--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00002Date: 06/19/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 11:04pm \/To: TY MEISSNER (Read 1 times) Subj: cancer trends look [1/2] Hi Ty, >>>> Part 1 of 2... > CANCER TRENDS > U.S. cancer trends are increasingly bleak. There are two ways to > judge cancer trends: by incidence rates and by death rates. > Cancer incidence refers to the number of new cases of cancer per > 100,000 population, age-adjusted. Similarly, the cancer death > rate is the number of cancer deaths per 100,000 population, > age-adjusted. The purpose of adjusting for age is to eliminate > trends that might occur simply because the average age of the > population is increasing. In other words, age-adjusting > eliminates the argument, "Cancer only SEEMS to be getting worse > because people are living longer." Thanks for all this...Peter Montague certainly hits the nail on the head (and there is also a lot of agreement with Sagan's conclusions taken from available statistics). Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00003Date: 06/19/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 11:14pm \/To: HOLLY CAHILL (Read 1 times) Subj: Gout Hi Holly, > AF> 67 was no great deal if he lived out in the country..but if he > AF> lived in London it certainly was an achievement! The problem with > AF> this period is that we have no accurate info on a person's way > AF> of life or individual diet. There was certainly no air pollution > AF> then and food was certainly more wholesome than it is now. OTOH > AF> the consumption of alcohol was considered healthy and necessary. > AF> The mere fact that he belonged to the upper classes and was thus > AF> well paid has been shown to have an influence on longevity. > AF> > Even the upper classes in London used the streets to empty their > thunderpots. They had servants to get rid of their excrements. > As you said, living in the city during those years would certainly > shorten > one's life expectancy. > Having money may have given you access to better health care > (such as it was) Health care was extremely dangerous in those days. > but the food was probably far more risky, > having to be carted in from godknowswhere and handled by the poor, > festering peasants. Naw....they had their own gardens...and fresh game..as well as their own gardeners, cooks and gamekeepers. :-) Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00004Date: 06/19/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 11:45pm \/To: ALEX VASAUSKAS (Read 1 times) Subj: marijuana Hi Alex, >> Actually, marijuana can have significant health benefits. This >> is why states have passed laws permitting medicinal marijuana use. > AF> This is where I would point out that there is a distinct > AF> difference between "significant health benefits" (meaning a high > AF> nutrient content) and any drugs used as a mere "treatment" of the > AF> symptoms of an illness. Your terminology up there is thus correct. > I think you mean *incorrect* ;-) Good point. Your terminology is correct if you meant the consumption of the raw seeds...and incorrect if you meant smoking the stuff...OK? > AF> I'm sure that nobody would claim that marijuana is more dangerous > AF> (or even at least as dangerous) as either tobacco or alcohol. The > AF> Dutch have legalized it for this very reason. > Unfortunately, there are many people in the U.S., who through a > vested interest in maintaining public anti-drug hysteria or by > having bought into that hysteria, maintain that marijuana is an > absolute evil. I get the sneaky feeling that you misunderstood or misinterpreted my former reply to your post. Marijuana..to me...is an evil..and only hempseed (very nutritious) and hemp textiles (extremely healthy and long-lasting) are beneficial to humans. > Unlike tobacco and alcohol, which are legal, > the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I > substance -- equivalent to heroin, and people are sentenced to > prison for decades and have their property confiscated by the > government for growing or possessing less than a pound of it. Here I would agree that it is useless to jail any junkies (at public cost) and all drugs should be made legal to avoid the crimes perpetrated by both the "pushers" (both between themselves and in attempting to produce more junkies and also demanding a high price for their wares) and the junkies themselves who are largely reliant on criminal activities in order to secure their expensive daily fix(es). IOW...I am of the opinion that all drugs are both dangerous and an answer to nothing but that these self-same drugs should be legalized and thus made cheaper to stamp out both the criminal activities of the pushers and the junkies. As to the junkies themselves, they should not be treated as criminals but allowed to "go to pot" ('scuse the pun) or cure themselves under their own steam (natural selection) and out of their own pockets..as the case may be. Drugtaking is a self-inflicted injury which should cost the state (and hence the non-drugtaking population) absolutely nothing. The Dutch have taken the first step in this direction and are achieving remarkable results. > Prohibition has helped government grow, become more powerful, > and been very lucrative for it. Consequently, there is a > substantial interest in demonizing marijuana and other substances. I would totally disagree that prohibition helps a government grow and become more powerful. It merely breeds people like 'ol Al Capone and his mob. >> [However,] _the criminalization of >> marijuana use may itself be a health hazard, since it may expose >> the consumer to violence and criminal activity._ > AF> Here I would agree 100%. All narcotic drugs should be legalized > AF> (and the proceeds used to treat those who want to be treated and > AF> to bury those who don't). I wonder how much of the alcohol or > AF> tobacco taxes are used for this purpose. > Here in Alaska (which now has the highest tobacco tax in the U.S.) > the tobacco tax statute directs that all taxes be used to fund > public education -- and then the politicians make self-righteous > noises about how those who smoke tobacco, do not have private > health insurance, and have health problems are a drain on the > public health treasury. In Germany, where health insurance is mandatory (and the smokers etc. pay the same dues as everybody else) as a set a percentage of earnings, the cost of medical treatment for smokers and illnesses attributed to smoking is said to be only about a THIRD of the income from the cigarette tax alone (i.e. never mind the health insurance payments)! Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00005Date: 06/19/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 11:51pm \/To: TERRY RICKS (Read 1 times) Subj: No "red Indians" Here ! Hi Terry, You wrote to Alan Hess: >> Wasn't it the Europeans who named this continent "America" who also >> called the indigenous inhabitants "Indians?" > Alan, you are correct, as far as you go. However, you should be aware > that > those Europeans that called our Native Peoples "Indians" did so because > they believed that they had discovered the East Indies. Later > exploration > revealed that their discoveries were of a whole new continent, actually > two > new continents, but the name "Indians" stuck, dispite the efforts of > some > scholors to change it. > If you intend to use the term Indians, then you would be more correct to > use > the term American Indians, although, as has been already pointed out, > most > of the peoples in question prefer the term Native Americans, or the use > of > thier tribal names, ie. Sioux, Blackfeet, Crow, Shoshone, etc.. If you really are into political correctness then you should be aware that the Sioux, Blackfeet etc. don't call themselves by these names. IOW...it is just as politically correct as you are being to call them "red" indians. Native Americans would be incorrect as it is obvious that they came from north-east Asia originally. How old are the oldest fossil remains? ;-) Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00006Date: 06/20/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 12:00am \/To: HOLLY CAHILL (Read 1 times) Subj: Nutritive Value & Plants Hi Holly, > AF> > The book is not loaded with this information, but it does appear > AF> > sporadically > AF> > throughout, ie: > AF> > AF> This is what I mean..there is too little information around..and > AF> if that is all that book can offer...I do have a slightly better > AF> (but by no means perfect) source. Seems amazing (particularly > AF> after reading the nutrient content of those few wild plants that > AF> have been examined) that the scientists have chosen to ignore > AF> wild plants for so long. Sheesh...you can't make money by advising > AF> people to eat wild plants. > AF> > I don't have it, but I've seen another book by Mowrey, called "The > Scientific Validation of ....(Plants/Herbs??)...perhaps that would > have better information. In a recent post I gave the nutrient contents of two out of a total of around 35 (could be 36...I'm speaking out of my memory) which have been analyzed for nutrient content. The nutrient contents of wild, edible plants are so astonishing (as compared with domesticated leaf and root veggies) that it is perfectly obvious why science (and the industry that pays the scientists) are purposely ignoring this excellent (and free) nutrition source. All I can say is that it is a good thing that early man didn't ignore wild plants..as we may have gone with the dinosaurs otherwise. ;-) Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00007Date: 06/20/97 From: ALAN FLETCHER Time: 12:34am \/To: TERRY RICKS (Read 1 times) Subj: Virus Hi Terry, You wrote to Keith: >> Terry, we need you on this echo. Please stick around, okay? > Thanks for the vote of confidence. Keep me interested and I'll be > around. Everyone who sticks to the subject of ALTMED (which is non-allopathic and thus concerned with causes and prevention rather than treatment) is welcome in here Terry. At the moment I would estimate that the allopathics are in the majority in here..which merely (at least to me) reveals their insecurity as to allopathic treatment methods. >> >> What do you think about the newly recognized importance of >> hormone mimickers? > Haven't the foggiest! Haven't read any tech literature about them. A > hormone is a biochemical that is made by one cell with the intent of > doing its "thing" on another kind of cell. Whilst you are correct here...I would also mention the fact that meat (and particularly U.S. meat which has been banned to date in Europe) is both a constant and involuntary source of all kinds of hormones to the unsuspecting public. Are you so damned sure that many of our present health problems can not be attributed to this source? > Making artificial hormones may help control diseases that are > caused by a lack of that hormone This is truly allopathic thinking Terry. 'Scuse me but I am not attacking you really, just a common approach which is often heard. The lack of a hormone is not a disease or an ailment..it is merely a SYMPTOM of an underlying CAUSE. Unless you appreciate this and start viewing things from this angle you will never really appreciate the ALTMED movement or the preventative point of view. Either your body is healthy (a woolly term which means in various stages up to the ulimate goal of true heath and wellbeing) or you are suffering from something or other WHICH ONLY THE BODY ITSELF CAN CURE. > such has been > done with insulin in diabetes (actually we're letting bacteria make > human insulin through the miracle of re-combinant DNA tech.) The miracle is only that it makes insulin cheaper. But what is so miraculous about treating...rather than preventing diabetes? Where is most of the research money going? > Using chemicals to mimick hormones could cause more problems than > they solve if one isn't very careful. > Biochem isn't really my field. My M.S. is in Microbiology with a > specialization in sub-cellular systems. At one time I had aspirations > of > becoming a "Gen-gineer" (genetic engineer). But that didn't work out -- > no > job openings. Now I teach micro part time and work for the local Health > Dept. in the Food Inspections division. I guess you could say I'm more > a > food microbiologist now. My company is well into genetic engineering (we have a stake in Genentech for a start) but this is not my concern. I delve into all fields of interest "to the cause" and am lucky to have access to a large variety of databases concerned with allopathic medicine. I have yet (through self-experimentation more than anything) to be convinced that allopathic medicine contributes one iota towards putting humans on the road to either better health or wellbeing. Allopathic medicine is an industry which profits from the suffering of others and provides "treatments" to alleviate such suffering (that is why it is so popular) rather than answers to what real health is...never mind the question of how to attain and retain it. Allopathic medicine has thus just as much justification as alternative medicine. The goals are merely different. IMHO allopathic medicine is only justified for treating the adverse effects of physical injuries. Best regards, Alan --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Bear's Cave (2:2461/161.5) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00008Date: 06/15/97 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 09:09am \/To: WAYNE YOUNG (Read 1 times) Subj: A Drink Or 2 A Day WY>My friend's father died like that, six months after retirement - WY>drinking and watching day in and day out. He never missed a day's WY>work before retirement. That's sad. Some folks just don't have anything but work that they do daily. I've always had other things to occupy my mind and my time if I let them. The political and enviornmental activism I'm engaged in now keeps my mind and myself very active. If anyone had told me five years ago that I would be in the forefront of those locally who were concerned about such things I would have called them a liar. But then that was before I started to find other folks in various conferences who had some of the same concerns about the land that I do. One of the better things that older folks can do as they get on in years is learn how to use a computer. It not only keeps the mind active, it leads to new friends and things to do. There is one group of senior citizens in the Bremerton area who are very active with computers. They have quite a group. None of them appear to be in wheelchairs or using canes, either. ******* WY>I was thinking there maybe times when you venture out in the WY>10-acre field? I always carry my cellular phone on my travels WY>except I'll not be able to use it in China, except Hong Kong. Wish I could venture out in the 10 acres! The concoction I am trying now for the arthritis seems to be actually helping, so possibly that will come later......walking longer distances. Jane * SLMR 2.1a * Hello, I am part number **************** - JetMail v1.20*6 - Unregistered QWK Mail Door for Spitfire --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: PEACHY KEENO INN BBS * Tacoma,Wa * (206)539-0804 (1:138/190.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00009Date: 06/15/97 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 09:12am \/To: WAYNE YOUNG (Read 1 times) Subj: Acupuncture WY> Seems strange that a leading pharmaceutical company should have WY> such misleading information. Perhaps you could quit blowing off WY> Jane and give me some reliable quotes. Which I know for a fact WY> you won't. WY> JK> Alan, I don't know what company you work for, but the more you write WY> JK> about what they know there and it fails to add up to what I have nown WY> JK> for 50 years or more, the more I want to examine closely any WY> JK> pharmaceutical I ever have prescribed for my own personal nsumption! WY>But that's not as damaging as the huge data base he claimed the WY>Company has which he uses! :) There is something horribly wrong with his data base. Some of it is very outdated, other parts just don't agree with what I have seen and read. * SLMR 2.1a * --T-A+G-L-I+N-E--+M-E-A+S-U-R+I-N-G+--G-A+U-G-E-- - JetMail v1.20*6 - Unregistered QWK Mail Door for Spitfire --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: PEACHY KEENO INN BBS * Tacoma,Wa * (206)539-0804 (1:138/190.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00010Date: 06/15/97 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 09:15am \/To: WAYNE YOUNG (Read 1 times) Subj: Acupuncture WY>Maybe Bob wouldn't put his head in the sands when he is corrected WY>which maybe a better measure of respects and maturaty? :) Those who refuse to learn anything new or to entertain new ideas when presented to them by folks who have been studying a certain theory or group of theories and facts for close to 30 years can only expect to be considered rather stuffy and oldfashioned. At best. * SLMR 2.1a * I am not young enough to know everything. - JetMail v1.20*6 - Unregistered QWK Mail Door for Spitfire --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: PEACHY KEENO INN BBS * Tacoma,Wa * (206)539-0804 (1:138/190.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 257 ALTERN. MEDICINE Ref: EAU00011Date: 06/15/97 From: JANE KELLEY Time: 09:29am \/To: WAYNE YOUNG (Read 1 times) Subj: Add Etc. WY> JK> That person left. HOwever we had a bake sale yesterday and a lady WY> JK> came in who has help from some county agency. She knows where to call WY> JK> for the information on someone to help with chores. WY>We have a few Agencies in Vancouver that you can call for any WY>help one needed, and some are ran by voluteers. I will call the agencies this next week. Knew there was something I was forgetting and that's it. Last week I spent looking up the names and addresses of around 3-400 families who are directly affected by a realtor's attempt to re-zone this area. WY> JK> Got the stuff, easy to keep track of it. I am taking one 1000 mg. of WY> JK> timed release Glucosamine in the morning, one pill with the WY> JK> combination at night. We will see if that provides more pain relief r WY> JK> not soon. WY>1000 mg sounded like a lot for a new medicine. How did you WY>determine on such dosage, Jane? Simple. I got the first bottle of 300+ in it, found out that I was supposed to take at least 3 of these a day, then totaled the amount and it was well over 1000 mg. Then I found the 1000 mg. time released form on sale and bought two bottles. Next came the discovery that this also comes combined with Chromatin (spelling?) and I bought that to take at night. I have been building up towards that dose for a few weeks. I am tolerating it well and I am not having as much pain, even when I don't take the pills. WY> JK> Then I have to make a list of the oils I need and go find them or WY> JK> write or call for them. WY>I was chatting with a Gentleman who used to work for CBC. He said WY>he took "tons" of fish oil daily. Salmon oil, I think. Did you WY>try this oil? In the fish, yes. WY> JK> I am not eating salads as I used to do and not getting oils that way. WY>What kind of salad gives you oil? Olives? Yes. I have a couple of bottles of olive oil and vinegar mixed, plus a bottle of extra virgin olive oil. I just don't end up using them. WY>I add very little dressing on my salads. The first thing I hit WY>when we go for smorgasbord is the salad bar! I will eat salads when in a resturant. I think it is the preparation of them that bugs me, yet I have a package all cut up in the frig that I haven't eaten. My appetite and tastes change daily. Drives me nuts. * SLMR 2.1a * hAS ANYONE SEEN MY cAPSLOCK KEY? - JetMail v1.20*6 - Unregistered QWK Mail Door for Spitfire --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: PEACHY KEENO INN BBS * Tacoma,Wa * (206)539-0804 (1:138/190.1)