Here is some very valuable information about the Ebola crises that has got the world in its grasp. This information is from an
esteemed colleague and very dear friend of mine,
who has studied, taught and practiced the
world over. FYI
Dr. Robert J. Woodbine, N.D., M.Ac.O.M.
Wellness Educator, Director
URBAN Qi Foundation, Inc.
Dear Family, Patients, Students and
Colleagues,
This morning I was a
guest on a radio talk show discussing the mental health implications
of the FEAR and ANXIETY in this country around the Ebola virus issue
that is happening in West Africa. While the Ebola virus is a
formidable and highly infectious virus wreaking havoc on the citizens
in the three West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and
Liberia, there is very little actual threat here in the US. As all of
the medical and science researchers as well as the White House have
repeatedly stated, transmittal of the Ebola virus is only from a
person who is already symptomatic. If one is asymptomatic (no
symptoms), that person is a possible carrier, but not infectious.
Once a person becomes symptomatic (fever equal to or greater than 101
degrees (F), flu-like symptoms with joint and muscle aches, sore
throat, headaches followed by vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain,
then it is possible to be infected by coming into direct contact with
their bodily fluids (vomit, feces, semen, breast milk, saliva
[maybe]).
Despite this specific
clarity about the transmission of the virus, people are unnecessarily
fearful and anxious. Politicians (New York, New Jersey, Florida,
Illinois governors) have instituted measures that, as Dr. Fauci of
the NIAID/NIH, states, do not comport with the science. These
mandatory quarantines themselves give the public a mixed message and
generate fear and anxiety. They are short-sighted reactions and seem to
serve the ego and political agendas rather than actually serve the
long-term health interests of the general public they purport to
serve. If mandatory quarantines dissuade trained healthcare workers
from volunteering to travel to West Africa to help because they know
they will experience a mandatory 21-day quarantine when they return
to the US, who will intervene to stop the exponential spread of the
Ebola virus in Africa? Eventually, in that scenario, it will make its
appearance on US and other foreign soils. Mandatory quarantines of
the type enacted in New Jersey are politically self-serving,
short-sighted , and void of the medical and science facts as we
currently know them.
The initial flu-like symptoms are
pretty generic this time of year during flu and cold season. Living
in densely populated New York it’s not uncommon to be sneezed and
coughed on in the crowded buses and subways, or to come in contact
with the residual germs sick people leave on the straps and poles we
hold onto while traveling. In spite of that level of exposure, the
majority of people do not get sick with the flu. Only certain
susceptible individual seem to. If you’re a critical thinker, you
must ask that secondary question—Why don’t all people exposed to
virulent bacteria and viruses succumb to them? Even with Ebola
outbreaks from 1976 when it was first identified in Sudan and Zaire
up through 2103, there were only 1716 cases. Of those, roughly 50%
did not die. Why?
You will recall that Louis Pasteur is
credited with the “Germ Theory” of disease upon which most of
modern western medicine is built. This gives rise to the consistent
strategy of waging “war” on bacteria and viruses and supports the
pharmaceutical industry’s production of vaccines and other
drugs—the ammunition with which to wage these wars. The misuse and
overuse of these weapons of war (i.e., the over prescribing of
antibiotics) has resulted in a major medical care crises of
drug-resistant bacteria. Dr. Marc Lappe’, Ph.D. is quoted as
saying, “Underestimating the evolutionary potential of living
organisms is the single most important mistake by those who use
chemical means to subdue nature.”
It is said that on his deathbed,
Pasteur stated that his germ theory was incomplete and gave credit to
his contemporary, Koch, by stating that it was not the germ in of
itself that was the culprit in disease, but rather the terrain it
could thrive in. There is a Chinese proverb mentioned in the book
first edition of Herbal Antibiotics-Natural Alternatives for Treating
Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Stephen Harrod Buhner that summarizes
this. It says: “The man is not sick because he has an illness; he
has an illness because he is sick.” The issue of individual
susceptibility and the critical importance of the quality of each
person’s immune system is paramount to keep in mind.
Our immune systems are the first line
of defense in protecting the body from illness. This is the “terrain”
that must be optimal to ward off disease and its quality can
contribute to this concept of susceptibility. While an estimated
20,000 to 40, 000 people die from the flu annually in the US, not
everyone that is exposed to the flu “bug”, gets the flu. While
measles (594 to date) and enterovirus (998 to date) cases among
children seem to be increasing (about 594 to date), not every child
get the measles or is beset by the enterovirus.
With this in mind, I believe it is
critical to bolster and support your immune system. One of the most
important actions you can take is to manage your emotions by thinking
critically and evaluating the hype from the facts in the media. Being
well informed supports correct behavior and helps to lessen fear and
anxiety. It is well-documented how chronic negative emotions and
stress can diminish your immune system’s effectiveness (google the
field of psychoneuroimmunolgy or read Candace Pert’s The Molecules
of Emotion).
Additionally, there are
specific action steps and lifestyle choices that can make a
difference in how you can strengthen your immune system and decrease
your susceptibility. One of the most insidious culprits affecting our
well-being is cigarette smoking either direct or second-hand
exposure. As of 2011, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer
deaths and second most common cancer among men and women. A total of
207, ooo cases were diagnosed and 157,000 deaths were attributed to
lung cancer (close to 8,000 deaths were due to second-hand smoke).
The primary cause of lung cancer is cigarette smoking.
This is just one
important example of a lifestyle choice that compromises not only the
smoker’s immunity and health, but those who inhale their smoke who
themselves are not smokers. If you smoke, get the help to stop. Other
lifestyle choices, although not an exhaustive list, include the
quality of the foods you eat (it’s optimal to eat organic and
non-gmo foods whenever possible), your sleep hygiene, relationships
(reconcile toxic ones including personal, family, social, and
employment), whether or not you exercise regularly (use it or lose
it), and your use of pharmaceutical (only when absolutely needed) and
recreational drugs.
The links below will
provide you with specific options to consider in designing a regiment
that optimizes your immune system and its ability to respond to viral
and bacterial assaults appropriately. In addition, you can consider
visiting Willners Chemists at 41st Street and Park Avenue or online
at www.willner.com to become familiar with products like Crucera-SGS
(Thorne Research), V Clear EPS 7630 (Integrative Therapeutics), HMF
Replete (Seroyal), and MyCommunity (Host Defense). There are the
benefits inherent in meditation and mindfulness disciplines (Yoga,
Qigong, Tai Chi, etc.) you can explore as well.
In summary, unless
you’ve traveled to West Africa or been exposed to someone who has
and that person is symptomatic, there is no cause for alarm. If you
know of someone who happens to be from Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra
Leone, but they have not been to West Africa recently or come in
contact with anyone who is symptomatic, there is no cause for alarm
or suspicion. Ebola is not an airborne infectious virus like the
seasonal flu. You have a risk of infection if you make direct contact
with the bodily fluids of a symptomatic individual or the surfaces of
where those fluids are. If in the course of this season, you develop
sudden flu-like symptoms with a fever, joint and muscle pains,
fatigue and you haven’t been in contact with someone who was in
West Africa (whether a native born person or a health care worker
returning to the US) chances you are very high that you probably have
the flu and not Ebola. The flu is more likely to kill more American
citizens this season than Ebola.
Stay informed, think
critically, not emotionally, and be proactive about supporting and
enhancing your immune system, in particular, and your overall health
and well-being, in general. As Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. used to say,
“It’s in your hands!”
1. Herbal Anti-virals:
http://www.amazon.com/Herbal-Antivirals-Remedies-Resistant-Infections/dp/1612121608/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=089PX4ZH4PWJ9W3Z9H3H
2. Herbal Anitbiotics:
http://www.amazon.com/Herbal-Antibiotics-2nd-Edition-Drug-resistant/dp/1603429875
3. A good resource for
understanding how microbes affect us:
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/artic/microbes_in_sickness_and_in_health_publications_national_institute_of_allergy_and_infectious_diseases_niaid.htm.
4. Understanding the relationship
between your gut and your health:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060930721/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=3520739045&ref=pd_sl_57k20i5tik_e.
5. On Psychoneuroimmunology:
http://www.amazon.com/Molecules-Emotion-Science-Mind-Body-Medicine/dp/0684846349/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414429816&sr=1-1&keywords=candace+pert.
6. The Whitehouse response to
Ebola:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ebola-response?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email383-text2&utm_campaign=ebola#section-the-facts.
7. The Centers for Disease
Control updates on Ebola: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html.
8. Ebola vaccine research:
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/ebolaMarburg/research/Pages/default.aspx.
Regards,
Dr. Robert J. Woodbine, N.D., M.Ac.O.M.
Wellness Educator, Director
URBAN Qi Foundation, Inc.
www.urbanqifoundation.org
info@urbanqifoundation.org
San Bao Holistic Care, LLC
www.strategiesforoptimumwellness.com
doc@strategiesforoptimumwellness.com
(866) 327-2254
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