As I was home today because of the snow, I had some time on my hands. I have been thinking about finding a good symbol of the cross. One that segways from the fearful focus on the means,  to a joyful focus on the ends > The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who continues to pull for us.

I haven’t pulled out Photoshop for anything creative lately, so I did. I am happy with the result, so I figured I would place it in my blog:

Resurrected Cross

Light Therapy

If you would like to read about the man, Niels Ryberg Finsen, who received a Nobel Prize in 1903 for his discoveries and achievements in Light Therapy (Phototherapy,) here is a nice synopsis:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1903/finsen-bio.html

I made this video, (split into two parts for youtube.com,) about 5 years ago. I was 15 pounds heavier then, but that’s another story.

In this video, I give you the culmination of what I know about removing muscle memory passively, which involves millions upon millions of sensors reporting to your cerebellum. This is so important, you may not realize it, but muscle memory is exactly what brings people to me eventually, and it is exactly what helps Tiger Woods hit that golf ball so well. Muscle memory. Sometimes that “memory” is guarding against some spinal injury that happened as a child, teenager, or adult. Depending on how “reactive” a patients’ muscles are, the areas of stress can distort the spine. This results in compensations, mostly above, in the spine. Defense networks start forming in those compensatory areas, becoming stiff, irritated, and because of faulty bio-mechanics over many years, arthritic and degenerative. Joints can wear out unevenly, like tires that are out of alignment. This can result in irratic nerve impulses, which have become distorted because of local joint irritation, inflammation, and dysfunction. These all contribute to misalignment, subluxation, etc…

You have an answer here to the above problems. Is it the whole answer? No. Is it a big answer? Yes.

Enjoy!

LLLT

Researchers who are involved in low level laser therapy are producing more knowledgeable information. The early researchers weren’t exactly sure about dosages and protocols, and we still aren’t sure today. We are, still, narrowing it down, bit by bit.

One of the classic cells that can be counted on to respond to LLLT is the fibroblast. Fibroblasts are cells that lay down a microscopic framework of a thin web, if you will, of tough tissue. They also vary, and produce other types of tissues as well. They are called into action when there has been injury and cell destruction. They are called into action with repetitive stress.

The researchers of this study chose injured fibroblasts to work on, and used a red (HeNe) (632.8 nm) laser for two consecutive days. The cells received 2.5, 5,, and 16 J/cm2, in three different groups. Three treatments at 2.5 J/cm2 or 1 treatment at 5 J/cm2 produced significant cell multiplication and movement. 16 J/cm2 inhibited the same functions, as well as decreasing ATP production. This is interesting because one of the things LLLT is known for is that it typically increases ATP production.

I feel that 1-2 J/cm² (10-20 seconds) is a good range to use for a 100 mW therapeutic laser. With small 5 mW lasers, it is different. Because of the high time of illumination factor, we can see results with as little as 0.3-1.0 J/cm2. A 5 mW laser pointer moved against the skin, covering 1 square centimeter, will put out up to 0.3 J/cm2 every 60 seconds.

Effect of Multiple Exposures of Low-Level Laser Therapy on the Cellular Responses of Wounded Human Skin Fibroblasts
Denise Hawkins, Heidi Abrahamse. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. December 2006, 24(6): 705-714. doi:10.1089/pho.2006.24.705.

CO Poisoning

Here’s a very interesting page of anecdotal stories regarding the use of vent free fireplaces:

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hovflett.htm

Here’s an excerpt:

# 1: Serious ongoing health problems

My Name is Kim, I am trying desperately to locate other people who have suffered the long term effects of CO. My Family of four was poisoned for over two years, before we found out why we were all so sick. My five year old daughter was having many illnesses, eventually led to seizures. This all stemmed from a ventless gas fireplace we installed in our basement. Three months after it was installed my daughter had her first seizure. Husband began having severe headaches, trembling, memory loss, and numerous other ailments. Neurologists diagnosed daughter as epileptic!!!!! They now know they were wrong.

This began in January 1995. Husband still on oxygen every day, and medication, and extreme memory loss, and other problems. Daughter is having no more seizures, and last EEG done three months after gas shut off, was normal. First normal EEG in two years. We have been through it all!!! If anyone knows about CO, it’s me and family. I have found a support group based in the United Kingdom that is helping us deal with this mess. And we are in search of other people who need our help. We are also trying to find a way to inform the public about this silent killer. Would you be able to help us in any way? Your concern could save a life. We have had a forensic scientist in our home doing tests on fireplace, and the final result was determined that you cannot put a combustible gas in an airtight home and not vent it. I have done much research on this situation and talked to toxologists, chemists, and other specialists, and not one of them can believe we are still alive, they are all behind us all the way. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.
Thanks,
Kim

There are 116 such posts at the above link.

Rapeseed Oil

When I was in chiropractic school, (about twenty-eight years ago,) I remember constantly having my fellow students work on my mid-back. It would cramp up, off and on, and releasing my spine would give relief…sometimes. I always thought it was a rib-head problem. (It was probably inflamed as well.) My perspective on it, as a student, was that the abdominal sick-ache and cramping was result of the back pain and nerve irritation. This is one description of a chiropractic subluxation. This is also known as somato-visceral complex/pain. This went on, particularly in those school years.  I was dead wrong. It turned out to be viscero-somatic complex/pain, as I will explain here.

Fifteen years ago, I had another attack after eating a bunch of Hostess chocolate covered donuts. I thought the same thing that anyone would think: I ate too many donuts. That attack lasted a month. I just looked up the ingredients for this post, and canola oil is used in them.

Now, years later, I have run into the same thing. My wife bought some soft butter that had canola oil added. Three months ago I smeared a goodly amount on some banana bread, and later went into cramping like I haven’t seen in years. I didn’t put two and two together, and about a week later, I had some more of that butter on something else. I started cramping up again, with the gas pocket I had not identfied before. Then it occurred to me that the butter said “Canola Oil” on the front label, as if it were an attribute.

I know, as a doctor, that any number of things can cause the symptoms I am describing, such as a gallbladder problem. However, I know when my gallbladder is acting up, and that is not this. I laser my gallbladder, it passes the stone, and that’s that. It’s in the book.

This is in the my upper left quadrant, and not the gall bladder. It is an intestinal gas pocket and inflammation.

I thought about it, and when I was in school, (twenty-eight years ago,) I read an article about this new thing called “canola oil”, and that it was great for health, because it was a monounsaturated oil, like olive oil. I didn’t like olive oil much, and it burned easily, so I opted for the canola oil, and bought it from then on. I did this for about 4 years straight.

After I graduated, my wife did the buying, and she bought corn oil. As I am human, and humans usually don’t notice when things are better, I didn’t notice that the severe mid-back pain and cramping went away.

I’ve checked it out, and canola oil comes from a genetically engineered form of the rapeseed plant, which comes from the mustard family. If you read the de-bunking websites, everything is rosy, and this healthy oil is just great. It is also major money maker, (read MAJOR,) as it is relatively cheap to make, even with the processing:

“The procedure involves a combination of high-temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extract, usually using hexane. Hexane! Even after considerable refining, traces of the solvent remain. Like most vegetable oils, Canola oil also goes through the process of bleaching, degumming, deodorizing, and caustic refining, at very high temperatures. This process can alter the omega-3 content in the oil, and in certain conditions bring the trans fat level as high as 40 percent.”

From: http://www.naturalnews.com/026630_canola_oil_olive_oil_saturated_fat.html

There is a great de-bunking article at:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola3.htm

If you have been researching canola oil on the net, the author nicely picks apart the rumors and work done by others. You will recognize some things you have read there.

Even so, when there is smoke, there may be fire. Also, I have learned that research almost always contradicts itself, in spite of the fact that this idea defies logic. I have learned that research isn’t everything, (even though I love reading it,) because you will almost always find disagreement.

For example, from the last web address given, here is an excerpt:

““Studies with lab animals were disastrous. Rats developed fatty degeneration of heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. When canola oil was withdrawn from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs.”

This was a disastrous circumstance indeed. Why? Because the natural diet of a rat is made up of grains, raw fruits and vegetables and is very low in fatty acids. Introduce a load of heavier fats into a critter’s diet and sure all sorts of health problems might develop. Later studies demonstrated that cooking oils other than canola (specifically, sunflower seed oil) produced the same results in laboratory rats, as well as demonstrated that the digestive system of a rat is rather different from that of a human.“

Gee, I wonder who did the follow-up study and stuffed rats with enough of the various oils above to cause problems? Who sponsored it? I am sorry if I sound skeptical of this statement of the skeptic, but I know how I feel, and I am looking for evidence to back it up. I am biased towards finding evidence against canola oil. Now, I am not on a quest. I am not writing a book about it, I am just musing about it on this blog in an informal manner, without spending much time on my own research.

Why post this then? Because we still have some of that butter in the refrigerator, (it doesn’t seem to bother my wife,) and I am afraid to try it again and see. It hurts too much. I think that a large concentration of it makes the symptoms more clearly recognizable.

From Harvard comes a nice synopsis of low level laser therapy, (LLLT.)  It is interesting to see the graphs which show how the response of tissues to LLLT continue to vary according to how long and how powerful of a dose is given. As with drugs and other treatments, there is a point of diminishing return, and the positive tissue response actually decreases with dosages above a threshold.

There is a lot of variety of dosages covered, giving pause to all who use LLLT in their offices.

I was gratified to see that the low dosages I recommend in my book “Rejuvenation” were backed up in parts of this research paper:

Abstract:

http://dose-response.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.2203/dose-response.09-027.Hamblin

Full Version:

http://dose-response.metapress.com/media/253xqnrglgcw5bm4ek0j/contributions/a/4/3/6/a436330255602073.pdf

Why am I writing this now? Because I have just opened my last bottle of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel. Gee, I loved this product. I’m sure going to miss it. Sure, they still have the other cold remedy products, but that zinc taste gets old real fast. The bottom line is that zinc prevents the replication of viruses. I believe that Zicam zinc delivery systems seem to work better than the other products/lozenges which use zinc. Of course, it has been years since I have used something other than Zicam. 20 years ago, zinc lozenges weren’t as reliable, but I don’t know why.

Thank goodness that so far most of those who have been struck with the H1N1 virus have done reasonably well.  However, at the time of the recall, we did not know that for sure. In the beginning of all this, there were those who feared that the effect of swine flu would be devastating to a recovering economy.

Why not place these nasal gel products under an M.D.’s prescription, and he/she could monitor the patient’s sense of smell?

With over three decades of research and thousands of published research papers, (with the numbers growing exponentially,) coherent light therapy, (also known as low level laser therapy, low intensity laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, LLLT, LILT, and cold laser therapy) has been shown to be safe and effective when properly used.

While there are some research papers which do not come up with significant results, this always seems to happen, no matter whether a method is useful or not. I say it is safe to try for yourself, if you follow some direction. Then you can decide for yourself, while the scientists debate. There is little debate about safety, because it has largely been proven over the past 30 years.

The laser book titled “Rejuvenation” covers over 40 common ailments and diseases, and shows an ordinary person how to use a common red laser pointer, the kind kids buy, to treat many conditions at home, from diabetic numb feet to tooth and gum complaints.

——————————————-

Comparison between Wound Healing in Induced Diabetic and Non diabetic Rats after Low-Level Laser Therapy Aug 2006, Vol. 24, No. 4: 474-479 Sylvia Bicalho Rabelo , D.D.S., M.S.D. Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D), Universidade do Vale do Paraiba

Systemic Effects of Low-Intensity Laser Irradiation on Skin Micro circulation in Patients with Diabetic Microangiopathy. Andreas Schindl, Georg Heinze, Martin Schindl, Heidemarie Pernerstorfer-Schönd and Liesbeth Schindl. Microvascular Research Volume 64, Issue 2, September 2002, Pages 240-246

Effects of near-infrared low-level laser irradiation on micro circulation. Yasuyo Maegawa, MD, Toshiyuki Itoh, MD, PhD, Toyoshi Hosokawa, MD, PhD, Kazuhiro Yaegashi, MD, PhD, Mayumi Nishi, MD, PhD. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Volume 27 Issue 5, Pages 427 – 437

Symptomatic Reversal of Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Diabetes. Alan B. Kochman, Dale H. Carnegie, and Thomas J. Burke. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association Volume 92 Number 3 125-130 2002

There is a very nice article which puts together a number of studies which together clearly show that low level laser therapy can help with nerve regeneration and muscle preservation in nerve injury, including complete transection:

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/pho.2009.9955?cookieSet=1