Last month, I told you about a new multi-therapy device that helps reduce or stop pain. This device appears to increase energy flow and blood flow, restoring cell-to-cell communication. Once it re-establishes the cellular communication, the signal to the brain decreases and pain often melts away.

When a subscriber told me about the device, I was naturally very skeptical. I had to see it work for myself. So I contacted the developer, Las Vegas doctor Robert D. Milne, MD’s office and asked for a sample device to try. When it arrived, the package surprised me. I’m not sure what I expected, but I certainly didn’t expect to see what looked like an overgrown penlight. How could something the size of a small flashlight possibly melt away major pain? My skepticism grew.

Fortunately, looks can be deceiving. The Personal Relief Assistant™ (PRA™) turned out to be extremely powerful. This little device did everything other products using similar individual technologies had done — only more and better. As I told you last month, I had personally worked with various energy therapies, including color, sound, and vibration for decades. Using a combination of technologies all at once made sense.

Like me, Dr. Milne has long been fascinated with energy medicine like acupuncture, where you stimulate specific points with thin needles to unblock energetic obstructions. During the past few decades, many acupuncturists have begun using electrical stimulation on these points in place of needles and found that this worked as well, if not better at times.

Knowing that acupuncture works with subtle energies, Dr. Milne explored numerous energy technologies in addition to electrical stimulation that he could apply directly to acupuncture points. They should, he thought, have a synergetic effect and potentially be even more beneficial than a single therapy. It turns out he was right. The PRA surprisingly stopped pain in some of his patients in as little as a few minutes. It was as if this device could over-ride any limitations of one therapy with the actions of the other synergistic technologies.

The results were, at times, miraculous!

How well does it really work?

There’s a lot of talk surrounding therapies that are said to help the body heal. Some simply don’t work while others are unaffordable. We all want to feel better and be free from pain whether we’ve twisted our ankle or have arthritis. If the PRA really worked, I wanted to tell you about it. So I began by checking out Dr. Milne with some of my trusted colleagues. I quickly discovered that he was genuine — a knowledgeable and respected physician who has been practicing integrative medicine for over 30 years.

Next, I wanted to talk with a few of his patients to get their input. I was looking through his testimonials when I suddenly stopped. There in front of me was the name of a good friend’s nephew, Evan Song. I had met Evan’s mother several times and I knew that Evan’s life revolved around tennis. He and his father spent most of their time traveling all over the world to various tennis matches as Evan drew closer and closer to become a tennis pro. If he used the PRA, it was because it worked.

So I spoke with Evan’s mother (Evan was out of the country) and found that
he always had his PRA in his tennis bag. He used it at the first sign of pain in a young body that was constantly being pushed to its limits. The PRA helped him win matches and make Nevada tennis history as state champion. If you follow tennis, I predict you’ll become familiar with his name.

Then I talked with Dr. Milne, who shared some of his other patients’ results with me. He told me about one patient in her 40s with type-1 diabetes and fibromyalgia (diagnosed by a rheumatologist). She described her pain as being a 9 out of 10. After she applied the PRA to various acupuncture points and tender spots on her neck, knees, and feet for two to three minutes each, her pain was minimal.

Finally, I used the PRA on several friends and myself.

I had pain in one knee that persisted after seeing an osteopath. After using the PRA for three minutes on each point, the pain was gone. And it hasn’t returned!
I used it on my chronic shoulder pain. After over-use from kayaking three years ago, I couldn’t raise my arm above my head without experiencing a lot of pain. I used the PRA several times for 15 minutes at each point and my pain lessened by 50%. I continue to use it for shorter periods of time and it continues to improve. Today, it’s almost completely better.

A single treatment for three minutes at each site eliminated arthritis pain in one woman’s finger. And the same short treatment reduced pain from spinal stenosis in another (Dr. Milne pointed out that it shouldn’t have worked. That’s because spinal stenosis is a structural problem. But it worked!)

When it doesn’t work

The PRA alleviates pain caused by a variety of sources. But it doesn’t just relieve pain, it helps in the healing process. In fact, it can accelerate the healing from serious burns and it even reduces swelling. But it doesn’t always work and no one knows why. However, I have one theory.

When you use magnetic therapy on acupuncture points, it “turns on” the electromagnetic fields in the body’s fluids. Since our bodies are at least 65% fluids, I believe that you can maximize the PRA’s results when you’re well hydrated. So be sure to drink plenty of water before using this device. If you’re dehydrated, it may not work as well — or at all.

The PRA may not always work when a structural problem causes the pain. For example, I had fallen against a door with tremendous force and hurt my back. Six weeks later, I was getting better with heat treatments, but still in a lot of pain. The PRA hadn’t helped. My osteopath discovered why. The force of my fall had twisted my back. After she treated and aligned me, my back quickly healed and the PRA was again able to help reduce my pain.

Although it doesn’t work every time, I’ve found the PRA works in most cases. Other devices have software update costs, electrodes that wear out, and other expenses. The only replacement parts for the PRA are two rechargeable batteries. It’s small enough to carry in your purse, and it’s handy to share with friends and family.

Where to get it

When I first heard about the PRA, there were no studies on it and it cost $1,000 — two reasons why I wasn’t willing to write about it at that time. Its price has recently dropped dramatically to $649, which includes free shipping. What’s more, Dr. Milne recently completed an observational study that indicates success with a wider than ever range of applications. Now I can wholeheartedly endorse it.

The PRA comes with two rechargeable batteries, a recharger, and two belts that hold the device in place when working on hard-to-reach areas. I’ve asked Dr. Milne to offer a discount to all newsletter subscribers. He agreed. So if you mention Women’s Health Letter (or code NF12, when ordering on-line), you’ll receive an additional $50 savings.

If you would like more information, call Dr. Milne’s office (866-427-6842) in Las Vegas or go to their website, www.mvtrelief.com. They are more than happy to answer your questions and help you get started. You literally could be
free from pain in a matter of minutes.

Reduce Your Risk of Getting Alzheimer’s Disease by 50%

Modern medicine can cure some cancers, stop the progression of AIDS, and prevent heart disease. But it can do nothing to prevent, cure, or stop Alzheimer’s disease. This is terrible news for you and me, because out of the five million Americans with this dreaded disease over the age of 65, two-thirds are women.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that while modern medicine doesn’t have any answers, researchers around the world are finding ways to reduce this progressive brain disease. So while the medical community says you can’t prevent or stop this dementia, there’s a lot you can do to support normal brain function.

In fact, The Lancet Neurology published a study performed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) confirming this. They discovered that making simple lifestyle changes could reduce a person’s risk by 50%!
These scientists analyzed data from hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. They found that by reducing seven risk factors by 10-25%, from 184,000 to 492,000 cases of Alzheimer’s could be prevented in this country alone. These risk factors are:

physical inactivity, depression, smoking, mid-life hypertension, mid-life obesity,
low education, and diabetes.

Inactivity had the greatest impact, so begin today by getting off the couch after dinner and going for a walk around the block. Do some gardening or vacuuming. Take a walk around the mall or park your car farther away from a store than usual. By increasing your activity, you can reduce four out of the seven risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Why is exercise so important? One reason is that it boosts the body’s production of nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that increases blood flow. And NO reduces your risk for illnesses associated with dementia! It’s all inter-related.

Increase nitric oxide

Increased blood flow lowers blood pressure, reduces your risk for diabetes, and boosts the NO levels of antidepressants, which increases their effectiveness. A Spanish study reported in The Nitric Oxide (NO) Solution (Bryan and Zand, Neogenis, 2010) found lower levels of NO in people with dementia than in those without cognitive impairment. This was especially true in Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia patients.

You can increase your levels of NO with certain foods like dark green leafy vegetables, beets, and pomegranate juice. I’ve talked about NO in past articles that you can find on my website if you’re looking for more detailed information. Meanwhile, if you want a quick and easy way to boost your NO in addition to exercise and diet like I do, take a NO supplement. The best one I’ve found is Neo40 Daily (800-791-3395). The authors of the aforementioned book, NO expert Nathan

S. Bryan, PhD and Janet Zand, OMD, designed this supplement. Janet is a good friend and the founder of the Zand botanicals that line the shelves of many health food stores. I take one Neo40 every morning as part of my healthy brain insurance. I encourage you to do so as well.

Fish is brain food … sometimes

In the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that eating fish once a week lowers your risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. But only if it’s prepared a
certain way.

This 10-year study found that people who ate baked, broiled, or grilled fish had less brain shrinkage than those who didn’t. But if the fish was either dried or fried, it didn’t preserve brain size.

This is important, because as we age, everything shrinks including our brain. The bigger our brain, the healthier it is and the better our memory. These researchers found that fish-eaters maintained volume in the parts of their brains that were associated with either mild cognition or Alzheimer’s disease — and had a five-times lower risk for getting these diseases along with higher levels of cognition than those who rarely ate fish. Alzheimer’s destroys working memory, and fish-eaters had higher levels of working memory. If you don’t eat fish daily, you’ll want to take a fish oil supplement like Daily Omega (800-791-3395).

Alzheimer’s disease has become an epidemic and threatens to affect even more people in the future. Instead of living in fear, do something. What if these new studies are right and that by taking simple steps like increasing exercise, boosting your body’s stores of NO, and eating fish you can prevent dementia or stop its progression? The medical community has been wrong before. And if you know someone with Alzheimer’s, help him or her to make a few changes in their lifestyle and let me know what happens.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/231372.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/238673.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238520.php

This Fruit Protects Against Stomach Ulcers, But It’s Not Always Safe to Eat

If you have stomach ulcers, don’t just reach for a medication. Look for its cause and address it. Drinking too much alcohol can cause gastric ulcers — inflammation in the mucous membranes of your stomach — by generating free radicals.

So can viruses and a number of irritating medications. These include aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Celebrex, ibuprofen, and naproxen.

The usual treatment for ulcers consists of taking antacids. They prevent further irritation by your body’s normal secretion of stomach acid.

But the problem with antacids is that they just treat the symptoms, not the cause. And they limit your absorption of proteins, calcium, magnesium, and iron, which need acid in order to be absorbed. This can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

If you have stomach ulcers from drinking too much alcohol or taking irritating drugs, you can find a natural remedy in the produce section of your grocery store. And it works. But although it slows down the formation of ulcers, this food is not always safe to eat.

Healing your stomach

A group of European scientists discovered that strawberries protect the
stomach from the damaging effects of alcohol, drugs, antibiotics given to treat the H. pylori bacteria, and even some viruses. They gave ethanol (alcohol) to laboratory animals, which damaged their stomach’s mucous membranes. Then they gave some of the animals a strawberry extract.

The ones eating the extract for 10 days before drinking any alcohol had less damage to their stomachs than those that drank alcohol alone.

The authors of this study do not intend for anyone to use their findings
as an excuse to get drunk without consequences. Their purpose was to discover substances that protect the stomach from damage from alcohol and other irritants.

Strawberries are unique in providing this protection. One reason is that they contain anthocyans, more powerful antioxidants than vitamin E’s alfa tocopherol. Another reason is that they “turn on” the antioxidant defenses of the body, which makes them more effective.

Safe or unsafe?

If strawberries are, in fact, protective against ulcers, why not just add them to your diet? Because the majority of them are not safe to eat. In fact, they’re toxic. The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, found 13 different pesticides on a single conventionally grown strawberry. And by now, you probably know that pesticides can cause serious neurological problems, including Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

Organically grown strawberries can have their problems, too. They’re not necessarily as healthful as you might think. Some are planted in soil that has been disinfected with an extremely toxic pesticide, methyl bromide.
Although it dissipates rapidly and doesn’t remain in the berries, this fumigant can damage the lungs and nervous systems of farm workers. It also depletes the ozone layer.

Methyl bromide meets the USDA’s organic standards on a technicality, because the plants themselves are not fumigated. Just the soil. Many governments around the world are in the process of banning methyl bromide. But its chemical replacements also are highly toxic.

So the bottom line is, eliminate as many risk factors for stomach ulcers as you can. Eat only organic strawberries, and preferably those not grown in fumigated soil. Most pesticides harm people and the environment. And strawberries absorb more pesticides than any other fruit.

Your safest action is to figure out the cause of your ulcers and make some changes. You need to eliminate NSAIDs or alcohol in particular. If your ulcers are stress-related, regular exercise and calming herbs (chamomile, passion flower, or kava) also can help.

Plataforma SINC (2011, October 25). “Strawberries protect the stomach from alcohol, rat experiments suggest.” ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2011/10/111025091541.htm.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

Why It’s Hard to Be a Healthy Vegan

What do Betty White, Mike Tyson, Ellen DeGeneres, and Robin Williams have in common?

Their diets put them at risk for heart disease and stroke.

You see, all of them are vegans — vegetarians who eat no animal products. This is a popular way to eat today. But many vegans don’t realize this diet could kill them.

A recent study conducted a review of dozens of articles published on the biochemistry of vegetarianism during the past 30 years. The conclusion of the researchers: People who eat a vegan diet increase their risk of developing blood clots and atherosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries.” And these conditions can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

The reason a vegan diet increases your risk is that the limited diet doesn’t give you enough essential nutrients to be healthy. Vegans are often low in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. As a result, vegans tend to have elevated blood levels of homocysteine. Their levels of HDL, the “good” form of cholesterol, often drop as well. Both are risk factors for heart disease.

Can you be a healthy vegan? Without a doubt!

All you have to do to be a healthy vegan is increase your daily intake of dietary omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. One way is to eat a little animal protein, such as salmon and other oily fish. This won’t work for most vegans, but I have two other answers. You also can eat flaxseeds, walnuts, and other nuts every day. I used to be a strict vegetarian, but realized I wasn’t getting enough omega-3s. So I take an omega-3 supplement (Daily Omega). And I added a little salmon to my diet. A strict vegan can take a plant-based fatty acid supplement in a vegetarian capsule. I like ProThera’s Flax/Borage Oil (888-488-2488) and YES Ultimate EFAs.

Vitamin B12 is a little harder to get. Good sources include seafood, eggs, and fortified milk. Or you can take a vitamin B12 supplement found in all health food stores. Some people may require an injection of vitamin B12 from their doctor to keep their levels sufficiently high.

Source: American Chemical Society,

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/221533.php.

LETTERS

Q: I read that the Ultimate Bone Support formula contains Osteogene ™, and that this substance saves healthy bones by “blocking inflammation that triggers the breakdown of bone and cartilage.” The problem is that the bone support label says nothing about Osteogene. I’m confused about this and would also like to know when and how to take it— but only if it really contains the researched ingredient Osteogene. — A.F., e-mail

A: First, let me assure you that Ultimate Bone Support (UBS) does contain Osteogene. It’s the trademark name for the hops extract.

When Advanced Bionutritionals designed the label, they listed the hops extract by its scientific name. I can see why it confused you, and I’ve asked that the trademarked name be added to the label in the future.

How and when to take this formula can be a little confusing as well. You see, the strontium in UBS competes with dietary and supplemental calcium and magnesium, canceling them.

So you don’t want to take the bone formula with any supplement containing calcium or magnesium. And you don’t want to take it with a meal containing these minerals, either.

The simplest way to take UBS is to take it first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night — away from food by an hour or more.

You can take it with most medications and other supplements. If you’re not sure if they’re free from calcium and magnesium, simply ask your pharmacist.

Q: Does PectaSol Chelation Complex (PCC) remove toxins that are already attached to hormone receptor sites, or just free ones in the bloodstream? And does heat affect its efficacy? My mailman left my package in the sun on a 90+ degree day. — D.S., RN, e-mail

A: What PCC does best is remove toxins in the circulation and gastrointestinal tract. This means the bloodstream and the gut.

So when you take it on a daily basis, you’re continually cleansing your blood and preventing your tissues from storing toxins where they can cause health problems.

Over time, PCC can help release toxins bound to soft tissues. But a better way to detoxify from tissues is to add Advanced Detox Formula after one month on PCC and take both of them for six months or longer.

This detox formula is specifically designed to bind to “stuck” toxins and
prevent your body from reabsorbing them. You can obtain both from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395).

There are sound scientific studies that show that PCC effectively and gently removes heavy metals. The detox formula makes this removal even more effective. That’s why I prefer using these two oral chelation formulas over all others.

To answer your question about heat, PCC isn’t affected by heat in any way. So go ahead and use it without any concern.