How do you reduce your Cancer Risk?

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I guess I developed a cancer screening protocol after working with all the cancer patients who came to see me. I eventually got to the point when I could figure out ahead of time who would get cancer and who would not.

Enclosed below is an overview of the major factors that we have found in different cancer cases.

a) Hyperacidity – One of the primary causes of regulatory blockage is hyperacidity, defined as a significant decrease in the pH of the cellular environment. Most often
hyperacidity is due to dietary indiscretions and overall dysfunction of the digestive and eliminative organs, as well as to the chronic stresses of our modern lifestyles.

b) Dysbiosis – An impaired digestive system with imbalanced bacteria flora is also a
significant regulatory blockage, known as “dysbiosis.” As Dr’s. Astor & Swartz like to point out, the digestive system is really the fifth sensory organ, the system through which we experience our environment most directly – via the food we eat. When it’s out of balance and unhealthy, “dysbiosis” occurs. This can be due to the following reasons;

1) Incorrect pH – When the GI tract is either hyperacidity or hypoacid (especially as we grow older) it results in impaired digestion.

2) Leaky gut syndrome – This occurs when the intestinal lining, damaged by yeast, fungus, or fermentative bacteria, allows toxic material to leak through the intestinal wall (leaky gut syndrome), thereby decreasing the absorption of essential nutrients

3) Fungus,Parasites and Virus – The presence of unwanted microorganisms like candida albicans and parasites can affect the integrity of the GI tract. Once again, our diets, high in animal proteins and bad fats and low in fiber, are implicated in dysbiosis.
Having a long term viral infection can also grossly affect your immunity.

4) Insufficient Good Bacteria – The overuse of antibiotics and steroids can badly upset the ecology of the gut leading to a reduction in good bacteria and a proliferation of bad microorganisms

c) Allergies – A third blockage is related to food intolerances, which set up immune
reactions and lead to an overloaded lymphatic system, which then no longer distinguishes external threats, and so becomes ineffective in defending the body from infective agents.

d) Focal Disturbance Fields – Focal disturbance fields are another very important blockage to regulatory function. These are places in the body, called “foci,” that
have sub clinical infection and/or inflammation and can act at a distance, usually along the vital energy meridian lines of the body, causing disease or dysfunction at another location.

1) Very often these foci occur in the head region, particularly in teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth, infected root canal-treated teeth, implants, metal fillings, crowns, bridges, and “cavitations” (incompletely healed bone from tooth extractions), can all cause problems further up or down their meridian lines. Rarely do these infections show up on a regular dental x-ray, nor are they felt; they are sub clinical and sub symptomatic. But the bacteria associated with focal sites can cause serious infections and disease in other parts of the body

2) Focal disturbance fields can also be associated with non-dental implants, scars (both from surgery and from injuries), fractures, and other traumas to the body. While these injuries may seem completely healed, they may nonetheless be causing severe blockages along their particular meridians. Resolving these foci can sometimes bring instantaneous relief to a distant part of the body, as when an old scar on the hand is injected with a biological remedy and that person’s migraines disappear; or when a root canal-treated tooth is removed and an ovarian cyst disappears.

e) Heavy Metal – A fifth type of blockage is heavy metal toxicity, primarily from metals used in dental fillings: mercury, tin, copper, zinc, silver and palladium (associated with gold fillings). Other heavy metal exposures may include lead, aluminum, cadmium, and nickel. Heavy metals wreak havoc with biological systems, acting as systemic poisons.

f) Drugs – Long-term chemotherapy and the use of allopathic medications such
as antibiotics, cyclostatics, corticoids, anti-rheumatics, and anti-inflammatories can also create regulatory problems.

g) Psychological Stress – Finally, long-term psychological stress can have serious impact on the overall regulatory ability of the body. Factors like a divorce, the death of a family member, or some other emotional loss can often be a trigger that precipitates illness.

i)Organ Dysfunction – Either Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia are hidden health concerns that keep cropping up and need to be addressed. Relatively slight variations in hormonal levels can also have major clinical consequences.

j)Metabolic – Many people are suffering from an impaired Phase 2 liver detox pathway problem. When this is identified and corrected many attending health issues are resolved.

k)Vaccines – A significant degree of pediatric health concerns arise out of an impaired immune response to vaccine. There are specific methods to neutralise vaccine damage.

All of the following need to be assessed and treated. We have more that 12 years experience in screening for all these variables. We have clients who fly in from other countries to be assessed for these variables. Imagine what they discovered?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

The next epidemic (Syndrome X)

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The dramatic rise in obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other conditions of prosperous nations are increasingly pegged as epigenetic in nature, and may well claim their origins in faulty embryonic development. We are, quite literally, what we eat as well as what our parents and even grandparents ate.

Metabolic syndrome X is a constellation of metabolic disorders that all result from the primary disorder of insulin resistance. All the metabolic abnormalities associated with syndrome X can lead to cardiovascular disorders – when present as a group, the risk for cardiovascular disease and premature death are very high.

The characteristic disorders present in metabolic syndrome X include:

  • insulin resistance
  • hypertension
  • abnormalities of blood clotting
  • low HDL and high LDL cholesterol levels
  • high triglyceride levels

The chief abnormality present in syndrome X is insulin resistance. That is, the body’s tissues do not respond normally to insulin. As a result, insulin levels become elevated in the body’s attempt to overcome the resistance to insulin. The elevated insulin levels lead, directly or indirectly, to the other metabolic abnormalities seen in these patients.

Very often, the insulin resistance is severe enough that these patients eventually develop frank type 2 diabetes. When diabetes occurs, the high risk of cardiovascular complications goes even higher.

This condition is thought to run in families. The same families who have a history of type 2 diabetes are at risk for metabolic syndrome X. The family members at risk who actually go on to develop syndrome X are those who adopt sedentary lifestyles, and who become obese. In fact, metabolic syndrome X (like type 2 diabetes) can most often be prevented with exercise and weight loss.

Anyone with a family history of type 2 diabetes who is also overweight and who gets little exercise should be evaluated for the glucose, lipid and blood pressure abnormalities associated with syndrome X.

Treatment of syndrome X:

Treating the insulin resistance While there is no drug treatment that directly reverses the insulin resistance that causes syndrome X, there is, in fact, a way to reverse the insulin resistance – diet and exercise. Patients should make every attempt to reduce their body weight to within 20% of the “ideal” body weight calculated for age and height. (The ideal diet for this condition is a low calorie, low-cholesterol diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fiber.) And patients should incorporate aerobic exercise (at least 20 minutes) into their daily lifestyle. If both of these can be accomplished, most of the metabolic abnormalities seen in syndrome X substantially improve.

However, human nature (and human metabolism) being what it is, the majority of patients with syndrome X cannot accomplish these goals. In these cases, each metabolic disorder associated with syndrome X needs to be treated individually, and aggressively.

Treating the lipid abnormalities The lipid abnormalities seen with syndrome X (low HDL, high LDL, and high triglycerides) respond nicely to weight loss and exercise.

Treating the hypertension High blood pressure is present in more than half the people with metabolic syndrome X, and in the setting of insulin resistance, high blood pressure is especially important as a risk factor. Recent studies have suggested that successfully treating hypertension in patients with diabetes can reduce the risk of death and heart disease by a substantial amount.

What you can do:

  • Change in lifestyle, with specific avoidance of substance abuse, smoking cessation, and reduced intake of caffeine and simple sugars.
  • Behavior modification, including a change in eating patterns and amounts of various foodstuffs eaten. A modified low carbohydrate lifestyle with exclusion of simple sugar is valuable. Food that does not deliver a high glucose load is preferred (low glycemic index foods).
  • Exercise matched to the level of the subject’s aerobic fitness, with medical advice or advice from professional trainers, recommended before beginning an exercise program and periodically thereafter.
  • A diet with a reduced intake of simple sugars, salt, and saturated fat; a controlled protein intake; and an increased intake of healthy fats, such as essential fatty acids in fish oil.
  • Use of nutritional factors specifically designed for managing metabolic syndrome, including oat beta-glucan; antioxidants from berries; alpha-lipoic acid (ALA); chromium; biotin; vanadium; phaseolamin (Phase 2); vitamins that will reduce blood homocysteine levels.

In South Asia, undernutrition in one generation is followed by fat-laden fast foods the next. Children are set up in utero to experience an environment of low nutrition and find themselves in the land of plenty. The epigenetic software is programmed for one scenario but encounters another, often with disastrous results. Seismic shifts in food sources, geographic locations, chemical exposures and even weather patterns can alter gene expression through epigenetic changes.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Eat Right for your Blood Type.

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Many foods contain proteins called lectins that can bind to sugars (including blood type antigens) and thus agglutinate the cells of certain blood types but not others, meaning that a food may be harmful to the cells of one blood type, but beneficial to the cells of another.

When you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type antigen, the lectins target an organ and cause the cells in that area to stick together and agglutinate. In effect, lectins interfere with digestion, insulin production, food metabolism, and hormonal balance .The key is to avoid the lectins that target your blood type. For example, chicken, which is fine for Type O and Type A, contains a lectin in its muscle tissue that agglutinates the cells of Type B and Type AB.

Why eating right is important
About 60% of our immune system is expressed in our digestive system. It serves as a protective agent, recognizing and targeting foreign antigens that could damage the body. When you eat a food containing lectins incompatible with your blood type, the incompatible lectins target an organ/s and cause cellular agglutination.

Detrimental effects of lectins include ;

· Interfering with the immune system and creating reactions often mistaken for allergies
· Blocking digestive enzymes, interfering with protein digestion and impairing absorption of crucial nutrients.
· Activating auto-antibodies in inflammatory and autoimmune disease
· Damaging the intestinal lining and influencing gut permeability.

Food Groups and Weight Gain
For each of the blood groups there are certain foods that are “no nos”. If a particular blood type were to indulge in that food group, they are highly likely to put on weight or fall sick.

Group O
For Blood Group O, they thrive on chemical free meats, poultry and fish. They function best when their system is slightly more acidic. They also produce more stomach acid to digest protein. This is generally not true for other blood types. They also tend to have a slightly low thyroid function. Wheat has the effect of clogging the function of their system (corn to a lesser extent). Certain legumes like kidney beans, navy bean, lentils, cabbage contain lectins that deposit in the muscle tissue making them more alkaline and less primed for the explosive activity that is suitable for Type O. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mustard greens are items that tend to lower Type O’s thyroid function further. On the other hand kelp, iodised salt and seafood contain iodine that would increase thyroid hormone production. Liver is an efficient source of B vitamins that would boost metabolism. Red meat, kale, spinach and broccoli all aid efficient metabolism.

Group A
For blood group As they were descendants of farmers. As such they would flourish on vegetarian diets. On an incorrect diet they would be inclined to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Some type A’s experience fluid retention as their digestive system process the unwieldy food. While Type Os burn their meat as fuel, Type As store them primarily as fat. This is because while Type Os have high stomach acid which promotes easy digestion of meat, Type As have low stomach acid content, ideal for an agrarian diet. Dairy products inhibit nutrient metabolism. Both kidney bean and lima beans interfere with digestive enzymes and slow metabolic rate. Wheat in abundance inhibits insulin efficiency and impairs calorie restriction. Vegetable oils on the other hand aid efficient digestion and prevent fluid retention. Soy foods aid efficient digestion and are metabolised quickly. Vegetables aid in efficient metabolism and increase intestinal mobility. Pineapple increases calories utilization and increases intestinal mobility

Group B
Group Bs generally have strong systems. More likely to develop exotic immune system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome.For Blood Group B their diet is balanced and wholesome and includes a wide variety of foods.Corn inhibits insulin efficiency, hampers metabolic rate and cause hypoglycemia. Lentils inhibit proper nutrient intake, hampers metabolic rate and cause hypoglycemia. Peanuts hampers metabolic efficiency and cause hypoglycemia and inhibit liver function. Sesame seeds hamper metabolic efficiency and cause hypoglycemia. Buckwheat inhibits digestion, hampers metabolic efficiency and causes hypoglycemia. Wheat slows the digestive and metabolic process, causes food to be stored as fat, not burned as energy and inhibits insulin efficiency.Green vegetables, meat (except chicken), eggs, low fat dairy products and liver all aid efficient metabolism. Licorice tea counters hypoglycemia (doctor’s supervision only)

Group AB
For Blood Group AB reflect the missed inheritance of both As and Bs. So although they are genetically programmed for red meat, they often lack enough stomach acid to fully digest it. Red meat is poorly digested ,stored as fat and makes the intestines toxic. Kidney beans, lima beans, inhibit insulin efficiency, cause hypoglycemia and slow the metabolic rate down. Seeds and buckwheat cause hypoglycemia. Corn inhibits insulin efficiency.
Wheat slows metabolic process, inefficient use of calories and inhibits insulin efficiency.

Green vegetables, tofu seafood all aid efficient metabolism. Dairy improves insulin production. Kelp improves insulin production. Pineapple aids digestion and stimulates intestinal mobility.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Are vaccines safe for you?

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Very few doctors inform parents about vaccine risks. But vaccine manufacturers place warnings in vaccine containers indicating who should not receive vaccinations. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also make recommendations indicating who should not receive vaccinations. (The AAP publishes a Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases every four years; HHS has guidelines formulated by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Report published by the CDC). This information is included below:

POLIO: Children younger than 6 weeks; people who are ill, or who have cancer of the lymph system.

MEASLES: Children younger than 15 months; pregnant women; people who are ill, or who are allergic to eggs, chicken, feathers, or who have cancer, blood disease, or deficiencies of the immune system.

RUBELLA: Pregnant women; people who are allergic to eggs, chicken, duck, or feathers, or who have cancer, blood disease, or deficiencies of the immune system.

DPT: Any child past the 7th birthday, or who has had a severe reaction to a previous dose, or who has a personal history of convulsions or neurological disease, or who is acutely sick with a fever or respiratory infection, or who is taking medication that may suppress the immune system.

The three vaccine policymakers in America, noted above, do not “officially” consider the following conditions contraindications to the DPT vaccine. However, scientific literature published by pertussis vaccine researchers throughout the world for the past 40 years indicates that such conditions may put a child at high risk:

1. The child is ill with anything, including a runny nose, cough, ear infection, diarrhea, or has recovered from an illness within one month prior to a scheduled DPT shot.

2. The child has a family member who had a severe reaction to a DPT shot.

3. Someone in the child’s immediate family has a history of convulsions or neurological disease.

4. The child was born prematurely or with low birth weight.

5. The child has a personal or family history of severe allergies (i.e., cow’s milk, asthma, eczema).

Vaccines may also be contraindicated for certain people with special conditions not listed above. If you suspect that you or your child may be at high risk, Get The Facts!

In 1986, Congress in USA officially acknowledged the reality of vaccine-caused injuries and death by creating and passing The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (Public Law 99-660). The safety reform portion of this law requires doctors to provide parents with information about the benefits and risks of childhood vaccines prior to vaccination, and to report vaccine reactions to federal health officials.
Doctors are required by law to report suspected cases of vaccine damage. To simplify and centralize this legal requisite, federal health officials established the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) — operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).(40)

Ideally, doctors would abide by this federal law and report adverse events following the administration of a vaccine. However, the FDA recently acknowledged that 90 percent of doctors do not report vaccine reactions. They are choosing to subvert this law by claiming the adverse event was, in their opinion, not related to the shot. In fact, every year about 12,000 reports of adverse reactions to vaccines are made to the FDA (data accessible only through the Freedom of Information Act). These figures include hospitalizations, irreversible brain damage, and hundreds of deaths. Considering that these numbers represent just 10 percent, the true figures during this period could be as high as 120,000 adverse events annually.

Maybe it doesn’t matter that doctors won’t report vaccine reactions, because the federal government won’t investigate them. Government officials claim VAERS was designed to “document” suspected cases of vaccine damage. No attempt is being made to confirm or deny the reports. Parents are not being interviewed, and the vaccines that preceded the severe reactions are not being recalled. Instead, new waves of unsuspecting parents and innocent children are being subjected to the damaging shots.

In order to pay for vaccine injuries and deaths, a surtax is levied on mandated vaccines. When parents elect to have their children vaccinated, a portion of the money they spend on each vaccine goes into a congressional fund to compensate them if their child is hurt or killed by the shot. This insurance fee ranges from several dollars per dose (for the DPT and MMR vaccines) to several cents per dose for some of the others.

The compensation portion of the law awards up to $250,000 if the individual dies, or millions of dollars to cover lifelong medical bills, pain, and suffering in the case of a living (but brain damaged) child. By August 31, 1997, more than $802 million had already been paid out for hundreds of injuries and deaths caused by mandated vaccines. Thousands of cases are still pending.

If vaccines are so safe, why do you have to pay a surtax to pay for legal costs?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Are we destroying our genetic future?

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For most of us, genetic inheritance plays a limited role in determining our health. More important is where and how we live, work, and play — the quality of what we drink, eat, and breathe. From the time of conception, throughout development, and into early and late adulthood, environmental factors either directly impact biological tissues or influence gene expression and shape subsequent disease risks.

Although links between exposures to environmental contaminants and health impacts have been known for centuries, recent research documents an expanding list of previously unrecognized effects occur after fetal or infant exposures. The developing fetus and child are particularly vulnerable to toxic insults. During this time cells are rapidly dividing, and growth is dramatic. Various events, including development of the brain and endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems, are uniquely susceptible to disruption that is often permanent. To compound the problem, pound for pound, children are often disproportionately exposed to toxic environmental agents because of the way they breathe, eat, drink, and play. Moreover, immature detoxification pathways in children frequently result in increased impacts of toxic exposures when compared to adults.

To the limited degree that health care providers address environmental factors at all, most focus nearly all of their attention on personal behaviors, like smoking, substance abuse, or use of sunscreens. These are more easily addressed by individuals than more complex problems like air and water pollution, hazardous waste sites, agricultural systems that inevitably result in farmworker pesticide exposures, and mercury contamination of dietary fish. Global environmental conditions, however, are changing, along with the changing pattern of disease and disability, and our increasing understanding of the importance of environmental factors in determining the health of individuals and populations places a new and special responsibility on the medical profession.

Consider that

** The release of ozone-depleting chemicals used for industrial and agricultural purposes has depleted the stratospheric ozone layer and is likely a major contributor to the increased incidence of malignant melanoma.

** Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent in the last 150 years. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Hazardous air pollution, in general, is the norm in most parts of the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

** Humans are responsible for more atmospheric nitrogen fixation than all other sources combined. Nitrates contaminate groundwater, surface water, and air at toxic concentrations.

** Humans are responsible for most of the mercury deposition on the surface of the earth. Mercury makes its way into the food chain, where it bioconcentrates. In most states, freshwater and marine fish are sufficiently contaminated with mercury to require warnings to women of reproductive age to limit consumption because of risks to fetal brain development.

** In addition to naturally occurring products like lead and mercury that are mined from the earth, novel synthetic industrial chemicals contaminate the world’s ecosystems, its human and non-human inhabitants, their breast milk and egg yolk, ovarian follicles, amniotic fluid, and meconium. The toxicity of most is little known.

** Of the approximately 85,000 chemicals on the federal inventory, nearly 3,000 are produced in excess of 1 million pounds annually. For these high-production volume (HPV) chemicals, toxicity data are surprisingly sparse. Even basic toxicity testing results are not publicly available for 75 percent of them.In the U.S., according to the 2000 Toxics Release Inventory, over 6.2 billion pounds of the listed toxic chemicals, including 2 billion pounds of known or suspected neurotoxicants, were released into the environment by major emitters required by federal law to file reports. Emissions from small industries and neighborhood shops are unquantified. The extent of exposure from these releases and from the use of various consumer products that contain them is also largely unknown, but population-based surveys give an indication of the ubiquity of exposures.

Small exposures to substances like lead, mercury, or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have no discernible impact on adults, can permanently damage the developing brain of a child, if the exposure occurs during a window of vulnerability. Early exposures to dioxin or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals from industrial activities that bioaccumulate in dietary fat, damage the developing immune system, making the child more prone to infections, risks of asthma and high blood pressure are increased by early environmental exposures. Recent research from Sweden concludes not only that environmental factors play a more important role than genetic inheritance in the origin of most cancers, but also that cancer risk is largely established during the first 20 years of life.

Some birth defects, including disorders of the male reproductive system and some forms of congenital heart disease, are increasingly common. Sperm counts and fertility are in decline in some areas of the U.S. and other parts of the world. Asthma is more common and more severe than ever before. Genetic factors explain far less than half of the population variance for most of these conditions. Although smoking and sun exposure are well-recognized risk factors for some conditions, improved understanding of development of the brain and the immune, reproductive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems leads to the conclusion that other environmental factors play a major role in determining current patterns of disease.

Be well
Dr Sundardas

Protecting Yourself against the Swine Flu.

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A new study just published in the journal Postgraduate Medicine has good news about a way to help fight a potential flu pandemic, naturally. Researchers found that a specific strain of probiotics, which are beneficial microorganisms similar to the “friendly” bacteria found naturally in the body’s digestive system, increases the body’s immune response to the flu virus — specifically, to influenza A. And the currently much hyped and much feared so-called swine flu, also known as H1N1, is a variant of influenza A.

Although many mainstream medical doctors as well as natural health practitioners have long recognized that probiotics can often help people with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diarrhea, gas, and bloating, the idea that taking probiotics could help healthy people stay that way has been controversial. But the new study could change that notion. It shows that taking probiotics regularly can boost the immune system in a specific way which helps the body give influenza A the boot. The probiotics strain, which has the scientific tongue-twister name of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, PTA-6086, was found to cause significant increases in T-cell production of TNF-alpha, a key immune system activity marker, when health adults were exposed to influenza.

Researcher Mira Baron, MD, measured changes in blood TNF-alpha levels in 10 healthy adult volunteers before and after they took doses of the probiotic strain Bacillus coagulans (which is marketed under the trade name GanedenBC30 and found in various dietary supplements) daily and then were exposed to an influenza A virus. Results showed a huge 1709 percent increase in TNF-alpha levels upon viral challenge after the research participants had taken the probiotic for about a month. Dr. Baron noted in her study that the initial, dramatic increase in the body’s production of TNF-alpha in response to viral exposure shows a heightened immunological response aimed at protecting against infection.

The study did not evaluate an immune response to the specific swine flu virus, H1N1, currently causing much worry. However, there’s certainly reason to think that Bacillus coagulans could boost the body’s natural defenses to fight a variety of flu viruses, including swine flu. “These results demonstrate the ability of GanedenBC30 to boost the immune system of healthy adults against viruses that cause some of the most common human illnesses,” Dr. Baron said in a statement to the press. “The study helps support the long-suspected belief about the beneficial effects of GanedenBC30 on the immune system and adds to the emerging body of evidence that probiotics can benefit healthy people as well as those with specific health issues.”

According to Dr Peter D’Adamo, you should aim to protect the gut and respiratory passages. Elderberry should be used only by people under 15 or over 35. This is one of the useful herbs. The other herb that can be considered is licorice.

Also of course in order to keep your immune system at an all time high, you want to minimize your exposure to harmful lectins. If you are not quite sure what types of lectins are bad for you, please refer to my earlier blog on, “Why all diets are not equal”. Be wary of immune stimulants. Some of the products outlined above are part of a comprehensive protective program.

However in the event that you actually do get an infection, then you may want to consider a product called “lentin plus”. Lentin Plus 1000 is a dietary supplement, which contains Rice Bran Arabinoxylan Compound that has been scientifically shown to increase NK cell activity by as much as 300% in just a couple of weeks, whilst T and B cell activities are increased by 200 and 150% respectively. Research has also shown that it can help significantly boost natural antibody production, as well as other parameters of the immune system. It has been clinically proven to help powerfully enhance depleted immune systems and improve the quality of life. I have used this product for my patients and myself for the management of acute viral infections. The results have to be experienced to be believed.

It is also important to be sufficiently well hydrated. Research has shown that significant dehydration can have an impact on the immune system as well. There are certain white cells that are sensitive to histamine and that strongly inhibit the activity of the immune system in the bone marrow. There are twice as many of these white cells as there are cells that stimulate the immune system. Thus, dehydration that can cause the production and release of more than a certain amount of histamine may, in the long run, suppress the immune systems of the body at its central command station, the bone marrow.

One way the immune system relies on water is the same as for exercise. Dehydration causes the blood to become concentrated and torpid–not optimal conditions for immune cells to rush the invader. Furthermore, water helps regulate temperature–essential during fever–and flushes microbes and toxins out of the body. Remember, thirst is an indicator that you are already dehydrated.

Those who lead healthy lifestyles do not have to worry about the destruction done by smoking, alcohol and drug use, but toxic chemicals are present elsewhere and are harmful to our immune systems. Avoiding second-hand smoke is essential. Also important is the amount of non-organic foods you ingest. This is particularly true for children, because the EPA’s guidelines for safe pesticide levels are standardized for a large adult human male, not for children who are not only smaller but who metabolize chemicals at a different rate.

The cells that comprise the immune system–NK cells, macrophages, B-cells, T-cells, etc.–rely on a well functioning, strong circulatory and lymphatic system. A sedentary lifestyle leads to lethargic blood and lymph flow. By neglecting to take physical exercise, by overworking mind or body, we unbalance the nervous system.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Sweet Poison.

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In 1957, Dr. William Coda Martin tried to answer the question: When is a food a food and when is it a poison? His working definition of “poison” was: “Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction.”1 The dictionary gives an even broader definition for “poison”: “to exert a harmful influence on, or to pervert”.

Dr. Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals. “What is left consists of pure, refined carbohydrates. The body cannot utilize this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present. Nature supplies these elements in each plant in quantities sufficient to metabolize the carbohydrate in that particular plant. There is no excess for other added carbohydrates. Incomplete carbohydrate metabolism results in the formation of ‘toxic metabolite’ such as pyruvic acid and abnormal sugars containing five carbon atoms. Pyruvic acid accumulates in the brain and nervous system and the abnormal sugars in the red blood cells.

These toxic metabolites interfere with the respiration of the cells. They cannot get sufficient oxygen to survive and function normally. In time, some of the cells die. This interferes with the function of a part of the body and is the beginning of degenerative disease.”

When the Muslims originally clashed with the Christian warriors in the Middle-east at the time of the Crusades they were formidable warriors. As they slowly started capturing Christian territory and took over the sugar cane plantations and began to cultivate a “sweet tooth” they slowly lost their invincibility.

A molecule of sucrose requires 27 nutrients before it can be broken down to supply energy in the Kreb’s cycle. Which means that since white sugar is “empty” calories, every molecule of sugar will strip 27 nutrients from the body (normally from the nutrients stored in the liver for detoxification). When you smoke, you are exposed to about 4000 toxic items in the cigarette smoke which your body must use up nutrients from your liver to detox.

It is a noticeable trend that more and more food items have “low-sugar” labels on them. With respect to human body needs, how much sugar do we really need daily? Low sugar labels are fine. Sugar substitutes however can be even worse as in aspartame or nutrasweet. Refer to Andy Ho’s article a few years ago about aspartame being used to kill ants because of its neurotoxic properties.

The world (particularly East Asian) countries are facing an epidemic called “Syndrome X”. One of the major reasons for this is the introduction of refined carbohydrates and white sugar.

You need from 1200 calories for women to 1800 calories for men on a daily basis. You can get these calories from foods which are packed with nutrition or from foods with empty calories like white sugar. If you get them from nutrient rich food than as you meet your caloric needs, you are also meeting your nutritional needs for vitamins and minerals.

When carbohydrates from your diet are processed in you body they are broken down into glucose. You don’t need to take extra sugar, provided you meet your caloric needs.

There are different forms of sugars and sugar substitutes. Some of you may wonder what they are all about. Fructose is fruit sugar. Table sugar is sucrose which is the most common form of empty calories. Glucose is the form that all forms of carbohydrates and sugars are broken down in your body to naturally.

Molasses is what is obtained from sugar cane juice when its concentrated. Honey is from bees. These are probably the healthiest ways of getting your sugar, because they are often rich in nutrients.

Nutrasweet or aspartame – I have mentioned above is neurotoxic. One account states that diabetics who sued it found their diabetes hard to manage in the long term.

Many people experience craving for sugary items, e.g. cakes and cookies, when they are stressed, and they feel better after satisfying the craving. Some health reports point out that this is in fact very bad for health. This is often related to hypoglycemia. As they get stressed, the body overreacts and the sugar level plummets down.

So they take more sugar rich foods, which further strips the body of nutrition and upsets the body’s biochemistry. As they keep doing this, the cells become increasingly resistant to glucose so they move towards either Syndrome X or diabetes.

How does want start to reduce sugar in one’s diet? One teaspoonful of granulated sugar contains 15 calories, 8 teaspoonfuls of sugar is found in one can of coke. You don’t need to drink coke. If you must drink coffee and tea, do it without sugar. This is one extreme. If you really wanted to cut out totally empty calories, this is how you can do it. Instead of drinking coke, drink water.

For some, this feels like too much. So they can gradually cut down. If you drink one coke a day, do it on alternate days for one week, the next week once in three days. The week therafter, once in 4days, than once in five days and so on. Finally you drink only one can of coke a week.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Why are we not biologically equal?

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One of the major divides between Western Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is the concept of individuality. In Western medicine, if you have a flu, you are treated the same way. In CAM, depending on your practitioner you would be examined and analysed to discover what was the weakness that led to you developing the flu.

One man’s food is another man’s poison. Most people are eating foods that are not compatible with their biochemistry, and it is making them sick. Should you be a vegetarian or a meat eater? Are grains and dairy products compatible for you? What foods super charge your particular metabolism and what foods deplete your vitality?

According to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Nutrition findings, most Americans are deficient in three or more essential nutrients. Nutritional experts tell us that it is more like twelve and some sick people being deficient in as many as fifty nutrients.

Are you toxic? Are any organs of your body being affected by toxins due to junk food, fast food, and devitalized food? Singaporeans are fast becoming toxic garbage dumps. In naturopathic medicine we believe that toxicity is the common denominator of all disease.

Most modern day diseases are degenerative in nature. It takes 10-20 years or more to develop diabetes, arthritis, stroke, cancer, heart disease, etc. Testing can predict your tendency towards particular disease and help to construct a nutritional and lifestyle program to prevent disease. The science is now available to prevent most degenerative disease at their earliest inception.

The newest Singaporean phenomena is popping pills. Everyone is popping vitamins these days, but does anyone know what they are doing? Now you can know exactly what you should be taking based on your individual biochemistry. No more guess work, no more trial and error, no more opinions, no more gurus. Now you can know exactly what vitamins to take based on your individual biochemistry.

As incredible and unbelievable as it may seem, doctors take blood, but never speak to you about your diet, vitamins or food supplements. Finally… you can learn what each and every blood bio-marker means to you nutritionally and what you should do about it.

Due to dietary improprieties, nutritional deficiencies, and toxicity, the bodies of many Singaporeans have become inefficient, low energy, fat storing, depots. Now you can convert your body into a highly efficient, energetic, fat burning dynamo. You can now stop storing fat and begin burning it.

Confusion is the order of the day in America. So much information, misinformation, and disinformation has bombarded us by the media, airwaves, and market place, that it is difficult for even intelligent people to sort it all out. Nutritional testing cuts through the information maze and hones in on your individual biochemistry.

The old allopathic medical model waited until a named disease developed, then fought the disease. Nutritional and functional medicine testing changes that model. You now become proactive and responsible for your health, rather than inactive and irresponsible. No longer do you wait for disease. You will now have the tools to aggressively build a state of high level wellness and nutritional soundness that allows you to live the abundant life, physically, mentally, and spiritually. This is what we believe preventive medicine is all about.

Nutritional testing and personal health evaluation is an educational experience. You get to learn how efficiently every gland, organ, and system of your body is working long before a named medical condition sets in. Over a hundred biodiagnostic markers can be evaluated to determine your wellness status. For many patients it is the first time their blood and urine results have been explained in such detail. You will learn what each individual test means. The clinical range used by orthodox medicine to diagnose medically named conditions,

At Natural Therapies Centre we believe we are what we eat. Testing will tell you what foods you need to eat more of to get the nutrients your body needs, and what foods you need to avoid.

I like to quote an example to illustrate the above concepts. I have been seeing this nice young man in his thirties. Lets call him James. James was being treated for hypertension. He came in to see me to sort out his chronic gastric condition. After a few months this condition was managed quite satisfactorily. Now many of the individuals I have helped with their gastric condition, do not go on to develop other complications. Almost a year later, James developed what turned out to be chronic pancreatitis. He had almost passed out, been admitted to hospital for observation and finally scoped, analysed ad nauseum and diagnosed.

James was in a state of shock. He had no idea why this had happened. The doctors in the hospital kept treating James like an alcoholic. Finally we did a DNA test on him. The results were very revealing. James tested positive for 8 out of 108 possible disease patterns. In other words if he had adopted a normal Singaporean reasonably lifestyle he might have had a stroke, heart failure (in three different possible ways) or developed cancer. Thanks to the test results, his life could take a different path. James now had the choice of making drastic changes that would enable him to have a high quality disease free life. This would give him a good chance of being able to watch his children grow up and have families.

Unfortunately, James’ father never had that chance. He had a stroke when James was still in his teens and had never recovered.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Can an open mind save your life?

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A few years ago, I was talking to one of my ex-wife’s ( we were still married then), very good friend. I was talking to her about wellness screening and early prevention. Like many Asian ladies who feel what they don’t know won’t hurt them, she said, “ I really rather not know. That way, I can carry on doing what I am doing” Barely six months later, she discovered she had a lump in her breast and she had to do a needle biopsy. Fortunately for her, the lump was benign. It could have very easily been otherwise.

Contrast this with a Spanish lady from Thailand who flew in to consult me after discovering she had a small lump that was cancerous. Her lifestyle was okay, her diet was better than mine and no one had any idea why she developed her cancer. She was smart enough after the surgery to remove the lump not to “Let sleeping dogs lie”. She wanted to get to the root cause. In the end we discovered that the smoking gun was a badly leaking mercury filling that was situated in the tooth related to the stomach meridian. For those who have no idea of acupuncture, the Stomach Meridian is one of the few meridians that passes along the pathway of the breast. Most breast cancers have a dental link, either a badly leaking mercury filling or a root canal gone bad.

The American Medical Association after saying for 40 years that three square meals a day could feed your nutritional needs, has totally reversed this stand. The statement below totally repudiates that stand. The AMA has been forced to revise its views in light of the new evidence. They say it takes 25 years before a new idea takes hold in medicine. In 25 years every medical doctor will be studying nutrition thoroughly. Currently average medical education spends 7 to 12 hours out of a 7 year education on food, vitamins, minerals and health. Can you afford to wait for 25 years before your GP has the “right” education to help you prevent illness?

“ Vitamin deficiency syndromes such as scurvy and beriberi are  uncommon in  modern (Western) societies. However, suboptimal intake of some  vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk  factor for chronic diseases and common ……  especially the elderly. Suboptimal folic acid levels, along with  suboptimal levels of vitamins B6 and B12, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, and colon and breast cancer; low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia and fractures; and low levels of the antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, E, and C) may increase risk for several chronic diseases. ……it appears  prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements…….. Physicians should make specific efforts to learn about their patients’  …. to ensure that they are taking vitamins they should, such as folate supplementation for women in the childbearing years, and avoiding dangerous practices such as high doses of vitamin A during pregnancy or massive doses of fat-soluble vitamins at any age. “ (JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129)

I saw this young lady who said she had a lump in her breast. She refused to have it  X-rayed or scanned. I felt that I could not responsibly treat someone without appropriate testing. She opted to work with someone else who promised that her condition would clear up. This someone kept selling her health products for two years giving her the impression that her cancer would improve. She survived for two years and then her cancer went out of control. What would have been a fairly simple issue with the correct surgical intervention with nutritional follow up became a death dealing downward spiral.

Every other week I see a new young autistic child in my practice. Most of these children which I am treating will within 1.5  years will be unrecognizably positively changed in their physical, mental and emotional ability. They will have the ability to increase their educational and emotional horizons in a way their untreated brothers and sisters will not have.

Meanwhile there will be mainstream doctors saying nothing can be done and you have to live with it and complementary and alternative physicians saying that  they can do “something” when the reality is that they do not understand what they are dealing with. I attended a International Homeoepathic Conference of mostly classical homeopaths who were still trying to treat autistic cases using classical homeoepathy. Than I heard about acupunturists from China who were claiming to treat autism with acupuncture. Nether group had done any kind of serious formal research to document the effectiveness of their study. I found this really sad. Parents will be given false hope. When these methods fail to provide results, there will be a backlash (like there was in Singapore) and someone will deliver a blanket statement that non of these methods work for “Autism” Its absolutely amazes me how such definitive comments are passed.

What you can do for yourself in the event of having a significant health issue? Educate yourself. Find out what is the standard medical approach? What are the success rates. What are the down sides? Check for complementary approaches to the problem. Explore exactly the same issues, the plus and minuses. Talk to physicians that you trust from both camps about what their experiences are. See if you can find a consensus approach. There are very few absolutes. If someone says that they all the answers on one topic, it may be possible. If they purport to be an authority on a whole scope of unrelated medical conditions, its time to be careful.

Nothing of course beats pre-emptive wellness care. Eat wisely. Exercise appropriately and for long enough (but not too long). Make sure you are taking enough supplements.

And no, taking just 1000 mg of Vitamin C and nothing else is not appropriate supplementation. Make sure that you are taking Vitamins and Minerals. If you are older than  35, ensure you have digestive enzymes and probiotics as well together with a broad spectrum essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6 and 9). Ensure that you do some form of wellness screening especially after 35 apart from the standard medical testing. What happens after this? Make sure that you have a life worth living. Meaningful work, a happy family. Friends that share your interests and you can have deep conversations with.

A deep meaningful spiritual connection in whatever way that speaks to you. And yes curiosity and an open mind.

Be well

Dr  Sundardas

Not all essential fatty acids are equal

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How much fatty acids do you need? To answer this question, you need to honestly evaluate your eating habits? How much cold water fish and nuts do you eat? Does your family have a history of heart disease? Do you eat a lot of red meat? Do you eat fish? If you still can’t decide and, given the typical Asian diet, there is probably room for supplementation of EFA’s in your diet.

Most people consume too much omega-6 relative to the amount of omega-3 that they get. Vegetarians must be particularly careful because it is much easier to get supplies of omega-6 in the vegetarian diet. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 that should be ingested is around 6:1 for fish-eaters, and 3:1 for vegetarians (because they need to manufacture their own EPA and DHA). Flaxseed oil (or simply flax seeds) is a good choice to boost the intake of omega-3 provided you are healthy and you can break down the flax seed oil into omega-3 and omega-6 .

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are fats that are essential to the diet because the body cannot produce them. Essential fatty acids are extremely important nutrients for health. They are present in every healthy cell in the body, and are critical for the normal growth and functioning of the cells, muscles, nerves, and organs. EFAs are also used by the body to produce a class of hormone-like substances called prostaglandins, which are key to many important processes. Deficiencies of EFAs are linked to a variety of health problems, including major ones such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. It has been estimated that as high as 80% of the American population may consume insufficient quantities of EFAs.

Very few health issues have received as much attention during the past several decades as the question of fat in the diet. Sixty-eight percent of mortalities in America are related to fat consumption and diet, including heart disease (44% of deaths), cancer (22%) and diabetes (2%). There are several types of dietary fats. Saturated fat is found mainly in animal products, including meat and dairy products, and avocados, and nuts. Cholesterol is a dietary fat that is only found in animal products. Cholesterol is also made by the body in small amounts from saturated fats. Heavy consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol has been linked to heart disease and cancer. Unsaturated fats are typically oils from vegetables, nuts, and are present in some fish. These are considered the healthiest dietary fats. Essential fatty acids are unsaturated fats. EFAs are the only fats that may need to be increased in the American diet.

Scientists classify essential fatty acids into two types, omega 3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, depending on their chemical composition. Technically, the omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid, stearidonic acid, and two others called EPA and DHA. Alpha-linolenic acid is found mainly in flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybeans, walnuts, hemp seeds, and dark green leafy vegetables. Stearidonic acid is found in rarer types of seeds and nuts, including black currant seeds. EPA and DHA are present in cold-water fish, including salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel and cod. Cod liver oil is a popular nutritional supplement for omega-3 EFAs.
Omega-6 fatty acids are more common in the Asian diet than the omega-3 EFAs. These include linoleic acid, which is found in safflower, olive, almond, sunflower, hemp, soybean, walnut, pumpkin, sesame, and flaxseed oils. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is found in some seeds and evening primrose oil. Arachidonic acid (AA) is present in meat and animal products.

Both types of EFAs, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, are necessary in a healthy diet. Deficiencies of EFAs have been brought about by changes in diet and the modern processing of foods and oils. Many nutritionists believe that a major dietary problem is the use of hydrogenated oils, which are present in margarine and many processed foods.

Hydrogenated oils are highly refined by industrial processes, and contain toxic by-products and trans-fatty acids. Trans-fatty acids are fat molecules with chemically altered structures, and are believed to have several detrimental effects on the body. Trans-fatty acids interfere with the absorption of healthy EFAs, and may contribute to atherosclerosis, or damage to the arteries. Deep-fried foods, which are cooked in oil that is altered by very high temperatures, also contain trans-fatty acids.

Dietary changes that have contributed to EFA deficiency or imbalances include the increased use of oils that contain few or no omega-3 EFAs; the industrial milling of flour that removes the EFA-containing germ; the increase of sugar and fried foods in the diet that may interfere with the body’s absorption of EFAs; and the decreased consumption of fish.

Symptoms of EFA deficiency or imbalance include dry or scaly skin, excessively dry hair, cracked fingernails, fatigue, weakness, frequent infections, allergies, mood disorders, hyperactivity, depression, memory and learning problems, slow wound healing, aching joints, poor digestion, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol.  EFA supplementation is recommended for over 60 health conditions. EFAs are used therapeutically to treat and to prevent cardiovascular problems, including heart disease, high cholesterol, strokes, and high blood pressure. EFAs also have anti-inflammatory effects in the body, and are used in the nutritional treatment of arthritis, asthma, allergies, and skin conditions (e.g., eczema). EFAs are used as support for immune system disorders including AIDS, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and cancer.

Common EFA supplements are flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, borage oil, black currant seed oil, hemp seed oil, and cod liver oil. Consumers should search for supplements that contain both omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs, because imbalances of EFAs may occur if either is taken in excess over long periods of time.

Be well

Dr Sundardas