Category Archives: Alternative Medicine

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Sure, your necklace looks cute around your neck, your dangly earrings add some flair to your outfit, and your chunky ring spices up your pretty mani. But those jewelry items arent doing any *work* for you, you know? Time to try ear seedslittle ear accessories that can actually double as pain-reducing, good-for-you mental health tools.

Ear seeding, or auriculotherapya practice from traditional Chinese medicine that involves placing a small seed (or metal or ceramic bead with adhesive, which is more common nowadays) on your cartilage and outer earmay set off changes in your nervous system and, in turn, your body and vibe. So if you suffer from issues like stress, allergies, digestion probs, back pain, and more (*slowly raises hand*), you might want to put yourself in the market for these tiny but mighty gadgets.

And while there are tons of supposed benefits, youll want more information about some of the ins and outs of ear seeding before starting to stick them all over your ears. Understandable. The following are all your questions about ear seeds, answered by a doctor of internal medicine, a trained acupuncturist, and a holistic practitioner. In short, your ears are in good hands.

You use ear seeds as a method for quelling mind and body aches, even if theyre particularly painful. You can put an ear seed on one of various points on your ear, depending on what kind of therapeutic benefit you want, says Shari Auth, DACM, a holistic practitioner and cofounder of WTHN acupressure studio.

In Chinese medicine, the ear is a microsystem of the whole body with dozens of pressure points that do different things from relieving pain to boosting digestion, balancing hormones, calming the mind or helping you sleep, Auth explains. And while ear seeds dont work instantly, per se, they can shift your energy pretty fast and, most important, effectively.

The theory is that acupressure points in the ear match up with spots on your body, and by placing the bead, you tell your nervous system to turn down pain receptors and stress hormones impacting the area, says Tiffany Lester, MD, an internist and acupuncturist at Parsley Health.

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How quickly that happens depends on the issue. In serious pain? It may take a day or two. If you use seeds for stress, though, you should relax within an hour or so of applying.

The placement of your seed doesnt need to be exact in order to work, so its pretty foolproof to DIY; you can buy ear seeds from Amazon or other online retailers. Search ear seed diagram in Google to find an ear acupressure map that shows where to place based on the ailment.

If youd feel more comfortable having a pro do it, you can have seeds applied professionally at some spas and alternative medicine practices, though itll cost anywhere from 35 to 85 dollars for the jewels and involve a 10ish-minute process.

Yes. Ear seeds are pretty much harmless, and they shouldnt cause pain at all. You can even press down on your beads with your fingers when you want a boost in the acupressure benefits (for example, if youre feeling more anxious than normal and need a surge of ahhh), says Auth. A little red dot might appear on your ear, but its nothing more than a baby bruise. Just make sure you dont wear them longer than a week, to avoid uncomfortable swelling or soreness, says Lester. Roger that.

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Ear Seeding Is A Wellness Tool People Are Using To Reduce Stress And Chronic Pain - Yahoo Lifestyle

Did you spread misinformation about COVID-19 today? How do you know? You dont.

Scientific study is just like politics in that diverse opinions achieve balance. When we shut down opposing views of science, we kill the very thing that saves lives. We omit what could be great achievements in medicine. When science is one-sided there is fear, distrust and resentment.

Maybe you choose not to pay attention to developments in science. Maybe you dont mind taking advice that is dictated to you via one-sided practices. Maybe you have an inherent need to learn everything you can from all sides. No matter where you stand, this very diversity of choice has come to a halt. To my point, this is not the way a healthy society thrives. If all needs are not met, no needs are met.

I am told to believe only one thing one view of all that is developing in science. My needs are not being met. I want to talk about doctors who have used alternative therapies for COVID-19. I want to know how COVID-19 was created. I want legitimate and factual explanations for suppression of opposition. There is no way to make sound judgement without all the facts. People are intelligent. We have a need to learn more in-depth information.

Throughout my research into COVID-19, I have been shut down when I am curious about what is deemed misinformation. I want to hear all sides. I want all the answers. I shouldnt be outcasted because of my curiosity. Isnt curiosity what science is based on? This doesnt make me or anyone else who is curious, any of the horrible names we are called. There is no justification for shunning curiosity.

Those that seek all information do not harm anyone. Those who suppress all information are killing science.

I think its time for a live national debate between leading doctors and scientists. A collection of all who want to attend, not just the professionals approved by the current administration.

We need the ability to ask uncomfortable questions. No suppression. No judgement.

Dot Mullins

Chehalis

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Letter to the Editor: Science Is Dead | The Daily Chronicle - Centralia Chronicle

Perhaps we are bored of sharing stories of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients pleading from their deathbeds for others to learn from their mistakes. (I'm not!) But the hot new trend in liberal-and-vaxxed social media is sharing scare stories about ivermectin an anti-parasitical drugcommonly used in farm animals in the U.S. that conservatives have convinced themselves is a robust alternative to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. (It most definitely is not.)But unlike the seemingly endless stream of stories about dying people realizing, far too late, that they should have just gotten the shot instead of playing Own-the-Libs Roulette with a deadly virus, scare stories about ivermectin have an undermining tendency of turning out not to be true.

Last week, a story from Rolling Stone went viral due to a headline that maximized liberal schadenfreude: "Gunshot Victims Left Waiting as Horse Dewormer Overdoses Overwhelm Oklahoma Hospitals, Doctor Says." Delighted at all these idiotic Trumpers poisoning themselves with horse paste, liberals spread the story far and wide.

The problem was that the story simply wasn't true.

As Daniel Dale of CNN explains, it seems the source of the story was a bungled mess of "Telephone"that starts with out-of-context quotes from one doctor.To be certain,Oklahoma hospitals are dealing with overcrowding, but the cause isn't ivermectin overdoses. The actual cause is people refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, then getting COVID-19, and in turn clogging up hospitals because they thought it was more important to thumb their noses as the "liberal establishment" than avoid an extremely dangerous respiratory illness.

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Conservatives were ecstatic about the Rolling Stone retraction, treating thisminor mistake as irrefutable evidence that everything that the mainstream media says about anything is B.S. Breitbart declared the story a "hoax," even though it was most likely just a mistake by overly eager traffic-chasers. Kevin Williamson of the National Review used the story as an anchor for an extremely creepy rant about the largely imaginary problem of the media fabricating the rape crisis. (A few bogus stories don't change the fact that the vast majority of accusations are true, Kev.)

Tellingly, both Breitbart's and National Review'scoverage ignored the real story, which is that risking a severe case of COVID-19 instead of getting vaccinated is a poor lifestyle choice. The word "covid" only shows up in the blockquote from the Rolling Stone correction in the Breitbart story. Williamson uses the word "rape" 13 times in his piece, but he never actually typed the word "covid," which only shows up, again, in the blockquote from the retraction. Instead, he writes, "The most important word in this story is not 'ivermectin' it is 'Oklahoma.'" In truth, however, the most important word is "COVID-19."

While there have been some ivermectin overdoses, the real issue here is not the horse paste or the useless consumption of it by Fox News addicts. The issue is what they're not doing: getting vaccinated. That is whatis causing hospitalizations to spike and over 1,500 people the vast majority unvaccinated to die every day. Conservatives want to debate the safety of ivermectin because it's a way toavoid talking about the real issue, which is COVID-19 and how refusing vaccination is both idiotic and unethical.

Conservatives knowa debate about horse paste safety is a debate they can probably win. While self-administering a drug that's packaged in horse-sized quantities has some dangers, the truth of the matter is ivermectin is generally considered a safe drug and it's used around the world effectively to treat serious diseases in humans, especially river blindness. Making the debate about the ivermectin itself also allows conservativesto pretend that this is a matter of liberal elites mocking the folkways of the common man of middle America as if consuming horse paste is a noble rural traditioninstead of something invented a few months ago as a response to President Joe Biden's well-publicizedvaccine rollout.

If the debate is on the more substantive grounds of vaccine refusal, then conservatives lose handilybecause refusing vaccines is both stupidly risky and, crucially, deeply immoral. Republicans and the apologistsknow this, which is whythey'd rather just talk about how the horse paste is safe. They want to ignore the more embarrassing story of how red-state hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients because conservatives think they're too good for a "liberal" shot.

Ivermectin defenders didn't invent this strategy, to be clear. This is a common shell game with "alternative medicine" pushers, who like to talk about how "safe" and "natural" their methods are while avoiding the real issue of how useless they are. "What's the harm?" is a common gambit of alt medicine peddlers.As long as the focus is on the side effects of the fake treatments themselves, they tend to get away with it. But the harm is that people are eschewing treatments that actually work in favor of these fake "alt" treatments, as we've seen in high profile cases like the death of Steve Jobs, who delayed cancer treatments in favor of juices and acupuncture. Not, mind you, because drinking juice is dangerous. No, it was the cancer that got him.

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Unfortunately, liberals play into this strategy by hyping the dangers of ivermectin, instead of dragging the conversation back to the dangers of being unvaccinated. And I get it! I too have succumbed to the urge to share stories about the risks of the horse paste. The problem is, inthe process, far too many liberals are spreading misinformation. The latest scare story claims that ivermectin causes "sterility," which is spreading like wildfire in left-leaning social media, even though it's been thoroughly and easily debunked. And as much fun as it may be to imagine Joe Rogan inadvertently sterilizing himself, it's way too easy for conservatives to exploit these fake stories as "proof" that they are being victimized for their quaint horse paste-eating ways.

Far too many liberals are taking the right-wing bait and imagining that this is a debate about the safety of horse paste vs. vaccines. But the real debate, the one conservatives are skillfully avoiding, is over whether it's safer to be vaccinated or unvaccinated. On that front, the evidence is clear and irrefutable: Being unvaccinated is exponentially more dangerous, as a quick glance of the COVID-19 hot spot map shows.

This is a classic opportunity cost problem. Time spent arguing about the safety of horse paste is time that could be better used talking about the risks of getting COVID-19 by refusing vaccination. Plus, who knows what the next "miracle cure" the right comes up with as an excuse to avoid taking a safe, effective vaccine? For all we know, it could be meditation and kale juice, long walks in the woods, or just standing on your head for a few minutes a day. The issue isn't that the "alternatives" to vaccination are dangerous. It's that not being vaccinated is dangerous. And liberals should resist any and all efforts by conservatives to muddy the waters with distractions like the fake debate over the safety of horse paste.

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Why is everyone arguing over horse paste? To avoid discussion about the dangers of vaccine refusal - Salon

Reports of medicine shortages in France have risen sixfold since 2016, with over a hundred different drugs affected.

Some of the most commonly reported shortages concern medicines used to treat high blood pressure, cardiovascular conditions and neurological issues.

Last year, one in four people reported difficulties in obtaining the medicines they needed because of their scarcity.

Earlier this month it was announced that pharmaceutical laboratories would from now on have to stock at least two months worth of products of major therapeutic interest to avoid shortages.

We look at the drugs that are most frequently reported to be in short supply, and the potential reasons behind this.

Which medicines are affected?

Medicine shortages have risen year on year since 2016, when there were 405 reports of a laboratory warning that they may run out of stock. In 2020, this figure had risen to 2,446, according to Frances medicines agency, l'Agence nationale de scurit du mdicament et des produits de sant (ANSM).

The spread of Covid-19 also caused a shortage of the muscle relaxant curare, which was widely used to treat intensive care patients.

ANSM reports also show that blood pressure medications irbesartan and ramipril, as well as other medicines concerning the cardiovascular and nervous systems are often subject to shortages.

Risperidone, which is used to treat schizophrenia, and lansoprazole, which eases stomach inflammation and ulcers, are also among the most commonly reported shortages.

When certain medications are in short supply, healthcare workers are left without an alternative treatment.

A November 2020 study* carried out by consumer group UFC-Que Choisir indicated that in 18% of cases, laboratories do not offer any substitute, leaving patients in a terrible impasse.

For other medications, manufacturers might suggest a mediocre alternative that may bring with it dangerous side effects, the group said

*The UFC-Que Choisir study concerned the 140 medicines reported to be out of stock or in short supply by the ANSM in July 2020.

What has caused the problem?

This rise in reports of shortages is in part due to the introduction of a 2016 law which lowered the threshold upon which laboratories were required to report a lack of supply to the ANSM.

The 2020 Loi de financement de la scurit sociale (Law on the funding of social security) also reinforced the sanctions that laboratories might face if they failed to declare a potential stock shortage as far in advance as possible.

Figures also indicate that medicine supply was impacted significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic, with 700 shortages reported in March and April 2020 alone, when countries were closing their borders to combat the virus spread.

At that time, 80-85% of Frances medicines and active medical ingredients were produced in China, according to Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who described this situation as irresponsible and unreasonable.

Even before the pandemic began, this dependence had posed issues. In 2017, to reduce its emissions, China limited the electricity supply of some industrial zones, which housed several pharmaceutical factories. This led to a global shortage of the antibiotic amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.

Several experts in the pharmaceutical field have also suggested that the short supply of many cheap, commonly used drugs may be down to the economic strategy of the manufacturing company.

Philippe Lamoureux, director general of pharmaceutical companies association LEEM told Le Monde that when medicines enter the public domain and the market is filled with competitors, their price falls very rapidly.

Sometimes the price falls below the cost of production, and so the medicine is no longer produced.

An ANSM study on the 3,530 shortage reports made between 2012 and 2018 showed that 63.4% of the medicines in question had first been made available over 10 years before, meaning that they were no longer profitable for the manufacturers.

If production stops and supply is reduced, demand and therefore profitability will increase.

Decisions to stop manufacturing certain medicines have direct effects on patients. On September 7, Franceinfo reported on the story of Marc, who was forced to have his bladder removed following repeated shortages of the medicines he needed for his cancer treatment.

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France medicine shortage: Which products are affected and why? - The Connexion

LYNCHBURG, VAAstounded by the damning information, local anti-vaxxer Pete Dixon was reportedly horrified Thursday after discovering that every single American who got a smallpox vaccine in the 19th century was now deceased. Were expected to follow along blindly with the CDC, but if people would simply look to the history, theyd see that the thousands of people who were inoculated against smallpox in the 1800s have since dropped dead, said Dixon, telling reporters that it was disgusting that the mainstream media had refused to share any stories about Americans who had taken the government-mandated vaccines, only to eventually perish from complications including respiratory failure, cancer, heart attack, stroke, or cholera. They act like these shots are completely safe and tested, but I guarantee that future historians are going to look back on this time period centuries from now and discover that everyone who took the Covid vaccine is dead, too. Dixon added that despite the medias constant downplaying of alternative medicine, not a single person in the 19th century had died from ingesting ivermectin.

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Horrified Anti-Vaxxer Discovers Every American Who Got Smallpox Vaccine In 19th Century Now Dead - The Onion

When Kimberly Sheldon was 47, she says made the biggest mistake of her life. That was in 2018, when she says that a dentist explained to her that cutting the tissue under her tongue would help her jaw pain, gum recession, and occasional headaches. Her issues, he said, could be due to the fact that the back of her tongue couldnt reach the roof of her mouth. With a quick laser slice, a $600 charge, and some instruction on tongue exercises, he seemed confident that she would feel better soon after.

But, according to her account, the dentist didnt explain the possible risks, which include nerve damage and scarring that can restrict the tongue. Sheldon only found out about the issues after she experienced them. Since then, she says, the effects have torn her life apart.

The idea that tongue position can contribute to health problems is not well-supported by research, but its edging towards the mainstream. Millions of people are watching YouTube videos about how the tongue allegedly influences the face and jaw, and books, videos, websites, and social media posts say that improper tongue position can contribute to a host of health issues dental problems, sleep apnea, headaches, neck and back pain, and more. These ideas are especially becoming popular in dentistry echoed by Colgate and a dental hygienists magazine. Some even claim that changing the tongue position can make people more attractive.

Two proposed solutions to help with an allegedly poor tongue posture are becoming more popular, which may be done together or separately (in Sheldons case, her dentist recommended both). The first is myofunctional therapy, a series of exercises to strengthen the tongue so that it can rest on the roof of the mouth. Celebrities, including Kourtney Kardashian, are promoting this therapy. The second is surgery on what some practitioners call a tongue-tie a condition in which the tissue under the tongue, called the frenulum, is supposedly restricted.

Some tongue-ties are undisputed diagnoses generally in very young children. In infancy, a type of tongue-tie where the frenulum attaches all the way to the front of the tongue and severely restricts its movement has been treated for hundreds of years. More controversial are hidden, or posterior, tongue-ties, which, as Undark previously reported, are increasingly diagnosed and cut in children. Adult tongue-tie diagnoses also lack rigorous evidence.

Despite the limited evidence, myofunctional therapy and tongue-tie surgeries are increasingly promoted as a treatment for the many ailments attributed to poor tongue posture in adults. Especially concerning, some experts say, is the claim that the therapy is an alternative treatment for sleep apnea, despite a lack of evidence and with possible risks to patients.

Many doctors, however, caution against the idea that changing tongue posture is a panacea. I think people want to believe that myofunctional therapy is helpful, Eric Kezirian, a professor and physician of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at the University of Southern California, wrote in an email. The problem is that the history of health care is littered with thousands upon thousands of treatments that were not helpful, or were in many cases harmful, in spite of peoples best intentions. (An otolaryngologist is also called an ear, nose, and throat doctor, or ENT.)

To be sure, some patients say that tongue surgery and therapy has been life changing. In an invite-only Facebook group for tongue-tied adults, which has more than 15,000 members, some advocates report improvements in everything from facial composition to migraines, neck tension, anxiety, and even bowel movements. But not everyone has a positive experience. After the numbing wore off from Sheldons procedure, she says the pain was horrific; her tongue was pulled backwards and pinned down, gagging her. Her dentist recommended more tongue exercises, she says. It didnt help. After months without improvement, Sheldon said a member of the Facebook group referred her to an oral surgeon four hours away, who also set her up with a myofunctional therapist.

The new surgeon said her problems were obvious: The first dentist missed a bit of tissue or ligament, and he would fix it with a second procedure. But after that second laser cut, Sheldon had a persistent painful burning sensation at the base of her tongue, and the tip and the underside became permanently numb some of the nerves were damaged, she recalls being told. She couldnt swallow solid foods, she says, and her weight dropped from 140 pounds to 106. Eventually, she was hospitalized due to difficulty swallowing, and got occupational therapy to help. Now, she sees a doctor every three months for related chronic pain.

When the frenulum is cut, it could damage nerves, salivary glands, and ducts that lead to salivary glands, says Soroush Zaghi, an otolaryngologist and sleep surgeon, as well as the medical director of The Breathe Institute in California, where Kardashian is a patient. Theres also a risk of scarring, which Zaghi says is the most common adverse outcome. Scar tissue can cause the tongue to contract and reduce tongue mobility.

Nonetheless, Zaghi advocates for a surgery that cuts through the frenulum and sometimes into the muscle. He calls the procedure a frenuloplasty, during which he cuts until the patient is able to lift their tongue so the tip is just behind the front teeth when their mouth is fully open, and the back of their tongue can reach the roof of the mouth. (Sheldons laser surgery was a different approach, and there is no consensus or evidence to indicate if one technique is better.)

A tongue-tie, Zaghi asserts, can contribute to improper facial development in children, plus mouth breathing, sleep apnea, and more. However, Cristina Baldassari, an otolaryngologist and sleep medicine specialist at Childrens Hospital of The Kings Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, wrote in an email that there are no high quality research studies that demonstrate that tongue-tie causes any of these issues. The few studies that do exist have include small numbers of patients, or lack a control group.

Zaghi and others also promote myofunctional therapy, sometimes in conjunction with frenuloplasty, as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. But Baldassari says there isnt sufficient evidence to support myofunctional therapy as a sleep apnea treatment, either. The few small studies that have been done did not show that the therapy alone could decrease moderate to severe sleep apnea. Baldassari says she worries that real harm could come to sleep apnea patients with a severe disorder if they eschew conventional medical treatment for tongue therapy, because there are risks for medical complications like stroke and heart attack if the disease goes untreated.

The problem is that the history of health care is littered with thousands upon thousands of treatments that were not helpful, or were in many cases harmful, in spite of peoples best intentions, wrote Kezirian.

Cutting the frenulum could even make sleep worse, Baldassari says. Slicing through the tether could cause the tongue to fall back into the throat, obstructing the airway during sleep. This concern was echoed by Karthik Balakrishnan, a professor and physician of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Stanford University, though he pointed out theres no research on the subject to know for sure. And even Zaghi says some people are better off with an intact frenulum, including those who dont have enough space to accommodate their tongue high in their mouth, and those with low tongue muscle tone (though Zaghi cannot point to a method for providers to objectively assess these things, he says hes working on it).

Baldassari points out that researchers know the tongue is involved in sleep apnea devices that send electrical signals to the tongue, which cause it to move outward during inhalation during sleep, are effective at enlarging the airway. But, she says, if this tongue stimulation is strengthening the tongue, like myofunctional therapy proposes to do, it doesnt have a lasting effect; if doctors turn the device off after a year, patients still have sleep apnea.

Yet Baldassari doesnt mind if someone with mild sleep apnea or other conditions like neck tension, anxiety, bad posture, allergies, or teeth grinding, want to try myofunctional therapy, despite the lack of research, because she says theres little risk. Still, she added in an email, it likely will be a waste of time and money.

In addition to the lack of strong evidence, both the tongue therapies and surgeries dont have strong professional standards. Neither has a standardized protocol, so the process varies from one practitioner to another. And while tongue-tie surgeries are performed by licensed doctors or dentists, myofunctional therapists have no system of licensure. Sarah Hornsby, a myofunctional therapist a sizable YouTube following and therapy co-director at The Breathe Institute, who offers a training program through the institute, acknowledges that this lack of standardization is one reason the medical community is skeptical of the therapy and says it is something therapists are working towards.

Though Zaghi has published a method for assessing tongue-ties, he argues that at least some standards for myofunctional therapy are unnecessary. For instance, he says that myofunctional therapy shouldnt all be based on one persons protocols he compared it to an exercise regimen, pointing out that there are benefits whether someone does yoga, pilates, weightlifting, or running.

Other experts disagree. If an exercise is used as a medical treatment, it needs to be researched that shows its effective, says Kezirian. Myofunctional therapy has nothing like this, he wrote in an email. (Kezirian holds a patent for a device to correct obstructive sleep apnea, as well as for head and neck exercises done with an apparatus to improve sleep disordered breathing, though he is not currently selling either product.) Not only do variations in practices make it difficult for researchers to evaluate whether it works, Baldassari wrote that if there is a lack of standardization, there is no way to ensure that patients are getting adequate therapy.

Myofunctional therapy lacks standardized training programs, too. A myofunctional therapist is often a dental hygienist, as Hornsby was; other times, the therapist may be a dentist or speech language pathologist who has completed a short online training program. Most of these programs, which are not accredited by a professional organization, cost thousands of dollars. (Several organizations, including the International Association of Orofacial Myology, do offer certifications to those who complete their training.) Even tongue-tie revision surgery training for dentists can be done online, or through a two-day course with two hours of hands-on instruction, and Zaghi teaches his frenuloplasty method online since the pandemic began.

Baldassari wrote that if there is a lack of standardization, there is no way to ensure that patients are getting adequate therapy.

Despite the lack of training and standards, myofunctional therapists stand to earn more than they did as dental hygienists, with fees ranging from $80 to $250 per session; those who are also dentists or speech therapists can charge more. And dentists who revise adult tongue-ties can charge up to about $1,500 for the procedure. I do not want to suggest ulterior motives, Kezirian wrote in an email, but of course treatment is offered to patients that pay for services, often on their own because these treatments are not covered by medical insurance.

Sheldon has also noticed these financial incentives. She avoids the adult tongue-tie Facebook group these days because she says practitioners are also members, and stand to profit from the groups messages. And when someone has an issue after a tongue-tie surgery, members tend to doubt whether that person did enough myofunctional therapy or found the right provider, instead of questioning the procedure itself.

Sheldon says she has struggled to forgive herself for agreeing to do something that brought her chronic pain and health problems. But one thing brings her peace: Because of her experience, she sought a second opinion when an orthodontist suggested that her son needed tongue-tie surgery in order for his teeth to be straightened. What happened to her, she says, saved her son from the possibility of a similar fate. Now, she adds, I dont believe that were supposed to be cutting peoples frenulums.

Christina Szalinski is a freelance science writer with a Ph.D. in cell biology based near Philadelphia.

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Short on Evidence, Dubious Therapies Turn to the Tongue - Undark Magazine

According to new research, replacing salt with a low-sodium alternative can lower the risk of stroke in people with high blood pressure. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study looked at the effects of sodium on heart disease, stroke, and death.

Previous studies have shown that both elevated sodium and low potassium intake are associated with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Salt substitutes have been shown to lower blood pressure, but there have been concerns about using them in people with chronic kidney disease, as they could cause hyperkalemia, which may lead to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death.

This new study was conducted in 600 villages in the rural areas of five provinces in China. There was a total of 20,995 participants who were divided into two groups.

One used regular salt, and one used a salt substitute that had about 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride. Participants in the salt substitute group were encouraged to use the replacement more sparingly than they would normally use salt to maximize their sodium reduction.

The average age of all participants was 65.4 years, and 49.5% were female. Of all participants, 72.6% had a history of stroke and 88.4% had a history of hypertension.

Researchers set an average follow-up of 4.74 years and found that more than 3,000 people had a stroke, more than 4,000 died, and more than 5,000 had a major cardiovascular event. Of these events, it was noted that the risk of stroke was reduced with a salt substitute compared to regular salt.

Major cardiovascular events were also reduced in the group that took the salt substitute, along with total mortality.

Principal investigator Professor Bruce Neal said, This study provides clear evidence about an intervention that could be taken up very quickly at very low cost. A recent modeling study done for China projected that 365,000 strokes and 461,000 premature deaths could be avoided each year in China if a salt substitute was proved to be effective. We have now shown that it is effective, and these are the benefits for China alone. Salt substitution could be used by billions more with even greater benefits.

Low-sodium salt substitution is a more practical way of achieving changes in the amount of salt that people consume. Many people struggle to reduce their salt intake, and this provides a way to achieve a reduction in daily consumption.

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Replacing Salt with a Low-Sodium Alternative Lowers the Risk of Stroke: Study - Bel Marra Health

A recent study by Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre Delhi says that psychological distress is driving cancer patients to alternative medicines.

Written by Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : September 3, 2021 7:40 PM IST

In India, alternative therapies are a part of life. Since ancient times and even before the advent of modern medicine, people have opted for healing therapies like Ayurveda, Siddhi and homeopathy to treat their minor and serious ailments. But in modern times too, this practice is evident and, in fact, recently there has been a revived interest in these alternative therapies. But how feasible is this when you are suffering from a serious illness like cancer? And, what is it that compels people to try out alternative therapies? These questions are important because, most of the time, patients do not inform their doctor that they are taking such treatments and more often than not the treating oncologist may also not enquire about CAM with their patients.

Research carried out at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre Delhi (RGCIRC) has revealed wide usage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) amongst cancer patients in India. According to researchers, there is a direct correlation between psychological distress and the use of CAM therapies among cancer patients, not only in India but also elsewhere in the world. A national health survey from the USA in 2007 showed a considerable increase in the popularity of different CAM therapies, such as acupuncture and naturopathy, over the last few years irrespective of age and social status. Another similar health survey conducted in 2010 in the UK found that more than one-third of patients used some form of Complementary therapy while using prescribed drugs.

For the purpose of the study, researchers interviewed 303 patients undergoing cancer treatment at RGCIRC. The patients were aged between 15 to 88 years. More than a third (104 participants) responded positively to taking CAM therapies. Out of these, 61 per cent had taken these therapies before approaching the hospital for conventional treatment. And, 39 per cent of these patients were still taking these therapies in a complementary manner. Researchers saw that Ayurveda was the most preferred form of therapy and 85 per cent patients from both groups choose it. The majority of the participants belonged to either middle or lower-middle-class families (56 per cent and 35 per cent) respectively.

Researchers also screened patients using a tool called Distress Thermometer (DT), which is developed by NCCN. This tool measures patients' subjective reports on the level and severity of cancer related distress on a scale of 0 to 10. Here, '0' means no distress and '10' means extreme distress. Researchers saw that a majority of patients, 79 per cent, suffered significant psychological distress.

Putting the results of the interview and the psychological screening together, researchers found a strong correlation between level of psychological distress and the use of CAM therapies. This means that with increasing levels of psychological distress, patients tend to choose CAM more often. Another thing that researchers saw was that awareness of cancer diagnosis and its prognosis was found to relieve psychological distress. But using CAM therapies before diagnosis may lead to poor prognosis. Dr Vineet Talwar, Director Medical Oncology RGCIRC says, "Taking recourse to CAM therapies before standard treatment may also explain the delay in diagnosis of cancer."

A patient may decide to try alternative therapy for treating cancer due to a number of reasons. According to researchers 44 per cent patients go for it after seeing advertisements on radio, TV, the Internet and Newspaper, suggestions from family and relatives influence around 31 per cent of patients and 19 per cent were influenced by suggestions by fellow patients. A majority of patients, 81 per cent, felt that there were no side effects associated with CAM therapies and 40 per cent were satisfied with such therapies.

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Is Use Of Alternative Therapy By Cancer Patients Feasible? Heres What A RGCIRC Study Says - TheHealthSite

Beverly Theil| Columnist

With courts in at least two different states ordering hospitals to administer Ivermectin to patients there is increasing confusion about the drug.

More: ABOUT CHILDREN: Ways to make sure online health information is medically correct

It should be noted that the cases where the courts were asked to intervene involved people so ill from COVID-19 that they were not expected to live.

Going to court was a last ditch effort on the part of family members to save a loved one.

Parents with children too young for a vaccination are wondering if this could be an alternative treatment for their children or an alternative medication for adults.

Fear for children is understandable. There is no current vaccine and children as young as infants are contracting the Delta variant of COVID-19, with some dying.

It should be noted that Ivermectin is a medication primarily used in veterinary medicine, NOT humans. The FDA has approved limited use in humans for people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms. In addition, some topical (on the skin) forms of Ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and for skin conditions such as rosacea.

Even the levels of Ivermectin for approved uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on Ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death.

Ivermectin products for animals are different from Ivermectin products for people. Animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals (horses and cows), weighing in most cases a ton or more, and a lot more than humans. These high doses can be toxic in humans.

The FDA reviews drugs not just for safety and effectiveness of the active ingredients, but also for the inactive ingredients. Many inactive ingredients found in animal products are not evaluated for use in people or are included in a much greater amount than those used in people. In some cases, we dont know how these inactive ingredients will affect Ivermectin absorption in the human body or interact with human medications.

The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses. Poison Control Centers are reporting a sharp uptake in calls from people who have taken Ivermectin and had serious, even life threatening, side effects.

Currently there is a lot of information on the internet regarding the use of Ivermectin.

Unfortunately, much of it is incorrect. As with any internet information check the source carefully. Not only are not all sources equal, some fall into the snake-oil salesman category.

Use recognized internet sources, The Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, the FDA, the CDC or any major teaching hospital. Best of all, talk with your own primary physician or nurse practitioner.

This is my last column. For almost 20 years I have written About Children. It has been my privilege to do so. I have appreciated your feedback and learned much from our interactions. Please, take care of yourselves and your children.

With sincere regards, Beverly V Theil

Beverly Theilis a child advocate who lives in Wooster. She can be contacted at BeverlyVT@aol.com.

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ABOUT CHILDREN: There is a lot of confusion about the drug Ivermectin - Wooster Daily Record

Author Shawn T Murphy has released 'Torn Between Two Worlds: Modern Medicine and Spiritual Healing,' the fourth book in his series focusing on a spiritual approach towards mental health.

ZUG, Switzerland, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mental health awareness is critical now more than ever with the prevalence of mental illness increasing in individuals. Author Shawn T Murphy has been studying mental health for over 45 years. He has recently published "Torn Between Two Worlds: Modern Medicine and Spiritual Healing" to bring attention to alternative treatments and causes of mental illness and to encourage others to have empathy for silent sufferers. In the first three books in the Torn Between Two Worlds series, Murphy established a framework for human dualism. In the fourth book, Murphy moved from a philosophical discussion to a hands-on, self-help presentation, providing helpful answers to everyday issues.

In the first half of his new book, Murphy defines the possible spiritual illnesses that can affect individuals. These are the underlying causes that are either unrecognized or misdiagnosed by the medical community. The second half of the book provides many ways to increase one's spiritual strength and increase resistance to the negativity that a person may be subjected to.

Murphy lets readers know that every human being can aspire to their full potential regardless of their current state of spiritual health they may find themselves in. Readers will also discover the various tools to overcome the spiritual afflictions that one may suffer from. At the end of this book, readers will have a guide as to how these available tools can be implemented in their life.

"Most surgical procedures today have high success rates, yet the success modern medicine has had treating mental illness is nowhere near as successful," said Murphy. "In the materialistic world we live in today, we tend to ignore our spiritual selves and have forgotten how to foster spiritual wellness."

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"Torn Between Two Worlds: Modern Medicine and Spiritual Healing" covers a full spectrum of spiritual illnesses and strives to help those who are living adjacent to sufferers recognize symptoms and seek alternative treatments. It is Murphy's hope that with his book readers will gain a greater appreciation for the spiritual gifts one comes into the world with and how to nurture them.

To learn more about "Torn Between Two Worlds: Modern Medicine and Spiritual Healing" and Murphy's other books, please visit https://tornbetweentwoworlds.com/.

"Torn Between Two Worlds: Modern Medicine and Spiritual Healing" By Shawn T Murphy ISBN: 9781982270025 (softcover); 9781982270056 (hardcover); 9781982270018 (electronic) Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Balboa Press

About the author Shawn T Murphy received his Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982 while working part-time as a machinist for Ramar Engineering. While working full-time as an engineer for General Dynamics, Murphy completed his master's in engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1985 and his master's in business administration from Texas Christian University in 1989. At age 30, he moved to Liechtenstein to run the investment team and began studying German. He received his CFA charter in 1994 and then started studying philosophy in German. After moving the investment team to Bermuda in 2000, he started publishing his philosophic works in the Bermuda Sun following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Murphy published a series of six articles speaking out against the rhetoric that had erupted. Following the stroke of his 20-year-old daughter, Shawn was inspired to write his book series "Torn Between Two Worlds." Since then, Murphy has been actively blogging on Quora where he has been able to assist many on their spiritual path. He currently resides in Zug, Switzerland.

General Inquiries: LAVIDGE Phoenix Meghan Bowman 480-306-6597 mbowman@lavidge.com

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Meghan Bowman, LAVIDGE, 480-306-6597, mbowman@lavidge.com

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New Self-Help Book Emphasizes Alternative Treatments and Empathy for Mental Health Sufferers - Yahoo Finance