WYSONG HEALTH LETTER
Dr. R. L. Wysong
July 1996
*
 
Do Not Let Technology Think for You
    In the  1940's and 50's technological advancement was seen as a solution to most all human earthly needs.   Dreams of beautiful homes, posh cars, labor-saving kitchen appliances, meals in a pill and cures for any ailment were becoming reality.
    The postwar era was seen to be a time of bounty and makeup for the deprivation caused by the Depression and a world war.   Consumerism was practically a patriotic duty.  There was no real concern about how actions today might affect tomorrow since science was going to take care of everything.  Besides, we were too giddy about all the trinkets we were accumulating to think much beyond our next purchase.
    Although science has fulfilled its prediction of being able to bring us virtually any convenience or toy we desired, it has not been able to bring us the most important element of life: health and vitality.   Rather, endless consumerism and freedom to produce as many children as we desire have put the world on the brink of exceeding its sustainable capacity, while burying our swelling population in its own garbage.
    I, for one, am really impressed with the capabilities of science and technology.  In every field the advances are bewildering, even beyond the ordinary person's comprehension.  Our ability to look within an atom, measure chemical reactions in the body that last fractions of a second, hurl astronauts into space, create computers that can store and retrieve limitless information, and produce weaponry that virtually removes humans from the battlefield is astonishing.  These advances are happening so quickly, it's as if we are being coached by some super advanced alien life form.
    But, though I'm impressed, it is not in the same way I used to be.  When I see our modern marvels I now become frustrated because of our seeming inability to solve elementary problems for which almost anyone with common sense can see a solution.      Any idiot can understand that if we live on a planet with finite resources, we should not populate it beyond its sustaining capabilities.  Any numbskull realizes that if we do not preserve natural areas and ecosystems, Earth's life support systems will be jeopardized and our children could lose forever the opportunity to experience nature.  All of us dumbies can see that a welfare economic system, and a litigious - everyone is a victim - legal system, is dead-ended.  Industry cannot have unlimited license to myriad resources and destroy the environment simply to create jobs, profit and unnecessary consumer products.  Workers' rights, benefits, guaranteed wages, etc. cannot be given precedence over the needs of the very industry that creates revenues in the first place.
    I get really irked when I see on The Learning Channel a new fighter jet that employs technology allowing pilots to shoot missiles by simply focusing their eyes on a target, and yet we can't replace the environmental-wrecking, gasoline-powered automobile.  I get absolutely exasperated to think that the IRS has the computer capabilities to keep track of every purchase and expense I, and every one of the other 250 million Americans, have made over the past decade and yet we as a society cannot figure out the answer to a simple arithmetic problem that demonstrates that our present U.S. population exceeds our capability to sustain it, or how to balance a national budget.
    We live today in an oxymoron society: We have great intelligence and live stupidly.  It's time to stop paying homage to technology that does not ultimately better the human condition.  
 
SELF-CESAREAN SECTION
    Modern medicine has long attempted to convince the population that pregnancy and delivery are more like a disease to be treated rather than a natural process to be watched.  Although there are extremely rare instances where medical intervention is necessary to save the life of the mother or child, to use these rarities as an excuse for medical drugging and manipulation of all pregnancies is more marketing than sound medical advice.
    I am convinced, at least, that there has been far more harm than good that has come from such medical intrusion into a natural process.  Iatrogenic (doctor-induced) and nosocomial (hospital-caused) disease has resulted in untold numbers of women and children suffering from the consequences of unnecessary medical intrusion.  This can include everything from unnecessarily crushing the skull of infants with forceps to paralyzing women with spinal anesthesia to medically introduced infections, deaths and disabilities from unnecessary and botched surgeries.  The public accepts such consequences, seeing them as a necessary price to pay for the “marvelous wonders of modern medicine.”
    Over the past couple decades there has been an increasing movement away from surgical theater deliveries to more home-like birthing rooms permitting natural deliveries, midwifery and home deliveries attended only by the parents.  It is good to see such awakening.  Sure, there is risk, but the risk is less than simply surrendering a pregnancy to the medical establishment.
    Testifying to the incredible resilience and capability of the human body is a recent case of a 32-year-old woman who performed a cesarean section on herself and delivered a healthy, normal baby.  Though this woman was psychologically abnormal, the event demonstrates the incredible safety latitude that exists in birthing.
    She cut into her own abdomen (see photo) through the uterus and delivered the baby and placenta.  Her 11-year-old son called the police when he saw what his mother had done.  She was subsequently treated and released from the hospital.  There were no complications and the baby was healthy and eating two hours after birth.
    I am certainly not advocating home cesarean sections, but this is a testimony to the wide latitude of safety in birthing without the help of the medical “experts.”
    Reference: 
        Lancet, July 13, 1996: 135
 
HOW TO BE HAPPY
    A variety of studies consistently show four traits that characterize happy people. 
    1) Happy people like themselves.  They have high self-esteem and usually believe themselves to be more ethical, more intelligent, less prejudiced, better able to get along with others and healthier than the average person. 
    2) Happy people have a sense of personal control.  Those imprisoned in nursing homes, severely impoverished or subject to autocratic regimes, or who feel themselves victimized by everyday life circumstances which they do not feel they can control or alter, are less happy people.  
    3)  Happy people are optimistic.  They have a view to the future and are creatively attempting to model their life in such a way as to accomplish some good and secure peace and more happiness for the future. 
    4)  Happy people are social people.  Extroverts are happier than introverts.  Married people are usually happier than single people.  People who belong to groups, clubs or other activities that result in social supportive engagement are happier.
    I might add that the achievement of any of the above four goals is not possible if health is not present.   Additionally, doing something in your life to try to maintain or better your health will give you an important sense of control and help create a sense of “superiority” which seems to be an important ingredient of happiness.
    Reference: 
        Scientific American, May 1996: 70
 
THINK TWICE ABOUT MAMMOGRAPHY
    Mammography is a pet “cure” of the medical establishment and the National Cancer Institute.  Statistics such as “1 in 9 women will get breast cancer” are used to scare women into the doctor’s office.  Fearing a dreaded cancer and mutilation of their womanhood, they have flocked in droves for regular breast check-ups and mammograms.
    All of the hoopla about how women should have regular breast exams and mammography creates business for radiologists - and danger for those who submit.
    As stated in a recent issue of The Lancet medical journal: “The Swedish authorities have just abandoned mammographic screening as a part of government policy... I believe that the onus is now on the proponents of screening women under the age of 50 to justify their position.  To continue screening inappropriate age groups without meaningful informed consent has to be regarded as unethical.”
    The breast cancer program has been a cash cow with even mobile mammography units that can drive right up to your front door.
    Although the approach of early detection seems logical at first glance, there is much more to the story.
    The National Cancer Institute (NCI) claims that the use of mammography for early detection can reduce mortality by more than 30%.  But by their own statistics there were only 1 in 16 who got breast cancer in 1970, whereas 1 in 9 do now.  In just 10 years there has been a 70% increase in breast cancer in spite of mammography.
    Although women are told that the x-rays used in mammography are low dose and not dangerous, this ignores the facts.   All x-rays are dangerous since they can not only directly induce disease, but they are cumulative and additive.  Every time mammography is performed, dental x-rays are taken, and any other diagnostic x-rays used, the effects add up until a person’s tolerance is surpassed and then disease, usually cancer, results.
    As I mentioned in a previous Health Letter, (Vol. 8, No. 5) rough handling of breast tissues in mammography, with high amounts of compression indicated for a clear picture, risks the possible spread of tumors that may be present.  The actual number of metastases (spreading nodules of cancer) will increase by 80% or even more if the tumor is manipulated.  But the more the breast is squeezed, the more accurate the mammographic picture.  Since diagnosticians can be sued if they miss a tumor, they tend to squeeze the breast just as much as they possibly can.  In fact, it is recommended that the pressure exerted to the breast for mammography be 50 lbs of pressure.   Some time, pick up a 50 lb. sack of salt or dog food at the grocery store, and you’ll get a feeling for what an incredible amount of pressure is being applied to the breast.
    Here are some things to keep in mind. 
    1)             First off, there is no reason for panic.  Even the NCI’s figures demonstrate that there is almost a 90% chance that you will never get breast cancer. 
    2)             It has been quite clearly established that you will greatly increase the risk of breast cancer by taking estrogens.  (Natural progesterone on the other hand, may prevent and reverse breast cancer - more on this in a coming issue.)
    3)             Examine your breasts once a month, preferably a week after your period (lumps a week before your period are not unusual).
    4)             Don’t jump on the mammography bandwagon regardless of the threats and scare tactics used by your physician.    Remember a palpable tumor has perhaps been growing for some 10 to 20 years.   Doing something immediately is hardly imperative.  Some advise simply waiting a month and monitoring the lump to see if it recedes or grows in size.
    5)             If the lump has become larger, the most conservative and safest procedure is a lumpectomy (removal of the tumor only).  A needle biopsy is advised against, since puncturing the tumor can cause spreading of the cancer cells along the needle tract.
    6)             There is much debate in the medical literature as to whether chemotherapy and radiation combined with lumpectomy increase effectiveness.  Both chemotherapy and radiation are cancer-causing in themselves and reek havoc on the immune system.  Your body needs nurturing and support, not a military attack.
    7)             Permitting physicians to cut into axillary (arm pit) lymph nodes is highly risky.  Lymph nodes are part of the immune system and as such are not a cause of the cancer, but rather are part of the body’s effort to control it.
    8)             Learn all you can about how to restore your lifestyle and diet to its natural context.  This is the constant theme discussed in the Health Letter.
    9)             Obtain a copy of the Wysong Resource Directory and the Wysong Book Store Catalog available from the Institute (see Resource below) and begin to explore alternate medical facilities that will permit you more holistic and safe options.
    It is so unfortunate that when women have breast cancer diagnosed they are panicked and often bullied by the medical establishment.  They get mammograms, needle biopsies, chemotherapy, radiation, lymph node and massive breast surgery because they are led to believe that all-out war should be waged on the cancer to insure the best possibility for survival.  Not only are these things usually performed, but they are performed quickly with the mistaken notion that immediate treatment affords the best possibility of survival.
    A diagnosis of breast cancer, or any cancer for that matter, is a signal that it is time to begin learning.  Get enough knowledge of the situation so that you can start making intelligent decisions and not simply be led by narrow-minded, self-serving medical interests.
    All healing must ultimately come from within.  The sooner you learn how to nurture that, and the quicker you become informed and confident enough to hold the medical wolves off, the better your chance for restoring health. 
    An even better idea is to learn as much as you can right now about how to prevent cancer from occurring in the first place.      Prevention is always easier than treatment and certainly far less traumatic and stressful.
    Reference: 
        The   Lancet, January 14, 1995: 129
        The Wysong Resource Directory is available for $15.00 from the Institute.  The Book Store Catalog is free of charge.  Wysong Institute, 1880 N. Eastman, Midland, MI   48642-7779
 
INSOMNIA
    There is nothing like a great night’s sleep to prepare you for a full, active and enjoyable day.  On the other hand, wrestling all night long trying to sleep can not only be miserable in and of itself, but saps you of the strength you need for the daylight hours.
    This is a huge problem that affects millions.  There is no easy solution.  If your life is filled with tension, physical or emotional pain, a change in surroundings, fears, anxieties and the like, sleep can be difficult.  The remedies below may be helpful.
    Some cases of insomnia may be caused by food allergies or intolerances.  If you find that you are wide awake about six hours after retiring, it is likely that there is some sort of food reaction.   Many foods have the ability to cause the release of neurochemicals that are excititory and designed to keep you awake and aroused.  Caffeine, tea, coffee, chocolate or cocoa can cause insomnia.  Alcohol can also interfere with the quality of sleep.  Herbal tonics may contain botanicals that are stimulants and various over-the-counter and prescription medications may be causing the problem.
    A homeopathic preparation called Passiflora Lehning drops, taken 20 drops in water four times a day between meals, may be effective.  In one study of 320 women suffering from insomnia, the preparation was highly effective.
    Vitamins B3, magnesium and B6 may affect the synthesis of the neurohormone serotonin, which can have a sedative and hypnotic effect.  Follow the recommended label dosages for these nutrients.
    The herbal medicine vallarian root is widely known to combat insomnia.  Preparations of this root containing mainly the sesquiterpenes cause no ill effects and 44% of the people taking it reported perfect sleep and 89% improved sleep.  Vallarian root is also known to increase the ability to sink into a deep sleep.
    There is also nothing like being tired to help you sleep.  One of the ways to be tired is to do something during the day.  Both mental activity and physical activity are helpful in this regard.   But particularly engaging daily in 20 minutes or so of exercise that races the heartbeat can do much to make your body want sleep.
    Reference:
        Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 1989; 32: 1065-6
        Pharmacopsychiatry, 1994; 27: 47-51
        What Doctors Don’t Tell You, September 1995: 9
 
CIRCUMCISION AND SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION
    When baby boys are circumcised it is not a useless piece of skin that is removed, it is a working part of the penis.   It's like removing a letter from the alphabet.  Sure, language can continue, but it is diminished by all of the words which are lost.  The fullness and richness of the English language is diminished.
    So when you circumcise your young boy, removing a normal - and necessary - part of his anatomy without his consent, it is just like sending him off to school but forbidding him to ever be able to use the letter “A.”
    Of course most circumcised men will claim they have experienced no problems from circumcision, but they have never experienced an intact penis so they have no idea what they are missing.
    On the other hand, adult men who have been circumcised and circumcised men who have uncircumcised themselves (see Vol. 7, No. 9), testify to the dramatic difference circumcision makes.
    It has long been known within the medical community that circumcision has a dulling and numbing effect on sexual sensation.  For example, in 1915 Dr. Wuesthoff wrote: “Circumcision reduces the so-called passion of which so many married men are so extremely proud, to the detriment of their wives and their married life.  Many youthful rapes could be prevented, many separations, and divorces also, and many unhappy marriages improved if this unnatural passion was cut down by a timely circumcision.”
    For information on the dangers of circumcision and how to reverse the procedure, see Vol. 7 No. 8, Vol. 7 No. 9, and Vol. 8 No. 4.
    Reference:
        Informant,  June 1996
 
UNDERWEAR DECREASES FERTILITY
    While I’m talking dirty, a recent study on the effects  of underwear on male fertility revealed interesting clues.  The optimum temperature for human spermatogenesis is 95° F.  Mechanisms within the vasculature of the testicles, such as a counter current heat exchange adaptation, help to keep the temperature within an optimal range.  Additionally, muscles within the scrotum permit contraction of the scrotal wall as well as lifting the testicles close to the body when cold, or relaxing them so that they hang in the breeze when hot.  These mechanisms help to regulate this temperature.
    By wearing tight-fitting underwear, men in effect void these adaptive mechanisms and raise testicular temperature above the optimal range which decreases their fertility (and may increase the incidence of testicular cancer).
    Ideally, men should wear nothing.  Next best would be boxer style shorts.  (However, considering our population problem, maybe a better suggestion for men would be wool-lined, spandex briefs.)
    Reference: 
        Lancet, June 29, 1996: 1844
 
THE MAYAN LESSON
    If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.  Not just recorded history, but archaeological history as well.
    The ancient Mayan civilization was an elaborately developed society.  Archaeologists have long been puzzled, though, as to why such an elaborate civilization developed, rose to a peak and then disappeared quickly.  Recent research has demonstrated, however, that there was not such a rapid decline in the civilization as previously thought.  Rather, it was found that the Mayan civilization simply outgrew its resources.
    It seems that as long as the Mayan culture was able to farm land, and then let it lie fallow even until it returned to its original, natural forest,  the culture thrived and grew.  But once population pressure increased demand on the land, such that areas were repeatedly farmed and mountain sides tilled leading to extensive erosion and loss of ground fertility, the swelling population could simply no longer be supported.  The endless encroachment on the land destroyed its productivity.
    Today the people in Central America where the Mayan civilization flourished have a population approximately equivalent to that when Mayan civilization collapsed.  But today the people there import food and use artificial fertilizer.  In 23 years the population will be double that of the peak in population of Mayan civilization.  Surely such artificial support of population expansion is headed for dramatic tragedy.
    On a world-wide scale we are following the same course as the Mayans.  We continue to encroach on virgin areas, ignoring natural cycles and swelling our population by artificial and tenuous exploitation of resources. (Recall the sustainable population of even the U.S. is about half its present level.  See Vol. 8, No. 4.)  We will either need to retract and live within the Earth’s capacity or be doomed to suffer the same fate as the Mayans.  
 
Nails
    White spots in the nail bed often indicate a zinc deficiency.  If the nails are exceptionally fragile and break easily there may be a zinc, calcium and essential fatty acid deficiency, as well as low stomach acid which does not permit adequate digestion of important mineral nutrients.
 
Arthritis
    Arthritis can sometimes respond well to a carefully monitored dosage of vitamin B3 (niacinamide).  Some arthritis sufferers are allergic to foods in the night shade family and will experience dramatic relief when these foods (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and tobacco) are eliminated.
 
Breast Lumps And Pain
    Sometimes breast lumps and recurring breast pain are a result of a sensitivity to caffeine as found in coffee, soft drinks and medications.
 
Calluses
    A callus that is very heavy on the inner surface of the heel will improve over time with increased vitamin A supplementation.
 
Varicose Veins
    Varicose veins can sometimes be caused by a constant diet of low fiber foods resulting in constipation and back pressure against the venous system within the abdominal cavity.  Increasing whole natural foods and using fiber supplements prudently along with increased levels of vitamin E, magnesium and bioflavonoids may be helpful.
 
Knee Problems
    Persistent or periodic swelling of the knees with a grating in the joint may be helped with supplemental vitamin B3 (niacinamide).  Remember, this vitamin can cause some uncomfortable side effects such as flushing, burning and tingling of the skin and should be gradually introduced or given with professional monitoring.  If there is swelling where the tendon from the knee cap inserts on the tibia (shin bone) this can often be alleviated with supplemental selenium.
 
Signs Of Food Allergy
    A variety of symptoms and signs can indicate a food allergy.  Included can be eczema, arthritis, bumps on the back of the arms or pimples at the base of the hair follicles on the legs, acne, dilated pupils in children less than 2 years old and puffiness in the lower eyelid with horizontal lines.
 
Earwax 
    For excessive accumulation of earwax in the ear canal, increase dietary essential fatty acids.
    Reference: 
        Nutritional Biochemical Check-up, Nutrition and Healing
 
Skin Cracking
    If the cracking is behind the ears, supplemental zinc will help, although it will take weeks for it to improve.  If cracking occurs in the corners of the mouth, all of the B complex vitamins should be increased and in particular vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
 
Nutrients For Dandruff
    For chronic dandruff try increasing the amount of whole B complex vitamins with a special emphasis on vitamin B6 (pyridoxine).  Also increase supplemental selenium and essential fatty acids.   If the dandruff is accompanied by seborrheic dermatitis, a more oily itching form of dandruff, B6 topical lotion will help, although it will get worse with this treatment before it gets better.
    Reference: 
        Nutritional Biochemical Check-up, Nutrition and Healing
 
Salt For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    There are some 500,000 people who are believed to have chronic fatigue syndrome that has proven refractory to treatment.
    New evidence has demonstrated that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be related to a disorder called neurally mediated hypotension.
    Low blood pressure in these individuals can be caused after long periods of standing, exercise or exposure to warm environments.  Symptoms include fatigue, but also light headedness, dizziness, confusion and even fainting.
    Effective treatment has proven to be a combination of medication for regulating blood pressure, such as fludrocortisone, in combination with increasing sodium in the diet.  This can be accomplished by consuming high sodium pickled foods, as well as by salting foods.
    If you are going to try this approach, it would be wise to perhaps at least try natural alternatives to the drugs (see Vol. 9, No. 9) combined with a whole salt that is additive-free and contains a variety of trace minerals.
    Reference: 
        Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, February 1996: 1
 
Fluoride Toothpaste And Tooth Discoloration
    In a study of 900 children for signs of fluorosis (an unsightly staining or mottling of tooth enamel) it was found that those exposed to too much fluoride in the first five to six years of life were most vulnerable.
    Not only is fluoride found in public drinking water, but also in the water in soft drinks consumed by the boat loads by small children.  Additionally, young children using fluoride toothpaste that is flavored to taste like bubble gum and candy consume large amounts of tooth paste.
    We are only beginning to see the tip of the fluoride toxic iceberg.  Tooth discoloration is only one of the signs.   Far more serious metabolic consequences occur with a lifetime of excess consumption of fluoride from modern beverage, water supply and dental products.
    Reference: 
        Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, February 1996: 1
 
Polio - Risk From Vaccination
    There have been no cases of wild-type polio in the U.S. for 17 years.  This is not the result of a massive immunization program, as I have previously demonstrated  (see Vol. 8, No. 1).   As further proof that the vaccine did not wipe out polio, consider now only about 50% of U.S. children are vaccinated, yet there are no wild type polio cases at all.
    But there is still paralytic polio.  About 10 cases occur each year in the U.S. - as a direct result of using the live oral polio vaccine.
    Nevertheless almost 4.5 million parents are intimidated into subjecting their children to this threat every year.
    Where there is money to be made, reason does not reign. 
    Reference:
        Journal of the American Medical Association, 1996; 274: 203
        Journal of the American Medical Association, July 10, 1996: 89
 
Pajamas In Fat Tissue
    Tris is a flame retardant chemical that has been used in children’s pajamas.  Research has shown it can cause cancer in animals.
    Now it has been found that Tris can be discovered in the urine and stored fat cells of children who have worn the pajamas, even if the pajamas have been washed several times.  Tris has the ability to pass through the skin right into body tissues.
    Although the government has banned the sale of Tris pajamas there are now estimated to be some 50,000 children carrying Tris in their bodies.
    The skin is not an impermeable barrier of stainless steel.  It is an absorbing organ.  Be extremely careful with what you permit to contact your skin in terms of the clothes you wear, and the personal care products used. 
    This is yet another example of the dangers of artificially manipulating our world environment, home environment and even clothing environment.  When young children have behavioral disorders, multiple allergies, brain tumors and leukemias that are unexplained, such contamination is likely an explanation.
    Reference:
        Townsend Letter, June 1996: 13
 
Fake Fat
    Olestra, a synthetic fat developed by Procter and Gamble, is being promoted as a way Americans can now eat fat safely.  This spins on the simplistic yarn that nutrition is all about percent fat and numbers of calories.  Since a single serving of chips made with Olestra has 0 fat and only 60 calories compared to regular chips that contain 10 grams of fat and 160 calories, Olestra is seen as the fat panacea.
    Though this nonsense is being promoted by Ph.D. nutritionists all over this country, it totally neglects the value of lipids (fats and oils) and their quality in the human diet.  I discuss this at length in my book, Lipid Nutrition - Understanding Fats and Oils in Health and Disease.
    People need fat in their diet.   They need omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids, as well as all of the other known and unknown fat soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E and K and the carotenoids.
    Dangers of Olestra include its ability to carry valuable fats and fat soluble vitamins right with it out of the digestive tract.  It can also cause flatulence, diarrhea and anal leakage.
    If Olestra remains in the market place, along with its toxic cousin, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, it will one day be found to have jeopardized the health of untold millions of consumers who surrender their minds to technology and propaganda, rather than put the necessary effort toward personal enlightenment and intelligent self-direction.