In another case, a hospital oversight committee reviewed surgically removed
tissues. In the year prior to the formation of the committee, the hospital performed
262 appendectomies—after the committee was formed, the number dropped to 62. The committee found that most of the tissues being removed were healthy! In March
1997, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published a statement
saying that only 10 percent of hysterectomies are justified. In addition to being
almost entirely unnecessary, surgery is risky; possibilities exist for surgical error,
complications from anesthesia and infection, not to mention the physical, mentaland emotional shock to the body. Should You Take Medicine? All drugs have potentially damaging “side effects.” Because a malfunctioning cell
is the definition of disease, and drugs deliberately cause cells to malfunction, drugs
cause disease. Drugs are foreign to the body; the mechanism by which drugs work is
to alter the body’s biochemistry in order to suppress symptoms. Side effects often
are worse than the diseases the drugs are used to treat. Perhaps these hazards would
be justified if drugs cured disease, but they do not, they control and suppress
symptoms. Even with symptoms suppressed, the true cause of the problem may be
growing worse while the body’s natural healing mechanisms are being compromised
by the drugs. Billions of dollars are spent in the war against street drugs, but the number of
people killed and injured by street drugs is minor compared to prescription drugs. Prescription drugs kill a couple of hundred thousand people every year and are a
leading cause of disease and death. If your doctor prescribes a drug, consider that it
may cause your cells to malfunction, and that alternatives exist that are both safe
and effective. Even aspirin and other common over-the-counter drugs are dangerous, so find
alternatives that work for you. Books such as 
Alternative Medicine: The Definitive
Guide, 
edited by the Burton Goldberg Group, and 
Finding the Right Treatment, 
by
Jacqueline Krohn, M.D., and Francis Taylor, M.A., are excellent resources for those
wishing to find natural alternatives to toxic prescription drugs. Unfortunately, when drugs cause disease, we have all been trained not to call it
disease. Instead, we use the deceptive term “side effects.” In 1984, the drug industry
attempted to obtain a legal exemption from the liability laws that apply to virtually
all manufacturers. Why? Because even the people who make the drugs know they are
not safe; “all prescription drugs are unavoidably unsafe” argued the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association. Of course, this wording is not used in drug
advertisements aimed at the public. A hospital patient receives, on average, twelve different drugs. Yet, often when as
few as three are prescribed, absolutely no one understands all the dangerous
interactions between the drugs. Bad enough taken one at a time, combinations of
drugs can be particularly toxic. Prescription drugs are notorious for causing many
adverse effects in the elderly, including memory loss, depression, confusion,
constipation, Parkinson’s disease, falls and urinary incontinence. All too often, a
second drug is prescribed to suppress the symptoms caused by the first, then another
to suppress the symptoms of the first two, and so forth. Many illnesses of the elderly
really are manifestations of adverse drug reactions. A 1991 study in the 
Journal ofthe American Medical Association 
showed that 14 percent of in-hospital cardiac
arrests followed a complication, usually because of a medication. Well-known
combinations of commonly prescribed drugs can kill, and alert pharmacists have
saved many lives. Up to 29 percent of all hospital admissions are caused by adverse reactions to
drugs, according to a 1995 study in the 
Archives of Internal Medicine. Many
reactions result in liver damage, long hospital stays, permanent disability and even
death. In 1990, an estimated 659,000 Americans aged sixty years and older were
hospitalized due to adverse drug reactions. In addition to toxicity, drugs also can
cause deficiency by depleting the body of essential nutrients. Diuretics cause
excessive loss of potassium and other essential minerals. Anticonvulsants cause loss
of vitamin D. Antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and steroid
hormones can indirectly cause numerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies by
causing digestive damage. Because of the complexity of the human organism,
predicting the effects of drugs in each individual, especially with combinations of
drugs, is impossible. Other facts:
• A January 1997 study in the 
Journal of the American Medical Association
stated that drug-related morbidity and mortality costs more than $136 billion a
year—more than the cost of cardiovascular disease, our leading cause of death. • In 1995, Duke University researchers showed that drugs commonly prescribed
for stroke patients actually hampered their recovery. Even after a single dose,
the negative effects could be long-lasting. • A 1994 study in the 
Journal of the American Medical Association 
concluded
that inappropriate and potentially dangerous drugs are prescribed for one in
four older Americans every year. • A 1994 study published in the 
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 
and
The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
warned that antihistamine and antidepressant drugs (including Prozac) contain
chemicals known to accelerate tumor growth. While these drugs do not cause
cancer directly, they can speed its growth. Three Classes of Common Drugs Are of Special Concern
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): 
NSAIDs include over-the-
counter drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and prescription drugs
such as Indocin, Feldene, Naprosyn and others. Use of NSAIDs is a significant
national health problem, causing long-term damage to large numbers of people,
particularly the elderly, who are the largest users of these drugs. According to data
published in 
Hospital Practice 
in December 1996, up to two hundred thousand
Americans are hospitalized every year for problems caused by NSAIDs, and as many
as twenty thousand people a year die from the damage.NSAIDs usually are prescribed for a noble purpose, to relieve pain, and they are
among the most commonly pres-cribed pharmaceuticals in the world. About 60
million NSAID prescriptions are written every year in America, and an estimated 14
million people take these drugs for symptomatic relief of arthritis alone. These
drugs relieve pain, but at a cost. About one third of chronic NSAID users experience
noticeable gastrointestinal discomfort, which is only the tip of the iceberg,
indicating that digestive damage is occurring. In most people, NSAID-inflicted
damage to the digestive system is asymptomatic (no obvious symptoms to warn of
the damage being done). By the time the stomach or gut is in pain from NSAIDs,
massive damage has already occurred. Most physicians think it is acceptable for people to take NSAIDs, believing that
they cause minimal and acceptable damage. Virtually everyone who takes these
dangerous drugs has their health damaged, and the longer they are taken, the worse it
becomes. People who take NSAIDs for arthritis for years suffer worse joint damage
than those who take nothing. NSAIDs have been linked to kidney failure, cognitive
dysfunction, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, macular degeneration and hormone
disruption. Examples include:
• In a 1992 study published in the 
Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 
long-
term NSAID users were hospitalized six times more often than nonusers. Deaths from gastrointestinal causes occurred twice as often, and half of all
patients who died of ulcer-related complications had reported recent use of
NSAIDs. • A 1996 study in the 
Archives of Internal Medicine 
found that patients taking
NSAIDs were four to seventeen times more likely to suffer acute kidney failure. • A 1996 study in 
Physiological Behavior 
showed NSAIDs interfere with
melatonin production, with a 75 percent nighttime reduction. Decreased
melatonin production has been associated with sleep disorders as well as
promotion of cancer. • A 1996 study in 
Lancet 
showed that aspirin, in any form, such as buffered or
coated, causes gastrointestinal bleeding. As few as one aspirin can cause
bleeding. NSAIDs cause intestinal bleeding by blocking action of messenger molecules
called prostaglandins. Some prosta-glandins cause inflammation and pain, and
others stimulate healing and repair. NSAIDs block both types. Because the intestinal
lining is renewed very rapidly (about every three days), blocking the repair process
results in a gut that is weak, inflamed and leaky. What should you do for a headache? Simple acupressure techniques and
homeopathic remedies work quite well. What should you do for pain or
inflammation? Eat a whole-foods diet, at least 75 percent raw. Avoid sugar, white
flour, hydrogenated oils, junk foods and colas, and drink plenty of pure water. Avoidmeat and dairy, but choose oily fish such as salmon (ocean harvested, rather than
farmed). Take vitamin C up to bowel tolerance, 2 to 4 grams of quercitin per day, 30
to 60 mg of zinc daily, 100,000 units of beta-carotene for several days, and then
25,000 for several weeks, plus vitamin A and vitamin E. Essential fatty acid
supplements also are critical. Digestive enzymes help, and especially take 1 to 3
grams of bromelain or papain per day. A number of herbs as well as homeopathic
remedies are anti-inflammatory. These are excellent alternatives to NSAIDs. Antibiotics: 
Most of us have been given an antibiotic at one time or another, and
this contributes to one of our largest sources of toxins—those generated within our
own digestive systems. Antibiotics are designed to kill disease-causing bacteria, but
they also kill the friendly bacteria in our digestive systems. If these bacteria are
absent or out of balance, a chain of unhealthy events is initiated, including
undigested or mal-absorbed food. Beneficial intestinal bacteria produce needed
vitamins, such as B-complex vitamins, vitamin B
12 
and vitamin K. These essential
nutrients are no longer produced when the friendly bacteria are displaced, and
vitamin deficiency can result. In addition, friendly bacteria prevent undesirable yeasts from proliferating by
competing for food and producing biotin to inhibit yeast growth. When antibiotics
kill beneficial bacterial, undesirable yeasts and bacteria thrive and take over,
establishing their own ecosystem. This inhibits the beneficial bacteria from
reestablishing themselves. Yeasts also produce numerous immune-reactive
substances that force the immune system to form antibodies constantly. This stress
may lead to impaired functioning of the immune system to the point of immune
suppression or even breakdown. Also, yeasts inhibit magnesium absorption (which
can lead to numerous neurological problems), damage gut tissue and cause leaking
gut syndrome. A variety of health problems can result, ranging from chronic fatigue
to allergies, arthritis and other immune dysfunction diseases. A January 1996 article in 
Internal Medicine World Report 
stated that in 1991,
more than 40 million prescriptions were written in America for antibiotics to treat
people for the common cold. This use is inappropriate; antibiotics have no effect on
the common cold. Vast overprescribing of this type fosters the development of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In May 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report warning that
“incurable” strains of bacteria are being discovered. Many infectious diseases,
formerly controllable with antibiotics, are reappearing in forms difficult or even
impossible to treat. “We are standing on the brink of a global crisis in infectious
diseases,” said Hiroshi Nakajima, M.D., WHO’s director general. The report warns
that the spread of untreatable infections is threatening to undermine modern
advances in health care. In many hospitals, antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus
infections are epidemic. More and more people die every year from antibiotic-resistant infections, acquired in hospitals. The WHO report noted that the
“inappropriate use of antibiotics” is to blame both for the increase in drug-resistant
microbes and for the weakened immune systems of patients. Either factor is serious;
combined, they are catastrophic. Weakened immune systems play a crucial role in
the development of AIDS, autoimmune diseases, asthma, allergies and a long list of
other health problems. Antibiotics represent what may be the single most damaging category of drugs
employed by allopathic medicine, and, like most drugs, are unnecessary. Only sick
people get sick; prevent infections by eating a good diet and avoiding toxins. Stay
away from immune-damaging foods like sugar, take high-quality supplements,
reduce stress and get regular exercise. If an infection does occur, natural remedies
should be considered before defaulting to the antibiotics that physicians will
undoubtedly prescribe. Take lots of vitamins A, C (up to the point where you begin
getting excessive gas or diarrhea, then decrease), and E, garlic, herbs like echinacea,
or homeopathic remedies. Natural antibiotics like olive leaf extract are also helpful. Hormones: 
Hormones are critical to health because they are part of the body’s
self-regulating system. They control gene expression, and, as part of the body’s vital
communication systems, they help balance the body. Hormone chemistry is
awesomely complex and when you begin tampering with it, the effects on the body’s
system of checks and balances are unknown and potentially catastrophic. Even
minute hormone quantities can have a profound effect on the body. The human body
manufactures only 50 to 100 millionths of a gram per day of thyroid hormone,
resulting in a blood concentration of only one part per ten billion (1 in
10,000,000,000). Yet this minute amount has a major regulatory effect. Supplemental hormones are dangerous meddling in the unknown because it is so
easy to interfere with the body’s system of hormonal checks and balances. Prescription hormones—birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy and
steroid hormones— are the most common threats, as are steroids found in overthe-
counter products such as cortisone ointments and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). Hormones are part of the body’s cell-to-cell communications system, helping the
body to regulate. For instance, hormones are used to regulate blood sugar, which
normally stays within narrow limits to keep the body, and especially the brain,
supplied with the correct amount. If blood sugar is too high, the pancreas secretes
insulin, which signals the cells to take up glucose, thus lowering blood sugar and
returning to normal. If blood sugar drops too low, the pancreas secretes glucagon,
which signals the liver to break down glycogen into glucose to raise blood sugar. In
this way, different hormones act in pairs like a thermostat, turning systems on and
off. This chemistry presents a delicate balancing act. All the hormones interact with
each other in ways modern science is only beginning to understand. In blood-sugar
regulation alone, at least six hormones are involved.Steroid hormones are being prescribed almost as frequently as antibiotics, for
allergic reactions, asthma, eczema, arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and for all types of
inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Often steroids are given to babies and
children to alleviate inflammations of all kinds. Steroids can cause permanent and
devastating damage, even after a single dose; once the body is thrown out of its
natural self-regulatory mode, it sometimes never “gets back.” Steroids’ beneficial
effects appear to decline in time, leaving patients in worse condition than before
they started. Steroids appear to be a “miracle cure” for asthma or arthritis; however, they
merely suppress the symptoms of these conditions. They may make people feel
better, but this feeling comes at a high price. The medical journals are filled with
steroid-inflicted horror stories, such as osteoporosis, retarded child growth and
vision loss:
• The 
Annals of Internal Medicine 
in November 1993 reported that after just
four months of use, oral steroids can cause osteoporosis, with an 8 percent
reduction in bone mass. • The 
British Medical Journal 
in August 1994 reported that extensive eye
damage and visual loss can be caused by using topical, over-the-counter, 1
percent hydrocortisone ointment for two weeks. • 
Lancet 
has reported that after only six weeks of use, inhaled steroids
prescribed for asthma retard growth in children. Alternative approaches to steroids include, for example, vitamin C and quercitin. These two natural anti-inflammatories accomplish similar results, but without the
side effects. Whether one takes steroids orally, inhales them or rubs them on the skin
doesn’t matter; damage can be caused quickly and irreversibly. Rubbing a little
cortisone ointment on the skin affects the chemistry of the entire body. Steroids
taken during pregnancy can cause a child to suffer from autism and impaired
cognitive performance. Topical and inhaled steroids can cause glaucoma and
cataracts. Other reported problems include fluid retention, thinning skin, slowness in
healing, headaches, muscle weakness, immune suppression, angina, hair loss and
depression. Over-the-counter hormones such as melatonin and DHEA are special problems,
partly because they are so easy to obtain. Daily doses of 50 milligrams of DHEA
have been linked to acne, oily skin, excessive facial hair growth in women and mood
changes such as irritability and aggressiveness. DHEA is a steroid hormone with a
molecular structure quite similar to cortisone. (Cortisone, too, was once thought to
be a wonder drug, until we found it was maiming and killing people.) In a 1997
study conducted at Northwestern University, sixteen rats fed DHEA for eighteen
months experienced color changes in their livers from pink to brown. Fourteen
developed liver cancer.Neurologists and other sleep specialists have warned against taking melatonin
supplements. In September 1996, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a
meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, where researchers reported that we do not have
sufficient knowledge about how melatonin works to predict all its potential adverse
effects, especially at the high doses in over-the-counter preparations. The data
showed melatonin could cause nausea, headaches, nightmares, worsening of existing
depression or a drop in body temperature, which increases the risk of developing
viral infections. Richard J. Wurtman, M.D., professor of neuroscience and director
of the clinical research center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
described widespread use of over-the-counter melatonin as “scary.”
The original experiments with mice, suggesting that melatonin prolonged life,
used genetically selected mice that were unable to produce melatonin. When given
some melatonin, they did measurably better than having none. However, repeated
experiments with normal mice resulted in shortened life span, because they
developed tumors of the reproductive tract. (Of course, the public hears only of the
“benefits.”)
Taking hormones on a regular basis, such as the numerous women on birth control
pills and others on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), imbalances the hormone
system. Millions of women are put on HRT, presumably to help prevent heart attack
and osteoporosis. Little reliable evidence exists that HRT prevents either; in fact
evidence shows that it promotes these conditions. Want to prevent hormone disruption in your body? Avoiding certain toxins is
critical. More than fifty different chemicals are known to disrupt the normal
communication jobs of hormones, including pesticides, PCBs and dioxins,
phthalates leached from PVC and other plastics, and bisphenol-A (from
polycarbonate water bottles and the plastics used to coat the interior of cans used to
contain food). Dietary considerations are important, because most of our exposure to
these hormone-disrupting chemicals comes from eating meat and dairy products. Sugar and white flour disrupt hormone balances, so minimize consumption. Rest and
exercise help balance hormone levels; moderate exercise doubles or even quadruples
beneficial growth hormone levels. Most critically, our society must stop such
constant and widespread use of hormone drugs. As John Mills, M.D., chief of
infectious diseases at San Francisco General Hospital said, steroid hormones are
“probably the most sleazy of modern-day medications.”
Digestive Destruction
As you know, one way in which drugs cause disease is by interfering with the
digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. By damaging gut tissue, killing off
beneficial bacteria, and creating an environment that inhibits the growth of normal,beneficial gut bacteria, we lose our ability to digest food and absorb nutrients
properly. This condition creates both deficiency and toxicity, the two causes of
cellular malfunction and disease. Three classes of drugs are responsible for much of this damage: NSAIDs,
antibiotics and hormones. NSAIDs physically damage gut tissue and destabilize the
normal composition of bacteria living in the gut, especially if combined with
antibiotics. Antibiotics kill friendly bacteria essential to health and result in a
variety of intestinal infections. Hormones, such as birth control pills, create
chemical imbalances in the gut, thus promoting yeast infections such as candida. Once yeasts change the environment in the digestive system, a long chain of events
damage health and cause disease. Gut tissue that is damaged becomes more permeable (“leaky”) to large molecules
of undigested food and to microorganisms that enter the bloodstream and circulate
throughout the body. This occurrence provokes chronic immune responses
manifested as food allergies and other inflammatory conditions, and such
inflammatory conditions may be the basis of all chronic disease. These immune responses sometimes create antibodies that match certain body
tissues and attack them, resulting in autoimmune diseases such as lupus or arthritis. A person who has a damaged gut may eat an excellent diet but still suffer
malnutrition because of nutrient malabsorption. Adding malabsorption to an already deficient diet is catastrophic to long-term
health. Excessive immune reactions produce much debris, called immune
complexes, which can overburden the kidneys and cause kidney disease. In fact,
allergic reactions may be the leading cause of kidney disease. Major and uncorrected
maldigestion can lead to extreme weight loss and greater susceptibility to
opportunistic infections, commonly experienced in people with AIDS. Vaccinations
Popular opinion regards vaccinations as one of modern medicine’s greatest
achievements, preventing more suffering and saving more lives than any other
medical procedure. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any risks or “side
effects” from vaccinations supposedly far outweigh the inherent benefits. However,
finding benefits is difficult and finding risks is easy. You have a better chance of being healthy if your cells are healthy; vaccinations
damage your cells. In fact, modern medicine’s practice of mass vaccinations may be
a blunder that ranks with X rays and antibiotics for damage done to health. No
reliable safety study has ever been performed on any vaccine, and evidence suggests
that they are both ineffective and harmful. Yet, individuals are forced, without
consent, to risk injury or even death.In October 2000, at the annual meeting of the Association of American Physicians
and Surgeons (AAPS), a resolution called for an end to all government-mandated
vaccinations. Even more astounding, the resolution passed without a single
dissenting vote. Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the AAPS, said, “Our
children face the possibility of death or serious long-term adverse effects from
mandated vaccines that aren’t necessary or that have limited benefits.” The AAPS’s
resolution read that “mass vaccination is equivalent to human experimentation and
subject to the Nuremberg Code, which re-quires voluntary informed consent.” By
failing to inform us of the dangers, and taking away our power to choose otherwise,
mandated vaccinations become a crime against humanity. The dramatic decline of infectious diseases, such as smallpox, diphtheria and
polio, often is cited (inaccurately) as proof of vaccinations’ effectiveness. The
incidence of infectious disease dramatically decreased 
before 
the introduction of
vaccines; in other words, vaccines get credit for something they did not do. In 1950,
the polio epidemic was at its height in Great Britain. By the time polio vaccine was
introduced in 1956, polio had already declined by 82 percent. Similarly, tuberculosis
was a persistent killer throughout the 1800s and by 1945 had already declined by 97
percent. Other infectious diseases that already were in decline before the
introduction of their vaccines include pneumonia, influenza, whooping cough and
measles. Continuing decline merely followed the existing trend. Countries that did
not vaccinate against specific diseases experienced similar declines as countries
that did. A strong argument for the decline of infectious diseases can be made for a variety
of factors, including better sanitation, less crowded living conditions and the
absence of hunger. In addition, diseases tend to have their own evolutionary cycles;
they go away as the population gains “herd” immunity. Diseases like bubonic plague
and scarlet fever experienced declines similar to other infectious diseases; they
disappeared without any immunization programs. Finding any studies that prove vaccines’ effectiveness is difficult. To prove
efficacy, we must analyze studies of vaccinated groups versus unvaccinated ones. Very few of such studies ever have been conducted; the few that have been indicate
that the vaccines are ineffective. Recent worldwide outbreaks of virulent forms of
TB have demonstrated that alleged “protection” by TB vaccine has little to do with
whether or not anyone contracts the disease. Not only ineffective, vaccines can also be harmful. Viera Scheibner, Ph.D., a
world authority on immunizations and author of the 1993 book 
Vaccination, 
wrote:
“Immunizations . . . not only did not prevent any infectious diseases, they caused
more suffering and more deaths than any other human activity in the entire history
of medical intervention.” Having assembled and researched the world’s largest
collection of data on immunizations, Dr. Scheibner concludes that “there is noevidence whatsoever that vaccines of any kind— but especially those against
childhood diseases—are effective in preventing the infectious diseases they are
supposed to prevent. . . . One hundred years of orthodox research shows that
vaccines represent a medical assault on the immune system.”
Each generation is subjected to more vaccinations and, as a result, is experiencing
more immune dysfunction diseases. Many children have as many as twenty-two
vaccinations before they go to the first grade, and as more vaccines become
available, the number keeps increasing. At an international conference in 1997,
Terry Phillips, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor of medicine at George Washington University
Medical Center, reported that the foreign proteins in virtually all vaccines wreak
havoc on the human immune system. Vaccines are toxic mixtures loaded with
various substances that never should be injected into a human body—including
foreign proteins and dangerous viruses from chickens, guinea pigs, calves and
monkeys. Some researchers believe these viruses put a permanent burden on our
immune systems and do continuous damage both to the immune and nervous
systems. Vaccines also contain toxic chemicals, like mercury (a neurotoxin),
ethylene glycol (antifreeze), formaldehyde (a carcinogen), aluminum (a carcinogen
and also associated with Alzheimer’s), plus antibiotics like Streptomycin (which can
cause allergic reactions). Even the FDA has called for cessation of mercury in
vaccines because our children are being exposed to unsafe amounts of it. Dr. Harris Coulter, in his various writings on vaccinations, says that the allergic
response initiated with an injected vaccine is capable of causing encephalitis (an
inflammation of the brain). Encephalitis can cause permanent brain damage and lead
to lifelong problems of autism, dyslexia, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders
and antisocial syndromes. Dr. Coulter estimates that 50 percent of the children who
experience a fever after vaccination actually are suffering from encephalitis; he
blames vaccines for the “new morbidity” of learning disabilities and behavioral
disorders. Decisions about whether to be vaccinated before a trip to a foreign country, or
whether to vaccinate your children, should be based on accurate information. Unfortunately, the public has had little access to research questioning the safety and
effectiveness of vaccinations. Compulsory vaccination laws exist in every state. However, there are legal
exemptions. Learn what the exemptions are in your state and obtain an appropriate
one. All states have a medical exemption that a doctor can sign, and many states
have religious exemptions, which do not require affiliation with any specific
religion. Regarding the common flu shot, consider this study published in 
Lancet:
Absenteeism of more than one hundred thousand employees was noted each winter
for three years, and the conclusion was that flu shots did not confer any protection.What about tetanus? Probably the single most important factor in preventing tetanus
is thorough cleansing of the wound by removing all foreign bodies and dead tissue. On rare occasion, “tetanus-prone” wounds might justify a booster vaccine for those
individuals already immunized, and immune globulin in those who never have been
vaccinated. To avoid an infectious disease, you don’t need to have vaccinations; you need to
keep your immunity strong. From the beginning, breastfeeding protects against
many infections. Avoid allergenic foods like milk and wheat. Allergies lower
immunity and predispose the body to infections. Nutritional status is critical to
immune competence. Refined sugars are well known to depress immunity. Regular
exercise, a good diet, and avoidance of allergens and toxins help to maintain a
healthy immune system. Moreover, a high-quality supplement program is essential. Give Credit Where It Is Due
While a dramatic decline has occurred in mortality during the last century, this
decline has little to do with the “advancement” of our health-care system. Researchers at Harvard University and Boston University have determined that
drugs, vaccines and other medical measures contributed a mere 1 to 3.5 percent to
the decline in U.S. mortality since the turn of the century. This data appeared in a
1977 article (published in the summer edition of the 
Milbank Memorial Fund
Quarterly
), which concluded that increased life expectancy was due to
improvements in sanitation and living conditions rather than advances in medicine. That view was supported in a study reported in the September 1977 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association, 
concluding that “the most dramatic
improvements in the health of our people as a group have been from cleaning up the
water supply: sanitation, not medical care.” The decline in mortality is primarily
attributable to the decline in killer epidemics such as tuberculosis, scarlet fever,
smallpox, diphtheria and others. The development of city sewer systems, water
purification systems, pasteurization, refrigeration and food hygiene have done far
more to prevent infectious disease than all modern medical treatments combined. Watch Out for Your Dentist, Too
Dentists contribute to toxic loads and chronic disease just like physicians do—
primarily through the use of local anesthetics and toxic metals (mercury amalgams
and metal crowns). Mercury amalgams have been in use for more than one hundred
years, and we have always been told they are safe. A “silver” amalgam is actually 50
percent mercury, and this mercury does not stay only in your mouth; the mercury is
absorbed by the body and poisons cells. Almost everyone knows that lead is toxic,and lead-based paints have been outlawed since the 1970s. No one would think of
putting lead in their mouth and sucking on it twenty-four hours a day, yet mercury is
five thousand times more toxic than lead, and dentists use it in amalgams as if it
were harmless. Since 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency has classified scrap dental
amalgams as a hazardous waste. Putting amalgams down the drain or in the trash, or
burying them in a landfill, is illegal—but the FDA still says they can be put in our
mouths! Fortunately, things are changing. In 1992, the German government banned
the sale and manufacture of dental amalgams. Metal crowns are another problem,
and even “porcelain” crowns are usually made with nickel—a toxic metal and a
known carcinogen. If you already have these toxic metals imbedded in tooth tissue, consider having
them removed but only by someone highly skilled in such removals. Gold is a high-
quality metal, and the only one acceptable for the mouth, but even gold is not perfect
because it is mixed with other metals to make it harder. While no perfect dental
material is available, new plastic materials, when properly installed in fillings or as
crowns, appear to be the most acceptable choices for now. As with all health-related
problems, prevention is best. Eat a good diet, free of refined sugar, and be sure to
brush and floss. Be particular about what type of toothpaste, too (see appendix C). In addition to being toxic, putting different metals in the mouth in the presence of
saliva, which is electrically conductive, generates subtle electrical currents that
corrode the metals in the mouth. Once metals begin to corrode and degrade, they
become biologically active and begin circulating around various bodily tissues,
leading to toxic accumulation. In addition, the subtle electrical currents can also
affect other body functions and cause numerous problems, including hearing loss,
insomnia, and difficulties with memory and concentration. Local anesthetics (including lidocaine) are commonly used by dentists and may be
substantial contributors to our cancer epidemic. These anesthetics break down in the
body into cancer-causing compounds called anilines. In 1993, the FDA found that
lidocaine, when exposed to human tissue, breaks down into 2, 6-dimethylaniline, a
compound that is known to cause virtually every kind of cancer in animals, and it
does so more than 99 percent of the time. In September 1996, as a result of these
findings, the FDA removed from the market all over-the-counter painkillers
containing these local anesthetics and required that a warning be placed on all new
prescription pharmaceuticals containing them. Unfortunately, existing prescription
anesthetics were not required to carry the warning, and most health professionals are
still unaware of this problem. Work with your dentists and doctors to minimize exposure to local anesthetics. Local anesthetics are given more often than necessary—usually for the dentist’s
convenience. Use these products only when absolutely necessary, and use theminimum dose necessary. Do not keep requesting more anesthetic because of the
fear of “not quite being numb.” Alternatives include: acupuncture, hypnosis, rubbing
oil of cloves on the gum. The Healer Within Yourself
Regardless of which medical treatments you choose, understand how the
treatments actually work and how they affect your cells. Treatments designed to
optimize or balance the function of your cells generally are safer and more effective
than treatments designed to mask symptoms. Take medicine only when you need it
(you definitely want to question taking drugs every day as a part of life), and only
after you have compared (and attained second opinions on) benefits and possible
side effects. Remember that you are in charge and you must take responsibility for
your own health by supporting your body’s natural abilities to repair and regulate
itself. John Lee, M.D., wrote in his 1993 book, 
Optimal Health Guidelines: 
“Going to the
doctor these days can be risky business. In generations past, the basic tenet of
medical care was ‘Primum non nocere’ (above all, do no harm). Today that dictum
has been modified to ‘do as little harm as possible.’ Even that . . . is becoming
operationally impossible. The patient must now learn to look out for himself.”
Physicians do have their place, but one has to know what that place is. For
example, anyone with acute health problems, such as a stroke, a bleeding ulcer or
chest pains, should seek immediate medical attention. However, people who are
suffering from chronic disease problems (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis,
high blood pressure, depression and so forth) are best advised to avoid modern
conventional medicine and to seek competent alternative care. Traditional healers
typically worked to balance the body, both physically and energetically, thereby
promoting health. That remains the underlying approach of many alternative
practitioners and alternative treatments, including a growing number of enlightened
M.D.s, naturopaths, homeopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, energy healers,
massage therapists and others. Conventional medicine is a powerful moneymaking bureaucracy that is incredibly
resistant to change, but there is also a growing movement in this country to pass
medical freedom laws that would bring more competition and creativity into the
medical marketplace. (Physicians would then be free to pursue treatments that are
not only safe, but more effective, such as treating heart disease with diet and
supplements rather than surgery; treating cancer with nutrition, detoxification and
herbs; and treating stroke with hyperbaric oxygen.) About half of all patients in
America now seek at least some form of alternative treatment; people are putting the
power of health into their own hands. This statement shouldn’t suggest thatalternative treatments are always safe and effective—indeed, many are not—but the
growing discontent with our conventional health-care system is a reality that we can
no longer ignore. Optimizing your position on the 
medical pathway 
requires being
aware of the hazards of modern medicine as well as its miracles. You, not your
doctor, are responsible for your health.11
A S
HIFT IN 
P
ERSPECTIVE
“This pattern of high resistance and freedom from
degenerative disease is seen wherever people live beyond the
reach of modern civilization and are not suffering from famine.”
Charles McGee, M.D. How to Survive Modern Technology
P
erspective is everything. By reshaping our understanding of disease, we are
empowered to create health. Are you ready to take charge of your health and
experience a state of well-being that even your doctors may doubt is possible? As you have read this book, you have discovered ways in which you must change
your life in order to get better and in order to stay well. Perhaps you are fighting a
disease with little success, and now you see hope. Or perhaps you have considered
yourself “healthy,” only to recognize that your body already is showing early
warning signs of disease. Do you have a general feeling that your body is struggling to keep up? Are you
confused or frustrated by your medical doctors or their recommended treatments? Are you distressed by the number of prescription drugs or over-the-counter
medicines you take in order to keep going, even if you have no sense you are getting
better? Are you suffering a variety of symptoms that no doctor has been able to help
you with? Are you making unhealthful choices in the foods that you eat, in the
products that you use on yourself or in your home, and in other aspects of your life? Before I got so sick and almost died in 1985, I lived a different life from the life I
live today. I thought I was healthy and that I was living a healthful lifestyle; in
reality I was encouraging sickness. I suffered from a number of diseases— allergies,
colds, flu, tooth decay, joint pain, abdominal pain and fatigue. I went to physicians
and dentists. I took antibiotics for infections, NSAIDs for pain and antihistamines
for my allergies. I occasionally took vitamins, but I did so whimsically, without
commitment and consistency, and certainly without a scientific understanding of
which vitamins I should be taking and why. I ate most of my meals in upscale
restaurants and spared no expense. My food choices, however, were based mostly on
taste and enjoyment. I neither knew much nor thought much about nutrition. When I did develop digestive problems and allergies, I was unaware that my food
was causing the problems or that it would be possible to avoid them if I paid closer
attention to what I ate. I am now aware of my allergy to dairy, but back then I ate ice
cream, milk and other dairy products almost daily. I developed itchy eyes, mucus
and sneezing fits after I ate them, but still I did not recognize the connection. I had
grown accustomed to these “minor nuisances” and never imagined life could be so
much better without them. I used to eat far too much meat and dairy—at one or two meals every day—unaware that most of the pesticides we are exposed to have bioaccumulated in the
animal products we consume. Although I don’t recommend a meat-free diet, I
recommend eating meat only a few times a week and only that which has been
organically produced. The animal products I consumed back then contributed to my
toxic load, as did the volumes of sugar, white flour and processed oils that were a
regular part of my diet. In addition, both as a graduate research assistant at MIT and
in my first job as a chemist, I was exposed to extraordinary amounts of toxic
chemicals. Chemicals that are used today only in small amounts and with protective
equipment we used to slosh around in the lab as if they were water. Back then, we
were unaware of the full extent of their toxicity, and the manufacturers were in no
rush to study the toxicities. My discoveries about health and disease saved my life and changed my life—
forever. I learned to recognize which foods harmed my health. I learned to listen to my
body’s own warning signs. I learned how to avoid getting sick and how to accelerate
recovery. I learned how to get well and stay well. Since my recovery in 1987, I have rarely been sick. At age sixty-five, I have more
energy, vitality and health than I did twenty years ago. I have taken no medications
—neither a prescription drug nor an over-the-counter product—in the past seventeen
years. Neither have I required the services of a physician in that time. I am no longer
debilitated by my allergies. If I do get sick, I know what I can do to improve my
situation. On the rare occasion that I do come down with a cold, I take plenty of
high-quality vitamin C, and the cold vanishes in a matter of 
hours 
rather than after
days or weeks of misery. The lightning bolt that sparked these massive changes in my life and which guides
my life today was a radical change in my perspective. I now see health as a choice,
entirely within my control. I optimize my choices along all six pathways and I avoid
disease. I shun “modern medicine,” prescription drugs and other traditional
treatments because I recognize that they treat the symptoms and not the causes of
disease. Further -more, modern medical treatments do harm. Because I am able to keep my health in balance, I do not need drugs, medical
treatments or doctors. I eat a wide variety of fresh organic foods, either from
farmers’ markets or health food stores. My favorites include apples, raw nuts and
fresh vegetables used to make salads. I eat animal protein a few times per week,
usually deep-water ocean fish (not farmed), organically produced poultry (without
antibiotics and hormones) and organic eggs. I drink bottled water delivered in glass
bottles. I supplement my diet with essential fatty acids and I avoid hydrogenated
oils. On rare occasions I do have desserts, but even then I avoid common allergens
like dairy. I definitely do not succumb to the daily after-dinner “sweet tooth.”
Refined sugar has been almost completely cut out of my life because it is so verydangerous. I avoid all corn and corn products because corn is now genetically
contaminated as well as often being moldy. I minimize white potatoes and have
completely eliminated french fries because they are one of the most toxic foods we
eat. I take a variety of high-quality supplements, including amino acids (prior to
meals), multivitamins, extra calcium/magnesium, vitamin E, quercitin and
coenzyme Q10. I also take digestive enzymes with my meals. In my home I have natural-fiber carpets, I have a filter on my shower to remove
the chlorine, and I replaced my gas-fired water heater with an electric unit. On my
body I use only toothpaste, shampoo and soap that do not have synthetic foaming
agents, stabilizers, preservatives, colors or fragrances. For exercise I do daily
rebounding, walking or hiking. During weekly visits to the gym, I do gentle
weightlifting, treadmill, bicycling, and absolutely a sauna afterward to detoxify. I
keep my spirits up by having purpose in my life, being excited about what I am
doing and having people in my life that I care about. I teach as many as I can how to
be healthy. All of the factors bring a sense of purpose and encouragement. I live in
the present and in the future, and I do not dwell on the past. If I had only one day left
to live, I would want to be excited about living that day. Getting Sick Is Harder Than Staying Well
You may wonder if you have the ability, the energy and the resolve to make these
kinds of life changes yourself. You do. But change is difficult, especially in the
beginning. As I was reforming my life, I had to make a lot of adjustments. What I
know for certain is that health problems are much harder to live with than these
solutions. When I recognize that something I eat, something I do or something I
expose myself to will make me sick, I simply do not want it anymore. It truly
becomes that easy. You need to become a leader, however, as those around you may
add pressure or distraction. If the people you live with or work with are eating
unhealthful diets, you must be the one to set a different example. People often ask me if I miss some of the “bad” things. No, I don’t. Tastes change. New tastes can be acquired in a few weeks, and old ones can be lost. I used to love
filet mignon, but after not eating it for ten years, I lost my taste for it. I had a
fantastic filet mignon a couple of years ago, and I didn’t like it. People also often ask me whether this healthy lifestyle costs more than some may
be able to afford. I have found, actually, that eating a healthy diet costs less than
eating a poor diet. It costs a lot more to make yourself sick. People regularly tell me
that they cut their food budgets in half by improving their diets. Organic fruits,
vegetables, beans, grains and unprocessed oils may be more expensive than their
nonorganic counterparts, but in the end a diet made up of healthful foods is cheaper. Consider what you pay for organic whole grains per pound versus what you pay forpackaged breakfast cereal per pound, and you will realize quickly that unhealthful
processed foods are much more expensive. Deadly, make-believe foods like ice
cream, cola drinks and potato chips are expensive, provide little nutrition and
damage your cells. Not purchasing them saves your money and your health. Even
when a healthful choice does cost more, the purchase is well worth the investment
because being sick is 
very 
expensive. The same holds true for supplements. The
most expensive supplement of all is one that doesn’t work, no matter how little you
pay for it. High-quality supplements cost more, but they deliver the most nutrients to
your cells. Most cheap vitamins do nothing, or almost nothing, and many contain
toxins; many vitamin products cause both deficiency and toxicity. Another important investment in health is to spend a little more on personal care
and home-care products that do not harm your body. In making selections of
toothpaste, shampoo, deodorants, skin creams and cosmetics, the most important
criterion is that your body not be harmed. Selecting organic foods is not good
enough; you must also select safe products. If a product cannot be ingested without poisoning you, then it is not safe enough
to put on your skin or your hair or your teeth. Look at the swallowing warnings on a
typical tube of toothpaste. (Consult appendix C for safe brands of toothpaste and
other products.) The sad truth is that most personal-care products are toxic; those
toxins bioaccumulate in your body and cause disease. Look at Your Health in a New Way
The perspective we have to change is the way we look at and evaluate our own
health. If you are going to solve your own health problems, you must first
acknowledge they exist. We all grow up thinking that health is a given, until we “get
sick.”
Rather than being static, however, health is a sliding scale, and our position and
direction on that scale can change on a daily basis. This is why we need to learn how
to evaluate our own health, in a meaningful and ongoing way, so as to avoid letting
ourselves deteriorate to the point where we become sick. As I was gradually losing my health, no one told me I was sick. In fact, I was told
the opposite. At my periodic physical exams my physicians pronounced me in
perfect health, even though I had required many fillings in my teeth and I suffered
from a serious immune deficiency disease, namely from a seasonal allergy called
“hay fever.” Each year I suffered from one or more colds and every several years
from a bout of flu. I was led to believe, however, that tooth decay, colds, flu and
allergies are all normal and that I was healthy. The fact is no one should have tooth decay, colds, flu, allergies or any other
disease. If you do have any of these problems, you are experiencing substantialamounts of cellular malfunction and you are sick. Living with even that amount of
cellular malfunction shortens your life and makes you susceptible to a host of other
disease problems. Unless you do something different, your health will only get
worse with time, not better. Health cannot be improved by continuing to do the same
things that made you sick. Now is the time to make health your responsibility. How to Read the Warning Signs
We all need to learn how to read the body’s signals so that we can evaluate our
own health and health decline. Our body tells us when it is having trouble; our
problem is that we don’t listen. Subtle signals are ignored until the problem becomes
serious enough to demand attention. How healthy are you? Often the warning signs are evident in your appearance;
simply put, you don’t look well. In addition, you should ask yourself whether you
are experiencing
• Fatigue
• Aches and pains
• Skin problems
• Allergies
• Digestion troubles
• Sleep difficulties
• Susceptibility to infections
• Weight issues
• Mood, thought or behavior problems
These warning signs appear in ways that are usually easily recognized. Consider
individually the signs listed. Appearance
The body gives off visual signals, and we can learn to recognize them. I remember
once seeing a friend and thinking, 
He doesn’t look well. Not long thereafter, he was
diagnosed with brain cancer. How many times have we looked at others and realized
that they didn’t look well? Before I took sick, my family thought I looked pale. Are
you pale? Are there dark circles under your eyes? Are there wrinkles on your face? Is your hair graying? How well do you move? Are you well-coordinated? Are your
eyes dull? Appearance matters, it is easy to check, and it should be checked on a
regular basis. Energy Level
Fatigue is probably the most common complaint made to doctors in our societybecause energy production at the cellular level is one of the first things affected as
our cells malfunction and become diseased. If you do not have the energy you used
to have, aging is not the problem. You are getting sicker. Remember the boundless energy that healthy people like the Hunzas had? They
performed physical feats such as traveling sixty miles in one day on foot, in
mountainous terrain, and returning looking as though they had gone for a casual
walk. Contrast this to the fatigue so many of us feel during the day, perhaps needing
several cups of coffee just to keep going. Even many of our teenagers struggle with
fatigue. Skin Problems
Our skin is a barometer of overall health, but we are taught to think of a skin
problem as just that, a skin problem. This is outmoded. Like any disease, skin
problems are the result of systemic cellular malfunction. We may notice it in the
skin, but the problem is likely affecting every cell in the body. The proper solution is
not to use products like a cortisone ointment, but to restore the cells to good health. If your skin is dry, flaky, irritated, itchy, thin, has lost its elasticity, or if you
develop skin lesions of any kind, you are not healthy. Allergies
Allergies are not normal, and they do long-lasting damage to the body. Enhancing
the health of your cells can eliminate allergies. Millions of Americans suffer from
runny noses, sneezing, itching of the eyes, sinus problems, headaches, abdominal
pain, diarrhea, skin rashes and numerous other problems as a result of allergies and
sensitivities to foods, pollens, chemicals and other substances in our environment. We tend to look upon these reactions as “benign” inconveniences rather than the
symptoms of a body out of balance. Allergies should be looked upon as a serious
acquired immune dysfunction syndrome and treated by improving cellular health
and strengthening the immune system. Do you sneeze, develop a runny nose or have itchy eyes after eating a meal? Are
your fingers sometimes swollen so that it is difficult to take off or put on a ring? Do
you get loose stools after eating certain foods? All of these and more can be
symptoms of allergic reactions. A body with allergies is not crying out for over-the-
counter or prescription antihistamines, but for solving the problems of cellular
malfunction. Like any other “disease,” allergies can be both prevented and reversed
by restoring normal function to the cells in your immune system. By working to
minimize the deficiency and toxicity of my cells, I went from being allergic to
virtually everything— called a “universal reactor”—to living a normal life. Digestion TroublesDo you have problems such as indigestion, inability to eat a wide variety of foods,
intestinal cramps, abdominal bloating, excess gas, diarrhea, constipation, acid
reflux, low energy, slow wound healing, or difficulty concentrating and thinking
quickly and clearly? Good digestion is a foundation for achieving peak performance
and optimal health. Yet digestive problems are epidemic in our society and they
prevent millions of people from living the healthy, productive lives they would like. Most of our digestive problems are the direct result of poor diets, toxic exposure,
lack of exercise, unresolved stress, and over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Digestive problems are more serious than people imagine, for 
if you are not properly
digesting your food and assimilating its nutrients, you will get sick, guaranteed. Poor digestion is a perfect prescription for deficiency and toxicity, the two causes of
disease. Heartburn, bloating, gas and other digestive problems should not just be treated by
antacids and other medications, and then forgotten. These problems are a wake-up
call that one of our major body systems is not working right. A better solution is to
chew your food well, do proper food combining, stay away from foods you are
allergic to, take probiotics and digestive enzymes, and exercise regularly. Antibiotics may be the leading cause of digestive problems, and these dangerous
drugs should be avoided for that reason alone. Sleep Difficulties
Sleep is critical to health, but few of us sleep an adequate amount, and a growing
number of people suffer from various sleep disorders, such as disturbed sleep
patterns and insomnia. Much of the time sleep problems are symptoms that the
hormones and chemicals the body uses to cope with stress are being depleted. The
physical consequences of inadequate sleep have a negative effect on health and
performance. Healthy people like the Hunzas went to bed when it got dark and woke up with the
sun. Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time
every morning, even on weekends. Giving the body adequate and regular rest is
important to maintaining good health. Susceptibility to Infection
Colds and flu are not just inconveniences; they are alarm bells telling us that all is
not well. While seen as a minor illness, each cold does permanent damage to the
body, causing us to age prematurely. Yet millions of Americans suffer four to six
colds per year, sometimes taking weeks to resolve. Healthy people do not get
infections, and, if they do, they recover from them very quickly. You may recall that
the healthy Hunzas never suffered from colds, and that the 133-year-old man in
Vilcabamba had suffered only several colds in 133 years, not several in one year asmany of us do. A cold or flu that lingers is further proof of widespread cellular
malfunction. If people around you are sick, worry about strengthening your own
immunity, not about hiding from germs. Building immunity is a long-term project;
reacting in an emergency situation when you feel sickness coming on is something
else. Here are ideas of how to accomplish both:
To prevent colds, take plenty of vitamin C (4,000 to 6,000 mg/day). If you are sick
already, take vitamin C to bowel tolerance, which means taking it up to the point
where you begin getting excessive gas or diarrhea and then backing off. Bowel
tolerance will differ depending on who you are and what your state of health is. If I
feel a cold coming on, I put 3,000 mg of vitamin C in a glass of water and drink it
down every thirty to sixty minutes. In a matter of hours, the cold will be gone. B-
vitamins are important, as are zinc and high-quality cod liver oil. Olive leaf extract
can also be helpful; it is a powerful natural antibiotic. And, of course, avoid
damaging your immunity with sugar, white flour, poor digestion, prescription drugs
or anything that you are allergic to. Weight Problems
Some people think being overweight is more of a fashion concern than a serious
disease. Many people attribute weight problems to “genetics,” saying that such
problems run in their family. The truth is that being overweight is a sign that cells
are malfunctioning. Often, an addiction to sugar is part of the problem, and this
problem needs to be treated like any other addiction. Proper diet and lifestyle
changes that improve cellular health are virtually guaranteed to solve weight
problems. Overweight patients need to heal their cells, just like cancer patients and
heart disease patients. Worse, weight problems are frequently the prelude to more
serious chronic diseases. Mood, Thought or Behavioral Problems
The ability to think quickly and clearly—to concentrate, learn and remember—are
the benefits of healthy cells and a healthy body. A problem with any of these
indicates deficiency and toxicity at the cellular level, usually the result of
inappropriate diets, environmental toxins, lack of exercise and unresolved stress. Brain cells function normally when they have all the nutrition they need and do not
have toxins that interfere with them. The person who flies off the handle with little provocation is often seen as having
a particular personality type. The same for those who have problems getting along
with others or working out conflicts in a calm and rational manner. Most of the time,
however, these problems point back to the same two causes of disease: deficiency
and toxicity. We are currently experiencing an unprecedented epidemic of
depression, learning disabilities, violent behavior and other types of mental disease.Many of these “mental” problems actually result from the fact that the function of
our brains and nervous systems has never been more compromised. Worse,
physicians usually try to “solve” these problems by giving those afflicted toxic,
mind-altering chemicals. Building a Better You
Now that you have a sense of your state of health and have perhaps identified
some early warning signs of disease, start to build the foundation of a new lifestyle:
• Keep a food diary for a week, writing down everything you eat and drink. How
much of your diet is eaten raw? Do you buy truly fresh, organic vegetables and
fruits? Is the meat you eat treated with antibiotics and hormones? Do sugar,
white flour, dairy products and processed oils bog down your diet? Do you
combine the wrong foods together at a meal? Is the food you buy genetically
modified? • Keep track of the amount and kind of exercise, movement, or other physical
stimulation (saunas, etc.) you participate in during the week. • Consider the products you use on your body: Are the ingredients in your
deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, makeup and skin cream natural and nontoxic? • Take a look at the products you use to clean your house. Consider, too, the
furnishings, including your rugs. List the sources of emissions within your
house, including your carpets, furnace, hot-water heater and stove. • Consider the ways in which social connections, work and community
involvement nurture you, or fail to do so. • Take stock of the stress in your life. • Think about the doctors you visit, the treatments or tests that you approve of,
the medicines that you take. Are they doing you more harm than good? Are
your doctors and your medical treatments addressing all your pathways to
health, or is their focus narrow and incomplete? • Do you take vitamins or other supplements consistently, and are they of high
quality? Do they contain cheap, ineffective ingredients such as carbonates and
oxides, or toxins such as artificial colors? Each of these choices is part of an ongoing process of promoting— or
antagonizing—your health. Keep track of all six pathways and do your best along
each of them, all the time. Doing a great job for a week and then forgetting about it
is pointless. Track the process—there is no endgame, no checkmate to seek—there is
only process. Either you are going about the process of getting well and staying
well, or you are going about the process of getting sicker. Keep trying new things
until you discover what works for you.After you have identified some of the problems in your lifestyle—ways in which
your body is becoming deficient or ways in which toxins threaten you—begin today
to make changes. • Make sure at least some and preferably most of your diet is eaten raw. Buy at
least some organic fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as organically produced
meat. Cut down or eliminate the Big Four: sugar, white flour, dairy products
and processed oils. • Practice tips for proper food combining and effective food preparation
methods to ensure you are getting the best nutrition from the food that you buy. • Begin taking high-quality nutritional supplements. • Make exercise and movement a part of every day. • Nurture your social and family connections. Make a plan and then make a
concerted effort to make it happen. • Identify the drugs you take (medical or recreational), and begin to imagine
how well you might function without them. A Radical Shift in Perspective
As you consider your lifestyle and identify the areas that must change, take a
close look at your overall perspective on health and disease. Health is something we
all want, yet so few of us give it serious thought until we get sick. That approach
does not work. The practical new system for choosing health presented in this book
is different from typical approaches. This new way to “see” health and disease is so
simple it empowers the individual to take charge. That empowerment can help to
end our current epidemic of chronic and degenerative disease, dramatically
improving the health of our people. As I have told you, one of the first people whose perspective I helped change was
my brother, diagnosed in 1991 with advanced prostate cancer. The specialist who
made the diagnosis informed him that the tumor was so large and so widespread that
surgery was not an option. My brother was told that there were no traditional
medical treatment options available for his advanced stage of tumor. “Modern
medicine” had nothing to offer, and my brother felt he was doomed. He eventually
found a caring physician who was willing to operate, despite the poor odds. The
surgery was a success, with limitations, as the surgeon was unable to remove all of
the cancer, and biopsies indicated cancer had spread throughout my brother’s body.
Never_Be_Sick_Again_by_Raymond_Francis.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        In another case, a hospital oversight committee reviewed surgically removed
tissues. In the year prior to the formation of the committee, the hospital performed
262 appendectomies—after the committee was formed, the number dropped to 62. The committee found that most of the tissues being removed were healthy. In March
1997, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published a statement
saying that only 10 percent of hysterectomies are justified. In addition to being
almost entirely unnecessary, surgery is risky; possibilities exist for surgical error,
complications from anesthesia and infection, not to mention the physical, mentaland emotional shock to the body. Should You Take Medicine. All drugs have potentially damaging “side effects. ” Because a malfunctioning cell
is the definition of disease, and drugs deliberately cause cells to malfunction, drugs
cause disease. Drugs are foreign to the body; the mechanism by which drugs work is
to alter the body’s biochemistry in order to suppress symptoms. Side effects often
are worse than the diseases the drugs are used to treat. Perhaps these hazards would
be justified if drugs cured disease, but they do not, they control and suppress
symptoms. Even with symptoms suppressed, the true cause of the problem may be
growing worse while the body’s natural healing mechanisms are being compromised
by the drugs. Billions of dollars are spent in the war against street drugs, but the number of
people killed and injured by street drugs is minor compared to prescription drugs. Prescription drugs kill a couple of hundred thousand people every year and are a
leading cause of disease and death. If your doctor prescribes a drug, consider that it
may cause your cells to malfunction, and that alternatives exist that are both safe
and effective. Even aspirin and other common over-the-counter drugs are dangerous, so find
alternatives that work for you. Books such as 
Alternative Medicine: The Definitive
Guide, 
edited by the Burton Goldberg Group, and 
Finding the Right Treatment, 
by
Jacqueline Krohn, M. D. , and Francis Taylor, M. A. , are excellent resources for those
wishing to find natural alternatives to toxic prescription drugs. Unfortunately, when drugs cause disease, we have all been trained not to call it
disease. Instead, we use the deceptive term “side effects. ” In 1984, the drug industry
attempted to obtain a legal exemption from the liability laws that apply to virtually
all manufacturers. Why. Because even the people who make the drugs know they are
not safe; “all prescription drugs are unavoidably unsafe” argued the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association. Of course, this wording is not used in drug
advertisements aimed at the public. A hospital patient receives, on average, twelve different drugs. Yet, often when as
few as three are prescribed, absolutely no one understands all the dangerous
interactions between the drugs. Bad enough taken one at a time, combinations of
drugs can be particularly toxic. Prescription drugs are notorious for causing many
adverse effects in the elderly, including memory loss, depression, confusion,
constipation, Parkinson’s disease, falls and urinary incontinence. All too often, a
second drug is prescribed to suppress the symptoms caused by the first, then another
to suppress the symptoms of the first two, and so forth. Many illnesses of the elderly
really are manifestations of adverse drug reactions. A 1991 study in the 
Journal ofthe American Medical Association 
showed that 14 percent of in-hospital cardiac
arrests followed a complication, usually because of a medication. Well-known
combinations of commonly prescribed drugs can kill, and alert pharmacists have
saved many lives. Up to 29 percent of all hospital admissions are caused by adverse reactions to
drugs, according to a 1995 study in the 
Archives of Internal Medicine. Many
reactions result in liver damage, long hospital stays, permanent disability and even
death. In 1990, an estimated 659,000 Americans aged sixty years and older were
hospitalized due to adverse drug reactions. In addition to toxicity, drugs also can
cause deficiency by depleting the body of essential nutrients. Diuretics cause
excessive loss of potassium and other essential minerals. Anticonvulsants cause loss
of vitamin D. Antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and steroid
hormones can indirectly cause numerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies by
causing digestive damage. Because of the complexity of the human organism,
predicting the effects of drugs in each individual, especially with combinations of
drugs, is impossible. Other facts:
• A January 1997 study in the 
Journal of the American Medical Association
stated that drug-related morbidity and mortality costs more than $136 billion a
year—more than the cost of cardiovascular disease, our leading cause of death. • In 1995, Duke University researchers showed that drugs commonly prescribed
for stroke patients actually hampered their recovery. Even after a single dose,
the negative effects could be long-lasting. • A 1994 study in the 
Journal of the American Medical Association 
concluded
that inappropriate and potentially dangerous drugs are prescribed for one in
four older Americans every year. • A 1994 study published in the 
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 
and
The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
warned that antihistamine and antidepressant drugs (including Prozac) contain
chemicals known to accelerate tumor growth. While these drugs do not cause
cancer directly, they can speed its growth. Three Classes of Common Drugs Are of Special Concern
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): 
NSAIDs include over-the-
counter drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and prescription drugs
such as Indocin, Feldene, Naprosyn and others. Use of NSAIDs is a significant
national health problem, causing long-term damage to large numbers of people,
particularly the elderly, who are the largest users of these drugs. According to data
published in 
Hospital Practice 
in December 1996, up to two hundred thousand
Americans are hospitalized every year for problems caused by NSAIDs, and as many
as twenty thousand people a year die from the damage. NSAIDs usually are prescribed for a noble purpose, to relieve pain, and they are
among the most commonly pres-cribed pharmaceuticals in the world. About 60
million NSAID prescriptions are written every year in America, and an estimated 14
million people take these drugs for symptomatic relief of arthritis alone. These
drugs relieve pain, but at a cost. About one third of chronic NSAID users experience
noticeable gastrointestinal discomfort, which is only the tip of the iceberg,
indicating that digestive damage is occurring. In most people, NSAID-inflicted
damage to the digestive system is asymptomatic (no obvious symptoms to warn of
the damage being done). By the time the stomach or gut is in pain from NSAIDs,
massive damage has already occurred. Most physicians think it is acceptable for people to take NSAIDs, believing that
they cause minimal and acceptable damage. Virtually everyone who takes these
dangerous drugs has their health damaged, and the longer they are taken, the worse it
becomes. People who take NSAIDs for arthritis for years suffer worse joint damage
than those who take nothing. NSAIDs have been linked to kidney failure, cognitive
dysfunction, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, macular degeneration and hormone
disruption. Examples include:
• In a 1992 study published in the 
Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 
long-
term NSAID users were hospitalized six times more often than nonusers. Deaths from gastrointestinal causes occurred twice as often, and half of all
patients who died of ulcer-related complications had reported recent use of
NSAIDs. • A 1996 study in the 
Archives of Internal Medicine 
found that patients taking
NSAIDs were four to seventeen times more likely to suffer acute kidney failure. • A 1996 study in 
Physiological Behavior 
showed NSAIDs interfere with
melatonin production, with a 75 percent nighttime reduction. Decreased
melatonin production has been associated with sleep disorders as well as
promotion of cancer. • A 1996 study in 
Lancet 
showed that aspirin, in any form, such as buffered or
coated, causes gastrointestinal bleeding. As few as one aspirin can cause
bleeding. NSAIDs cause intestinal bleeding by blocking action of messenger molecules
called prostaglandins. Some prosta-glandins cause inflammation and pain, and
others stimulate healing and repair. NSAIDs block both types. Because the intestinal
lining is renewed very rapidly (about every three days), blocking the repair process
results in a gut that is weak, inflamed and leaky. What should you do for a headache. Simple acupressure techniques and
homeopathic remedies work quite well. What should you do for pain or
inflammation. Eat a whole-foods diet, at least 75 percent raw. Avoid sugar, white
flour, hydrogenated oils, junk foods and colas, and drink plenty of pure water. Avoidmeat and dairy, but choose oily fish such as salmon (ocean harvested, rather than
farmed). Take vitamin C up to bowel tolerance, 2 to 4 grams of quercitin per day, 30
to 60 mg of zinc daily, 100,000 units of beta-carotene for several days, and then
25,000 for several weeks, plus vitamin A and vitamin E. Essential fatty acid
supplements also are critical. Digestive enzymes help, and especially take 1 to 3
grams of bromelain or papain per day. A number of herbs as well as homeopathic
remedies are anti-inflammatory. These are excellent alternatives to NSAIDs. Antibiotics: 
Most of us have been given an antibiotic at one time or another, and
this contributes to one of our largest sources of toxins—those generated within our
own digestive systems. Antibiotics are designed to kill disease-causing bacteria, but
they also kill the friendly bacteria in our digestive systems. If these bacteria are
absent or out of balance, a chain of unhealthy events is initiated, including
undigested or mal-absorbed food. Beneficial intestinal bacteria produce needed
vitamins, such as B-complex vitamins, vitamin B
12 
and vitamin K. These essential
nutrients are no longer produced when the friendly bacteria are displaced, and
vitamin deficiency can result. In addition, friendly bacteria prevent undesirable yeasts from proliferating by
competing for food and producing biotin to inhibit yeast growth. When antibiotics
kill beneficial bacterial, undesirable yeasts and bacteria thrive and take over,
establishing their own ecosystem. This inhibits the beneficial bacteria from
reestablishing themselves. Yeasts also produce numerous immune-reactive
substances that force the immune system to form antibodies constantly. This stress
may lead to impaired functioning of the immune system to the point of immune
suppression or even breakdown. Also, yeasts inhibit magnesium absorption (which
can lead to numerous neurological problems), damage gut tissue and cause leaking
gut syndrome. A variety of health problems can result, ranging from chronic fatigue
to allergies, arthritis and other immune dysfunction diseases. A January 1996 article in 
Internal Medicine World Report 
stated that in 1991,
more than 40 million prescriptions were written in America for antibiotics to treat
people for the common cold. This use is inappropriate; antibiotics have no effect on
the common cold. Vast overprescribing of this type fosters the development of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In May 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report warning that
“incurable” strains of bacteria are being discovered. Many infectious diseases,
formerly controllable with antibiotics, are reappearing in forms difficult or even
impossible to treat. “We are standing on the brink of a global crisis in infectious
diseases,” said Hiroshi Nakajima, M.
The purpose of the hospital oversight committee was not specified in the passage.
What was the purpose of the hospital oversight committee?
The main concern with the use of antibiotics is that they can kill friendly bacteria in the digestive system, leading to a variety of health problems.
What is the main concern with the use of antibiotics?
The author does not explicitly state a perspective on the effectiveness of vaccinations, but implies that they are ineffective and potentially harmful.
What is the author's perspective on the effectiveness of vaccinations?
The author does not explicitly state a view on HRT, but implies that it is not recommended.
What is the author's view on the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?
The author suggests that allergies are not normal and should be treated by improving cellular health, rather than using antihistamines or other medications.
What is the author's suggestion for treating allergies?