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Chronic fatigue syndrome is defined as unexplained fatigue lasting for six months or more. Patients are considered to have CFS if they meet both of the following criteria: Read More

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Ecxema Remedy

Popularity: 12% [?]

Actress Describes Mercury Poisoning Ordeal Fish had become a large part of Daphne Zuniga’s diet. She was eating what she described as “your average Hollywood stay-in-shape diet Read More

Heavy Metal Mercury Detoxification Protocol. Chlorella supplementation guidelines: gradually increase the dosage of chlorella to the highest tolerated level. Read More

Candida Online

Ecxema Remedy

Popularity: 13% [?]

Eczema is a terrible condition for those that suffer from it and to make matters worse medical science still doesn’t fully understand what triggers the condition; the genetic link remains to be proved. Irrespective of the cause, sufferers all have one thing in common; dry, itchy red skin. In serious cases the skin becomes blistered with scabs forming around the affected area.

Whilst a number of forms exist, the most common is the form of atopic eczema; like all the other types, this one is characterized by itching as well. Atopic eczema brings with increased itching compare to other forms but is relieved when the sufferer scratches; unfortunately this just makes the condition worse. Another effect is the skin becomes hypersensitive to certain products which just make the condition worse; as a result, products like detergents, soaps and often cosmetics just inflame the condition.

When it is found in young children it is usually seen just below the surface of the skin as a small patch. Although the primary factor with eczema is itching you might still be susceptible to normal rashes; if the rash is not itchy then it is more than certain that you are not suffering from this complaint. A similar situation can occur when a person is given eczema treatment for an itchy rash and it helps the itch but the rash remains then the two probably aren’t connected.

Another problem to be aware of before this disorder is diagnosed, is that other conditions have itching as a symptom of a medical condition. Keep in mind though that eczema without a rash does not exist and it is still a problem today to fully understand the cause of itching. One of the more noticeable symptoms of is the red skin in the location of the rash which is caused by increased blood flow.

The reason the skin can suddenly flare up with eczema and become inflamed is complex because many factors can be involved; scratching can lead to bacteria infecting the area and making the inflammation worse. Sufferers also exhibit blisters quite frequently which are normally quite small although bigger blisters are sometimes visible; this can be the result either of an infection of the skin or the type of condition you have. Most often, the blisters seen as a symptom are filled with fluid; sufferers are advised never to burst them and create further infection in an already highly sensitive area.

Source: Skin Care

Popularity: 14% [?]

Symptoms - Fibromyalgia.
Symptoms. Symptoms . In fibromyalgia, generalized, widespread muscular pain and tender points (see figure 1) may be present. Pain is generally felt all over, although it may start

Candida Online

Ecxema Remedy

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Candida Online

Ecxema Remedy

Popularity: 18% [?]

By Kaayla T. Daniel
Issue 124: May/June 2004 Over the past decade, soy foods have become America’s favorite health food. Newspapers, magazines, and best-selling health writers have proclaimed the “joy of soy” and promoted the belief that soy food is the key to disease prevention and maximum longevity.

The possibility that an inexpensive plant food could prevent heart disease, fight cancer, fan away hot flashes, and build strong bodies in far more than 12 ways is seductive. The truth, unfortunately, is far more complex. Soy foods come in a variety of forms, including many heavily processed modern products. Even good forms of soy foods must be eaten sparingly-the way they have been eaten traditionally in Asia. Most important, many respected scientists have issued warnings stating that the possible benefits of eating soy should be weighed against the proven risks. Indeed, thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility-even cancer and heart disease.

Americans rarely hear anything negative about soy. Thanks to the shrewd public relations campaigns waged by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Protein Technologies International (PTI), the American Soybean Association, and other soy interests, as well as the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 1999 approval of the health claim that soy protein lowers cholesterol, soy maintains a “healthy” image.

This article is written for parents who need to know the risks of feeding soy formula to infants, or soy milk and other soy foods to growing children. It’s designed for prospective mothers and fathers who need to know the links between soy foods, infertility, and birth defects. Finally, it will serve anyone considering soy as a preventive for menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, or other ills.

How Much Soy Do Asians Really Eat?
Those who dare to question the benefits of soy tend to receive one stock answer: Soy foods couldn’t possibly have a downside because Asians eat large quantities of soy every day and consequently remain free of most western diseases. In fact, the people of China, Japan, and other countries in Asia eat very little soy. The soy industry’s own figures show that soy consumption in China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan ranges from 9.3 to 36 grams per day.1 That’s grams of soy food, not grams of soy protein alone. Compare this with a cup of tofu (252 grams) or soy milk (240 grams).2 Many Americans today think nothing of consuming a cup of tofu, a couple glasses of soy milk, handfuls of soy nuts, soy “energy bars,” and veggie burgers. Infants on soy formula receive the most of all, both in quantity and in proportion to body weight.

In short, there is no historical precedent for eating the large amounts of soy food now being consumed by infants fed soy formula and vegetarians who favor soy as their main source of protein, or for the large amounts of soy being recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Christiane Northrup, and many other popular health experts.

What’s more, the rural poor in China have never seen-let alone feasted on-soy sausages, chili made with Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), tofu cheesecake, packaged soy milk, soy “energy bars,” or other newfangled soy products that have infiltrated the American marketplace.

The Right Stuff
The ancient Chinese honored the soybean with the name “the yellow jewel” but used it as “green manure”-a cover crop plowed under to enrich the soil. Soy did not become human food until late in the Chou Dynasty (1134-246 B.C.), when the Chinese developed a fermentation process to make soybean paste, best known today by its Japanese name, miso.3 Soy sauce-the natural type sold under the Japanese name shoyu-began as the liquid poured off during the production of miso. Two other popular fermented soy foods, natto and tempeh, entered the food supply around 1000 A.D. or later in Japan and Indonesia, respectively.

Tofu came after miso. Legend has it that, in 164 B.C., Lord Liu An of Huai-nan, China-a renowned alchemist, meditator, and ruler-discovered that a purée of cooked soybeans could be precipitated with nigari (a form of magnesium chloride found in seawater) into solid cakes, called tofu. In Japan, as in China, tofu was rarely served as a main course anywhere except in monasteries. Its most popular use was-and is-as a few bland little blocks in miso soup or fish stock.

The Chinese almost never ate boiled or baked soybeans or cooked with soy flour except in times of famine. Modern soy products such as soy protein isolate (SPI), TVP, soy-protein concentrate, and other soy-protein products made using high-tech industrial processes, were unknown in Asia until after World War II.4

Contrary to popular belief, neither soy milk nor soy infant formula is traditional in Asia. Soy milk originated as a byproduct of the process of making tofu; the earliest reference to it as a beverage appeared in 1866.5 By the 1920s and 1930s, it was popular in Asia as an occasional drink served to the elderly.6-8 The first person to manufacture soy milk in China was actually an American-Harry Miller, a Seventh Day Adventist physician and missionary.9

The first soy infant formulas in China were developed in the 1930s and have never been widely used.10-14 Today, babies in Asia are almost always breastfed for at least the first six months, then switched to a dairy-based infant formula. Orphans and others who cannot be breastfed by a wet nurse are fed from birth on dairy formulas.15

Claims that soybeans have been a major part of the Asian diet for more than 3,000 years, or from “time immemorial,” are simply not true.

Processing Matters
Soy in the West has been a product of the industrial revolution-an opportunity for technologists to develop cheap meat substitutes, to find clever new ways to hide soy in familiar food products, to formulate soy-based pharmaceuticals, and to develop a renewable, plant-based resource that could replace petroleum-based plastics and fuels.

For years, the soy protein left over from soy-oil extraction went to animals and poultry. Now that food scientists have discovered inexpensive ways to improve or disguise the color, flavor, “bite characteristics,” and “mouth feel” of soy protein-based products, soy is being aggressively marketed as a “people feed.” Although the newer refining techniques yield blander, purer soy proteins than the “beany,” hard-to-cover-up flavors of the past, the main reason that soy foods now taste and look better is the lavish use of unhealthy additives such as sugar and other sweeteners, salt, artificial flavorings, colors, and monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Soy now lurks in nearly 60 percent of the foods sold in supermarkets and natural food stores. Much of this is “hidden” in products where it wouldn’t ordinarily be expected, such as fast-food burgers and Bumblebee canned tuna. Soy is also a key ingredient in ersatz products with names like Soysage, Not Dogs, Fakin Bakin, Sham Ham, and TofuRella, which have been named after and made to look like the familiar meat and diary products they are intended to replace.

There’s nothing natural about these modern soy protein products. Textured soy protein, for example, is made by forcing defatted soy flour through a machine called an extruder under conditions of such extreme heat and pressure that the very structure of the soy protein is changed. Production differs little from the extrusion technology used to produce starch-based packing materials, fiber-based industrial products, and plastic toy parts, bowls, and plates.16

The process of making soy protein isolate (SPI) begins with defatted soybean meal, which is mixed with a caustic alkaline solution to remove the fiber, then washed in an acid solution to precipitate out the protein. The protein curds are then dipped into another alkaline solution and spray-dried at extremely high temperatures. SPI is then often spun into protein fibers using technology borrowed from the textile industry. These refining processes remove “off flavors,” “beany” tastes, and some of the worst flatulence-producing components. They improve digestibility, but vitamin, mineral, and protein quality are sacrificed, and levels of carcinogens such as nitrosamines are increased.17-22 SPIs appear in so many products that consumers would never guess that the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) decreed in 1979 that the only safe use for SPIs was for sealers for cardboard packages.23

Antinutrients and Toxins in Soy
Scientists who have studied the use of soy protein in animal feeds over the years have discovered a number of components in soy that cause poor growth, digestive distress, and other health problems.24-27 To list just a few of these: Protease inhibitors interfere with protein digestion and have caused malnutrition, poor growth, digestive distress, and pancreatitis.28 Phytates block mineral absorption, causing zinc, iron, and calcium deficiencies.29-34 Lectins and saponins have caused leaky gut and other gastrointestinal and immune problems.35-36 Oxalates-surprisingly high in soy-may cause problems for people prone to kidney stones and women suffering from vulvodynia, a painful condition marked by burning, stinging, and itching of the external genitalia.37, 38 Finally, oligosaccharides give soy its notorious reputation as a gas producer. Although these are present in all beans, soy is such a powerful “musical fruit” that the soy industry has identified “the flatulence factor” as a major obstacle that must be overcome for soy to achieve full consumer acceptance.39, 40

Apologists for soy dismiss such claims, saying that food processing and home cooking remove most of these antinutrients. In fact, modern processing removes most of them, but not all. The levels of heat and pressure needed to remove all protease inhibitors, for example, severely damage soy protein and make it harder to digest. The trick is to eliminate the most antinutrients while doing the least damage to the soy protein. Success varies widely from batch to batch.41-44

For years, the soy industry tried to improve the quality of animal feeds by finding better ways to get rid of these undesirable antinutrients. Having failed, they routinely supplement animal feeds heavily with vitamins, minerals, and methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid that is low in soy. Even so, makers of animal chows are still limited in the amount of soy they can add without causing growth and fertility problems. Food processors making soy-protein products for people may or may not add these supplements. Generally, calcium and vitamin D are added to soy milk so it can compete with dairy products.

Today, the soy industry has switched tactics-from trying to remove unwanted antinutrients to trying to convince people that they are actually a good thing. Protease inhibitors, saponins, and lectins are being touted as curers of cancer or lowerers of cholesterol, while phytates are being recommended for their ability to remove toxic minerals such as cadmium and excess iron from the body.45-51 Although some of these uses look promising, it is important to note that researchers are not achieving these successes using regular soy foods. Most take carefully extracted components and administer them in carefully measured and monitored pharmaceutical doses. News headlines to the contrary, there is no reason to think that just eating a lot of soy foods will do the trick.

Soy Allergens
Soy is one of the top eight allergens that cause immediate hypersensitivity reactions such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, hives, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, and anaphylactic shock. Delayed allergic responses are even more common and occur anywhere from several hours to several days after the food is eaten. These have been linked to sleep disturbances, bedwetting, sinus and ear infections, crankiness, joint paint, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal woes, and other mysterious symptoms.52, 53

Soy allergies are on the rise for three reasons: the growing use of soy infant formula (now 20 to 25 percent of the formula market), the increase in soy-containing foods in grocery stores, the possibility of the greater allergenicity of genetically modified soybeans.54 Although severe reactions to soy are rare compared to reactions to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish, soy has been underestimated as a cause of food anaphylaxis. Recently, after a young girl in Sweden suffered an asthma attack and died after eating a hamburger that contained only 2.2 percent soy protein, Swedish researchers looked into a possible soybean connection. They concluded that the soy-in-the-hamburger case was not a fluke, and that minute amounts of soy “hidden” in regular food had caused four of the total of five deaths caused by allergic reactions in Sweden between 1993 and 1996. Of the children who suffered fatal attacks, all had been able to eat soy without any adverse reactions right up until the dinner that caused their deaths.55 According to the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, children at highest risk are those who suffer from peanut allergies and asthma; parents of such children should make every effort to eliminate all soy from their children’s diets.56

Soy and the Thyroid: A Pain in the Neck
More than 70 years of human, animal, and laboratory studies show that soybeans put the thyroid at risk. The chief culprits are the plant hormones in soy known as phytoestrogens or isoflavones.57-59 The United Kingdom’s Committee on Toxicology has identified several populations at special risk: infants on soy formula, vegans who use soy as their principal meat and dairy replacements, and men and women who self-medicate with soy foods and/or isoflavone supplements in an attempt to prevent or reverse menopausal symptoms, cancer, or heart disease.60

Infants with congenital hypothyroidism need 18 to 25 percent higher doses of thyroxine drug than usual if they are bottle-fed with soy formula.61 Likewise, adults who boost their thyroid with drugs such as Synthroid while also eating thyroid-inhibiting foods such as soy put extreme stress on their thyroids. Toxicologist Michael Fitzpatrick, PhD, points out that this is the way that researchers induce thyroid cancers in laboratory animals.62

Soy and Reproduction: Breeding Discontent
Scientists have known since the mid-1940s that phytoestrogens can impair fertility. Fertility problems in cows, sheep, rabbits, cheetahs, guinea pigs, birds, and mice have all been reported.63, 64 Although scientists discovered only recently that soy lowers testosterone levels,65 tofu has traditionally been used in Buddhist monasteries to decrease the libido, and by Japanese women to punish straying husbands. Humans and animals appear to be the most vulnerable to the effects of soy estrogens prenatally, during infancy and puberty, during pregnancy and lactation, and during the hormonal shifts of menopause. Of all these groups, infants on soy formula are at the highest risk because of their small size and developmental phase, and because formula is their main source of nutrient.66, 67

A crucial time for the programming of the human reproduction system is right after birth-the very time when bottles of soy formula are given to many non-breastfed babies. Normally during this period, the body surges with natural estrogens, testosterones, and other hormones that are meant to program the baby’s reproductive development from infancy through puberty and into adulthood. For infants on soy formula, this programming may be interrupted.68-70

Male infants experience a testosterone surge during the first few months of life and produce androgens in amounts equal to those of adult men. So much testosterone at such a tender age is needed to program the body for puberty, the time when a male’s sex organs should develop and he should begin to express male characteristics such as facial and pubic hair and a deep voice. If receptor sites intended for the hormone testosterone are occupied by soy estrogens, however, appropriate development may never take place.71-74 To date, most of the evidence damning soy formula can be found only in animal studies, because investigations in which humans’ sex hormone levels are lowered experimentally cannot ethically be done. However, in the years since soy formula has been in the marketplace, parents and pediatricians have reported growing numbers of boys whose physical maturation is either delayed or does not occur at all. Breasts, underdeveloped gonads, undescended testicles (cryptorchidism), and steroid insufficiencies are increasingly common. Sperm counts are also falling.75-79

Soy formula is bad news for girls as well. Natural estrogen levels approximately double during the first month of life, then decline and remain at low levels until puberty. With increased estrogens in the environment in the diet, an alarming number of girls are entering puberty much earlier than normal.80-82 One percent of girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or pubic hair, before the age of three. By the age of eight, 14.7 percent of Caucasian girls and 48.3 percent of African American girls had one or both of these characteristics.83 The fact that blacks experience earlier puberties than whites is not a racial difference but a recent phenomenon.84, 85

Most experts blame this epidemic of “precocious puberty” on environmental estrogens from plastics, pesticides, commercial meats, etc., but some pediatric endocrinologists believe that soy is a contributor.86 Of all the estrogens found in the environment, soy is the likeliest explanation of why African American girls reach puberty so quickly. Since its establishment in 1974, the federal government’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program has provided free infant formula to teenage and other low-income mothers while failing to encourage breastfeeding. Because of perceived or real lactose intolerance, black babies are much more likely to receive soy formula than Caucasian babies.

Early maturation in girls heralds reproductive problems later in life, including amenorrhea (failure to menstruate), anovulatory cycles (cycles in which no egg is released), impaired follicular development (follicles failing to mature and develop into healthy eggs), erratic hormonal surges, and other problems associated with infertility. Because the mammary glands depend on estrogen for their development and functioning, the presence of soy estrogens at a susceptible time might predispose girls to breast cancer, another condition that is on the rise and definitively linked to early puberty.87

Recently, a team of researchers headed by Brian L. Strom, MD, studied the use of soy formula and its long-term impact on reproductive health. They announced only one adverse finding: longer, more painful menstrual periods among women who’d been fed soy formula in infancy.88 Dr. Strom’s conclusion that the results were “reassuring” made newspaper headlines all over the world, though the data in the body of the report were anything but. Indeed, data left out of the headlines and buried in the report revealed higher incidences of allergies and asthma, and higher rates of cervical cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, blocked fallopian tubes, and pelvic inflammatory disease.89 Although thyroid damage from soy formula has been the principal concern of critics for decades, the researchers excluded thyroid function as a subject for study. Not surprisingly, this study was funded in part by the infant-formula industry.

Most of the fears concerning soy formula have focused on estrogens. There are other problems as well, notably much higher levels of aluminum, fluoride, and manganese than are found in either breastmilk or dairy formulas.90-96 All three metals have the potential to adversely affect brain development. Although trace amounts of manganese are vital to the development of the brain, toxic levels accrued from ingestion of soy formula during infancy have been found in children suffering from attention-deficit disorders, dyslexia, and other learning problems.97, 98

Soy apologists sometimes argue that the plant hormones in soy formula could not possibly be harmful because Japanese women eat a lot of soy products and so must have high levels of phytoestrogens in their breastmilk. Researchers, however, have measured the soy isoflavones in breastmilk and found them low even in vegetarian women who consume copious quantities of tofu, soy milk, soy protein shakes, and other soy foods.99-101

Limited evidence, however, suggests that vegetarian women who eat a lot of soy foods during pregnancy may put their infants at risk in terms of their future reproductive health, fertility, and possibly increased risk of breast cancer. All of the problems that have befallen infants on soy formula, as well as estrogen-related birth defects, have occurred (in animal studies, at least) to the offspring of mothers who were given high doses of soy during pregnancy.102 One of these birth defects that has been linked to vegetarian diets in humans is hypospadias, a developmental disorder in which the opening of the penis is located on the underside of the shaft.103

Until soy estrogens are definitely linked to reproductive-tract abnormalities, infertility, and other health problems in humans, most health authorities recommend that we “wait and see.” This could be a terrible mistake.

In the 1940s and 1950s, another estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES), was widely given to Western women early in their pregnancies in a misguided attempt to prevent miscarriage. That fact is relevant not only because DES bears a striking structural similarity to some plant estrogens-including soy isoflavones-but because it took more than 20 years before the full spectrum of harmful effects was observed.104, 105

DES is 100,000 times more potent than soy phytoestrogens. However, the large quantities of phytoestrogens in soy products are more than enough to counteract their lower potency. When the effects of isoflavones in fetal and neonatal animals have been studied, they have paralleled those observed in human infants exposed to DES.106, 107 Recent studies indicate that the soy isoflavone known as genistein may be even more carcinogenic than DES.108

Yet the belief persists that soy hormones are “safe” because they are “weak” and “natural.” Although the soy industry has claimed that soy estrogens are anywhere from 10,000 to 1,000,000 times weaker than the human estrogen estradiol, the correct figure is only 1,200 times as weak.109 Though this still sounds quite weak, it is not-because of the quantity of these estrogens ingested by infants on soy formula, and by children and adults who eat soy every day. These individuals consume far more soy estrogens than were ever part of a traditional diet in Asia. The average isoflavones intake in China is 3 milligrams, or 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight. In Japan, the figures range from 10 to 28 mg, or 0.17 to 0.47 isoflavones per kg of body weight. In contrast, infants receiving soy formula average 38 mg of isoflavones, which comes to a shocking 6.25 mg/kg of body weight. Compare that dose to the 0.47 mg/kg per day fed to healthy Japanese adult men and women who experienced thyroid suppression after just three months-or to the 0.75 mg/kg of isoflavones fed to American women who experienced hormonal changes sufficient to skew their menstrual cycles after just one month.110 Although children and teenagers are less vulnerable than infants, their young bodies are still developing, and highly vulnerable to endocrine-system disruption by soy. And soy has been shown to pass through the placentas of pregnant women to their unborn babies.

Meanwhile, the jury is still out on whether soy might help alleviate menopausal symptoms or prevent osteoporosis and breast cancer. The soy industry’s top scientists, convened at the Fifth International Symposium on the Role of Soy in the Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease (held in Orlando, Florida, September 21-24, 2003), conceded that the data are confusing and contradictory, with some studies suggesting that soy might be helpful, and others showing that soy contributes to osteoporosis and promotes breast cancer.

What’s certain is that the levels of soy estrogens that might possibly have a beneficial effect on hormonally related diseases have been proven to jeopardize the health of the thyroid. Likewise, the 25 grams of soy protein per day touted by the FDA to lower cholesterol (see sidebar, “Boon to the Industry: The FDA’s Soy Protein Health Claim”) is very likely to harm the thyroid, and thus increase one of the risk factors for heart disease.

The bottom line is that the safety of soy foods has yet to be proven, and that human beings have become guinea pigs in what Daniel M. Sheehan, formerly senior toxicologist with the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research, has called a “large, uncontrolled and basically unmonitored human experiment.”111

Source: estradiol

Popularity: 23% [?]

The cause of Yeast Infection or Candiasis as it is know, is one of the Candida species. There are over 100 naturally occurring species, but only a quarter of them are considered recognized causes of Yeast Infection in humans. The most prolific one is Candida albicans, followed by Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, and Candida parapsilosis.

For people in good health, the intestines are protected from the growth of Candida by the positive gastrointestinal bacterial flora. Candida is usually kept to a minimum when the natural equilibrium between Candida and the gastrointestinal bacterial flora is maintained. When this balance is destroyed, Candida species can reproduce rapidly and bring on multiple symptoms of candidiasis. Oddly enough, the main cause of Yeast Infection is not therefore simply yeast organisms, even though these are usually present in small amounts in most areas of the human body.

Several internal considerations, several external items and their interacting relationship create a candidiasis environment. Yeast Infection, like many other health diseases that recur, is the product of multiple factors.

Genetic traits (which are uncontrollable) and lifestyle and psychological factors can make for Candida overgrowth, also boosted by contributions from internal factors provoking yeast growth. Internal causes of Yeast Infection include deficiency in friendly probiotic bacteria, weakened immunity and inferior diet choices: sugary products, white flour products, refined carbohydrates, caffeine, alcohol and other yeast encouraging foods.

Several more external factors and circumstances contribute to candida multiplication and infection. The yeast infection environment comes about because of these factors and associated internal co-factors.

The main external agents of candidiasis in women are: (1) douching or using female hygiene sprays; (2) wearing tight garments or clothes made from synthetic fibers; (3) the use of toilet paper that is perfumed or colored, deodorant tampons, sanitary towels or bubble bath.

The main external agents of oral thrush are: (1) being treated with badly disinfected medical equipment destined for multiuse; (2) wearing orthodontic appliances or dentures that have a bad fit; (3) putting dirty objects into one's mouth (above all for babies).

The main external agents of baby yeast infection (diaper rash) are: (1) lipid-eliminating soaps that increase the permeability of the skin, putting it more at risk for diaper dermatitis; (2) folds in the skin from obesity, with added moisture and friction due to insufficient air circulation; (3) skin in excessive contact with urine and feces because of diapers are kept on for too long; (4) allergy reactions coming from the dye in training pants and disposable diapers, as well as the effects of wipes, lotions and creams, etc.

The external reasons of male yeast infection are: (1) neglect of male personal hygiene; (2) sexual intercourse with a partner already infected by a yeast infection; (3) using glycerin based lubricants or soaps that are colored or perfumed.

The external reasons of paronychia (nail bed infections) are: (1) soaking hands in water for a long time (this means that bacteria and yeasts easily invade and multiply in the space under the nail as the nail plate can be lifted up off the nail bed); (2) use of clothing and shoes that prevent air from circulating.

Alternative holistic medicine considers the body as a whole with the aim of establishing an internal balance, to reinforce the immune system and improve mental strength. Because medicine in developed countries only deals with the manifestation of candida in the areas that are infected, conventional yeast infection treatments are short term measures. External vectors of candidiasis are well described, but the basic contributing factors are less so. The holistic program, addressing both internal and external contributing aspects, eliminates the fundamental causes of yeast infection, with specific supplements of herbs and vitamins, and following a full group of dietary rules and protocols to master Candida and thus the group of incommoding symptoms and its recurrence.

Source: Health and Fitness

Popularity: 18% [?]

While taking the risk of opening a medical controversy, this author certainly believes there is a logical connection between yeast and a dysfunctional immune system. However, this theory is not yet widely accepted by the medical community, but over the last few years has become easier to talk about and “discuss”. Candida is a yeast-like fungus that is present in all our bodies. Presumably, yeast / Candida is in every normal G.I. tract. That is where the confusion begins.

Normally, a healthy immune system keeps the yeast in check. If the immune system is not working properly, the yeast have a chance to overgrow and become a problem. Yeast is one of the likely pathogens contributing to a metabolic imbalance that is a secondary result of a dysfunctional / dysregulated immune system. It is NOT the primary reason or cause for autism.

There is logic in saying that if an immune system is dysregulated, a secondary problem potentially due to Candida needs to be treated. Some doctors hypothesize that autism is caused by a “leaky gut.” With this theory comes the assumptions that withdrawing allergens and treating a yeast overgrowth, will help the GI tract to return toward normal. The problem with this thinking is that if yeast is not the cause of autism or PDD, then treating Candida is not going to end the autistic or PDD state. I believe it is only one of the many steps needed to help normalize the body.

Many children afflicted with autism have had frequent ear infections as young children and have taken excessive amounts of antibiotics. This has exasperated the yeast problem in these children. Other possible contributors to Candida overgrowth are hormonal treatments (i.e. steroids, BCP pills, ?? secondary exposure), immunosuppresant drug therapy, exposure to herpes, chicken pox, or other “chronic” viruses, or exposure to chemicals that might upset the immune system. There is an increased probability, that a “general” environmental factor affecting our immune systems (i.e. ozone layer depletion, “toxic” chemicals, etc.) may be operative, affecting many children and adults.

Because it is impossible and not practical to expect anyone to stay on a totally yeast-free diet, ongoing medication, anti-fungal supplements, and avoidance of dietary negatives are necessary to control Candida. Even with the use of anti-fungal drugs, it is still important to limit sugar when there is a yeast problem, because yeast grows 200 times faster in the presence of sugar.

If a potent anti-fungal such as Diflucan or Nizoral is used, it can be assumed that within 1 - 2 months most all of the yeast will die off. I do not use Nilstat or Nystatin. For most children Nystatin is ineffective. And yeast, like bacteria with antibiotics, have become resistant to Nilstat (and other antifungals).

Usually, I will use Nizoral or Diflucan for about four to six months while trying to alleviate other stresses on the immune system and “maximize” a child’s function. In 7- 12 days some patients experience “die off.” This is the only time, a “negative” reaction to a medication can be a good sign.

When the yeast is being killed one experiences either a “sensitization” reaction to “products” of the yeast being killed, or there is release of “formaldehyde” like products or other potentially toxic derivatives, that can contribute to negative symptoms in a patient, including bouncing off the walls, miserable, and irritated. I know it is ironic, because it actually is a good sign that the child has a yeast problem that can be corrected with medication.

It is important that the parents check in during “die-off” so I can be sure what is occurring is indeed die-off and not a reaction to the medication. Die-off usually lasts about 7-14 days and after that time the change in the child can be rather dramatic. If the die-off does not end in 14 - 17 days, it is generally a reason to change choice of anti-fungal.

If the treatment is successful, usually eye-contact improves. The children seem more tuned in and less “foggy.” Parents report that after the yeast is under control the frequency of inappropriate noises, teeth grinding, biting, hitting, hyperness, and aggressive behavior decrease. The children no longer act almost drunk by being silly and laughing inappropriately.

While on Nizoral or Diflucan, I have the patient take monthly blood tests to monitor liver function before any damage might occur. I tend to be on the cautious side, “officially” testing is recommended every 2 - 3 months.

I change medication at six months, though in theory one could go longer. The reason I stop at six months is because Nizoral has a very mild effect on the adrenocortical axis. It’s part of the internal steroid mechanism. While this may even be part of how “Nizoral” helps the body, it also limits how long one should be on Nizoral. Generally, I will try to switch to Amphotericin B, which has recently been licensed as an oral liquid in this country, can now be legally compounded by certain pharmacies in the U.S.

If the antifungal therapy is stopped completely, and the body’s immune system has not returned to normal, the yeast will return. Ultimately, the key is the body’s own ability to keep in check an organism that it doesn’t want to have there to start with.

Some doctors mistakenly give medication to control the yeast for only a few weeks or even a month. Then the treatment is stopped because the child is doing better. The problem with this kind of therapy is that if a child is helped for a short time and then the treatment is withdrawn, the yeast is going to come back, perhaps even as a stronger, more resistant strain. Whereas if the treatment took that child to normal, and their immune system became normal, it would be possible to withdraw all treatment and the child would remain healthy.

Michael J. Goldberg M.D., F.A.A.P.
Avalar Medical Group, Inc.
5620 Wilbur Avenue, Suite 318
Tarzana, Claifornia 91356
Telephone (818) 343-1010
Fax (818) 343-6585

Pediatrics & Young Adults
ADHD/ADD-Learning Disabilities,
Immune Dysfunction Autism

Source: autism

Popularity: 36% [?]

How I Cured My Dandruff

By: C R Ellsworth

How long has it been since you could wear black in public?

I used to call mine ‘Terminal Dandruff’. Nothing stopped it; and it was contagious. I would warn people not to ‘borrow’ my comb or brush.

As an interesting side note, I never had ‘dandruff’ until I used a ‘Dandruff Shampoo’ while traveling. It was only used it because it was all that was available.

This went on for years, actually 20 or more.

It went on until I discovered a common link with other seemingly unrelated minor maladies, and some maybe not so minor.

I know what you’re saying; yeah, sure.

I had tried of course shampoos, specific shampoos for:

• Dandruff
• psoriasis
• seborrheic dermatitis
• eczema

I tried various Homeopathic treatments

• Oil of Oregano - Internal & Topical
• Primrose Oil
• Vinegar
• Coal Tar
• Deep Water Shark Oil

There were over time, hundreds of nutritional supplements tried, many of which seemed to effect a change.

The changes were usually temporary and ultimately disappointing.

Through prolonged research over years it became more obvious that this challenge may well be related to other symptoms.

Most related symptoms were minor: innocuous skin irritations, various digestive disruptions, food allergies, minor aches and pains, brain fog, chronic fatigue etc. Many symptoms were accepted as part of ‘getting older’. But I’m not old yet!

Read the Whole Article…

Popularity: 67% [?]

Chronic fatigue syndrome is not an easy disease to diagnose by any means. There is no one official test that can conclusively prove that an individual is suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors instead say that a diagnosis of CFS is a “diagnosis of exclusion” which means that other conditions must be ruled out in order for a proper diagnosis to be determined. This is done by taking a close look at each one of the symptoms and deciding if they could be connected to chronic fatigue syndrome or not.

When a person comes to visit her doctor and complains of chronic fatigue a doctor will first take a look at the individual’s comprehensive medical history and from there will perform a physical examination of the patient. Two common tests that are often ordered right after the physical exam are blood tests and urine tests because these tests taken together can help rule out other diseases that could be causing the fatigue such as multiple sclerosis, adrenal disorders, thyroid disease, lupus, Lyme disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, HIV and a host of other diseases.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a mysterious disease and it is a form of fatigue that has no apparent explanation. Generally if prolonged fatigue lasts for six months or more and brings with it cognitive related problems such as trouble focusing on tasks or difficulties with short-term memory then chronic fatigue syndrome is likely to be seriously considered as the cause. If a person has suffered with chronic fatigue over a period of six months or more and it is severe and all other types of health conditions have been ruled out then doctors often zero in on CFS.

If a person experiences four or more of the following symptoms then a diagnosis of CFS is generally made. These symptoms include bouts of extreme tiredness that last more than a period of 24 hours after a person has physically or mentally exerted themselves; waking up in the morning feeling unrefreshed; headaches that are more severe then headaches from the past or headaches that have different patterns; pain that occurs in joints that is not accompanied by redness or swelling; pain in muscles; a sore throat; lymph nodes that are tender; and significant difficulties in regards to concentration and/or short-term memory.

There are other tests that doctors send their patients for on occasion to determine whether or not chronic fatigue syndrome is what a patient is experiencing. These tests include erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), IgM/IgG Coxsackie virus B titer, IgM/IgG chlamydia pneumoniae titer, IgM/IgG HHV-6 titer and Natural Killer (NK) cell levels.

The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome still baffles the medical community. Some researchers believe that it is brought on by an immune system that is not working as it should while still others attribute it to a virus. In fact many healthcare practitioners are not even sure that CFS is a real disease but might instead be “a component of a psychological disorder or a symptom of other problems” and could be comparable to the likes of anemia or high blood pressure. 

Tags: chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosed, erythrocyte sedimentation rate

Source: chronic fatigue syndrome

Popularity: 23% [?]