Studies and Progress Notes (Sep 2010)

'Starving yogi' astounds Indian scientists

An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television.

During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. "It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.

The DRDO hopes that the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

"(Jani's) only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," G. Ilavazahagan, director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), said in a statement.

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.

During the 15-day observation, which ended on Thursday, the doctors took scans of Jani's organs, brain, and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.

"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Shah told reporters at a press conference last week.
Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to come through.

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," said Shah.

"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.ce6e076d355a498ef621bad2bbef1a32.f1

IJHC – WHR Observations

People can train themselves to bring their bodies to do things that are truly extra-ordinary. Some of these can be replicated with biofeedback, such as controlling blood pressure and heartbeats. However, we are far from understanding how someone can go without food or water for many days or years, with no apparent ill effects.

Others have reported similar abilities. See, for example the practice of BIGU, a variety of qigong.

* * FUTURE RESEARCH IN WHOLISTIC HEALING * * 

The IJHC/WHR E-Zine features monthly suggestions for future research in healing.
READERS ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS FOR TOPICS TO STUDY
If your topic is chosen, you ill receive free access to the IJHC for a month, including the current issue and all back issues.
 
One would think that with the threats of population growth, planetary pollution, global heating, exhaustion of water and food resources that are all approaching unknowable tipping points – with mass starvation on the other side of these challenges – there would be more interest in exploring these abilities…

On a more immediate level of benefits to be researched: Imagine the savings in your budget if you needed less food to survive! Imagine the decrease in planetary stresses if starvation were not a threat to billions!

* *  WHOLISTIC APPROACHES * *

Cancer survival figures 'double' since 1970s

Survival rates for some cancers have doubled over the past four decades, a charity has said.

People with breast, bowel and ovarian cancers, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, are now twice as likely to survive for at least 10 years than in the 1970s.

Cancer Research UK's figures show leukaemia survival is now four times as high, although the charity warned there was still much work to do.

The Department of Health said it was "delighted" by the findings.

Launching a television campaign, the charity said investment in research was key to further boosting survival.

The figures go back to the early 1970s and include estimated survival rates for the latest diagnoses made in 2007.

In breast cancer, 10-year survival has jumped from less than 40% to a predicted 77% currently.

And half of people diagnosed with bowel cancer are now expected to survive at least 10 years compared with 23% in the 1970s.

Read more

IJHC – WHR Observations

In this article, "Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said: 'There are many reasons for our continuing success in the fight against cancer, including faster diagnosis, better surgery, more effective radiotherapy and many new drugs…' "

What is not noted is that around 50% of the population use complementary and alternative therapies, either alone or in conjunction with conventional medical care. Often, people never mention this to their doctors – who have little time to listen to the basics that are necessary for medical diagnosis and treatment, much less for what most of the medical profession ignores. Dietary changes alone can markedly increase survival. I believe that this may be a major contributing factor to increased survival of people with cancer.

Can exercise moderate anger?
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
David Sacks/Getty Images

For years, researchers have known that exercise can affect certain moods. Running, bike riding and other exercise programs have repeatedly been found to combat clinical depression. Similarly, a study from Germany published in April found that light-duty activity like walking or gardening made participants “happy,” in the estimation of the scientists. Even laboratory rats and mice respond emotionally to exercise; although their precise “moods” are hard to parse, their behavior indicates that exercise makes them more relaxed and confident.

But what about anger, one of the more universal and, in its way, destructive moods? Can exercise influence how angry you become in certain situations?

A study presented at the most recent annual conference of the American College of Sports Medicine provides some provocative if ambiguous answers. For the study, hundreds of undergraduates at the University of Georgia filled out questionnaires about their moods. From that group, researchers chose 16 young men with “high trait anger” or, in less technical terms, a very short fuse. They were, their questionnaires indicated, habitually touchy.

The researchers invited the men to a lab and had them fill out a survey about their moods at that moment. During the two days of the study, the men were each fitted with high-tech hairnets containing multiple sensors that could read electrical activity in the brain. Next, researchers flashed a series of slides across viewing screens set up in front of each young man. The slides, intended to induce anger, depicted upsetting events like Ku Klux Klan rallies and children under fire from soldiers, which were interspersed with more pleasant images. Electrical activity in the men’s brains indicated that they were growing angry during the display. For confirmation, they described to researchers how angry they felt, using a numerical scale from 0 to 9.

On alternate days, after viewing the slides again (though always in a different order), the men either sat quietly or rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes at a moderate pace while their brain patterns and verbal estimations of anger were recorded. Afterward, the researchers examined how angry the volunteers became during each session.

The results showed that when the volunteers hadn’t exercised, their second viewing of the slides aroused significantly more anger than the first. After exercise, conversely, the men’s anger reached a plateau. They still became upset during the slide show — exercise didn’t inure them to what they saw — but the exercise allowed them to end the session no angrier than they began it.

What the results of the study suggest is that “exercise, even a single bout of it, can have a robust prophylactic effect” against the buildup of anger, said Nathaniel Thom, a stress physiologist who was the study’s lead researcher.

“It’s like taking aspirin to combat heart disease,” he said. “You reduce your risk.”

When the men did not exercise, they had considerable difficulty controlling their racing emotion. But after exercise, they handled what they saw with more aplomb. Their moods were under firmer control.

More

Research abstract:

The positive effects of physical activity on mood are well documented in cross-sectional studies. To date there have been only a few studies analyzing within-subject covariance between physical activity and mood in everyday life. This study aims to close this gap using an ambulatory assessment of mood and physical activity. Thirteen participants completed a standardized diary over a 10-week period, resulting in 1,860 measurement points. Valence, energetic arousal, and calmness are the three subscales of mood that were assessed. Participants rated their mood promptly after self-selected activities. A multilevel analysis indicates that the three dimensions of mood were positively affected by episodes of physical activity, such as walking or gardening-valence: t(12) = 5.6, p < .001; energetic arousal: t(12) = 2.4, p = .033; calmness: t(12) = 2.8, p = .015. Moreover, the association is affected by the individual baseline mood level, with the greatest effect seen when mood is depressed.

Source: Kanning M and Schlicht W. Be active and become happy: an ecological momentary assessment of physical activity and mood. (Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.) J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2010, 32(2):253-61. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20479481

IJHC – WHR Observations

Taking a walk around the block appears to be more than just letting off steam or taking space from a frustrating and annoying situation!

* * COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES * * 

Acupuncture improves exercise tolerance of patients with heart failure: a placebo-controlled pilot study



In brief:
Acupuncture may become an additional therapeutic strategy to improve the exercise tolerance of patients with CHF, potentially by improving skeletal muscle function.

Abstract
Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome with autonomic dysbalance and increased plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines, which further worsen the syndrome. Experimental data have shown that stimulation of certain acupoints decreases autonomic dysbalance.
Objective To test the therapeutic potential of acupuncture for life-threatening diseases such as CHF.
Methods: 17 stable patients with CHF (New York Heart Association class II–III, ejection fraction <40%) receiving optimised heart failure medication were randomised into a verum acupuncture (VA) and placebo acupuncture (PA) group. Cardiopulmonary function, heart rate variability and quality of life were explored.
Results: No improvements of the cardiac ejection fraction or peak oxygen uptake were observed, but THE AMBULATED 6 MIN WALK DISTANCE WAS REMARKABLY INCREASED IN THE VA GROUP (+32±7 M) BUT NOT THE PA GROUP (−1±11 M; P<0.01). Accordingly, post-exercise recovery after maximal exercise and the VE/VCO2 slope, a marker of ventilatory efficiency, were improved after VA but not PA. Furthermore, heart rate variability increased after VA, but decreased after PA. The ‘general health’ score and ‘body pain’ score of the quality-of-life questionnaire SF-36 tended to be improved after VA.
Conclusion: Acupuncture may become an additional therapeutic strategy to improve the exercise tolerance of patients with CHF, potentially by improving skeletal muscle function.
Source: Heart doi:10.1136/hrt.2009.187930

IJHC – WHR Observations

Addressing the energy body balance through acupuncture enhances the functions of the physical body. It is good to see conventional medical research confirming this – despite the fact that conventional researchers usually do not appreciate the profoundly important contributions of the biological energy body to health and illness.

Acupuncture in the treatment of pain in temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

In brief:
The results of this meta-analysis suggest that acupuncture is a reasonable adjunctive treatment for producing a short-term analgesic effect in patients with painful TMD symptoms. Although the results described are positive, the relevance of these results was limited by the fact that substantial bias was present. These findings must be confirmed by future RCTs that improve the methodologic deficiencies of the studies evaluated in this meta-analysis.
Source: Clinical Journal of Pain 2010, 26(6), 541-550

IJHC – WHR Observations

My experience is that many bioenergy interventions produce helpful improvements in physical conditions but that these improvements are only temporary – as noted in the above research review. Longer series of treatments, particularly when they are individualized to each person, appear to produce better, longer-lasting effects.
With pain, I find that there are often underlying contributors in the unconscious mind, emotions, relationships and spirit. WHEE is the method I find most helpful in dealing with pain in a more comprehensive manner.

More CAM reviews at
http://www.naturalhealthvillage.com/
www.mdlinx.com/FamilyMDLinx 
 www.ucalgary.ca/~camig/litsearch.html
AMSA website
http://www.paintap.com/

 

* * TECHNOLOGY * *

Solar light bulb to reduce kerosene use
TIM HORNYAK - CNET News

Here's a bright idea for the planet. A Hong Kong-based company has introduced what it bills as the world's only solar-powered light bulb with the hope of reaching millions of people with little or no access to electricity.

The Nokero N100 solar LED light bulb is meant to replace kerosene lamps as a lighting source in the developing world. The company says 1.6 billion people still lack sufficient access to electricity, and many burn fossil fuels for light, which can be dangerous and expensive.

The N100 solar bulb is about the size of a standard incandescent bulb and has four small solar panels in its rainproof plastic housing. Five LEDs and a replaceable NiMH battery inside provide up to four hours of light when the device is fully charged. People hang it outside during the day and then turn it on at night.

Weather, seasons, and latitude can affect charging times. Nokero asserts that one day of charging in the sun can provide about two hours of light, though charging near the equator can provide more. So on a cloudy winter day in northern latitudes, the bulb would probably not be able to replace a kerosene lamp, but on a clear summer day near the equator it would.

The LEDs are meant to last 50,000 to 100,000 hours, and the solar panels are rated to last 10 years. The life of the N100 is basically 5 to 10 years, according to Nokero representative Tom Boyd.

The cost? A single bulb is $15; a case of 48 costs $480. The company offers a "significant" discount when buying a thousand or more. It adds that the bulb pays for itself within months when used in place of a kerosene lantern. NGOs are considered to likely be the main buyers.

In addition to eliminating indoor air pollution and burn risks, consumers can cut 550 pounds of CO2 emissions over one year when lighting with the N100 instead of kerosene, Nokero says. Though the device's lumen rating is unclear, the company says the N100 is five times brighter than kerosene lamps and uses only 1/200th the energy.

In the developed world, the solar bulb could also be used in areas deprived of electricity due to natural disasters, as well as campgrounds and home patios.
Source: CNET News

IJHC – WHR Observations

This appears to be an excellent development in technology and a great contribution to decreasing carbon pollution and global heating.
What is unclear in this article – as in many articles on inventions that are intended to be energy-saving – is whether the manufacturing and disposal costs are low enough to make this a true overall saving. The long lifetime of the bulb and solar panels suggest this is so.
What is needed in general is a carbon emissions rating on the manufacturing and disposal costs for every item that we produce, buy and use.

 

* *  ENVIRONMENT (HEALING OUR PLANET) * *

Pesticides in kids linked to ADHD
JONEL ALECCIA, Health writer - MSNBC

Exposure to pesticides used on common kid-friendly foods - including frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries and celery - appears to boost the chances that children will be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, new research shows.

Youngsters with high levels of pesticide residue in their urine, particularly from widely used types of insecticide such as malathion, were more likely to have ADHD, the behavior disorder that often disrupts school and social life, scientists in the United States and Canada found.

Kids with higher-than-average levels of one pesticide marker were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as children who showed no traces of the poison.
 
'I think it's fairly significant. A doubling is a strong effect," said Maryse F. Bouchard, a researcher at the University of Montreal in Quebec and lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The take-home message for parents, according to Bouchard: 'I would say buy organic as much as possible," she said. 'I would also recommend washing fruits and vegetables as much as possible."

Diet is a major source of pesticide exposure in children, according to the National Academy of Sciences, and much of that exposure comes from favorite fruits and vegetables. In 2008, detectable concentrations of malathion were found in 28 percent of frozen blueberry samples, 25 percent of fresh strawberry samples and 19 percent of celery samples, a government report found.

ADHD affects 4.5 million U.S. kids

Bouchard's study is the largest to date to look at the effect of pesticides on child development and behavior, including ADHD, which affects an estimated 4.5 million U.S. children. About 2.5 million kids take medication for the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bouchard and her colleagues measured levels of six pesticide metabolites in the urine of 1,139 children ages 8 to 15 selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2000 and 2004. The study included 119 children who were diagnosed with ADHD.

Unlike other studies of pesticides' impact, Bouchard's sample provided a glimpse into average insecticide exposure in the general population of children, not a specialized group, such as children of farmworkers. Because certain pesticides leave the body after three to six days, the presence of residue shows that exposure is likely constant, Bouchard said.

INTERACTIVE
She found that kids with a 10-fold increase in the kind of metabolites left in the body after malathion exposure were 55 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Because the researchers didn't review the kids' diets, they couldn't say why some children had such high levels of pesticide residue. Children are at greater risk from pesticides because their young bodies are still developing and may not metabolize chemicals as well as adults'.

The most alarming finding was a near-doubling in odds of ADHD diagnoses among kids with higher-than-average levels of the most common of the six metabolites detected. Kids with high levels of dimethyl thiophosphate were 93 percent more likely to have the disorder than children with undetectable levels of the marker.

The research may add to anxiety about ADHD, which has no known cause, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York.

'It does seem to suggest that at non-extreme or more typical levels, there does seem to be some increased risk," said Adesman, who is on the professional advisory board for Children and Adults with ADHD, an advocacy group.

Pesticides prey on nervous system
Boucher studied organophosphate pesticides, which account for as much as 70 percent of the pesticide use in the U.S. They work by interfering with the nervous systems of insects, but have a similar effect in mammals, including humans. Most people in the U.S. have residues of the products in their urine.

Cheminova, the Danish firm that is the leading manufacturer of malathion in the world, declined to comment on the conclusions of the new research. Diane Allemang, vice president for global regulatory affairs, said she hadn't seen the study.

Parents of children with ADHD, however, said Bouchard's work will give them one more than thing to worry about.

'We're all completely obsessed with food," said Jamie Norman, 32, of Freeburg, Ill., whose 6-year-old son, Aidan, was diagnosed with ADHD six months ago.

The stimulant medication Aidan takes, Adderall XR, depresses his appetite, so Norman said she's always trying to find good foods that he'll want to eat. Other parents of kids with ADHD choose to use diet, not medication, to control the disorder and they're constantly monitoring food, too.

News that some of the best foods for kids might be tainted with something linked to ADHD is worrisome, Norman said.

'I've known for some time that strawberries, in particular, contain high levels of pesticide, but as far as frozen fruit, I don't give that a second thought," she said.

Buy organic, make sure to wash
The best advice for parents - and anyone who wants to avoid pesticides - is to choose foods least likely to contain them. The Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy organization, advises shoppers to buy organic versions of a dozen fruits and vegetables that grow in the ground or are commonly eaten with the skin, because they're most likely to be contaminated.

Make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables under cold running tap water and scrub firm-skinned produce with a brush. Be sure to rinse frozen fruits and vegetables, too.

But don't wash produce with soap. The Food and Drug Administration says that could leave behind residues of detergent, yet more chemicals that everyone would do best to avoid.
Source: MSNBC

IJHC – WHR Observations

This is truly helpful information, particularly as a preventive for ADHD and for lessening its progression to greater severity. We don't yet know whether avoiding these pesticides will reverse ADHD already present.
Please let me know if you or anyone you know has had experience with lessening ADHD symptoms by eliminating such food items from the diet of someone with ADHD.

A calculator produces a personalised report for households

By Mark Kinver, Science and environment reporter, BBC News
A website that helps people to work out how much CO2 is being emitted to heat water in their homes has gone online.

Produced by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), it also suggests ways that users can save water and energy, as well as cutting their carbon footprint...

The EST produced the calculator as an interactive, "easy to understand" tool for people to make the link between water efficiency and energy efficiency, explained Andrew Tucker, EST's water strategy manager.

Energy used in the UK water sector accounts for about 6% of the nation's total CO2 emissions, 89% of which is a result of homes and businesses heating the water.
Figures from the Trust estimate that heating water accounts for about 30% of the average household's energy bills.

More

IJHC – WHR Observations

Here is an easy way to explore options for reducing our carbon footprint. In Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where I live, the municipality has developed a split charge system, with higher costs for electricity used in peak hours and proportionally discounted rates at average and off-peak times.

* *  HUMAN ECOLOGY * * 

Are there dangers in being 'spiritual but not religious'?
By John Blake, CNN

"I'm spiritual but not religious."

It's a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don't need organized religion to live a life of faith.

But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism.

"Being spiritual but not religious can lead to complacency and self-centeredness," says Martin, an editor at America, a national Catholic magazine based in New York City. "If it's just you and God in your room, and a religious community makes no demands on you, why help the poor?"

Religious debates erupt over everything from doctrine to fashion. Martin has jumped into a running debate over the "I'm spiritual but not religious" phrase.

The "I'm spiritual but not religious" community is growing so much that one pastor compared it to a movement. In a 2009 survey by the research firm LifeWay Christian Resources, 72 percent of millennials (18- to 29-year-olds) said they're "more spiritual than religious." The phrase is now so commonplace that it's spawned its own acronym ("I'm SBNR") and Facebook page: SBNR.org.

But what exactly does being "spiritual but not religious" mean, and could there be hidden dangers in living such a life?

Did you choose "Burger King Spirituality"?

Heather Cariou, a New York City-based author who calls herself spiritual instead of religious, doesn't think so. She's adopted a spirituality that blends Buddhism, Judaism and other beliefs.

"I don't need to define myself to any community by putting myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim," she says. "When I die, I believe all my accounting will be done to God, and that when I enter the eternal realm, I will not walk though a door with a label on it."

People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition.
- June-Ann Greeley, theology professor

BJ Gallagher, a Huffington Post blogger who writes about spirituality, says she's SBNR because organized religion inevitably degenerates into tussles over power, ego and money.

Gallagher tells a parable to illustrate her point:

"God and the devil were walking down a path one day when God spotted something sparkling by the side of the path. He picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand.

"Ah, Truth," he said.

"Here, give it to me," the devil said. "I'll organize it."

Gallagher says there's nothing wrong with people blending insights from different faith traditions to create what she calls a "Burger King Spirituality – have it your way."

She disputes the notion that spiritual people shun being accountable to a community.

"Twelve-step people have a brilliant spiritual community that avoids all the pitfalls of organized religion," says Gallagher, author of "The Best Way Out is Always Through."

"Each recovering addict has a 'god of our own understanding,' and there are no priests or intermediaries between you and your god. It's a spiritual community that works.''

Nazli Ekim, who works in public relations in New York City, says calling herself spiritual instead of religious is her way of taking responsibility for herself.

Ekim was born in a Muslim family and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She prayed to Allah every night, until she was 13 and had to take religion classes in high school. Then one day, she says she had to take charge of her own beliefs.

"I had this revelation that I bow to no one, and I've been spiritually a much happier person," says Ekim, who describers herself now as a Taoist, a religious practice from ancient China that emphasizes the unity of humanity and the universe.

"I make my own mistakes and take responsibility for them. I've lied, cheated, hurt people -- sometimes on purpose. Did I ever think I will burn in hell for all eternity? I didn't. Did I feel bad and made up for my mistakes? I certainly did, but not out of fear of God."

Going on a spiritual walkabout

The debate over being spiritual rather than religious is not just about semantics. It's about survival.

Numerous surveys show the number of Americans who do not identify themselves as religious has been increasing and likely will continue to grow.

A 2008 survey conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, dubbed these Americans who don't identify with any religion as "Nones."

"I don't need to define myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim."
--Heather Cariou, a spiritual but not religious seeker

Seminaries, churches, mosques and other institutions will struggle for survival if they don't somehow convince future generations that being religious isn't so bad after all, religion scholars warn.

Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, says there's a lot of good in old-time religion.

Religious communities excel at caring for members in difficult times, encouraging members to serve others and teaching religious practices that have been tested and wrestled with for centuries, Walters says.

"Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness -- all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom," Walters says. "Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty."

Being a spiritual Lone Ranger fits the tenor of our times, says June-Ann Greeley, a theology and philosophy professor.

"Religion demands that we accord to human existence some absolutes and eternal truths, and in a post-modern culture, that becomes all but impossible," says Greeley, who teaches at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

It's much easier for "spiritual" people to go on "spiritual walkabouts," Greeley says.

"People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition," Greeley says. "So they move through, collecting ideas and practices and tenets that most appeal to the self, but making no connections to groups or communities."

Being spiritual instead of religious may sound sophisticated, but the choice may ultimately come down to pettiness, says Martin, the Jesuit priest, who writes about the phrase in his book, "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost Everything)."

"Religion is hard," he says. "Sometimes it's just too much work. People don't feel like it. I have better things to do with my time. It's plain old laziness."
 

IJHC – WHR Observations

The above is s somewhat superficial approach to a vitally important topic. 'Personal spirituality' is the descriptive phrase I favor for this type of shift in religious preferences. Personal spirituality indicates more than a picking and choosing between ingredients from various sources that one can put into one's salad of ideas to live by. Personal spirituality is the deeply felt and perceived awareness of being part of something greater than ourselves. It is not an intellectual 'knowing ABOUT' ideas that others have proposed (usually many centuries ago), but rather a personal, inner 'GNOWING OF' the reality that one is participating in a vaster reality that extends beyond one's personal self.

More on this in my book, Healing Research, Volume III - Personal Spirituality: Science, Spirit and the Eternal Soul, Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2006.   

Homeopathy remains on the NHS

“Homeopathy will continue to be available on the NHS despite an influential health committee condemning it as medically unproven,” reported The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper, together with several other media outlets, was reporting the Department of Health’s response to a report by the House of Commons cross-party Select Committee on Science and Technology, published in February.

That committee had said homeopathic medicine should no longer be funded on the NHS and called for a ban on the medicines carrying medical claims on their labels.

It found no evidence the medicines are any more effective than a placebo (the same as taking a sugar pill and believing it works). The British Medical Association agreed, with a leading member recently describing homeopathy as “witchcraft”.

The Department of Health based its decision to continue funding homeopathy on “choice”, not efficacy, reported the newspapers.

“We believe in patients being able to make informed choices about their treatments, and in a clinician being able to prescribe the treatment they feel most appropriate in particular circumstances,” said a spokesman.

“Our continued position on the use of homeopathy within the NHS is that the local NHS and clinicians, rather than Whitehall, are best placed to make decisions on what treatment is appropriate for their patients.”

Source: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/July07/Pages/nhs-homeopathy.aspx

IJHC – WHR Observations

It is wonderful to see the independence of the British Department of Health from the pernicious influence of the pharmaceutical and medical establishments that have been maneuvering to eliminate public access to vitamins (successfully in Europe, through the Codex laws) and other non-drug therapies.