June 2001 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Patients:

I hope all of you and your families are doing well and are set to have a wonderful summer. I attended the ACAM (American College for the Advancement in Medicine) meeting in Nashville last month and much of the conference was dedicated to the presentation of alternative therapies for the treatment of cancer. Many of these therapies are not available in this country due to government restrictions, but are available in Mexico, Switzerland, and Germany. The results of some of these therapies are exciting and encouraging.

Freedom of Choice

In a few weeks the 4th of July, our Independence Day will be here. Many of us will be celebrating the freedoms we enjoy in this country. Americans are also demanding kinder, gentler alternative therapies to costly prescription drug based treatments. More and more states are passing legislation to ensure a person’s right to choose the type of medical care that is right for them. I am happy to report the Florida House and Senate just revised the Patient’s Bill of Rights to guarantee your freedom to pursue alternative or complementary therapies. It was their intent that you are able to make informed choices for any type of health care and not just conventional treatment methods. It also guarantees your right to access any mode of treatment you and your doctor are in agreement about as long as your health care practitioner believes the treatment is in your best interests and you have informed consent. Nutritional therapies work and about 150 million Americans now take nutritional supplements on a regular basis.

Biotics Research™ Supplements

When I attend the ACAM conferences, one of the things I do is to meet with several hundred supplement company representatives that have display booths there. One company that we are excited about is Biotics Research™. This company produces very high quality, pharmaceutical grade supplements in a state of the art facility in Texas. Their licensing would allow them to manufacture prescription drugs if they wanted. Many of their product formulas have their roots with Standard Process™ supplements. Biotics has a unique way of incorporating cultured plant material with naturally chelated minerals and vitamins to produce their supplements. Their quality control process is outstanding both in the raw materials end and in the manufacturing/quality control end. They produce both glandular products and also vegetarian formula products. Many of you are taking BioMultiPlus, their vegetarian multivitamin/multimineral and are having great results. We are finding Biotics Research™ products are often more concentrated than Standard Process™ products. Initial testing at the Center shows 1 Biotics tablet may equal 3, 6, or even 10 Standard Process™ tablets of an equivalent supplement. We will be switching some of the Standard Process™ products that you are used to taking to equivalent Biotics Research supplements. This means 2 things: you take fewer pills and the cost per month of your supplements will be reduced. There are some Standard Process™ products that are unique that we will continue stocking. If you prefer, we can always order any Standard Process™ product for you.

July Center Hours

We recently sent out a mailing informing you that the Center will be completely closed from July 4th through July 15th , and reopen 9 A.M. on Monday, July 16th. Dr. Erickson and the entire staff will be away at a retreat and planning session during this time. Please plan ahead so that you do not run out of supplements or medications during this time and contact Mona or Judy by June 23rd to give us time to place an order for you.

Success Stories

We at The Preventive Medicine Center appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your families. We always welcome your comments and suggestions. Some of you have written “Success Stories” about your treatment here that are placed in a booklet dedicated to our patients in the front reception area for other patients and potential patients to read. We encourage you to write a short (1-2 page) story on what your problem was, what brought you to see Dr. Erickson, and how your treatment
came out, including any “bumps along the way.”

Allergy Therapy with NAET

One story I would like to relate to you is about my 21 year old son, Mike. Since Mike was 2 years old, he was unable to eat chicken or turkey due to a severe allergy to poultry. At first this was just a “rash” on his skin. Before we realized what was happening, he went into anaphylaxis at a Thanksgiving Day dinner at Grandma’s, and I had to give him a shot of Adrenalin out of my emergency kit when he had difficulty breathing and his throat was swelling shut. The only thing he could do up until this year was avoid poultry. Then I learned about NAET (Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique). This is an alternative method (without allergy shots or medication) for eliminating allergies using acupressure therapy. After training with Dr. Nambudripad in Los Angeles last year, we have had many successes in treating allergies in patients. Mike’s big day came up a few months ago when I treated him. Needless to say, his mother was very nervous when I told him to go to the supermarket and bring back a chickenwing and eat it for the first time in 19 years. It took us 2 additional treatments to work everything out and he has now been able to eat chicken without any problems since that time. The treatments are usually permanent.

Many patients have food allergies and they can mimic other conditions. Your symptoms may not be as dramatic as my son’s but if you experience fatigue, bloating, gas, headaches, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pains or heartburn after meals consider food allergy. If you would like information about NAET or how to be evaluated, please feel free to contact the Center. Dr. Nambudripad also has published several books which go into details of how NAET works – Say Goodbye to Illness and Say Goodbye to ADD and ADHD. These can be ordered at a bookstore or can be purchased through the Center at a discounted price.

Odds ‘N Ends

Recently there were headlines in many newspapers declaring St. John’s Wart “ineffective for treatment of major depression.” The news stemmed from a drug company study funded by the maker of Zoloft. St. John’s Wart has never been recommended for treatment of major depression. At the ACAM conference, a psychiatrist from Harvard University talked to us about the over-prescribing of antidepressant drugs. These drugs can have significant side effects including dependency, agitation, weight gain, dry mouth, anger outbursts, and fatigue. He was particularly critical of Prozac. He pointed out studies from Europe where St. John’s Wart was as or more effective in the treatment of mild to moderate depression than Elavil, a tricyclic antidepressant, but has none of Elavil’s side effects. St. John’s Wart is the #1 prescribed product for mild to moderate depression in Europe, and requires a prescription from a physician over there. I should also mention exercise is often forgotten in the treatment of mild depression, and can be as effective as drug therapy and it works in many cases more quickly.

With the summer upon us, take precautions for prevention of the harmful effects of ultraviolet sun exposure. Vitamin E 400-800 IU daily and beta carotene 50,000 IU daily, both of which are antioxidants, are helpful against free radical damage caused by UV radiation. Take these the day before going out in the sun and again on the day(s) of sun exposure. And of course, use at least a
#15 sunblock that is PABA-free, putting this on 30 minutes before going out in the sun, and reapplying frequently, especially if swimming or exercising. If you are grilling foods on the outdoor grill remember to reduce the risk of food poisoning by keeping uncooked items in the refrigerator until they are cooked, and cook them to the proper internal temperature. Also, keep uncooked meat items away from salads and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination. And finally, once we get more rain, insects and mosquitoes will become a bigger problem. Try taking Vitamin B1 100mg three times a day as an insect repellant. It is excreted in the sweat and insects do not like the smell.

The next newsletter will come out in the Fall and the main topic will be on anti-aging therapies and hormonal replacement.

Have a great summer.

Dr. Erickson and staff.