Defy Your Doctor And Be Healed

Way back in 2005 my grandfather was dying of congestive heart failure, which anyone familiar with that term, knows it’s a slow and painful way to die. It surprised nobody, because if you don’t exercise or eat properly for 30 years, your heart just doesn’t pump right. A month before he died, he went on a zero-sodium diet and lost 30 pounds, becoming unrecognizable. But it was too late.

Corriher’s book gives practical and often cost-effective ways to treat things like depression and diabetes without drugs. For instance, it recommends a mineral called Niacin for depression, which is found in fish, then goes on to list the hazards of processed carbohydrates when it comes to emotional health. Other processed food ingredients, such as MSG, are listed with all the pre-existing conditions that they will aggravate. Aspartame, another unhealthy additive, has been linked to brain damage and Parkinson’s disease. Giving up sodas is strongly recommended.

Non-food products are covered here too, especially food containers. Plastic water bottles contain harmful chemicals, and even metal water bottles can be hazardous because acidic beverages will react with them, giving off harmful compounds. Chlorine is found in tap water, crackers, and processed fish, adding to the ill health effects.

Like many Americans, my grandfather relied on a cocktail of hypertension drugs, blood thinner drugs, drugs, drugs, and more drugs, pumping billions into the pharmaceuticals industry. I’ve seen articles on patients who reduced their meds for 20 to three by exercising and cutting out processed food. Not only is it cheaper than all the drugs, but it produces greater long-term results. The human body can’t continue functioning normally if it’s worn out from years of chemical use.

Tales of a Forensic Pathologist by Zoya Schmutter

Long before we had CSI and all those wonderful crime dramas, the New York City medical examiners were climbing up staircases to examine the dead, and it wasn’t glamorous or even rewarding. Dr. Schmutter was an immigrant physician from the Soviet Union, assigned to respond to homicides, accidents, and mysterious deaths were the cause was undetermined. The doctors were mostly immigrants from USSR or Haiti, and it was thankless work. You had to show up at whatever scene of death there was, whether the elevator worked or not. Traveling by subway was a long haul in the days before Guiliani, and as any NYC resident of the time will remember, it was never a safe place to be at night.

Zoya Schmutter writes in a way the captures the sights, sounds, and even smells of her work. She discusses the intense inspections of the dead bodies, taking blood and tissue samples, the dark, dingy basements where the medical examiners worked. There are a few short anecdotes about her cases, like the exotic dancer with the double life, or the mummified woman whose family didn’t know she was dead. Some photos or maps would be helpful, and perhaps some more info about the ways that the pathologist determines the cause of death.

Marijuana Syndromes by John Mini

Marijuana Syndromes is all about the way marijuana use interacts with other herbal drugs. The author, and acupuncturist and herbalist, discusses the many unhealthy side effects of marijuana use, along with practical advice for making it less hazardous. For instance, the chapter “Balancing the Effects of Marijuana” discusses proper nutrition and sleep if you’re going to use cannabis, along with proper fluids and exercise. He also recommends having friends that don’t use marijuana, and using reading and study to keep your mind sharp. Later chapters cover the herbs that you prescribe to counter the effects of marijuana use, and also the right foods to eat if you use marijuana. Most of the foods recommended are bitter greens, or root vegetables like carrots.

The overall point of this book is that like any other herb, marijuana can have negative effects if you take too much of it and too frequently. He stresses a balanced approach to marijuana use, taking it only as a supplement to proper exercise, nutrition, and lifestyles.

Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family

When New Orleans flooded, nobody was ready, not even the local National Guard. When Hurricane Sandy hit NY and NJ, some were ready. For those who didn’t lose their houses, many lost power and running water. But the ones who survived the power outages were the ones who said “fine, I’ll go without comforts for a few days.” But did they have adequate clothes? Did they keep a supply of water? Did they have flashlights?

Before I get into details, let me tell you that this book is not for the “doomsday prepper.” It doesn’t tell you how to fight off hordes of flesh-eating zombies, or survive a nuclear holocaust; those things are unlikely. It does tell you how to prepare your home for a natural disaster, like an earthquake. You can’t make your home 100% earthquake resistant, that’s impossible. But what you can do is fasten the boiler to the wall, same thing with the washing machine and the fridge.

Dr. Bradley covers basic things, like water purifiers, which everyone should have in their home regardless. Then he covers geographically-specific things, like having a small boat if you live in a flood zone. If you live 20 feet above sea level and a mile from the shore, a boat would be unnecessary, but as we saw in Hurricane Sandy, canoes came in handy for Breezy Point residents. First aid kits, fire extinguishers, and the knowledge of how to use them, are essentials not matter where you live.

The chapter that I found most relevant was #13, Financial Preparedness, because this country has seen a million homeowners get hit by surprise since 2007. Bradley covers the most obvious ways to save money; get rid of cable TV, quit smoking, buy a used car, drink tap water. All of these things can save you a fortune. If you’re obese, diabetic, and you need 20 medications, maybe this is the time to cut processed foods? Can you work out without a gym? Can you bike to work to save on the gas?

Too often, we seek out creature comforts rather than practical skills. Before you even think of disaster, think of something more likely, such as a strike. If there’s a truck driver strike, and bread trucks aren’t coming in, do you know how to make your own bread from flour and yeast? If the butchers go on strike, can you butcher a hog yourself? Are you willing to keep chickens in your backyard when eggs aren’t reaching the stores? After the threat of strikes is over, can you stand to go without electricity? Can you wash your clothes by hand, and hang them out to dry? Will you and your kids go crazy without TV or WiFi?

If you want to be secure in your finances, health, family, and community, read this book. Don’t bother with Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad” series, which is all quackery and get-rich-quick schemes. Dr. Bradley give practical advice on saving money, energy, food, space, and your life. Remember how the subprime foreclosure crisis devastated whole towns? So many people were unprepared for that, and I bet it’s the biggest disaster we’ve had since the Great Depression. People lose homes in hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, but the foreclosure crisis hit people no matter where they lived.

Let me finish by saying that on 9/11, the first thing I did was buy a flashlight. I never needed it, until the blackout of 2003, and on that, do you know what happened to me? The flashlight didn’t work! I had left the batteries in there for so long that they corroded. On the one night that I needed it most, I had no flashlight, and the stores were sold out. I never, ever, made that mistake again.

Motivation and Reinforcement: Turning the Tables on Autism

Robert Schramm believes that kids with autism should be accepted as they are. But adults and teens with autism, who never got the help they needed when they were younger, may end up feeling very lonely. By teaching the child some skills for life, you can make it easier for the child to fit into his or her environment.

Schramm provides ideas on how to encourage the kind of behavior that the parent desires,  such as removing things to change the environment. Even if you are okay with something in the home, it may not be acceptable in public. Would you want a child doing it in your home? Would it be acceptable at a public swimming pool?  If not, then it requires work. One of the suggestions in this book is to NOT take things away as punishment, opting instead for a “cash and carry” policy; you get the said reward when you do the task, no credit or excuses allowed. If the rule is “no TV until homework is done” then stick to the rule and don’t take “I forgot the book” as an excuse.

My only fault with the book is that there aren’t enough stories or examples to illustrate. The Grandparents’ Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorders has many, along with diagrams and pictures, which would be helpful too.

Those Are MY Private Parts by Diane Hansen

This book reminds me of that 1980’s commercial with Emmanuel Lewis (the short kid from Webster, if anyone remembers) where he says “say no, go, and tell.” The problem with that commercial was that absolutely no child in the USA had any idea what they were talking about. Unfortunately, Those Are MY Private Parts has the same fault; kids will not understand any of it.

TAMPP consists of short poems that say “there is no private parts game” or “I don’t have to let anyone see my private parts.” The reason I think it’s futile is that these kids can’t say no, and the reason they can’t say no is that they’re not allowed to. Kids are always taught to obey authority, so what happens when mom and dad leave their kid with Uncle Ralph for the night and he tries something? Let’s say eight year old Marsha gets dirty from picking berries, so Uncle Ralph insists she take a bath. Then he insists on not only “helping” her undress, but insists on scrubbing her back, cleaning those “hard to reach places,” and then giving her a good “drying off.” What is Marsha going to do? Do you think she’s going to bark “those are MY private parts, and you’re not allowed to touch them!” I doubt it, because the average kid doesn’t want to displease the grownups and risk getting them mad at her.

Perhaps the book would serve a greater purpose if it involved a fictional story with regular illustrations? Kids need concrete examples in order to learn, and they learn best by seeing examples of rules in action. Another reason why I think this book won’t work is that kids (especially in the USA) are taught to allow “forcible touching.” By that I mean telling them “go give Uncle Ralph a hug or you can’t have your Christmas presents” or it can be “give your aunt a kiss or I’ll be very angry!” If we dictate to kids that they have to let grownups touch them, how can we expect them to tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable touching?

Handbook of Peritoneal Dialysis by Dr. Steven Guest

Dr. Guest’s book is thoroughly inclusive, starting from the early days of Peritoneal Dialysis up to the present day and any problems involved. He states bluntly at the very beginning that some countries have not yet begun to use this technique, while others have enjoyed the benefits for years. As with any medical procedure, safety is paramount, and this book covers the proper way to place catheters. It also advises the repair of any pre-existing conditions, such as hernias, that can get in the way of the catheter placement.

A chapter is given on the use of Peritoneal Dialysis in obsess patients, for whom the procedure may bring further complications. Caution must be used with regard to anti-inflammatory drugs, and the catheters must be placed in a certain way so that they can be monitored, in case an infection flares up.

Yoga For Singers by Linda Lister

“Be ready to throw some ego and insecurity out the window” says the author. According to her, yoga for singers is just like any kind of yog; it means you can’t think about how you look. Forget about looking fat, forget about how people look at you, yoga means concentration. But then again, aren’t performers supposed to concentrate? Aren’t stage actors supposed to ignore the thousands of eyes looking at them? Somehow, I think that the only remedy for stage fright is concentration, and that is what yoga is about.

Yoga For Singers is perfect for anyone looking to have a career in performing arts. It teaches both physical and mental self-discipline, focusing on concentration and anxiety control. There are photos on every page, illustrating the many poses available.