Editor's Comment
The day I write this I had a remarkable
conversation with one of the speakers for Safe
Harbor’s upcoming fourth annual medical conference
on June 4-5, Non-Pharma IV, "Non-Pharmaceutical
Approaches to Mental Disorders." He is optometrist
Dr. Herbert Solomon who explained to me his two
decades of research in how the eyes affect the
mind and how visual correction can improve
anxiety, depression, "ADHD" symptoms, and other
mental symptoms. He cited a book from the 1920s
that laid down the original concepts behind his
work.
Two days before I had the pleasure of speaking
with Dr. Aziz Alnamani, a psychiatrist in the
Sultanate of Oman on the Arabian Gulf. Dr.
Alnamani has graciously offered to run a Safe
Harbor chapter in his country (see below). He was
telling me that most people in his country of 2.5
million people seek traditional healing first for
mental disorders. They look to suggestions from
the Koran, herbs, and other non-drug approaches
that have stood the test of time in their culture.
And during the same time period, I have
exchanged emails with Dr. Elemosho Funsho, a
Nigerian physician who runs a psychiatric clinic
in that African nation. He shared with enthusiasm
the news that he treats psychiatric conditions and
strokes in his clinic with traditional herbs,
often getting recoveries in three days.
The same week we received a paper on bipolar
disorder from Safe Harbor’s good friend, Lewis
Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D., Native American author
of Coyote Medicine, who teaches integrative
psychiatry at the University of Arizona. He shared
the story of how one woman lost her bipolar
symptoms by moving in with a Native American
family and gaining a different perspective.
What struck me most in communicating with these
men was how MANY safe solutions truly exist for
mental health conditions. And yet for decades
Western psychiatry has educated the public that
mental conditions are irreversible and can only be
treated symptomatically through drugs.
The truth is that great hope DOES
exist for those with mental disorders, if they
have the desire to pursue solutions. To say
otherwise not only flies in the face of the
obvious, but does an unforgivable disservice to
those who suffer.
SAFE HARBOR NOW IN THE ARABIAN GULF
It pleases us greatly to announce the creation
of a new Safe Harbor chapter in the Sultanate of
Oman, a mountainous country west of Yemen on the
Arabian Gulf. The chapter will be run by Aziz
Alnamani, M.D., respected psychiatrist and teacher
at Sultan Qabous University Medical School in the
Oman capital of Muscat.
Like many countries in the Middle East, Oman
has felt the impact of Western culture, with junk
food and a rise in diabetes (15% of the
population) following.
Dr. Anamani feels there is a great hunger in
his country for non-drug alternatives for mental
health and he looks forward to bringing this
information to his countrymen.
He is the only psychiatrist (and possibly the
only physician) in Oman pioneering nutrition
approaches. He has a strong interest in expanding
his knowledge and we would like to encourage any
physicians who may wish to share their knowledge
of nutritional psychiatry with him. He may be
contacted by email or phone.
His contact information is:
Safe Harbor Oman
Aziz Alnamani, MD
Box 192
P.c. 122
Muscat, Muscat 122
Sultanate of Oman
Phone: 968-99292979
Fax: 968-24493417
Email: topmedics@hotmail.com
DR. NANCY MULLAN SPEAKS: SAFE HARBOR’S LOS
ANGELES SUPPORT GROUP, MARCH 9
On March 9, Safe Harbor will hold its monthly
Los Angeles support group featuring an hour of
group discussion followed by a presentation on
nutritional psychiatry by psychiatrist Nancy
Mullan, MD.
The meeting place will not be the Safe Harbor
office where previous meetings were held but will
be at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.
RSVP to the Safe Harbor office at 323
257-7338.>/p>
When: 7PM-9PM, March 9, 2005
Where: Glendale Adventist Medical
Center
Committee Room C
1509 Wilson Terrace
Glendale, California
(Note: Parking lot is $1-$2 –
there is some street parking)
SAFE HARBOR'S ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Hello friends,
Safe Harbor is launching its annual membership
drive!
As most of you know, Safe Harbor is a nonprofit
organization that educates the public, medical
practitioners and government agencies on non-drug
alternatives for mental disorders. We sponsor the
world's largest Internet site on this subject,
AlternativeMentalHealth.com.
We are moving into our seventh year and we
continue to change lives every day. Every week
thousands come to our Web site for help and
information. (See the success story below for one
example.) In the past year, we have established
Safe Harbor chapters in four other cities,
including cities in India and Oman (next to Yemen
on the Arabian Gulf). We continue to give
well-received workshops to the public on nondrug
alternatives.
Thanks to Safe Harbor's work, the
field of alternative mental health is growing
rapidly and gaining favor in the public
consciousness. Last year, the United Kingdom
outlawed most major antidepressants in children,
and they are seriously looking at the risks of
these drugs in adults. In the United States, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered "black
box" warnings on antidepressant labeling to warn
against increased suicide risks for children and
adolescents. Now, more than ever, people are
seeking safe alternatives for mental health.
Success Story
I have to write to you to say “thank you” for
your information. I thought I was going insane! I
have for the past week been drinking Crystal
Light, religiously. About four days ago, I started
with a slight headache which in a few words ended
up with me crying hysterically, migraine,
depressed (contemplating suicide!!!!), not being
able to sleep, and being upset about everything!
If you knew me, this is not me. Finally, I stopped
drinking it and slept for about 15 hours. I got up
and felt a little bit better. I then went to drink
a glass and started with a bit of a headache and
then I knew that perhaps this new drink was
causing something in my head. I am a nurse and
remember reading something about aspartame. I
started researching and I am astounded. Everything
you claim, happened to me in a matter of a week
and a half. I am also frightened that it caused me
to change so much. I wonder if I had not stopped
and figured this out if I would be dead in a
month. I felt like a different person, I was a
different person. Those around me saw a different
person. I wish this product was never made. Thank
you for your research and web site.
Our continued success depends a
great deal on the donations of people like you,
who want to see the field of mental health and the
lives of those involved improved. By partnering
with us through your membership fees, you help us
to deliver:
Name
_______________________________________________
Address
_____________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Telephone _______________________
E-mail ___________________________
Credit Card No. _______________________ Exp.
Date ________
Please deduct __________ from my credit card
monthly.
Thank you very much for helping us to continue
changing lives every day!
Please reply to
wendy@alternativementalhealth.com if you have
questions about membership or need more
information.
ACTION ALERT: PENDING LEGISLATION THREATENS
SUPPLEMENT USE
Two years ago, the European Union Directive on
Dietary Supplements was passed as part of a larger
piece of legislation called Codex Alimentarius,
severely restricting access to natural health
products in Europe that will take effect in August
2005.
5,000 natural products will disappear because
the EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals
in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary
supplements, meaning they're subject to government
regulation in terms of dose and availability.
The supplements that will be available will be
restricted to multi-vitamins containing no more
than 100 percent of the established RDA amounts,
and supplements will be allowed to be made from
only 15 minerals and 13 vitamins, eliminating 40
minerals. (If you think the pharmaceutical lobbies
are behind this, you're probably right!)
How does this affect the U.S.? As a member of
the World Trade Organization, the U.S. will be
bound by any finalized standards put forth in the
Directive. If we ignore the regulations, we would
face severe trade sanctions with other WTO
countries.
There are three recommended actions to take:
1. Support a case brought by the British
Alliance for Natural Health to overturn the
European Food Supplements Directive. Visit the
Alliance's website,
www.alliance-natural-health.org, become
informed and make a donation to help support this
effort in Europe. A detailed
action page is available for practitioners and
supplement providers.
2. Contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to
oppose S.722, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act
and your U.S. Congressmen to oppose H.R. 3377, the
Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act, two
dangerous and misnamed bills which call for
restrictions similar to those outlined in the EU.
See details at
Josef Hasslberger's site.
3. Also, tell your U.S. Senators and
Congressmen to support U.S. Representative Ron
Paul's H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty
Restoration Act, restoring law-making and judging
power to our elected representatives and American
courts.
For more information, contact the
American Holistic Health Association (www.ahha.org),
the Alliance for Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org),
or the International Advocates for Health Freedom
(www.iahf.com).
TESTIMONIAL: PERSONAL RECOVERY FROM BIPOLAR
SYMPTOMS
You know the horrific stories one hears of
parents who kill their children due to depression?
Well, I understand these people. I became so
disillusioned due to a lifetime of untreated
bipolar symptoms (which deepened after giving
birth to twins), that I felt that the only way I
could protect my children from the sheer awfulness
of life was to kill them. When I turned to
pharmaceuticals, under the influence of Paxil,
Prozac, Zoloft, and many others I found I would
still get to this point of complete despair, and
so I would have to quit taking them in order to
save my children and to save myself from becoming
yet another incomprehensible story.
Two years ago (and fifteen years since the
birth of my children, years of absolute misery), I
set out on a quest to make myself well on my own;
whatever it took, whatever self-help came my way,
whatever I intuitively attracted to I would do.
This has worked for me. It started out with a
spiritual component which facilitated for the
intuitive component to lead me on my journey.
I was first "led" to 5-HTP and Relora (an
herbal blend of magnolia and philodendron), and to
practice the water cure (watercure2.com), and to
take handfuls of nutritional supplements (mega B
vitamins, B12, Omega 3, lecithin, GABA and many
others and my symptoms then reduced by at least
50%. I was also led to a job in the consumer
self-help/peer support industry where I get lots
of emotional support from others with mental
health issues. I get on the job training in peer
support methods which helps with the behavioral
issues of my disorder so that I can help others as
well. All this together reduced my symptoms even
further.
Recently, I quit taking the 5-HTP and Relora in
preference for a homeopathic product called Attend
(by VAXA) which is actually formulated for
ADD/ADHD but works well for my bipolar symptoms.
My mood changes have reduced even more.
In the summer of ’04 I met some
Safe Harbor people at the Alternatives in Mental
Health Conference in Denver, Colorado. What a joy
to meet others who believe that total recovery
from mental illness is possible. My biggest
frustration had been in seeking others who share
this passion with me.
HERBAL TEAS REPLACING SEDATIVES IN UK PRISONS
Prisons in England and Wales have discovered a
cheap, safe and popular alternative to sedatives
to help prisoners get to sleep: Dr Stuart’s
Botanical Teas.
The "Tranquillity" and "Valerian Plus" blends
have proven so effective at Downview jail, Surrey,
that staff have all but stopped dispensing
sedatives to women inmates.
News of the teas’ benefits has spread by
word-of-mouth since were first introduced at
Wandsworth men’s jail in South London four years
ago. “They are very, very popular with prisoners,"
a Prison Service spokeswoman said. They are being
introduced into more prisons and are proving a
good alternative to sedatives and other
prescription drugs which can become addictive.”
Prisoners in Wandsworth started the trend
towards herbal teas in jail when people suffering
from stress and insomnia asked the prison pharmacy
to order supplies. The teas are also being
supplied to High Down men’s jail, in Surrey, and
Lewes jail, in Sussex.
Tranquillity is a blend of limeflowers,
hawthorn berries, yarrow and fennel, and Valerian
Plus is a mix of limeflowers, valerian root, hops,
passionflowers and fennel.
A spokesman for Dr Stuart’s Teas said: “We were
contacted by Wandsworth prison pharmacy department
as the teas had been requested by inmates –
especially those inmates coping with stress and
sleep problems.
“The herbal tea initiative has been welcomed by
prison pharmacy departments, who are keen for
prisoners to enjoy the healthy natural herbal
remedies rather than becoming hooked on other
habit forming drugs, which are also far more
costly.”
The firm delivers 11 cases of tea
or 2,640 tea bags to each jail every month at a
cost of £120. The tea is distributed by the
prisons’ healthcare departments.
LOW MATERNAL IODINE LINKED TO "ADHD" IN
CHILDREN
A group of researchers at Italy’s University of
Messina recently completed a study of Sicilian
children linking "ADHD" with maternal
hypothyroxinemia (iodine deficiency in the
thyroid). Iodine is a key component of thyroid
hormone, used in regulating growth and metabolism.
The researchers followed the children of 16
women in an area of Sicily where iodine deficiency
is common, comparing them to children in a region
where iodine is "marginally sufficient."
ADHD was diagnosed in 11 of the 16 children
from the iodine-deficient area, but in none of the
comparison group.
Dr. Francesco Vermiglio, who led the study,
told Reuters Health that he believes the ADHD
symptoms and lower IQ scores in the study group
resulted from maternal hypothyroxinemia in the
first half of pregnancy.
Source: Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology, December 2004.
CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS FOUND PREDICTIVE
OF DEMENTIA
High cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking,
and diabetes in midlife are each predictors of
dementia later in life, according to a report in
the Jan. 25 issue of Neurology.
"The bad news," said study author Rachel
Whitmer, from the Kaiser Permanente Division of
Research, "is that these risk factors, which we
know are associated with risk of cardiovascular
disease, also increase one's risk of dementia. The
good news is that if these risk factors are
identified in middle age, it leaves some hope that
earlier identification and earlier treatment might
reduce or possibly prevent dementia."
In their study, Whitmer and her colleagues
collected data on 8,845 men and women aged 40 to
44, from 1964 to 1973. By looking at medical
records, the research team was able to determine
cardiovascular risk factors. And when the team
looked at the same medical records from January
1994 to April 2003, they found that 721 patients
had been diagnosed with dementia.
Each of the cardiovascular risk factors was
found to be predictive. Those with diabetes were
46 percent more likely to develop dementia; those
with high cholesterol were 42 percent more likely;
people who smoked were 26 percent more likely, and
those who had hypertension were 24 percent more
likely.
“Earlier identification and treatment is really
important,” Whitmer added. “Dementia is also
another bad outcome of some of these common
diseases.”
In a statement released in response to
Whitmer's study, the Alzheimer's Association made
these recommendations to keep dementia at bay:
* Stay mentally active: read, take a class,
work crossword puzzles, play games.
* Stay physically active: walk, bike, jog,
garden, practice tai chi or yoga.
* Remain socially involved: volunteer, take a
dance class, travel.
* Adopt a brain healthy diet: eat dark-skinned
fruits and vegetables, fish and nuts.
"This study agrees with data coming
from various studies," said Dr. Samuel Gandy, vice
chairman of the National Medical and Scientific
Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association.
"We know that Alzheimer's begins at least 10 or
more years before the first clinical signs are
evident. You can't sort of wait and try to get all
these things under control when you're 50 or 55."
CURCUMIN A KEY INGREDIENT IN ALZHEIMER’S
PREVENTION
Curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric (curry
spice), may be one of the reasons India has among
the world’s lowest Alzheimer's disease rates,
according to a new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study.
Less than 1 percent of Indians over 65 have
Alzheimer’s. In America the rate is 3 percent in
the 65-74 age group, and dramatically higher at
more advanced ages, according to the National
Institutes of Health. Well known for its
anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric is a staple
of the Indian diet. These facts led study
co-author Sally Frautschy to test curcumin as an
alternative to anti-inflammatory drugs such as
ibuprofen (Motrin), which have dangerous side
effects.
Dietary curcumin was found effective against
injected amyloid proteins in the brains of aged
lab mice, which also outperformed the control
group in memory-dependent maze tests.
Additionally, when the researchers added
curcumin to human beta-amyloid proteins in a test
tube, the formation of amyloid fibers was blocked.
Reporting in the Dec. 7, 2004, online edition
of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the
research team said the low molecular weight and
polar structure of curcumin allow it to penetrate
the blood-brain barrier and bind to beta amyloid,
preventing the formation of amyloid fibers that
make up Alzheimer's plaques.
“Unlike ibuprofen, curcumin has the additional
benefit of reducing oxidative damage of the brain,
which is several-fold elevated in Alzheimer's
disease and likely contributes greatly to memory
loss,” said Frautschy.
“We believe curcumin will do three important
things: trigger clearance of amyloid already
present; reverse oxidative damage contributing to
memory loss; [and] reduce toxic substances
associated with chronic inflammation.”
The researchers have secured funding for a
clinical trial to establish safe and effective
doses in Alzheimer's patients.
"The prospect of finding a safe and
effective new approach to both prevention and
treatment of Alzheimer's disease is tremendously
exciting," said principal investigator Gregory
Cole.
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS HELP AGAINST AUTISM AND
ASPERGER'S SYNDROME
Nordic Naturals, a leading supplier of fish oil
and essential fatty acid nutritional supplements,
has announced the results of a trial that showed
beneficial effects of essential fatty acids (EFAs)
on language and learning skills in children with
autism and Asperger's syndrome.
The study, completed in 2004, was conducted by
Louise Patrick, a licensed speech and language
pathologist, and Ronald Salik, at a pediatric
clinic in Arizona. A report of the pilot trial can
be found in the January/February 2005 issue of
Autism-Asperger's Digest.
The three-month, open-label study provided 18
children, ranging from 3 to 10 years of age, with
daily supplemental EFAs in the form of Complete
Omega, a fish oil-based EFA product from Nordic
Naturals. Complete Omega (ProEFA in the
professional line) is a combination of omega-3
EFAs from purified fish oil and omega-6 EFAs from
purified borage oil.
The children were evaluated for increases in
language ability by study investigators on Day 0
and Day 90 of supplementation; an adult who was
familiar with the child also conducted an
evaluation at Day 45. Language and learning skills
were assessed using the Assessment of Basic
Language and Learning Skills.
All of the children displayed significant
increases in their language and learning skills
after supplementation. Statistical analysis, which
was completed at the University of Arizona,
demonstrated that the increase in scores from Day
0 to Day 90 in each of the eight areas measured
had high statistical significance.
The investigators stressed the
importance of fish oil purity and of beginning
with the lowest possible dose for this population.
WHAT’S IN A “SUGAR PILL”?
The “placebo effect” was discovered by doctors
prescribing sugar pills to hypochondriac patients
and getting positive results. “Placebo” is Latin
for “I shall please.”
Placebo pills are used in clinical trials to
determine what part of the test result is simply
due to getting a pill from a doctor. But the term
"sugar pill" is a misnomer these days, according
to a recent
Health Sciences Institute e-Alert:
“The fact is, drug companies make their own
placebo pills for research purposes, and for each
individual study they create a unique placebo
formula – sometimes including ingredients that
match ingredients in the drugs being tested. But
the contents of placebos are never revealed.
“Before conducting human trials for drugs,
pharmaceutical companies are often fully aware of
many of the side effects of the products they're
testing. So, for instance, if a drug is known to
cause dizziness and nausea, the drug company
running the test may want the placebo to have the
same side effects. And they have an explanation
for this. They say the placebo should mimic the
drug being tested so that the control group of the
experiment will have side effects similar to the
placebo group. Without that, they claim, the
results of a blind study would be compromised.
“There are plenty of gray areas to debate in
that logic, but for the moment let's focus on the
idea of what they call an ‘active placebo,’
designed to mimic the side effects of a tested
drug. And with that in mind let's look at an
advertising campaign for a popular allergy
medication. In the TV ads, when the moment arrives
to list the side effects, the voice-over says,
‘The most common side effects - including
headache, drowsiness, fatigue and dry mouth –
occurred about as often as they did with a sugar
pill.’
“A sugar pill? Really? Just what kind of ‘sugar
pill’ were the researchers using that caused
headache, drowsiness, fatigue and dry mouth?
Sounds to me like a sugar pill with a little
something added. But they want us to believe that
this medication will produce side effects no more
serious than what you'd get with a TicTac.”
For a free e-Alert subscription,
see
http://www.hsiealert.com/freecopy_web2.html.
guest article: THE POWER OF HEALTHY WORDS
by PATRICIA WAGNER
How would you like to improve how you relate to
others and become more energetic at the same time
without having to purchase anything? Here's a
surprising truth - one of the most powerful
weapons to enhance your life is your own tongue!
A powerful pep zapper is distress over troubled
relationships! Worrying about them can quickly
siphon off needed energy. So why not try a more
effective way to resolve these problems?
Here's a simple five-point plan for improving
relationships and increasing your energy level at
the same time.
1. Practice speaking encouraging words instead
of negative ones.
Concentrate on the qualities in other people
that you can affirm and dwell on those things
instead of on their faults. This alone should do
wonders in relieving stress in your relationships.
Doctors know that prolonged anxiety harms you,
but healing words can soothe stress and a peaceful
mind leads to improved physical health too. What
we say can have a permanent effect for good or for
evil. Think back in your own life when someone
encouraged you. You still remember what they said,
don't you?
We store in our minds in a kind of mental art
gallery what others have said to us. What words of
yours would you like to have permanently installed
in someone else's mind?
2. Avoid fueling verbal fires.
When someone starts to blow up all over you, be
careful about your response. Why burn your
relationship house down with your own mouth? Try
spraying water on an argument with calm words
instead of using a flame-thrower.
How many marriages have been destroyed when in
a fit of anger people spew out hurtful accusations
to one another that are never forgotten. You might
as well punch a hole in a feather pillow and let
the feathers fly all over the place and then try
to collect them one by one! You can't get back the
damaging effects of those hurtful words either.
Want to free yourself from an entrapping verbal
situation? Practice waiting a while before
answering someone when you're angry. Then
carefully choose what you are going to say. Your
reply could well be remembered for the rest of the
other person's life!
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV).
3. Don't be a motormouth.
Listen more than you talk and think about what
you're going to say before you say it. Don't just
blurt out whatever is on your mind. People who
constantly chatter on and on about themselves and
their opinions strain their relationships. If you
enjoy monopolizing conversations, think about what
other people may be experiencing when they're with
you.
Also, the more you talk, the more likely you'll
be to put your foot in your mouth. That's known as
"foot-in-mouth disease!" So think before you let
something out that you'll regret saying.
4. Nip hurtful speech in the bud by carefully
choosing your thoughts.
If you could put what you're thinking on a CD,
what would you entitle it? Thought patterns will
come out sooner or later in your conversations.
Abraham Lincoln is remembered as being one of
the United States of America's greatest
presidents. But he experienced many failures along
the way. These failures were in the areas of
formal education (which was very limited),
business, farming and in obtaining desired
political offices. If Lincoln had thought of
himself as a loser when he failed so many times in
life, he would have been unable to fulfill his
destiny.
5. Pray for healing words to tap the Source of
wisdom.
Consider praying about what you are saying.
Here's a to-the-point prayer:
"Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the
door of my lips" (Psalms 141:3).
Want to have a better life? Choose
better words! Start afresh today to create
beautiful art-word exhibitions in other people's
minds with loving and caring words.
Patricia Wagner offers informative
tips on living a more energetic lifestyle at
http://www.a-to-z-wellness.com. She is also an
artist and you can view her original paintings at
http://www.artbywagner.com.
