In recent years we have seen a dramatic increase in cases of children and even adults identified or labeled as ADD or ADHD. What exactly is this condition, and why the mysterious rise in the number of cases? These were the questions I began to ask a few years ago when I noticed that an unusually high percentage of children were taking Ritalin, the drug most often prescribed by physicians for this baffling disorder that appears to have claimed approximately 20% of the population. Current figures note that an estimated 3.5 million children in the United States take Ritalin for ADD/ADHD. As the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD has become more popular, more adults are now taking Ritalin as well. As Dr. William Crook has so shrewdly observed, "Can we really believe that millions of American children and adults suffer from a Ritalin deficiency?" A person with ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder has difficulty focusing and concentrating on a given task, is easily distracted by external stimuli, and generally has a short attention span. When this person also acts impulsively, fidgets or squirms, can’t sit still, is exceedingly loud, disruptive or prone to angry outbursts, then that person receives the label of ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Children are most often identified as ADD/ADHD in school by their teachers who recommend to parents that they have their child tested for this disorder. This frequently results in the child being given Ritalin or some other medication to help the child stay focused and calm. If the facts concerning Ritalin and other like drugs were widely known, more parents and teachers might question just how much help these children were receiving by taking these medications. Though Ritalin is [...]

Maca, (Lepidium meyenii) is a root vegetable related to the potato and Mexican yam that is cultivated high in the mountains of the Peruvian Andes where, due to the extreme conditions there, very little else will grow. The tenacity of this amazing plant is perhaps what gives it its strength and the properties of enhanced endurance it gives to those who ingest it. One of the chief attributes of Maca, according to the Peruvian Indians who grow it, is its ability to enhance fertility. When the Spanish conquistadors first began to raise sheep in the higher regions the sheep were reproducing poorly. When the Indians suggested Maca, the results were so amazing that the Spanish began to demand Maca as payment from the colonies. Maca’s fertility enhancement may be due to its rich content of iodine (essential for thyroid balance), zinc (important for prostate function), amino acids (precursors to hormone production) and vitamin C. Maca is also high in essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It contains vitamins B1, B2, B12 and E and is a source of glycoside steroids, making Maca a natural and safe alternative to anabolic steroids for weight lifters. Maca is an adaptogen, meaning it helps to restore balance or homeostasis to the body. Other adaptogen herbs are ginseng and astragalus. Maca has traditionally been used to increase energy and to promote improvement in stamina and endurance in athletes. Unlike caffeine, Maca is a healthy choice for increasing physical and mental energy because it is not a stimulant, making it ideal for students, professionals, writers, sports enthusiasts and anyone who needs a lift. It has been especially helpful for those with chronic fatigue. While Maca has a reputation [...]

As the days become longer and warmer, and we prepare for the increased activities of spring, our bodies respond by mobilizing the eliminative organs to detox the accumulated waste of winter. While the colon, kidneys, lungs and skin all play a major role in this important cleansing process, it is the liver that is most in focus now as springtime energies stimulate the liver to cleanse the blood and internal organs of impurities. These impurities may be due to fatty, processed or undigested foods, a deficiency in enzymes, or environmental toxins including heavy metals, drugs, poisonous chemicals, polluted air and contaminated water. When the body is overburdened with toxins, the liver may be stressed causing symptoms such as allergies, headaches, nausea, irritability, foggy thinking, muscle tension, skin eruptions, itching and fatigue. In women, PMS, fibroid tumors, and endometriosis are signs of liver stress, since the liver must process excess estrogens out of the bloodstream. Spring is the ideal time to increase amounts of fresh enzyme-rich vegetables and herbs in the diet. Dandelion leaves, sorrel, nettles, yellow dock, red beet and watercress are wonderful tonics for the liver, bringing renewed strength and vitality to the body. Barberry, milk thistle, red clover and burdock are herbs that are excellent for cleansing the liver and gall bladder, creating increased efficiency in the digestive and immune systems. Spring is the best time to do the “liver-gallbladder flush”, a natural remedy that can help to eliminate gallstones and accumulated sludge from the gall bladder. Two to three weeks before doing the flush take hydrangea root to break up and dissolve the stones. (Hydrangea root can also dissolve kidney stones and excess calcium deposits.) The flush consists of juice fasting on [...]

All of life and all matter is the manifestation of energy in motion.  Even a solid non-living object such as a chair is comprised of atoms in motion, yet this fundamental aspect of our world cannot be seen with the naked eye, and therefore is often neglected.  Energy takes many forms such as light, heat, sound, electricity, magnetism and nuclear reactions.  The natural energies of the earth, sun and stars sustain, energize and renew us.  Without them we could not exist. Radiation refers to energy moving away from its source in wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum.  In the 1800’s Heinrich Hertz discovered that as energy moved along this spectrum it changed or oscillated in cycles per second.  Frequency refers to the measurement of how many cycles per second energy moves along a wavelength, and is measured in “hertz” (Hz).  The shorter the wavelength is, the higher the frequency. The electromagnetic spectrum is divided into extremely high frequency ionizing radiation at the upper end of the spectrum and nonionizing radiation in the high, medium and lower ranges.  In between these two types of radiation is the visible light spectrum from which we see the colors of the rainbow.   Ionizing radiation consists of very short wavelengths including nuclear radiation and X-rays, which can cause permanent damage to molecular bonds at the cellular level creating cancer or genetic mutation.  Ultraviolet light radiation from fluorescent and incandescent lights, black light devices, mercury-vapor lamps and welding equipment also fall in the ionizing range, as do the gamma rays and cosmic rays from the sun.  Fortunately, the earth’s magnetosphere protects us from absorbing too much of the sun’s rays, yet it cannot protect us from manmade frequencies produced on the earth. [...]

Amazing as it may seem, approximately 80% of the population have inside their mouths the most toxic non-radioactive substance on the planet. This known poison is mercury, and it comprises 50% of all "silver" amalgam fillings that are placed in people’s mouths during routine dental procedures. Even though the American Dental Association claims that mercury has been safely used in dentistry for the last 150 years, and is not harmful when alloyed to silver, copper and zinc in amalgam fillings, research and experience have proven otherwise. Remember the phrase "mad as a hatter"? In the 1800’s, hatters used mercury-based black paints on the brims of hats. While they worked they would breathe in the mercury fumes and lick the paintbrush to get a finer point. As a result, many hatters got mercury poisoning as the mercury went right to their brains, affecting their psyche. Is it any wonder that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession? Research conducted as early as a decade ago reported that old fillings viewed under an electron microscope showed holes where the mercury had evaporated, releasing 40% of the mercury into the body over a ten year period. The U.S. environmental protection safety limits for mercury exposure are 10 micrograms per day, yet mercury released from fillings can contribute up to three times this amount, just from the simple acts of chewing, brushing the teeth, or drinking hot liquids. Studies show that the average person makes and swallows 1.5 liters of saliva a day. Yet, if they have as few as four amalgams present in their mouth, their saliva is so high in mercury they cannot legally spit into the toilet in the USA. In fact, amalgam that [...]

First impressions about people can be quite profound. When meeting someone we draw conclusions about them from the way they look. The face alone can reveal volumes of information about a person as this is the most unique part of the body from which we express ourselves. Face reading, or physiognomy (Greek for interpreting nature), is a global art with historical references in ancient Chinese, Japanese, Ayurvedic, Greek, Latin and medieval literature. It has been an integral part of Chinese Medicine for thousands of years, described in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine in 2600 BC. Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Avicenna also wrote of the art. Since the 1930’s macrobiotic practitioners have used face reading to determine dietary needs. A 2009 article in New Scientist reported that face reading is undergoing a revival inspiring new research. The face is the most revealing, sensitive and responsive part of the body, controlled by over 40 individual muscles. The appearance of the hair, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, chin and ears tell a story about our past, present and future potential. Health status, emotional and mental traits, and spiritual development are displayed in the face, and our face can visibly change with life experience. Chinese doctors can evaluate 70% of a person’s health just by looking at the face. Chinese medicine looks at the chi or life force energy of the person. They consider the balance of yin energy (feminine, passive, moist, cold) and yang energy (masculine, assertive, dry, hot) as expressed in the face. The Chinese believe that before age 35 your face will reflect genetic history and family conditioning, while after the age of 35 “your face belongs to you” and will reveal life choices. [...]

Over the last few decades Americans have enjoyed a resurgence in natural healing, learning how diet, nutritional supplements, medicinal herbs and natural therapies can safely and effectively heal disease and enhance health. We have had increasing access to cutting edge nutritional supplements and holistic therapies administered by qualified professionals, and it is estimated that at least 60% of the population choose holistic medicine as their primary source of healing. If the pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech companies have their way, all this could quickly come to an end if current proposed legislation is passed by the U.S. government. Several bills are moving through Congress at lightning speed and require our urgent attention if we wish to maintain our freedom of choice in health care. Much of this legislation is meant to prepare the U.S. to “harmonize” with the United Nations and World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Codex Alimentarius Commission Food Code which sets global standards for foods and dietary supplements including vitamins, minerals and medicinal herbs. Members of Codex who set these standards represent the multinational pharmaceutical and chemical corporations that are most threatened by the burgeoning natural health industry. Currently our access to nutritional supplements is protected by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) passed by the U.S. Congress in 1994. DSHEA ensures that dietary supplements in the U.S. are treated as foods as opposed to drugs and are regulated under truth in labeling laws regarding health claims. It puts no upper limits on the amounts of safe nutrients contained in supplements. DSHEA is the cornerstone of health freedom in this country and it is currently under attack by the FDA, FTC and the pharmaceutical companies who back them. It is their intent to [...]

It is common modern practice to vaccinate children beginning in infancy, supposedly to protect them against a variety of diseases which "threaten" mankind. In truth, however, it is these very vaccines that are threatening the health and genetic integrity of the human race. Before the advent of vaccines, many childhood diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough were adequately handled by the immune systems of children raised in a drugless society. It was not until the beginning of mass immunization of children in the 1950’s that these same diseases appeared to cause grave injury or death. In fact, in 1950, before routine vaccinations became a reality, the United States had the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world. By 1986, the U.S. infant mortality rate dropped to 17th place and by 1995 the U.S. had fallen further to 24thplace. There is a vast difference between natural immunity acquired as nature intended it and the invasive immunization practice derived from vaccination. Immediately after birth, newborn infants who are breast fed, receive antibodies through their mother’s milk. When a child or adult gets a disease naturally, the virus or bacteria travels through the nose or mouth into the lungs and into the circulatory and lymphatic systems, providing antibody and cellular protection. In contrast, when concentrated pathogenic microorganisms are injected directly into the body, they bypass the natural defense system and disease sets in. This challenges the immune system, and immunity is often short-lived. When one understands what exactly is in these vaccines and how they are made, one would wonder how vaccines could possibly be of any benefit to health. Vaccines are produced from either dead or live attenuated (weakened) disease microorganisms. In the dead [...]

The cycles of nature are evident all around us. The sun greets us with morning light, and the moon ushers in the evening stars. As the seasons change temperatures rise and fall and life adapts. Flowers bloom, fruit ripens, and trees drop their leaves. Animals migrate, reproduce and hibernate. Our ancestors were acutely aware of these natural rhythms and lived their lives in harmony with them. They observed the cyclic patterns of the planetary bodies and used them as a guide for planting and harvesting food. They rose with the morning light, worked and played under the sun’s rays, rested in darkness, and ate natural foods as they became available. Life was simpler and more physically demanding, yet enriched with the vibrant nurturing energies upon which healthy life depends. Today, humans spend most of their time indoors in temperature controlled artificially lit environments, eat commercially grown and processed foods out of season, and stay up long after sunset.   While natural cycles may no longer dictate our daily activities, our bodies and minds still respond to the call of nature just as the plants and animals do. Through an internal timing mechanism called the bodyclock, our brain, endocrine system and organs were designed to operate in response to cues from nature. The more we cut ourselves off from nature, the more imbalanced we become. Chronobiology (from chrono meaning “time”) is the field of science that studies the effects of nature’s cycles on living organisms. The movement of the earth on its axis and around the sun creates the seasonal changes and cycles of day and night. These rhythmic natural forces of nature program our DNA to direct all physiological functions with precise timing and accuracy. A [...]

The skin is the largest organ in the body, encasing all of our vital organs, glands, muscle tissue, skeletal system and blood vessels. It is responsible for maintaining our internal body temperature and eliminating toxins through perspiration. It is the part of our body that is visible to others, the face we show to the world. Our facial skin in particular, is where inner vitality shines through and where the first signs of aging begin to surface. Since ancient times, humans have sought out the secret of youthfulness, ingesting and applying herbal elixirs and more recently, powerful drugs to clear up the complexion and retard aging. The cosmetic industry has exploded with topical preparations promising to make us look years younger in rapid time. What if the secret to beautiful skin and longevity was as simple as selectively eating certain foods and taking particular supplements, managing stress, exercising, and providing protection from environmental pollutants? Exciting research in the field of skin science and nutrition has revealed that there is a lot we can do naturally to improve the quality of our skin, and in the process rejuvenate the entire body. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, noted researcher, dermatologist and author of the books, “The Wrinkle Cure,” “The Acne Prescription,” and “The Perricone Prescription” has practically revolutionized the field of dermatology with his theories on aging, disease and skin care. Over the years, I have worked with many clients who have suffered from various skin conditions, including acne, eczema, rosacea, and other problems. In holistic medicine, it is known that the skin is the largest eliminative organ in the body, and is a reflection of the state of the internal systems. Cleansing the body of toxins and improving [...]