients with active Crohn’s and UC into clinical remission.

    “This changes the paradigm for how we may choose to treat children with inflammatory bowel disease,” said Suskind.

    In the small, prospective study, patients were put on a special diet called the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) for 12 weeks as the sole intervention to treat their Crohn’s or UC. SCD is a nutritionally balanced diet that removes grains, dairy, processed foods and sugars, except for honey. The diet promotes only natural, nutrient-rich foods, which includes vegetables, fruits, meats and nuts.

    At the end of the 12 weeks, eight out of the 10 patients who finished the study showed significant improvement and achieved remission from the dietary treatment alone.

    Food heals and a life changed

    addy-with-mom

    Today, Adelynne has been in clinical remission for more than two years. She’s a healthy, happy and thriving 11-year-old girl.

    “I can’t believe how far we’ve come. When we first walked into Seattle Children’s, she was an 8-year-old girl who was barely heavier than our 4-year-old. Now, she’s growing and foods are no longer an enemy.”

    Adelynne and her family have embraced shopping local for natural, nutrient rich foods. And although it’s been an adjustment, the family now says the diet is just part of their every day life.

    “Her lunch doesn’t look much different than other kids at school,” said Kittelson. “There are so many options out there. We haven’t felt like we’ve had to sacrifice. We’ve even adjusted holiday traditions to fit into our new lifestyle. Instead of candy for special occasions, we swap them for other things.”

    For Adelynne and her family, SCD was the right treatment option. It’s helped Adelynne get back to her normal life and find a love for food again.

  • Freely Choosen Medicine

    Freely Choosen Medicine

    We believe that as American citizens, we should have the liberty to freely choose our medicine and source of health and well being. In addition to conventional medicines that places its emphasis on physicians, science and chemistry, we believe that individuals should have access to an integrative approach to healing that emphasize nature and the individual. There are a myriad of therapies that support the bodies natural ability to heal and address the whole body, not just symptoms.
    Common therapies and brief description of their focus/intent as provided by the Minnd.org Handbook:
    Nutrition assess and analyse individual needs and develop personalized nutrition plans using nutrient therapy, dietary and life style approaches.
    Naturopathy treats the patient’s mental, emotional and physical state, by supporting the body to repair itself with nutrients, diet, and a range of natural therapies.
    Chiropractic Treatment assumes that the body is a self regulating organism and that good health is dependent upon a normally functioning nervous system, especially the spine and nerves extending from the spine to all parts of the body.
    Osteopathy treats the whole person and places emphasis on the relationships between the body’s structure, framework and function appreciating the body’s ability to heal itself.
    Homeopathy recognizes that all symptoms of ill health are expressions of disharmony within the whole person and that it is the patient who needs treatment not the disease. Emphasis is placed on supporting natural immunity. . Acupuncture uses hair thin needles and/or electrodes to redirect obstructed energy through the meridians, resulting in a positive shift in the energy of organ systems and its overall function, thereby restoring health. Kinesiology uses the muscle feedback system to determine how the nervous system exerts control over organ systems and helps the body to heal itself by normalising its internal functions.
    Craniosacral Therapy is a hands-on energy healing technique gently mobilizing spinal fluid within and around the central nervous system which is believed to create a vital body rhythm.
    BRAIN GYM is a program of physical activities that develops the brain’s neural pathways the way nature does: through movement. This enhance learning, concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more.
    Other therapies that can be effective include; Herbal Medicine, Emotional Freedom Technique, Flower Essences, Bowen Technique, Hyperbaric Therapy, Intermittent Hypoxy Therapy
  • PANDAS: A Scary and Controversial Disorder

    PANDAS: A Scary and Controversial Disorder

    Could a sudden, severe change in a child’s behavior be brought on by something as common as strep throat? Many experts — and distraught parents — say yes. We dig deeper to find out what’s going on, and which children are at risk.

    PANDAS syndrome sometimes referred to as PANDAS disease is an acronym for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associate with Streptococcal Infections. The syndrome is characterized by a strep infection which leads to an adverse immune response resulting in inflammation of a child’s brain. When this occurs, the child very quickly starts to display significant and life altering symptoms including:

    • OCD
    • Tics
    • Anxiety
    • A change in personality
    • A regression in schoolwork such as handwriting and mathematics skills
    • Restrictive eating
    • Heightened sensory sensitivity

    While there is not yet any sort of unanimity of medical opinion regarding the syndrome, the PANDAS Network has conservatively estimated that PANDAS may affect around 1 in every 200 children although medicine.net puts the figure closer to 1 in every 2,000 although they go on to say that a proper diagnosis is often overlooked.

    The difficulty doctors have in making a proper diagnosis of PANDA syndrome is because many common symptoms are associated with the illness. Indeed a number of researchers and experts in the field recommend that PANDAS is included with similar neuropsychiatric conditions such as PANS and CANS.

    Some parents, if they can even get a doctor who will diagnose PANDAS (it’s not exactly main-stream just yet), choose to use long-term antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals to cure the syndrome.

    Such was the case with Beth Alison Maloney, the author of Saving Sammy, a book about her son’s battle with, and subsequent curing of PANDAS. It worked for Sammy, and he was cured of PANDAS, without any diet changes even, but I do wonder about the long-term health effects of long-term antibiotic use.

    Overcoming PANDAS/PANS required a comprehensive whole body approach to healing. from http://www.thefamilythathealstogether.com/pandas-syndrome-how-we-healed-it/

    Too often, if parents realize the diagnosis, they are led to believe that strep or some other pathogen is the cause of the problem and may spend years giving antibiotics or trying to suppress immune function. While such measures may result in relief for some typical children who were never beset with previous autoimmune issues, for those on the autistic spectrum, such regimens often only result in greater problems of inner ecosystem imbalance and immune dysfunction. There is mounting evidence that implicates antibiotic use in the development of autism in the first place, and repeated long-term dosing can often result in regression and further complications.

    Rather than suppression, a holistic approach deals with the underlying cause of autoimmunity; that the immune system, overworked and overwhelmed, has lost its ability to distinguish pathogen from brain cell and is attacking the area of the brain responsible for checking repetitive thought and movement. A holistic approach involves strengthening the immune system so that it can regain its vision to distinguish self from pathogen. For more and more children, a combination of nutrition, homeopathy, and herbs are making the difference. For each child the protocols must be individualized, but a comprehensive approach takes into account these steps:

    • Gut healing: A leaky gut, whereby undigested proteins, pathogens, and toxins can pass into the bloodstream provoking inflammation and immune reaction generally underlies autoimmunity. It also makes absorption of nutrients difficult which adds to immune dysfunction. Over 70% of the immune system is in the gut. Gut healing is a multistep process that can be helped with herbs and healing nutrients in conjunction with dietary changes.
    • An anti-inflammatory diet: Respecting bio-individuality, a diet that eliminates foods contributing to inflammation, allergy, and sensitivity for each person, to calm the fires of inflammation and give the immune system a needed healing rest is essential. This generally begins with removing the most well-known contributors to inflammation and immune reaction: gluten, GMOs, refined vegetable oils, dairy products, processed foods, chemical additives, pesticides, refined flours, fried foods, and sugar. Foods that serve to quell inflammation are key. A nutrient dense diet of real food that promotes a slightly alkaline internal Ph is essential to healing. Note: It is a common misconception that allergy testing can define a child’s food intolerances. Most of the food reactions our children face are not true allergies, but are due to the child’s inability to properly digest or process the chemicals (natural or artificial) or proteins in the food. These foods will not test positive as allergens, yet can be causing chronic inflammation and immune reactivity. more on a healing diet: The GAPS diet 
    • Homeopathy: This system of energy healing supports and strengthens the immune system and was key to my own son’s healing. Remedies are determined on the basis of the totality of the individual child’s symptom picture. During acute PANDAS episodes, when the child can often take on a completely different symptom pattern, an intercurrent remedy may be recommended based on the individual child’s symptom picture.
    • Anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients that help to strengthen and support a healthy immune system are a key component of the healing process. One family found success using: 
    • Cell salts that are appropriately determined for the individual can help with nutrient absorption and healing the gut and nervous system.
    • Detoxification: Toxic overload can often contribute to the immune system’s overwhelm. Toxic metals, mold, and chemicals in the environment can act as triggers or contribute to ongoing immune dysfunction. Eliminating common environmental triggers in the home environment in combination with gentle, natural methods to improve the child’s own detoxification capacity are important. One family found success using: Diatomaceous earth, oregano leaf tincture, and intestinal tract defense

    • Balance the inner ecosystem: We have more microorganisms in our bodies than human cells and an imbalance significantly impacts immune function. Overgrowth of yeast, bacteria or parasite invasion must be overcome in order for the immune system to heal. Homeopathic methods to balance the inner terrain, such as the use of appropriately indicated bowel nosodes, particular in the wake of antibiotic use, can provide tremendous healing. To kill pathogens and candida: biocidin, monolaurin, grapefruit seed extract, and happy belly

    A dozen years ago, PANDAS was unknown to most health practitioners and the options for healing were limited. Today, we are blessed to have a wealth of holistic knowledge that provides true hope for healing autoimmunity as well as the support of a growing community of well-informed parents.

    http://www.thefamilythathealstogether.com/pandas-syndrome-how-we-healed-it/

    Story after story of healing can be found at the facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoveringkids2/