WYSONG HEALTH LETTER
Dr. R. L. Wysong
January 1996
Dear Friend,
    The nature films being broadcast on public and cable television stations are really quite remarkable.  As we sit on our overstuffed sofas, eating snacks that require little more effort than opening a refrigerator or cupboard door, sheltered from the elements in our air conditioned plastic homes, we get a view of what life is really meant to be - where we're supposed to be genetically. 
    The beauty of nature is indeed awe inspiring.  Its rare moments of compassion are warming, but its cold, merciless selfishness, on the other hand, is sobering and humbling. 
    The programs on the great predators are perhaps the most engaging.  The power, speed, cunning and singular purpose of the big cats, for example, are enough to create respect and fear in any viewer.  
    We can get an inkling of the immense power of these animals by observing what our 10 lb. domestic cats are capable of.   Veterinarians, for example, know that it can take all the strength of an adult man to be able to restrain a domestic cat that has decided against an injection or receiving oral medication, or is otherwise just bent on attacking any human who thinks they might like to impose their will on it.
    Now if you multiply this up to the scale of a 400 or 500-pound lion you can see why they can bring down and kill a wild water buffalo or even larger creatures weighing more than a ton.
    While I was becoming quite convinced of the superiority of nature’s predators, my mind changed when I saw a recent episode featuring African lions.  The film crew showed the hierarchy at kills.   At the bottom of the scavenger scale are the small mammals and birds.  But then if larger mammals come, such as the wild dogs, they take over.  Then will come the hyenas who scare off everybody else.  A pack of hyenas can even harass a pride of female lions such that they will be forced to leave a kill.       But when the adult male lion enters the scene everybody scatters - including the hyenas and female lions.  This guy is just so big, fierce, muscled and powerful that nobody wants to mess with him.  He’s the one who usually gets called into action when the pride is trying to bring down something like a giraffe, water buffalo or even an elephant, and he can do the job.  Little wonder they are called the King of Beasts.
    But then, the film crew caught something very strange.  A single young male lion was feeding on a kill when in the distance two Massaii men could be seen walking toward the lion.  As soon as the male lion caught sight of them,  he jumped up from his kill and ran off.
    This could be perhaps written off as simply the insecurity of a solitary young lion against two creatures who were taller than him.  But then the film crew caught a whole pride of lions, which included two or three fully adult male lions, feasting on a kill.       In the distance, the two Massaii warriors could be seen walking toward the group.  In the midst of all the feeding, one of the male lions lifted his head in attention, as if catching a whiff by the wind of some impending danger.   He turned his head to spot the two warriors yet still far off in the distance moving toward them.  As soon as he recognized what he saw, he immediately jumped up and ran off whereupon the rest of the pride caught sight of the two images and followed suit - looking for all the world as if they were all absolutely scared to death.
    This really struck me.   Why would creatures of such immense power, any one of which could have easily killed both of the warriors in the blink of an eye, have exhibited such fear and left their coveted kill?
    As I thought about it, the answer became clear.  If I were in the wild I would certainly fear predators capable of doing me harm.  I would respect and fear the bear, wolves and the great cats, for example.  But if I had a choice of which creature in all of nature I would least want to be pursued by, the answer to my dilemma became clear.  Man.  His intelligence, his cunning, his ability to think and connive, plan, ambush, trap and persist makes him the most feared predator of all.  You could never really rest or feel secure with him as your enemy.  Practically the entire animal kingdom has come to learn this over the eons we have been in contact with them, slaughtering them by the millions, and even extinguishing many species from the face of the Earth. 
    All the other creatures seem to live within natural bounds.  They take what they need and live within the confines of nature’s natural limits.  But humans have this great mental capacity that has permitted them to go beyond natural limits.  Particularly does their technology increase the capability of destruction and ruination.  We see this not only in environmental and biological ruination, but we also are now in a hunter-prey relationship with one another as crime escalates, and our social and economic fabric dissolves.
    By understanding this great potential that humans have for destruction, a potential which almost the entire animal kingdom has come to learn, we need to begin setting our own intelligent limits and controls.  Now is not the time to simply unleash plundering of our world in the name of "liberty" and "freedom."  Now is the time to recognize that we are indeed a species that is capable of not only vanquishing others, but destroying ourselves.  We are indeed the apex predator, the "top dog" so to speak, because of our intelligence.  We only need to use that intelligence to, with foresight, moderate our actions now to create a bountiful, happy, peaceful future.   We need to be thinking trustees, not thinking predators.
 
MAINTAINING YOUR SANITY
    I talk repeatedly in the Health Letter about the need to not get yourself into situations where you feel hopeless or helpless.      This feeling of being caged and victimized is every bit as lethal as an infectious disease.   The link between our emotional state and the rest of our body, including our immune system, is now firmly established.  When we get into these hopeless states of desperation we depress our immune system and open the door for the acceleration of degenerative diseases, including even cancer and infectious diseases.
    Chances are you have experienced this but not recognized the cause/effect relationship.  The next time you get into a situation where you feel hopeless, you can’t see the way out, you fear an outcome over which you seem to have little control, notice what happens to your health following this episode.  Situations could be things like the death of a loved one, being sued and at the mercy of our legal system, being told by your doctor you have a serious illness, losing your job, being in a marriage that seems unworkable, having a child that is going astray, getting audited by the IRS, being discriminated against, or having a conflict with a boss or fellow worker with whom you must have contact every day.  
    All such things can work a deadly toll.  Don’t underestimate their ability to do so.  When such situations arise you must see them as not just one of life’s difficulties, but as a serious threat to your health requiring diligent effort for you to make the necessary changes to get past them.
    Another more subtle event that can occur in all of our lives is the helplessness of looking backward.  I find the holiday seasons particularly a time to trigger the negative emotions of looking backward.   It is a time of the year when we hear the same music, see the same sights, experience the same smells, tastes and social events we may have experienced year after year for our entire life.  A simple Christmas song may trigger memories of holidays gone by and people and things and events that you desire but no longer have, nor can have.   The result is that you can feel incredible despair and depression because of the powerful emotions that are triggered by these stimuli. 
    The longer you live, the more likely you will have such memories to haunt you during this season.  You want something, the return of what you had in the past, but cannot have it.  You are helpless with no possible way to resolve your despair.  This is one reason why the holidays bring great quantities of depression and even escalating violence and suicide rates.
    But such haunting memories and languishing over the past can happen to us at any time as well.  Particularly will this be so if we do not continually fill our life with pleasant things we enjoy at the moment, and hopeful things we intend to achieve in the future.  By being active, socially engaged and always stimulating our inquiring mind through reading, listening to audio tapes, watching instructional videos, beginning challenging hobbies or sports, we become more filled with the present and anticipate with joy the future.  The present and the future hold events over which we have control.  The past is beyond our control. 
    If we stop growing, stop being challenged, stop reaching out and being stimulated by the present and looking forward to events in the future, our mind will necessarily settle in on the only thing it has remaining - the past.  As we dwell on that, despair and depression can overwhelm us with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness and we can count on getting sick both mentally and physically. 
    Get engaged in the here and now.  Do things that create hope  for even more fun in the future.  Plan a project, work toward it, determine to be the best you can be.  One such project all of us can engage in is continuing to grow in knowledge - about how to be and stay healthy, and how to modify our lives and our community such that we create a sustainable and better future for coming generations.  This will give you a sense of doing something good, of leaving something behind better than you had, of changing the world.
    But whether your goal is lofty and planetary or humble and in the kitchen, your yard or the local gymnasium, do determine to grow and become the best you can be.  Age, sex and physical condition are not limiting factors.
    Do it and watch your mind expand in robust health and your body respond with health, energy and vitality.  (See Resource A.)
    Reference:
        A) For further information see the Psychology section of the Wysong Book Store Catalog, 1880 N Eastman Road, Midland, MI 48642, 517-631-0009.
 
HEALING BY EATING NOTHING
    Although fasting is usually associated with weirdo mysticism or fanatical protestation, it has been used for centuries as a serious healing method.  Even today many healers, some with even conventional medical training, use fasting as one of their most powerful healing tools.  Although there is a vast amount of scientific evidence supporting its use, it is by and large ignored by most conventional practitioners.
    In our natural, wild context it is unlikely that we would be able to always have readily available three squares a day.   The sumptuous cupboard and rotund refrigerator are products of technology, not of the natural order.  In the wild we would likely have periods of plenty and periods of famine.  We are designed in such a way that during bounty we create reserves within our body that permit us to be sustained during the times of scarcity.
    So, there is nothing unnatural or physiologically inappropriate about not eating.  It is something we can do and survive.  But the question is, why do it at all since food is indeed so much fun?
    Fasting as a therapeutic tool is based on the premise that the body needs times to detoxify when it is not having to process new food.  By concentrating the body’s energy on this detoxification, tissues can be renewed and cleansed and better able to function in balance to create health and vitality.
    Additionally, since the body must consume something while fasting, the argument is that it will gobble up things like atherosclerotic plaques and arthritic bone spurs.  After all, why would a wise body erode bone, for example, to supply its calcium needs when it could simply dissolve arthritic spurs or leach the calcium out of atherosclerotic plaques?  Or, why would the body tear down useful muscle for energy when it could use the useless cholesterol and other lipids within atheromas that are blocking coronary vessels?  The idea is that with fasting the body will first of all look for superfluous materials and use these before breaking down its own healthy and necessary tissues.
    Fasting can do in just a few weeks what it may take years of proper nutrition to accomplish.  Some physicians tell prospective bypass and angioplasty patients that they can reverse their condition quickly with nothing more than a properly monitored fast.  For example, a low fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables for one month preceding a fast of nothing more than distilled water for 24 days has cured repeated angioplasty patients with chest pain and returned them to an active, pain-free life.      In one case coronary arteries that were blocked from 95-99% changed to only a 60-70% blockage after the 24-day fast.
    Fasting is also known to cure migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, various allergies, fatigue, adrenal burnout and lupus erythematosus. 
    For fasting to work properly it is important that a person first be close to a normal weight for their height.  If a person is obese, the body will simply consume fat reserves rather than diseased tissues.  
    Serious fasting should be done under the supervision of someone who knows what they are doing.  People with liver or kidney failure, pregnancy, Type I diabetes, or those engaged in strenuous exercise programs are not good candidates.  During the fast, a person should be pretty much at rest doing little more than just normal everyday activities with perhaps some stretching.   This permits the body to use its energies to heal.  To end the fast, bland foods are introduced in small meals.  This is a good time to determine allergies.   By introducing one food at a time it can be determined which foods are or are not well tolerated, which can be impossible to decipher with the many mixed foods that are eaten in normal life. 
    Fasting can do some rather dramatic things to the body and thus the need for the fast to be monitored.  The blood is thinned (which is good in terms of preventing heart attacks), potassium and other electrolytes can become low, and blood pressure can drop precipitously.  These things should be constantly evaluated and when there is danger the fast should be broken. 
    One of the main road blocks to the use of fasting is simply the fear of doing it.  But after the first couple of days of the fast there is little or no hunger.  The initial hunger is nothing but withdrawal from what is in effect addiction to the various foods that are a part of a person’s normal diet.
    The potential benefits from fasting should make it a serious consideration for anyone who has any form of degenerative disease such as heart disease, arthritis, autoimmunities, fatigue, migraines, and so forth.  Why subject yourself to massive invasive surgery such as bypass surgery, when potentially within 2-3 weeks your disease could be cured by this safe, inexpensive (actually negative expensive since your food bill will drop to zero) method?
    For assistance in finding a competent practitioner to monitor your fast, contact Resource B.
    Reference:
        B) Wysong Resource Directory Available from the Wysong Institute, 1880 N Eastman Road, Midland, MI 48642, 517-631-0009.
        Townsend Letter, November 1995: 116
 
FIXING MENOPAUSE
    The most common treatment for the various physical and emotional problems associated with menopause is estrogen replacement therapy.  But this method is quite dangerous with many serious side effects.
    An alternate safer approach is increasing the amount of phytoestrogens in the diet by eating certain natural foods, along with nutritional supplementation.  One cup of soybeans, for example, provides some 300 mg of isoflavone which is equivalent to about 0.45 mg of conjugated estrogens.   Even consuming 200 mg of isoflavone from soybeans has resulted in women experiencing an increase in the number of superficial cells lining the vagina, resulting in a decrease in vaginal dryness and irritation.  Japanese women who consume soy as a regular part of the diet excrete up to 1000 times higher amounts of phyto-estrogens in the urine, and this is likely the reason that Japanese women do not experience the menopausal symptoms American women do.
    When phyto-estrogen containing foods comprise as little as 10% of the caloric intake of the diet there are significant increases in vaginal cell maturation and decreases in follicle stimulating hormone to levels more like those normal in premenopausal women.
    The best source of soy phyto-estrogens is whole extruded soybeans, but tofu and other soy containing foods would also benefit.  Fennel, celery, parsley, clover sprouts and linseed oil as well as nuts are also rich in phyto-estrogens.
    Studies in the early 1940s and 1950s also showed that consuming natural vitamin E at a level between 20 and 100 mg per day reduced menopausal complaints.  Vaginal wall biopsies showed changes demonstrating proliferation of new blood vessels and increased cellular growth in the vaginal wall.  Though a later study questioned these results, the many benefits of vitamin E supplementation would make it well worth a try anyway.  Try the following recipe for a menopause reversing cocktail:
    1.             1 cup of yogurt (See Vol. 7, No. 12 on how to make your own).
    2.             1 tablespoon of whole extruded soy beans.
    3.             1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil (see Vol. 9, No. 9 on how to make your own).
    4.             2 tablespoons of chopped raw soaked nuts (see Vol. 6, No. 5 on how to prepare your own raw, soaked nuts).
    5.             If necessary, sweeten to taste with fruit or honey.
    Eat this as a snack through the day.  Also, add extruded whole soy to cereal, baked bread, cake and cookie recipes, on salads, and in casseroles.
    Of course you should follow the other lifestyle recommendations of the Health Letter such as daily exercise (including weightbearing exercise), fresh air and sunlight for 20-30 minutes daily if possible, decreasing or eliminating coffee, increasing fresh whole raw natural foods in the diet and taking a broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement as well as natural antioxidants, probiotics and enzymes.  (See Resource C.)
    Reference:
        If any of the products mentioned are not available locally, contact the Institute for a resource.
        For further information see the Nutrition for Women Section of the Wysong Book Store Catalog, 1880 N Eastman Road, Midland, MI 48642, 517-631-0009.
            J Natl Cancer Inst 83:541-6, 1991
            Lancet 339: 1233, 1992
            Br Med J 301:905-6, 1990
            J Obstet Gynecol Br Emp 49:482, 1942
            Fed Proc 7: 106, 1948
 
DANGEROUS TESTS FOR WOMEN
    Mammography and cervical smear tests are given to women with about the same frequency as the general population takes aspirin.  As I have mentioned repeatedly, when certain medical practices become so popular that almost all the doctors are recommending them and everyone is doing it, that’s the time for you to be a rebel.
    Only 1 in about 14 women who have a positive mammography test actually have breast cancer.  This is because the entire medical community jumped on the bandwagon of this cash cow when two early trials showed a supposed 30% reduction in breast cancer deaths with the test.  But as I have mentioned before, most practitioners don’t keep up with the research and the critical data that challenges practices that are highly profitable.  Four later studies have failed to show any benefit whatsoever, but these studies have been ignored.  The National Cancer Institute has, in fact, stopped recommending screening for people under the age of 50 as of 1993, but almost all physicians still recommend that women over the age of 40 be screened.
    In a new study out of Canada, breast cancer screening was analyzed and results showed that up to 63,000 women would have to be screened annually to prevent even one hypothetical death from the disease.
    So, what’s the harm in having this simple test done if there is even a remote chance (1 in 63,000) it might save your life?  As     I’ve mentioned in previous Health Letters, the test itself subjects you to radiation and the compression exerted on the breast during the technique can actually spread cancer that may be by-and-large inactive.  Additionally, the cost and worry to people is not insignificant.  People who are told they have breast cancer when in fact they do not could even conceivably develop the disease because of the psychological trauma such alarming news brings.
    Cervical screening paints a similar picture.  For example, in one study where 226,000 women were screened, more than 15,000 were found to have cervical cancer but yet the disease only kills 1 in 10,000.   That means of the 15,000 women tested, 14,970 were falsely diagnosed with a deadly disease.  As researchers in England recently concluded “the effect of screening on death rates... is too small to even detect.”
    Given these current research results, women would be wise to think long and hard before they submit to what they believe are safe and potentially life saving tests.  The down side of having these tests done on a routine basis in the absence of any indication that the disease is present, far outweighs the potential benefit.
    Reference: 
        Lancet, July 1995: 29-32
        Lancet, June 10, 1995
 
TOTAL SAFE LEVEL OF SUPPLEMENTS
    A recent report published by the European Federation of Associations of Health Products Manufacturers has included a list of what they consider to be the upper safe levels of various nutrients. 
    The chart above reproduces these values, which under the heading “Upper Safe Level For Daily Supplementation,” shows the difference between what is normally consumed in the diet and what they consider to be the safe total daily intake.
    These values differ from American RDAs and are not put forth here as levels we either advocate or dispute.   They do, however, demonstrate scientific thinking in the vein of what is optimal rather than what is simply adequate, which is how RDAs are determined. 
    You can see, for example, that an RDA for vitamin E is 10, whereas the total safe daily intake is calculated to be 900 which is more in tune with much of the research we have cited in various issues of the Health Letter, showing the value of this nutrient as an antioxidant and a disease preventive.  Also, note the difference between the RDA for vitamin C which is 60, and the safe daily intake which is 2000 mg - which is even low by many estimates of holistic, nutritionally oriented practitioners who use this nutrient as a therapeutic and preventive measure.
    Reference:
        J Clin Endocrinal Metab 9:89-94, 1949
        Townsend Letter, November 1995: 97-99
 
Starved To Death In The Hospital
    An estimated 50,000 patients per year starve to death from malnutrition in hospitals.  In a 1988 review of hospital malnutrition, it was found that 75% of people who were well nourished on admission were malnourished within two weeks.
    Anyone nutritionally alert would be amazed at what is put on the tray in a hospital.  Jello, instant potatoes, white flour buns, sugar, hydrogenated oils and synthetic sweeteners such as Nutrasweet that breaks down into methyl alcohol and formaldehyde in the body are standard fare.
    Who devises these meals?   Usually menus are designed by registered dieticians.  But such credentials do not insure, obviously, knowledge of nutrition in terms of how to optimize it or individualize it.  Instead, they are trained more in how to simply proportion so-called food groups, by dividing up cans and packages of processed foods such that they will feed a certain number of people.  It is interesting that registered dieticians in many states are attempting legislation that would prohibit anyone but them from making any nutritional recommendations whatsoever.
    Creating health by licensure or censorship has not worked and will not.  The best opportunity for health is an open forum whereby anyone is permitted to present information and then we have the   responsibility to use reason to sort through this information to determine for ourselves what is the best course.
    As for hospital meals, first of all try to stay out of hospitals; secondly, if you are in them get out as quickly as possible; and thirdly, insist on being fed properly if you must be there. 
    Reference:
        Health & Healing, January 1995 Supplement: 1
 
Flax Oil For Kidney Disease
    Lupus nephritis is a serious and sometimes fatal kidney disease.  A study was designed to determine if flax oil or fish oil could help the condition.  As it turns out, the fish oil had little or no effect, whereas the flax oil resulted in a  60% reduction in deaths.
    Flax oil, as you know, is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.  If not highly refined it also contains other nutritional factors such as lignans which are believed to exert beneficial effects.   (See Vol. 9, No. 9, where I describe how you can produce your own fresh flax seed oil that is rich in the lignans and can be used as a regular dietary supplement and, as this study shows, be particularly beneficial when kidney disease strikes.)
    Reference: 
        American Journal of Kidney Disease, May 1994: 644-647
 
PMS Headaches
    An oral dose of 1200-1600 IUs of vitamin D and 1600 mg of elemental calcium has proven effective in some individuals who experience PMS headaches.
    Reference: 
        Headache 1994; 34(9): 544-546
 
Magnesium For High Blood Pressure
    As little as 485 mg of magnesium can lower high blood pressure and help with problems with hypertension.
    Reference: 
        American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 60: 129-135
 
Ritalin On The Increase
    Prescriptions for drugs to treat hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder in children have tripled between 1990 and 1994.      Parents, the cause of these problems in your children is not a deficiency of Ritalin or other amphetamine-like drugs you are hooking your children on through the excuse of a prescription.  Get the knowledge, courage and fortitude to feed your children right and make sure they are living a healthy lifestyle.  Get rid of the recreational drinks, sugars, candies, confectionery items and the four white poisons; white flour, white sugar, white salt and refined hydrogenated oils and watch the wonderful, healthy balanced child that will emerge. 
    If you think you are showing them love by giving in to their advertising-perverted whims, think again.  The foundation you lay now can mean health and vitality for a lifetime, or degeneration and chronic disease.
 
Taurine As A Diuretic
    Almost all of the 4 million people suffering from congestive heart failure take diuretics (water pills).  The reason for this is that as the heart loses its ability to adequately pump the blood through the body, fluid builds up in tissues which further interferes with the functioning of the heart which in turn results in more fluid build-up, and the cycle continues until death results.
    As I have mentioned in previous issues (Vol. 8, No. 3) the chronic use of diuretics can result in a B vitamin deficiency.   Not only can the B vitamin thiamin be lost, but also important minerals such as zinc and magnesium can likewise be lost in the increasing urinations produced by the diuretics.
    As an alternate diuretic, try the amino acid (part of natural proteins) taurine at a dose of about 3 grams per day,   being sure at the same time to improve the diet and take at least the broad spectrum RDA level of vitamins and minerals.
    Reference: 
        If any of the products mentioned are not available locally, contact the Institute for a resource.
        Health Revelations, October 1995: 2
 
Buy The Whole Vegetable
    Industry is forever looking for new opportunities to create “value-added” products.  The new craze is precutting and preparing salads and other vegetables for easy home use.
    What you pay for in convenience and portion packaging you are losing in nutrition.  Not only do you support unnecessary packaging, but once vegetables are washed by producers (which can leach out vitamins) and then cut or peeled (which can also result in loss of vitamins and oxidation of nutrients), you have something far less than what you should.  Also, by exposing the plants through cutting and peeling, there is increased chance of bacterial contamination, as well as more incentive for producers to use various chemicals on the product to keep it looking “fresh.”
    Buy your vegetables as whole and dirty as possible.  Don’t wash them or cut them until you are ready to consume them.  This will greatly increase the nutritional content of the food and give you and your family the benefits of the natural nutrition you deserve.
 
Deprenyl For The Brain
    Dopamine is an important biochemical for proper brain functioning.  As we age, dopamine - as it is naturally broken down by monoamine oxidase enzymes - can fall faster than it is produced.  This loss in dopamine function is believed to be one of the reasons for the brain dysfunction in Alzheimer’s as well as other cognitive and memory disturbances in the elderly.
    Once all of the lifestyle and nutritional recommendations of the Health Letter are implemented and no improvement is made, then it might be good to try the prescription compound L-Deprenyl.  This compound has produced significant improvements in patients with mental impairment, and when all else fails would certainly be worth a try.  (See Resource D.)
    Reference:
        L-Deprenyl is available by prescription under the brand name Eldepryl and is taken in dosages of 10 mg per day.
 
Eye Drops Can Cause Glaucoma
    Topical steroidal drops are often used for inflammatory eye conditions.  But these drops significantly increase the risk of developing ocular hypertension (glaucoma), by seven times.  Not only are steroidal preparations used for common inflammatory eye and eyelid conditions, but they are especially used following the millions of eye operations that are performed annually.       Patients are virtually never told that these medications may produce glaucoma.  Glaucoma is an extremely serious eye condition which results from a disruption in the flow of fluids in the eye globe.  The result is increased fluid pressure in the eye distorting sensitive ocular tissues and ultimately impairing and even destroying sight itself.
    When glaucoma is present, usually drugs are given that decrease the production of fluid within the eye, but they also reduce the flow of tears that coat the surface of the eye, the cornea, so artificial tears are prescribed.  But often these drops contain the preservative benzalkonium chloride, which increases the permeability of the cornea and creates dry spots in the cornea making it susceptible to ulceration.  Some have even required corneal transplants as a result of this damage.  Even though only about .04% of this preservative is used in eye preparations, the increased permeability of the cornea results in an accumulation of the preservative to highly toxic levels.  Over time, the chronic inflammation that can result from the use of preservatives can actually promote the very disease that is being treated - glaucoma.  In one study it was found that in at least half the cases the allergic and inflammatory reactions that occurred after eye surgeries were due to the presence of benzalkonium chloride in the eye drops being used.
    Be careful of any eye medication, including cleaning solutions used for contact lenses.  Benzalkonium chloride can even accumulate within soft contact lenses far beyond levels that would be considered safe.
    Reference:
        Documenta Ophthalmologica 1994; 85: 203-10
        Archives of Ophthalmology 1991; 229: 345-49
        Current Eye Research 1991; 10: 645-56
        Ophthalmology 1994; 101: 454-60
 
Health Nuts
    Increasing plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid) can significantly decrease the chance of stroke and heart attacks.  These fatty acids as found in various nuts such as walnuts and pumpkin seeds, as well as in flax seeds, canola, soybeans and wheat germ, should be a part of the daily diet. 
    As described in my book, Lipid Nutrition - Understanding Fats and Oils in Health and Disease (See Resource E), the modern diet has taken us away from these fatty acids and replaced them with fat phobia and omega-6 fatty acids as found in common grains and dominating in most modern packaged foods.  Even wild meats contain much higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids than the domesticated meats raised on high omega-6 grains.   The omega-3 fatty acids can therefore be called the wild, more natural forms of fatty acids, and it is these that are dramatically deficient in the modern diet.
    In a study of 192 men it was found that for every 0.13% increase in the omega-3 fatty acids in the blood that the risk for stroke dropped 37%.  Just eating walnuts everyday can drop cholesterol by more than 10%. 
(See Vol. 6, No. 5 for a description of how you can properly soak fresh nuts such as walnuts, pecans and almonds, making them much more digestible so they can be a part of the daily diet.)
    A supplement of 1-2 tablespoons of flax seed oil daily can also serve as an excellent supplement to get the omega-3 fatty acids in your tissues up to the level they should be (See Vol. 9, No. 9).
    Reference:
        D) Lipid Nutrition - Understanding Fats and Oils in Health and Disease, by Dr, R. L. Wysong, available from the Wysong Book Store Catalog, $12.95 soft cover, $14.95 hard cover.
        Stroke, 1995; 26;5: 778
        Health Revelations, August 1995: 2
 
Diabetes And Weight Gain 
    1990 U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines allow substantial weight gains after the age of 25 years.  But a study of  2,204 cases of diabetes during 1.49 million person-years of follow-up, demonstrates a significant increased risk for diabetes even with modest weight gain.   In contrast, women who lost as little as 10 pounds reduced their risk of getting this disease by 50% or more.  (See Resource F.)
    Reference:
        F) See the Fitness and Diabetes sections of the Wysong Bookstore Catalog, 1880 N. Eastman Road, Midland, MI 48642, 517-631-0009.
        Annals of Internal Medicine, 1995; 122: 41