It is amazing to think that I've been writing this newsletter every month for three years, and I never run out of interesting tidbits to share. There is so much new research happening, and so many questionable products and procedures on the market, that it actually feels like there is more and more information to choose from. In fact, in this issue I am adding extra links to articles related to my main topics, so you can find out more than I can possibly include here.

The three-year anniversary of my HealItAll newsletter just happens to coincide with some personal good news! I finally finished my Naturopathic Doctor course. Haven't got the official diploma yet, but pretty soon I'll be able to put N.D. after my name. Just call me Dr. Wulf. The funny thing is that I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of learning possibilities. There are whole libraries full of books and endless newsletters to read. I'm just getting started! Who says you can't teach an old wulf new tricks?

Whew! I wrote this whole newsletter last week before taking a trip to LA, planning to send it out today. When I went to my newsletter program to send it, the page was blank. I actually screamed, since I had spent an entire day working on it and didn't want to have to do it all over again. Just for the heck of it, I looked at last month's newsletter to see if it was okay and what do you know? There was THIS month's newsletter perfectly preserved. Weird things like that have been happening with all my technological gadgets this week. Strange, but yeah, whew!

If you have read about cat nutrition you have probably heard of taurine, because cats cannot make it themselves so it must be included in their food. For humans, it is considered a non-essential amino acid. We are able to synthesize it from other amino acids, but many of us don't make enough or get enough from our food.

Taurine is very essential for human health! Named after Taurus the bull of the zodiac, because it was originally discovered in ox bile (which is odd because an ox is a castrated version of the bull), taurine is an oft neglected nutrient that can make a big difference in your vitality! Here's a brief list of conditions taurine is said to improve:

Note: It is generally not advisable to take large amounts of any single amino acid (the same is true for B vitamins by the way). They all work together and should be consumed together Ideally we should get our taurine from foods, but if you have a deficiency, short-term supplementation with taurine could be very beneficial. Taurine is damaged by high heat like frying, so raw or boiled foods are the best sources.

From NaturalNews article by Barbara L. Minton:
"Taurine restores youthful energy levels - Dr. Eby refers to taurine deficiency as 'the little old man/little old lady syndrome, known and clearly evinced by the mental image invoked.' According to him the problem of low taurine levels appears simple to alleviate with supplemental dietary taurine, available at nearly all health food stores, pharmacies and grocery stores in the U.S. and elsewhere. He notes that taurine is why some energy drinks give people energy. These drinks contain taurine and restore taurine levels in the body to the levels of youth, when energy levels were at their peak.

"Taurine is highly concentrated in animal and fish protein and is often lacking in the diets of vegetarians. Taurine is a non-essential amino acid which can be derived from food or synthesized from the amino acid cysteine when adequate levels of vitamin B6 are present. Writing on taurine, Dr. Eby says it is 'essential to fetal and newborn central nervous system development. The infant cannot initially manufacture taurine and must obtain taurine from its mother's milk.' Taurine plays a variety of roles in the normal functioning of the brain, heart, gallbladder, eyes, and vascular system. It is the most important and abundant free amino acid in your heart and contributes to your heart muscle's [ability to contract] and regulation of its rhythm."

Taurine is synthesized by the body from the amino acid cysteine which, in vegetarian sources, is found in sea weeds, spirulina, egg whites, sesame and sunflower seeds. Taurine itself can be found in seaweeds.

From FoodProcessing.com -

"Dietary taurine is found mostly in animal proteins, which also contain the methionine and cysteine necessary for its synthesis. It’s not available from vegetable sources other than seaweed. If we choose not to eat animal foods, a mixture of vegetable proteins with sulfur-containing amino acids — such as nuts and legumes (including [fermented] soybeans) and a healthy variety of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as onions, garlic, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and turnips — will do."

Rather than buying into all the media hype and running out to get flu shots, why not just learn the facts, wash your hands frequently (with regular old soap, not that antibiotic junk that everyone is pushing - unless you like encouraging the development of "super bugs"), and boost your immune system with good nutrition, Vitamin D3 (2000 I.U. per day for most people), exercise, relaxation, adequate sleep, and enjoyable activities, while also stocking up on any natural remedies you might need? (See next article for those.)

I'm not going to tell you not to get flu shots, but I will certainly not get them myself. For one thing, they have not been thoroughly tested, because they have been rushed into production. On top of that, people have died after getting them, they contain mercury and other toxins, and the biggest reason of all - they have not been shown to work!

So what does work? There is a lot of evidence that vitamin D3 is a potent flu preventative, so that is one thing to put on your list. But the first and best protection against any kind of disease is clean system. By a clean system I mean clean bloodstream, colon, liver and gallbladder. Disease organisms feed off toxins and waste in the body. That is why they exist. They are scavengers like hyenas, vultures, maggots, and fungi. If we didn't have scavengers we would all be buried in debris, so they are actually doing very helpful work.

I recently found an excellent kit for cleansing the colon, liver, and gallbladder safely, inexpensively, and rapidly. (See Dr. Group link at the bottom of last article on this page.) In addition to the cutting edge colon and liver cleanse products, it also includes an excellent probiotic to restore the "good" micro-organisms in your intestinal tract, and a parasite cleanse, because we all have parasites.

If you have any health problems at all, you probably have an overload of parasites. The biggest problem with parasites is that they are eliminating THEIR acid waste right into your body, making it almost impossible for you to achieve the alkaline balance you need for good health!

Before you start a parasite or liver cleanse, it is a good idea to do a blood and colon cleanse, so you will not overload your bloodstream with the toxins being cleared out of the liver and intestinal tract. You can take a blood cleanser like Gaia Herbs Red Clover Supreme, which comes in tincture form. Ask at your local natural food store for other options, or just take a red clover tincture. I like the Gaia formula, because it has lots of other good blood cleansers included. A dropper full three times a day for a couple of weeks will clear out many of the toxins in your blood. Then you will be ready for the colon cleanse, followed by a liver/gall bladder cleanse and ideally a parasite cleanse as well.

There are a lot different cleanses on the market. You can find them in any natural food store. But I am really impressed with this Dr. Group's formulations. Take a look at his website and visit a few of his information pages. You will learn a lot. (See last article below to find the link.)

Adapted from the Herbal Healer Academy newsletter -

Important!
If you get the H1N1 flu it is important to STOP taking immune system boosters. NO Beta Glucans, Echinacea, Maitake, etc. You can take them when you are well to build up immunity, but stop at the first sign of flu symptoms, because at that point your immune system will be overstimulated causing what is known as the cytokine storm!

The H1N1 flu - aka swine flu - seems to be different than other flu in the way that it affects people. Deaths from the Mexican influenza epidemic have the cytokine storm pattern which tends to affect young adults with robust immune systems. Cytokines are associated with the symptoms of infection, fever, fluid retention/swelling, malaise, and headache. The swine flu epidemic in Mexico killed by immunological inflammation that causes fluid to accumulate in lungs, i.e. acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) triggered by a cytokine storm.

Any time there is fluid build-up you must flush the kidneys. The best product to use is the Dr. Chi's Asparagus Extract - 1 packet in a cup of water twice a day if you have fluid build up. This is also helpful in removing fluid from congestive heart failure. (You can order from link at the end of this article.)

LUNG CONGESTION:
Oregacillin capsules - 1 or 2 twice a day.
Keep kidneys flushed by drinking plenty of water.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES - (Note: Homeopathics have been very successful in treating flu in the last major outbreaks with a much higher survival rate than with allopathic medicine. *Remedies marked with asterisk were successfully used in Spanish flu outbreak in 1918, which had similar symptoms to the recent H1N1 strain.):
- Oscillococcinum - take at the first sign of flu symptoms
- Arsenicum album - thirsty but feels better drinking warm fluids, lack of appetite, body aches, feel worse during the night - burning fever accompanied with chills, restlessness and anxiety, may have burning pains.
- * Bryonia - cough, throat and chest pain, dry mouth and lips, very thirsty - person does not want to move.
- * Gelsemium - chills, aches, low fever, not thirsty, weakness with shivering - also a good remedy if you have not been well since the flu.
- Nux vomica - when a simple cold has developed into influenza - flu with chills and pains in bones and joints. The irritability and chills are very marked.
- Ferrum Phos - use in the first stages of flu. Ferrum phos can be taken in the 30c potency. Even the 6x potency, sold as a tissue salt, can stop a flu in its tracks. Ferrum phos can be alternated with Natrum Sulf during the first days of the flu.
- Dulcamara - onset of a high fever often brought on by cold, damp weather - cough hurts from muscular soreness.
- Rhus tox - flu can be accompanied with aching bones, restlessness, and a red tipped tongue - useful when the flu is brought on by damp weather.
- Belladonna - high fever that comes on suddenly, heat and redness.
- Eupatorium perfoliatum - severe bone pains with great thirst.
- Baptisia - flu centered in the gastro-intestinal tract, helpful in the early stages of flu, feeling weak, listless, and sore.
- Eupatorium perfoliatum - if you have pain in your bones and eyeballs.

Inflazyme Forte - 2 tablets - 2-3 times a day on empty stomach
MSM -2,000 t0 6,000 mg. per day
Aspirin - as needed for fever and pain
Omega-3 fatty acids (fish or flax oil) 1 TBS. 2- 3 times a day
Curcumin (turmeric).

ANTI-VIRALS that won't aggravate the cytokine storm:
Olive leaf extract - caps or liquid (Liquid works faster and can easily be given to children in juice.) - 4 times a day.
Elderberry Syrup - Sambucol or other brand. Can safely be taken once a day as prevention

Other antimicrobials that do not cause Cytokine Storm are Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) and Oregano Oil.

HOMEOPATHIC NOSODES
Flu Nosode for 2008 - 2009
Pneumonia (covers bacterial/viral and mycoplasms) - Use this twice a day IF you do get the flu to help prevent secondary infection of pneumonia.
Meningitis Nosode at the first onset of a severe stiff neck
accompanied by flu symptoms.
Encephalitis Nosode at the first onset of severe headaches. with the flu.
Also with severe headaches - Brain Power 1 or 2 times a day to help with detoxing.
HINI Nosode - for more information go to:
http://www.herbalhealer.com/homeopathy.html

Most of these remedies are available from http://herbalhealer.com or your local natural food store.

Someone asked me where to go to take action to stop Genetically modified foods. That would be Organic Consumers Association - organicconsumers.org

They are an excellent resource for all things organic. Right now they have a petition up to protect the standards for organic food certification from the GMO invasion. This is really important if we want to have any way of avoiding GMO foods. Rice, soy, cane sugar, and corn (including high fructose corn syrup) are now likely to be GMO if they are not labeled organic.

Click the link below for lots of great articles on the value of vitamin D. It seems to be the latest natural wonder drug!

Highly recommended! This looks like the best cleansing combination on the market. Cleanses the colon and replaces destructive micro-organisms with beneficial ones. Clears toxins from liver and gall bladder, and removes parasites! No matter what condition your health is in now, using this simple and effective program will be a valuable step toward a healthy future. (Scroll down the page on their website for links to individual products if you prefer to buy them separately.)

There is lots of excellent information on Dr. Group's website. I encourage you to spend some time looking around while you are there.