Alternative medicine changed my life. After successfully reversing chronic, debilitating auto-immune disease, I believed my experience with alternative medicine would convince my sister to follow the same route to health. Her battles with Lupus and heart disease left her disabled and living with pain, fatigue, and limitations every day of her life. She missed her formerly active lifestyle. She truly wanted to get well, but her values, her belief system, would not allow her to embrace alternative medicine. A former ICU and CCU nurse, she placed her faith in conventional treatment. She died.

A few months ago my eldest brother was diagnosed with lung cancer. I didn’t even try to argue the merits of alternative treatment. I knew better. He immediately began chemotherapy. Within weeks, he was dead. The treatment killed him before cancer had the chance.

I have not taken an antibiotic or any other prescription medication for more than 15 years (other than Novocain at the dentist). It’s not that I’ve never been sick—I continued to battle ear infections, sinus infections, even pneumonia. But I never resort to antibiotics. Instead I choose to use supplements and herbs, to aid my immune system, to allow my body to heal itself. As a result, I’ve suffered substantially fewer and significantly milder infections each year.

My friends, my family, my co-workers have all been aware that I embrace alternative medicine. Occasionally, they’ll even try one of my suggested remedies. But no matter how well it works, they tend to forget the easy, natural cure when the same symptoms strike a year later. And no matter how many times we’ve discussed my philosophies and success with alternative treatments, when I tell them I am sick, they tell me I need antibiotics. My success with alternative medicine has had little influence on anyone I know other than my children and my best friend, who now has one foot in alternative treatment and one foot in conventional treatment.

When I hear people talking about a health problem, especially chronic or potentially fatal conditions or diseases, I want to share information. I want to help. But unless that person is already open to alternative treatment, expounding my views is a waste of breath. The truth is, we all tend to stay in our comfort zones and maintain our world views. People who believe conventional medicine is science and alternative medicine is quackery tune out reports of 200,000 or more deaths each year from prescription drug complications (not overdoses, not the wrong drug, not illegal drugs—properly prescribed drugs), but their ears perk right up when they hear a news report that says a natural remedy caused one or two deaths. Facts don’t matter when our prevailing culture tells us conventional medicine is good and alternative medicine is bad.

The first time I encountered this blind indifference to the truth was soon after my eldest son was diagnosed with severe ADHD. I had read about treating ADHD through diet. When I mentioned the possibility of diet management to the diagnosing physician, he patiently and thoroughly explained that diet management didn’t work, sharing details about a study that had statistically proven it.

Undeterred and refusing to place my preschooler on Ritalin, I tried the dietary restrictions. Within weeks, there was not only an astounding change in my child’s behavior, there was a measurable change in his ability—concrete, fully measurable change. My child, whose artistic ability had been limited to drawing smiley faces and pictures of the sun (far below his age level), drew detailed pictures such as a bird in a cage with talons and feathers and a rocket ship blasting off, complete with flames, pictures that far exceeded his age level.

The only change in his world had been the removal of all food colorings, flavorings, and preservatives from his diet. In other words, he had eaten no processed foods.

The doctor did not want to discuss our success. He did not want to see my proof. Nor did he want to hear about my son’s astounding change in behavior. Success in treating ADHD through diet was completely at odds with his world view, even on a case-by-case basis.

In recent years, our society has grown to accept a few truths about health and diet. Now that the medical establishment tells us so, we believe a high fat diet rich in fried foods will lead to heart disease. Most of us also believe there is a link to type II diabetes. We accept the medically recommended changes in diet to manage those diseases, as long as we include prescribed pharmaceuticals. But most of us, even those of us who believe a healthy diet could have prevented these diseases in the first place, have a hard time imagining a healthy diet could offer a cure. The belief that food has the power to heal, or that food can give the body what it needs to heal itself, is so foreign to today’s modern medical approach it is rejected out of hand.

On Facebook, Michael (Editor and Chief of OLM), posted his belief that we are responsible for our health, that getting healthy is easier than most of us think. “It’s getting over the brainwashing that’s tough,” he said. “Most people could rid themselves of most any disease from cancer to diabetes in a few months or even weeks.”

Michael’s post really offended a few people who vehemently reacted to the idea that a cancer “victim’s” lifestyle choices may have led to the disease. While it is acceptable to assume lifestyle choices lead to heart disease, it is not as acceptable to reach the same conclusion in regards to cancer, unless, of course, we blame the pack-a-day smoker for contracting lung cancer.

The statement that we could actually cure cancer also set off a firestorm. ”If you know between diet and how to cure cancer, why isn’t it on the front page of the newspaper? Why isn’t it on the news?”

Max Gerson’s therapy has been curing cancer for 80 years. So, I ask you, why isn’t it on the news? Why aren’t we hearing about the miracle cures? Why don’t we hear the personal testimonies from people who were told their cancer was incurable or inoperable, who went on to recover through nutritionally based therapy? Why aren’t we hearing from the women who chose nutrition-based therapy over a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation, who are cancer free 20 years later? Or the men with testicular cancer? Or the cases of melanoma?

Yes, cancer is big business in this country. Yes, pharmaceutical companies run conventional medicine. But it’s more than that. Truly caring physicians believe that not one case of cancer has ever been cured by Gerson’s therapy or any other alternative treatment. Even when presented with first person accounts from a patient who fully recovered through alternative therapy, many otherwise intelligent, thoughtful physicians will find some means to disregard the obvious truth that lies outside of their value system. “They never had cancer in the first place,” they say. Or they decide the prior chemotherapy or radiation deemed a failure, had worked after all.

Why is the success of alternative medicine so blatantly ignored or dismissed? Perhaps it is a case of what Yale University calls cultural cognition. According to this theory, astute, intelligent people are prone to disregard facts that do not align with their cultural values. Information that does not support the prevailing value system is not believed, regardless of its validity or persuasiveness. If cultural cognition is the culprit, what values of conventional medicine are in conflict with alternative medicine?

Looking back at the cultural history of disease and treatment, we realize humankind saw disease as something outside of the body—ill fate, a curse of the gods. The patient wasn’t responsible for his or her health. The patient was the victim. In many ways, conventional medicine perpetuates this thinking. We get sick. We take drugs and we get well. Alternative medicine does not support this way of thinking or living. Alternative medicine forces us to take responsibility for our health by recognizing that we create or destroy it.

In order to be healthy, we must eat nutrient dense, live foods. We must exercise and get good quality sleep. We need to laugh, to play. We must minimize chemical exposure and detoxify the body.

Far too many of us place a higher value on convenience. We live fast lives. We eat fast foods. We buy them at the drive through. We pop a package into the microwave or we open a can. We live on chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and hamburgers. We don’t get near enough sleep so we down high caffeine energy drinks and coffee just to make it through the day.

We dye our hair. We lather up our skin with chemicals, and spray more chemicals into our armpits and onto our hair. We use more chemicals to clean our homes and to sweeten the air. And when our bodies give out, we blame our genetics rather than consider the possibility that our lifestyle could be at fault. When we seek out treatment, will we choose the fix that requires a complete overhaul of the lifestyle we have chosen? No. Not a chance. We choose the treatment that aligns with our values. We choose to be the victim. We choose to place our lives in the hands of our doctors. We choose what is easy, even when our lives are literally at stake.

As a society, our only hope to change this aberrational, mainstream perception of health and disease is through education and example. The more people are faced with the truth, the more they read, hear, and see the miracle of natural healing, the more they will open their minds to the possibility that our bodies are miraculous and that health begins and flourishes through a diet rich in organic, nutrient dense foods.

He had cancer, 7 lumps on his leg. He also had terrible breath, was overweight, had diarrhea, and he shed like crazy.

I adopted three dogs recently, one from the Fulton County Animal Shelter, and two from an individual who was advised to put one of them down.

Dayton, rescued from the animal shelter, is part pit bull, part Labrador. He is a dog with a lot of spunk and the attention span of a gnat, but he sure is a lot of fun. When I first got him he shed like crazy, had skin diseases, a nasty cough, bloody gums, and the worst doggy breath I have ever had the misfortune to smell.

Molly was severely overweight and had bleeding gums, staff infected skin rashes, ear mites, and just all kinds of parasites everywhere. She was contagious and really nasty. Oh, and of course, she shed like crazy (not just fur either). She is part Husky, German Sheppard, and chow. She’s a quite an obedient dog that has lots of love to share (Too much love! She keeps humping the other dogs! And she’s a female?!?!?!).

Rudy is part Beagle, and Dalmatian, and some kind of pointer (I am told). He is a people pleaser, always wanting to make people happy. He had cancer, 7 lumps on his leg. He also had terrible breath, was overweight (though not as much as Molly), had diarrhea, and (you may have guessed) he shed like crazy.

I put them all on the same diet. I found an organic dry dog food with meat as its main ingredient (no soy, corn, wheat, or animal bi-products). To every bowl of dried food I added an oil supplement 3-6-9 blend, Shillington, Body Balance (you can also make your own, see the recipe here), Total Nutrition Powder (I made my own, but it’s time consuming. You can get it from Dr. Shillington.), a lot of organic garlic powder, Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil, systemic enzymes, digestive enzymes, a tablespoon or two of coconut oil, and two raw eggs. I also added garlic, and increased garlic as they got used to it. I’ve read all about how garlic may be bad for dogs (and humans) but not in my experience. None of them were crazy about the dog food at first. The food would sit for hours before they would eat just enough to get rid of their hunger pains. But now, just two months later, they lick every bit of Total Nutrition Powder off the bowl. In fact, you should have seen the look I got today when I didn’t have time to feed them with all the good stuff. They were begging for food and it was getting late and I was so busy, I just poured some dry food in their bowls. They looked at me like I lost my mind. Four hours later the food was still sitting there and they are waiting to be properly fed.

In addition, for the first week, I gave them calcium and magnesium via this trick (used the leftover eggs in their food), Homemade Calcium and Magnesium.

It’s not just the eggs they love (though they do love the eggs). I have fed them with all of the other ingredients when I ran out of eggs and they still ate every bite.

Rudy’s cancer is almost completely gone. There is still one lump. It is much softer and getting smaller every day. It was a major battle to get rid of Molly’s ear mites, but they are gone, too. All of their other ailments are gone. Molly has dropped so much weight (I did restrict her food intake) that she has a lot of loose skin, but it is tightening up and she is vibrant and playful, a far cry from her old lethargic personality.

They shed so much less!!! They all get an itch every now and then, a flea no doubt, but we’ve had no infestations.

Did you know that our digestive system is not so different from a dog? Sure there are some differences, but how many times have you heard “people food is bad for dogs”? No worse than it is for rats, cats, bears, or humans! If people with cancer or any other “incurable” disease ate the exact same diet as my dogs, I bet they would return to health. You’re maybe thinking, “Eating dog food? Gross!” Well, yeah, maybe, but it sure isn’t as gross as the conventional meat you eat from restaurants and grocery stores. THAT’S WHAT’S DISGUSTING!

The man who had Rudy and Molly is of a conventional mind. He was buying them the most expensive dog food the vet had to offer and wondering why he kept having to take them to see the vet. This dog food was nothing but fillers like wheat and soy, along with overly processed diseased meat and meat by-products thrown in. I’m sure the high prices were justified by dumping in every single chemically, artificially produced vitamin and mineral ever printed in a study for dogs.

It wasn’t doing them any good, obviously. But now they are happy, healthy, vibrant, and looking very fit.

Oh, and I’m sure there is probably some law against saying I can cure cancer in a dog. So I won’t say it. Even though Rudy had had one tumor removed and declared malignant and his vet wanted to put him down when the “cancer” returned with a vengeance, we’ll do what we’re forced to do when discussing the human recovery from non-conventional means and say the dog is recovering from what was an obvious misdiagnosis. We know the truth. So does Rudy.

Update: I’ve had a lot more dogs and helped them heal a lot of diseases and then found them new homes. This is very similar to what I feed my dogs nowadays, along with Total Nutrition Formula (purchase here, or make it yourself). I don’t use all the other supplements anymore, but they are below under “recommended Supplements.”

Update: I kept a husky. I don’t have any other dogs and I focus my healing on humans now. She’s very healthy with an amazing coat. I feed her raw free-range beef, a raw egg, and a variety of vegetable scraps, as well as other leftovers from our food like quinoa and brown rice. She gets a pound of beef a day. Every now and then I will throw in total nutrtion. She’s been on this diet for years and she looks amazing. Never a single problem.

Recommended Supplements:

• Oil supplement 3-6-9 blend
• Shillington’s Body Balance
• Shillington’s  Total Nutrition Powder
• Systemic enzymes
• Digestive enzymes

Further Reading:

• Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs that Kill Cancer
• Cure Cancer Naturally
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

Why do we use pills to remove or diminish the effects of disease when we can prevent many diseases in the first place? Why are we spending so much money on prescription medicine but penny-pinching on organic food?

Life is about enjoying each day to the fullest, with loads of energy, hundreds of smiles, and belly laughter. Yes, belly laughter. It is about appreciating the food that helps us grow, the bodies given to us, the work we were meant to do, and the people who surround us with care and thoughtfulness. Nothing affects us more than food, stress, relationships, career, and the lack of appreciation for ourselves.

Stress, unhealthy foods, and destructive diets spurred by the never ending desire to be skinny, no matter the consequences, are literally killing us.

PILLS

American obesity and eating disorders are becoming epidemic. These problems are “treated” with diet pills endorsed by celebrities who have little to no knowledge or experience with regard to what is appropriate for a person to do with their diet and their body. So many young women look up to celebrities as role models and want to be as “sexy,” as “beautiful,” as “wanted” as them.

The latest quick fix is the Quick Trim Diet, with the Kardashian ladies as the camera-friendly “hot ladies.” Quick Trim claims to cleanse the body. The marketing focuses on the sexuality, the body, the sensuality, the salacious voice, and the total image that is meant to pull in both men and women. But doesn’t it matter what is in the product? Preservatives, artificial flavoring and fructose can’t “cleanse the body.” There is never a mention of the personal trainers who were hired or the healthy diet that helped them lose weight. Instead, the impression is that the pills alone did the job. And the celebrity women promote it every chance they get. After backlash about the TV commercials being too sexual, the posters started popping up! The Quick Trim products are not even FDA evaluated or approved, yet young and old and everyone in between rarely look at that as a reason NOT to try it. Once again, people will try anything quick and easy to help them look like a celebrity!

Helping young children and teenagers love their bodies and grow up with healthy habits is the start to fighting back against diet pills.

FOOD

When it comes to eating food from the grocery shelves, eating “USDA Organic” foods is the best choice; 95% or more of the ingredients are organic. However, foods labeled “organic” (other than produce) have to be only 70% organic, so don’t think that organic label means no pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, flavorings, or artificial colors.

Everything is about profit when it should be about keeping Americans healthy. As an American consumer, you choose what is on the shelves at the supermarkets. Business works by demand, so let’s demand clean, antibiotic-free food! Americans spend more on healthcare costs than almost every other country, but we’re also one of the least healthy and most overweight. Companies pay higher insurance rates because their employees are so often visiting the doctor’s offices and taking prescription medicines. But when food is free of additives, people aren’t ingesting chemicals that break down in the body, making them sick with acute health issues and serious lifelong diseases. Prevention through a truly healthy, organic diet is key to health.

STRESS

When it comes to stress, everyone knows we should try to keep our levels down. No one helps you do that unless you pay a professional to help you for the hour. Even then, what happens when you go back home, back to reality? Well, the latest study on yoga shows that besides helping lower stress levels, it also helps with weight loss and maintenance. People who practice yoga seem to be more in tune with the mind/body cross and treat their bodies well. Weight loss and less stress? Come on over to yoga!

Remembering what’s important in life and living in the present will also keep stress levels down. Whatever happened in the past is history, and whatever is meant to be in the future will be. The book, The Four Agreements, also tells us that learning not to take things personally helps us to live easier and happier lives.

When someone criticizes your hair, or your body, or something you’re wearing or doing, do you take it to heart or let it go as quickly as it was said? See what happens the next time that situation occurs. If you take it personally, make a mental note and try not to let that happen the next go around. When you don’t take things personally, they don’t weigh on your mind. It’s all about how YOU feel about yourself, and what YOU know about yourself that matters.

It’s also about your attitude. Do you want to be sick or do you want to be healthy? While your diet has to be right for optimum energy levels, you also have to have the right mentality to exercise your body to “marathon mode.” When people say they cured themselves with spiritual practices and by eating a healthy diet, they aren’t making it up!

Decrease stress, increase energy and zest for life, become happier and healthier, and learn to love your body.

Sources:

• http://www.qtdiet.com
• What do your food labels really mean? ‘Free-range,’ ‘natural,’ ‘non-toxic,’ and other myths
• Yoga for Weight Loss
• The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
• Staying Healthy in an Unhealthy World by Dr. Eliot Hudes and Dr. Michael Muffs

I was a senior in high school the first time I attempted a natural cure. One day my glands swelled up and my throat hurt so badly I could barely swallow. I looked like I had the mumps.

I’d read about the curative properties of vitamin C. At lunch, I drove to the drug store and bought a big bottle of chewable vitamin C. I chewed a handful of tablets and continued to eat one or two every fifteen minutes. By the end of the day all of my symptoms had vanished.

My second remarkable cure occurred a few years later. I had three deep warts on my hand that had been chemically removed, burned, and finally surgically removed. Each time, they immediately grew back. Worse yet, I had dozens of painful Plantar warts on the ball of my foot. I’d had the warts on my hand for more than five years, the warts on my foot for more than a year. A friend handed me a high quality vitamin E capsule and suggested I open it and spread the vitamin E on the warts. I did it to appease her. Imagine my surprise when all of the warts disappeared within two weeks with no further treatment!

The warts on my foot never reoccurred. Years later, the warts on my hand did reappear. One more dose of vitamin E and I have never seen another wart.

I wish I had learned more about alternative health care after these two early successes. Unfortunately, I followed the medical model to the detriment of my health. More on that later…