alternative doctor letter from serendipity #16

Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby's Total Health Newsletter #16. Week ending Aug 6th, 2009
Please feel free to forward this to friends who might be interested in reading it.

STOP THE PRESS!

I think it would be good, especially for Americans, to watch this video. It's very powerful and, I should think, inspiring. But I don't want people from other countries to think the present crisis is faced only by America. The whole of the Western world is gradually sinking into a sea of sleaze, corruption and paralysis.

When I was a teen we marched; we protested. I just don't see the lethargic citizens of today, glued to TV soaps and "reality" shows; playing with iPhones and iPods; stuffing their faces with so much food they can barely waddle; ever rising up and making their presence felt. It happened in the US in the 1970s, over Vietnam, but I think that was the last spark of democracy in the US. Since then citizens have been too selfish, lazy and scared to do anything, except whine and complain.

I'm scared, I'll be frank. Because this is just about the last gasp of Western so-called democracy. If we don't sieze our power back from corrupt and dishonest politicians, we'll become slaves for the next thousands years, exactly as Winston Churchill predicted would happen under the Nazis.

Incidentally, I heard it on the round-robin, that this guy's video has been so popular on YouTube (over 8 million views) that Obama called him personally. The President said that he was very disturbed with the video and invited Bob Basso, the actor portraying Thomas Paine, to the White House.

Watch it now. This six minutes invested may change your (everyone's) future. I love passion in any form and Bob Basso shows outstanding passion!

2. Michael Wood, The Great Historian And Storyteller

Last week I longed to say more about Michael Wood, the TV history presenter. To me, he's an intellectual star. I wanted to say (so I'm saying it here) that Wood made what I have considered the greatest TV documentary of all time: "In Search Of Athlestan". Read what the IMDB reviewer said of it on this page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340825/

Athelstan was the greatest of all Saxon kings, who united Britain through his power and charisma, and gave the world the very best meaning of being "English" and a great civilization. You can see his coronation stone even today at Kingston, in London ("King's Stone", get it?)

Athelstan's dominion was significantly challenged in 937 when Constantine of the Scots, Owain of Strathclyde (now Scotland), and Olaf Guthfrithson, claimant of the kingdom of York, joined forces and invaded England (remember that, next time you hear the Scots whining that the English attacked them in later centuries!!)

The Scots were routed by Athelstan's army in a titanic battle in a place called Brunanburh. Nobody knows where this is today but Michael Wood's memorable helicopter ride across northern England, where he identifies landscape features that almost certainly pinpoint this battlefield, stands as one of TV's most thrilling REALITY moments.

Athelstan was not just a mighty warrior but a wise man. Six of Athelstan’s extant codes of law reveal stern efforts to suppress theft and punish corruption. But they are also notable for great compassion and contain provisions intended to comfort the destitute and mitigate the punishment of young offenders. Athelstan did not think it right that children under the age of 10 should be put to death, and forbade it.

His epitaph at Malmesbury Abbey reads "In this place, in 939, was buried the first king of all England ..."

It shows Athelstane (left) and St Cuthbert (Cuthbertus), my favorite saint. I have sat many hours in peace by Cuthbert's lovely tomb in Durham Cathedral. You don't need to be a Christian to feel love and compassion from his presence.

3. Sugar And Cancer

New information about how sugar "feeds" tumors has been uncovered by U.S. researchers, who said the finding may also have implications for other diseases such as diabetes.

It's been known since 1923 and the work of Otto Warburg, that tumor cells use a lot more glucose than normal cells. New research helps show how this process takes place, and how it might be stopped to control tumor growth.

Don Ayer, an investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and a professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah headed research which found that restricting an amino acid called glutamine halts a cell's ability to utilize glucose. Without glutamine, tumor cell growth stops. The trouble is, we don't know how to block glutamine, a common metabolic substance in our bodies.

"If we can understand that, we can break the cycle of glucose utilization, which could be beneficial in the treatment of cancer," Ayer has said. Researchers are looking at animal models to test theories about how a protein called MondoA and a gene called TXNIP might control glucose uptake by cells.

I am glad to see experts taking an essentially nutritional approach to cancer control.

The study appears in the Aug. 17 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

4. What's In A Name? Spondyloepiphysldsplys*%#... what?

Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita? It spells love of a magic kind. Here's a REALLY heart warming story (doctors get it wrong sometimes -- Gee, I hardly dare admit it!)

5. Help Heal Our Planet- it's URGENT

In the recent Green Planet August 2009 series on water and our planet I saw a lot of disturbing things. But NOTHING turned my stomach like the animal mortification caused by mountains of plastic trash on the once-pristine beaches of Midway Island in the Hawaiian chain of atolls.

I COULD NOT BELIEVE what I saw in the stomachs of birds, such as the Laysan albatross. You need to see this. Here is a picture of what was found in the stomach of just one bird, a baby albatross. It starved to death because of the junk in its digestive system:

I saw a seal with a death-rope round it's neck that was still alive but now barely able to breath. Plastic rope will never rot or break. The seal is doomed.

A saw a bird with a coat-hanger stuck round its neck, having to drag this object everywhere, till it slowly died of inanition, due to feeding difficulties.

This corner of Hawaii is near what is known as the "eastern garbage patch" of the ocean, a special place where everything seems to end up, from wherever it is dumped. This floating garbage patch is twice the size of Texas.

6. Vaccinations In My Mind Again

Fifty years ago, when the immunization schedule contained only four vaccines (for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and smallpox), autism was virtually unknown. First discovered in 1943, this most devastating malady in what is now a spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders afflicted less than 1 in 10,000 children. Today, one in every 68 American families has an autistic child. Other, less severe developmental disorders, rarely seen before the vaccine era, have also reached epidemic proportions. Four million American children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. One in six American children are now classified as "Learning Disabled."

The above paragraph should make you think. It comes from a piece entitled "User friendly Vaccination Schedule" by Donald Miller: safe vaccination schedule Dr Miller will tell you the safest and best schedule for you child, if you feel that vaccination is for you.

Donald Miller MD is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle.

There are lot of resources in my vaccination section on the alternative-doctor website.

What's In A Word?

It means precise, accurate or exact. We have a figure of speech: done "to a nicety".

This harks back to the old meaning of "nice" which was not tempting, delicious, attractive, dainty or elegant, as we use it today. Nice once meant simply very exact or precise.

This Week's Quote:

In the midst of global crises such as pollution, wars and famine, kindness may be too easily dismissed as a "soft" issue, or a luxury to be addressed after the urgent problems are solved. But kindness is the greatest need in all those areas -- kindness toward the environment, toward other nations, toward the needs of people who are suffering. Until we reflect basic kindness in everything we do, our political gestures will be fleeting and fragile.

All content within this information letter is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech laws in all the civilized world. The information herein is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind.

In no event shall Professor Scott-Mumby be liable for any consequential damages arising out of any use of, or reliance on any content or materials contained herein, neither shall Professor Scott-Mumby be liable for any content of any external internet sites listed and services listed.

Always consult your own licensed medical practitioner if you are in any way concerned about your health. You must satisfy yourself of the validity of the professional qualifications of any health care provider you contact as a result of this newsletter.