Ki Center Blog

With so many prescription drugs being pulled off the shelves, most recently the drug Avandia, it would seem that someone somewhere should be raising a flag and asking some hard questions.

Why is this country, with all its wealth and resources, one of the lowest rated for life expectancy? Why is iatrogenic disease (health care caused) the number one cause of death in this country, even above heart disease and diabetes?

I strongly believe that our medical establishment has lost sight of a fundamental truth in health and wellness. You must treat the whole person.

Drugs not always the answer

Using toxic chemicals to drug a person's symptom into submission isn't working for the long term. Side effects from these drugs are the cause of many other problems that are then treated with even more drugs. The cycle continues, and a severe decline in health is seen. For the most part, it is the elderly that suffers I believe, more so than the rest of the population. However, I have noticed an increase in the number of clients that are younger now having the same problems as the elderly. I hope this trend doesn't continue, but unfortunately, unless we as a nation re-examine the national health care system, I believe it will continue.

There is room enough in our health care system for alternative practitioners and allopathic (traditional) practitioners to work together. I have had the opportunity to share my information and findings with a few of my clients physicians. It is refreshing to find a physician open enough to discuss what I find and what course of action I take to correct the imbalances. The treatment is enhanced when qualified alternative practitioners and traditional medicine is combined. The patient benefits, they get better quicker and their health care costs go down as the need for long term medication is eliminated.

Profit over health

Too much emphasis has been put on drugs for everything and nothing but drugs for anything. The profits are too high to stop and the lobbyists are too numerous to ignore. Frankly I think the emphasis is on money and profit and not on the individual. There is a good reason why more people are migrating to holistic practitioners and alternative therapies. People want more choice in their health care. They are becoming more educated about alternatives, and with detailed information available on the internet have more resources to better educate themselves.

Alternative therapies work. Nutritional deficiencies are rampant in this country and no amount of chemistry will change that. Much of the heart disease in this country could be alleviated by simple additions of key phytonutrients to the diet. Balancing the energetic and emotional components of health is a much better choice than toxic, side effect laden drugs for depression. My case files are full of people weaned off of heavy depression medications and now living drug free and happy.

Western medicine does not get it

My concept of an ideal health care system would be one that each person has the ability to choose which type of treatment to participate in. The insurance would cover any qualified practitioner and its components. Allopathic and alternative professionals could and would work together for the good of the patient and holistic (whole body, mind and spirit) care would be the norm.

Most physicians will tell you that vitamins and minerals don't work. They will tell you that studies have shown no significant improvement in conditions when vitamins and minerals were used. And quite frankly, in most cases they are correct. However the use of synthetic, fractionated nutrients will never give you the same results as clinically pure, whole food phytonutrients. There is a huge difference between a vitamin you buy in the local market and a true whole food nutrient that is tested to your body for efficacy and accuracy.

It's about balance

At the Ki Center we practice true clinical bio-chemistry. In addition, we balance the emotions, structure and energetic components of the body. In other words; we treat the whole body. And whenever possible, we will work with your regular doctor and offer the information to him or her and extend the hand of cooperation.

Each modality of health care has its merits. Each has value and can be incredibly beneficial. I will be the first to acknowledge that I cannot help everyone. Some folks are so devastated by illness and disease that strong drugs are the only answer, and are the most appropriate. I cannot however agree that drugs are the only answer to all maladies. I have witnessed many people get better with simple phytonutrient protocols, wean off of prescription drugs and finally have relief from years of discomfort.

I am not a big fan of vaccines. Every year we are bombarded by reports and warnings about potential flu epidemics and scare tactics designed to separate you from your money—at the expense of your own health. I am also very wary of anything the carries the support of the FDA, CDC, WHO, UN, AMA, or any other government agency testifying to the safety and efficacy of drugs.

Creating Panic

Remember the swine flu epidemic of 1976? How about the SARS epidemic from Hong Kong and of course the H5N1 Bird Flu that was going to potentially kill 20% of the population? And of course who can forget (recently) the Swine Flu pandemic (H1N1) that brought most countries to a level 6 medical alert? What do all of these events have in common? They never happened.

What did happen though was that a lot of money was made by organized medicine. In addition, Congress passed legislation that exempted drug makers from being sued by anyone harmed or killed by these vaccines. Stay tuned for more hype and regulatory shell games as there is now a new super bug identified in Japan that is resistant to all forms of antibiotics.

What to do now

So what are we to do? I, like many of my clients, pursue natural immune enhancement that will strengthen the body's ability to mount a normal and powerful defense against viruses, bacteria and microbes. Notice that I said mount a defense not prevent? We will still be exposed to various things that can make us sick. The key is to stop it in its tracks or severely limit the duration and severity of the attack.

Things that can be done now to strengthen the immune system are eating a variety of whole foods, organic when possible, and limit the amount of processed non-foods that have no redeeming nutritional value. Eat the colors of the rainbow. By that I mean to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that are deeply colored as these foods contain thousands of enzymes, micro and macro nutrients, sterols and fatty acids that combine synergistically, that is, they work together perfectly and are absorbed properly because they are whole foods, not synthetic non-foods. Getting exercise, drinking clean water, getting adequate sleep will support and strengthen your immune system as well.

Powerful natural products

When I need extra help, especially during cold and flu season, I use and recommend to my clients three basic products. They are Congaplex, Immuplex, and Echinacea Premium, all from Standard Process Labs. These are the big guns as they go straight to the heart of immune building.

Congaplex is for systemic infections, fever reduction and stimulates the thymus gland to produce more white blood cells. I have used this product personally with great success--and is generally used short term. Immuplex will also support and enhance the body's immune response. It is primarily used for viral and bacterial infections and can be used as a long term immune system building agent. Echinacea premium on the other hand is made from both Echinacea angustofolia and Echinacea pupurea. Both are needed to be effective and be properly assimilated by the body. When these products are combined, the immune response is impressive--quick and effective, and generally successful within 24-48 hours.

Overuse of drugs

Of course, if you have been diagnosed with a massive bacterial infection of any type, then a course of potent antibiotic may be necessary to get you out of the danger zone. If that is the case, then a follow up of immune building products like I have described, would be of great benefit for the recovery and preventing possible recurrent infections.

Over use of antibiotics has created more resistant strains of bacteria, this is a medical fact. The use of stronger medicines to offset this resistance can and will lead to more serious side effects. Why not use powerful natural products, with proven efficacy, to stave off infections in the first place? Or, if infected, let the body (with help) fight it the way it has been designed to do. The end result will be an immune system stronger than before and much more capable of resisting future infections of all type.

Let me take a moment to say thanks to the East County Gazette for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to their publication. In the articles to follow I hope to surprise you, raise questions and possibly even make you angry. Above all what you will get is pertinent, accurate information designed to make you think and hopefully encourage you to check out information for yourself. I will never tell you what to think. You have enough of that already. You are in charge of your health care; do not let anyone convince you otherwise. What you need is good information to make informed decisions. Lets get started.

The Wrong Information

I get so angry at the established medical community scaring their patients senseless with incomplete information about their cholesterol levels. Thousands of unsuspecting intelligent people have been convinced to take liver damaging drugs to artificially reduce their cholesterol numbers. Maybe you remember some 20 years ago that the medical profession informed the public that if your cholesterol was 180-200 then you were sick and needed a pill to correct this life threatening disease. Then a new line of Statin drugs came out which could lower the numbers even more. More recently the number has dropped to even lower levels because of, you guessed it, newer drugs. When you take into account that these drugs gobble up vitamins such as Coenzyme Q-10, Folic Acid, Vitamins B-12, K, D, E and Iron you have a recipe for disaster.

The Facts

Let me give you some facts to help you decide for yourself what you need. Cholesterol is essential for life. Just as the banana peel protects the fruit from damage and oxidation, your cholesterol protects your cells from damage and oxidation. It’s quite a bit like a bullet proof vest for the cell. People have been duped into believing that the lower their cholesterol is the healthier they are. This is not true and frankly the opposite is true. If your total cholesterol numbers get to 125 and lower you are sick and in danger of serious disease and illness. Did you know that when you have damage to a blood vessel or any damage for that matter your body uses cholesterol as a bandage to repair the area? Weaknesses in the blood vessels are patched with cholesterol. So a question remains; is the cholesterol building up in your veins because of fat or repair of weak areas?  If your total cholesterol gets too low the cells can be damaged by free radicals, toxins and drug interactions. Cholesterol protects these cells from damage.

Practically every organ in the body manufactures cholesterol. If your eating habits, exercise and life style are relatively good the cholesterol in your system will regulate itself. If you have adequate fat in your diet, and I am talking about good fat, omega 3 and 6, you won’t have the elevated levels that are truly a problem. If your numbers are 280 and above then yes we need to make some changes to allow the body to bring these levels back into balance. Let me say that this is possible without drugs. I have seen it in my clients reductions of 50 points in 30 days or less just by giving the body the tools it needs to regulate the process. And a real shocker for them is when I tell them to increase their intake of dietary fat. Well that just flies in the face of conventional drug profit wisdom doesn't it? Heaven help us all if we start to get healthy without medications!

In fact the older we get the higher the cholesterol numbers should be up to a point. If the body is in balance, in other words if the ratio to HDL and LDL are good, your triglycerides are in normal range and you eat relatively well and get exercise, then a number like 230-245 (if your in your 50s and older) is great! You want that protection around your cells to keep the degeneration and break down of tissues as we get older from running rampant. Cholesterol lowering drugs damage your liver, period. Just because someone has said that you're sick if you have cholesterol above 150 doesn't make it true, especially if that someone has a profit motive for you to buy their drug.

Case History

Medications can be a life saver when needed. But it just makes more sense to try something less invasive and easier on your system first. By the way that client I have that reduced her cholesterol by 50 points; she went from total cholesterol of 295 to 215 in 45 days without drugs. You know what her doctor said? Thats a good start but I think you still need to be on this drug. You decide.

Vitamin K2

You probably have never heard of vitamin K2. Most people haven’t, but the need for this vitamin activator is very important.

Essentially, vitamin K2 is a nutritional complex that activates vitamin’s A, D and the mineral calcium. If you are thinking bone health, osteoporosis and joint problems, then you are right on track. K2 is part of the vitamin K complex in the category known as quinones. Vitamin K1, known as phylloquinone, is found in the green parts of plants and is commonly recognized to help in blood clotting. Vitamin K2 is primarily used by the body to put calcium where it belongs, in the bones and teeth. It also prevents calcium from going where it doesn’t belong, such as the eyes (cataracts), kidney (kidney stones), arteries (arteriosclerosis), and in the soft tissues of the joints (arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis). K2 is also very important for brain and nervous system health.

Way back in 1945 the brilliant researcher and scientist Weston A. Price found the highest concentration of K2 in milk of certain animals that ate rapidly growing green grasses, in the organs and fat of certain animals and in the eggs and liver of fish. He called the substance Activator X, as the vitamin K complex wasn’t really identified at that time. Since then, however, vitamin K2 has been established as being that same Activator X identified so long ago.

Since the foods listed as having this important complex are not exactly a dietary staple, there are supplement forms available. Unfortunately, the supplement industry in general has lost much of its credibility. There have been too many wild claims of miracle cures, poor regulation of manufacturing and labeling and out and out fraud. The only way to get K2 through supplementation is with cod liver oil and butter oil. Whole food sources are best, but whole food nutritional oils are hard to come by and expensive. Fortunately, there are two products that are of the highest quality and a whole food source. They are Blue Ice High Vitamin Cod Liver Oil, and X-Factor Gold High Vitamin Butter Oil. Both of these products are available on line. Just put in the name of these products in your search engine and you will find suppliers.

Why is this vitamin so important? In past articles I have discussed the importance and efficacy of essential fats in your diet. What you will get from these products are high quality omega 3 and omega 6 fats in the proper ratio. These are essential for bone health, joint pain and controlling inflammation. There has been so much mis-information about fats, both good and bad, that people in general seem to shy away from foods that contain this nutrient.

If you are taking blood thinners, and your doctor has warned you about taking vitamin K (blood clotting), it does not mean you do not need this critical vitamin. Fortunately, according to the research, butter oil will not trigger a powerful blood clotting response and in most cases will be perfectly safe, even if you are on blood thinners.

Researchers in the holistic and nutritional fields have found that the combination of the two–cod liver oil and butter oil—provide a better balance of nutrients than just taking one supplement alone.

If you are suffering from chronic joint pain, arthritis, or degenerative physical problems, nervous system problems or hormone imbalances, then this combination of nutrients may be just the ticket for you. When you combine these two products with other whole food concentrates like we use in the clinic, you have a powerful tool to accomplish the healing your body is designed to do. And since these oil products are mineral activators, you can super charge your protocol of bone health and joint repair.

There has been a wonderful response from my readers indicating their disappointment that I wouldn’t be writing this column in the Gazette any more. Thank you for the phone calls and words of encouragement. Following this response, I have worked out an arrangement with the Gazette to continue writing for a time. As I mentioned last month, my column together with an archive of past subjects is now available on my web site, along with a blog (yes, I have joined the 21st century) that will have a more personal feel to it. Feel free to post any comments you may have directly on the blog site. Thanks again for your support and readership.

By Bill Mathews, CNC, Kinesiologist, Reiki Master, Ki Center for Holistic Healing

“Oh I’ve tried the vitamins and natural stuff, but it doesn’t work”. I love hearing that from a new client because the road to understanding what is real and what is not when it comes to nutritional therapy, is a short one and easy to understand.

Let’s start with an example. Many people take vitamin C every day. But what they are really taking is Ascorbic Acid. You’ve all seen the label I’m sure and read that the content was ‘1000mg of vitamin c as ascorbic acid’. Seems pretty good you say but what you are actually getting is the anti-oxidant portion of the whole vitamin c complex. It’s like the banana peel on the banana. Vitamin c contains not only ascorbic acid but Tyrosinase, P factors, K factors, enzymes, co-enzymes, etc. If you were to take ascorbic acid to cure scurvy it would do nothing, but eat citrus fruit and it will heal quickly.

If you’re like me you don’t like to be misled especially about your health. Again using vitamin c as the example, a company will produce by chemical washing and high heat a chemical product that is almost identical to the ascorbic acid found in nature. So the vitamin company produces mass amounts of this chemical for pennies, maybe adding some new strawberry flavoring (a chemical) to it or even some dried desiccated rose hips to make it more appealing. If I go to buy something I expect to get what I pay for, not some phony imitation.

Real food is complex. It has so many different factors to it that it can’t even be completely identified by scientists. It would be incredibly expensive and, in fact probably impossible to recreate synthetically any supplement that would be identical to what is found in nature. Vitamin B products derived from coal tar are not the B complex. Alpha tocopherol alone is not vitamin E. I think you get the picture.

So what happens when we take a synthetic vitamin? Will it be beneficial at all?

To put it simply, when your body gets a synthetic vitamin and it kind of looks like food but it is missing parts to it, it will then go to its reserves if it has any, and put the missing pieces together with the fraction to make it whole and useable. This will deplete you system of even more nutrients in the long term. Most of the synthetic vitamins act like a mild toxin and will be eliminated by the body with very little being used. That is why you see such high concentrations on the label. But taking high doses of synthetic vitamins just adds more to the load your body has to deal with and has no real benefit in the long term. When you consider the fact that most prescription medications and over the counter medications rob the body of many vitamins and nutrients, you can see how deficiencies can escalate into disease and illness.

Fortunately there are supplements that are not chemicals. There is one company that I know of that makes a whole food supplement directly from food. No additives, no chemicals and processed cold to maintain all the factors necessary to be used by the body. When the body has the right tools it can heal permanently. This is what nature has intended.