I received an email video over the weekend from a friend in California. The topic was “why does the USA have the highest rate of cancer in the world?” The ideas on the video could be found in my newsletters that go back over ten or fifteen years, but I have never made my points so elegantly or persuasively. I highly recommend viewing this video, a TEDxTalks presentation by Robyn O’Brien.

Yes, eating genetically engineered veggies and the consumption of manufactured foods is behind the recent epidemic of allergies and asthma. It is also a major player in the USA having the highest cancer rate in the world, but is that the real problem? I think the real problem is regulation and the video makes a poignant argument for that fact. It doesn’t specifically mention companies like Dow and Monsanto, but it’s not too hard to figure out who the bad guys are.

In the Kansas City Star (Tuesday, June 21, 2011), a front page article gave one more example of that, and how dangerous our “safe until proven faulty” approach may become in the near future. The title of the article was “nuclear industry, regulators maintain cozy relationship.” The article gave clear examples of how the regulatory agencies that are in place to protect us are actually in bed with the very companies they are supposed to be protecting us from. Frankly, the article scared the hell out of me. I knew that there was danger from these nuclear plants, but I didn’t realize the degree.

Then on page A10, an editorial titles “Kansas failed citizens on Sunflower plant” told the same old story. So it doesn’t matter if the agency is federal, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Food and Drug Agency, or the local Kansas Department of Health and Environment, we need to regulate the regulators. This should become a major election issue, and that can happen if we all communicate our concern to our legislatures.

Every day I go into the office and work with children and grandchildren who are so much sicker than kids were when I was in school. It’s heart wrenching, and it needs to stop. It can be stopped, one person at a time. Let’s do this. Please!

In the last month I have had two patients comment on energy and CoQ10. One lady was one of my recovered breast cancer patients and the other was a patient that carries a familial risk in that area. They were both on physiological doses of CoQ10, when for various reasons they discontinued it for a period of a few months. In retrospect, they both said that they had noticeably more fatigue in that time frame, and when they restarted their CoQ10 supplementation they noticed revitalization, a very noticeable improvement in overall energy.

Research Confirms A Connection

These patient experiences are important, and in keeping with findings by the Karolinska Institute in breast cancer research. Many years ago they found that when physiological doses of CoQ10 were added to a comprehensive supplemental program for terminal breast cancer patients, an unexpected number of them went into sustained remission, and in the remainder, the cancer progression was appreciably reduced. So now let me tie the two together so it makes sense. Later we can talk about CoQ10′s role in the areas of increased energy, heart health, anti-oxidant activity, skin health, dosage, and some meds that interfere with CoQ10 production.

CoQ10, Cancer Physiology And Energy Production

Healthy cells fulfill their energy requirements via oxidative Phosphorylation, or the use of oxygen. CoQ10, as an electron donor, plays a major role in the process. When cells can’t make sufficient energy using oxygen, they switch to making energy by ‘burning’ sugar. It’s called glycolysis. If a cell makes its energy via glycolysis for a protracted period, that cell becomes confused and begins to function disharmoniously with the surrounding cells. If that continues long enough, the risk of genetic aberration and cancer increases exponentially. This was first published in the early part of the last century by Otto Warburg, M.D., Ph.D., so it isn’t new information. What is new information is the research by Professor Brian Peskin (google Brian Peskin and prepare to get excited) explaining why cells most commonly switch from oxidative energy production to the burning of sugar (glycolysis). Obviously, we want to keep our cells using oxygen, and CoQ10 helps the body do that.

President Nixon’s “War on Cancer” was lost a long time ago, which is why you don’t hear about it any more. With cancer, the obvious approach to reduced the numbers has to be prevention, and anything that reduces cells switching their energy production to glycolysis is a big step in the right direction.

How Do You Know If You Need It?

As we age we make less CoQ10. It starts to decline in our twenties, and many people are functioning at critically low levels by the time they are in their 50′s. I take a bottle of CoQ10 (100mg per pill) every year to see if I can notice an increase in energy, and I haven’t yet. The original research suggested that you should be able to tell the difference if you took a 30 mg pill of CoQ10 a day for a month, but the latest research suggests that the proper test dosage is 100mg a day. The lay literature is suggesting everyone over 30 needs to supplement with CoQ10, but I don’t support that position. I have numerous patients in their 30′s and 40′s who notice energy increases when they take 100mg of CoQ10 every day, but I also have numerous patients who are in their 50′s and 60′s who test themselves regularly and appear to not need it yet, myself included. Of course, as the body ages, needs change, so eventually we will all benefit from supplementing CoQ10, but why spend money supplementing CoQ10 if you don’t need it yet?

Let’s Not Forget CoQ10 And The Heart

Initially, CoQ10 was lauded for its role in cellular respiration, and because the heart uses more energy than other organs the thrust of research was in the cardiovascular direction with emphasis on increased energy production. Use of CoQ10 in heart disease, especially congestive heart failure, has been routine in Japan for over a decade. Most of the CoQ10 research has been done overseas, and American M.D.’s tend to overlook it because it wasn’t done here, however, that seems to be changing with time. My dearest friend, who recently passed away, couldn’t walk from a restaurant to the car without stressing his heart, but after taking CoQ10 he could walk around the block with no problems at all. For those with congestive heart failure it can be a miracle pill.

The Most Recent Findings

The latest truly important research with CoQ10 is the discovery of its neuro-protective role in Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, Freidreich’s ataxia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). A lesser discovery is CoQ10′s ability to protect skin from oxidative damage, and it is now found in many natural skin care products such as wrinkle defense creams and skin toners.

Impaired Production

A big problem with CoQ10 is that its production is hampered by certain medications, most notably the Statin drugs used for lowering cholesterol. It is imperative that everyone taking Statins must additionally supplement CoQ10. A number of cardiologists have written books on this subject but mainline cardiologists have been slow to respond. Birth control pills can also block the production of CoQ10, so young women taking those pills and experiencing fatigue should try supplementing with CoQ10 to see if it makes a difference.

Quality CoQ10

As more supplements are made in Asia, quality becomes a question that should be on every purchasers mind. There is no good cheap CoQ10. That’s unfortunate, but true. Preventics professional quality CoQ10, 100mg, normally sells for $66.00 for 30 capsules. We discount them to $33.00 a bottle to make them more affordable.

In pre-med, everyone ate in the cafeteria, and the food was similar to what is served in most University cafeterias today, mostly junk. The classes prepared me to memorize enormous amounts of scientific information in preparation for my future as a physician, but certainly not to think for myself. I suppose it was assumed that students were supposed to learn how to think in High School, before arriving at colleges’ doorstep. In retrospect, that concept is laughable.

In Chiropractic College we breezed through the physiology of digestion and utilization. Diet and intelligent nutritional practices were hardly discussed. Students and instructors ate poorly, although overweight seemed to be the domain of the professors. I obtained my Master of Science in Nutrition after attending Chiropractic College, and although we spent a lot of time discussing and studying nutrient actions and associated biochemistry, not much was made of relationship between the modern diet and the prevalence of modern diseases. Of course, the Masters program was supported by businesses like Kellogg’s and Monsanto, and you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Fortunately, I had an advantage. I had two mentors who guided me through the maze of mis-education. One was Doctor Nickolas Knutz, who in addition to his chiropractic practice attained the rank of General Officer in the army reserves. As a doctor he was interested in everything about a patient’s lifestyle that might contribute to a complaint, and he was an exceptional student of history, both military history and the taking of a patient history. He taught me to question everything.

My second mentor, C. H. Morgan, M.D., D.O., Ph.D., Ph.D., D.D.S., was the only man I ever knew with complete recall. He had committed to memory three successive versions of Gray’s Anatomy and taught gross anatomy at Cleveland Chiropractic College. Dr. Morgan instructed me to memorize enough pathology to get through my Boards, but learn as much physiology as possible, because that would determine my success as a physician. Disease, he would say, was nothing more than physiology gone wrong. He insisted that if a doctor could figure out the physiology behind an illness he stood a good chance to either correct or change the course of the illness. He emphasized that under most circumstances, given what it needs, the body would heal.

Both my mentors were very interested in the ‘diet/disease connection,’ and that is what has driven me in my practice these forty two years.

What amazes me is that it was evident even back in the sixties that most chronic disease was caused by changes in the general diet caused by food processing and chemical farming. Each decade there are hundreds of books and scientific publications describing the disintegration of public health due to the adulteration of the food supply. Doctors, who have studied physiology, don’t seem to have the time to do much more than treat symptoms with the standard and customary approach.

Dietitians/nutritionists don’t have sufficient physiology in their education, and are taught to ‘puppet’ the misinformation of the moment. An excellent example of that would be the disastrous but highly recommended Low Fat Diet that has been making us sicker and sicker over the last thirty five plus years.

It simply does not take a genius to understand that if we do not supply our physiology with genuine replacement parts (adequate protein and fat, and the essential vitamins and minerals) our machinery will falter. A good example of that is after the First World War, according to medical records of the time, about 3% of the population died from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease and cancer have been around forever, but only in the last century have they become the number one and two killers. Every decade they gain in their numbers and the reason is relatively simple.

Food processing and chemical farming have removed sufficient genuine replacement parts from our foods that they no longer are able to produce health. Agribusiness is killing us!

Consider that your body replaces itself approximately every two years. Some organs like the intestines are quicker and replace themselves about every two weeks, some slower like the brain replaces itself about every two years. If genuine replacement parts are unavailable, replacement takes place anyway, with the result being something less than what was there before. Because the body has amazing organ reserve, it often takes numerous two year cycles before the results of insufficient genuine replacement parts demonstrates itself as chronic degenerative disease.

We had healthy soil before the First World War, and foods had a short shelf life, were local, fresh, and life giving. The advent of chemical fertilization and food processing changed all that, robbing us of the genuine replacement parts we need to have healthy lives.

The experts have failed us. They have ignored science and overwhelmed us with opinion over and over again. The businesses involved have become so rich and powerful that they now control the government agencies that were established to protect you and me, the public, from their dangerous stream of misinformation. They have in fact educated us through mass advertising that what is bad for us is good for us, and our poor health is the result.

A good rule of thumb might be, if you see it advertized on TV, don’t eat it.

If what we are eating is healthy, why are most of us sick? Why are most of us fat? Why are most of us on numerous medications? Let’s get back to basics. It doesn’t cost more to buy local and organic, it pays. You can use the Referral Network Section at www.askdoctordavid.com to get information on local farmers markets and organic producers.

The first rule of sensible eating: Eat foods that are indigenous to the area in which you live, in the seasons when they are available. This is how we ate for the thousands of years before big agribusiness and the food manufacturers began to make us sick.

The local Chapter provides support for the treatment of Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia Syndrome (CFS/FM).

A personal note from Dr. David:

Having practiced as a nutritionist for the past forty plus years, I must admit that few conditions have befuddled me as much as CFS/FM. At first I thought it was just a matter of acquiring more knowledge. Unfortunately, the additional degree’s I acquired didn’t seem to provide that necessary knowledge.

I have, as I have grown older and hopefully wiser, found no solution to CFS/FM. Medicine, as we know it today, needs a consistent symptomatic pattern on which to attach a name. This must occur before a drug is discovered to mitigate that consistent symptomatic pattern. The emphasis here is on the word “consistent.”

With CFS/FM, so many different symptomatic patterns present themselves from patient to patient that the path I have seen produce the most positive outcomes is when a sufferer both self educates and additionally finds a lay adviser who has in most cases experienced CFS/FM themselves. The two then find their way through a maze of specialists who eventually contribute small to medium sized pieces of the therapeutic puzzle.

For a doctor to spend the hours necessary to guide a patient through this maze would be enormously time consuming and financially prohibitive. When I am confronted with a new case of CFS/FM, I refer them to the Fibromyalgia Coalition.

There is, I am pleased to say, an area where my expertise has been helpful as a specialist in Allergy/Nutrition. Allergy/sensitivity often plays a significant role in CFS/FM. Sometimes a really significant role and sometimes a much smaller role, but almost without fail, a sufferer with CFS/FM experiences reactions to foods, supplements, environmental toxins, and airborne irritants.

Contact for support group meeting information and/or referral to a lay advisor.

NAET is non invasive and does not externally effect the body like allergy shots. Sometimes when I’m “clearing” and allergen I’ll experience headaches, fatigue, dizziness and brain fog. After a few hours after treatment I can feel my body “lighten” and my energy is better… I feel “alive!” I feel like the professional atmosphere at your office, your knowledge of the physical components of the body, and the vitamins and foods is an added bonus. I also like the fact that you use nurses in the treatment process. They are knowledgeable and sensitive to the patient’s feelings.

I have always had a sensitive immune system. I’ve had breast cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and a hysterectomy. NAET has definitely helped my body heal faster from all my physical maladies. Thank you again for your devotion to your patients and your enthusiasm for NAET.

Cathy Safford

In high school I began to suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but seemed to have gotten over my food allergies. I was a relatively normal young man except for the fact that I was always sick and a cold or cough would last for months. I also continued to struggle with all subjects in school.

Things began to get worse in my 20′s when I just felt worse and worse every year. By the time I was 29, I was suffering from terrible pain in all my muscles and joints. I had chronic fatigue, depression, severe TMJ (jaw pain). By this time I was spending 500 to 1000 dollars per month on chiropractic, massage, colon treatments, supplements, and cranial sacral work just to survive.

At 29 I was told I was allergic to gluten and that I would start to feel better if I took this out of my diet. I did and only felt slightly better, so I began to take other things out of my diet. For the next 5 years I lost 40 pounds and lived on mostly veggies and turkey. Unfortunately I still felt like death warmed over and was still spending huge sums of money on natural remedies that only enabled me to survive.

Eight months ago I began to see Dr. David and it turns out I was allergic to about 95% of what I was eating including the turkey and veggies. In addition to foods, I had major environmental and seasonal allergies. In addition to these Dr. David has cleared me of allergies to things like soap, shampoo, shaving cream, marker, pencil, fabric softener, detergent, dry erase marker, chalk, oils, perfumes, and air fresheners, just to name a few. I was reacting to everything I was coming in contact with.

Since seeing Dr. David, I have been eating normally and gaining weight. I am spending 1/10th of the money on chiropractic and other treatments and I feel far better than I have in years. I do not suffer from chronic fatigue and my joints and muscles feel better every week. The NAET treatment was a God send for me and I know it is responsible for allowing me to live a normal life for the first time in 20 years.

Keith Nelson

I am 32 years old and was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 18 years ago and Fibromyalgia 10 years ago. I was diagnosed my freshman year in high school after nine months of going from doctor to doctor. Something was wrong with me. I got the flu and it never went away. I was sleeping 22 out of 24 hours a day, tired the 2 hours I was awake and lost 13 pounds in 2 weeks. I was placed on homebound schooling for 10 weeks. The doctor convinced my parents that I just needed rest. My parents didn’t take that for an answer and continued to search. I tried everything my parents or I read about: royal jelly, acupuncture, massage therapy, pain medication, long courses of antibiotics, etc.

In 1996 my parents moved to Washington, DC. I found a doctor who kept up to date with the latest research from NIH. He put me on beta blockers, anti-depressants, and other meds. None of them worked. In 1997 I had a sleep study performed that showed a sleep disorder. I was put on different sleep medications. My junior year of college I had a really bad run in which I missed several weeks of class. I was passing out, losing my way on campus and unable to find my way back to my dorm, etc. I was truly blessed to be at William Jewell College (WJC) with a supportive faculty and staff who worked with me so I didn’t have to drop out. My parents were unable to afford to fly in to town. WJC flew my parents in town to be with me after I was told by the doctor that he thought I might have a brain tumor. Thankfully that wasn’t the case.

The search continued as to what was wrong this time. It turned out to be a reaction to a medication that I was on. I was determined to finish college and graduate school despite being told by those around me that I would never make it due to my illness. I’m a stubborn person and set out to prove them wrong. I have always struggled with my symptoms, some times more than others. I was determined I wasn’t going to let my symptoms rule my life. Which wasn’t always the best choice as some decisions would send me to bed for days.

After graduate school and working for two and a half years I felt God calling me to go to Moscow, Russia. My mother freaked out. The thought of me being half way around the world without my doctor whom we all trusted was more than she could handle. My parents and I met with my doctor who agreed to work with me via internet and phone in monitoring my symptoms. My doctor had learned over the years that I knew my body well. I would often walk in his office and tell him what was wrong before he examined me. More times than not I was right. He sent me over with several medications including antibiotics that he thought I might need. My two years in Russia wound up being a tremendous blessing, not only for the experience but for the lack of stress and therefore fewer symptoms. Life in Russia is so much simpler than here in the US. This helped my symptoms greatly. I found a student who was a massage therapist who worked with me on a regular basis. I slept when I needed and was able to adjust my daily responsibilities based on my symptoms. My symptoms diminished greatly as my stress diminished. The only exception to this was my migraines. My body is very sensitive to the barometric pressure. It snowed so often in the winter, which seemed to trigger my migraines.

I got married a year and half ago, gained weight and my symptoms got worse. I was having more bad days then good ones. The pain and fatigue were unbearable at times. Massage therapy and muscle relaxers weren’t doing the trick anymore. I was really frustrated because I wanted children and the thought of having children with my symptoms really scared me.

I did some searching online and found the FCI support group. I hesitated about going because my experience with Fibromyalgia/CFS support groups in the past weren’t positive. At my first FCI support group I heard for the first time that I could heal from Fibromyalgia/CFS. How wonderful that would be! I attended a few support groups and soaked in what everyone was saying, the treatments they tried, what was helpful, etc. In December after an FCI support group meeting, Phyllis Woolard strongly recommended that I go see Dr. David Beaulieu, Dr. David as he is known to his patients, who practices NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques). Phyllis explained NAET (www.naet.com) to me and I have to admit I was skeptical.

I thought about going for over a month. I hesitated because it wasn’t covered by my insurance. I then remembered something I had heard at a support group meeting, “you can’t wait for your insurance to get you well.” I talked with my husband and we decided that we could afford a treatment a week but I still had questions. How did this really work, what about the yeast component, etc. I remembered that Phyllis told me Dr. David took calls free of charge on Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. I looked up the number on his website (www.askdoctordavid.com, 816-753-4866) and called. Dr. David took time to answer all of my questions. I made an appointment for the next week. I was tested for the 18 basics and was sensitive to 14 of them.

After about a month of going once a week I started feeling better. I have now been seeing Dr. David since January 2008 and I feel so much better. My pain is gone, my energy is increasing and I haven’t had a migraine since March 2008. The last week of May, I actually woke up with no pain. It took me a moment to realize this as I stood in the shower. I didn’t remember what this felt like! The zero pain didn’t last all day but I was thankful for while it lasted. I see the change and so does my husband. After starting to feel better, I started going off my prescription medication. I am still in this process as I’m doing it very slowly but it’s working. I’m finding that my body doesn’t need all the medication that was prescribed.

Dr. David has truly helped me. I have to admit, I didn’t believe the NAET treatments would work at first. In fact, I didn’t truly believe they were working until I was treated for B Complex. Before seeing Dr. David I had a rash on the corners of my mouth that wouldn’t go away despite multiple visits to the dermatologist and multiple courses of Nystatin, to supposedly treat a yeast infection. I mentioned this to Dr. David my first visit, who told me that a reaction to B Complex can cause a rash as well. As soon as I cleared B Complex, the rash disappeared and hasn’t returned.

My only regret through my NAET experience is that waited a month to call Dr. David after Phyllis recommended him. I am not completely well but I am well on my way!

It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.
… … … …
Wendell Berry