Radio Naturopath Episode 317: Ivermectin; Your Health in the Time of COVID-19; Colorectal Cancer

I took a chance and discussed the drug ivermectin, which people are obtaining out of desperation any way that they can for COVID-19. This is very concerning, because ivermectin has not been proven to be efficacious at preventing or treating COVID-19. It also has toxic side effects, and when people are obtaining it without a prescription they are taking toxic amounts and are in need of poison control! Ivermectin IS being studied, but at this time it has nowhere near the efficacy or proven benefit of the COVID-19 vaccines. Plus, in my opinion, NOBODY should be relying only on vaccines or drugs to protect them from COVID-19. We should still be wearing masks in congregate settings and indoors; gargling and cleaning our noses; eating healthy fruits, vegetables, and protein and avoiding food intolerances and unhealthy processed foods and refined foods; getting adequate rest; reducing stress; and getting regular exercise. It's possible that ivermectin will prove to have some efficacy but it should be prescribed by a doctor or used if you unfortunately wind up in the hospital being treated for COVIDI-19.

I also talked about colon cancer: what it is, how to prevent, diagnose, and treat it with both biomedicine and natural medicine.

Radio Naturopath Episode 310: Protect Yourself: The COVID-19 Pandemic Isn't Over, Micellar Water Etc.

I started with a serious reminder that the pandemic is not over. People of the United States are only 47% fully vaccinated, and there are hot spots in areas where people are largely unvaccinated. It's still a good idea to avoid congregate setting when you can, mask when you can't, and if you go to the gym, place of worship, or a place to sing, consider whether people are vaccinated, the extent of ventilation, and whether it's best to wear a mask. COVID-19 spreads by aerosols, and the more aerosol you breath the more virus you can inhale. It's not time to completely let down our guard.

On to a lighter note: health and beauty aids! I talked about micellar water which is all the rage right now! That, and why you might want to use toner. I also talked about sunscreens and some ingredients and nutrition to protect against skin cancer.

Radio Naturopath Episode 308: COVID-19 Vaccination by State, Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding

I was curious to see what the COVID-19 vaccination rate and also the absolute number of vaccinated people ranked by state in the United States. Unfortunately, the states with the lowest rates are in the south, Missippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, and Louisiana at the bottom 5. This may be due to access, education, politics, and mistrust. All of the New England states are in the top 7, and the only reason they AREN'T the top 6 is because Maryland is #6! They edged out New Hampshire by just a little. Again, access, education, politics, trust.

The main topic of the day was dysfunctional uterine bleeding. It's a very important topic because the prevalence in the United States is somewhere between 10-30%. To me, this means there's something about our lifestyles that is promoting this. I do note that I seem to see a lot of women in my practice with the condition. There are various causes and sometimes the cause is unknown, but there are lots of things to try, both biomedical and natural.

Radio Naturopath Episode 302: More on J&J Vaccine, CBD for Health, and Natural Help for Asthma

This week we talked about how the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 is still very low risk compared to the risk of catching COVID-19. Having said that, if you're a woman under 50 it's probably a good idea to take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, since they have no incidence of unusual blood clots. If you have gotten Johnson and Johnson, let your doctor know immediately if you have any unusual symptoms, especially severe headaches with blurred vision, seizures, loss of consciousness; or any severe unremitting abdominal pain. If this occurs it will likely be in the 2 weeks following vaccination. As I said, this is VERY unlikely to occur, and you're much more likely to get a blood clot sitting still on an airplane trip.

We covered more about the various benefits of CBD, such as help for pain, anxiety, depression, and inflammtion. We also talked about natural help for asthma, and will discuss this and exercise induced asthma next week too!

Radio Naturopath Episode 293: Visiting When You're Not Vaccinated, Liver Friendly Foods

Today we discussed whether it's a good idea to visit your vaccinated family if you are non-vaccinated, and the short answer is maybe. The vaccine isn't 100% effective, you can still transmit it, anyone under 16 can't get vaccinated at all, and transmission levels although lower are not dramatically lower. So if you visit, you still have to mask, distance, and wash. And if you're leaving Connecticut for more than 24 hours and going anywhere that's not New York, New Jersey, or Rhode Island, you need to fill out a DPH travel form when you return, then quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arriving in Connecticut to avoid quarantining.

We talked about how to keep your liver healthy and liver-friendly foods too!

Radio Naturopath Episode 285: Pfizer and Moderna Vaccine Ingredients And Information, Who Can Be Vaccinated, Heavy Metal Toxicity

Today I talked more about the COVID-19 vaccination, the ingredients of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Neither of them has preservative, and no heavy metals! I'm including links for more information.

Fact Sheet: www.cvdvaccine.com; phone 1-877-829-2619

To report side effects: Phone: 1-800-822-7967

LInk: https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html and include "Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine EUA" in the first line of box #18 of the report form.

To Pfizer directly: www.pfizersafetyreporting.com; fax: 1-866-635-8337; phone 1-800-438-1985.

I also talked about heavy metal toxicity, how it happens, where certain metals are found, and certain items to help with detoxification.

Radio Naturopath Episode 284: Happy Hanukkah! COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout, New Drugs and Natural Treatments; NrF2 Enhancers

This week, there's great excitement over the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination by Pfizer. We talked about the rollout, how it works, who is likely to be in line for it, and what it may contain. More info on that next week!

I also talked about some meds and natural treatments for COVID-19 as presented by Heather Zwickey, PhD, microbiologist and infectious disease researcher. Then a bit about NrF2 and its wonderful antioxidant properties.

Radio Naturopath Episode 277: Should You Get The Flu Shot? Feeling Down? Maybe It's Acedia

This week, Ron really wanted to know if he should get a flu shot, since Medicare and the media are marketing to him that he's high risk and should absolutely get one. I discuss the pros and cons of getting one, and remind everyone that a flu shot is NOT a pass, you still have to take care of your immunity and follow COVID-19 and other hygiene and nutrition precautions!  I talk about some supplements to take for possible flu prevention. 

I also talked about that feeling that a lot of people have during the pandemic, ACEDIA. There was a great article posted by Jonathan Zecher. It's a kind of spiritual ennui, a deep directionlessness and angst. GREAT.

Radio Naturopath Episode 273: COVID-19 and Variolation, Iodine and COVID-19, High Fiber Foods for Health

There have been more developments in COVID-19. This week, I talked about the concept of variolation. This is taking from hundreds of years ago where practitioners in the East either powdered dried smallpox scabs and blew powder with a pipe into people's noses, or took fluid from smallpox vesicles and rubbed it into the skin of patients, so that they developed a few small lesions on their skin. In both cases, patients would experience mild illness and then immunity. This is before the process of vaccination was discovered. This process is called "variolation" because smallpox is caused by the variola virus. Well, two physicians, Monica Gandhi, M.D., and George Rutherford, M.D., wrote a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine describing this process, and assert that mask-wearing contributes to variolation. They describe several settings, including factories and cruise ships, in which there was mandatory masking and the vast majority of people got asymptomatic or mild cases of COVID-19. This is very promising, because if there is finally universal mask wearing, more of society can be reopened.

I also talked about a UConn study in which it was found that if people gargle with a 0.5% solution of povidone-iodine for 15 seconds, any COVID-19 is inactivated. This makes it possible that gargling and nasal rinsing with this low concentration of povidone-iodine could significantly slow down rates and severity of infection. This was studied intentionally to help people in the dental industry, where aerosolization of oral fluids is a feature of that work. 

I also talked about some high fiber foods that are good for you!