Public release date: 9-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rebecca Scott rebeccas@unimelb.edu.au 61-383-440-181 University of Melbourne

The first network of its kind endorsing an integrative approach to the treatment of mental health has been launched as part of World Mental Health Week

The International Network of Integrative Mental Health (INIMH) is a network of mental health experts including medical doctors, allied health clinicians, and academics who are passionate about improving mental health outcomes for patients by combining complementary and mainstream medicine.

Vice Chair of INIMH and NHMRC Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Dr Jerome Sarris said the network would be a resource to doctors, researchers and the general public on the practice of integrated mental health care.

"There is a growing body of statistical and anecdotal evidence indicating that many people are using non-conventional approaches (often in combination with mainstream medicine) to treat mental health conditions," he said.

"Despite this, there has been a deficit in the availability of high-quality information for people to improve their mental health using an integrated approach that combines the 'best of both worlds'.

"INIMH would address the absence of quality, evidence-based information about integrative and complementary medicine approaches in current mental healthcare," he said.

The practice of "integrative mental healthcare" adopts a model of healthcare that uses an integrated approach to addressing biological, psychological, sociological determinants of mental illness.

A combination of mainstream interventions such as pharmacological treatments and psychosocial interventions with evidence-based non-conventional therapeutics (such as nutritional medicine, dietary and exercise modification, acupuncture, select herbal medicines, and mindfulness meditation), are often prescribed.

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World first network on integrative mental health to improve treatments

The first network of its kind, endorsing an integrative approach to the treatment of mental health has launched a new website in coordination with World Mental Health Week.

RED BANK, N.J., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Network of Integrative Mental Health (INIMH) brings together mental health experts including medical doctors, psychologists, allied health clinicians, and academics who are passionate about improving mental health outcomes for patients by combining complementary and mainstream medicine. It was established to be a resource to mental health professionals, researchers and the general public on the practice of integrated mental healthcare.

Founded in 2010, by 16 mental health pioneers from across the globe, the INIMH now has a board of approximately 24 healthcare professionals with experience in integrative mental healthcare.

A statement provided by INIMH President, Dr. James Lake, and Vice President, Dr. Jerome Sarris reveals that "There is a growing body of statistical and anecdotal evidence indicating that many people are using non-conventional approaches (often in combination with mainstream medicine) to treat mental health conditions."

"Despite this, there has been a deficit in the availability of high-quality information for people to improve their mental health using an integrated approach that combines the 'best of both worlds.'"

"INIMH fills a need for quality, evidence-based information about integrative and complementary medicine approaches in current mental healthcare."

The practice of "integrative mental healthcare" adopts a model that uses an integrated approach to addressing biological, psychological, and sociological determinants of mental illness.

A combination of mainstream interventions such as pharmacological treatments and psychosocial interventions with evidence-based non-conventional therapeutics (such as nutritional medicine, dietary and exercise modification, acupuncture, select herbal medicines, and mindfulness meditation), are often prescribed.

The INIMH announcement incorporates the official launch of its innovative website for clinicians and the public (http://www.inimh.org).The interactive website provides links to resources on integrative mental healthcare; expert-hosted forums; a comprehensive searchable mental healthcare library; and offers networking between clinicians, researchers and the public.

In addition, a White Paper co-authored by Dr. Lake and Dr. Sarris outlines strategic recommendations for advancing integrative mental healthcare, including increasing research in key areas, improving clinician training and education, and promoting a public health agenda.

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World's first network on integrative mental health to improve patient outcomes

Over the years, I have read the books and listened to the pronouncements of Andrew Weil, the natural-remedy guru and champion of integrative medicine with the broad grin, bushy beard, and bald pate. Much of what he preaches makes sense to me, and I admire the imaginative and open-minded way he has sought to blend the best practices of modern Western medical science with ancient folk medicine and Eastern philosophy.

One thing I didn't know about Weil is that he's a local boy. He grew up in a rowhouse in West Oak Lane, he told me on the phone, and attended Central High. He went on to Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. He now lives in Arizona, where he's a professor of public health and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona as well as director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

Weil, who turned 70 in June, will be returning to Philadelphia for the first time in nearly five years as the featured speaker at Forever Young, an all-day health and wellness fair Oct. 21 at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown.

Sponsored by the Raymond and Miriam Klein JCC, Forever Young, an inaugural event, will offer a full day of expert speakers, interactive demonstrations, and classes in such popular exercise modes as Zumba, pole-dancing, Pilates, and yoga.

There will be more than 40 exhibit booths dedicated to health and wellness products and services, healthy food tastings, a bookshop, and many educational resources to help adults achieve health in all four dimensions: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

I asked Weil what he thought about appearing at an event called "Forever Young."

"I think that's the dominant attitude in our culture, to be forever young," he said. "One of my previous books, Healthy Aging, pointed out that being obsessed with stopping aging or reversing aging is folly. Everything ages. The first key to healthy aging is to accept the aging process and work to maintain health as you go through life."

What I was most interested in discussing with Weil, however, was his new book, Spontaneous Happiness. There are scads of books about how to achieve happiness, but what makes this one distinctive, once again, is Weil's integrative approach. He uses the word spontaneous to underscore the body's potential for self-healing. In this book particularly, which is aimed at helping people overcome depression and mood disorders, he is concerned about emotional and mental self-healing.

"By linking the words spontaneous and happiness," Weil writes, "I am asking you to question the prevalent habit of making positive emotions dependent on external agencies and to think of happiness as one of many moods available to us if we allow for healthy variability of our emotional life."

Weil believes we function best when we're able to exist at what he calls "emotional sea level," which he defines as "not happiness but rather contentment and the calm acceptance that is the goal of many kinds of spiritual practice. From this perspective, it is possible to accept life in its totality, both the good and the bad, and know that everything is all right, just as it should be, including you and your place in the world."

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Well Being: Weil: Strive for contentment, not happiness

2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Rachelle Viinberg and Ottawa MP Paul Dewar will perform ribbon cutting; Great Big Sea's Murray Foster will debut new song dedicated to the OICC

OTTAWA, Oct. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - On Monday, October 15th, the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official grand opening of the first integrative cancer care and research centre in Eastern Canada.

The OICC opened quietly last year while it commenced renovations on the original CJOH-TV news building at 29 Bayswater Avenue at Somerset. With this official grand opening the OICC has nearly tripled the size of its facility in order to meet the needs of a growing number of cancer patients interested in receiving complementary care alongside conventional treatment and those wishing to prevent cancer or its recurrence.

"It's about time that we looked at complementary therapies and practitioners as part of the health care process and system," says Dr. Shailendra Verma, Medical Oncologist, The Ottawa Hospital. "It's absolutely exciting for me as a practitioner of conventional oncology to have this option for patients to consider."

WHAT: Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the OICC WHEN: October 15, 2012 from 12:00 to 1:30 PM WHERE: Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre, 29 Bayswater Avenue

AGENDA, PHOTO & INTERVIEW OPS:

Join dignitaries, community partners and business leaders including Dr. Colin Carrie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

About the OICC

The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) is the first integrative cancer care and research centre in Eastern Canada. As a not-for-profit, regional centre of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, the OICC welcomes patients at any stage and those wishing to prevent cancer or its recurrence. The OICC provides whole-person cancer care to improve the quality of life of those touched by this debilitating disease. The Centre works with patients and physicians, to provide therapeutic programs that decrease side effects andpromote health during and after conventional treatments. Through clinical practice, research and education, the OICC strives to assess and reduce possible causes of cancer while exploring innovative integrative treatment approaches.

Video with caption: "Video: Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWg6QM3xRLs&feature=youtu.be

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Media Advisory - Official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre on October 15

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to thrive as numerous physicians and very credible institutions including the Mayo Clinic embrace many of the therapies.

A surprisingly large number of Americans, estimated as high as 70 percent, have tried CAMacupuncture/acupressure, herb/vitamin therapy, hypnosis, chiropractic/massage, aromatherapy, magnetic therapy and reflexologyto cure their ills. A new termintegrative medicine is now being employed as traditional evidence-based medicine is combined with CAM for better treatment outcomes.

Statistics indicate that more Americans have tried CAM than have visited primary care physicians in recent years. Public awareness and the use of CAM are complex phenomena that have grown extraordinarily this past decade, according to MD Consult, an Internet source of medical information. This public knowledge is easily obtainable online and, when combined with the spiraling upward costs of modern healthcare, the growth of CAM has continued to accelerate.

Advertising and recommendations for CAM products are ubiquitous and pervasive, even though there has been very little support or encouragement from the traditional medical community. Often, patients, their families and friends are very well informed with the currently available information, which they believe is reliable, only to find out subsequently, that new "facts" may question their previous beliefs.

Obtaining evidence-based CAM would be the next major breakthrough for everyonepatients, physicians, and the purveyors of integrative medicine. The question is: How effective are complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies?

The answer isnobody really knows for sure; however, there is definite progress with scientific studies being reported in credible medical journals.

We have indications that some of these therapies may be helpful. Acupuncture, for example, may provide a number of medical benefits, from reducing pain to helping with chemotherapy-induced nausea. But the fact is, we lack any conclusive efficacy data about any of these alternatives.

One thing we do know: CAM therapies are expensivevery expensive. Estimates of the costs of CAM to Americans range $34 to $47 billion every year.

Consequently, the real concern we ought to be addressing is: Can we afford to continue to spend precious healthcare dollars on therapies of questionable scientific value, particularly at a moment when we are trying to control health care costs in general, in order to help the economy recover? We should encourage more resources being directed to proving the efficacy of CAM.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/), which has been funded with close to a billion dollars of taxpayer revenue over the past decade or so, brings a scientific approach to CAM. The results, especially for devotees of alternative medicine, are not what they want to believe. For example:

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The Doctor Is In: Complementary and alternative medicine thriving

Soda has been highlighted in the news recently, with last week's New York City ban on soft drinks over 16 ounces.

For those of you who still drink soda, some recent studies may be of interest, even if you don't live in New York. Three studies published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that soda is heavily linked to the nation's obesity epidemic.

The first study in the Journal was the DRINK (Double-Blind Randomized Intervention in Kids), which gave 641 children ages about 5 to 12 and with a healthy body mass index one 8-ounce noncarbonated drink per day, blinded to be sweetened artificially or with sugar. At the end of 18 months, the sugar-free kids gained less body fat, 2.2 pounds less weight, and 0.36 units less BMI than the kids drinking sugared beverages.

In the second study in the Journal, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital gave zero-calorie drinks to 110 obese 15-year-olds, counseled them not to drink sugary beverages and offered other support.

After a year the teens had cut their intake of sugary drinks from almost two a day to zero, and cut their daily calorie intake by over 400 calories. They had gained an average of 3.5 pounds. In comparison, 114 teens who continued to consume sugar-sweetened beverages gained 7.7 pounds on average and 10 times the BMI units.

In the third study, genetics and sugared beverages were studied. Scientists at Harvard School of Public Health looked at 33,097 people from long-term ongoing health studies, such as the Nurses' Health Study, identifying how many sugary drinks they consume and whether they have any of the obesity-linked genes. For those who had one of the 32 obesity-linked genes, the likelihood of becoming obese was twice as large among people who drank one or more sugary drinks per day as among those who had less than one a month.

This suggests sugared beverages trigger obesity in those who are genetically predisposed to obesity.

So, is it time to drop all sugared beverages and switch to water? We certainly hope you do so! This small change in our liquid habits can change the face of obesity in the United States, and save tens of billions of health care dollars in years to come.

Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden are medical directors of Sutter Downtown Integrative Medicine program. Have a question related to alternative medicine? Email fitness@sacbee.com.

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Integrative Medicine: Studies offer good reasons to quit soda

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept.25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 100 people attended a recent meditation retreat in Tel Aviv, Israel: Physicians, journalists, holistic practitioners, cancer patients and meditation enthusiasts. They came to learn holistic, mind-body approaches to healing and find avenues to spiritual growth. The retreat was led by integrative medicine pioneer and meditation expert Isaac Eliaz, M.D., L.Ac. and was coordinated by Taatsumot, a non-profit organization. The in-depth, two-day retreat program focused on the mind's innate healing power.

Open Heart Healing "The theme of my retreat is connectivity and having an open heart," says Dr. Eliaz. "The heart has no concepts. It's our mind, our negative emotions, our thought patterns that put up barriers and don't allow our heart to just open. Real healing begins, continues and ends with an open heart."

One of the exercises that the group practiced was a form of meditation called Tonglin, during which participants "take in" suffering and generate love and compassion in return. The process allowed people to step outside their natural barriers, such as reluctance to interact with "negative" energy. However, as people overcame their fears, they embraced the practice and found it transformative.

During the retreat, Dr. Eliaz offered hands-on healing to participants while they were meditating, and taught them how to use meditation to heal themselves and others. Throughout the retreat, he answered questions and discussed related topics such as nutrition, natural cancer treatments, mind-body exercises, lifestyle approaches and other subjects.

Mind-Body Connections Dr. Eliaz's diverse background in Western and Eastern medicine, meditation, biomedical research and other disciplines gives him the ability to draw important connections between seemingly unrelated areas -- such as cellular biology, cancer metabolism and meditation. The results were palpable.

"For many people, this retreat was remarkable," says Dr. Eliaz. "There was a person with cancer who had trouble sitting and walking. During the retreat he was able to sit for a long time, and by the end of the program, he had less trouble walking. It's not that everyone heals completely from their physical ailments, but with these practices, everyone can have the potential to heal which translates into a deeper healing on all levels."

The Ripple Effect Though the retreat is over, Dr. Eliaz hopes the healing extends beyond this workshop. "Many practitioners have emailed saying that they are already practicing what they learned at the retreat," says Dr. Eliaz. "When you affect a doctor, you're affecting everybody they work with."

This retreat was so successful, Dr. Eliaz will be going back to facilitate a second three day retreat in Israel from November 1-3, 2012.

"Meditation retreats are my passion. It's an offering, especially in Israel. I feel both obligated and privileged to be able to reach people in this way."

Meditation Retreats and Classes Dr. Eliaz spent his formative years in Israel before moving to Northern California, where he founded the holistic clinic, Amitabha Medical Clinic and Healing Center. He specializes in the integrative treatment of cancer and chronic illness, drawing on his extensive training across a diverse range of medical disciplines. As a meditation practitioner with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Eliaz holds regular meditation and healing retreats and classes for patients, practitioners and anyone interested in mind-body medicine. Visit http://www.BetterHealthPublishing.comto learn more about Dr. Eliaz's upcoming retreat scheduled April, 2013 in California.

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Mind as Medicine: Retreat Brings Healing, Growth

Camp Pendleton Marines returning from overseas assignments with the psychological scars of combat have been helped with treatment by Scripps Healthresearchers, according to a new study.

The researchers treated active-duty Marines who had post-traumatic stress disorder with what is calledcomplementary and integrative medicine. Marines treated with the complementary methods, called "guided imagery" and "healing touch," showed significantly more recovery than a control group who didn't receive the treatment.

Results were published in the journalMilitary Medicine.

Those with PTSD can experience flashbacks to combat situations, nightmares, depression, feelings of hopelessness and emotional numbness.

A total of 123 active-duty Marines were studied, including 68 who received the complementary approaches along with treatment as usual. The other 55 received only the regular treatment.

Symptoms of those treated with the complementary methods dropped by more than 13 points on an 85-point scale that measures PTSD. The difference was enough to drop the average score of those treated below the level indicating PTSD.

Symptoms of the control group dropped by fewer than 5 points, with the average score remaining above the level indicating PTSD.

Study researchers wereMimi Guarneri, M.D., andRauni King, founders of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.

Guarneri said the study demonstrated very strong statistical significance. The study reported that results had a probabilityof being due to chance of less than 1/20 of 1 percent. A value of 5 percent or less is generally considered statistically significant.

Although the methods may be useful for quickly reducing the suffering of returning soldiers, the study's authors said further research on their long-term effects is needed.

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MILITARY: PTSD reduced with integrative medicine, Scripps Health study finds

SAN DIEGO -

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are eased by a combination of guided imagery and a specific type of therapy called "Healing Touch," the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine announced Monday.

Results of a study of 123 Marines who returned from deployment to Camp Pendleton between July 2008 and August 2010 were released in the September issue of the publication Military Medicine. Those selected were experiencing traumatic flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, insomnia and other PTSD symptoms.

The 68 participants who went through six sessions over three weeks with Healing Touch and guided imagery fared much better than the 55 who received normal treatment, according to Scripps.

"Scores for PTSD symptoms decreased substantially, about 14 points and below the clinical cutoffs for PTSD," said Dr. Mimi Guarneri, a Center for Integrative Medicine founder. "This indicates that the intervention was not just statistically significant, but actually decreased symptoms below the threshold for PTSD diagnosis. It made a large difference in reducing PTSD symptoms."

According to Scripps, Healing Touch is aimed at eliciting the participant's own healing response by restoring and balancing the human biofield -- or the energy created by the body. It helps patients to relax byreducing pain and anxiety.

Guided imagery uses visualization techniques, prompted by using a compact disc, to accomplish the same tasks, the study's authors said.

Dr. Wayne Jonas, president and chief executive officer of the Samueli Institute, an Alexandria, Va.-based organization that helped with data analysis, said returning troops are looking for alternative treatments that don't involve medications.

The study was funded by The Taylor Family Foundation.

Copyright 2012 by City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Scripps study on PTSD symptoms released

3:50 p.m. PDT, September 24, 2012

SAN DIEGO -- Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are eased by a combination of guided imagery and a specific type of therapy called "Healing Touch,'' the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine announced Monday.

Results of a study of 123 Marines who returned from deployment to Camp Pendleton between July 2008 and August 2010 were released in the September issue of the publication Military Medicine. Those selected were experiencing traumatic flashbacks, nightmares,emotional numbness, insomnia and other PTSD symptoms.

The 68 participants who went through six sessions over three weeks with Healing Touch and guided imagery fared much better than the 55 who received normal treatment, according to Scripps.

"Scores for PTSD symptoms decreased substantially, about 14 points and below the clinical cutoffs for PTSD,'' said Dr. Mimi Guarneri, a Center for Integrative Medicine founder. "This indicates that the intervention was not just statistically significant, but actually decreased symptoms below the threshold for PTSD diagnosis. It made a large difference in reducing PTSD symptoms.''

According to Scripps, Healing Touch is aimed at eliciting the participant's own healing response by restoring and balancing the human biofield -- or the energy created by the body. It helps patients to relax by reducing pain and anxiety.

Guided imagery uses visualization techniques, prompted by using a compact disc, to accomplish the same tasks, the study's authors said.

Dr. Wayne Jonas, president and chief executive officer of the Samueli Institute, an Alexandria, Va.-based organization that helped with data analysis, said returning troops are looking for alternative treatments that don't involve medications.

The study was funded by The Taylor Family Foundation.

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New therapy helps Marines suffering combat stress

Public release date: 24-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Keith Darce darce.keith@scrippshealth.org 858-678-7121 Scripps Health

SAN DIEGO (Sept. 24, 2012) Healing touch combined with guided imagery (HT+GI) provides significant clinical reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for combat-exposed active duty military, according to a study released in the September issue of Military Medicine.

The report finds that patients receiving these complementary medicine interventions showed significant improvement in quality of life, as well as reduced depression and cynicism, compared to soldiers receiving treatment as usual alone.

The study, led by the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego, Calif., conducted a randomized controlled trial of returning active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif. from July 2008 to August 2010. Participants were separated at random into two groups, one that received treatment as usual (TAU) for PTSD and another that received TAU as well as healing touch (HT), a practitioner-based treatment aimed at eliciting the participant's own healing response, with guided imagery (GI), a self-care therapy aimed at eliciting relaxation as well as enhancing trust and self-esteem.

Significant Improvements Reported

After six sessions within a three-week period with a Scripps practitioner, the HT+GI group reported a significant improvement in PTSD symptoms as a result of these combined complementary therapies.

The principal investigators and designers of the study are Dr. Mimi Guarneri and Rauni King, founders of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. The Samueli Institute of Alexandria,Va., conducted blind data analysis and authored the manuscript.

"Scores for PTSD symptoms decreased substantially, about 14 points and below the clinical cutoffs for PTSD," said Dr. Guarneri. "This indicates that the intervention was not just statistically significant, but actually decreased symptoms below the threshold for PTSD diagnosis. It made a large difference in reducing PTSD symptoms."

Study Criteria

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New study shows PTSD symptoms reduced in combat-exposed military via integrative medicine

CHICAGO - Acupuncture gets a thumbs-up for helping relieve pain from chronic headaches, backaches and arthritis in a review of more than two dozen studies the latest analysis of an often-studied therapy that has as many fans as critics.

Some believe its only powers are a psychological, placebo effect. But some doctors believe even if that's the explanation for acupuncture's effectiveness, there's no reason not to offer it if it makes people feel better.

The new analysis examined 29 studies involving almost 18,000 adults. The researchers concluded that the needle remedy worked better than usual pain treatment and slightly better than fake acupuncture. That kind of analysis is not the strongest type of research, but the authors took extra steps including examining raw data from the original studies.

The results "provide the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is a reasonable referral option," wrote the authors, who include researchers with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and several universities in England and Germany.

Their study isn't proof, but it adds to evidence that acupuncture may benefit a range of conditions.

The new analysis was published online Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine. The federal government's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine paid for most of the study, along with a small grant from the Samueli Institute, a nonprofit group that supports research on alternative healing.

Acupuncture's use has become more mainstream. The military has used it to help treat pain from war wounds, and California recently passed legislation that would include acupuncture among treatments recommended for coverage under provisions of the nation's new health care law. That law requires insurance plans to cover certain categories of benefits starting in 2014. Deciding specifics is being left up to the states.

Some private insurance plans already cover acupuncture; Medicare does not.

In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture involves inserting long, very thin needles just beneath the skin's surface at specific points on the body to control pain or stress. Several weekly sessions are usually involved, typically costing about $60 to $100 per session. Fake acupuncture studied in research sometimes also uses needles, but on different areas of the body.

Scientists aren't sure what biological mechanism could explain how acupuncture might relieve pain, but the authors of the new study say the results suggest there's more involved than just a placebo effect.

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Study: Placebo or not, acupuncture helps with pain

Cornelius, NC (PRWEB) September 07, 2012

In what could be a defining moment for the practice of integrative medicine across the country, Dr. Rashid A. Buttar announces the launch of the Advanced Medicine Seminars beginning September 21st - 22nd in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Buttar is the international best selling author of The 9 Steps to Keep the Doctor Away and is ranked as one of the top 50 doctors in the US since 2003. With patients from 73 different countries and throughout the United States, Dr. Buttar is launching a revolutionary forum to provide health care professionals with 2 days of intense and practical information they can immediately implement into their practices for the benefit of their patients.

Even more importantly, the Seminar series will provide the general public with an entire day of life changing information and solutions regarding major issues in the area of natural health and prevention including cancer, autism, health optimization and longevity. Other topics include information on toxicity, vaccines, effective detoxification and how to achieve health freedom and maintain autonomy.

The Advanced Medicine Seminars provide the first opportunity of a joint symposium for both health care providers and the general public. The first day is exclusively for health professionals and the second day is dedicated for the benefit of the general public.

Motivated by the experience of having many people asking questions impossible to answer during an hour lecture, Dr. Buttar decided on the concept for the Advanced Medicine Seminars (http://www.AdvancedMedicineSeminars.com) to provide an opportunity to learn crucial life changing information for all those who are interested without being confined to any time constraints. Millions of Americans are in need of this crucial, yet practical life-changing information which comes with no side effects. These seminars are to be held throughout the country bringing this essential message of effective detoxification and the various proven treatments universally applicable to reverse many chronic diseases to all areas of the country.

The agenda packed event will be divided into 4 major segments covering cancer, autism, longevity and health freedom, areas in which Dr. Buttar and his distinguished colleagues all have a tremendous amount of experience. The two-day powerful line-up includes some incredible allies such as the Health Ranger, Mike Adams (Natural News), Robert Scott Bell (Homeopath and nationally syndicated radio show host), Ty Bollinger (author of Cancer, Step Outside the Box), Dr. James Hawver (internationally recognized expert in EDS) and Dr. Sherri Tenpenny (internationally acclaimed author on vaccine shortcomings). You would be hard pressed to go to any one single conference and have such a distinguished group of health freedom champions assembled and available to you. For full details, visit http://www.AdvancedMedicineSeminars.com

Dr. Buttar has committed years of his life to what he believes and has fought the establishment resiliently when confronted to insure the rights of his patients. Many consider him a maverick because of his completely holistic approach to health and healing along with his fearlessness in being outspoken against the pharmaceutical industry and the medical establishment that indiscriminately supports the use of their drugs. But the results speak for themselves. An internationally sought-after speaker his audiences have ranged from lecture halls filled with more than 2,000 fellow physicians to the U.S. Congress, where he testified on the dangers of heavy metal toxicity and its link to autism.

He is the Medical Director of the Center for Advanced Medicine and Clinical Research in Cornelius, NC, founded in 1996 with the purpose of giving those with untreatable conditions a chance to recover. After his last fight with the North Carolina Medical Board now behind him, Dr. Buttar has focused on getting the Advanced Medicine Seminars ready to launch. Its another step toward realizing his goal of making the change the world is waiting for, a motto inscribed in larger-than-life-sized letters on the walls of his clinic.

With the grace of Almighty God we have been blessed to be able to help many people, but there are countless more that need help all over the world, Dr. Buttar said. Until every doctor who desires to understand and learn what my colleagues and I do and how we achieve our results gets the training they desire to help us help others, my job will not be done.

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Dr. Rashid A. Buttar Announces Advanced Medicine Seminars

SOQUEL - Dr. Thomas Yarema, who practices at the Center for Wellness & Integrative Medicine in Soquel, has been disciplined by the state medical board.

Yarema was placed on three years' probation for failing to adequately evaluate a patient complaining of asthma and requesting a recommendation for marijuana use.

Yarema is a graduate of Eastern Virginia Medical School and received his California medical license in 1985. He is trained in traditional Chinese medicine and the co-author of an award-winning Ayurvedic cookbook, "Eat Taste Heal."

Contacted by the Sentinel, Yarema declined to comment.

According to the medical board's report, the patient, an 18-year-old man, was arrested July 4, 2010, on a charge of reckless driving when police found marijuana and a digital scale in his car. Before trial, the man submitted a statement signed by Yarema and dated July 1, 2010, authorizing his use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The medical board's investigation found Yarema had seen the patient at the San Francisco Bay Therapeutic Hemp Care in Milpitas on July 25, 2010, and took a medical history indicating the patient had asthma since birth and smoked marijuana to decrease bronchospasm.

Yarema told the medical board he had reviewed the patient's medical records, but the investigation found the patient's records were not obtained by the Milpitas clinic until October 2010.

The disciplinary order, which took effect Aug. 17, requires Yarema to complete a professionalism program and a medical record-keeping course at his expense.

While on probation, he is not allowed to make house calls and must refrain from supervising more than one physician assistant. Upon successful completion of probation, his medical license will be fully restored, according to the medical board.

Follow Sentinel reporter Jondi Gumz on Twitter: @jondigumz

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State medical board disciplines Soquel physician

Newswise Cancer, heart disease, chronic inflammationthese disease conditions plague humanity, causing early death and untold suffering. Slowly, scientists are uncovering their numerous causes including genetic anomalies, environmental toxins, obesity and other factors. However, a rapidly expanding body of research points to a single biological culprit that profoundly affects these and other conditionsthe molecule Galectin-3.

Presented at the Annual American Chemical Society Meeting On August 21, integrative medicine expert Isaac Eliaz, M.D., presented breakthrough research on Galectin-3 and Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP), a therapeutic carbohydrate that helps deactivate this rogue molecule, at the prestigious 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). With over 164,000 active members, ACS is the worlds leading scientific society, providing comprehensive access to chemistry-related information, research, funding, networking and education.

Dr. Eliazs presentation titled, Galectin-3 and the Role of Modified Citrus Pectin in Health and Disease, was featured as part of the ACS symposium Renewable Biopolymers: Carbohydrates for Food, Nutrition, Health and Medicine under the section Chronic Disease Prevention and Therapy. Dr. Eliaz states, It is an honor to speak at the prestigious American Chemical Society Meeting and discuss important research regarding Galectin-3 and Modified Citrus Pectin with leaders in the scientific community.

Due to the importance of the topic, Dr. Eliazs presentation was selected for an ACS sponsored press conference and release.

Galectin-3 in Health and Disease Dr. Eliaz emphasizes, At healthy levels, Galectin-3 in the body is no danger at all. It helps regulate cellular growth and cell-to-cell communications. However, too much Galectin-3 can drive cancer growth and metastasis, and is a proven active marker for cardiovascular disease. This protein is involved with two of the worlds most prolific killers.

In addition to cancer and heart disease, Galectin-3 has also been directly linked with the progression of chronic inflammation and fibrosis of organs and tissues, such as chronic hepatitis, kidney disease, diabetes and other degenerative conditions.

In his presentation, Dr. Eliaz described Galectin-3 and how its overabundance contributes to disease. He presented breakthrough data from a ten-year population study demonstrating that Galectin-3 levels can predict mortality regardless of age or condition. Elevated Galectin-3 can also help evaluate prognosis and clinical outcome in cancer and heart disease. In cancer patients, higher levels of Galectin-3 in the body signal a more aggressive cancer and reduce the odds of survival, as excess Galectin-3 promotes cancer cell adhesion, aggregation, tumor growth, metastasis, angiogenesis and the inhibition of programmed cell death (apoptosis).

Galectin-3 Blood Test Recently, the FDA approved a blood serum test to easily measure circulating Galectin-3 levels. This test is covered by most health insurances for the screening of cardiovascular disease, and can also be used to evaluate the risk and prognosis of cancer and other diseases linked to chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Dr. Eliaz notes that this test is an excellent tool in the management of these and other related diseases, but emphasizes that without a solution to combat excess Galectin-3, the test may be arbitrary for some doctors and patients. However, extensive research demonstrates Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) to be the first proven solution to address elevated Galectin-3. MCP stands out as the only therapeutic agent capable of entering the blood stream to bind and block excess Galectin-3 throughout the body.

The Numerous Benefits of Modified Citrus Pectin Derived from citrus peels, MCP is an enzymatically modified form of pectin which has a natural affinity for Galectin-3. Numerous published studies demonstrate MCPs effectiveness against cancer through its natural lectin-binding affinity which allows it to bind to excess Galectin-3 and block its harmful effects. MCP also demonstrates powerful immune enhancement benefits and is also proven to remove heavy metals from the body without affecting essential minerals.

Modified citrus pectin performs a number of remarkable tasks, says Dr. Eliaz. By binding and blocking Galectin-3, it blocks cancer cell aggregation, keeps cancer cells from docking with blood vessels and prevents angiogenesis, the blood vessel development so crucial to cancer metastasis.

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American Chemical Society Highlights Modified Citrus Pectin as Solution to Chronic Disease Marker Galectin-3

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News

No one is immune to the human form of mad cow disease, variant CJD, new research suggests today.

Some people whose genetic make-up normally acts as a barrier against infection may ultimately develop a different and so-far unrecognised type of disease, it is claimed.

Scientists have shown that individuals with a pair of genes known as MM about a third of the population acquire vCJD relatively easily.

No one with a different paring, VV, has been known to suffer the disease.

Then in August it emerged that a patient from a mixed MV genetic group had been infected with vCJD from contaminated blood, without showing any symptoms. Just over half the population has the MV pairing.

The news sparked fears of a mad cow disease timebomb in the population, with thousands of people unwittingly carrying the brain disease on a long incubation fuse. Read more…

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Phoenix Integrative Medicine, the leading Scottsdale weight loss clinic, is now offering the Modified HCG Diet for a significantly reduced price of $149. The veteran weight loss doctor at the clinic, Dr. Andrea O'Connor, maintains over a 90% success rate with the HCG Diet Scottsdale program. A B-12 injection is included with the program as well.

The conventional HCG Scottsdale program only permits a person's diet to include 500 calories a day. With the modified HCG program though, individuals are allowed over 1000 daily calories with a larger variety of foods. Also, patients are able to participate in increased activity, whereas, the traditional HCG diet does not permit any exercise at all.

Along with incorporating a higher amount of calories in the diet, the modified program also includes a higher HCG dose, with the resulting weight loss seen being no different than the traditional program. The modified program is better tolerated by people than the initial restrictive program.

"The modified program we utilize works significantly better than the conventional, restrictive HCG diet. People have more energy, no headaches, and we have also seen it helping reduce chronic pain anecdotally. Our success rate exceeds 90% with the modified program," said Medical Director Dr. Andrea O'Connor.

Also included with the modified program are 2 follow up clinic visits along with a B12 injection, which helps with jump starting weight loss and boosting energy. The average weight loss seen with the modified HCG program exceeds 30 pounds, regardless of whether the HCG sublingual drops or injections are used. Dr. O'Connor uses both types of HCG.

People interested in the modified HCG program at this $149 special rate should call (480) 252-3799 for more information and scheduling. People may also schedule directly on the website.

This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/scottsdaleweightloss/hcgdietscottsdale/prweb9742690.htm

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Scottsdale Weight Loss Clinic Phoenix Integrative Medicine Now Offering Discounted Modified HCG Diet Program Including ...

Gordon Saxe, M.D., director of research for the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine, will be the next guest of the La Jolla Community Centers Distinguished Speaker Series.

Dr. Saxe will present a lecture/cooking demonstration revealing how the natural healing power of food can rejuvenate you from the inside out, beginning at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 26, at 6811 La Jolla Blvd. Chef Lauray MacElhern will assist.

The program will start with a wine and hors doeuvres reception sponsored by Sunrise of La Jolla. A Q&A session will follow the lecture.

Reservations can be at (858) 459-0831.

Dr. Saxes research has focused on diet, body-mind exercise, and non-drug treatment of cancer and chronic disease. Prior to UCSD, Dr. Saxe was the medical director for the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He received his medical degree from Michigan State University, his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and his M.P.H. in Nutrition from Tulane University. He completed residency training at the University of Massachusetts and is board certified in Preventive Medicine. Lauray MacElhern is the managing director of the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine. She came to UCSD after running an international non-profit organization dedicated to nutrition education and research for cancer prevention and survival.

Gordon Saxe, M.D., director of research for the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine

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Doctor Gordon Saxe speaks at upcoming La Jolla nutrition lecture

By Catharine L. Kaufman

Integrative Medicine Man, bushy-bearded best-selling author and rock star of healthy lifestyles, Dr. Andrew Weil collaborated with innovative eatery empire Fox Restaurant Concepts to create True Food Kitchen in San Diego.

Catharine Kaufman and Dr. Andrew Weil

The fledgling restaurant across from The Cheesecake Factory in Fashion Valley (tried and tested in other locales throughout the land) is abuzz with high and, of course, green energy, low-carbon footprints and a motherload of international flavors wrapped around fresh, locally grown and life-enhancing ingredients.

Heres the scoop on this smart, tastebud-pleasing hot spot:

Tender Tillers

Ever since San Diego County succumbed to the siren song of organic farming, about 350 registered organic growers launched a symphony of 150 different crops on 6,700 fertile acres completely free of toxic chemicals.

True Food Kitchen dishes are bursting with locally sourced, seasonal produce through a partnership with San Diegos Suzies Farm, Griffin Farm and Crows Pass Farm that fulfills a smorgasbord of gustatory desires.

Raw food enthusiasts can indulge in vegetable crudits and exotic salads that conjure up Somewhere Over the Rainbow colors of Oz in their Emerald City broccoli and kale, Yellow Brick Road golden cucumbers, and Ruby Red Breakfast radishes and Heirloom tomatoes.

Andys Arsenal

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Dr. Andrew Weil breaks into San Diego’s restaurant biz

30-06-2012 13:21 Sherwood Family Medicine, an Integrative Health Center. Why we integrate allopathic medicine with naturopathic medicine. Features Maggie Yu MD, Carrie Jones ND, and Elizabeth Lewis PA. For more information visit http://www.SherwoodFamilyMedicine.com, Like Us on Facebook/SherwoodFamilyMedicine, and subscribe to this channel for more videos.

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SFM Homepage Video -Why We Practice Integrative Medicine - Video