And what makes a parasite infestation possible? Impacted, clogged colons and intestines filled with sugar and filth. And these parasitic invaders can range from tiny, microscopic organisms to 15-foot-long tapeworms living inside your body and robbing you of life-sustaining nutrients.

These leeches not only invade your body, but cause damage to the areas they invade. Their infestation can happen with or without symptoms. You may experience worsening…

• Constipation and foul-smelling diarrhea
• Gastrointestinal upset
• Vaginal irritation
• Joint pain
• Chronic fatigue

And your misery may also include mucous or blood in your stools… abdominal cramps and gas… burning sensations and an urge to eliminate… loss of appetite or hunger despite how much you eat… vomiting… itching in the moist areas such as the nose, eyes, ears and anus… or even skin irritations such as a rash, eczema-like conditions or serious eruptions.

But you can save yourself from needless suffering by maintaining proper digestion and healthy elimination. To ensure this, you should…

• Chew each bite of food slowly and carefully—25 times or more. Large chunks are hard to digest and sit in your stomach where bacteria feed on them.
• Eat nutritious whole fruits and vegetables—with at least 50 percent in their raw form—as well as other foods high in fiber to promote two to three bowel movements per day.
• Drink six-to-eight, 8-ounce glasses of water. This “colon juice” can help flush toxins and waste products out of your body.
• Take natural digestive aids such as L-glutamic acid, an amino acid which helps your body absorb protein and betaine hydrochloride (HCl), a beneficial stomach acid necessary to digest food. Taken together, these digestive aids help balance the pH in your complete digestive tract.

Although many environmental factors can also contribute to parasites, keep in mind what opened the door in the first place—allowing your colon and intestines to get clogged with rotting filth and refuse. Clean up your digestive tract and don’t give those nasty invaders a place to call home!

Denis Burkitt, M.D., British physician and surgeon, indicated that folks who eat more fiber have regular and daily bowel movements and avoid getting many of the health problems plaguing Americans today. Plus, they live longer! Although you should try to reach a goal of 75 to 100 grams of fiber per day, the average American barely consumes 10 to 15 grams daily through diet.

However, increasing fiber in your diet is easy and tasty. Just add more apples, apricots, berries, beans, bran, oats, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, legumes, seeds and nuts, plus choose whole grains such as barley, brown rice, millet, rolled oats, spelt, rye, cracked wheat and buckwheat for the flour to make great-tasting breads.

For digestive help once you’ve consumed the nutritious foods, try gentian root. This herb encourages the flow of saliva, gastric juices and bile. Also add probiotics, or the “good” bacteria that break down food and assist your small intestinal lining to absorb essential nutrients. Digestive enzymes such as amylase, protease and lipase can promote healthy digestion, as well.

With the combination of these all-natural solutions, you can decrease the pain and discomfort of poor digestion… the embarrassment of gas and bloating… and prevent digestive problems from affecting your pleasure in life now and in your later years.

Basically, IBS is an intestinal disorder caused by disfunction in the nerves and muscles in your bowels that causes bloating, abdominal pain, loose stools or constipation. But no one really knows the exact cause of it, and there is no cure. Under normal conditions, the muscles in your intestinal wall contract and relax in a coordinated fashion to push the food from your stomach through your intestinal tract and to your rectum.

But if you suffer from IBS, the muscle contractions may be too strong and last too long… causing food to be pushed through too quickly resulting in diarrhea, gas and cramping. Or the contractions might be too weak and not last long enough… so the food is moved too slowly, causing dry, hard stools and constipation.

Heredity and hormones may be factors that influence IBS episodes. Some reports indicate twice as many woman suffer from IBS, and that some women notice a difference in their IBS symptoms around the time their menstrual period starts. But, this also may be because women are just more comfortable than men talking about their embarrassing symptoms to physicians.

The following are some of the common symptoms of IBS that can range from mild to extremely severe:

• Cramping in the stomach area.
• Feeling too full or nauseated after eating a normal meal.
• Painful constipation.
• Painful diarrhea, especially after eating.
• Mucous in the stool.
• Feeling like you need to finish a bowel movement.
• Bloating and gas (flatulence).

I can personally understand how these symptoms can undermine your whole way of life since I suffered painful abdominal cramps, embarrassing gas and diarrhea for many years. But here are some important things to know in your battle against IBS:

• Know the foods that can ignite your symptoms and avoid them. They include chocolate, dairy products, carbonated drinks, alcohol, caffeine and sorbitol (artificial sweetener found in dietetic foods and some chewing gum). Broccoli, cabbage and beans may cause gas, but they are great sources of fiber, which can help with constipation. Other fiber-filled foods include peaches, apples, bran, whole-grains and vegetables such as carrots and raw peas.
• Cut down on the amount of food you eat. Try eating three to five smaller portioned meals a day and keep a journal of all the foods you eat. It helps to look at the list at the end of each day to actually see everything you consumed. And since some IBS symptoms are delayed, it may be handy in matching symptoms with certain foods.
• Don’t forget to drink plenty of water—at least eight glasses every day—or even more! Water can help flush toxins out of your system, and ensure that your bowels don’t get gunked up with waste.
• Manage your stress. Stress can only aggravate your symptoms of IBS. Try exercise, meditation, hypnotherapy, massage, yoga or counseling to relieve stress and depression.

Although no medical tests can identify IBS, if your symptoms persist, you should see your doctor for a physical exam and tests to rule out serious ailments like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—or even colon cancer. Sometimes IBS is mistaken for ulcerative colitis; however, unlike colitis, IBS doesn’t cause inflammation.

But make no mistake—IBS is an embarrassing condition that can painfully invade your world and turn it upside down! But by learning your own body and taking control of your life, you can manage your symptoms and improve your quality of living.

I read your article “For A Deeper Cleanse… Try This” about fasting and I want to fast for all of the reasons you stated. However, I suffer from hypothyroidism and take Synthroid® everyday. Is it safe to do a liquid or water fast under this condition? Would it be safe to stop this medication during a fast? —Kathy L.

Dear Kathy,

The liquid fast (where you drink only water for an average of three to 10 days) will only improve your thyroid condition, not hurt it. Here are some of the effects you can expect with a water fast:

• Weight loss with little or no hunger.
• Detoxification, breaking down fat reserves and mobilizing stored toxins to be eliminated.
• Digestive system is allowed to rest.
• Resolve inflammatory processes, including painful arthritic conditions.
• Relief from allergic reactions, such as asthma and hay fever.
• Relief from abnormal fluid accumulations such as leg edema.
• Helps restore blood pressure to healthy levels.
• Clearer skin, and revitalized taste buds.
• And much more…

All the while, you are preparing yourself and your stomach for a lifestyle change to whole, natural foods.

However, keep taking your thyroid replacement medication. It has a gradual effect on metabolism. Only reduce the amount when you are feeling you need less, but please don’t forget to follow-up with a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) level test with your doctor.

For more questions and answers like this one, check out my monthly newsletter, Easy Health Options™, by visiting www.easyhealthoptions.com.

All the best!
Michael Cutler, M.D.

Welcome to House Calls with Dr. Cutler!

Many of you are aware of fatal diseases that plague millions of Americans each year—but are you prepared for the third most common killer in today’s society of both men and women? Most of you are not.

Today we’ll look at the risks and warning signs associated with digestive diseases. I advise that if you answer “yes” to several of the symptoms outlined in the short questionnaire below that you talk to your doctor today. There are preventive measures to invest in now!

And, did you know that selenium can be both good and bad—depending on the amount you take? Are you taking too much or too little? Read below to find out safe dosage amounts for your supplements.

Yours for healthy living,

Michael Cutler, M.D.
Medical Advisor, True Health™

Colon Cancer—The Silent Killer!

Why should you be concerned about digestive disease? Because it is the third most common cancer in BOTH men and women!

The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 108,070 new cases of colon cancer and 40,740 new cases of rectal cancer in 2008 in the United States. Combined, they will cause about 49,960 deaths.

This is far too many. When colon cancer is detected and treated before it has spread, there is a 90 percent survival rate at five years. Once the cancer has spread to nearby organs or lymph nodes, however, the five-year survival rate goes down to 66 percent.

The reason it is so deadly is that by the time colon cancer is discovered (from symptoms alone), it has usually already spread. Therefore, the development of colon cancer has very few warning signs. It is difficult to detect this silent killer based solely on symptoms. This is why prevention and early screening is critical!

Colon cancer has early detection methods which are quite effective. While not intended to diagnose colon cancer or other intestinal diseases, this analysis can help you understand the risk factors and early warning signs.

• Do I have a family history of polyps or colon cancer? A family history of cancer increases risk by 66 percent.
• Do I consume high amounts of red meat? Instead of red meat, the American Cancer Society recommends choosing most of your foods from plant sources and limiting your intake of animal-source high-fat foods.
• Do I use tobacco, alcohol or other harmful drugs? Recent studies indicate that smokers are 30 to 40 percent more likely than nonsmokers to die from colon cancer. Colon cancer has also been linked to the heavy use of alcohol.
• Am I over 50 years old? More than 90 percent of people who have colorectal cancer are over age 50.
• Am I overweight? If you are very overweight, your risk of developing colon cancer increases. Researchers suggest the excess fat also changes metabolism in a way which increases growth of cells in the colon and rectum, and that cells in the waist area have the largest impact on improper metabolism.
• Do I have diabetes or a sedentary lifestyle? Colon cancer is reported to be 50 percent higher among diabetics compared to the normal population. They also tend to have a higher death rate from colon cancer compared to non-diabetics with colon cancer.
• Do I have constipation or hardening of solid waste in the colon? Having bowel movements less than twice a day is considered constipation. Ideally we should have a bowel movement for every meal.
• Do I have bloating, gas or excessive fullness after meals? This is a sure sign of inadequate digestive enzyme function or inadequate stomach acid for the types of foods present.
• Do I have pain in the lower esophagus with swallowing? Esophogeal spasm or “achalasia” is usually due to recurrent acid reflux up from the stomach into the lower esophagus.
• Do I have an acid heartburn feeling in the stomach, with or without meals? This is a sign of stomach lining fragility, typically from persistent acidity in the stomach because of digestive enzyme deficiency. The acid-enzyme imbalance, created ultimately by so many “manmade” foods is a correctable condition without long-acting prescription medications.
• Do I have stools that float or appear greasy? This indicates malabsorption of fats.
• Are there large pieces of undigested food in my stools? This is consistent with inadequate enzymes to digest certain foods, usually fibrous vegetables.
• Do I have bloody or black-colored stool? When stomach acid is present, the red blood color turns to black. This indicates blood coming from the stomach or first part of the small intestine. A stomach or duodenal ulcer is likely present and must be healed.
• Do I have painful bowel movements, with or without blood? This may be rectal inflammation such as a fissure or external hemorrhoid.
• Do I have lower intestinal cramping associated with meals? This is consistent with irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. These disease states lead to cancer over time with a miserable course unless the underlying gut lining tissue health is restored and causes addressed.
• Do I get a runny or stuffy nose during or after meals? This is the classic sign of allergy to certain foods.

If you answered “Yes”… to these questions, then these are some symptoms that a digestive disease may already be present. They are also warning signs that a potentially worse disease could develop if not addressed, such as cancer.

More than just risk factors, these symptoms and signs are warning you to listen to your body. While your doctor is qualified to pronounce the diagnoses of colon cancer or another digestive diseases, you now can choose a different path—the prevention path—before it’s too late.

Reduce Salt in Common Foods

If you have hypertension, try eating low sodium breads and spreads. You may actually like them! Low sodium bread can be purchased in most supermarkets. If your supermarket doesn’t carry it, you can usually order it from the manager.

However, you can make your own and it tastes much better. It also keeps for more than a month, so the pleasant and educational experience of baking it only needs to be done about once a month. In fact, it can be a very rewarding family experience. The variety of homemade low sodium bread is wide, so the variety of sandwiches available is excellent.

Low sodium mayonnaise, butter and margarine spreads are available in supermarkets and some health food stores. They usually taste bland, but can be spiced up to taste better.

An excellent spread for sandwiches is to use avocados. Let them ripen a little more and they spread like mayonnaise. Avocados have a vitamin K factor of about 17 and are low in sodium. They have fewer calories than butter or mayonnaise and have a bonus: Avocados are rich in EPA or omega-3 fatty acids!

The Truth About Selenium

Selenium has two faces. It is required for proper health but can be very damaging and even deadly if taken in extreme excess.

Some geographical areas in the world suffer from selenium deficiencies, resulting in a crippling effect in children that resembles arthritis. But patients respond well to treatment. This natural trace element is unique among nutrients. Its required amount is so little, yet its toxicity level is a consideration at high levels.

The symptoms of selenium deficiency are varied, but they include severe pain and weakness in the muscles, like arthritis. When a person is deficient in both selenium and vitamin E, liver degeneration develops.

Clearly this is an important part of everyone’s diet. The RDA is 50 to 70 micrograms a day for normal adults, 75 for pregnant women. If there are adequate amounts of vitamin E in the daily diet, up to 200 micrograms is fine and actually helps to become a protector for the body. A few important foods containing selenium are:

Selenium supplementation only makes sense in order to maintain good health. I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to stay healthy should eat a healthy dose of selenium-rich foods daily, and use a supplement, too.

Selenium can be toxic at very high doses. This was first observed in animals that eat plants with toxic levels of selenium. Toxicity in humans is rarely seen. However, toxicity has been reported in parts of the world where dietary selenium levels are extremely high.

The reported symptoms of human toxicity from selenium have included increased nail and hair brittleness or crumbling, skin rashes, “pins and needles” sensations, irritability, nausea, vomiting or garlic breath. These side effects were observed in a study at the University of Arizona of approximately 10 percent of Chinese subjects consuming a diet with more than 1,000 micrograms of selenium daily. It is interesting to note that the regions of China that have a higher selenium concentration in the soil enjoy a very low incidence of cancer.

In the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer trial, no evidence of selenium toxicity has yet been observed with either 200 or 400 mcg per daily dosage, as indicated by routine examination of patient’s nails and hair and liver function tests.

Q & A

Each week in the Q & A section of House Calls with Dr. Cutler, I will share with you some of the many questions I get every week from subscribers to my monthly advisory newsletter, Easy Health Options”. For more information on Easy Health Options”, visit www.easyhealthoptions.com.

Cancer and Acid pH

Dear Dr. Cutler,

have been a long-time subscriber to your wonderful newsletter. Also, I strongly value your advice and informative insight about medical matters. As you know, the one word that terrifies all human beings is CANCER. I, a pharmacist, have done a lot of reading about this dreaded disease. My research has indicated that cancer only appears in people with an acidic pH. If one’s pH is alkaline, cancer never appears. Do you concur with that finding? If you do, how can one alkalinize himself?—Harold O., Scottsdale, AZ

Dear Harold,

I am impressed not only by your newfound knowledge, but by your interest in the subject. You have undoubtedly felt the resistance by conventional medical doctors and the propaganda scoffing at such things as alkaline pH and its importance in health. Yes, you hit it right on. Cancer thrives in acidic tissue.

Here are the details for monitoring pH. For urine (what the body is getting rid of), dip the pH test paper into your first morning void. You are aiming for a pH of 6.0 to 6.6. If it’s too acidic it could mean two things:

• High proteins or other acids in the diet, or…
• A lack of buffering minerals in the diet.

For saliva (most representative of lymph fluid), one should place the pH strip on their wet tongue, aiming for a pH of 6.6 to 7.0. This is pretty straight forward, since this fluid does reflect the tissues. Blood, however, is a homeostatic fluid and therefore its pH will remain fairly stable (7.30 to 7.36) despite how sick one may be.

To increase tissue pH to a safe range, I suggest the following:

• Always eat alkalinizing foods first.
• Next, maximize the elimination of metabolic acid waste from the body through the organs of elimination (bowel, skin, lymph, kidney and lung).
• Stop all emotional stresses, which greatly contribute to cancer growth through unclear mechanisms (but one clearly related clinically).
• Use herbal and other non-toxic nutrients to boost the healing mechanisms in the body, slowly overcoming the chronic conditions.

Thanks again for your interest in body acid-base balance. For the pH supplement I personally use and recommend, Click Here.

Respectfully,
Michael Cutler, M.D.

For those who are experienced in liquid cleansing—the effects of water fasting are even more profound! Let me give you some tips on water fasting. It is done just as the other two versions of liquid cleansing explained previously. For example, water fasting must also be preceded by two days of “pre-cleanse” foods to prepare your body. And it must also be followed by two or more “post-cleanse” foods to ease into solids again. The only difference is that the only liquid you consume in water fasting is water.

This may sound as if you are starving yourself—but in reality, the opposite is true. Water fasting allows your body to release unwanted stored chemicals, quiets your immune system if inflamed, and normalizes your metabolism. Actually, water fasting is quite common in the animal kingdom. Animals know to fast instinctively when sick, and wild animals instinctively know which herbs to seek out for their cure.

In general, Americans carry around excess energy stores in their body fat and organs. And when you allow for a congested metabolic state to develop from eating unhealthy foods and being exposed over time to chemicals and pollutants, you become much like the Los Angeles freeways during rush hour. Your blood flow, cell membrane receptor function, and even your brain chemistry s-l-o-w-s down like a massive citywide traffic jam. By water fasting, you essentially remove 90 percent of the cars creating the traffic jam so nutrients can freely flow again.

The cells of nearly every tissue of your body undergo a molecular change when you liquid cleanse. You’ll release unneeded material that has accumulated in your system over months—even years. These unneeded molecules that you’ll wash away are from chemical food additives, cosmetics, deodorants, and their metabolites. These molecules act on the body much like microbial invaders during an infection. In an infection, your immune system recognizes the invaders and mounts an immune response resulting in diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, fever, cough, congestion and other methods to fight off the invading organism and restore your health. But with a dietary cleanse, the waste molecules introduced over the years are released from various tissue cells, with far less severe symptoms than in an acute attack of the flu.

The late Dr. Herbert Shelton (1928-1981) is credited for spreading the news about the success of water fasting in reversing disease. Dr. Shelton is reported to have overseen over 25,000 patients who fasted from three to more than 60 days. According to Dr. Shelton, “the sick get well, the well get better, and all gain the priceless knowledge needed to stay well.”

Thanks to Dr. Shelton, today water fasting is known in the medical community to be safe and effective. From reversing anxiety, depression and neurosis… to lowering high blood pressure and many illnesses in between, water fasting has had astonishing results. One Japanese clinic achieved an 87 percent success rate in treating psychosomatic disease through water fasting, as reported in a 1979 issue of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

For lowering blood pressure, water fasting provides dramatic results. In a 2001 study published in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, researchers measured blood pressure in 174 patients who drank only water for an average of 10.5 days… followed by a seven-day re-introduction of food using a vegan diet. The most impressive results occurred among those with systolic blood pressure greater than 180 mg Hg (normal is below 140) and with diastolic blood pressure greater than 110 mg Hg (normal is below 90). On average, among this group there was an amazing reduction of blood pressure by 60 mm Hg systolic and 17 mm Hg diastolic, after seven days of eating the vegan diet. And all who entered the study on blood pressure medication, successfully discontinued use with no adverse effects!

Here’s what water fasting will do for your body:

• Fasting causes rapid weight loss with little or no hunger. After the third fast day, going without food becomes quite easy.
• Fasting causes detoxification, breaking down fat reserves and mobilizing stored toxins to be eliminated.
• Fasting allows the digestive system to rest.
• Fasting begins to dramatically resolve inflammatory processes, including painful arthritic conditions.
• Fasting quiets down allergic reactions, such as asthma and hay fever.
• Fasting dries up abnormal fluid accumulations such as leg edema.
• Fasting lowers high blood pressure as mentioned earlier.
• Fasting makes it easy to overcome bad habits and addictions.
• Fasting clears the skin. Sometimes skin eruptions will worsen during the fast and then the skin clears after several days of fasting.
• Fasting wakes up your taste buds and interest in wholesome natural foods.
• Fasting prepares you for a lifestyle of consuming whole foods.
• Fasting shrinks the stomach and prepares you to consume the normal amount of food that will nourish you rather than having to eat large amounts of food to feel nourished.

It is true that with cleansing you may experience loose stools; sweating; increased urination; mild weakness or even a fruity breath. All these are normal signs of cleansing. Above all, drink plenty of fluids with minerals to stay well-hydrated during a liquid cleanse! Mineral replacement during a water cleanse can be done by purchasing a packet of mineral replacement powder from your local health food store to mix in water twice daily.

I have enjoyed hearing from patients who experience increased energy levels, decreased joint pain, clearer skin, and no more headaches! Water fasting works to treat allergies, stop weight-gain, improve blood pressure, reduce depression or anxiety, and increase enthusiasm for life. By means of this natural cleansing process, you push out the unhealthy toxins… and begin to enjoy true health!