OCTOBER 26, 2020 INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

It seems the independent book stores are a thing of the past. First it was Barnes and Noble taking over the city. That is even a thing of the past. Many of the B & N in New York City are gone as with other book stores. Do you remember the movie “ You’ve Got Mail” about Joe who belongs to the Fox family that runs Fox Books, a chain of mega bookstores. The story involves Kathleen’s small children’s book store against the mega Fox Books.

Many buy their books on line. Either you are reading on a kindle ( which I can’t do) or you are buying on line from Amazon. I still prefer to read a hard cover book.

Then there is the specialty bookstores. The specialty independent: the bookstore that services a specific clientele, with curated offerings to fit the community. Sometimes, that community is the LGBT community—and that’s when we get the queer bookstore. This is not a porn store.. so don’t go there.

The places are treasure troves of rare and under-appreciated books. They are where you can find the entire breadth of gay YA, every trans autobiography, and all the lesbian graphic novels your heart desires. More than that, they stand as community pillars, providing access to the representation which we so often thirst for. There are very few if any of these specialty bookstores . The “ Different Light” book store off of 6th Avenue was a dear book store in New York of long ago. Rainbow and Triangles on 8th Aver used to have a selection, but unfortunately also gone. In 1973, Craig Rodwell moved his Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, the first gay and lesbian bookstore in America, from its original home on Mercer Street to a prominent location on Christopher Street, near the center of New York City’s gay life. Now gone. There is specialty bookstore in the LGBTQ center on west 13th street which is still open. There are even fewer non LGBTQ bookstores in the city . Do your homework

Since life has changed since COVID, you may find yourself searching for the specialty bookstore and a lot more.

Until tomororow…

The shop occupied this site for over 35 years.

OCTOBERR 23, - 25. 2020 A GOOD IMMUNE SYSTEM

You need a good immune system to fight any disease. A strong and healthy immune system, in a sense, is like wearing armor. It helps protect your body on two levels through your first and second lines of defense. Your first line of defense against outside invaders is known as your innate immune system.

White blood cells circulate in your blood stream as a first line of defense against invaders.

• Consists of many parts – physical barriers such as your skin and mucous membranes, chemical barriers such as acidic environments, and enzymes that destroy invaders.

• Includes Natural Killer (NK) white blood cells that effectively target and kill invading cells.

• Has phagocytes (white blood cells) that produce chemical signaling proteins called cytokines and chemokines.

• Recognizes Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns, or common structures that show up in yeasts, bacteria and pathogens (1,3 beta glucan is one of those patterns but more about that later).

• Produces “good” inflammation at the site of infection, which then promotes the activation of NK cells and phagocytes

There are many supplements and herbs to support and protect your immune system In addition to a healthy dietary and exercise lifestyle you can take anti oxidants, beta glucans and much more. As a physician I utilize Low dose naltrexone ( LDN) as well as herbal anti viral tinctures. One of the best anti viral tinctures I made is ViralTone

ViraTone exclusively from Botanical Bounty has saved hundreds of my patients from COVID. Even those that got COPVID and who were on ViralTone- the length and severity of the disease was mild compared to those moderate or severe cases.

To get ViraTone called Botanical Bounty as 646 723 1823

Until tomorrow…

OCTOBER 22,2020 STEM CELLS

We live in a world of chronic disease. You have to realize the food you eat, the air you breathe and what you drink adversely affects your health. These factors are a few in the role of chronic disease. There are 49 million Americans who are living with diabetes or are in an undiagnosed pre-diabetic state, according to the National Institute of Health statistics. Diabetes. It is one of the leading epidemics in the world today.

 Whether your diabetes is that of Type 1 where your immune system attacks your pancreas or of Type 2 where your pancreas has slowly lost its ability to efficiently produce the insulin you need, these conditions were both thought to be permanent and irreversible. There are studies today of the use of pluripotent stem cells to reverse these conditions and others.

Many individuals are receiving stem cells to halt or reverse chronic conditions. Through my clinical years in medicine I have seen stem cells change the course of chronic illness, like Lyme Disease Stem cells are not for everyone; I have utilized Stem Aid Centers. Check out info@stemaidinstitute.com

Until tomorrow…

OCTOBER 21, 2020 SUPPLEMENT SALES

This comes as a no surprise. As the coronavirus spread across the globe in early 2020,1 news reports in the United States reflected a growing sense of dread in the country.

At the time, very little was known about the virus or COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. When confronted with a potentially deadly infectious disease and no available treatment, many people in the United States turned to natural products, as evidenced by skyrocketing sales of dietary supplements, including herbal products, in early 2020. The increased sales were fueled largely by consumers’ seeking immune support and general wellness products.

Of course we should have turned to natural products. Why shouldn’t we when conventional medical practitioners have4 no answer. There are reports of the benefits to low dose naltrexone, vitamin C, vitamin D, n acetyl cysteine or glutathione and high dose zinc

Overall dietary supplement sales in March 2020 were up 39% from March 2019, and by mid-June, sales were still up 14% compared to the previous year, Unsurprisingly, sales of herbal supplements marketed for immune health experienced strong growth during the first half of 2020

The future course of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is uncertain, which makes predicting sales for the second half of 2020 challenging. I believe there will be an increased sales as there should be. Individuals who have had COVID in my experience did better with certain supplements did better than those on conventional medications

Until tomorrow…

OCTOBER 20, 2020 CORONA

For weeks I have not written about Corona virus. It has infected thousands throughout the world with 210,000 deaths and rising in the United States. It is far from over. I feel there is still a mystery around this illness. I have seen first hand how people presented and then died. I have seen respiratory ventilators have little or no effect on the outcome.

There have been reports that melatonin can inhibit the cytokine storm associated with critical COVID 19. There are a lot of supplements that can shorten the symptoms as high dose zinc, vitamin C, N acetyl cysteine or gluthathione and Vitamin D

One research project has used nitric oxide as a treatment for COVID 19. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator. There are supplements that increase nitric oxide as citrulline. Inhaled nitric oxide can improve arterial oxygenation in patients with COVID 19.

It was found that nitric oxide is the only substance so far to have a direct effect on COVID 19. I believe inhalation of nitric oxide as well inhaled gluthathione via nebulizer can be an effective treatment. This should be implemented in hospitals until when and if a vaccine is found

More info can be found on Dr Mercola’s website.

Until tomorrow…

OCTOBER 19, 2020 MODERATION

You must adhere to moderation. There are risks to anything done in excess in life. . This can include even exercise. Too much fruits can result in higher sugar levels depending on the type of fruit consumed. Too many gluten free processed foods will result in higher sugar levels, as gluten free products do many more carbohydrates and sugar levels.

Does too much seaweed increase the risk of thyroid cancer ? In the last 6 months I have found more individual cases of thyroid cancer, especially the papillary type. i decided to spend some time researching this cancer. None of the patients that I diagnosed had consumed high quantities of seaweed nor were Japanese.  I did find a prospective court study involved more than 52,000 women ( age 49-69 that participated in these Japanese Public Health Study. The mean follow-up was 14.5 years with 134 new thyroid caners and 113 papillary cancer type.

After reviewing this study, the increase consumption of seaweed WAS ASSOCIATED with an increased incidence of thyroid cancer especially the papillary carcinoma type i postmenopausal Japanese women, There was no cause and effect, but other observational studies reviewed in the Townsend Letter by Dr Alan Gaby have reported a similar association between seaweed consumption and thyroid cancer.

You must know that seaweed is one of the most potent sources of iodine in the human diet. Excessive iodine can result in thyroid cancers, but there is other data that states that iodine deficiency ( low levels of iodine)  can promote the developments of other types of cancer and also result in a low thyroid ( hypothyroidism) What salt do you use? If pink salt there is NO iodine.

I would be very careful about your seaweed consumption. Again use iodine consumption in moderation. Not too little and not too much. The best range is to consume  150- 300 mcg per day for adults

Remember moderation… Until tomorrow

OCTOBER 16-18,2020 METABOLIC SYNDROME

metabolic syndrome is one of the twin epidemics that lead to Cardiovascular Disease. You might know it by this name . It is called Insulin Resistance, and Syndrome X better known as Type II Diabetes There are many lifestyles changes that can be employed for the treatment of Pre Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Metabolic Syndrome.

In my Connecticut office at Connecticut Integrative Medical Center I am proud to be working with two exceptional naturopathic doctors that I also taught at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturpathic Medicine

Drs Ryan Attar and Emma Cooke. Dr. Attar has been LIVING and THRIVING with diabetes for 12 years and will help you achieve non-diabetic blood glucose, A1c and weight loss goals. Dr. Attar is extremely passionate about nutrition & diabetes. He is very active in the TypeOneGrit online diabetes community, a group that was studied in 2018 in the journal Pediatrics.

Dr Attar will find this study interesting.

We know that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats as part of an overall healthy dietary pattern has been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, Lecythidaceae) oil (BNO) has been suggested to benefit cardiovascular health, according to the authors in a study published in HerbalGram of the American Botanical Council.

The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to assess the effects of BNO and soy (Glycine max, Fabaceae) bean oil (SO), which is widely used by the Brazilian population in culinary preparation, on cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with metabolic syndrome.

I was surprised by the results. I expected that BNO would help with lipids, but it did not. So all nut oils are not good. It was demonstrated in the study that BNO increased triglycerides and decreased HDL cholesterol, and that SO increased LDL and total cholesterol levels. The authors speculate that these adverse changes in blood lipids may have been linked with menopause More needs to be studied regarding nut oils.

Until tomorrow…

OCTOBER 15, 2020 MORE ON PROPOLIS

 Propolis is an apitherapy product from a beehive. It is the brownish glue like substance that bees secrete. They use it to secure their hive. Propolis is a wax-like resinous substance used by honeybees to protect the hive, with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties attributed to its high concentration of flavonoids I am always intrigued by new studies on the beneficial effects of propolis. Most beekeepers sell their propolis so herbalists and other health related professionals can tincture it into ‘ medicines’

As many as 40% of patients experience some level of postoperative endodontic pain following a root canal preparation. Endodontic pain management includes antimicrobial intracanal medicaments; calcium hydroxide is the most widely used. Recent attention has focused on finding natural alternatives to synthetic medications. A study was done and published in HerbalGram of the American Botanical Council. For years I have been a member of the ABC. I urge you to join the American Botanical Council.

The study was adequate with some minor flaws. In the conclusion…The authors conclude there were no statistically significant differences between the use of calcium hydroxide and propolis in postoperative pain. Thus, propolis can be recommended for postoperative endodontic pain without adverse side effects.

Until tomorrow…