Homeopathy is based on the principle that substances that are poisonous in large doses can be very beneficial in small doses. Homeopathy is a form of medicine that treats the body as a whole and helps it to heal itself. It can be used for the short term (acute) illnesses and long term (chronic) illnesses. The objective is to prevent the patient from getting the illnesses again (prevention). The name homeopathy comes from the Greek word "homios" which means "like" and the word "pathos" meaning "suffering". Thus homeopathy simply means treating like with like.
In the fourth century B.C., Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, observed that large amount of certain natural substances can produce symptoms in healthy people resembling those caused by the disease, while smaller doses of these same substances can relieve those symptoms. in 1790's Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor, amplified this concept and proposed the practice called homeopathy. He proposed that "Let like be cured by like". Homeopathy uses animal, vegetable and mineral preparations to cure a person's illness. Millions of people in Britain, Europe and America uses Homeopathy.
Homeopathy looks at each patient and develops a remedy or treatment plan strictly for him or her. It invokes the powers of healing inherent in individuals (our immune system) to develop a successful therapy. The more one knows about the patient, the symptoms, likes and dislikes, what makes them better or worse, it helps in developing a "symptom picture" of the patient that can lead to a successful treatment.
If we think about the principle of homeopathy, it has a lot in common with our present understanding of immunizations. To prevent us from catching small pox, a vaccine is prepared which is a mild form of the virus that causes the disease. The principle is that introduction of this small amount of the virus in our body system will set out our body's defenses so that when the actual virus shows up, our body will have enough barriers or fighting power to prevent the virus from entering our body. Homeopathy practitioners believe that when we introduce a very very small amount of the deadly material into the body, our body will unleash enough defenses to prevent the disease from recurring again. However, there are significant differences between the concepts used in Western medicine and those of homeopathy. Vaccines are not rendered more potent when they are diluted like homeopathic preparations. In conventional treatment, there is a minimum dosage that need to be given before the medication becomes effective in treating the underlying problem. For example, when taking antibiotics, we have to take the whole course at regular intervals to maintain a potency level in the bloodstream to kill the bacteria.
Homeopathic remedies, which are made from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral substances, are recognized and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are manufactured by established pharmaceutical companies under strict guidelines. There are over 2000 homeopathic remedies that are usually referred to by their abbreviated name. (For example Arg nit. stands for Argentum nitricum). These are derived from such exotic sources as bee stings, snake venoms, arsenic, gold and silica, and even compounds from diseases tissue. Homeopaths also prescribes tissue salts. Tissue salts are prepared from mineral sources. Homeopathic remedies are diluted to such an extent that there can be no possible side effects from even the most toxic substances. The dilution process is known as 'potentation' Taken in this ultra diluted form, Homeopathic remedies have no side effects and are perfectly safe, non-toxic and non-addictive

Homeopathic Medicine

Abbreviations Used By Homeopaths and How Homeopathic Medicines are Prepared
Two abbreviations are used to describe a medicine's strength or potency. In the United States, the decimal, or x, system is more popular. In Europe, homeopaths use the centisimal, or c, system.

In both systems, potency is expressed as a number followed by an x or c, such as 3x or 6c. A potency of 1 x means a 1: 10 dilution of the original substance, or one- tenth strength (mix 1 drop of the substance with 9 drops of the dilutant, commonly water or alcohol); 2x means 1: 100, 3x is 1: 1000 and so on. In other words, the number before the x in the decimal system equals the number of zeros in the dilution, so 6x indicates a dilution of 1 part in 1,000,000. A potency of 1c means a 1: 100 dilution. The number before the c means that there are 2 times the number of zeroes in the dilution. For example, 3c means a dilution of 1 part in 1,000,000. (whereas 3x means 1 part in 1,000).

A third scale called millesimal (M) scale is also used by homeopaths. This is denoted by a number followed by the letter M, such as 1M, 2M, etc. A potency of 1M means a dilution of 1 part in 1000. The number before M means that the dilution is 3 times this number. A potency of 2M means a dilution of 1 part in 1,000,000.

Homeopathic medicines are not simply diluted. They are also shaken vigorously, or "potentized." To make a 12x dilution, one drop of the mother tincture is added to 99 drops of the alcohol or water mix and the mixture is shaken vigorously. Then one drop from this mixture is mixed with 99 drops of the dilutant and the mixture is shaken vigorously. The resultant mixture has a dilution of 1 in 10,000 (or 4x). The process is repeated a total of 6 times to get a potency of 12x. Finally, these drops are added to tiny lactose (milk sugar tablets, pillules, granules, or powder and stored in dark colored bottle.

Homeopaths believe that shaking transfers the medicine's essence to the water used to dilute it. This concept is important because solutions diluted beyond 24x (or 12c) may not contain even a single molecule of the original solution. Homeopaths believe that medicines become stronger as they become more dilute and that even when enormously diluted, the medicine's "essence" or "energy" remains.

Principles of Homeopathy

In conventional medicine, the symptoms are considered to be a manifestation of the disease. The drugs are given to kill the bacteria causing it or to dampen the symptom of the condition. Homeopaths, on the other hand, see the symptoms as the body's attempt to heal itself. They see the symptom as a positive sign that the body's defense mechanism is trying to fight the underlying cause and by this reasoning, they insist that the symptoms should not be suppressed as we are working against the body's attempt to cure it.
Homeopathic Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine
Homeopathic Medicine
Conventional Medicine
Illness
Is an individual expression of imbalance and has important meaning

Occurs in well-defined groups based on pathology, and meaning of illness is irrelevant
Symptoms
Are evidence of disharmony and the person's attempt to restore order
Are analyzed to follow progress of treatment

Are bad
Successful treatment makes them go away
Diagnosis
The understanding of the phenomenon of the illness
The whole person is taken into account

The search for the structural cause

Treatment
Individualized and based on the entire expression of symptoms
Self-care (what the client does) is emphasized
Based on like cures like and potentized microdoses of medicines

Based on the pathologic diagnosis

What the doctor does is emphasized
Based on opposing and suppressing symptoms, and high doses of medicine
For a further discussion on the difference in the philosophy of holistic medicine vs. conventional medicine.

The laws of homeopathy are the law of similars, the principle of minimum dose and prescription for the individual.
The Law of Similars
The principle that like shall be cured by like, or Similia similibus curantur. This principle, recognized by physicians and philosophers since ancient times, became the basis of Hahnemann's formulation of the homeopathic doctrine: the proper remedy for a patient's disease is that substance that is capable of producing, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those from which the patient suffers.
In other words, a substance produces symptoms of illness in a well person when administered in large doses; if we administer the same substance in minute quantities, it will cure the disease in a sick person. Hahnemann suggested that this is because nature will not allow two similar diseases to exist in the body at the same time. Thus homeopaths will introduce a similar artificial disease into the body which will push the original one out. The dose is small so that there is no danger of any long term side effects.
The Principle of Minimum Dose
This principle states that extreme dilution enhances the curative properties of a substance, while eliminating any possible side effects. This is just the reverse of conventional drug philosophy where a minimum dose is required for effect. Starting from the conventional dose, as we decrease the concentration (or increase the dilution), the medicine become less and less efficient. But below a threshold, the medicine start getting potent again. Homeopaths uses this region of potency.
Whole Person Prescribing
A homeopath studies the whole person. Characteristics such as their temperament, personality, emotional and physical responses when prescribing a remedy, etc. are studied. So, a homeopath may treat different persons exhibiting the same symptom differently. (For example, two persons exhibiting flu like symptoms may get two different medication from the homeopath based on the appraisal of the mind body constitution.)
Laws of Cure
There are three laws of cure, They are:
A remedy starts at the top of the body and works downward
A remedy works from within the body outward, and from major to minor organs
Symptoms clear in reverse order of appearance.
Application of the three principles of cure means that you will feel better emotionally before you will feel better physically.

Humor Therapy- Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter

Introduction

Patients, doctors and health-care professionals are all finding that laughter may indeed be the best medicine. Finding humor in a situation and laughing freely with others can be a powerful antidote to stress. It is also a very good coping mechanism when you are suffering from deadly diseases such as cancer. Many people find that maintaining a sense of humor at such occasions are useful for good quality of life. Our sense of humor gives us the ability to find delight, experience joy, and to release tension. This can be an effective self-care tool. Scientific evidence on the effectiveness of humor as a therapy is now overwhelming.
For many years medical professionals have recognized that those patients who maintained a positive mental attitude and shared laughter responded better to treatment. Physiological responses to laughter include increased respiration, circulation, hormonal and digestive enzyme secretion, and a leveling of the blood pressure. Many report a general sense of euphoria after vigorous laughter. But until the New England Journal of Medicine in 1979 published the Norman Cousins case study, few considered the therapeutic uses of humor.

The first documented case of humor positively affecting disease was in 1964 when Norman Cousins, published "Anatomy of an Illness". Medical professionals were for the first shown that humor biologically reversed Cousins' ankylosing spondylitis, a painful disease causing the disintegration of the spinal connective tissue. Given a one in five hundred chance of recovery, Cousins decided to infuse himself with humor treatments. With Cousins' self-designed humor treatments, he found that 15 minutes of hardy laughter could produce two hours of pain free sleep. Blood samples also showed that his inflammation level was lowered after the humor treatments. Eventually Cousins was able to completely reverse the illness. Cousins later documented his story in a book he called "Anatomy Of an Illness."

Today, interest in humor's effects has grown so much that the field has a name -- psychoneuroimmunology, the study of how psychological factors, the brain and the immune system interact to influence health.

"If you took what we now know about the capability of laughter to manipulate the immune system, and bottled it, it would need FDA approval," Dr. Lee Berk, a preventive care clinician, medical research scientist, psychoneuroimmunologist, and professor at LLU's Schools of Medicine and Public Health

Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter

Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University in California have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. To date their published studies have shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

Following is a summary of his research, taken from an interview published in the September/October 1996 issue of the Humor and Health Journal.

Laughter Activates the Immune System

In Berk's study, the physiological response produced by belly laughter was opposite of what is seen in classical stress, supporting the conclusion that mirthful laughter is a eustress state -- a state that produces healthy or positive emotions.
Research results indicate that, after exposure to humor, there is a general increase in activity within the immune system, including:
An increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells that attack viral infected cells and some types of cancer and tumor cells.
An increase in activated T cells (T lymphocytes). There are many T cells that await activation. Laughter appears to tell the immune system to "turn it up a notch."
An increase in the antibody IgA (immunoglobulin A), which fights upper respiratory tract insults and infections.
An increase in gamma interferon, which tells various components of the immune system to "turn on."
An increase in IgB, the immunoglobulin produced in the greatest quantity in body, as well as an increase in Complement 3, which helps antibodies to pierce dysfunctional or infected cells. The increase in both substances was not only present while subjects watched a humor video; there also was a lingering effect that continued to show increased levels the next day.
Laughter Decreases "Stress" Hormones
The results of the study also supported research indicating a general decrease in stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity. These were shown to decrease in the study group exposed to humor.
For example, levels of epinephrine were lower in the group both in anticipation of humor and after exposure to humor. Epinephrine levels remained down throughout the experiment.
In addition, dopamine levels (as measured by dopac) were also decreased. Dopamine is involved in the "fight or flight response" and is associated with elevated blood pressure.
Laughing is aerobic, providing a workout for the diaphragm and increasing the body's ability to use oxygen.
Laughter brings in positive emotions that can enhance – not replace -- conventional treatments. Hence it is another tool available to help fight the disease.
Experts believe that, when used as an adjunct to conventional care, laughter can reduce pain and aid the healing process. For one thing, laughter offers a powerful distraction from pain.
In a study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, patients were told one-liners after surgery and before painful medication was administered. Those exposed to humor perceived less pain when compared to patients who didn't get a dose of humor as part of their therapy.
Perhaps, the biggest benefit of laughter is that it is free and has no known negative side effects.
So, here is a summary of how humor contributes to physical health. More details can be found in the article, Humor and Health contributed by Paul McGhee
Muscle Relaxation - Belly laugh results in muscle relaxation. While you laugh, the muscles that do not participate in the belly laugh, relaxes. After you finish laughing those muscles involved in the laughter start to relax. So, the action takes place in two stages.
Reduction of Stress Hormones - Laughter reduces at least four of neuroendocrine hormones associated with stress response. These are epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.
Immune System Enhancement - Clinical studies have shown that humor strengthens the immune system.
Pain Reduction - Humor allows a person to "forget" about pains such as aches, arthritis, etc.
Cardiac Exercise - A belly laugh is equivalent to "an internal jogging." Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises.
Blood Pressure - Women seem to benefit more than men in preventing hypertension.
Respiration - Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient's who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.

Humor and Cancer
Many of us feel awkward in joking in front of terminally ill patients. Many may even consider it inappropriate or insensitive. However, it has been known scientifically that the best thing you can do to your friends is to provide a humorous environment and let them "forget" about their condition. Sitting and feeling sorry for their condition will not help them much.
Dr. Michael B. Van Scoy-Morsher, an oncologist in California says that "one characteristic of the cancer patient who does well is the ability to often put cancer in the background for periods of time."
TV journalist Linda Ellerbee wrote about some of her cancer experiences and of being bald in the January 1993 edition of McCall's :
That summer I bought some breast prostheses to use while swimming. Instead of fastening them to my skin with Velcro as the directions instructed, I simply inserted the prostheses into my bathing suit. When I came out of the water, one had migrated around to my back! Now, how can you not laugh at such a thing? Either you laugh or you cry your eyes out. . . . It's something I've tried to teach my kids as well. When my 23-year-old daughter saw me with my bald head and no breast, she said, "You look just like a Buddha without the wisdom," and we both howled. I think we are never braver than when we stand tall and look into the sun and laugh. Laughter may be a form of courage.
In his book "Intoxicated by My Illness," Anatole Broyard wrote about the final months of his life after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He stated that "Illness is primarily a drama, and it should be possible to enjoy it as well as to suffer it. . . . . Illness," after all, "is not all tragedy. Much of it is funny."

Humor: How Does It Work?
In her book, "Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Guidelines to Success," Patty Wooten noted:
The ability to laugh at a situation or problem gives us a feeling of superiority and power. Humor and laughter can foster a positive and hopeful attitude. We are less likely to succumb to feelings of depression and helplessness if we are able to laugh at what is troubling us. Humor gives us a sense of perspective on our problems. Laughter provides an opportunity for the release of those uncomfortable emotions which, if held inside, may create biochemical changes that are harmful to the body.

Herbert Lefcourt, a noted psychologist from the University of Waterloo in Canada has explored the possibility that a sense of humor and its use can change our emotional response to stress. In this study, subjects were asked to review the frequency and severity of stressful life changes occurring to them over the previous six months, and their recent negative mood disturbances were evaluated. Lefcourt then administered tests to evaluate use of humor, perception of humor, appreciation of laughter, and efforts to include opportunities for humor and laughter into each subjects lifestyle. Results of this study have shown that the ability to sense and appreciate humor can buffer the mood disturbances which occur in response to negative life events.
Humor perception involves the whole brain and serves to integrate and balance activity in both hemispheres. Derks, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, has shown that there is a unique pattern of brain wave activity during the perception of humor. EEG's were recorded on subjects while they were presented with humorous material.

During the setup to the joke, the cortex's left hemisphere began its analytical function of processing words. Shortly afterward, most of the brain activity moved to the frontal lobe which is the center of emotionality. Moments later the right hemisphere's synthesis capabilities joined with the left's processing to find the pattern -- to 'get the joke'. A few milliseconds later, before the subject had enough time to laugh, the increased brain wave activity spread to the sensory processing areas of the brain, the occipital lobe. The increased fluctuations in delta waves reached a crescendo of activity and crested as the brain 'got' the joke and the external expression of laughter began. Derks' findings shows that humor pulls the various parts of the brain together rather than activating a component in only one area.

The emotions and moods we experience directly effect our immune system. A sense of humor allows us to perceive and appreciate the incongruities of life and provides moments of joy and delight. These positive emotions can create neurochemical changes that will buffer the immunosuppressive effects of diseases and stress.

Benefits of Chelation Therapy

The word chelation is derived from the Greek word chele that means claw (like that of a scorpion or crab). The concept of chelation is based on the observation that when a certain amino acid complex called EDTA (ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid) comes in contact with certain positively charged metals and other substances such as lead, iron, copper, calcium, magnesium, zinc, plutonium and manganese, it grabs them (hence the chele or claw), and removes them. Chelation therapy is the process of removing from the body the undesirable ionic material by the infusion, or taking orally, of an organic compound which has suitable chelating properties.
EDTA is a synthetic amino acid first used in the 1940's for treatment of heavy metal poisoning. It is widely recognized as effective for that use as well as certain others, including emergency treatment of hypercalcemia and the control of ventricular arrhythmias associated with digitalis toxicity. Studies by the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council in the late 1960's indicated that EDTA was considered possibly effective in the treatment of occlusive vascular disorders caused by arteriosclerosis. EDTA grabs metallic cation such as Lead or Calcium from the body and forms a stable compound that is then excreted from the system. The stability of this bond is vital to success in chelation therapy. If the bond is weak, other chemicals can break this bond to form their own compounds.

One way to think about the chelation process is to compare it to the way we unclog our drains. We add a chemical to our drain. It dissolves the blockage. The resulting compound is removed from the drain using the existing plumbing system. Chelation process works in a similar manner on our body.

Benefits of Chelation Therapy

Chelation therapy is widely used for the treatment of atherosclerosis and other chronic degenerative diseases involving the circulatory system. It also has other benefits. Many scientists suggest that the beneficial effect of chelation treatment is from the removal of metallic catalysts that causes excessive free radical proliferation. This reduces the oxidation of lipids, DNA, enzyme systems and lipoproteins. The chelation halts the bad effects and initiates the body's healing process, often reversing the damage. It removes the calcium and copper anions from the blood stream. The plaque lining the artery walls are made porous and brittle. Eventually they may get dislodged. Even if only a microscopic layer of the plaque is removed, it, along with a smoothening of the artery wall due to the healing of the cells that line the arteries, can improve the blood flow to the artery muscles substantially. This can prevent artery spasm and minimize or prevent angina pain. Many patients who could not walk due to muscle pain or angina pain have reported that they can walk without pain after chelation therapy.
We will examine how chelation therapy works

We can think of our cells in the body as miniature factories. Inside the cell, the digestive process is going on. That means converting the raw materials into energy and protein compounds. Like in a factory, there are mechanisms to transport material within the cell as well as mechanisms to transport material to and from the cell. In our body, these mechanisms are performed by complex enzyme activity.

The skin that surrounds a cell controls what goes in and what goes out of it. (It is like the shipping and receiving department in a factory.) The active cell membrane is made up of lipids (Cholesterol), proteins and water.

As explained in "The Story of Free Radicals" below, free radicals can cause lipid peroxidation (fat becomes rancid). Like in the factory example, if the shipping and receiving department is not functioning properly, it can cause chaos; the whole factory will go out of synch. It does not get raw materials in time or cannot ship out waste products and finished products out. In the body, this is the beginning of the cell degeneration. (In case of factory, it will go out of business.)
This is what happens when atherosclerosis begins in an artery wall. The majority of lipid peroxidation activity involves the presence of metal ions such as iron, copper or calcium. EDTA effectively locks onto these ions, preventing their destructive action. Proponents of Chelation Therapy claim that EDTA can reduce the production of free radicals by up to a million-fold!
Research over the past 30 years has confirmed the benefits of EDTA. This protective influence of EDTA would be enhanced by an appreciable presence of antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E, selenium, and amino acid complexes such as glutathione peroxidase. These not only mop up free radicals but also assist in reinforcing the stability of cell membranes

We have seen that calcium passes through the damaged cell walls into the cells. If calcium gets deposited in arterial walls, it inhibits the enzyme activity which, in turn, affects the production of energy, the movement of raw material, finished products, and waste products from the cell. The cells become energy starved and become acidic as a result. This can lead to premature aging, unbalanced calcium/magnesium ratios, free radical activity, local toxicity, oxygen deficit, nutritional imbalance, etc.
The cells that have become energy starved and acidic start to attract calcium ions, drawing them into the cell. This, further, blocks energy production. The result is degenerative cardiovascular conditions. When this happens, the muscles that surround the arteries go into spasm. Doctors start treating this problem with calcium channel blockers. The problem is that calcium channel blockers block the calcium intake by the muscles; but it does nothing to cure the underlying problems of cell damage.
This process gets really out of hand in the presence of additional Vitamin D and cholesterol. Free radicals helps to convert the cholesterol into substances with Vitamin D activity. This produces plaque, which, in turn, attracts calcium cementing the material.
How does EDTA infusion affect this scenario? First, EDTA removes the toxic metal ions such as lead, calcium, mercury, cadmium, copper, iron, and aluminum from the blood stream. These are necessary for the production of free radicals. By removing the extra calcium from the blood stream, there is no more free calcium available to produce plaque. It means that the cells can start to repair themselves. Their production of energy increases. As more and more cells rebuild, our body becomes healthier. They can ward off intruders. The result is that we have started a salvage and regeneration activity that repairs previously damaged muscles and heart. And the whole body benefits as a result

Reduces Blood Stickiness or Clotting
EDTA is believed to reduce the blood platelet formation. This makes the blood less "sticky. The blood can now flow through narrow arteries. It can flow through even partially blocked arteries minimizing the effect of the blockage.
Normalizes Abnormal Cholesterol and HDL Levels
There are two types of cholesterol: the good cholesterol called HDL and the bad cholesterol called LDL. What we want is a high amount of HDL in our blood along with a low level of LDL. We also desire a low total cholesterol. Researchers have found that EDTA infusion, combined with vitamin and mineral supplements, raised the good (HDL) cholesterol and lowered the bad (LDL) cholesterol. If the HDL was low, it was raised; however, if it was already high, its level remains the same. Similarly, the LDL was lowered if it was high. EDTA optimizes the ratio of HDL and LDL.
Removes Calcium from the Plaque
EDTA infusion removes the calcium from the blood stream. In a chemical reaction, if you have an area low in concentration of a substance surrounded by an area that is rich in that substance, the substance will diffuse from the enriched area to that which is depleted of it ultimately leveling the concentration. The same thing happens to our body. When the blood is cleaned off the calcium, the calcium from the plaque and the body tissues (That is enriched with it) migrate into the blood. This gets swept away by the new EDTA infusion. This has the effect of removing most of the calcium from the plaque, making it softer and possibly even breaking away chunks of it from the artery walls.
Many people are concerned that this calcium intake may come from the bones rather than from the plaque and body tissues. Chelation therapists strongly suggest that this is not

cancer treatment

Free radicals play an important role in the genesis of cancer. By removing the metallic anions from the blood stream, EDTA helps the cells to remain healthy and helps the damaged cells to heal. Research has shown a decrease in the incidence of death by cancer after EDTA treatment. We don't know the mechanism of action. In some forms of cancer, the use of EDTA was found to strip the tumor cells of their protective coat, allowing other mechanisms (such as protein digesting enzymes) to destroy the tumors.

Mental Health

Researchers have noticed that patients who have undergone chelation treatment are less depressed. They were more alert, and had better concentration and memory. Opponents of chelation therapy dismisses this as "placebo effect."
Chelation therapists attribute this improvement in mental health to an improvement in the overall cellular nutrition as a result of better circulation resulted from the chelation treatment. Another possibility is that by removing the harmful toxins from the blood stream, the brain and central nervous system are protected from harmful effects of these toxins. This improves the overall functioning of the brain that translates into better memory and mental conditions

Hair Loss, Baldness-Diet/Food Therapy

wholesome diet, rich in silica, calcium and iron, will help reduce or prevent hair loss. Green, leafy vegetables, especially sea vegetables, are good mineral sources. Raw oats provide silica. Dried fruits and cherry juice are rich sources of iron.
For women, thinning hair or hair loss can be a sign of a problem in the gastrointestinal tract. It could be a sign of insufficient stomach acids; It could also mean a deficiency of protein, zinc and other nutrients. Taking two acidophilus tablets after or between meals (four to six tablets per day) for two months will help. For men, balding process can be slowed down by taking a low-fat diet. Some scientists postulate that the male pattern baldness is tied to increased testosterone levels during puberty. A high-fat, meat-based diet raises testosterone levels, and that may adversely affect hair follicles. For example, in Japan, male pattern baldness was very rare prior to World War II when the diet was lean and healthy. The Japanese now consume a more fatty, Westernized diet. Baldness is now increasing substantially among Japanese men. Eating low-fat foods may not stop hair loss; but it might help slow down the hair loss.
Anemia is one of the most frequent causes of hair loss. Eat plenty of iron-rich foods, like liver (Avoid if you are pregnant) and other organ meat, whole grain cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, eggs, dates, and raisins.
The hair is comprised mostly of protein. To encourage hair growth, adhere to a diet rich in protein. A recommended diet for this purpose includes calves liver, brewer's yeast, wheat germ, and two tablespoons of granulated lecithin. Along with protein, these foods are also high in B vitamins, an important nutrient for hair.
European studies have found that soy protein reinforces hair and stimulates its growth. In one study, The hair growth increased by 15 percent. Tofu and soy milk are good sources of soy protein. Other good sources of protein are: low-fat cheese, eggs, fish, beans, brewer's yeast and yogurt.
Another important nutrient for hair health is silica. Studies in the former Soviet Union have shown that silica therapy slowed hair loss. Organic silica added to shampoo was found to help prevent baldness, stimulate healthier hair growth and assure beautiful shine, luster and strength. Some scientists claim that they have effectively stopped further hair loss by adding silica to their shampoo. This can be applied externally to regrow already lost hair.
Silica is found in the outer coverings of potatoes, green and red peppers and cucumbers. Bean sprouts are also high in silica. Eat whole foods including sprouts.
Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron. Include a good serving of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Vitamin E is important for healthy hair growth. Eat avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil on a regular basis.
If hair loss is due to thyroid dysfunction, eat more foods rich in vitamin A and iodine. Eat vegetables such as carrots or spinach in unrefined, cold-pressed seed oils such as flax, walnut or pumpkin seed and sea salt. Take turnips, cabbage, mustard, soy beans, peanuts, pine nuts and millet if there is a deficiency of iodine.
Caution: Excessive intake of Vitamin A can cause hair loss

Energy Therapy

How would you like to dramatically reduce your stress and anxiety, feel more peaceful and relaxed, gain perceptual clarity, feel greater joy and confidence, increase your energy, improve your physical health, and awaken you to your holiness? You can do all this by removing imbalances in your human energy field and aura. These energy blocks manifest themselves as stress and anxiety. Removing the blocks restores the natural energy flow resulting in feelings of peace and harmony


Why do we need energy medicine?When aligned and balanced, the aura is radiant energy, a living light. Because the aura serves the transformational agendas of the soul, it is constructed such that imbalance can be incorporated into the ego structure. Part of our life is to create blocks, which we use as stepping-stones. Our issues and concerns appear as blocks and distortions in the energy field. Physical and emotional trauma, self-judgment and limiting beliefs, or external psychic pressures from individuals, groups or institutional belief systems cause these blocks and distortions. Psychological and spiritual wounds condense, even into physical disease, to assist us to complete the soul's imperative to fulfill our nature. Although these patterns in the aura represent energy limitations, each one also holds a key to greater spiritual realization and strengthening.

They are adversaries that become allies as we work to transform them.Each dilemma is linked internally to a solution that awakens our holiness. Our beliefs, judgments, attitudes, and trauma affect the containment and movement of energy within our consciousness. Blocks are an attempt to protect. As such, they become integrated into the sustaining structure of our personality. As we create meaning in response to trauma, we adapt to the meaning as if it were normal. Thus, the trauma and the meaning we constructed in response become normalized into our psyche. We adapt to the level of our injury. While the ego adapts to trauma, the soul continues to pursue transformation. In the deepest sense, our aura is out of balance as one phase in a process caused by our drive to awaken spiritually and transform the quality of our lives and our experience. In a more conventional sense, any concern, trauma, or issue that brings one to counseling or requires therapy reflects in the aura as an imbalance.

Blocked AuraBlocks and imbalances help us answer the age-old questions: Who am I? What am I? What do I want? The more energized and integrated the aura, the faster the process. Transformation and realization can be instantaneous. The aura wants to be in balance. As we grow wiser, we are more attentive to the care and maintenance of ourselves as energy. It is in our nature to seek new experience and then transform that experience into understanding, strength, and awareness. Blocks are a natural increment of human destiny. We are taught that we must do good in order to be good. In truth, we do good because we are good.To have a perfectly balanced aura, one's development and attitudes on all three of these levels (physical, emotional, and mental-spiritual) must be in perfect attunement with the Infinite. For example, should a man become involved in an intense argument with another person leading to an exchange of physical blows, the disharmonies will show in both the mental and physical auras and the auric fields will be disrupted. The aura carries scars just as the physical body carries its scars. Emotionally and spiritually as the affected person strives for a better balance, the wounds become laced just as a physician will sew up a cut on the physical body. Consequently, as we live, grow, decide what is right and what is wrong, rationalize and compromise, our aura is in a constant state of flux. How the aura is transformed depends upon our ideas, attitudes, endeavors, and the state of consciousness in which we live. There is no doubt that our personality, soul condition, hidden self, and physical condition are revealed clearly through the vibrations and formation of the aura. A trained Noetic Field Therapist can tell the emotional and spiritual development of a person by the scars and lacings in the aura.

"In the universe there is an immeasurable and indescribable force which those who live of the source call intention - and that absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.Sorcerers are not only concerned with understanding and explaining that connecting link, but they are especially concerned with cleansing it of the numbing effects brought about by all of the concerns of living at ordinary levels of consciousness." - Carlos Castaneda
Noetic Field Therapy TM
In the practice of Noetic Field Therapy, the healing proceeds focusing on energy first and image second. We reference our therapeutic attunement first on the energy field, followed by attention to the body and psychological structures. Other therapies begin with the issue, explore its structure, and abstractly infer the blockage in the intentional flow of energy. We begin with the blockage of energy in the field itself as it exists around the physical body.

The practitioner is able to find these blocks by inner seeing, spiritual vision, or hands scanning. Through prayer and focus, an altered state of consciousness unfolds, enabling the practitioner to engage the blocks and distortions directly in the energy field. Through this spiritual rapport, the practitioner is able to assist the client to experience transformation and balance. The healing occurs by de-constructing the blocking beliefs while the therapeutic focus forms a conduit for the flow of spiritual energy. The use of one’s hand or a pendulum enhances the therapeutic focus. This flow of energy helps release the blocks and balances the field.

Transformation occurs through an alliance of intervening spiritual energies, unfolding soul energies, and our own self-forgiveness. Once the block is discerned and attuned to, we explore the related belief structure or complex. The practitioner assists their clients to change, reframe, or forgive themselves for the blocking beliefs or judgments. Concurrently, their therapeutic focus forms a conduit for the flow of spiritual energy (such as chi, dharma, or the Holy Spirit) which helps release the blocks and balance the auric field. The block clears because you are working from the place inside you defined by your wholeness. When the distortions are gone, the field is once again fluid and smooth. There is no bad energy, just energy displaced. We aren't the wound, we are the relationship to the wound. Balancing puts energy back in place.In an aura balancing session, an "altered state" occurs in which the time frame changes - past joins present and alternate futures are created. Because of the intimacy and unconditional love, the practitioner can safely become the temporary transference of the client's strengths and weaknesses. Our unconscious becomes conscious by reflecting it back to ourselves through life's drama. The blocks in energy are formed when our emotions give us information such as fear, hurt, anger, confusion, or aloneness and we place a thought on it that says we are bad, powerless, shameful, victimized, or guilty. In this way a structure is formed and energy trapped. The trapped energy represents an incomplete expression of joy, curiosity, love, or enthusiasm. Blocked by the belief, attitude or judgment, inherently joyous, loving energy is experienced in painful, numb, angry, or depressed symptoms. In Noetic Field Therapy the symptoms point to cause and cause points to intention. The symptomatic patterns reflected back through the metaphor of physical, mental, and emotional reveal pictures of the soul's purpose in reflection. Techniques such as releasing, reframing, healing the memories, and self-forgiveness balance the energy by expanding it into wholeness. The choice made by the client provides a conduit for understanding and love to flow into the area of imbalance. These ingredients cause a change in the injuries and restrictive patterns which result in a fulfillment and expansion to the inner consciousness.

The goal is not to analyze but to create access to universal energy through the inner life of the personality and actualization of the person.The expression of the soul - as a positive force on each negative level of the unconscious (archetypal), mental, emotional, imagination, and physical - takes a slightly different form. The soul as a spiritual force on each level will persevere through any system of belief temporarily created by the individual. At the core of any destructive psychology pattern is a spiritual essence striving to be actualized and fulfilled. On the imaginative level it is procreation and creativity. On the emotional level it is desire and enthusiasm, on the mental level inspiration and intuition, and on the archetypal level aspiration. On the soul level its motivation is unto itself a return and union with the universal love and intelligence of which it is a spark or essence. Our souls share love through our minds, feelings, and touch without control or claim. It is the ultimate goal to draw all the motivating forces for preservation, creativity, desire, enthusiasm, inspiration, intuition, and aspiration back into itself and direct those energies in wholly spiritual ways.The implications for therapy are straightforward. When an expression has been blocked there is pain, unconsciousness, confusion, numbness, absence of creativity, or indifference. By the practitioner or client touching and acknowledging the true motivation, it activates and moves.

This sensation can be experienced in many ways such as "quaking", body trembling, a rush of joy, and sudden sense of weightlessness or freedom. These responses can range form very mild to very dramatic. These energies are the "juices" by which we draw our impulses to do. They can be freely accessed and either used or misused. It is our choice.
"I have yet to meet a single person from our culture, no matter what his or her educational background, IQ, and specific training, who had powerful transpersonal experiences and continues to subscribe to the materialistic monism of Western science." - Albert Einstein
Therapy History
Phineus Parkhurst Quimby was a transcendentalist healer who practiced during the mid 1800's and made a significant contribution to the new thought movement in the United States. He said that true science was the understanding that existed beyond our rational understanding. He discovered that we each have a spiritual form within us that he called the inner Christ. Considering Quimby's definition of science, his recognition of this inner spiritual form transcended all ideological and religious boundaries to embrace a universal spiritual force.

In a sense, Quimby was anticipating quantum physics and it terms of modern physics, we could call this healing resource the quantum Christ.In 1964, Dr. Neva Dell Hunter blended Quimby's science with her understanding of the human energy fields and, with John-Clarke McDougall, developed aura balancing. A central feature to McDougall's collaboration was the use of a pendulum. This made possible a transformation of energy at the precise location of the block or distortion in the aura. This technique facilitated deep work within the psyche and the aura itself without the need to touch the physical body.

Ellavivian Power describes this definitive work in her book, The Auric Mirror. They also believed that the aura can actually become distorted, blocked, or unbalanced by judgments we make about our life experiences, which in turn can cause physical illnesses or other manifestations. And at the core of these auric imbalances are feelings that lie deep within. Dr. Hunter and Ellavivian Power combined auric healing sessions with self-forgiveness to allow the release of energy blocks in the aura that perpetuate disharmony. Click here for more about self-forgiveness. Recently, Dr. Robert D. Waterman combined the energy work techniques of Quimby and Hunter with the philosophies of Husseri, Emerson, Steiner, and John-Roger to form Noetic Field Therapy. Dr. Waterman describes this technique in his book Through the Eyes of Soul, Theory and Practice of Noetic Field Therapy.

Noetic Field Therapy is a spiritual approach to inner harmony, clarity, and alignment. Through prayer, an attunement is made to transcendental energies, creating an opportunity to change any emotional attitudes or mental judgments that may be blocking the energy flow. This process occurs in a very supportive non-adversarial and non-coercive way. There are no imposed attitudes or beliefs. Any suggestions made are given as options that may assist in clearing and balancing the energy field. The balancing process will not exceed the limits that are appropriate as expressed by your own intuitive determination of the highest good.
"The visible world is the invisible organization of energy."Physicist Heinz Pagels
Noetic Field Therapy Procedures Preparing the Client

When a client makes an appointment, I talk about the need to be accepting and that one's own desires for greater health, well-being, and happiness are sufficient preparation. It is best to start with three sessions and to space them two or more weeks apart. Each session can last from one to two hours and averages 90 minutes. Generally, the first session focuses on the physical, the second on the emotional, and the third on the mental-spiritual. Depending on the circumstances, there may be exceptions. Each balancing provides a foundation for the next. After the first three, a balancing every six months to a year seems beneficial.Preliminary Steps I orient the client to the nature of the balancing and explain that usually the physical and emotional balancings are done silently. If a question or observation comes up, I encourage the client to speak. During the mental-spiritual balancing, I make focus statements to help the client discover and clarify beliefs and to facilitate self-forgiveness. Jewelry, metal, and shoes might affect the balancing, so I ask the client to remove them. The client reclines, face up, on a therapy table with the practitioner standing. The reclining position of the client is relaxing while providing the practitioner easy access to the energy fields.Opening and Balancing With the client relaxing, I begin the session with a prayer. Regardless of the spiritual heritage, the balancing strengthens the client's particular spiritual practice. After the prayer, I use a crystal pendulum to open the aura at the solar plexus. The pendulum is an instrument of focus. The permission of the client, the alignment with spirit, and my intention form the focus through the pendulum opening the aura. As I lower the pendulum into the aura, I sense the subtle changes that occur. Usually the aura engages and begins to open just above the solar plexus. When this occurs, the pendulum gently begins to rotate. When the aura is open, the pendulum stops. Each imbalance in the aura is approached in a similar way. This action creates a high level of rapport with the client. It also makes the sensitive levels of the client extremely vulnerable. The protective fields of the aura interface with the psycho-spiritual environment. As I mentioned before, blocks are an attempt to protect and have been integrated into the sustaining structure of the individual. Therefore, the individual must authorize any changes to this structure. Next, I scan the aura with my hand to first increase my attunement and then to find the blocks and distortions. My hands are trained to see and sense.

The impressions are processed through my nervous system and brain like any other stimulation. Because I am awake in my subtle body, movement in my energy fields register in my physical body. This is true for most of us. We have trained ourselves to focus away from these impressions. In this phase of balancing, talking is not necessary except perhaps to help the client relax. When I find a block or distortion, I use the pendulum to engage the energy. When the pendulum rotates, it reflects the transformation of energy in the aura. I proceed in this manner until all the areas are balanced. A wonderful process develops between the client and the practitioner. The practitioner is analogous to a transformer. In electronics a transformer is a device that matches different energies for the purpose of transferring power. In this case the balancer is the transformer of universal energy and the soul and magnetic energy of the client. As the healing progresses, greater energy is available. Each time the client lets go of or forgives self-inflicted judgments, the patterns that imbalance the aura dissolve. The energy of the aura becomes coherent through the focus of the practitioner and the developing inner agreement and balance of the client.

The levels and lines of force in the aura develop a resonance. As this resonance increases the aura becomes coherent, which results in a balance. The natural guidance leads from one step to the next. Balancing the physical and emotional energy fields is done silently. I may ask the client what she or he is experiencing or suggest a deep breath. Facilitative talking is always needed in the mental-spiritual balancing because the client needs to discover and clarify their beliefs and self-forgiveness. At some point toward the end, I will have the client turn over so I can check the aura from the back. I continue until the entire aura is smooth and silky. Before I finish, the client is once again face up. With the self-permission, a loving presence moves through the energy field resulting in a smooth texture to the aura. These processes are repeated until the coherence occurs throughout the energy field. When the process in completed, a focus of filling the aura with radiant energy is held by the practitioner, separating the close connection of the two auras and sealing in the changes.Closing When the balancing appears to be complete, I ask the client if there is anything else.

When nothing more presents itself, I then proceed to close the aura with a blessing of spiritual light and love. To close the aura, I encircle it seven times in a clockwise direction ending at the solar plexus. Period of Adjustment The balancing process continues for three days after the actual session has ended. During this time, the individual completes any processing and adapts to any changes. This period of adjustment provides a new baseline upon which the subconscious can regulate the psyche. For that reason, I recommend that the client abstain from alcohol, recreational drug use, and sex for those three days. Alcohol and drugs may disrupt the transformative changes and disperse the new organization of energy. Sexual intimacy is very powerful and, until the changes stabilize, may be confusing on the subtle levels. Recreational drugs always act against the balancing process and should not be used when developing a strong, aligned, balanced aura.
Balanced AuraI also recommend that the client take life as it comes for the three days. Changes are often deep and can be accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms such as minor flu or restlessness. On the other hand, the client may experience a great peace or joy. In any case, by the end of the three days, the client will have adjusted to the changes and have a new sense of what is normal. With each session, the client becomes more and more skillful in using the balancing session and maintaining and promoting balance in general. Effects The effects of the aura balancing may be as subtle as feeling more peaceful or as dramatic as experiencing bliss, greater clarity, or transformation. Our souls are rich with awakening power. When we reach down into ourselves and call forward the strength within us, the universe responds in kind. Life brings to us what we pay attend to. Dwell on victim, the universe brings us victim experiences. Dwell on holiness, and we will see the face of holiness looking back at us through life itself. Eventually, no one is an enemy. If there is an enemy, it is the thoughts that coax us away from the truth of our holiness. The bottom-line-purpose of life is to awaken to our holiness and then realize that all else follows. Our lives are the fulfillment of a spiritual promise.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters to what lies within us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a common problem that presents at the DaVinci Natural Health Centre. Each patient is unique in that the causes of the Chronic Fatigue is always different. It is therefore illogical to prescibe the same treatment to all CFS patients. At The Da Vinci Clinic we take all such patients through a thorough diagnostic programme in order to identify and eliminate the causative factors. We have seen CFS patients of 10-15 years standing who fully recover in 3 months after identifying their food intolerances, tooth and scar foci, underlying systemic Candidiasis, parasites, viral load and other causative factors. CAUSES There are many possible causes of CFS - in our experience at The Da Vinci Clinic, having tested a number of patients over the years, there is never one cause but a number of them. Possible causes can include:
Heavy metal toxicity
Candidiasis
Toxins and hyperacidic body
Tooth foci
Scar foci
Food intolerances
Environmental allergens
Endocrine imbalances
Adrenal stress
Geopathic stress
Electromagnetic stress
Viral and bacterial load
Parasites
Immune compromised
Digestive problems and Leaky Gut Syndrome
Psychoemotional conflicts
Poor diet
Smoking, illegal drugs and alcohol
Chronic stress
Once the causative factors are identified, a bespoke treatment programme is developed that will eliminate the specific causative factors, as well as helping to repair and rebuild the body.

FISH THERAPY-HYDRABAD INDIA

The fish carrying the medicine slips down the throat easily and enters the alimentary tract clearing the mucus and phlegm which is supposed to be the contributing factor to asthma. Even Ayurveda supports this theory, as it believes that asthma is an allergic disease, which starts in the digestive tract and not in the lungs as, is perceived by allopaths. The symptoms in the lungs are caused by ingesting things that trigger an attack.

The peculiarity of the Hyderabad fish medicine is that it is administered on a particular day, Mrigashira karthi. The Bathini brothers have nothing to say about the significance of this day, except that they are following the instructions of the saint from the Himalayas, who taught this formula to their forefathers. However, as per Ayurveda, Mrigashira karthi occurs in the period between two seasons namely summer and rainy season, (rithu sandhi) which provokes vaata disorders. Asthma according to Ayurveda, is a disease caused by the obstruction of aggravated vaata by the kapha. So this is the right time to administer an anti-vaata medicine.

Why murrel alone and not any other fish?

It could be because murrel is a very agile fish and does not die easily when taken out of water, as such it can move about in the alimentary canal for a longer time compared to other fish.

As most people believe, this treatment is not a gunshot treatment but has to be followed for 45 days with diet restrictions. Six pills are given to the patient to be taken on the 15th day, 30th day and 45th day. The pills are to be taken on an empty stomach in the morning and an hour after the evening meal. The diet prescribed surprisingly tallies with the one prescribed ,by Ayurvedic physicians for asthma. It includes 26 items which include old rice, figs, tea, ginger, garlic, ghee, old turmeric, hot chilli, peppers, sweet lime, dried mango pieces l palak, ambothi bhaji l mat bhaji, arvi leaves, white sugar, white jowar and tur dal. The items that do not match with the Ayurvedic prescription are mutton (goat), black gram and buttermilk, which is contraindicated for asthma patients.

Even as people flock to get the medicine, allopaths warn that ingesting raw fish can cause problems. For example, these fish may be infested with helminths which can infect the person who eats it.
Fish is a known allergen and in people who are allergic to fish, the condition may become even worse.
Since no one knows what the composition of the medicine is, where is the proof that steroids and compounds like arsenic are not mixed in the secret formula!
Just like most unconventional therapies, there has been no scientific research or clinical trails under medical supervision done on this particular medicine, as the Goud brothers refuse to reveal the formula.
Neither the Medical Council nor the Department of Indian Medicines and Homeopathy could do anything about it.
As far as the cure is concerned, only a small percentage of the people get relief to some extent. It is possible that there may be some factor-the fish, the medicine, or the particular day is having some effect. It is also possible that this effect can also be attained with placebo therapy or faith healing .
Whatever the case may be, if at all this formula works, then the whole world can benefit from it.· This is possible only through clinical trails under medical supervision.
In this context, the author wishes to quote an incident: In 1976, William Withering, the master physician and botanist from Birmingham, identified digitalis as the active ingredient from a mixture of 20 different herbs used by an old woman in Shropshire for the treatment of dropsy. The old woman's medicine had worked miracles in a few hopeless cases of dropsy. In this way, an unique cardiotonic was introduced to the world. This was possible only with the broad-mindedness of the old woman.

fish therapy -hydrabad ( for asthma)

The treatment involves swallowing a small live fish with the medicine inside the fish’s mouth followed by a strict dietary regimen. A patient needs to undergo the treatment for three consecutive years for complete relief.

"The formula is kept secret because we don't want others to try and commercialise this remedy for asthma," family patriarch Bathini Vishwanath Goud told. The medicine, a yellow paste, is first stuffed into the mouth of a two- to three-inch-long (five to 7.6-centimeter-long) "murial" fish, which is inserted into the mouth of the patient. Goud claims it clears accumulated phlegm in the windpipe as the wriggling fish makes its way down to the stomach. They strongly believe that the medicine works only when it is made from the water of the old well at our ancestral house at Doodbowli in Old City of Hyderabad. Three doses of this medicine taken every fortnight from June 8 and a regimented diet during these 45 days, repeated for three years, promises a complete cure for asthma. In an annual pilgrimage, thousands of people from all over the country and abroad pour into Hyderabad to try this medicine.

"The cure is effective only if it's taken three years in a row and accompanied by a special diet for 45 days," said Goud. "If all our instructions are properly followed we can guarantee a 100 percent cure for any patient no matter how bad their asthma," he added.

Despite such scepticism, the queues of patients waiting for the Goud family's mystery medicine only seem to get longer every year. Special bus services, Indian railways is running a number of "asthma specials" to ferry in people from across the country. Many patients line up outside the Goud family grounds overnight to get a head-start on the seemingly endless lines. And despite rain and oppressive humidity, most say the medicine is more than worth the long wait.